#it's so hard to describe what I mean. i think it's the combo of the like. specific part of my brain's development + the amount of trauma | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

imsorrythatimweird101-blog · 26 days

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**Using gateway tapes for void state*

Many people (especially Tumblr, I see y'all) are really interested in the void state. Me too honestly but here's the information that I got about the void state through the gateway tapes.

**By One-lawfulness**

“Glad to see others here who also use the gateway tapes. I'm starting to believe we'll 1 you can shift with them but more so F15 is essentially the void state. It seems they are described the same way.”

“ body asleep/ mind awake is indeed F10. However the void state from what I read is when your pure awareness. You don't feel the body, you can't see, hear, touch, etc. There is no body at all your simply awareness. There's a post I believe in one of the shifting groups where someone linked and reposted a Twitter post where someone went into detail on what is and isn't the void state. All I know is the void state while it shouldn't be hard to reach isn't as simple as some think. But it makes sense since it seems shifting, manifesting, etc is all instant from it.

This should link to the post

https://www.reddit.com/r/shiftingrealities/comments/18swmdp/definitive_guide_to_the_void_state/?share_id=1dj52vByrbmI3Q7rNmULO&utm_content=2&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_source=share&utm_term=

Well they say the focus levels are different for everyone but there are some general guidelines to it. Some where someone linked a page with a brief description of each focus level and when you read F15 I think or maybe 12 it's described as a void.

But if your looking for manifesting it seems some say you can do that in F10, 12, and 15 but I assume it's easier the higher you go.

(It's F15)

If I find the page with the focus level description I'll link it also

Found it

https://www.monroeinstituteuk.org/focus-levels/

Personal experience

what's recommended is once you get there the first thing is to manifest being able to enter it easily. Then from there do as you wish. That could work. I assume using it along with LOA is a great combo to help get into the void state the first time. When I was first trying the void state before using the gateway tapes I was in F10 essentially and couldn't fully go into it.

I stayed with F10 for a while but realized I was holding myself back because F10 wasn't hard to enter and I was saying I needed to master it first.

**By Beautiful_V**

F10 is SATS. SATS is the mind awake body asleep, you repeat a scene to mnaifest but that isn’t SATS it’s the state you do that hence state akin to sleep. You can manifest all the time using it! Instead of affirmations (lullaby method) I visualize until I fall asleep in this state. The trick is you can’t be too tired or too awake. Or even better just do it during a nap never takes me more than 3 days.

**Beautiful_v manifesting method**

“My routine”

-Do Wim Hof breathing technique

-Have theta waves immediately playing afterwards

-Count to whatever gets me to floaty feeling at first it was 500, now it’s 200/300 when you lose count just go back to the nearest 100th so you don’t fall asleep

-when I get the floaty feeling it means I’m about to fall asleep so affirm or visualize desired results.

-fall asleep in the wish fulfilled there will be no time for you to doubt because you’ll be too tired

-do this for 3-5 days it works in less depends on your beliefs but I always say 3 days because that’s what I read from Neville so I adopted that mindset !

**Big_suggestion9**

“Yes F10 is considered the void state”

Background: he has his own YouTube channel and is currently on wave 3 tape 6! He's personally like a mentor to me because I ask him about stuff. This is what he personally told me.

He's experience

https://youtube.com/@TheGatewayExperience?feature=shared

**My opinion**

Everyone is right in this discussion. Gateway tapes are based on personal experience. **No matter what, you need enter F10 for anything. Shifting, astral projection, void state. F10 void state or not. To achieve anything you need to achieve F10!**

**What do you recommend?**

You want to go into a void state? Then finish gateway tapes for F10 (gateway 1). Then do F12, after MASTERING everything. Go to manifest tape and affirm that you can go to void state instantly or whatever affirmation you want. Simple as that

**PLEASE READ**

(All credit to them, I did remove some digits from the username. Please do not contact them! I don't want to have a bunch of people flooding their Dms. If you have questions about it. Ask me and I will message them personally if it's that's okay. THANK YOU!)

#reality shifting #void state #void #shifting blog #manefesting #law of assumption #law of manifestation #gatewaytapes

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rosesnbooks · 1 year

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Astrology observations #3

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

-i think it is not difficult to spot someone with scorpio placements/8th house in the big 6 (not that much in the sun tho). their energy appears darker, even when they have more "light-hearted" placements in the chart.

-pisces and leo can get along pretty well, the leo can get pisces out of their shell, and pisces can help them to relax and embrace their strong emotions

-people with scorpio+libra placements are irrestistible to others. they are charming, beautiful and mysterious.

-virgos have a way with words, they are very gifted and super smart. writing down their thoughts and feelings (bonus points if they use other creative outlets to do so) is so helpful for their mental health

-gemini placements can notice someone fake really quickly. i've noticed the same for pisces. geminis tend to really analyze these people, while pisces listen to their gut that is rarely wrong. i know it may sound ironic since many people state geminis are fake, but i disagree with them

-as they get older, sagittarius moons become more interested in spirituality and learning about other cultures; even when these themes are irrelevant to them when they're very young

-virgo stelliums love the color green, a lot!

-i have noticed that some people tend to hate a zodiac sign that is their own moon sign (they're often not aware of this, and not familiar with astrology)for example, i know a scorpio sun with leo moon that dislikes leos, and a virgo sun with taurus moon that dislikes taurus people. this might be a stretch tho

-as a gemini rising, i do sometimes feel like there's so many different sides of me i present to the public, but that's mostly because i can only be my true self around the people i like, and i also absorb some behavior from the people i adore (even speech, unintentionally)

-taurus/2nd house mercuries have strong opinions on things, especially those that are very important to them. they also dislike people who are not trustworthy and direct

-taurus and cancer placements love food and cooking. when they cook, they put love into it and they like to prepare meals for people they love. they want to give others the comfort they seek themselves. they dislike cooking for people who don't appreciate their effort

-mars in leo can be really good with kids. especially if they also have earth placements, they are nurturing, creative and responsible which is the best combo

-venus in virgo/6th house won't enter a relationship with just anyone, they have their standards

-venus in the 11th really do dream about falling in love with their best friend, they wouldn't have it any other way

-a lot of sister signs can get along, but there is something about pisces and virgo that cannot be described (yet i will proceed to try) they have so much understanding for each other and it feels like they complete each other. pisces help them to dream big and accept their emotions (and to be less harsh on themselves), and virgos help pisces to stay firmly on the ground and achieve their goals

-saturn in the 4th house can have very dramatic and difficult experiences with their family. their parents weren't easy to get along with, and they never taught them how to be emotionally vulnerable and mature. they have the pressure to build a family of their own as well, but they struggle with this. however, this doesn't mean that they are doomed, many people can work on themselves and not make their parents' mistakes.

-saturn in the 6th need to be careful not to work too much. especially if they love what they do, they shouldn't spend 24/7 thinking about work, and should start taking care of themselves and nourish their interests/hobbies

-leo moons are said to be creative for a reason. they want to explore so many things and master all of them, or at least reach a level they can be proud of. art can be in their little finger, but they shouldn't be too hard on themselves when they don't reach their own expectations

-capricorn risings have conventionally beautiful characteristics. some also seem authoritative, so people don't want to mess with them and assume they're very serious. also, people often mistake them for scorpios

-uranus in the 1st in one's chart may indicate that this person needs a lot of freedom and they want to have control over everything in their life. they want to be in the spotlight, but they are sometimes scared that people would judge them. they feel different than others and they want to fit in, so that they can achieve their goals. they need to accept their eccentric side and surround themselves with people who appreciate them.

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

#astrology #astro observations #rosesnbooks #astrology observations

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serial-serializednovelreader · 11 days

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Nova’s Notes - DD - May 15 + 16

That’s right! Another combo post again, definitely because I planned it that way and not because I got busy hehe.

“Once more have I seen the Count go out in his lizard fashion.”

An iconic line, perhaps the best way to start a journal entry ever. The reason we have a Lizard Fashion Day in the first place. Thank you for that, Jonathan. I also appreciate how he tracks his movements down to the measurements. This man is on a mission to make sure he sees what the Count is doing when he can and I love it. It also tells me he’s probably been doing a stakeout to see when Dracula is leaving in order to do his next step…

More castle exploring! That’s right, locked doors will not stop our good friend from checking it out anyway. It’s interesting to note that the locks he finds are “comparatively new” to the hall he originally entered through. Which means that either a) Jonathan is not the first prisoner of this castle (likely) or b) Dracula was very prepared for his visit specifically. While we already kind of knew these scenarios were coming, it adds another layer of messed up to me.

Finally, Jonathan is able to find an unlocked door that seems locked at first because it’s resting on the door and the hinges are a bit broken. Why isn’t it locked? We don’t know, but I’d like to think it’s because Dracula is so self-assured Jonathan won’t try very hard to open this door by the time he gets to it. He wants to break Jonathan’s spirit and in his mind, it’s working splendidly, lizard fashion and all.

Here’s his logic:

Why would he need to lock this door when it feels as good as locked? Jonathan probably won’t have the strength to open it by the time he gets to it and he’ll give up if he tries.

This also plays into the fact that Dracula has been a vampire for a long time…he’s forgotten what it feels like to be human and have regular strength. Who knows if he even remembers how much strength it takes for a human to open a door, or how heavy a door has to be to determine whether it’s locked or not. We know he heavily underestimates Jonathan’s determination and strength, simply because he is a human and those are weak and powerless compared to him (in his mind). I also have another theory but I’ll wait until a bit further in to write it.

It does take Jonathan a good amount of effort to open that door but he does it!! Good for him (well…not really but…). He then takes the time to describe the landscape, so you know he’s in a good mood.

“This was evidently the portion of the castle occupied by the ladies in bygone days the for the furniture had more air of comfort than any I had seen.”

I’m not sure if he means comfort in the way of being used or in the feeling, but I’m going to go with the feelings route, so I can say JONATHAN MY BELOVED!!!! He finds comfort in being around women’s furniture? Why is that? Many reasons probably but my guess? MINA 👏 “THE QUEEN” 👏 MURRAY 👏

He may not say it this time…but I just know….this man is going to kill me with his adorable ways. He does go on to say the room still has lonely vibes and makes him nervous (it is nighttime, after all), but it’s better than a room with Dracula.

Then, Jonathan gets in his ✨imagination era✨ picturing a blushing lady writing while he also writes in his journal. True parallels, since we all know you’re writing to Mina, hehe.

“It is nineteenth century up-to-date with a vengeance. And yet, unless my senses deceive me, the old centuries had, and have, powers of their own which mere "modernity" cannot kill.”

Another hard line from Harker here. If I’m not mistaken (though I likely am), he’s talking about his diary being in shorthand, and how modern that is compared to the blushing beauty of old. If we go further, perhaps he’s also speaking to his meticulous notes of “all that has happened” on his business trip, vs. the lady that probably wrote very broadly in her letters of love. It speaks to a faster-paced environment Jonathan finds himself in as a solicitor. While shorthand has always been around in some form (yes, I researched this to make a point, hopefully it’s accurate), shorthand towards his time was rapidly becoming the norm in order to capture speeches and increase efficiency; it was a social movement in its own right. So being “nineteenth-century with a vengeance” may sound cool, but I think he’s criticizing how this has turned writing from an art form into something more commercial. While he and Mina have bonded extensively over shorthand and it may very well save his life if he can use it as code…perhaps he longs to be able to write poetry or just be able to slow down and enjoy writing again. This is further proven when he ends it with remarking that ancient practices cannot be killed by the modern. This might be him reassuring himself that there will always be long-form writing (like I’m doing right now :D). Or, if we take it darker, perhaps he’s worrying about his ability to survive with his modern practices against the Count’s ancient “hunter” instincts. Or, perhaps, I’m wrong about all of this and just yapping, it’s unclear!

Anyway, let’s move on to May 16th.

“God preserve my sanity, for to this I am reduced. Safety and the assurance of safety are things of the past. Whilst I live on here there is but one thing to hope for, that I may not go mad, if, indeed, I be not mad already. If I be sane, then surely it is maddening to think that of all the foul things that lurk in this hateful place the Count is the least dreadful to me; that to him alone I can look for safety, even though this be only whilst I can serve his purpose. Great God! merciful God! Let me be calm, for out of that way lies madness indeed.”

Sooooooo, our good friend Jonathan Harker is not doing too well. You know it’s bad when he cites Dracula as the “least dreadful person in the castle” when he was just describing the Count as a “creature” 4 days ago for his Lizard FashionTM. Plus, he’s referencing Hamlet again!!!

Jonathan decided to sleep in the Lady’s Room despite Dracula’s warning because he does not want to listen!!! Unfortunately I would do the exact same!!! Why are we like this, Jonathan???😭😭

“I determined not to return to-night to the gloom-haunted rooms, but to sleep here, where, of old, ladies had sat and sung and lived sweet lives whilst their gentle breasts were sad for their menfolk away in the midst of remorseless wars.”

More poetic writing!!! I love it and his critique of war. I why he touches on this here; perhaps he knew someone who went off to war and the repercussions for the family that he left behind? :(

So here’s where Dracula’s 3 Roommates show up (that’s how I’ll refer to them - not brides, BBC Dracula get out of here with that!!!!!). They’re the reason for my other door unlocked theory: perhaps Dracula keeps it that way to allow them some freedom (or, conversely, they figured out how to unlock it and he didn’t check closely enough).

What I noticed on this read was how neutral Jonathan is at first when describing them. It’s not until we get to their lips that we get a “voluptuous” mention (and not the last, either). Also, the lead one looks…familiar to him? I didn’t notice that before, but I saw a post about why (explained in the comments section - Stoker featured her in his prologue/first draft “Dracula’s Guest”. He may have been wanting to include her in this too and scrapped it.)

“There was something about them that made me uneasy, some longing and at the same time some deadly fear. I felt in my heart a wicked, burning desire that they would kiss me with those red lips. It is not good to note this down, lest some day it should meet Mina's eyes and cause her pain; but it is the truth. They whispered together, and then they all three laughed—such a silvery, musical laugh, but as hard as though the sound never could have come through the softness of human lips. It was like the intolerable, tingling sweetness of water-glasses when played on by a cunning hand.”

So, I think we all know this part isn’t really Jonathan. I mean it is but…spoiler alert: vampires have hypnosis in this canon and they definitely seem to use it here. It doesn’t quite work though because he still follows it up with describing their laugh as “intolerable” and obviously, he’s still scared of them. I do think it’s interesting he writes this confession down, because he doesn’t really have to. Perhaps he thinks it’s important to whatever is going on around here (because I’m sure he knows he would never be tempted to kiss/be kissed by someone other than Mina if it wasn’t by some kind of power). But it’s also interesting that he doesn’t put it that way, either: he doesn’t blame the women for putting thoughts in his head, he describes it as his own thoughts/feelings.

Personally, I think it could be one of those “I think this could be one of those things I think is true but don’t have evidence for and don’t want to write it down until I have the facts” so, until he has the facts, it’s going to be written down as his thoughts. And if he did write it down as them “tempting him with their powers” that just wouldn’t be Jonathan’s character to write something like that. Perhaps in another story from another protagonist, but not this guy. But hey, that’s just me. It could also just be they’re very pretty (which I’m sure they are and Jonathan feels some attraction 🤷‍♀️. The main reason I blame hypnosis is the push and pull Jonathan has with his description of them.

Right before the dreaded/anticipated kiss, here comes Dracula!!!!!! And he has some things to say:

“‘How dare you touch him, any of you? How dare you cast eyes on him when I had forbidden it? Back, I tell you all! This man belongs to me! Beware how you meddle with him, or you'll have to deal with me.’”

I am once again bringing this meme back because it gets me EVERY TIME. I know I should talk about the possessiveness of Dracula or how he must have already talked to them previously if he forbade them from even CASTING EYES ON HIM, but I’ll be real every time I see this monologue I just see this meme except it’s just “haha Jonathan you are — BELONGS TO ME.” If that doesn’t indicate broken humor, I’m not sure what does.

Let’s talk about the description of how Dracula looks in this moment though.

“…the blue eyes transformed with fury, the white teeth champing with rage, and the fair cheeks blazing red with passion. But the Count! Never did I imagine such wrath and fury, even to the demons of the pit. His eyes were positively blazing. The red light in them was lurid, as if the flames of hell-fire blazed behind them. His face was deathly pale, and the lines of it were hard like drawn wires; the thick eyebrows that met over the nose now seemed like a heaving bar of white-hot metal.”

Looks like those “hunter instincts” are kicking in nicely! I wonder why he’s so protective all of a sudden? Especially after telling Jonathan a few short days ago that he would basically be on his own if he disobeyed him. I saw a post the other day talking about how when Mina was compiling everything together, there are entries she could have chosen to exclude from Jonathan’s account due to either repetition or something too traumatic to include.

What could’ve happened in those three days to make Dracula do a 180? Well, we do know they talk every single night, so what could’ve said in that gap between May 12th and May 15th?

My theories are: a) Jonathan didn’t write it down, b) Mina excluded it for a reason, c) it wasn’t one thing, it was a buildup of many interactions over the course of their time together, which lends itself to d) Dracula was straight up lying when he said he’d leave Jonathan to die if he disobeyed him.

I personally think it was c/d because it makes the most sense, but if it was a or b, it’s just interesting to wonder what was said in that time span. Did he make Dracula laugh with a witty comment? Or say something that reminded him of someone else before the Count turned into a vampire? We do know that Jonathan genuinely enjoys spending time with Dracula, so the rapport must be there. And yes, I am probably am reading waaaaaay too much into it, but it is food for thought.

“‘You yourself never loved; you never love!’ On this the other women joined, and such a mirthless, hard, soulless laughter rang through the room that it almost made me faint to hear; it seemed like the pleasure of fiends. Then the Count turned, after looking at my face attentively, and said in a soft whisper:—

‘Yes, I too can love; you yourselves can tell it from the past. Is it not so?’”

Love, you say? From this vampire? Well, that’s interesting! I do believe Dracula is being sincere when he says this, but the issue is that you don’t want to be the object of Dracula’s love. It’s not like Jon or Mina’s love; it’s possessive, cruel, and demanding. You don’t keep the ones you love a prisoner, and the Count has obviously done that on multiple occasions since he told the women to “tell it from the past”. I feel sad for Dracula because it seems to me like he genuinely finds Jon interesting and wants to keep him around; unfortunately, he expresses this love by trapping him and his other love interests like Pokémon. Perhaps I would feel more sympathetic if he didn’t promise to feed Jon to the girls once he’s done with him!!!!

That’s when Jon realizes there’s a sack with something inside of it that sounds like a child…that Dracula gives to the women…ugh. This is enough to put Jon to fainting.

When he wakes up, Jon is without his clothing, but his diary is still intact.

That is horrifying to me. Why did Dracula need to undress him? I understand it’s to give the illusion that he went to bed, but still. It’s no wonder that Jonathan starts the first paragraph in a wave of panic, even though it’s to display more fear of the women wanting to suck his blood than the Count. I also find it fascinating again how he guesses that the women want to suck his blood when they never made mention of it, perhaps because the lead woman’s breath smelled like blood or because she kept her teeth on his neck? Either way, even in a “dream state” his observation skills are top tier.

I do also wonder why Dracula was originally going to “awaken him to get some work done” and then just…didn’t? Maybe he thought it would be better to just pretend the whole thing was a nightmare for Jonathan. If I was him, I probably would’ve woken him from the couch after he fainted and pretended it was a dream, but hey, that’s my gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss idea of the day and Dracula can’t have it!!!

Overall, this is probably the most telling entry we’ve gotten about Dracula so far. We know that he does indeed “love” (though it’s not a kind or gentle love), those he loves are kept prisoner even once he’s “done” with them (since he says tell it from the past — not the present and the women obviously seemed bitter about his fixation on Jonathan), and while he said he wouldn’t save Jon in a pinch, he did. We’ve seen his first display of fury and how dangerous he can actually be with his supernatural powers and what that can do to the people around him. While no one was injured — yet — it could’ve gone south had the lead woman been human. Even though he probably knew Jonathan was awake for some of this, he still chose to take him back to bed and keep him under the illusion of having slept there peacefully — though some of that was likely for safety reasons. For Jonathan, this was a horribly (and hypnotically horny) traumatic experience for him that makes him realize Dracula is not the only scary thing in this castle.

I also do wish we had gotten more with Dracula’s three roommates because they deserve it!!! They actually seem chill when they’re not trying to — ya know, suck Jon’s blood and all. I also wish we had gotten names!!!! Names would be nice, Stoker.

#i spent way too long on this #i don’t even know if this makes sense #but i did it #:D #dracula daily #dracula #jonathan harker #count dracula #novas notes #may 15th #may 16th #re: dracula #dracula spoilers #dracula daily spoilers #re: dracula spoilers #(implied anyway)

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physalian · 5 months

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Character Descriptions 101 (Or, the ugly truth about what really matters)

A lot of the appeal of being able to write your own book is being able to take all the characters you dream about and put them onto paper for everyone else to drool over as much as you do. You might create a character so iconic, they can be recognized by their hazy silhouette alone.

Not everyone designs Sherlock Holmes, though.

Not everyone needs to be Sherlock Holmes.

How well you describe your characters, especially your protagonist/opening narrator, says a lot more than you’d probably like about your experience as an author. I’ve got eight years of practice with my own works, twelve if you include my early days of fanfic – and resisting the urge to describe characters in the tried and true clichés is still hard.

So here’s the ugly truth about describing your characters, and some other pointers curated from the Internet you may have seen before.

At the end of the day, what is really important?

Unless you are writing in the genres of fantasy or sci-fi, or you aren’t writing humans, your character will likely be a very average looking human. Doesn’t matter if you think your special bean’s black hair/blue eye/snow white skin combo is unique – is the shape of his face, curve of his lips, how wide his shoulders are really that important outside of, I don’t know, a steamy romance novel?

I ask this because character descriptions fall into three camps: Thematically important beats, thematically unimportant beats, and “oh damn I have too many blondes, uh, here’s a redhead” beats.

I ask this, because “this character doesn’t look like they did in the book” arguments will never stop happening and we all have our sides on what matters and what doesn’t.

These details can be height, hair color, eye color, skin color, hair style, clothing, tone of voice, accent, birthmarks, scars, and tattoos, and anything in between. Sometimes, this trait is this person’s defining trait. Sometimes, the author just felt like it – sometimes the curtains are just blue.

But sometimes, a lot of times, they’re not.

My two cents: If that piece of their design is thematically important, the adaptation should respect it and include it. If it’s not, who cares?

Thematic Character Design

Thematic character design is the intent behind the choices the author makes when deciding how they will present their character to the world. This is *why* the character looks the way they do.

Visually, you see this in anime all the time. Crazy hair colors and styles help distinguish the cast when their faces might otherwise be too similar, or when drawing them from a distance. Sometimes the protagonist will have the most unique, or the loudest hair style (think Yu-gi-oh). Or the Important Lady Character will have pink hair. Or the sad angsty anime boy will have white hair (see my post about color in fiction).

In the written medium, you can “show don’t tell” a few different ways cliché ways:

Give the villain a facial scar

Make your femme fatale a redhead

Make your hero blonde/blue-eyed

But hey, they’re tropes for a reason, everyone knows what you mean when you write them. You might give your character green eyes like their mother, a trait Very Important when a redeemed-ish villain dies. You might give your character a brunette French braid that goes on to become the style of the rebellion. You might make your Illegal Divine Children the only three black-haired major characters in a sea of brown and blonde because they are the Three Illegal Divine Children. You make all your grisled fantasy men have beards and your elves clean shaven.

The existence of these traits serve the plot and the themes of the story. It matters because these traits make them look like the villain, or the dead legacy they must live up to. These traits ostracize them from their community, or help define their culture. These traits are the hallmark of a chosen one, or a pariah. These traits are emblematic of a special power or handicap, religion, faction, rebel cause.

These are the details fans complain about when adaptations get it wrong, and it’s not without merit. But what happens when those details aren’t all that important, no matter how much you think otherwise?

Unthematic character design

Everyone lost their minds when Hunger Games was being adapted and to everyone’s unnecessary horror, Jennifer Lawrence is blonde. Everyone got mad because it’s the little details you have to get right, otherwise you’re disrespecting the source material, yada yada. Is it really so hard to wear a wig, if you can’t get this tiny thing right, what else will you mess up, etc.

Question: Was the color of her hair more important, or the style that it was in?

She dyed it anyway to stay faithful, but which detail mattered to the plot, versus just being what the author picked for her?

Dare I wade into the “this character was white in the book” cesspool? Reluctantly, yes. And all I will say is this: Does their skin color serve any legitimate purpose to the plot or how they define themselves? No? Then shush and let the actors do their thing.

… But what if race *does* matter?

Is this a slice of life novel about some plucky high schoolers in your average American town? If the story isn’t any deeper than prom dates and football games, the skin color of your character is not important. Is this a treatise on segregation and the struggles of womanhood in repressed societies? Then yeah, the skin color of your character might affect their outlook on life a little bit.

In other words: Does your character care what they look like, and does their appearance affect the trajectory of the story?

Yes, it’s disappointing when you see your favorite character on screen and have to be told that’s them because it just doesn’t look like them. But what’s important is if they fit the spirit of the character, even if they don’t quite match their looks (a lesson I, too, need constant reminding of).

Character Descriptions in Fantasy and Sci-Fi

If making sure the adaptation stays faithful to the character design matters anywhere, it’s in these two genres. Why? Because you have free reign as an author to describe your mythic creatures, your aliens, your supernatural entities however you choose, and you worked hard trying to make them distinct from every other fantasy series out there.

But hold your horses on how specific you get.

Generally speaking, the traits that most authors describe first are hair, eye, and skin color, because it’s the easiest to get out of the way and everyone knows what humans look like to fill in the blanks. When you enter the realm of non-human characters, you have a lot more legwork to do to make sure your audience imagines what you want them to.

Maybe they have slit pupils like a housecat or a snake, or they have really floppy elephant ears, or they have antennae that twitch when they’re angry, or they have wings like a bat, a bird, a dragonfly. Or they have distinctive tattoos from their tribe. They have scales or feathers or fur and you want everyone to know how fluffy it is. You want your audience to know how tall they are, how heavy, how lanky, how robust. The shape of their face, their hands, if they have fingers like a pianist or a catcher’s glove.

Or, it matters because you’ve written an allegory on race, class, colonialism/imperialism, a World War, Apartheid, what have you, and your made-up nationalities need their own traits to be bigots about.

Answer: Hire a sensitivity reader before you design an insulting stereotype.

Otherwise, feel free to add as much fluff as you’d like. You go out there and you give exact measurements, constant similes about the textures of their skin, write an essay on cultural wardrobe, take two paragraphs to describe that ballgown and masquerade mask… and accept the fact that your readers will happily go SKIP!

Because description and exposition are also entwined with tone and the purpose of the story. I am writing an 18th century royal ball scene in a steamy romance novel and my hero is about to get her man – my audience might care about things like a sweetheart neckline, perfume, what kind of flowers are in the lacework, how it hugs her body, how the pink looks so damn sexy in the candlelight, how the skirts sweep so elegantly, every piece of jewelry she's wearing and how expensive it is and exactly how she did her hair.

Or, I am writing a fantasy adventure that happens to feature a pitstop at a royal ball – Your audience does not give one flying f*ck about what flowers are on that dress. Describe the color and something cool and eye-catching and move on.

The Ugly Truth: Does. It. Matter?

You can wax poetic about the minutiae of your absolutely unique and like no other fairies no one else has ever written before. Maybe you designed them less like Tinker Bell and more like anthropomorphised flowers – that matters!

You want your hot love interest to have a cupid’s bow and to remind the audience of that detail at least four times throughout the narrative? Not important unless the narrator is weirdly obsessive over it (or, again, romance/erotica).

The same thing goes for fantastical settings.

At what point are you describing the color of the grass, the kind of marble in the walls and floors, the exact shade of blue paint they used, the gables and the roofing tiles and the scalloping on the columns to unnecessary ends?

This also affects pacing.

If your entire story is set in a beautiful castle and the heroes never leave? Describe as much as your little heart desires. Is it just a pit stop on the way? Call it a castle, maybe it’s in ruins, give one uniquely defining trait that’s thematically relevant, and move on.

Side characters too: If you don’t even bother naming the poor schmuck, give their gender and maybe one fun fact and move on.

You’d be surprised how little character descriptions, or lack thereof, are even noticed. The amount of fanart head-cannoning a character being Not-White because the author technically never clarified is everywhere. I just reread the first two PJO books and Chiron’s human half is never described beyond his age and his beard. Everyone who read it filled in the missing details with what they wanted or expected to see and that doesn’t impact his character one bit.

Pacing your descriptions

See this post about how to pace your narrative.

Everyone knows the trope of the narrator waking up, gazing into a mirror and describing themselves to the audience. It’s cheap, it’s fast, it’s dirty, it’s effective.

So why do people hate it?

I think it’s less because it’s overdone, and more because it’s robbed of potential. When I wrote about pacing, I said every scene should be pulling double duty – character descriptions fall under exposition, and should do the same.

If you really want to have your hero describe herself to you via mirror, don’t just write a textbook, give it flavor. Is she self-conscious about her looks, saying she has choppy blonde hair but wishes it was some long, luxurious brown like some girl she’s jealous of? Does she have a big nose and wish it was smaller because she’s bullied? Or, does she love her green eyes, because her late father had them and she loves the connection they share?

Good pacing isn’t about how many or how few words you take to describe something, it’s how efficiently you use those words. Short doesn’t always mean it’s bland, long doesn’t always mean it’s profound. Don’t take 300 words to say something that could be said in 30 – but some things do deserve 300 words.

Examples:

A: She woke and rolled out of bed and stared at herself in the mirror. She had hazel eyes and blonde, curly hair that she pulled up into a ponytail.

B: She woke on the third alarm and rolled out of bed. Staring back at her in her vanity were tired hazel eyes beneath a mop of dishwater blonde curls and crease marks from her pillow.

C: She woke on the third alarm and dragged herself out of bed. Her vanity mirror glared back at her – a rats nest of dishwater blonde and crease marks from her pillow. She scowled and rubbed the sleep from her hazel eyes and raked her curls up into a messy ponytail to be dealt with after coffee.

Or, go even longer, really weave those details into the action of the scene, I didn’t here because this is a blog, not a book.

No matter what, best practice is to not infodump the description, spread it out – another criticism of the mirror trope. There is no one size fits all for any writing advice but if you’re spending more than four consecutive sentences describing a single character, object, or building, break that hot pile of exposition up and look how much better it reads.

Similes for describing your character, like any comparison, should serve a purpose. Think about describing an intimidating queen with snow white skin versus bone white skin – what vibes do you get from one simple word change?

You have a long time to describe your narrator, it’s okay if we don’t know what they look like on the first page. Give the details as they become relevant. If you open en media res and the hero is in a nasty fight scene – describe their hair as it flops in their eyes, describe their skin as it’s covered in sweat or scratches or bullet holes, describe their eyes as they patch themselves up and one is now black and blue – or describe their color full of fear, hate, malice, grief.

Describe them against another character so you get two birds with one stone. Whether the narrator is jealous of, attracted to, or appreciative of their fellow character’s appearance. Describe them self-conscious about trying to impress a crush, their spouse, a superior, interviewer, parent, the public, the press. Or describe them unhappy about how they’re being forced to look compared to how they usually are, e.g. a school uniform, prisoner’s uniform, fancy dress/suit, skimpy undercover costume, bargain bin, ugly hand-me-downs, holiday costume, sleepwear, full face of makeup, or no makeup.

All of these are motivated details that will read better than halting the narration to drop textbook lines of exposition.

Lastly, do not let your characters get side-tracked describing themselves when they have more important and prescient concerns. In the above hypothetical fight scene, a “she swept her blonde hair from her eyes and got back to her feet,” is going to read smoother than “she swept her blonde hair aside. It was short and choppy, cheap highlights fading and flyaways tickling her face. She got back to her feet.”

And even then, personally, I think this reads better still: “She swept her hair from her face and got back to her feet, sweaty blonde tangles stuck to her skin.”

Have intent, make it motivated, and the less it feels like awkward exposition.

Pitfalls to avoid

Full disclosure, I am white, from a long line of the whitest white Europeans. I do not write a pasty white cast of characters. Boy, was it an eye-opening experience realizing how harmful my earlier descriptions used to be, just from the books I grew up reading and through no ill-intent of my own.

So another detail in the realm of “does it really matter”: Not all brown skin is the same shade of brown, but resist the urge to compare it to any flavor of food or chocolate. I just reread a favorite kids’ book of mine and saw “chocolate milk” and as a kid, I never noticed or cared, but you bet I zeroed in on that little beat as an adult.

Is this hard? Kind of, yeah. I suppose you could go scorched earth with the food comparisons and describe all your characters in their flavor of milk. Pale skin has a lot of options: Snow, frost, paper, bone, fair, pale, lily, sandy, fawn, etc. and of course, milk, cream and sugar to boot.

The “brown skin like milk chocolate” is tempting, but dehumanizing particularly when only brown characters are described with food. Decide if the exact shade of brown is important, then get respectfully creative with the comparisons. The same goes with hair styles and textures.

Related to skin color: Be careful with what idioms and metaphors you use when describing characters who aren’t supposed to be white, doing things only possible or noticeable with light skin.

A certain famous author really tried to tell the world Hermione wasn’t *technically* white and the HP fans went and pulled page numbers proving that she has to be based on the behavior of her skin.

I’ve caught myself (and had to be told) a few times describing a not-white character “white-knuckling” something as shorthand for being stressed and tense. Faces blanching, paling, reddening, blushing, turning green, looking sun-burnt and bruised and scarred all look different depending on how dark their pigment is.

I am not at all an expert on what you *should* do for non-white characters so I will say this once again: Do your research and get a small army of sensitivity readers. Even if you don’t think you’re being racist, you might be. Accept the constructive criticism, and change it without complaint. Do not lie down and die on a milk-chocolate hill.

The Beautiful Truth

In the written medium, unless you canonize character art and take no constructive criticism, all your audience has to go on is suggestion. That means that your audience has the freedom to imagine their favorite characters however they want.

That means you get a million variations of the hero in their fan art – that’s amazing! If you never described the protagonist’s skin color? You get an audience that makes him or her or them the hero that they want to see and how you’ve inspired them – that’s amazing!

That’s what I mean when I ask if it really matters. You will always know how your literary darlings look. Is it more important that everyone else draws a million different paintings in their mind of the exact same face like a photocopier, or that you now have an audience giving you a million unique paintings of your life’s work immortalized in the grand literary canon?

#writing advice #character design #character development #exposition #writing resources #writing tools #writing

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accidentalshifter · 13 days

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[May 11-13, 2024: Card-carrying members of the Shitty Dads Club.]

⚜️ TW: My Mikaelsons are a ✨️ problem ✨️ and don't play nice at all. Death, sex, blood, violence, manipulation, and dark themes will probably be present. I don't condone any of the actions taken by these vampires, I'm just recording them. For science.

Shifting Notes:

This one is super long-winded & describes in painful detail the first course of a dinner with the Original, Elijah Mikaelson. Italian restaurant is the scenario setting. Please, let me know what you think if you manage to get through this mega-post 🙏

Astrological Timing: Sun in Taurus, Moon in Cancer. The Taurus & Cancer combo is the best of both emotional and material comforts like food, sensuality, & the home environment. Cancer more than Taurus is concerned with heritage. An ideal lunation to continue having dinner with Elijah and talk about our family's histories. 💧 Water sign moons 💧 like Cancer are ideal times to shift as well since the energies are more malleable.

⚜️ To fully tap into & immerse myself in the scenario unfolding in my DR, I start this shift by listening to "Dinner and Diatribes" by (my Lord and Savior) Hozier. Watching the music video alone helps me visualize, sense, and be at La Avena in Mystic Falls.

⚜️ So, I just wanna take a small moment of time to remind everyone that I am dressed in ratty-ass clothes, battered boots, and an old T-shirt that's stained with beer inside my DR right now. And I have just walked into a fine, fancy Italian restaurant off the street with a man who (evidentally) oozes enough 🥵 sex appeal 🥵 to make the waitress (who I swear is Liv) ignore this indiscretion entirely. I feel so uncomfortable & out of place. It's got me fidgeting with Elijah's handkerchief. Nobody sees me doing this, however. (Maybe) Liv is currently monopolizing Elijah's attention by making pleasantries with him as we walk to the reserved table with the red rose placed on it.

⚜️ This brief window of time where Elijah's eyes aren't glued on me, I use to look for any emergency exits in La Avena because this is my TVD DR & you can never be too prepared for shit to go down! I don't spot any obvious exits. But that could just mean that the exits might be near the restrooms (which is past my line of sight, obscured by a trellis that's covered in climbing jasmine). Also, I notice a fully-stocked wet bar in the back and double doors to the kitchens. There might be an exit in the kitchens, too. But I don't think I could realistically get back there on the sly without causing a weird scene. Maybe I could say: 'I was looking for the bathrooms, sorry??' and act clueless? There's no use worrying about it now, I guess. Elijah is still being a perfect, oddly accommodating stranger. So far...

⚜️ Getting back to the scenario, Maybe?Liv has brought Elijah and I to the table with the single red rose decorating it. It's sequestered within a cubby formed by trellises. Providing the aforementioned "privacy" that Elijah was guaranteeing me earlier. Piano music begins to play softly over the speaker system. (Isn't that Chopin I'm hearing???) Maybe?Liv says: "I hope you find everything to your liking, Mr. Mikaelson!" Elijah replies with a casual, "Yes, this is quite sufficient, thank you." I'll be true here, guys. I was a bit overwhelmed by all of this and it was really hard to stay synched in my DR-self. I had to focus on just breathing, focus on the moment I was in. Tune out the chatter of my anxiety. Elijah yanks me back to the present when he pulls out my chair for me to sit in.

⚜️ I shake my head & tell Elijah that he really doesn't have to do that. But he just says his classic line: "Oh, I insist." Then, he reassures me that there'll be plenty of time to dispense of formalities but that for now, chivalry isn't dead. As soon as I'm seated, Elijah sits in his own seat, & the waitress hands us both our menus. I remember wondering what I should do with the handkerchief at that time & tried giving it back to Elijah. Instead, he pointedly ignored my attempt and immediately began ordering stuff. I don't think he even looked at the menu. "Sparkling mint water for both of us, olive focaccia, stuffed artichoke hearts, and...a seasonal platter with your marinated mozzarella to start. Please and thank you." Elijah says. I blink, confused. Did he think his order out beforehand? And what makes him think I'd like any of that?? Maybe?Liv leaves before I can re-ammend Elijah's order. I end up shoving the handkerchief in my bag that I've left underneath the table, tucked out of the way.

⚜️ Elijah seems to pick up on my thoughts because he tells me candidly that sparkling waters have always been his favorite at the Italian restaurants he goes to. And mint was one of his go-to's because in his words: "It provides a refreshing breath to an otherwise heavy meal." Elijah also mentions that it's a good way to stimulate the appetite. He says this while taking the folded, clean napkin by his side, flapping it out & tucking it into his shirt.

Observation: This is yet another innocuous comment that seems normal on the outside until you really think about what he's saying. Especially the "stimulating appetite" part. He probably distastes human food (since he's a vampire) and uses the mint to stimulate an appetite that would otherwise find repulsive anything that wasn't mortal blood.

⚜️ I try to follow suit. But I wasn't born with fancy pants on, so I end up just placing the napkin in my lap instead. It's a tad bit (a lot) embarrassing.

⚜️ "Now, then. I've asked you a lot of queries about your family, Ms. Webb. So, I believe it is only fair to tell you about mine." Elijah tells me about how, far back ago in the Mikaelson family, his ancestors began to migrate south with other, Northern clans at the time due to plague and famine. And that they eventually became integrated with English Europeans. I remember he noted the 1100's as a key time period. He also mentioned that "Mikaelson" was just a bastardization of the original one, changed when his family integrated with the Europeans.

Observation: I don't know if any of this info that Elijah is giving me right now is true. Or if it even fits into TVD canon without some severe liberties being taken. This might just be exclusive to the Originals inside my DR...

⚜️ Before I can stop (Z) from saying the first thing that flies out of her mouth, Z says the first thing that flies out of her mouth, and it causes me to glare at her in "ghost mode" as Elijah entertains her with a chuckle that I'm pretty sure was forced. 'So, you're like from Vikings, then?' is what she asked.

⚜️ Elijah Mikaelson explains that there was no such term as "vikings" for the Northmen back in the time. "But, yes. We were vikings according to modern standards." He goes on to say that the Mikaelsons were most likely trying to escape clan feuds for a better life in the new world. And that by the 1700's they'd landed in America, crossing the cold Pacific to find a better home.

Observation: I notice he's telling me this in a way that kinda feels more like a first person account of an event rather than cool family history that he's researched on a genealogy website. Is he yanking me around with this? Am I overthinking???

⚜️ Maybe?Liv shows up with bottles of the mint sparkling water just as Elijah mentions the cold Pacific ocean. The bottles are curvy blue glass that's corked. She makes a show of uncorking each bottle and pouring out the water into glasses that she provides us with. I notice she pours for Elijah first, sneaking in a shy smile in his direction while she does. I am an afterthought, attended to afterwards with none of the warmth she had a second ago. Maybe?Liv hurries off without a word, then. Probably to go check on orders in the back of the house, idk.

Observation: She *looks* like Liv but she's not acting like canon TVD Liv. I don't think Canon!Liv from the Gemini Coven would be fawning over a bloody vampire. Much less an Original. Maybe it's not Liv. Just...some kind of exact, alternate, pod person Liv that never experienced the horrors of Kai and is thus just an ordinary girl with no significant trauma?

⚜️ Elijah raises up his glass to toast in salute to "new, enriching conversations." I follow it up with my own toast to old, dusty history & laugh. Both of us take a sip of our glasses at the same time. However, I notice him staring a hole into my head the entire time. Is this a vampire thing or just a Mikaelson thing? It's starting to grind on my nerves.

⚜️ "Returning to what I was elaborating on about surnames," Elijah says after properly toasted, "where exactly...do the Webbs hail from? Do you happen to know?" Ah, here we go. He's trying to pry out more information from me just like Mrs. Anne at Mathewson. What the fuck kind of family mess has Will left me to clean up? Everyone's so curious. It is getting to be a little much. You'd think I'd have scripted this in my DR but I didn't. My original ideas actually painted the Webbs to be social pariahs like Vickie Donovon or the Travelers were.

⚜️ Before I can stop Z, words are flying out of her mouth, unedited by me. My DR-self tells Elijah that all she actually was told was that the Webbs were clothing merchants & textile salesmen that settled in Mystic Falls with the rest of the Founding families. And that the Webbs were English. But beyond all that, she's totally stuck in the dark about any family history. Elijah mentions that he finds it curious and odd that William neglected to educate me on my family history since its a part of the social environment here amongst the "Founding" families. I can note the slight residue of disdain on the word "Founding" as he said it. (Z) doesn't seem to notice as she's too distracted being bitter to care.

⚜️ "Well, I don't know if I've mentioned this before," Z says, despite me trying to project that exposing vulnerable emotions like this on the first meeting with anyone is a cry for help, "but I was adopted. There's a lot of shit my Dad didn't think was important for me to know." My DR-self takes a visibly-upset swig of the sparkling water. Elijah seems to grow sad hearing this and says, "I apologize if my comment came out insensitive..."

⚜️ Z shrugs, taking a sip of mint water as if to clean out the residual of a bad taste from her mouth. "It is what it is, you know? There isn't much to be done about it now..." Z can't bring herself to look at Elijah. Her eyes trail away from him and the table they're seated at to gaze at the interior of La Avena. For a moment, she seems to be more interested in the grand piano positioned near the bar than in Elijah Mikaelson. Meanwhile, I notice that Elijah is again carefully considering his next choice of words...

⚜️ "If it's any consolation," Elijah finally says, "I know what it's like to have a difficult father who was very...hmm. He was..." For once in this whole damn scenario, Elijah Mikaelson isn't eloquent. He's searching for the right words and coming up short. His jaw is tight, brow furrowed in purest concentration. He's probably stuck replaying his shit childhood memories inside his head in this moment. It shows on his darkened face. Z blurts words out from her mouth again. This time, (Z) has managed to sum up the truth in one simple word for Elijah:

"Asshole?" My DR-self offers with a grin, "He was an asshole?"

⚜️ "In a manner of speaking? Yes." Elijah nods in agreement with Z, then continues, "And cruel. And inflexible. Mostly to my little brother..."

⚜️ A moment of silence falls over Z, Elijah, and I. The only thing that can be heard is the piano music over the speakers and the noise from the cooks in the back. "Yeah..." Z and I say in unison. Then, to break the tension, Z decides to make a joke:

"Sounds like both our dads were in the same club!"

Elijah's dark expression suddenly breaks into one of amusement. He chuckles. However, it sounds kind of hollow...

⚜️ My DR-self stands up & enthusiastically raises up her glass in a second toast. "Here's to surviving shitty dads!" Z exclaims with a surprising amount of gusto this time, "It isn't like you can pick your family, after all..."

⚜️ I've been so immersed in DR that I didn't realize that my "check engine light" that I've referred (many times before) in this shifting journal hasn't "come on" yet. I think this time might be the LONGEST I've sustained shift before having to come back to a mostly very winded, exhausted CR body. Unfortunately, life has a way of fixing things. The cat in my CR started yowling for attention and I snap back into my body. Elijah, La Avena, and my DR-self melting away from my senses like a mirage in the desert.

⚜️ Since scheduling shifting adventures via astrology seems to be working well for me, I decided to go back in the next night & pick things up where I left them with Elijah. The Moon is still in Cancer (in the later degrees) and the Sun is solidly in Taurus still. There is an interesting T-Square between the Moon, Chiron in Aries (wounded childhood identity and healing it) and Pluto in Aquarius (social change and transformation). This seems to be a great time to continue that talk about family, childhood, and ancestors with Elijah.

⚜️ Still listening to "Dinner and Diatribes" by Hozier to tap into the vibes of this scenario. In my earlier shifts, I used a combination of star fish position/sitting down on the floor, deep breathing, robotic affirmations, and tea to shift. But during this Elijah bit, I've been experimenting with moving around or sitting down on a chair while shifting. I've been in motion, though. I'm still not sure if this way is my favorite. There's some things lacking in it that laying down & mantras has flawlessly.

⚜️ This time, the shift comes seamlessly & without effort. I feel the cold glass of water in my hands, see a flash of cobalt as Elijah raises his glass up, returning my toast. My eyes stray on his signet ring: lapis lazuli and gold forged into a magical talisman to keep him from frying in the sun. Elijah takes a sip and then pauses to catch my lingering gaze. "Although, I do believe that family exists as the people you keep picking. Even if they've given you no reason do to so."

⚜️ Maybe?Liv has shit timing. She returns at this very minute in the conversation with the platters of appetizers Elijah ordered. I guess she's just doing her job, though? Liv places the platters down and introduces each one out loud as if we couldn't take a wild leap at what they were by looking ourselves. I notice she's speaking (pointedly) to Elijah again. I'm curious just how down bad she is for Daddy E because this is some...behavior. And something I wouldn't expect from Canon!Liv. If she is Canon!Liv.

⚜️ "Is there anything more I can get for you, Mr. Mikaelson? Refills?" She asks hopefully. Elijah gives her a winning smile that doesn't reach his brown eyes. "Nothing for now. But, I'll be sure to let you know the instant I do." Z and I do catch sight of something else reach Elijah's eyes; a sort of flicker. A darkening of them. Like the brown of his irises somehow got deeper & more interesting than before. Maybe?Liv is silent for a second. She nods and then just walks away without a word.

Observation: That was totally compulsion.

⚜️ As soon as I realized what just happened, I decide to pretend I never saw it. Z decides that's an excellent idea. The both of us swipe up an artichoke heart and give it a taste. It's not too bad. Not something I'd personally go order myself, but not bad. Elijah interrupts me. He says that: "It's better tried with the Aoli sauce." Then, watches me with a sort of anticipation I wasn't expecting. I dip another artichoke bite into the sauce and taste it. He was right. The Aoli sauce does makes all the difference. It was salty, creamy, and savory with a hint of grassiness to it that was still not entirely unpleasant. Z perks up like a kid, beaming as she chews her food. She seems to really like it. Elijah smiles, "I thought you'd enjoy that addition."

Observation: It slipped past me for days that Elijah ordered artichoke HEARTS for a snack and he's making me eat them. Kind of paints his enjoyment of this moment in new light... The Mikaelsons really DO like their hearts. I hope this isn't foreshadowing.

⚜️ "You know," I say, trying to refocus this dinner before it strayed further off course, "Getting back to our dinner topic; William owned an orphanage called Miracle House. It's the huge brick building, the one up past Old Wickery Bridge. It used to be the original Webb estate before Will remodeled it." I can hear Elijah say, "Fascinating", but I'm unsure of the tone. I can't tell if that was sarcasm or genuine here.

Side Note: This seems to be another case of my TVD DR has a mind of its own. I let Zoey explain the orphanage here and the info just kinda flew out of my mouth that it was past Wickery Bridge. I never scripted that but oh well. Learning lore about your DR you never knew is fun!

⚜️ Z continues to spill our tragic backstory to Elijah while I plead for her to reel it back in with absolutely no luck. "It was...where I was adopted. Along with my brothers & sisters. I guess I got blessed in some ways; most kids didn't make it past the paperwork, got sent to group homes, or just aged out...but me? I got picked by a Founding family. What an honor, right?" I yank back control for a small moment and cut in, saying "Anyways! If you want to explore a place with tons of history, that'd be the place. You could say each brick in its walls has a story to tell." Then, I lean in conspiratorially towards Elijah and whisper softly, "Plus, the town says it's haunted. So, there's that." Elijah seems intrigued by this information.

Side Note: The strategy I have for telling him this is sort of mean. I know that currently, the orphanage has either been burnt down (or destroyed in some way) or is still in the hands of the Augustine Society. If it's the 1st option, there's not going to be much for him to find there. If it's the 2nd option, Elijah will have to figure out how to, uh...navigate that. Since I'm pretty sure Mystic Falls knows that vampires are back by now. I'm certain this is (at least) Season 2 TVD given the presence of Elijah himself. If he gives me any shit on it later, I can just feign innocence. "You had an issue with the Augustine Society? What do you mean? Isn't that just the book nerd club at Whitmore? It isnt? Gasp."

⚜️ This is when the ✔️ check engine light 💡comes on and I get yanked back into my CR again. It's taking me much less time for my body to recover but I was still wiped out the next day...

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willowbird · 1 year

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I've always kinda wondered, do you know why AFTG fandom has leaned so hard into Neil being ginger when I don't think he is canonically? Like, I wouldn't say auburn = ginger, especially not the neon orange a lot of fanart has. He even describes his natural hair color as a shade of brown — "Neil had dyed his hair brown from time to time, but never this shade [...] This was his natural color[...]" (TRK, CH 16) etc. Like, in the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter at all lmao but I read the books before I saw any fanart, so I was surprised when I saw Neil looking like a Weasley lol.

Okay so I will preface this by saying that I am not someone who has strong feelings about the Neil Josten Auburn vs Ginger "discourse" that occasionally pops up. When I was younger, and my hair was longer, and I actually saw sunlight on a semi-regular basis - my hair was described as auburn so when I pictured Neil I pictured him with dark reddish-brown hair that was "reddish" in the sense that it was warm and had that red-glow in the sunlight but at a glance would definitely be described as "brown".

Coming onto tumblr and seeing fanart with him with red red and/or ginger looks was mildly surprising but I liked the combo of red hair & blue eyes so it didn't really faze me.

But you asked *why* and I thought about it, and well, here's how I think it happened:

First, know that unless you have auburn hair or know someone who you've heard describe their hair as auburn - and it's distinctly brown - you probably only have a vague idea of what "auburn" means. Red-brown is kind of vague when you think about it. Just think of all the different wood stains in the red-brown category! There's like 50!

And when you Google auburn hair, this is pretty much what you get:

Which definitely implies that "auburn" is "dark red" rather than "reddish-brown".

Once you have it in your head that auburn is a classification of "dark red" it's incredibly easy for creative license and interpretation to open that up into "red hair". From which the leaning will be toward "ginger" as that's a very popular aesthetic in fiction. A lot of people think ginger when being told a character has red hair, despite there being a lot of different shades of red hair that wouldn't necessarily be considered "ginger". And yes, a part of this is probably because when you think of redheads in pop culture, you get characters (like the Weasleys) who are ginger and are described by the more broad classification of having red hair/as redheads.

And so, even if you KNOW people with red hair who aren't gingers, or with auburn hair who aren't redheads, the association between "hair with red in it" to "ginger" becomes pretty easy and commonplace.

At least, this is my interpretation. Fanlore likes bandwagons, so maybe an artist once went "Oh but I like the combo of ginger/redhead with blue eyes let's do that for Neil" and people liked it and so it stuck *shrug* I only joined this fandom in 2020 so I couldn't tell you exactly how it started.

Either way, I think it's cool to see the different ways people interpret the characters. The fandom has kind of universally decided that Dan & Matt are Black and Renee is often drawn as being Asian, which is really cool. Also, the incredible variety of interpretation of the Minyards. Sometimes they're twinks, sometimes they're stocky lil boulder men. Curly hair, straight hair, every shade of blond imaginable. There isn't really a consensus when it comes to them like there is with many of the other characters.

We all just love them so much, and so when we write or draw them, we imbue more of what we like/love into the designs. That's kind of the beauty of fanworks. You can take something you already like and then add more of what you like to it! And then share it with other people who like it too!!

Anyway, I'm gonna stop here before I go on an extended rant about how much I love fanfiction as a Thing. Hope that helped answer your question!

xoxo - Will

#aftg #aftg fanlore #asks #neil josten

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graymarketblackdiamond · 10 months

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a very quick doodle of my main charr, Taistel the Unforgiving, which got me thinking about her and her frozen heart, and how delighted i was to discover the frost legion for the first time

some ramblings underway (its a bit long. whoops!)...

taistel was the second character i ever made on gw2, and was my gateway into the charr themselves. she's a blood legion order of whispers combo, so she's a bloodthirsty warrior with the open nature of a stuck glue jar. i didn't dabble with the idea of her being ice themed until way later, but it seemed to fit her pretty well. the idea of her being like ice, cold and frigid and certainly deadly when you aren't careful around it. the cold is often described as fierce, and blizzards are unruly and unforgiving (much like her name!). it all tied in so well with her.

(an old image. i loved taking pictures of her in frostgorge)

the juxtaposition of her being a guardian sat very well in my head. guardians of course have means to protect, but she isn't protecting others by any means. her selfish, guarded and frankly quite nasty nature shined through all these little tidbits of storytelling that really just told themselves as i played the game. something clearly happened to her that really was so unforgiving that it twisted her deeply, her mentality driven to this state of being constantly on the attack (or in this case, on the defense. haha).

then HoT dropped, and i classed her into a DH, which i still can't quite let go of (im sure firebrand is better in some respects, but boy do i love smacking buttons and doing instant damage)

dragonhunter has a bit of a ring to it. in her story i had so far, she was friends with my main commander and his funny rat-tag group of friends in their in-canon guild known as Vagabond's Trek. now my commander is a sylvari dude, chipper guy who's a bit goofy. Taistel herself isn't easy to win over, but when faced with an idiot who dives into danger head first and comes back with trauma and a funny quip to go with it, it's hard not to want to see him a little safe. my hardened characters can have a soft spot as a treat.

so when the threat of mordremoth comes about... becoming a dragonhunter feels like a direct threat toward the threat itself. its like a command, a promise, a sworn seal of vengeance for corrupting (or, attemtping to corrupt) a friend. ice burns arent common, i dont think, but boy would she burn the jungle to its knees if it came to it. kill the pest and torch its house, so what if the pest is a dragon?

PoF brought its own issues and problems, of course, but man. the icebrood saga. mordremoth and kralk were easy to mash like mincemeat

but jormag would have been a real problem for her.

(i wish i had this permanent infusion in the game ): its so cool)

whipsers and promises of power and glory must be like gold candy for charr. whispers of protection for people you care for would have been exactly what taistel would have wanted to hear. nevermind that her friend had already nearly fallen to corruption, this was different, you see. for her whole life she knew that slithers of ice could cut the skin and make you bleed out, chunks of ice could bludgeon you and leave you concussed...

but jormag's ice could fortify and could protect. what a wonderful change of pace that would be, to go from this ferocious, deadly weapon to the protector she always could have been. an actual, true guardian, one that could live up to the name of the class she picked up as a young cub. well, it would have been perfect! it would have been the perfect path for her to follow. her vision of ideal couldn't have been colder, couldn't have been more perfect. the dragons claws were at her shoulders...

but of course, we all know how that eventually turns out for the other charr, like the unfortunate ryland. its a good job she had people to fall back on when it all fell apart. so much shame she would have felt after that. so many allies she had slain in the process, too. (the cache champs being charr you met along the way still pulls at my heart tbh...)

... but anyway, i just love how some of the stories in this game tell themselves. its easily why ive been playing it for so damn long.

#guild wars 2 #gw2 #charr #gw2 oc #doodles #art #taistel the unforgiving #its so nice to get these thoughts down #i love this game sooooooo much

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secret-third-thing · 8 months

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Woody Fragrance Recommendations

for @unlikelypersonalknight1 by @secret-third-thing

This was a lot of fun to put together! Let me know what you think and we can make adjustments based on your thoughts! Sorry I wrote a novel <3

If anyone else wants perfume recs, just give me a shout! Tagging @areyoudreaminof b/c you're my only other acotar perfume buddy <3

So the base I was given was Woody (or Pine-sol which in itself is a VERY unique scent). I took some big creative liberties and started us on some different brands that have different types of woody.

Some quick terminology (used mostly correctly-ish):

Fragrance - what I mean when I talk about cologne, perfume etc

(Scent) Family - You'll hear me refer to Woody as a scent family. This comprises of different notes (ex. cedar, pine, sandalwood)

Notes - in this case, I'm talking about specific scents. A fragrance may have Top notes (what you smell first) mid/heart notes ( what you smell mostly after an hour, and base notes (which really come into play after an hour or so. You can smell them all to a degree when you first spritz something, but the fragrance will evolve over time.

Brand No.1: Replica | Maison Margiela (also @ Sephora)

These scents were created to replicate/evoke memories of fairly universal experiences!

Autumn Vibes - Starts off with a burst of sweetness, but settles into a deep woody note. It's earthy and warm, like hugging a tree.

By the Fireplace - You're hit with smokey notes, and then it becomes a delicious spicy/sweet combo. The sweetness comes from the Vanilla, while the Cloves and Sweet pepper give you that burst of spicy. Real LoA vibes here.

Now it's a bit of choose your own adventure here. Both of these aren't woody, per se, but have woody or wood adjacent notes:

Aromatic, sweet , coffee shop vibes? -> Coffee Break

Leathery, sweet, and a little spicy -> Jazz Club

Brand No.2: Imaginary Authors

Literature inspired scents that are mysterious, broody, and truly unique.

Whispered Myths - This scent is considered sweet, woody and animalic, which is hard to describe other than fur, skin etc. (it's not that gross I promise!) There's also some distinct melon in there.

Cape Heartache - This may be the closest scent to what you requested! It has notes of pine and fir. The light, barely there sweetness comes from fruit (and you guessed it...vanilla).

Memoirs of a Trespasser - another sweet, woody scent, but more of a gourmand (i.e. it's that vanilla!!) If you liked By the fireplace but wanted something a little more sweet and less spicy, try this.

Brand No.3: Boy Smells (also @ Sephora)

A brand that puts a twist on traditional scents. These are VERY unusual and contain a lot of notes that you don't see in a lot of commercial fragrances.

Tantrum - this is woody and GREEN. There's a little bit of citrus in there, but I think the green pepper (aromatic note) really shines here. It's SO different than anything on this list

Hinoki Fantome - deep, woody, smoky, very, VERY earthy. This is what I'd consider a DRY wood. If you like Autumn vibes but wanted something deeper, this may hit the spot

Marble Fruit - If you want something way more floral and fruity but still with woody vibes upon dry down, this is a lovely scent. It also leans into aquatic (my fav). But this is definitely the LEAST woody scent on this list.

Brand No.4: The Harmonist

The love of my life probably. Perfumes based on alchemy. Unfortunately, a bottle is so obnoxiously expensive. Get the scent kit first.

Royal Earth - do you want something creamy, powdery, and woody? This combines everything great about traditional perfume with wood. But it's more floral than woody at first.

Magnetic Wood - this definitely starts out with a kick of citrus and floral but then dies dries down to a lovely sandalwood, cedar base!

Golden Wood - another more citrusy wood, but it leans more into fruity (imo) than the above.

Desired Earth - if you want something herby and fresh, but with some cedar vibes, this is for you. You may like this because it's got similar clean vibes as Pine-sol

Anyway, I hope this helped. I had SO much fun putting these together. It forced me to catalog my collection and revisit some favorites. If you find that you're changing your mind or want to try something else, please let me know. Happy fragrance hunting!

#perfume recs by STT

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alligaytorswamp · 8 months

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Bursting into the room: Please tell me about your idol OCs!! What music do they do? What fashion styles? Who are your favorites? Do they have any fun interactions? Do you have more art of them?

auauauAAUUGHHHH 😭😭😭😭😭 THANK YOU FOR THISSS

AHSJKDHASD idk how to talk about them !! in a normal way !! so ahhhh let me just try giving basic info about each group or smth

edit: this is so fucking LONG LMAOOO.... here is a link to all their TH (andromeda isn't done sorry), if u wish to skip my mad man blabbing altogether B)

Andromeda

my first idol ocs group, naturally was a llsif fan group love them with my entire heart despite the fact that i make content with them like once ten years, they live in my head all the damn time there are 9 of them, canonically they are the only ones who have the privilege of being "very fucking popular and successful" went from being school idols (SparkleS) with pretty typical cute/energetic concept, then debuted fr (Andromeda) and now their concept is more mature/elegant/cool

uhhh they are just wonderful girls who are all best friends and they are very cute and different and silleyyyyy and i am a horrible father bc i didn't make their TH profiles yet (THERE IS 9 OF THEM IT'S SO HARD) so here is their tag instead... ignore very old art tho 😔 also i have spotify playlist with songs i imagine they either would have or would cover - here

(also in my mind their concept/main vibe of their music kind of ever-changing, to me, they can do whatever they want at this point bc they are just so popular lol + they have units and such and i can get away with it) (they are overpowered yes yes)

Ishin-Denshin

5 members here,, they are my girl boy group or boy girl group <3 don't know how to explain it's just they are bg but the music inspo/concept is strictly what my fav girl groups i listen to got going on

total boys next door, just chill sweet guys, good vibes only fun fact all got like trauma/issues (tm) because i am certified sad boys maker, but they are all doing well and go to therapy LMAO

like Andromeda they all met in high school and started idol club together, but unlike the girlies they didn't mean to be proper idols, sorta got scouted later on anyways they are also besties, very tight-knit (trauma bonded?) and i also love them dearly they got their TH profiles, with bits of main lore and some info on their friendships - here their spotify playlist - eek

GRIMM parade

ah my funny crazy little theatre kids and vocaloid stans literally a combo of 3 quirky bitches who really love acting and dark dramatic stories

i think the most basic way to describe their vibes would be like Halloween + fairy tales? They are very extra and have like odd ways of speaking/interacting with people, but it's their charm (as per usual, very much full of brain issues, bc i gotta make my boys even a little sad)

their TH - here their spotify - here (way less songs bc it's stupidly hard to find smth i like for them)

cheer4U

literally fresh out of the oven i have nothing for themm asjkdhakdsda i gotta share tho: they are a co-ed group, and from what i have seen in life most groups give rap parts to men, but here it's boys being vocalists and girls being rappers(+vocalists), and idk how to explain but it is very fun to me, girls got all the swaggg

also a fun fact: one dude (michi) is hisoka's (andromeda) younger brother and one girlie (olly) is elijah's (pothos) younger sister

pothos

now that i mentioned them, even tho this is just about my idols i have to talk about everybody even a little pothos is a dance crew, so they are 4 dudes who make choreographies and despite my pattern of making best friends, these 4 are NOT asdjkhakjdhaskl, more like it’s 3 dudes who are friends with elijah but aren't close amongst each other

their TH - here

anison singers

just these two random soloists, with their own quirks they are dating LOL their TH - here

Urban Legends

my rock band heheeee they are just cool and awesome girlies, who make music about scary myths and folk stories their TH - here

re: fashion styles it either matches their concept, or if we are talking individually - it depends on each ocs LMAO re: my favorites andromeda are the blueprint, so they receive special treatment, but currently i am also crazy about Ishin-Denshin AND dince cheer4U are newborns i am focusing on establishing their personalities lol

re: do they have any fun interactions?

ok so idol groups all know each other for sure, pothos prolly interacted with them as well, but way less and more formal, soloists and urband legends def had only minor interactions IF they had those.

generally speaking, everyone in the company treat Andromeda like seniors/girlbosses (because they are) while cheer4U are now the youngest and newest group they are kinda babies to everyone Andromeda doesn't have very close relations to anyone (being popular doesn't help here), but they are considered like a proper sister group to Ishin-Denshin, due to some matching concept elements and being the 'foundation' of the company Andromeda and Ishin-Denshin def had their little collabs, specifically vocal-based, since both group got mad vocalists also important to point out that Ishin-Denshin are huge fans of Andromeda, like every single one of them loves them, they def have been following Andromeda since their school idol days and they are still not over the fact that they ended up in the same company

Ishin-Denshin and GRIMM parade are a bit closer, i think because they are the same age, and because Ryunosuke insisted they should be rivals LOL it didn't happen tho, because Ishin-Denshin are just sweeties, and were like "no thank you <3", so Ryunosuke settled on Ishin-Denshin being their supporters or smth anyways, they def hang out somewhat regularly, ofc each of GRIMM parade members is close to different Ishin-Denshin members i think main proper friendships i have are: Ryunosuke and Tadao (leaders and basically dads of their group... lowkey considering making them a couple ahaha...) Shouhei and Nobu+Kyo, Shouhei and Nobu are just besties who hang out a bunch, but two of them with Kyo had like a whole event of helping Shouhei deal with a nasty break up he had (Nobu had a shitty relationship too, while Kyo.. well... it's in his TH profile B) the point is Kyo and Nobu just helped Shouhei process things) Rokuro and Kyo - just hype boys who hype together

here is a fun meme you should laugh it's very funny (i have no one to share this with)

i don't think i have any other ~full group~ relations so here's random canon connections i remember tsubaki (urban legends) is a fangirl of andromeda and specifically their triplers unit, def stans hana, mieko and shiori ryunosuke (grimm parade) and kaede (urban legends) totally get along due to their 'dramatic freak' agenda, witnessing them talking to each other has to be an Experience, because they 100% use most extra phrases and words LMAO elijah (pothos) is a huge fanboy of grimm parade and ryunosuke specifically kyo (ishindenshin), rokuro (grimm parade) and elijah (pothos) are also like 3 energetic funky boys who love dancing kyo, tadao (ishindenshin), axe, elijah (pothos), michi (cheer4U), hana (andromeda) and shinobu (urban legends) all love working out so i imagine they end up together in the gym every now and then also totally exlusive info, but im gonna couple up ichigo (cheer4U) and kyo (ishindenshin), as well as michi (cheer4U) and shouhei (grimm parade) B)

FUNNY THING... THIS IS LIKE NO INFORMATION AT ALL AHAHA.. TIP OF THE ICEBERG... I HAVE SO SO SO MUCH ABOUT EVERY SINGLE INDIVIDUAL OC, LIKE THE STUFF THAT I DIDN'T HAVE SPACE/DESIRE TO WRITE ABOUT IN THEIR TH PROFILES... AUGH

#ask adry #anonymous #HTANK YOU FOR LETTING ME BLAB ABOUT THEM EVEN A LITTLE (BECAUSE THIS IS HONESTLY NOTHING)#IF ANYONE ACTUALLY READS THIS OR JUST CHECKS OUT THEIR TH.. U HAVE TO TELL ME UR FAVS... LIKE EVEN IF U READ JUST ABOUT ONE UNIT/GROUP..#I AM DESPERATE <3 #..#disclaimer: I AM NOT WRITER AND I CANNOT WRITE DO NOT EXPECT DECENT AND COMPREHENSIBLE TEXT FROM ME EVER <3

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professor-rye · 2 months

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10, 20, 30, 40 for the weird writer asks!

Thank you for sending me some questions! Apologies in advance for how much I ended up rambling 😅

10. Has a piece of writing ever “haunted” you? Has your own writing haunted you? What does that mean to you?

Oh gosh. Definitely Dapple. I was worried that I wouldn’t finish the very beginning idea I had (which ended up just being act 1), so I’m sure you can imagine my surprise when not only did I finish that, but then it kept going… and going… *and going.* I’ve always been good at coming up with ideas for long fics, but never before (or since) have I ever been able to actually *stick* with writing them, let alone so consistently. For some reason, for Dapple, my ADHD brain said “This is your life now and you are addicted”. It literally was what kept me on this earth for a while there. It unironically saved my life. And then it just… disappeared.

My brain no longer wanted to think about it, and it was only habit keeping me going for a while there. I pushed past that point way too far and got burnt out, and I’m still waiting, desperately hoping, that the floodgates will open again. And not just because I want to finish it, mind you. Like I said, writing and posting dapple did so much good for me. It was a safe harbor in a storm. It helped me process some of the worst traumas in my life. It got me *so many friends*. I can not express enough how much I miss it. …. Gods, okay, that got way deeper than I intended. Apologies! Gods… well uh, on to the next question!

20. If a witch offered you the choice between eternal happiness with your one true love and the ability to finally finish, perfect, and publish your dearest, darlingest, most precious WIP in exactly the way you've always imagined it — which would you choose? You can’t have both sorry, life’s a bitch

Well, after the last question, I think the answer is probably obvious lol. No question at all, I would pick to perfectly finish Dapple (Gods, and if that also let me get the sequel idea I had as well?? And also all the side fics??? Shit I would sell my soul for that). (It also doesn’t help that I am ace and have trouble contemplating the idea of magically gifted eternal happiness, so like… it was just very stacked in Dapple’s favor already)

30. Talk to me about the role dreams play in your writing life. Have you ever used material from your dreams in your writing? Have you ever written in a dream? Did you remember it when you woke up?

So, its kind of complicated? I am very much so that writer who just daydreams about fic ideas as I lay down to sleep every night, so there is a very hazy period during the in between where sometimes I’ll get ideas that I can actually remember the next morning.

But I don’t think they’re actual dreams, because my normal dreams tend to be a) incredibly stressful and b) about the most boring stuff imaginable, which is quite the combo.

But I will say that the pre-sleep daydreaming feels so different from any other actual plotting that I do. It’s very… gods, how do you describe this…

There’s a thing I learned in art school where you step away from your composition and squint till you can only see the hazy outlines of the different elements of the work. Or like when they tell you to turn the painting upside down for a bit to see what isn’t working. The pre-sleep daydreaming always involves reimagining the scenes I had already thought about during more lucid moments, but looking at the broader strokes and the pure emotion of it (because sleepy).

So most of the “ideas” I got from those moments were realizations that certain elements didn’t quite work the way I wanted them to, and then once I was actually lucid, I could think back on it and then (sometimes) realize a better way to handle that particular part.

So… yeah? It’s hard to say if that counts as dreams specifically, but it’s also a really big part of my writing… existence? Process feels weird to say there lol. But yeah, it felt relevant to share.

Gods, I’m rambling again. Last question!

40. Please share a poem with me, I need it.

(not me taking several days to find this poem because my memory is terrible and I kept mixing up the line I was searching)

If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb. ~ Mary Oliver

So yeah, if anyone else wants to send questions, here is the original question list post thingy. I will try not to ramble quite so much next time 😅

#my writing #writer ask game #dappled shadow and penumbral light #fan fiction writing

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missellafitz · 2 months

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For the record, my belief about these two being together preceded this YouTube comment. Why did I believe it? Well, just watch A Man and His Music with Ella and Jobim from 1967. Ella and Frank have an undeniable chemistry. They're uncharacteristically playful together (by that, I mean that Frank is "known" to be this hard guy and Ella is typically described as being incredibly shy and nervous. But there were no nerves on the program nor was Frank being a hard ass or a blow hard. I'll write an entire post about that show, so back to this comment)...

I love this comment 😅. And I've spent two months trying to verify the claims made in it. Let's go through each:

1. Did Ella ever perform in a hotel on Ocean Drive in Miami Beach circa 1983? I have not found evidence of this although she has certainly performed on Ocean Drive in other, documented years. It would take archived Miami newspapers to really get the answer to this one, and I ain't near Florida.

2. "With a combo" - She performed from the 1970s on with a combo, so this checks out.

3. Favorite male singer is Frank Sinatra? Haven't done an extensive search on this, but her comments about Frank through the years would suggest so. She went to his concerts as much as she could.

4. Secret affair for over 20 years? The CRUX of the question! Here's my take, if this is true, what were the years? I'd say from 1955 to the mid to late 70s. By 1955 they were both divorced or separated (Ella divorced in 1953 and Frank and Ava separated in 1954 and finalized their divorce in 1957). So if we start with 1955, then they could've been together until the late 70s which is before she allegedly told this guy about her and Sinatra's past tense affair. Really, I think it was from 1955 to whenever Frank married Barbara. And to anyone who thinks Ella or Frank believed in fidelity, well, read any book about them. Even my girl Ella was with a few married men over the years, so that isn't something that would've stopped them from being together.

Furthermore, Ella had a thing for secrets. Her early life was a secret. She had other, secret affairs, specifically one with a pediatrician that lasted a long time. And then her secret marriage to Ray Brown and that Norwegian guy Thor Larsen, which no one can really say was real or not but everyone can say it was a secret. Plus, both Frank and Ella were extremely private to the end of their respective lives. So, I mean, they weren't contending with TMZ back then.

5. "Italian Restaurant Patsy's" - A real place that Frank visited frequently. I will edit this if I find evidence of Ella ever going there. Also, Ella is known for loving Italian food which was mentioned in the book Up Close: Ella Fitzgerald and in the interview she did with Brian Linehan in 1974. In the interview she says, when speaking about her cookbook collection, "I got a book from Venice, and I get that book and read about that pasta. And oh boy, it sounds so good. It reads so good." She continues, "I go to [my road manager's] house. His wife makes the best lasagna. Oh boy, can she make that."

(UPDATE) The owner of Patsy's has commented on how Frank would visit the restaurant and who he would bring with him. When asked if Frank would come alone, the owner said, "No, he was always with a big group. He'd have his friends. He brought the whole Rat Pack here [...] And he would bring a lot of his friends, either acting friends or music friends." Ella, in this, would certainly be considered a "music friend." Also, in the same video, the owner talks about how Frank used a private entrance to the restaurant to avoid fans and press. He also ate in a private room. I could totally see him and Ella using that private entrance and having a meal with no one knowing they were there, perhaps on a date, except for the owners. Video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hP6qHzIztUM&ab_channel=WalkInFaithCraigSyracusa

6. "Catch a cab down to the Met and catch an opera" - This is very plausible as the Met is only a 7 minute drive from Patsy's. And of course, we know Frank and Ella love music.

(UPDATE) According to Phoebe Jacobs, Ella preferred to take cabs whenever she was in NYC, actually going so far as to fuss about not using cabs when other transportation was sent. I haven't found any evidence that Frank would use cabs, but I would guess that Ella would override him if they were out together, just based on how serious she was about taking cabs.

For the record, I will be revisiting this post to add additional evidence as I come across it.

#ella fitzgerald #frank sinatra #ella and frank #the best comment

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kara-knuckles · 1 year

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I see comments about Ryouma's design often enough, but another detail I find fascinating is his age. Ryouma's profile specifies that he is summoned in his late twenties, which is somewhat odd, because most of what he is famous for (SatCho alliance, Kaientai, etc.) happened when he was 30-31.

I believe that younger age helps him to better blend in with people, as well as makes him a bit less recognizable. It looks like, unlike Okita Alter and the Emiyas, he is summoned for jobs that can't be solved by brute force (at least until you know where to apply said force), so his duties are more diplomatic and require working with people. Twenties is that period of time when it's hard to tell exactly how old you are at a glance, so he is both young enough for the youth to be less wary of him, and old enough to be taken seriously by the older crowd. This also means that he is summoned from before Teradaya incident, so his hands are in perfect condition (though I like to think he experiences some phantom pains). Lastly, the long bangs+hat combo helps to obscure his face, since his appearance is well known thanks to his photographs. Add in that, pako's gorgeous art aside, he was described as plain-looking by his contemporaries, and you have a perfect nondescript guy of vague age.

That's only Ryouma as an agent of Counter Force, though. His Lancer self is a bit different. I want to play GudaGuda 6 before I start serious theorizing (I know some parts, but avoid properly reading it), but basically I like to think that his first ascension represents his past mortal life, second is his current life as a Heroic Spirit influenced by the zeitgeist ideas of “Sakamoto Ryouma”, while the third is his future life with Oryou (and his Super form is actually older to reflect that).

#Sakamoto Ryouma #Fate/Type Redline #Fate/Grand Order #fgo #i like the idea of different forms representing different things #i wish there were more servants like that #i'm so hyped about gudaguda 6 #advantage of NA: we may get it a month or so earlier #theories and headcanons #Nasuverse

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callsign-bunnie · 3 months

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Just read your welcome back post about mental health. Fellow BPD-er here with OCD and C-PTSD and PCOS. If you wanna ask me about anything or share your day feel free too. I've struggled with finding medicine and therapists that work, and having to rewire my whole brain into thinking somewhat normally. I'm still attempting to do it, and I catch myself slipping up sometimes. I've been off meds for like, 6 weeks because of finance issues, but I'm working on getting back onto them to help my depression/motivation. I entirely know way too well what you described as psychosis, and it sucks. Delusions and hallucinations are not fun by any means, I'm sorry you've been going through that for the past year. To pivot off of that, what are the books you're writing? Do you care to share things about them? I'm always looking for new books to read and rant about to my coworkers and friends!!

I would not wish BPD/OCD combo on my worst enemy so godspeed to you.

Yeah, I'm really treatment-resistant as autism makes talk therapy hard because I find myself masking the entire time and telling my therapist what they want to hear. There's also the risk of becoming emotionally attached to my therapist (as I had become to my last) which is just not a good situation to set up, ever.

I can't afford to get medicated, as much as I would love to become medicated, but I already know that finding the right cocktail for me is going to be fairly difficult since I am, again, treatment resistant.

I do have CPTSD (though who fucking doesn't in this economy) but I also have regular PTSD so it sort of gets drowned out in most cases and is never the most important thing in my mind.

Most of my recovery has had to be entirely on my own, by taking therapy notes from my friends with similar issues who have gone, or by just researching it

I think one of the reasons my issues have caused me to deteriorate so rapidly these last two years is some kind of neurological issue (I am being actively begged to go to a neurologist) and god, having mental health issues and then physical issues that worsen them makes being ill into one of those rope puzzles where you have to carefully untangle them to solve it.

No, delusions are not fun. I've never had too many visual hallucinations but mine are usually auditory or ghost sensations, and they very much do suck. I do NOT enjoy having to constantly question if someone is actually flirting with me or I'm being delusional, again. (Asking for clarification is NEVER A GOOD IDEA)

As for my books, I'm not usually willing to talk about them publically (OCD means paranoid that they're going to be stolen. Yes I am aware this is irrational.) but I'll gladly talk about them in DMs all day.

As I've said, you guys are always welcome to DM me or you can message me on discord (playbunnie03), which is where I'm more likely to answer as I fucking hate tumblr DMs like you wouldn't believe

However, the main ones I'm working on this year is a fantasy series I've been working on for a while which is inspired by the Witcher while also being Queer Epic Fantasy. I'm also working on two thrillers, one following the plot of one of the fics I've written (the fic was ABO, obviously the book will not be) and the other is an entirely new plot. Both are sapphic, as I am sapphic (obvis lol) and all of these have been quite the labor of passion and love already, though I'm restarting writing

#bunnie speaks #i'm a thriller writer at heart #neither are supernatural in any capacity but i have some supernatural thrillers planned #i'm still in the plotting stage since I've restarted but you guys know me #the actual writing comes easier

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bluebelleix · 3 months

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Okay so these are all just rambles about Saint Ars I have in my head that I just wanna let out

I also didn't write these down so they might seem inconsistent so apologies for that

Saint Ars having the lowest divine visionaries is so funny to me. Like I love that school (even if we don't have any knowledge on it) but like that type of situation where its been hundred of years and you still don't have atleast a two digit number amount? Yeah no what the hell is going with school.

Okay there's like 3 main(?) schools which are Easton Magic Academy, Walkis Magic Academy and Saint Ars Holy Magic Academy.

Here's my personal thoughts: Walkis is probably more towards on like being a higher-up?? If that make sense. And taking in about "Power means everything to them", it's probably about having an authority.

They're probably related to the government and politics and stuff I guess. Either that or they're just strong to pass being a Divine visionaries.

Easton is probably specifically towards magic and maybeeee theyre connected with jobs related to magic (magic police etc). Considering the entrance is hard to pass, I guess the failures went either to Walkis or Saint Ars.

So yeah I conclude that they're just related to magic and other stuff like mythical creatures and all that. Like studying them and learning how to seal magic and other dangerous stuff.

Now Saint Ars.. anyone who comes across my posts knows that well, I might be. just a little. enthusiastic about that school.

I could be interested in a character or something BUT NOOOOO my brain just likes this school or something., when there's barely anything related to it.

WHATEVER, anyway, Saint Ars has this religious vibes which is obvious from their logo and well, name.(That's a cross, yiu guys think Jesus exist or something)

Now remember how at that one point that Bureau of Magic guy that's bald said that God gave the world Magic and all that and how there's a bunch of gods you can summon as a third liner?

NOW HEAR ME OUT, it's already so obvious that of course that this is just a church being transformed into a school. I just don't know how to word it out.

I like to think 1. That this school mainly focuses on praising and believing God/ gods(?(do they acknowledge them as well?oh well), 2. Acts like the bald guy but WAYYYYY harsher.

Definitely believes those without magic was chose not to by God and yknow that type twisted mindset. Like they would say, why would God let them exist in the first place?

It's crazyyy

Anyway, the other part which is like Justice related. The law being related to religion is.. I can see it but again, I can't word it out 😔.

I feel like this school is probably towards the Law and other type of stuff related to it.

Now I don't know much of the law so I'm afraid I'm low on info on these type of stuff. However, I can see it but it's hard to describe. The only thing is I know it's about like religious law or something like that.

I guess I can see the school being like related to the Town's church or something and students would always do community work at that place.

I definitely see this school having like. a fucked up idea or mindset. Like I pray that Mash should never be near to this school after his whole reveal.

Actually after that controversy(Mash's reveal), students probably were like so angered because of how they were taught. But I believe maybe one day, that school will slowly but surely grow out of that mindset after like a few years.

Oh and the main God they praise is Themis, God of Justice because of the law thing jfhdh. I imagine that this God is the symbol and pride of that school because "the God helped build it(the law)" lol.

The law and religion.. it's such a nice combo. That school reeks of traditions and moral codes. They probably have a bunch rules to follow and like beliefs.

The teachers are probably all nuns and priest. Do they study magic? I guess they appreciate it more than an average person but they have a higher belief that its a gift from God.

I don't know what type of magic they'll study but definitely not combat.. because "that's what started the war before Adam Jobs came in." They're all in that they don't wanna repeat history and stuff.

So the school is more towards Magic History and Magic Zoology? ("Creatures are also creations of God!" Yada yada type of stuff), though I imagine all schools have the same type of subjects.. I think.

Okay that's all.. I think

#fanmade #saint ars #mashle #i love saint ars #too much #i think #theyre so losercoded #my writing #rambles

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