#that are separate from the general group chat (that no one ever talks on) that you aren't a part of is......... i don't know | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

jacksprostate · 3 months

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me and @a-forsteri were talking about how the narrator like, desperately wants someone to tell him his life is fucked up, what he does is fucked up, he desperately wants someone to respond with the gravity he desires.

Like, he tells these people on the plane what he does. Trying to fuck with them. Desperately hoping!! One of them will go: holy shit!!! That's really fucked up how do you live with that!!! But all he gets is people thinking he's the freak and just asking what car company he works for. Because it is easier to pretend he himself is the problem, maybe just his company, rather than actually face and recognize the systemic, widespread nature of what he's saying.

It leans together with his sense of where he is in his office, too. He feels separate from all these people. They feel fake. They feel like people going on as normal even though they're all working to hasten the apocalypse, and no one acknowledges it! They're all perfectly happy to turn a blind eye to any of the distant consequences of their actions. That is what their jobs are for. Keep them up in the cubicles, nicely fed and watered with inflated salaries, and then they'll have no issue with the distant sense that they may be contributing to a corrupt system. They can't change the system, but they need to feed their kids, so hell, just don't think about it too much.

But he doesn't have that option. He is the one who actually does go out into the field and he sees the direct result of all of their collective actions, but especially his. Every crash related to a faulty part he sees is because someone like him before him, or him himself, ran the formula and let this happen. He has no choice but to see the very real result of his actions.

And he feels INSANE over it. Because he returns to the office and it's just numbers. Applying the formula. Hearing your coworkers chat about a potluck. You're not contributing to a horrific system, you ARE the horrific system, and it's like you're the only one who sees that. He literally cannot sleep over it.

And when you tell people about it, they try to minimize it. To your company, to you. Because that is easier than acknowledging just how many things have to be corrupt and uncaring of human life to allow this to be the case. It's too much. Stick your head in the sand.

He desperarely wants someone to scream at him: how could you do that? How could anyone do that? Why is this allowed to happen? Doesn't anyone see something wrong here?

He imagines his plane crashing. Free him from this. The burden of every piece of normality manufactured for satiating any thought and discomfort he has about his job. It's all petty, pointless fluff. It's putting some artificial grass on the feedlot. Why does everything and everyone say it's all worth it for this garbage?

He wants someone to tell him all this. He doesn't want to be alone. He already feels catastrophically alone. In his life, whenever he talks about this, whenever he does anything. He loves the support groups because you're allowed to have abject misery there. You rejoice in it. Everyone's life is falling apart and ending and nothing means anything good ever. They're all honest about it, too. He plays coy when he talks about his job, but these people, everyone knows they're falling apart, and it's recognized and treated as the horror it is. This is freedom. Hitting bottom is freedom.

But he's supposed to be happy, because he's got his cushy little IKEA nest. It is only when people think he also has cancer and parasites causing his deep dissociation from his own life and general aura of resentment and misery that it's treated as something that isn't just... an individual flaw. Because it's easier for there to be something wrong with him than for that thing wrong with him to be how society makes him be this way. Rewards him for it.

So he invents someone. Tyler. To stop his little dance. To interrupt him. Drag him away and tell him all those little sundries are meaningless. Like he knows. But now he has someone saying it's true. The world IS falling apart. Everything is fucked up. It's everything he knows and has been too cowardly to say and now he finally has someone to say it for him and push to make some changes in his life. To expect him to actually do something. To feel his rage for him. And it's a catch-22, because a large part of what he hates about himself is that he's too cowardly and noncommittal to just do this all on his own.

#fight club

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lizard-on-a-window-pane · 1 year

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Express Reunion

pairing: Sirius Black x reader

summary: You and Sirius haven’t seen each other all summer, and some things just can’t wait till after such a long train ride.

tags / warnings: NSFW (minors do not interact!), established relationship, soft Sirius, fem!reader, sex, fingering, p in v, dirty talk, excessive use of the word fuck, a semblance of a plot, no Peter, sorry Peter people

notes: y/n/n stands for your nickname; I imagine the character as also an Animagus with her own nickname, but up to you

word count: 3.3k

“Relax, Pads. She’ll be here any minute.” Sirius, feet tapping, weight shifting from side to side in anticipation, responded, “That’s exactly why I’m not relaxed, you idiot. How can you tell me to relax when she’ll be here any minute? I haven’t seen her in months, Prongs, months!” “Yes, I’m well aware. You won’t shut up about it for more than three seconds.” “Oh, and I love hearing about Evans incessantly.” Sirius rolled his eyes at James. “At least y/n is actually my girlfriend.”

“Shut it, you git. This is my year. I can feel it. We’ll be together in no time, just watch.” “You say that every year,” Sirius said, but he was already distracted from the conversation, on his tiptoes trying to look over everyone’s heads as he searched the platform for you.

You’d started dating last year, your sixth at Hogwarts, but had been friends since your first, a classic mutual pining situation that delayed your relationship but developed your love. When you’d finally opened up to each other about your feelings, not much changed between you… except for one thing, one very important thing: you couldn’t keep your hands (and mouths and bodies in general) off of each other.

Then, as quickly as the bliss had begun, it felt to you, it was interrupted by the end of the school year. With the arrival of the summer came your separation, and though you had written many, many letters through the entirety of it, you had not been able to see each other once. With Sirius now living with the Potters, he had gone on holiday with their family, then you had gone on holiday with yours; something came up here, or something came up there, and long story short, the timing never lined up.

Now, here he stood on platform 9 3/4 waiting for you, more excited about this reunion than any other he had ever had before. As his eyes searched for you, they landed first on a different familiar head of hair: messy, sandy brown, taller than those around it… “Oi, Moony!” he called, getting his attention. “Alright, lads?” Remus approached with a genuine smile on his face at seeing his friends, giving each of them a quick but firm hug. “Where’s y/n/n?” “Not here yet, much to Pads’s displeasure,” James responded as Sirius returned to his previous activity of scanning the crowd for you.

Then, after another minute or so, James and Remus chatting all the while, Sirius felt his quickened heart rate stop for a moment then pick up even more. There you were; he’d know your crazy hair anywhere. You were pushing past people and trunks on the crowded platform, making your way over to the group.

As soon as you cleared the last big crowd of people standing between you and them, your eyes met Sirius’s, and both of you broke into your biggest, brightest smiles. You jogged over; he met you halfway, and you wrapped your arms around each other and squeezed tight.

“Hello, love,” he said into your hair as he nuzzled your neck. “Hi,” you responded through your smile into his warm chest. “Missed you.”

“I missed you too, darling. So much. How are you?” He pulled back a bit, looking into your eyes, keeping one arm around your waist and bringing his other hand to rest on your face, caressing your cheek.

“Glad to be back. You?” “Finally going to shut up for a second now you’re here, I hope,” James replied before Sirius could answer as he approached the both of you.

“Har har,” Sirius faked sarcastically as you let out a heartfelt laugh. “Hiya, Prongs, Moons,” you smiled at each of them, pulling away from Sirius’s embrace to hug your other best mates.

“Hey, y/n/n.” “Alright, lovebirds. As touching as your little reunion is, if we don’t hurry up and get on the train, we’ll have to share a cabin, so let’s go,” James hurried you all.

The four of you made your way onto the Hogwarts Express and found an empty cabin, Sirius keeping his hands on you all the while - on your shoulder, the small of your back, in your hand, anywhere he could really, and when you finally sat down, practically on top of each other, he put his arm around you and held you close.

You all caught up about your summers, talking and laughing and falling into each other’s rhythms as if no time had gone by. You showed them your muggle polaroids from your travels; you and Remus discussed the novels you’d read over the break, including a couple you’d exchanged with each other when you’d said goodbye; James filled you in enthusiastically about quidditch developments, you having developed quite a liking for the sport.

Even if you were each enthralled in separate conversations, though, Sirius subconsciously maintained your physical connection - hands held, knees knocking against each other’s, always something. As the ride went on and your energy lulled, you fell into a comfortable silence as Sirius and James kept banging on. You draped your legs over Sirius’s, and he rested his hands on them. His touch went from relaxing to rattling, though, when his hand made its way to your thigh, slowly stroking up and down, going higher and firmer with each motion.

Since you’d gotten together, you’d never been shy about your affections, but still, you had your limits when it came to public displays. You shot him a warning look, but he pretended not to see. You could tell he was riling you up on purpose from the subtlest hint of his smirk forming on his annoying, gorgeous face.

“I think we ought to start getting changed into our uniforms. It won’t be long before we’re close,” you said as you got up and went to grab your things. You had to reach up to the top rack, and you leaned on Sirius for a little boost. When you’d gotten what you needed, you gave his shoulder a loving squeeze and scratched behind his ear like you knew he liked, unable to keep the amused smirk off your face at the thought of what a puppy he was. He was looking at you and smiled, leaning into your touch.

You made your way out of the cabin to the nearest toilet to change, and you’d just gotten your top layer of clothing off when you heard a knock at the narrow door.

“Occupied,” you called back. “It’s me, you twit,” Sirius’s unmistakable voice replied.

You opened the door a crack, but before you could say anything, he was squeezing into the tiny compartment, the two of you completely squished together.

“Getting started without me, I see,” he said, smirking and wiggling his eyebrows goofily at the sight of your torso in just your bra.

“Sirius! What the fuck?”

“What?” “What are you doing in here?”

“What? I thought you wanted me to follow you… with all the touching and the smirking and the sudden, random urge to get changed when we still have at least half the ride left…” “I what?? You were the one touching me, and I came to change so you’d stop messing with me!”

“Hm, not how it felt to me, but my mistake I guess… Now that I’m here though… might as well make the most of it, no? Happy accidents, and all that. You haven’t even given me a proper kiss hello yet, darling.” With that, he leaned down to remedy the situation, kissing you with all the passion months apart will build up.

“Siri,” you sighed, loving the feeling of him, but pulling briefly away. “Are you mad? I want to too, but not here!” You whisper-yelled. “We could get caught!”

“Pfft, when has that stopped us from doing anything? Just keep it down, and we’ll be fine, right? and if not, so be it… I don’t care if this whole train knows how mad you drive me,” he laughed. He kissed you again, hard. “and how good I can make you feel…” he finished, kissing down your neck, more confident now as you were already melting into his embrace, then back up to your waiting mouth. You matched his motions, kissing him back with your soft lips and adept tongue. He moaned into your mouth. “Fuck, I missed you.”

“I missed you too, you lunatic.”

He chuckled. You brought your hands up to his hair; he brought his down your body, squeezing your hips before gripping your arse. “And I missed this,” he said, giving a tight, playful squeeze. “And these,” as he moved his hands from your arse to your tits, kneading them and kissing you all the while. “And this…” One hand snaked down between your legs, cupping your heat.

You moaned in reply.

“Still want to wait till later, sweet thing? Cos the fact that you’ve already soaked through your panties tells me you’re pretty ready now.”

“Get on with it, Black… but for Merlin’s sake keep it down!”

“Atta girl.” He pulled your soaked panties to the side, running his long fingers through your folds, humming in appreciation before plunging two into your entrance. Your mouth opened in a silent scream as he curled them perfectly, and he took the opportunity to stick his fingers from his other hand into your mouth. You sucked automatically.

He chuckled again, lower this time, watching you with hungry eyes and thrusting harder, his palm hitting your clit each time, as he said, “Fuck, baby, I wanna fill every one of your warm, wet holes.” You nodded, your mouth still full, your hips rutting against his hand, your eyes rolling back in pleasure.

“Feel good?” he asked cheekily.

“Mmhmm,” your nodding getting more frantic.

He took his hand out of your mouth, replacing it with his tongue, kissing you fervently and bringing his now free hand down to rub your clit.

He kept at it till your thighs started getting shaky then proceeded to add a third finger inside you and increase the speed and pressure on your clit. He went to suck on the sensitive spot on your neck and whispered hotly into your ear as he did so, “Cum for me, lovely. I’ve been imagining it nonstop for months.”

That sent the most pleasant tingle down your spine, down to where you were already shaking and clenching, and one more rough, skillful move of his hands had you coming apart.

“You’re so fucking beautiful when you cum, y/n.” You laughed lovingly into his shoulder, overcome with both pleasure and affection. He kissed you, much softer now than he had been thus far, and you were lingering gently on each other’s lips when you moved your hands down to the prominent bulge in his trousers. His breath caught at the contact, and he couldn’t help but push into your hand, desperately wanting more.

“You wanna hear what I’ve been imagining nonstop for months?” you asked him, your voice sultry.

“Tell me,” he whispered, his lips still touching yours. He loved dirty talk, and you knew it.

“I’ve been imagining it was this cock,” you gripped his shaft, “every time I fingered myself.” “Fuck.” “Mhm. I thought about how well you fill me up, Siri. About how big you are and how well you fuck me.” You weren’t great at it, you thought, but it seemed to be working for him. You could feel his dick twitch in your hand, and he bit his lip and stared at you with eyes almost completely black from how lust-blown they were. “You make me feel so good, Sirius. Remind me how good, baby.”

You unzipped his trousers and pulled out his cock. He wasted no time in pulling one of your thighs up to his hip and replacing your hand with his on his cock as he brought it to your still wet entrance. You held your panties to the side as he pushed in, his head falling back at the pleasure, his grip on your thigh bruising.

“Holy fuck, y/n, how can it be even better than I remembered? You’re so bloody tight; it feels fucking incredible. Merlin, I love you.” You giggled at his fucked out state, clenching purposefully around him and holding him close as he pinned you to the wall.

“I hope you still feel that way when you’re not inside me,” you laughed. “Always.” He said it right away. “This is just a brilliant bonus.” He thrust roughly to punctuate his point.

“Ahh, fuck…”

This time it was him chuckling at your reaction, but his amusement quickly turned back to absorption as he picked up his pace. His hand not holding your leg up came to rest by your head, holding onto the wall to get any semblance of balance as he split you open repeatedly.

You met his thrusts with your hips. Gripping his t-shirt, you pulled it down and sucked on his collarbone, muffling your too loud moans. Your other hand reached around and grabbed his arse, pulling him into yourself as if he could go any deeper.

You knew if anyone were to walk by, or Godric forbid come knocking, they would be able to hear the sounds of you coming together over and over. It made you nervous, but you’d missed him and the feeling of him deep inside of you, giving you everything he had, so much — too much to stop. And you knew it wouldn’t last much longer anyway with how hard he was fucking into you.

You recognized the groans he made when he was getting close, and you encouraged him with moans of your own and tightening anywhere you were connected.

“Oh fuck,” he let out and brought his hand down to rub desperately at your clit.

You rutted into it, getting close, and with a strangled call of his name, you came around his cock.

Your orgasm wasn’t even over when his finally came. As it did, it prolonged yours from the feel of him, and your continuous clenching extended his in turn. The intensity of cumming together had you both feeling high as you went limp and tried to catch your breaths.

“Just couldn’t wait till we got back, huh? Needy girl,” he tutted. He kissed your cheek and brought his hand to your head, scratching sweetly into your hair.

You leaned your face on his, laughing and shaking your head at his antics. You played along, “No, I definitely couldn’t. Was worth the long wait, though, wasn’t it?” “I never want to have to wait that long again, but yes, it was.” He opened his mouth to say something more, a quiet sound that didn’t quite form into a word making its way out, but he stopped himself. He kissed your forehead before cleaning up a bit and fixing himself back into his trousers.

You took your panties off, which you should’ve done since the beginning you thought now, and scoffed amusedly at the state of them. “Thanks for ruining these,” you said fake-mad.

“You’re welcome,” he quipped back, unfazed, confident, smirking again.

You smacked his chest but couldn’t stop smiling as you pulled your uniform on clumsily. “You know, I could use some space in here,” you shot at him. “Sorry, darling, I’m enjoying the show too much,” he laughed. You rolled your eyes playfully.

Struggling into the rest of your clothing, you finally turned to the little mirror. Your face was flushed, and your hair was a bit messy, but when wasn’t it? you thought to yourself as you appraised your appearance and decided you were presentable enough for no one to realize what had just happened.

Sirius stood behind you, smiling at you through the mirror, leaning back against the wall to give you as much space as possible, not that that was much, but with you now dressed, he came up behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist. He kissed the side of your head and whispered that he loved you. You beamed at him and said the words back as if it was the first time.

You peaked out of the compartment, making sure the coast was clear, and pulled him out behind you quickly before anyone emerged from their cabin. Once in the hallway, you took a deep breath and straightened out your clothes.

You looked at him seriously, but two seconds after you made eye contact, both of you burst into laughter.

“Okay, okay.” You wiped the laughy tears from your eyes. “You go first,” you said as you shoved him toward the compartment where James and Remus sat, none the wiser.

“They’re gonna know, sweetheart,” he replied, rolling his eyes at you.

“Are not. Just act natural.”

“Sure,” he let out disbelievingly, but made his way to the cabin. Before slipping inside, he looked back and winked at you. Now you rolled your eyes, but you couldn’t help but be giddy the whole couple of minutes you waited before following him. Once you thought enough time had gone by, you made your way back. You tried to act nonchalant as you took your seat next to him.

Remus was reading, and James was fiddling with his exploding snap deck. He looked up at you carelessly, already looking away by the time his brain caught up with him, making him do a double take to stare at you. He looked between you and Sirius once, twice, then said, “You did not just shag in the toilet.” At your guilty look and Sirius’s unabashed laughter, he continued, “Bloody hell, you two. You couldn’t keep it in your pants for a few more hours? For fuck’s sake.” He shook his head but was laughing with Sirius two seconds later. Remus just chuckled without even looking up from his book.

The rest of the ride was relatively quiet, just more chatting, James and Sirius already throwing out ideas for your first pranks of the year.

As you made your way off the train, you fell into step with Sirius, a couple steps behind James and Remus.

“Hey, Pads?” “Yeah, love?” “Back there, after we… you know…” “Oh, I know.” “Shut up,” you giggled. “Well, after that… were you gonna say something else?” You didn’t want to push him but were so curious at the look he had had on his face.

He grew serious immediately. He put his arm around your shoulders, pulled you close, and kissed your head. “Well. I was just thinking… After I said I never wanted to have to wait that long again… I was just thinking that maybe, you know, we won’t ever actually have to.” He looked at you hopefully. “It’s our last year and everything, and well, I was just thinking, after this, maybe we could stay together.” You thought you knew what he meant, but furrowed your brows a bit. He quickly added, “As in, move in together, I mean. Stay together as in live together. The being together part was a given, I hoped,” he chuckled nervously. Your heart was melting at his words. His nerves and sincerity rendering him wordy when he was usually so concise and certain. He kept looking from the ground in front of him to your eyes and back.

You wrapped your arm around his waist and nuzzled into his shoulder as you kept walking. You gave it a kiss and smiled up at him. He was already looking down at you, set at ease by your gesture, a gentle smile on his face.

“I love you. And I’m so glad we’ll never have to wait that long again then.”

His smile widened at the implication in your words, your confirmation of his hopes. He leaned down for a quick peck, still beaming as he straightened back up and you both quickened to catch up with your friends.

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jealousdoll · 5 months

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hhhhhhfuck. want to be in a group lobby with a bunch of boys playing all sorts of different co-op and they're all happily bantering over mic. when one of the more 'polite' boys asks why you're only typing and use so many cutesy emojis/emoticons as they're casually discussing the next game, you suddenly get shy. oh. it finally came up. all's been lighthearted, maybe even playfully flirty at most sometimes. they start to notice other nuances, such as the way you get "flustered" and are way more expressive than typical dudes who are chronically online. unless you're a total fruitcake, who unironically in chat says "petite and breedable? no- petite, breedable and kidnappable! ~ ଘ꒰⑅ ´ ˘ ` ⑅ ꒱♡" ... least to say it caught some of the boy's attention. just being put on the spot is almost enough to elicit a confession or reveal, but you kept your wits even if your brain is so damn fuzzy.

until they suddenly put two and two together with all the damning clues to realize: ...... you're a girl. a female.

not just a random from a public group's link getting found through some obscure tag online, but a girl that was from a group chat and had been concealing this info, and other now-desired details, for at least a few months. the tension over the collective call would be intoxicating. the emotional charge, the lowkey intimidation, the bated hesitation in replies, the private groups created just to have disgusting side chats, all occurring without her even knowing that every message has nothing but raunchy barely legal claims from each member after hearing the "news". no shame. boundaries? never heard of them. dick's hard, don't care.

something shifts and it gets... weird. one or two of the boys suddenly "have to go", but are just too embarrassed to admit they're so excited just as the concept there's been a girl in the group the entire time (what does she look and sound like? what is she into besides games? what does she look like when you pull her cute stupid hair and act like she's your little si-), while some suddenly got quiet or had a supposed 'mood shift'. just a simple piece of somehow-crucial knowledge caused a fat fucking stir and its apparently such a spectacle she suddenly worries they're talking separately without her.

she's late, but she's right.

eventually the one boy who ever introduced her to this hormonal gaggle of imps caves into his supposed "friend's" requests to see this mystery girls face. and he may or may not have gotten a a photo of her adorable tits months ago when she was drunk and lonely. god forbid you have a moment of weakness, huh? well, that weakness and vulnerability is what gets your no-longer friends (try fuckbuddies and new stalkers, honey) off. not that you'll ever know, dumbass.

he betrays your false sense of trust and security and before you know it, multiple dudes are posting cum tributes to the newly-created smutty general chat, sharing increasingly fucked up fantasies as time goes on. all while you flounder, almost alone with barely any context. but don't worry, your scumbag discord bestie is dick in sweaty hand as he halfassedly 'reassures' you how you're still safe, anonymous, good with him. yeah... good with him. for him. all of them would agree. he kind of likes how desperate and so damn stupid you are. makes you out to be like some ditzy little sister. fuck. he could get used to that. not like you have a choice. him and his friends own your pathetic clueless ass. they want nothing more than to see you drooling on their dicks like a thoughtless puppy, mind broken and muddled only for sex- only for them. don't hurt yourself thinking so hard, you won't have time to with them beating a path to your shithole apartment's door to violate you day after day anyways. some are already trying to find your other socials, any hint to where your sweet brainless fuckholes might live.

aren't you so lucky? what cool friends you have, sweetheart.

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felassan · 1 year

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Some more snippets of interest and insight from Mark Darrah, from an older Mark Darrah on Games YouTube video where he was livestreaming playing Dragon Age: Origins some months ago -

Chat asked "Have you been asked about The Last Flight and your thoughts on the Griffons?". Mark replied "My thoughts on griffons? I mean, I don't think that we're gonna see griffons as things you can ride. Flying is a gameplay feature that you better be really sure about before you add it into your game. But will we see some griffons? I think probably in some form, I mean the reason to put them in the novel is to reintroduce them to the setting".

Chat discussed titans, lyrium and theories and speculation about them. Mark added "Definitely not gonna comment on any of the titan and lyrium and so on, though, I mean things can and probably will have changed since I left. I don't want to accidentally say something that ends up not being reality". A chat user asked "I thought the franchise had a roadmap or something". Mark explained that there are roadmaps, but those are definitely open for manipulation and adjustment as required by the storytelling of the game, and that this is the main reason for the unreliable narrators. It gives that flexibility as required. "You can't really believe anything any one person says, they all have their own motivations, just because someone says it doesn't make it true".

Chat asked "Are the Devs planning on doing anything more with the Keep?" Mark replied "I don't know what the current plans with the Keep are. The reason the Keep exists in DA:I is to handle the generation switch, so that's still a relevant concern, but it was maintained by a separate group, and I'm not sure that that separate group completely exists anymore. It is not an insignificant amount of work to keep the Keep up to date. I like the idea as it removes the import requirement and so on but it's certainly not free. So maybe?" He also added "What was the change to the user agreement? I know that a whole bunch of stuff from around DA:I-time needed to be updated because of changes in European privacy laws, that's why The Last Court [came to an end]".

Chat asked "Think we will ever get answers on Magic or The Maker?". Mark replied that he thinks we will get some answers on magic, or at least additional context, but on the Maker, "No, I don't think that's ever going to be answered. I think the setting's much better off with the Maker being undefined and potentially existing and potentially not existing."

Chat asked "Will we ever find out wtf lyrium ghost Leliana really is?" and Mark said "On that front, my guess is no".

Chat asked "Are the people that worked on the character and the dialogues are still working at BioWare?" Mark replied "Which character are you asking about? Because the answer's probably yes".

[source]

He also talked more generally about DA:O and the franchise in general. These bits are collected under a cut due to length -

The Orlesian voice actors in DA:O are all French. The devs did talk about the peasants having a Quebecois accent "but decided that maybe that [inaudible]". "I wouldn't say all of their accents are Parisian, they're likely in English just the accent of whatever accent the VA actually had speaking English. Sometimes people from different regions pick up accents when they're learning a different language depending on who/where they learned it from. In DA they try to use accents from actual regions". "So Tali in Mass Effect has an accent which is kind've just the accent the VA did, and the problem is that when you need to replicate that with other people it's basically impossible. So we try to avoid that because as you can imagine, that's a problem." "Yeah, ideally make your accents something that can be replicated not just 'thing voice actor made up'"

Chat said "Tali always sounds Eastern European or Russian to me". Mark replied "It is, it has a lot of Eastern European, I think the VA is actually from Eastern Europe"

"You get people that have moved around a lot, sometimes they end up with really, these weird collections of accents that just sound, you know, vaguely exotic. Which is fine, it's a real thing that happens, but it also means that it can't really be replicated by anybody else"

Chat said "The draenei in Warcraft have a similar situation. No one knows what the hell their accent is supposed to be". Mark replied "I mean if it's consistent, if they've come up with an accent that they've consistently been able to put across to all of their actors then that's great, because it doesn't need to be connected to something in the real world, because it's not in the real world, so I don't necessarily have a problem with them coming up with an accent, as long as they're able to be consistent with it"

One of the accents that he always wanted to find a use for in DA was South African. "We never actually did find out but I really like that accent"

Chat said "I used to be lost in the Deep Roads, everywhere looks the same". Mark replied "Everywhere does look the same. Which is sort've vaguely realistic, but you've gotta be able to navigate"

"Anthem's flight is really cool but ultimately I don't feel like the mission structure ever really fully took into account the fact that people had jetpacks strapped to their butts"

Chat asked if the Deep Roads were inspired by the Mines of Moria. Mark replied, "I mean, maybe, dwarves have had a pretty long established canon and DA:O is definitely trying to present the standard races with their clichés but then sort've putting a twist on them, so dwarves are hyper politicized, the elves are a race that has fallen. So yes, it's hard to imagine that there wasn't Moria inspiration there, if you're gonna have dwarves and elves in a fantasy setting Tolkien is a touchpoint"

Chat discussed dwarves dreaming and not dreaming. Mark commented "I think originally dwarves were not supposed to dream, but I think you are correct, it has been inconsistent"

Leliana is Mike Laidlaw's favorite character. On her return in DA:I if she died in DA:O, Mark commented "That is, there's definitely no question that was a 'Mike wanted Leliana in DA:I, so she survives' [thing]. I mean, the Ashes were right there, so... I guess..."

Chat asked "Have graphics engines advanced to the point in game resolution/graphics could MATCH the CGI "Sacred Ashes" trailer for a DAO Remaster?'' Mark replied "Yeah, you could probably get pretty close to the Sacred Ashes trailer these days if you were willing to spend the time on the assets"

Chat commented that Ruck was suffering and that being infected by the Blight for so long can't be good for your health. Mark commented "One of the few places where we actually paid that off"

Chat asked "I asked on Twitter if you knew why BioWare didn't commit to either an A-RPG or C-RPG design in DAII and DA:I, but then I went on vacation. Did you talk about that in another stream?" Mark replied, "The short answer is the Dragon Age has always had the unfortunate problem of being pushed to broaden its audience all the time, so in DAII-time the word 'RPG' kind've became a dirty word in the industry, so that's why DAII is quite, it's DA:O with the action cranked up to 1000." "Even before Critical Role 'RPG' was starting to pivot back. Basically as every game became an RPG, the word first became almost completely poisonous and then sort've became a fine thing to say. And now that D&D is at the most popular level it's ever been, it definitely made a difference. Skyrim made a difference as well, it was definitely not afraid to say 'RPG' out loud. When GTA and even shooters started saying about putting RPG elements in, that helped too"

Dwarves are interesting "because typically people who play dwarves always play dwarves"

"BioWare would not use any fanfiction, BioWare doesn't read any fanfiction because it's a legal minefield, or at least a lawsuit minefield." "I can tell you that companies like EA are immensely afraid of lawsuits so they do lots of things to avoid that"

Chat said "'I like the theory out there that originally if you kept the Architect alive he could have fought with you against Cory in DA:I. Was there truth to that?" Mark replied, "I don't know if that was.. it's possible because they're definitely related. It's possible that if you kept him alive there was an intention to do that. It definitely didn't survive contact with shipping the thing." When chat followed up by asking his opinion on the idea, Mark said "I mean I think it makes sense, it would have been an interesting payoff for the character if you did that, but it's a whole extra fight for what would have been a very small minority of players. It would've been a good way to take him off the table". On the small minority of players point, he elaborated "It would be people who played Awakening, which is only 35% of people who played DA:O, and finished Awakening, which would be say half that, and played DAII, so [...]. I think if we had done it it would have been more, an asset in the combat [like Zevran joining for the final battle in DAII] not 'he's gonna take him on by himself'"

"You can see why the Dragon Age team isn't super enthusiastic about Dragon Age being 'random moon in Mass Effect'" [said regarding this fan theory]

During the Broodmother fight, Mark said "this is the thing, is if you do a remaster you probably leave this bit all alone. But if you do a remake you gotta, this [would probably get/need to be] addressed"

[source]

(pls note that in places there is a bit of paraphrasing of the info, the best source is always the primary source with full quotes in their original context)

#dragon age: dreadwolf #dragon age 4 #the dread wolf rises #da4 #dragon age #bioware #mass effect #long post #longpost #video games #anthem #saveserault

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12pt-times-new-roman · 8 months

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c3e72

We land on the northeastern shore of the island, and learn that FCG does not, in fact, know how compasses work.

Before using the compass to call the ghost pirates (?), FCG casts speak with dead on the bodies in the portable hole, and Imogen disguises herself as her mother to get them to talk. First, the druid:

[You failed your mission. Where is Thull?] "She remains at the key." [How many have come over?] "I don't know. I saw a hundred or more." [Did you ever speak to Ludinus?] "No. Just watched him." [How much time until we strike?] "I don't know." [What is the greatest threat to our organization?] "They've mentioned unity. Keep them scattered."

Next, General Ratanish: [Congratulations, you fell to a group of weaklings. Luckily, our master is forgiving. We can bring you back if you prove yourself. Tell me how we communicate.] "The old-fashioned way. The solstice has scrambled us." [Tell me how we protected our entrances to the key.] "The soldiers have been moved as you requested, and the Moonfolk have kept eyes as well." [You were in charge of keeping rebellions down, yes?] "Partially." [As you can see, I've been separated from our forces. Tell me about our entrances into the key.] "You have many tricks up your sleeve. The main pit entrance is easy. Otherwise... they were closed behind us as a precaution." [What happened to the two, the wizard and the monk?] "Probably dead."

In the throes of that massive success, they turn back to summoning a ship full of ghost pirates. From where the compass hits the water, mist billows and encloses the landscape, the temperature drops dramatically, and Orym hears nothing except for the waves and the wind. Noiselessly, a shadowed shape breaches the distant fog bank — the bow of a massive ship, chains hanging from the sides, an overgrown moss clustered up the hull, three masts with tattered sails.

It pulls up alongside the beach, and shadowed figures leap from the deck to meet them. They're mostly skeletal, wearing torn leather, wielding cutlasses — ten of them marching up the shore, splashing through the water. A handful stay on the ship, and a raspy voice echoes from it: "Take it from them. Leave them bleeding. Whatever they have is ours." Initiative!

wait are the Bells Hells finally going to get a ship if they defeat these guys??

Laudna knocks out most of the skeletons with a fireball and calls out in Shadowcant. "You sure you don't want to chat." "Hah. A chat it is. Kill the rest." The captain holds his action for the next couple of rounds.

Fearne legitimately considering not healing FCG when they're down and making death saves purely because their turn undead hit Laudna (even though it really shouldn't have bc she isn't undead) is certainly A Choice

Laudna reaches the captain, and puts his hand to her chest. "You're like me. Cursed. Rau'shan, Ka'mort, Delilah — we can end it. Together." He withdraws. "I chose this curse. The Strife Emperor granted me new life. So what else do you offer, besides returning what is mine?" She offers the compass and Chetney's cursed sword. "It's cursed, it talks to him — I figure it fits your aesthetic... it imbues him with the strength of a hundred holy men. It can grant you radiant abilities, the same ones that caused your men to flee." "Show me this blade."

Ashton rage build update: It seems like the 10th level improvement for the space rage build allows Ashton to teleport up to 60 feet on their turn. It's not clear whether this is a bonus action, a free action, or part of their movement.

Chetney approaches the captain with Graz'tchar unsheathed. "If you want your compass back, we beg but a simple journey across the seas."

Laudna's turn. "So, you're asking for passage? In trade, you all live, and you give me my compass and this fine weapon." "The compass first; the blade upon completion... you can't expect me to trust a bunch of pirates." "Collateral doesn't sound right to me. The blade now, the compass after."

Chetney hands over the blade, the captain accepts, and combat ends.

Travis went from having to be forcibly separated from the cursed sword, to willingly giving up the cursed sword after 72 episodes of buildup, to giving it away within a half dozen episodes of acquisition! that's what I call character growth!

"You have a thing here, in this realm, called guilt, and I've never really felt it before but I feel it really strongly here for some reason and it sucks—" fearne

"We didn't really do any research, we just heard about you from another woman and thought that sounded great" That is literally the Bells Hells' motto. Like. pirate captains, gods, what's the difference? they don't know shit about either!

They ask about the captain and his ship. They used to be well-known in these parts (unclear whether "these parts" refers to the Shattered Teeth or Domunas), but gained a lot of enemies; eventually, the enemies became part of the crew. They had almost gathered all of the things they were searching for when the curse befell them, and now they're searching for the rest — "things that are personal to me. Items, keepsakes, trophies, and my navigation tools."

And they, on semantics, give him his compass back. This surely will have no negative consequences in the future.

The boat is called "the Crimson Abyss." They're crossing over the Vermillion Reef. I mean, come on—

The captain has made multiple allusions to how his word is his bond, and how promises bind him, and how all the stories about him reflect this. Is he some kind of fey entity, somehow?

Ashton asks the captain about what's happening globally, and he says that he knows basically nothing.

I feel like the Bells Hells not knowing that Bane is a Betrayer God says more about the quality of the Exandrian public education system than anything—

Bane is the god of tyranny and conquest; they are lawful evil, and they believe in structure through domination, that those who are in power are there because they deserve or have earned it. In essence, if the Cerberus Assembly had to worship a god, they'd worship Bane. But for the captain, it's less about revery and worship, and more about praying to someone you agree with when you feel the occasional need to pray.

I do genuinely hope that Laudna giving up Chetney's blade for him without consulting him will become a point of conflict, I'd love to see more of their dynamic play out.

Time to identify magic items! They got boots of speed (which are much different and marginally less powerful than the boots of haste). With a round of Rollies, Ashton gets them, and trades them to Chetney for the Ring of Temporal Salvation.

Ashton goes to talk to the navigator, and they're the only one who picks up on the fact that she can't see the fog. Ashton mentions how they think that the Bells Hells can do something, or refuse to do something, about what the gods are facing; and on the mention of the red moon, she says that she hasn't seen it in weeks, and that worries her. They play into the navigator's anger (she's the skeleton of a fire genasi, he notices, and she's angry; he knows anger), plays on her doubts, to get the information they need. Like they did with Percy, it's unclear whether Ashton actually believes that the gods deserve to die, or if they're playing up that sentiment to appeal to the person they're trying to get information from.

The rest of them head below decks, and find that it's freezing cold, too cold to sleep. Somewhere, there's a violin playing.

#critical role #note watches c3 #critical role spoilers #critical role campaign 3 #critical role c3 #critical role liveblog

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an-aura-about-you · 2 months

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so MY day blew absolute chunks!

under the cut for sickness both human and animal, vomit mention, family trouble, a near accident, and general unpleasantness.

-started the day kinda lazy and late since I was sick Sunday and part of Monday. ended up starting it so late that by the time I fed the cat he wolfed it down too fast and vomited it back up. :( so that was a thing I had to clean up before leaving.

-got a message from my sibling that our mother is Losing Her Goddamn Mind. what's going on is she's started drinking again, and this is apparently the final straw for Dad, who has decided a separation is in order for him to establish proper boundaries. so he and my sibbie are moving out into an apartment. so our mother swung right into angry and controlling and straight up said my sibling was "trying to steal her husband." a quick bullet list on that:

What??

Ewwwww!

NO!

WHAT??????????????

anyway, I told my sibbie they could use my spare keys to stay at my place if they like while I'm out at the office.

-leave for work with the bare minimum of what I need for the day to be okay: my laptop, lanyard, phone, headphones, cane, and half a bottle of Gatorade. I don't bring a lunch, a reusable cup, any of my herbal teas I use to make flavored water, and my money situation is so tight that buying lunch means it's going on the credit card. but at this point I'm like, "fuck it, I'll buy lunch."

-one bit of luck: at the lunch kiosk they're selling chicken gumbo, so I get a cup of that and it's not too pricey AND it tasted good. also earlier I overheard the lady who works there talkin' nice about me behind my back after I came in and wished the crew there good morning. (I pass the lunch kiosk on the way to the elevators.)

-the site to clock in and out was malfunctioning for me most of today. I had to send an email for FOUR missing punches, the most I've ever had to deal with. at least I can back up my presence with the group chat, my badging in and out of the office, and witnesses.

-I got some texts from the social committee, which was fine that they got to do the Valentine's Day treat bags for all our neighbors, but I was sad that I was too sick on Sunday and working yesterday and today, so I couldn't help put them together or pass them out. :( (I did get mine when I got home and it was very cute!)

-lunch time rolls around, so I go out to a nice coffee shop and get some tea. there was construction on my way, so I try looking into an alternate path back to the office. once I realized that path would take longer than going through the construction again, I turn around and on my way back I NEARLY GOT HIT BY A CAR TURNING LEFT INTO THE ROAD???? AND THEY HAD THE NERVE TO HONK AT ME LIKE I WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE THERE WHEN THEY WERE THE ONE TURNING?????????

-I get some extra work tonight because even though I'm not doing my day team's banks this week, I'm learning how to hand them out AND a night team coworker had some connection issues so I had to do two of her banks.

-I also found out that the coworker who does the day team banks this week will be out tomorrow, so I WILL have to do the day team banks then.

-all after my last break, I heard my bothersome coworker talk on and on about her conservative politics, cooking info that I know from my Le Cordon Bleu background doesn't work with the science, and medical misinformation that will likely get her killed. this is the same person who has a "strongly held religious belief against wearing masks" and "believes parasites cause cancer." her latest take is that sugar causes all ills. arthritis? sugar. dementia? sugar. glaucoma? sugar. like, what????? is any of this actually proven? by a reputable source?

-when I got home I found that the cat coughed up a hairball on my comforter. :(

#aura and the terrible horrible no-good very bad day #also I'm just gonna put this in the tags right here: stop putting your flour in the refrigerator #it's not actually helping anything because to properly make your recipe you'll need to let your flour get to room temperature again #(aka the food danger zone)#and anything you're trying to kill off via the fridge will be killed off if you cook it properly #there is no purpose in putting the flour in the fridge except adding a pointless step that you'll have to reverse anyway

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pink2004luigi · 2 years

Text

[TDLR AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST] I feel like something that hasn't been talked about in detail was when the official Eddsworld Discord server turned into a Patreon-exclusive one. The only thing I ever heard was that it was because Matt/Bing only cares about money, which isn't true.

I never really took the time to talk about my opinion since there was so much going on with my life that any added drama was something I didn't want to have to deal with.

So for context, I've been part of the server since it became public. In August 2020, I became a curator, and in February 2021, I became a moderator. I've been moderating the server until the beginning of October 2022, when I finally stepped down. I already summarized the reason I left, but I didn't mention that it was because of both the team and the members that I left the mod team. I'm still pretty mixed about the change, but I'll address a few things I liked and didn't like.

Why I was against the change:

- The server, at the time of the change, was a little over 12,000 users. As multiple people have already said, putting that amount of people behind a paywall all of a sudden is really sucky. Especially since many of my friends who were part of the server can't make that choice, whether it be because of age or their financial situation. Creating a separate server for them wasn't an option as it would've doubled our work as moderators and didn't eliminate the problem that partially caused the change in the first place.

- I also didn't want the change because I was attached to the server. I joined the moderation team so that there could be a bridge between the fans and the team. That change would destroy that bridge even more than all the 2021 drama did, and that's something I didn't want. Mainly because I got constantly attacked for things, the EW team did, even though I had nothing to do with it. I was scared that I would be attacked even though I had no say in the choice, which ended up happening anyways.

- I enjoyed seeing different people all the time and watching the various "eras" of the Eddsworld discord server pass by. There would always be a group of super active users who, after a while, step back, and then a new group of users appear. That and more people were thankful that I constantly ensured the server was stable. Nowadays, it feels more like I'm moderating a group chat than a community, which wasn't what I originally came on the mod team for.

Why I wasn't against the change:

When Bing first gave us the heads up about the change, we were all against it, primarily because of the arguments users have currently been making. However, he took the time to explain it to us in VC, and I've seen nobody discuss the things he said, not that I've seen anyways.

- First of all, the mod team. For the longest time, we were just 2-3 people keeping an eye on 12k members, two of us being volunteers. It might not seem like a lot, but it is, especially when you think about the mentality of some of the EW community.

With such a big and easily accessible server, we were often faced with false accusations against us and lots of harassment just because, to them, we were directly part of the EW team, which meant we were automatically bad people. It was because of this constant harassment that we were all getting exhausted.

A smaller number of users, especially those generally more mature, would stop most of these interactions and let us catch our breath. Hiring more mods wasn't an option when the easier option was right there. Besides, hiring more mods would move them away from working on Eddsworld, which isn't something they should do.

Focusing on EW is a better priority than getting more moderators, which might not even help as the number of members isn't a huge problem; it's the type of audience the server had.

- Another thing was... a lot of the members in general. I expected it, we all did, but the chaos that came once the announcement was made broke my heart. Users who were once role models and super kind people were lashing out; others were sending death threats or threatening to dox them since they were okay with the change. Many people broke the rules that day, which drained me a lot. I even had to miss classes because I felt so unwell mentally. They proved why the change had to happen by trying to undo it.

- One point Bing made was that he never really wanted the server to get so big in the first place and didn't like the direction it was heading in. He tried to make it Patreon exclusive so the patrons could have a place to hang out and get more benefits for helping the show out, similar to what other YouTubers, streamers, etc., are doing. He said that the team would feel more comfortable interacting with users with a smaller group of people. Since the change, I can see that being true. I've seen the team interact more, doing more streams, etc., without many issues. I remember one of the team members being falsely attacked just because of how often they were streaming games and such before the change. I agree that Bing should've made the server Patreon exclusive in the first place instead of waiting so long. However, I doubt they would've had so many members at the beginning, especially since the server went public in early 2019 and the Patreon was made in late 2020 when they released Fan Service 2.

After the change

Once the server was only accessible to Patrons, things were settled down and such. People were still angry about it, so the preview for the new episode was leaked. One thing went to another and... I ended up being the only mod left standing.

Now, let me tell you, I suck at doing things independently. I didn't have anyone to discuss server issues with, which stressed me a lot. That, and how I usually bottle up feelings and emotions until it bursts, caused me to lash out a few times and act unprofessionally. That made me realize that I can't keep moderating. I didn't want to further ruin the reputation of Eddsworld or myself, so I told them that I'd step down on the 1st of October.

Do I regret it? Partially. I miss not being able to take action when a user misbehaves, and I'll miss being the one users can trust whenever things go wrong. Alas, I'm someone who works best in a team when it comes to moderation, not alone. I'm hoping they can either manage the server on their own or get someone with more experience to handle it.

I'm not too angry about everything that happened, it was just how things had to go. The way the fans interacted only added fuel to the fire that had started and I got tired of being dragged directly into it.

TLDR: Eddsworld community points fingers and harasses volunteer mods + team members not involved in discourse/drama. Bing wanted to stop that and didn't want Patrons to waste their money (probably due to the lack of posts), so he made it Patreon-only. The stress of being the only moderator left and added drama caused by users made it so I stepped down, and now they don't have any more dedicated mods as of posting this.

Please do not attack anyone over this. Not the users, not the EW team. The team is constantly trying their best to balance things out, and I understand that some users were pretty overwhelmed by the announcement and have probably moved on from it.

#eddsworld #eddsworld discourse #(?) maybe #just talking about my experience #i barely make posts like these #i just draw silly eddsworld characters

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alto-tenure · 11 months

Note

River, River, I actually believe you owe me a RWBY rec list anyway, so....

yeah ok I did say that. fair enough!

I've separated these fics into a few distinct eras, because I think the show's long-running status has impacted characterization over time -- not to say that older fics aren't still worth reading, but there might be some things that are different (e.g. pre-V4 there was a lot of speculation that Blake was an orphan, pre-V8 there were a lot of V7 ending fix-its and such). Tossing you in the deep end with ship names sorry you're going to have to figure it out yourself <3

BEACON-ERA (V1-V3) - publication dates from July 2013-October 2016 (when V4 started releasing)

clinging to a little bit of spine by rwbyfics | T | Monochrome | 10.9k

Blake was the black water lake where people went to drown, she was fifty stones in each pocket and breezeblocks strapped to broken ankles. Sinking wasn't an option for Weiss, and it never would be.

A heartfelt exploration of Weiss's and Blake's relationship as it stood back in the Beacon arc.

Loyalty by Texan_Red_Rose | T | Monochrome | 59.6k

When pressed, will Weiss use her head or her heart?

AU - the Huntsman system is more militaristic, among other things.

V4-V7 - publication dates from October 2016-February 2020 (when V7 ended)

Celebrity Matchmaker by Texan_Red_Rose | T | Blake/Weiss/Yang/Pyrrha | 29.4k

Weiss, this season's lead on a reality show, has made it to the finale, where she must choose to marry one of three finalists. Then, Remnant gets to approve or nix the union, and that SHOULD be the hardest part of this. But when the choice is between Blake, Pyrrha, and Yang, how can she decide?

A funny Bachelorette-esque AU that chooses to sidestep love drama in favor of the polycule.

The Fairest by periferal | T | Calichrome | 42.3k

Mirror mirror, on the wall, am I the fairest of them all? And if I'm not, who will it be, please oh mirror, show her me- Blake finds a girl standing alone in the woods.

A great use of the fairytale allusions.

V7 hiatus-V8 - publication dates from February 2020 to March 2021 (when V8 ended)

like punching in a dream (wait, i don't ever want to be here) by nirav | T | Bees Schnees | 6.6k

Her ribs ache from the explosion in the desert, the one that sent her careening off target and let her mark get away, and she knows that Weiss and Yang will surely be home soon enough, if only to burn the evidence of their relationship to the ground. There’s no telling which of them had set the charges that nearly blew her up. Yang was the engineer, but Weiss was the planner. Even odds.

And from here on there will be a lot of Bees Schnees on this list! Kicking this off with a bang. Technically a sequel to another fic, part of a larger Mr. and Mrs. Smith inspired AU.

Books & Behaviors by GreekLetter | T | Monochrome | 65.3k

After an unforgiving life event, Blake Belladonna decides to move away from the town she's lived in for years. Taking a job in Vale, where she knows no one. As she sets out to make a new life for herself, she knows there's two things she needs. A good coffee shop and the perfect bookstore. Maybe finding a pretty girl at the bookstore isn't so bad either.

A slow burn modern AU that I enjoyed a lot.

The Official Ace-Ops Communications Channel by HopeStoryteller | T | Gen with various relationships | 10.6k

In light of the Amity Communications Tower project, General Ironwood decides it may be a good idea to have a communications channel among everyone working on it. Nobody really wants to talk about what happened the last time the Ace Ops had a group chat. Whatever it was, it won't happen again. Probably. After all, it's not going to stay just the Ace Ops.

Minor pairings include: Fair Game, Frosen Steel, Renorarc, Bumbleby, Schneewood Forest, and Elm/Vine (name I can't remember rn).

every siren went silent by lescousinsdangereux | T | Bees Schnees | 11.9k

“You are so smooth, Weiss,” Yang breathes and — god help her — her lips brush just so against the shell of Weiss’s ear. “Good to know that you aren’t affected by Blake bending over to line up her shot right now. Or by the fact that I wanted to keep you in my room for several more rounds, that morning you left.” Oh no, Weiss thinks.

Everyone's sports in this AU are very well chosen, though I wouldn't have expected some of the choices made for the characters -- it still works.

tell me what you mean when you scream by nirav | T | Bees Schnees | 10.6k

“They were your best friends once,” Ruby says, momentarily gentle. “And they’re still some of my best friends. Just-- one day, okay? No bachelorette party, no rehearsal dinner, nothing like that. Just stand up with me, be cordial to them, and then you never have to see them again.” Yang whines, slumping back against Ruby as she’s shoved out the door, half for show and half because she has six months to prepare herself for being in the same room as Blake Belladonna and Weiss Schnee for the first time in ten years.

A fun chaotic rom-com esque AU.

here i sit like a beginner beginning again by nirav | T | Bees Schnees | 52.5k

She turns her back on Yang and busies herself with the backpacks, leaving Yang with half a cup of coffee and an unfamiliar feeling in her gut, half the long-standing apprehension of trying to find her family and half something new and scalding and tied exclusively to the way her hands want to reach for the guarded set to Blake’s jaw as much as they want to reach for the familiarity of Weiss’s hand in hers.

Bees Schnees The Mummy AU. Fascinating in its worldbuilding and its portrayal of the character relationships.

jigsaws and pieces we made to fit by FaultyParagon | T | Fair Game | 41k

Clover is not a father, nor does he ever intend to become one. Then, he meets Qrow Branwen, and suddenly he finds himself with eight surrogate children, all with a different name for Qrow- a different bond. What he doesn’t expect to find out is that Qrow never wanted to be a father, either, but now he’s in it too deep. So… Clover’s got eight kids too now. Oops. -aka Clover falls for an oddly loving, domestic, awkward duncle!Qrow and doesn't know how the whole step-dad gig is supposed to work when they're not officially dating or anything. V7 domestic FairGame.

Exploration into chosen families that makes me soft.

All Together (Together) by KatQuasar | T | JNPR Berries | 28.2k

After everything, JNPR move into a house together as a team and two established couples. But things are a bit more complicated when there's feelings under the surface that are suddenly dug up when frictions arise between them individually. What happens when everyone's in love with each other?

A sweet fic set in a softer universe. Minor Bees Schnees.

sing for me, my meadowlark by FaultyParagon | T | Gen | 10.3k

Roman Torchwick is confident that he will one day reign supreme. Being a father was never in those plans. He’s always been weak for ice cream, though; and if he can make his ward smile on top of that, then he shall do whatever it takes- even if it kills him. -aka Roman and Neo’s relationship from Neo's childhood till V3, explored through a series of vignettes.

A note on canon compliance -- this pre-dates Roman Holiday and thus is not compliant with that (and Neo's backstory as portrayed in those portraits, which is essentially a summary of the novel).

she's got a halogen heart by hittingonallsixes | T | Weiss-centric RWBYJNPR polycule | 8.9k

The summary was fighting me and didn't want to paste, but TL;DR: Weiss goes out for dinner with her partners, slice-of-life chaos.

The Gang Kidnaps A Child by Kablob & mylordshesacactus | T | Gen | 10k

Summer, Taiyang, Raven, and Qrow would normally never stay at a place as disgustingly Atlesian as this. Unfortunately, it's nearly midnight and they don't have time to find another hotel to—hey wait a second, is that a fucking kid?

AU where STRQ adopts Cinder. (You'll note that if you look in the tag around the time this was published there are a lot of AUs where something changed for Cinder, whether it be STRQ adopting her or Rhodes just being less of a dick.)

The Lucky Merman by TheCraftyNinjaCat | T | Fair Game | 39.7k

Beloved by everyone and leader of King Ironwood’s prestigious Ace-Ops, Clover seems to be the luckiest merman in the ocean. His only secret; his unwavering interest in the human world, the bane of the king’s existence. At least he's good at keeping it a secret, and his friend Robyn is always down to help him indulge. He has nothing to worry about.

Then he rescues human prince Qrow Branwen from a sinking ship, and things get much more complicated.

An enjoyable TLM AU.

Hereditary by Riggy_Minus | T | Gilded Rose | 173.6k

Ruby Rose, a girl who always wanted to be a huntress, finds herself elevated to Beacon Academy two years early. With no real friends save her sister, she does her best to adjust before the machinations of those plotting against the peace that the world of Remnant has known her whole life become too much to handle.

Incomplete series, but some enjoyable plots and dynamics between the characters. I especially enjoy the Lancaster slow burn dynamic.

Volume One: Winter & Spring by tkss | T | Gen (hints of Catmeleon, Freezerburn, Monochrome) | 120.6k

Crimson Silver was raised in Evernight, taken in by Salem after being found missing one of her silver eyes on the night her parents were killed. Weiss Schnee failed her trial against the Arma Gigas and instead applies to join the Atlesian military. Blake Belladonna goes undercover as the human Dusk Nightshade to infiltrate Haven Academy and spy for the White Fang. Yang Branwen is the bandit princess of her mother's tribe and possesses the power of the Spring Maiden. Team WYCD arrives at Haven Academy, each member with ulterior motives -- but doubts and hopes alike work to change the course of their future, and the future of Remnant. Or: the WYCD AU. Ruby is a servant of Salem. Weiss followed in her sister's footsteps. Blake never left the White Fang. Yang was raised by Raven as the Spring Maiden. None of Team RWBY ever made it to Beacon, yet Team RWBY still formed... albeit under different circumstances.

Fascinating that Weiss would, in most circumstances, be the worst leader for team RWBY -- but under these circumstances, she has to be.

Post-V8 - publication dates from March 2021 to present

A Marriage Masquerade by Victorious56 | G | Hummingbird | 13.2k

Miss Summer Rose is to marry her childhood sweetheart, to the delight of all who know them. There are only two problems. Summer is no longer a biddable child, and the Honourable Taiyang Xiao Long is not her sweetheart.

A fascinating period piece featuring a ship that isn't typically my cup of tea, but makes it work nonetheless.

it's cooler than a knife, at least by bandiits | T | Bees Schnees | 8.9k

It starts with Ruby, who buys Weiss a sword, and goes from there - to a shrine on the wall, to gouges in the floorboards of a shared apartment, and confused feelings in the name of Athena. Or, you can buy a girl a sword, but you can't make the fools she's in love with realize they're in love right back.

modern AU + swords my beloved!!

show me everything and tell me how by ProfessorSpork | T | Gen (minor Bumbleby) | 20.1k

The second thing Blake notices about Sun Wukong isn’t his kind smile, or his concerned expression. It’s the way he wears his shirt open, proudly displaying the top surgery scars that accentuate his pecs: an underline in bold, declaring all that he is. Without thought, without fear. Blake’s never had that kind of courage in her life. - [Or: Blake & Sun & gender] [Or: How Blake Learned to Stop Worrying And Love Herself] [Or: Maybe the real they/them was the friends we made along the way] [Or: come for nb!Blake, stay for yearning bees]

I sent this to a friend of mine back when it was published who has never seen an episode of RWBY in xyr life, and it still managed to resonate with xem. I don't think any note I have to add to this can endorse it any more than that.

across the stars by CorvidFeathers | T | Bumbleby | 16k

Blake, running from her past and harboring a dangerous secret, would go anywhere the solar winds are blowing, so long as it gets her away; so she barters passage on the first solarship heading for the Outer Moons. If the Crescent Rose’s first mate is the most beautiful woman she’s ever met, that’s coincidence. Mostly.

Woooo okay we've gotten to the BBB fics I bookmarked from the 2021 event!! This was a really sweet and interesting AU.

back to places you run from by gayxiaolong | T | Bumbleby (minor Schneekos + Rainbow Quartz) | 42.4k

2 years, 8 months, 12 days. That’s how long Blake spent planning the heist of her dreams. It’s also how long she spent in jail. Now that she’s out, she gets to work. She’ll need a team of the best criminals she can find, a way to convince Yang to be her partner-in-crime again, and… a way to get back to how they were. Infiltrating and robbing the most exclusive event of the year might be easier than getting Yang to fall in love with her again. *** or, an Ocean's 8 au

I really enjoy heist fics, and I love the amount of thought that was put into this.

beyond this town lies a life much sadder by nirav | T | Bumbleby (minor Schneekos) | 25.4k

Yang Xiao Long has lived and died and lived again more times than anyone can count. She's spent centuries living a life in the shadows with her family and has never wanted anything more than that, until she wakes up one day from a dream that leads her to Blake Belladonna-- a new immortal unknowingly on the run from people hunting for the secret to her immortality-- and, for the first time since before written language was invented, finds herself wanting something for herself.

An interesting exploration of immortality and what forever truly means.

Caesura by Probably_Momo | T | Bumbleby | 19.8k

When up-and-coming cellist Blake Belladonna fired her manager, Adam Taurus, she thought she was finally free. But Adam’s obsession ran deep. During a botched attempt on her life, violin prodigy Yang was also gravely wounded. In the aftermath, Blake’s music was gone, silent. Her public reputation in tatters, Blake fled.

Three years later, Blake’s found her music again, jamming with friends and composing indie game scores. Her world is carefully rebalanced— until Sun shows her a viral TikTok video. There is Yang and her shiny yellow prosthetic arm. There is Yang covering the main theme from Blake’s latest project. [What can she do but play along?]

Music AU! A subject close to my heart.

Craving the Sky by najio | T | Bees Schnees | 205.2k

If it weren't for her grandfather, Weiss would have lost her wings at birth. If it weren't for her mother, she would have lost them as a toddler, when she was still too young to remember them. If it weren't for her sister, she would have lost them as a child, the moment she was old enough to be afraid of them. Weiss arrives at Beacon still counting down the days to her eighteenth birthday, when she will finally get rid of them for good. It's the obvious next step. Until, that is, her team does what they do best, and makes everything a whole lot more complicated.

The word count probably seems intimidating, but I promise you it is worth it. (I was keeping up with this fic as it was updating, so...uh...it wasn't as intimidating when I started, whoops.)

I posted about this fic a while ago too.

#rwby #fic recs #ok here goes with the ship tags these are for my organization so #otp: no longer pieces on the board #otp: feeling like a brand new day #ot3: beauty/grace/will punch you in the face #jnpr berries #bees!#hummingbird #if you want to know WHY a ship is named what it is whiskers you can ask me bc i love talking about the cleverness of rwby ships #BUT otherwise you'll have to figure out which characters are in them for yourself

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rowrowknowa · 2 months

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ABOUT ME :D

Basics

✮ name - you can just call me E

✮ age - 23

✮zodiac - can you guess?

✮ gender - i use she/her pronouns, but don't mind being referred to with they/them and use of pretty much any gendered words (bro, dude, man, boss buddy, sis, girl, etc) doesn't bother me [[[dont call me sis if ur not black tho]]]

✮ mbti - ENFP-A consistently for the past 6 years (was INTP-T in HS)

✮ studies - huge into science ask me what kind; i also like music theory/history, art history, philosophy

Interests

✮ games - nintendo fan (no matter how much they piss me off). love pokemon, fire emblem (obsessed with fe3h), zelda, animal crossing etc. HUGE sonic the hedgehog fan

✮ anime - too many to make an exhaustive list without forgetting some. obviously my favorite is One Piece (i think my favorite show in general). i started watching it when i was like 4 with the 4kidz dub and here i am almost 20 years later still going oda and i locked in fr. also love attack on titan, naruto, death note, fairy tail, jjk, knb, hxh, black butler and so many more this is stressing me out trying to think of what ive watched so im gonna stop... ask me about what i've watched lets yap

✮ non-anime shows - gotta big ups to ATLA a modern masterpiece of western artistry. don't ask me about the live action bc i don't wanna talk about it. same deal here i cant think of all of them without short circuiting but top of mind i LOVE the good place, scandal, htgawm, grey's anatomy (before it crashed out), bridgerton, BREAKING BAD (not caught up in better call saul), superstore, vincenzo, crash landing on you, goblin, anything with gong yoo and/or lee dong wok in it tbh, strangers from hell, bad and crazy, attorney woo

✮ used to be super into marvel and the mcu (and i know thats a thing people say but it was so so bad for me) but its not what it used to be and also i think i started outgrowing it once my media literacy improved its ties to military propaganda couldn't be ignored lmao (also sabra being in the mcu is sosososo crazy) .. some of the comics still bang tho i wont lie

✮ music - not to be one of those "oh i listen to everything" people as a cop out but i truly do listen to so much disparate types of music *insert laugh crying emojis* but my overall favorite genre is jazz, i love 70s-00s black american music so much (i was a 9 year old motown stan it was so serious to me), love afrobeats, amapiano, baile funk, r&b, rap (meg thee stallion is literally my wifey), pop, country, classical, VIDEO GAME OSTS (in true sega stan fashion) -- recommend me your favorite song!

✮ kpop - a separate bullet because i know where the overlap in interests comes in lmao. honestly ive fallen back from kpop a bit, not as into it as i was like even 6 months ago but groups that i still actively follow and listen to are ateez (ot8 but strong swing for mingi) and nct. also know alot about bts, txt, seventeen, exo, and shinee if you ever want to chat about them, but i listen to mostly individual songs from them and other groups and don't follow their releases

Where is E in *insert work here*?

✮ pls i hate all spoilers but these are the ones i strongly care about pls take note pls :(

One Piece: ep. 1031 ... i avoid catching up because i get sad when there's no more to watch

FE3H: Finished Golden Deer and Blue Lions, please don't tell me anything about the Black Eagle story line

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mobbothetrue · 3 months

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I’m doing an honour mode run of Baldur’s Gate 3 (just barely into the underdark) and it’s been going great

I mean there have been some. Uh. Extremely dicey fights. Including one where I was three hp away from a tpk. but generally okay

One big exception though. So I’m playing a chaotic good tiefling, Sephira, so ofc she sympathizes with the refugees and goes off to the goblin camp to take em out. No problems. Gut gets korilla’d, Minthara I did try to keep alive but she was on 6 hp and the game showed me a button that said ‘hellish rebuke’ and uh. One thing led to another you know how it is. and. I don’t remember the third guy. Zirg? Zorg? Dror Raglzin? Something like that. He got barreled. No problem, easy peasy, let’s go to the grove and get our party :)

I walk in using Karlach, bc usually every time I go to the grove for the party Zevlor will NOT let me talk to any of the npc’s behind him and I wanna do that. So Karlach triggers dialogue and I break Sephira off from the group to chat with some npcs.

At this point, four things worth noting.

One: I (erroneously, it seems) recall there is a way to revive Minthara,,, but I left her body in the goblin camp.

Two: I intended, initially, to ignore the creche entirely and just go through the underdark… but the entrance to the underdark is in the goblin camp.

Three: after you kill the leaders, the entire goblin camp aggros on sight.

Four: I am on a voice call with a friend, meaning, instead of this being something I am thinking inside of my brain I am saying it out loud and as a visual aid to the story I have my map open and my cursor hovering over the fast travel point to the goblin camp.

I’m sure you can guess what I clicked by accident.

Thankfully, (ohmygod), because Sephira was separate from the group when I did that, only she went. Switching back to Karlach and triggering the party got Sephira out. Phew.

Do the party. Nearly accidentally romance Gale for the second playthrough in a row. Drinking, merry times, wheeeee!

Parties over. Next day. I have a bunch of loot to sell so I grab it and exit the camp.

Loading screen. Loading screen. Sounds of initiative being rolled. Loading screen paired with the worst sinking dread I have ever experienced.

It put me back in the fucking goblin camp.

By some sheer stroke of fate, despite the party being together, everyone else went to the emerald grove, but that thirty seconds I spent unable to see… holy shit. So fucking scary. Sephira gets the absolute shit murdered out of her.

How do I make sure this never ever happens again.

Be more careful? Make sure I don’t click things by accident?

I get to level five and proceed to slaughter the entire camp. I used the bridge as a funnel for em, set up a grease puddle to keep them back, had Sephira plant a cloud of daggers right in the middle for them to run into, Gale on standby with a fireball once enough of them clumped up, and Karlach hucking this cool spear I (found? Bought??? I don’t remember) to pick off the little guys.

Astarion is back in camp hanging out with Withers in case things go wrong, but they don’t. In fact, things go so right that the only character to leave the fight worse than they entered is…. Astarion. somehow. Yeah I don’t know what he got up to when I wasn’t looking but he lost like 8 hp.

Anyway long story short: got a problem? Could being careful fix it? No. Wrong. Blender.

#mobbtalks #… also uh. I forgot about the owlbear cub. and I couldn’t just leave him there!#he’s safe now :)#also had an extremely dicey moment with that first batch of duegar #with uhhh. gehk somthn or other #mostly bc I failed to kill that guy on the first round and he raised like 10 undead which was extremely unchill #so Karlach is getting slowly punched to death #Gale is having a wonderful time actually he’s parked safely in a corner with witch bolt going #Sephira is scampering around throwing magic missiles and eldritch blasts (<- sorcerer/warlock)#sovereign glut is. uh. well he exploded.#& Astarion is helping out Karlach. no problemo. all good.#aw fuck I forgot about that invisible barbarian guy and everyone is kinda fucked up #he takes out Karlach. I get Astarion up to high ground next to Sephira to pepper him with spells but that fucker follows us so fast #Gale is the only one left alive. and he’s a fucking Wizard. okay. okay okay. maybe if he throws a health potion Just Right it will hit both #Astarion and Sephira. no problem. hell yeah throw that thing.#it lands perfectly between them. they are both in the splashzone. neither heals.#‘FUCK!’ I think #with feeling #and then #it’s the barbarians turn again #he hits Astarion once— insta fail a death save #maybe two #then he picks Astarion up #and #suplexes him directly into the healing potion. Astarion gets up with 8 hp.#Gale got shoved off a cliff like 3 seconds later and died but I was able to pull it back from there #if he hadn’t put Astarion in that healing soup though I may have been on a fast track to honour run 2.0

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storiesofateenager · 11 months

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social media

Beginning

The very very first instance of having social media that I remember was when I was really young, maybe 7-9 years old. I had a tablet, not a phone, but I downloaded Instagram because my friends in school had it (yes, my friends had phones and Instagram in like 3rd grade and yes that is so scary). Anyway, I ended up using my mom's email because I didn't have another one to use and she ended up finding out about it and getting mad at me, so I had to delete it. I didn't dare try it again until I had my own phone.

I finally got my own phone when I was in 6th grade, towards the end of the year. So I was 12. That was when I started being on Instagram and Snapchat. I'm not sure if I was on TikTok (Musical.ly at the time) but if I was, I wasn't using it as much as the others. I definitely used Snapchat a lot more at that time and I posted a lot with my friends and innocent things like that. However, I had no idea the effect it would have on me in the years to come.

Self-Esteem

My self-esteem dramatically dropped. If you read my post about gender, you know I had a half-shave haircut and I dressed very masculine. I also had braces by the time I was in 7th grade. Seeing objectively attractive people on Instagram and Snapchat made me extremely insecure. On top of that, my social life was nothing like the other people in my middle school. People were hanging out with their friends almost every day and doing so many fun things. At that time, I didn't know that those people could dramaticize it and make it seem better than it was, so I just thought I was boring as hell compared to them.

6th grade was absolutely the first time that I truly felt insecure about my physical appearance. There was bullying in person in school, of course. But the bullying and harassing I witnessed online, even when not directed at me, made me such a pessimist. It also honestly made me a terrible person. I thought that was just how people were supposed to be, so I would be mean too. I wouldn't say I was a full-on bully, because I never targeted people in real life or went after specific people publicly on social media, but I would say some mean things about people to my friends and it was not okay. In general, through middle school, social media just deteriorated my mental health and my morals without me even realizing it.

And don't even get me started on being insecure about views/likes. My friends always had more followers and therefore more views and likes and comments on their posts. I wanted so badly to be on that level on Instagram but I never have been. Even now, when I post on Instagram I turn off my public like count so people can't see how many I got.

Friends

I made so many friends because of social media. Being on Snapchat and Instagram I stumbled upon people that lived in other states that were really nice and fun to talk to, but those friendships usually didn't last. The best and worst friendships I made on social media were from the app that no one should ever download: Yubo.

I first downloaded Yubo in 2018 or 2019. I didn't have many friends in school and I heard about Yubo in ads on other social media platforms, so I decided to give it a try. I found a few people that I thought were cool, but again, they didn't last very long. We usually just ended up drifting apart and stopped talking after a few weeks. I also found people that I got into talking stages and relationships with, but I'll talk about that in a separate post.

When 2020 and Covid came around and everyone was in their homes, I started making more meaningful friendships on Yubo. I ended up having a friend group entirely from that app and we would go live on Yubo almost every single day. We had a Snapchat group chat together and would talk nonstop. Even this came to an end within a couple months, though. After that, I met someone while I was livestreaming on Yubo, who would soon become my best friend.

We would text on Snapchat every day, sometimes late into the night. We would go live, just the 2 of us. We would play Minecraft and Fortnite. Our interests would phase in and out as we found new things to do together online and all that. But seriously, she's the best friend I've ever had. She helped me a lot through breakups and personal issues, and I did the same for her. After about a year of being best friends, we actually met up halfway between where we lived. By this point, I was about 15 and she was 17. It was a really fun time even though our moms were there.

She's been my best friend for about 3 years now. We don't talk as often anymore, but we catch up every couple of weeks and still play games sometimes when we have time. We're actually planning to meet up again this summer. She's just an awesome person and I genuinely think we'll be friends forever. So, it's completely possible to make friends through social media who truly have a positive impact on your life.

Education + Misinformation

There's a strange dichotomy of education and misinformation on social media. A lot of people talk about the fake stuff, which is totally reasonable because it is true that a lot of stuff on social media and on the internet in general is fake. Take The Onion for example, which makes satire news articles. Although it is a known fake news site, there are people that genuinely believe the stuff they post, even though it's completely ridiculous.

With that, popular social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat don't have good guidelines about posting fake facts and such. And a lot of people take it as it is, believe it, and share/spread it without doing any of their own research. It can be hard to trust when someone posts a factual type of post on social media. As I talked about earlier as well, it's really easy to pretend that your life is super great on social media. Pictures can be photoshopped, videos can be scripted, etc. Young people on social media might believe this and compare their own lives to it, as I did when I was that age.

However, there's also a lot of educational stuff. There are real doctors, scientists, therapists, etc. on social media who post helpful tips and educational posts that are actually real and factual. I personally love science, and I've learned a lot of science stuff on TikTok (that I looked up on Google afterward because I was curious) and I've never been taught half of it in school. Of course social media educational posts should not be a substitute for an actual education, but it can teach you fun little facts about subjects you like.

Pursuit of Fame

Pretty much ever since I started social media, I've wanted to be famous on it. I don't mean have one post go viral, I mean get big. That's honestly still a lost dream of mine (welcome to my blog LOL) but definitely not on a place like Instagram or Snapchat or Twitter. I've always dreamed of being a famous YouTuber turned actor/comedian or sommething along those lines.

I actually have started various YouTube channels over the years doing different things but ultimately ended up deleting them after realizing how embarrassing it was that I was doing that. Maybe I should start that up again (I don't know what I would do though). Some of them did get a little bit of traction, but I usually got overwhelmed with negative comments and just deleted everything.

Final Thoughts

Now, I've learned that when my mental health is bad, social media can't help at all. I delete it from my phone for a few weeks or sometimes over a month and just allow myself to find other ways satiate my boredom. While I'm away from it, I read, write, play video games, spend time with my family and friends, and sometimes I just meditate. Eventually, I do redownload it when I feel more stable. It's an addiction. I know it's bad for me but I can't stop. And I know a lot of other people my age or older feel the same way.

If social media really has you down, get away from it for a while. There's no shame in coming back to it later. Just get your mind off of it and find healthy ways to distract yourself. Pick up a new hobby, or something you've worked on in the past that you haven't done in a while. Going on walks or drives are other things that can really relax your mind and release the happy chemicals and hormones that social media usually does. If there are certain people that you only talk to on social platforms and you don't want to not be able to talk to them, ask them for their phone number! You don't need to isolate to be off of social media.

When you're feeling ready, download it again. Gradually get back into it, watching out for those feelings of insecurity, self-consciousness, or anxiety. If you try to go back to it and find that you immediately fall back into those negative feelings towards it, stay off of it for a little while longer. Again, you can always come back when you feel ready.

#social media #life experiences #personal #personal experiences #personal story #teenager #high school #middle school #insecurity #self conscious #anxiety #mental health #self esteem #education #misinformation online

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techforevil-er · 1 year

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08.01-20.01

i drafted this ages ago but was too lazy to post so just throwing the draft into the world

Work

Pretty busy two weeks work-wise.

The team continues to struggle a bit with the new standup but after the retro most have started reviewing the board more frequently and ensuring things are updated/moved etc. There’s been quite a lot of movement in the ‘thank you’ doc I’ve set up so I think eventually we can get away from the need to go through every card or every person and focus on things that are the most significant or could use help. I think there’s also more work for me to do on cards getting created and split out and facilitating conversations around them on a daily basis, I’ll think more about that next week.

I’m also collecting some more info on work completed, mostly categories for now (we’re meant to be doing 20% of maintenance but in reality it seems to be around 60-70%...) but working up to cycle and lead time. I’ve been avoiding it because I have a reckon that

a) it won’t show very healthy things, and

b) it will highlight things we don’t have a way of optimising/will to push them anyway,

…but let’s try. 🤷‍♀️ With any luck it may help escalate the issues around structure and remit we’ve been talking about to Leads and SMT anyway.

On the bright side, the new healthcheck based on a values exercise seems to be working in that the responses are much less generic and it’s easy to pull out actions. I may write up the process of doing this as a separate blogpost here or on LinkedIn.

We kicked off a deep dive into one of the content formats on GOV.UK. So far the designers have been looking at how it was used before and relationship with things like the campaigns platform and other exemptions. Personally, the need for it seems very unclear and I hope connecting with a team that just completed their discovery on content formats overall will help us think more of just retiring it or merging with a different type and making it more flexible.

Work-related events

Product Unconference - I mostly wanted to listen. It was nice to have a chat with a couple of people I’ve not seen since the pre-pandemic times and catch up. Hopefully more of that at the govcamp! The ‘working without a DM’ session highlighted how dysfunctional most teams are… I am very thankful for my current working situation and my great PM, but I’ve definitely felt a lot of the pain from the other side before haha. Altho people talking about their DMs being significantly more optimistic when reporting to higher ups was quite a shock, out of the things spoken about this was something I’ve never encountered. :))

DM away day for our programme - With two guest speakers and some group work this was a packed day that I think was quite effective in re-energising most attendees… It was definitely useful to have the time to talk about community things and agree actions for the next couple of months, and between setting up a survey to collect learning/skills/observation needs and writing up a thing about how I do health checks (including examples from a couple of other people) I definitely have new found energy to do things. \m/ But also, an ever-increasing antipathy towards the word ‘playbook’....

Making

My pottery class restarted!! \o/ With two out of 8 classes done I have an easter bowl ready for bisque and underglazes and half a teapot complete. The pace is pretty slow and all the techniques explained as quite a few people are brand new to pottery so my expectation of it building directly on the Beginners class is not fully realised. I’m in two minds about it because it’s nice and relaxing, but on the other hand a lot of the time is spent on things like I feel like I’ve got covered, especially considering I’ve done several drop-ins.

Speaking of drop-ins, my nerikomi plant pot is also just waiting for glazing and firing. I had a mishap with some paper stuck in it so fingers crossed and prayers for it not exploding. 🙏🙏🙏🙏 I also went to a different class, to explore making plaster moulds and using slip. I will make a separate review after part 2 in a couple of weeks but overall I was amazed by how easy it was. If I can find some place to work with casts and slip more (my studio’s current drop-ins don’t really have it available), I definitely will.

With this, my drop-ins are all used up and I think I will not be buying more before March considering all my other crafting commitments. 😅

On Friday evening I went to the first out of five classes about laser cut jewellery. It's much easier than expected, with most difficulties being Windows and trackpad related haha. I've got to see if there's adecent vector drawign app for iPad.

Eating

I’m trying to eat less meat this year. Giving it up entirely is unrealistic (I went to Berenjak and oh my god the chicken was so good) but exploring more veggie options is so far very fun - even if it’s just ordering tofu version of drunken noodles from Rosa’s. ;)

Last 2 weeks highlights:

Unity Diner - 2nd try, still so so good! I realised I’ve only had chicken approximates but one of my friends ordered the ‘lobster’ mac’n’cheese which was similarly uncanny in texture, and another the ‘tofish’ and both were very happy with their choices. I’ll probably go back very soon.

What the Pitta - entirely incidental trip after I got annoyed with either of the Prets by the office not stocking the new NODuja range or Jambon-buerre (sssh!). The wrap was very tasty, massive, and ready pretty much immediately so this is a perfect place for lunch.

Holy Cow! - a Friday night delivery order, inc their take on black daal. Honestly not too impressed, will go for veggie options from usual Indian takeouts in the future. :(

Looking

New Black Vanguard (tbqh the Bitter Nostalgia room with collabs by Hyangmok Baik and Adébayo Bolaji was my favourite thing in Saatchi that day tho)

Tár

#weeknote

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woolenidea1 · 1 year

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Examine This Report about How to Help Your Child With Reading Comprehension

Nothing is more significant to scholarly success than being a great audience. This has to do with how quick and easy it is to discover manuals through a specific author/author group and others that are a lot more pertinent to the trainees involved. For my component, I have been reading additional than I think anyone else but myself and so I locate myself going back to some of my favourite writers of the '90s who are still to life and the last time I saw one, they were posted through Tor Books. Parents understand their little ones most effectively and may supply the one-on-one time and focus that will definitely lead them to success in analysis. The skills they may discover in the course of an adult's time working are essential to help them achieve fantastic end result. One of the perks the Internet makes it possible for to be comprehended is that it advertises a better awareness of your children's potentials and is encouraging them to acquire the capability to be themselves. Listed below is a list of ways to help your little ones become extra effective viewers. When speaking about how to checked out for little ones, a great deal is most likely going to be mentioned relating to reading parents who are "bad" audiences. If you've ever spent any sort of time at an grownup level and you didn't understand how a lot you value reading, what publications do moms and dads chat about and what is your preferred that you do like? In this post, I'm going to reveal my approach to reading as a parent. Established Aside a Designated "Reading Time" Daily Set Aside a Designated "Reading Time" Daily Studies reveal that frequently reading out raucous to children will definitely generate considerable increases in reading understanding, lexicon, and the decoding of phrases. The brand new research found that having little ones has actually good advantages for little ones. The document also discovered that, for a group of moms and dads with four little ones, it likewise increased the accomplishment of self-reported low-performing children through 18 per-cent. Whether your children are preschoolers or children, it are going to increase their desire to reviewed separately. This has to do with how they play. What can easily they find out? They obtain knowledgeable with other grownups on how to talk and state something that seems extremely familiar to them, or that moms and dads could presume they can find out. Little ones likewise learn from peers who are not yet moms and dads. Being young enough is an important attribute, particularly in higher institution, the final time we saw an experienced teacher. Surround Kids Along with Reading Material Surround Kids With Reading Material Children along with a sizable variety of reading products in their properties rack up higher on standard exams. Very most notably, their children appear healthier. Some little ones's literature does not report their results in their major research study. Little ones with a large literary works example, for instance, usually tend to offer much better qualities (B.S. and A.S.) at that point have less anxiety when reading. But literary works may not directly report on the difference they experience in their analysis.

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Tempt your little ones to read by having a large supply of pleasing books and journals at their reading amount. Audiences will certainly observe they are capable to comply with their high analysis demands, and receive to check out out publications on various other genres that might excite you. "We recommend starting a library along with an writer or family participant to guarantee they match their reading society and history so that they really feel like they can easily provide to a great library," mentions Gavridis.

Put the analysis materials in cars, restrooms, bedrooms, loved ones areas, and even through the TV. It's like tossing amount of money in to the palms of a drug dealer.". In instance you didn't keep an eye on her actions you could have dropped some rest. "My first time of school, a classmate provided me a phony variety and received me kicked out of the classroom," she states in the video. "He additionally defeat me and defeat me up. Have Family Reading Time Have Family Reading Time Set up a day-to-day 15 to 30 min opportunity when everyone in the household goes through all together calmly. This has the added benefit that there is actually a time limitation to take a 30 moment break at lunch time on a Wednesday or Fridays. It's also quite typical for loved ones to remain up at 6:30. Some household participants may have extra hrs offered in other times of the time. Household members could possibly decide on to acquire some remainder prior to taking the time to reviewed at all. Viewing you read through will definitely inspire your children to read. When speaking about how to read for little ones, a whole lot is most likely going to be pointed out pertaining to reading that doesn't possess the emotional meaning of "reading for kids.". In fact, analysis can be actually emotional but it's likewise component of helping youngsters find out something. This Author to teach children to read through is to show them how to reviewed as an act of empowerment or communication.

#how can i improve my child's reading

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larissaligus · 2 years

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Across three stints with the Chili Peppers, Frusciante is widely regarded as one the greatest guitarists of all time. But while he returned for 2022’s excellent ‘Unlimited Love’, John had been widely absent from the band he first joined as the tricky fourth member in 1988 for 15 years — replaced by Dave Navarro from Jane’s Addiction in the 90s and later by Josh Klinghoffer. It’s not the focus of our chat today but as a fan, it’s so good to see him back in the band: after all, John’s role in the Chili Peppers, in my opinion, kicked them up a gear when he first joined for ‘Mothers Milk’ and then up sixteen gears with the era-defining ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magic'. 30 years later, it’s still one of the biggest records Warner has ever released, with a cool thirteen million copies sold to date. On 1999’s ‘Californication’ he solidified his position as one of the best guitarists and songwriters of his generation, and that record went even further, with over 15 million copies. In short, he’s helped write songs that will be around for generations to come.

“It's rare in life when you have a really good chemistry with people, where you can bring in a little piece of something and you can watch it turn into fully realized music," he says. "I also have that with Aaron Funk, because we can just sit down with a couple of machines and make music from nothing — without even talking about it we just start programming together. There's something about that real-time communication that I have with the people in the band. It's just a gift, and it's just something to be valued. It's something I’ll value till I die.”

John Frusciante, Venetian Snares and Chris McDonald reunite as Speed Dealer Moms

New album 'Return of the Dream Canteen', like its predecessor and spiritual other-half 'Unlimited Love', was produced by the mighty Rick Rubin. While John admits that Warner wasn’t sure about the initial seven-piece, 40-song vinyl set — a compromise was found by splitting the project into two separate albums. The clear winner in the pack is ‘Eddie’, which already sounds like a classic Chili Pepper track. The idiosyncratic guitar line from John chimes clear as a bell, but it’s also a clear band effort — with Flea on fire and vocalist Anthony Kiedis’ line about their lost comrade Eddie van Halen is a beautiful tribute to the musician who cruelly died of cancer in 2020.

“As far as the electronic aspect of ‘Return of the Dream Canteen’ being subtle, I think it depends on what you’re listening for," John explains. “It’s not 'Red Hot Chili Peppers-go-electronic', Instead what I’m doing has its roots in Brian Eno’s work in Roxy Music — where synths and other gadgets are used to alter the sound of a live group, create atmosphere, sonic movement, and generally have unexpected sounds come in every so often. Another influence is David Bowie’s use of synths on Iggy Pop’s ‘The Idiot’, where it’s a raw-sounding live band, and then some really weird filthy synth sound comes in, which makes it no less raw sounding. The synths are supportive of the song and the band, but at times take over with weirdness. A little bit can go a long way towards taking a live band out of the real world and into an alternate reality. Also, a lot of the lead vocal treatments, which I did with delays and reverbs and sometimes synths, are things I do in my electronic music to samples. I do these things to all the instruments. The electronic part of it has as much to do with using the studio in a creative way as it does with synths.”

Although initially hard to pin down his creative thought process, we soon find common ground in a shared love of The Human League and Depeche Mode and also his leftfield-leaning electronic taste; Venetian Snares, Adrian Sherwood and Aphex Twin. "I have a lot of memories associated with [The Human League], especially by the time we were writing ‘By The Way’. I would blast ‘Reproduction’ to-and-from rehearsal every day. I especially love the first two albums and their early singles. And you have stuff like that all-instrumental ‘Dignity Of Labour’ EP [released in 1979], the basis for a lot of ambient music. Those guys were just going into the unknown!”

Likewise stadium rockers Depeche Mode, whom he discovered in the early eighties with ‘Songs of Faith And Devotion’ — 1984 single ‘Master And Servant’ is a particular favourite. “I'm a huge fan of Depeche Mode, when the Red Hot Chili Peppers started writing ‘Californication’ back in ‘98, I was 28 and had just restarted my life. When I came back into the world, I was a different person and Depeche Mode became my favourite band. I bought every 12” of theirs at a place near me called Vinyl Fetish that stocked a lot of UK imports. 'Master And Servant' is one of the weirder ones.”

#red hot chili peppers #john frusciante #anthony kiedis #michael flea balzary #chad smith #spotify #john ❤️#rhcp #photography

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