zegwritingdemon

[zegwritingdemon]

I find it odd when people say “cash is impersonal” because to me it’s a gift of possibilities. You’re giving me the ability to choose what I want rather than forcing me to accept an item that you think I like. Maybe there’s something at the time that I want and that’s great but often times, getting cash is better than getting a bunch of boxes. I can do so much with cash, pay rent, buy groceries, get lunch out or go to the movies. Cash is the gift of possibility. It means that the gifter knows me well enough to know that I stress more over what I want other’s to get me than what I’m getting others. That I absolutely hate the question “what do you want for Christmas/your birthday?” because that puts me on the spot and I hate that feeling. 

[zegwritingdemon]

[zegwritingdemon]

The reams of fabric and elaborate headpieces could be dismissed as either wasteful or quaint, depending on the sentiment of the being doing the dismissing, but each piece served a particular function, as did its placement.

- Queen’s Shadow by E.K. Johnston

[zegwritingdemon]

In case you writers ever wondered. Made by Carrie Patrick on Facebook.

[zegwritingdemon]

Noir Princesses by Ástor Alexander

[zegwritingdemon]

grotesque things to add to your story:

slipping on a floor covered in blood.

not knowing blood is on your hands – hyperventilating when you see the mess after wiping your hands on your face.

hearing a baby cry in the pitch black.

a radio randomly turning on.

hallucinating shadowy figures.

hearing choppy pieces of a distorted, animalistic voice.

a brush of cold air against the shell of your ear.

grainy pictures with scratches on them. bonus if they're three claw-like scratches. or if the scratches are on a wall, a piece of clothing, etc.

not knowing the difference between reality and nightmare.

stranded and alone in the middle of an old and abandoned factory.

harsh, rugged breathing that sounds like it's right next to your ear, but when you turn, nothing's there.

seeing a dark figure in the corner of your room in the pitch black.

alone in the woods then hearing a howl off in the distance.

the grating sound of an ax being dragged across pavement.

stepping on broken pieces of glass with your bare feet.

seeing a eerie masked face staring at you from behind your bedroom window.

(feel free to add more)

[zegwritingdemon]

i am chinese living abroad, is it appropriate if i wear hanfu for my wedding? can you post some hanfu that would work with a wedding? thnx!

Hi, of course it would be appropriate to wear hanfu for your wedding!

Please see my wedding hanfu tag to view all wedding hanfu on my blog. This “Hanfu wedding masterlist” is a good primer on the subject.

Modern wedding hanfu are divided into four styles: Zhou/Han, Tang, Song, and Ming. Here are some of my recommendations for each type:

1) Zhou/Han: Black and red.

- 重回汉唐/Chonghui Hantang has two Han-style wedding hanfu sets. The first set is the classic black-and-red combination:  

The second set switches things up by using dark purple in place of black:

- 如梦霓裳/Rumeng Nishang’s Han-style wedding outfits are a classic:

2) Tang: Bride wears green (sometimes red), groom wears red.

- 雅韵华章/Yayun Huazhang’s Tang-style wedding hanfu for the bride (left, right) and groom:

- 锦瑟衣庄/Jinse Yizhuang’s Tang-style wedding hanfu. Left, Right (groom) - Update: looks like this set is out of stock:

- 衔泥小筑/Xianni Xiaozhu’s new Tang-style wedding collection features vibrant embroidery:

- 重回汉唐/Chonghui Hantang also has a Tang-style wedding set:

3) Song: Bride wears green, groom wears red.

- 重回汉唐/Chonghui Hantang has a gorgeous Song-style wedding set (left, right):

- 裳宫语/Shang Gong Yu has a vibrant, elegant set as well:

4) Ming: Bride wears red; groom wears green, blue, or red.

- 明华堂/Minghuatang is known for its high-quality Ming-style hanfu, including wedding outfits:

- 锦瑟衣庄/Jinse Yizhuang’s offerings include Ming-style wedding attire (left, right):

- 汉客丝路/Hanke Silu specializes in authentic Ming-style hanfu, including wedding garments:

- 衔泥小筑/Xianni Xiaozhu (left) and 重回汉唐/Chonghui Hantang (right) have matching Ming-style wedding sets:

I’m curious as to which style of wedding hanfu my followers like the most :3 I personally prefer Tang, Song, Zhou/Han, and Ming (in that order), but each style is beautiful in its own way.

Hope this helps! :)

[zegwritingdemon]

boys in chinese hanfu 

[zegwritingdemon]

Children Fall AU

Padawan Anakin with a group of initiates all ‘Falling’ at the same time

Maybe a Gathering gone wrong or something. Everyone is captured. Pirates or bounty hunters or just awful people.

No knights or the knights are killed.

Anakin is trying to protect the younglings.

Sacrificing himself if he can.

Falls in the process.

The kids are too young. They’re not supposed to be in the field yet. There’s a reason you’re supposed to be a certain age before field missions. Before being chosen as a Padawan.

They can’t handle their emotions.

They try to save Anakin right back but Fall, too.

Maybe they get overwhelmed by Anakin’s Falling, since he is a supernova? And their shields aren’t enough to protect them?

They survive and everyone is dead or dying but Anakin stands among a group of children, all with eyes of gold and he doesn’t know what to do.

I want there to be like a noble reason for it?

Maybe but that definitely doesn’t help the situation.

Maybe he remembers the tales of the Sith and executions.

He takes the kids and runs.

He doesn’t know what he’ll do, he just wants to protect them.

Maybe he Falls because he can’t defeat the pirates/bounty hunters otherwise

They are kids, they can’t be that dark, could they Fall by a Coruscanti Jedi point of view? Not so much Dark as too much attached, multiple Force Bonds attached? The question is more along the lines of Anakin knowing that, though.

They are holding each other together so closely that they would break if you tried to separate them? The pieces make a coherent whole together, but otherwise they would just be broken?

What if the younglings fell first and Anakin fell so that they wouldn’t be alone.

Like the idea that the younglings would be hunted or at the very least isolated and he couldn’t let that happen (Bariss and Ahsoka could be part of that group, they are in the right age range, right?)

He promised to protect them and he kept them alive but ultimately failed in the way that matters most to the Jedi.

It also could be about healing and building far away from what you used to know and considered home.

So the situation is too much too soon and they all fall. And Anakin with his too big heart and shields that still don’t block emotions as much as they should is overwhelmed and he could fight it but…

But these kids need him. They’re scared and terrified and he knows that they aren’t going to risk heading back to the Jedi, not with the horror stories told about Sith and Dark Side users.

He can’t leave them. They need someone, anyone. Even if that’s probably him.

You could have them pick up other Force Sensitives kids in bad situations as they flee and protect each other. Like a travelling clan of Forces Sensitives.

The use of the word clan makes me wonder if this version of Anakin would look into alternative Jedi philosophies, like Vizla.

And the Jedi mourning Anakin plus the Initiates because they think they’re dead.

The Jedi eventually track down the pirates, but the base has so much blood and darkside surrounding it that they assume that the pirates were blindsided by a dark force user/sith and the children were taken. The Jedi finding the building and feeling the overwhelming about of dark side energy that was used there.

Privately the Council almost hope they’re dead because they think that it would be a kinder fate than to be tortured and broken by the Sith.

Quinlan not being able to get a read on anything because it’s so heavy with pain and dark side energy.

All he sees is gold eyes and screaming.

He doesn’t notice that it’s more than one pair. Doesn’t realise that they’re each filled with tears and oh so young.

Obi-Wan is convinced that Anakin is still alive because the bond didn’t snap but it might as well have because it’s never been so solidly closed to him.

Anakin was always leaking emotions and thoughts through the bond and now all that meets Obi-Wan is a durasteel wall.

Also, Anakin becoming a bounty hunter to make sure the kids get enough food

If he looks into the Mandalorian Jedi, as a way to teach the Fallen kids, he could become Mando and do the bounty hunting as a way to take care of them. Just an idea, though.

What if they all become bounty hunters and no one realises that they’re Sith or Dark Side users? Until a fight ends in a helmet being knocked off.

I like the thought of the kids forming a new Order of nomadic Force Users, you could fit so much Force worldbuilding here as they figure things out away from Coruscant.

What if dar jettii Ani and his gaggle of kids has a run in with Jango Fett. Depends on canon or fanon interpretation really.

I would imagine that Jango would absolutely adopt this smol child (teenager) and his band of even more smol children.

Wouldn’t that be hilarious? Jango with 8 new kids?

One sullen teenager that refuses to trust. And then he plops Boba in Anakin’s arms and Anakin just freaking melts and it’s all over from there.

So, this Jango has his hatred of Jedi balanced by his love of children?

Or is it part of his plan against the Jedi to encourage Force users to create an alternative that won’t make the same mistakes the Jedi did that led to the slaughter of his people?

I don’t know since Anakin & Co. here aren’t exactly Jedi. Though I think this Jango would have his hatred of Jedi balanced by his love of his 8 foundlings.

Jango as the Mand'alor.

Anakin pitches a fit when he finds out about the clones and Jango doing right by them

And all eight new kids have lightsabers, but they’re not Jedi, so……….Boba/Jango might get the Darksaber in this!!!

Anakin finds out that Vizla has a Jedi artifact and just gets it back.

Hands it to Jango: “Like what? You needed this, right?”

Jango is a tired new dad. So Anakin is just like running around doing whatever and causing his dad stress.

What if Jango adopted them and didn’t tell them?

Like, he said the words and Anakin didn’t understand. The others did too, because they had that class, but Anakin didn’t

I mean Anakin would jokingly call him “buir” or “dad” at one point or another and Anakin is like “why do you even care”.

He gets it eventually.

When he sits the fuck down and stops running around trying to protect everyone and puts the time in to sort his shit.

Read: When Jango gets the kids to sit on him when he starts looking like complete shit.

Yeah, Jango absolutely enlists his siblings’ fellow former-Jedi to get him to slow down and relax.

They have it out at some point that Jango adopted him probably when he’s gotten himself injured and doesn’t understand why Jango won’t leave him

and Jango’s like “You kriffing di'kut, you’re my son” and Anakin’s like “?!?!?!? What?!?!”

Anakin can speak several languages but not mandoa. Jango tries to teach him, but his accent is atrocious.

Anakin can understand Mando'a and he sometimes uses some words, but he can’t speak it.

Plus, he sometimes crosses Mando'a with another language or several and it just becomes an incomprehensible mess unless you understand all the languages he’s crossed Mando'a with.

how about Mando'a’s too close to something else he knows.

He keeps getting it super confused with another language.

Like french and spanish, but there’s no cross meanings, so it might sound the same, the meanings AREN’T.

At this point, everyone just goes “you need a translator droid if you want to speak with Anakin”

However, he will offhandedly speak in another language or start writing in one language and end in another no matter how fluent he is.

And his accent is still atrocious. The closest comparison is the bastard compromise between Texan and Yorkshire.

Anakin is that one person who will use words from whatever languages are the best to speak about any given subjects.

Or whichever language he associates with a given subject. That’s why he learned how to speak binary in the first place.

Boba becomes fluent in binary before speaking fluently in Mando'a.

I wonder how the discovery of Kamino would pan out in this.

Anakin accidentally starts a clone rebellion, and oops, it looks like there might be a Revolution on Kamino.

Slave rebellions are always very very good.

Dex: Ah yes Kamino, or how the Mand’alor got his groove back. Outer Rim politics got wild a while back let’s just say. Long story short, the Mand'alor adopted eight new children, one of them pitched a fit about clones, and things devolved from there.” 

The Clone Wars are going to be a wreck.

There’s an army missing!

Sheev running around his office like: “Now, where did I put that”

He is furious because there’s an army missing, his future apprentice is missing, his future apprentice has a stable support system

basically, his plan just collapses.

Obi-Wan starts to cry because oh thank the fucking force they’re alive but Anakin and the kids misinterpret it.

Anakin’s just like “I’m sorry, I wasn’t going to let them be hurt anymore! I wasn’t going to let anything else happen to them!” Obi-Wan: “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!”

[zegwritingdemon]

probably i just said it but i want to say it again:

- don’t apologise if you don’t know english.

- yes, english is the most common language on the internet but you are not forced to know it perfectly.

- your own language is beautiful.

- non-english people make a huge effort to write in English everyday on this website.

- support non-english people and don’t make them feel bad if they do not know English. 

- actually support all the languages.

- spread more language diversity on Tumblr.

thank you. 

[zegwritingdemon]

THIS IS WHAT FUCKING HAPPENS WHEN YOU FORGET TO RINSE THE TUB OUT AFTER USING A LUSH INTERGALATIC BATHBOMB!

He’s fine. He got a bath.

Lush glitter is made of seaweed.

[zegwritingdemon]

@SaraSoueidan: Dear men, This is how you greet a veiled Muslim woman (a Hijabi). Hand on your chest, not offering to shake hers. 🙋

so prominent BLM activist deray mckesson just retweeted this which i think is super cool for various reasons :)))

[zegwritingdemon]

Thanks to Aimee L. for letting me post this portrait of her character - Ling - that I’ve done recently! It was such a pleasure working on this one 😊

[zegwritingdemon]

Fantasy Guide to Employment: Household of a Castle

The castle does not run itself. The castle would remain a pile of stones without servants to keep it running. The guide below focuses on the private household of the lord himself, anybody who worked inside the main keep of the castle. I will be expanding outside the walls in a future post.

The Steward/Seneschal

This person was the head of the household staff. They would have the task of running things on the Lord's estate. They are the managers, so it is up to them to keep the staff in line. The steward would keep the castle accounts and keep the lord informed of all of the goings on of the lands and tenants. They would have to be educated needing to do accounts and write letters. Though the castle's Lady would be expected to do all these things, the steward served as a backup and assistant in all the tasks even representing the lord and lady when they were unavailable.

The Chamberlain

The chamberlain is the servant employed to look after the Lord's bedchamber. He would look after the Lord's clothes as well and keep track of the other servants' liveries, the official uniforms of the guards, pages and squires. This was not always the case, some larger households had a separate office but most medium seized manors and castles lumped them together. The chamberlain's main task was ensuring the lord was kept happy. He would even be the last servant a lord would see at night before he went to bed at night. They would be educated.

The Marshal

A Marshal was in charge of the stables as well as the military presence in the castle. They would oversee the household's horses, carts, wagons, and containers. He oversaw blacksmiths, horse grooms and stableboys. He also oversaw the transporting of goods. The Marshal was sometimes in charge of disciplining servants. They would likely come from a middle class background as well as having military experience and education.

The Page

A page was a young noble boy about seven years old who would be sent to serve a Lord. He would be in charge of tidying up after the lord, carrying messages to other servants and occupants of the castle and serving him at meals. Unlike others on the list, the page would not be paid. His experience was his payment as he would learn the running of a castle and manners of a lord.

The Lady's Maid

The lady's maid is be the female body attendant of the castle's noble women. She would be in charge of caring for the lady's chamber and her things. She would dress the lady and attend her wherever she would. (The lady's maid would basically do all the work a chamberlain would but you know the wage gap...)

Maidservant

A housemaid/maidservant works to clean the castle. She would be among the first to awaken every morning. Her first task would be sweeping the floors. The thing with mediaeval floors a that they were often covered with a thin layer of rushes, a kind of grass. Weekly if not daily, a maidservant would be expected to change out the rushes and scatter new ones. If it really needed it, she would scrub the stone floors which would be done with a soap called lye, made from ashes and lard. The maidservant would also be expected to go into the bedchambers when the occupants awoke. She would empty the chamberpots if need be. She would get rid of the ashes from the fire and ready the fire for later. She would make up the bed or strip it for the laundresses. She would wash anything that needed washing including furniture and ornaments.

Laundress

The laundress was responsible for the cleaning of anything made of fabric in the household. The laundress would have to fetch their own water either from the castle well or from a nearby river. They would heat the water in large vats and add lye soap (the most popular of the cleaning agents). The constant exposure to soap and hot water was physically tough on the hands of the laundresses and their backs. When the detergents were added to the water, the laundress would dump them into the vat and stir that shit like soup. To dry it they would pin it out on lines or beat the water from it. The laundress might make money by selling secrets. Since they are handling unmentionables, they knew what happened behind closed bedchamber doors or what didn't.

Nursemaid

The nursemaid was in charge of the castle's children. They would ensure the child was fed, washed and generally kept alive while the parents would either be away at court or busy with the lands. The nursemaid would be a common woman from the surrounding lands who would come in to care for a noble child in the stead of the mother who would be expected to get on with other jobs. The nursemaid would be an underlying of the noble governess, a sort of hands-off nanny.

Cook

The cook was one of the most important servants in the castle. They would have the task of overseeing the running of the kitchens and keeping supplies in order. They would likely be on call at all times. Henry VIII's cook was often woken in the night because his royal master wanted a midnight snack. The cook was a valued member of the household and would have been highly sought after if they were a very skilled cook. Cooks would have been paid a handsome wage.

Scullion

The scullion was the lowest member of staff. They would be responsible for scrubbing and cleaning the servants quarters and the kitchens. They would scrub floors with lye, scour pots with sand, sweep put the fireplace and clean up after the other servants. They were the first to rise in a castle and tasked to light all the fires in the kitchens.

Payment & Lifestyle

Within the mediaeval household, payment came from the hand of the steward. As the Lord's manager of accounts, he was in charge of paying staff.

The grander jobs in the castle such as the marshal, the chamberlain, nursemaid and lady's maid would pay better. They would have certain privileges including better bedchambers.

A nursemaid who was breastfeeding the Lord's children would be a valued member of staff. She would be fed better than the other servants.

The page would sleep in a chamber off the lord's bedchamber or sometimes at the foot of the bed. A page would wear the Lord's livery so he would be dressed on the Lord's coin.

The chamberlain would have rooms close to the lord and lady, just in case they were needed by the master in any kind of emergency.

The cook would sleep near the kitchens so they were close enough just in case they are needed in the night.

The other household servants would all sleep in chambers together. The women would sleep in one and the men would sleep in another. Nightly dalliances were frowned upon massively.

Most servants came from the surrounding lands of the castle. When the lord and his family were away at court or somewhere else, there would be a drop in employment. Everything would be cut down ex. Instead of three laundry maids, only one might stay on after the lord goes. The steward, the marshal, the chamberlain, the page, the cook, the nursemaid and the lady's maid were all important staff so their job would be permanent.

[zegwritingdemon]

If someone with a chronic illness tells you they can’t do something without serious repercussions (severe pain, fatigue, sickness etc.) that means they CAN’T do it. it doesn’t mean they should just push themselves or they just do it that once or maybe just give it a go. if a chronically ill person cannot do something without hurting themselves then please just accept that they can’t and should not do it. support them, listen to them and don’t coerce them into doing the thing that WILL cause them harm.

[zegwritingdemon]

Wang Zhuocheng with Danta (douyin)

[zegwritingdemon]