ok but legitimately i think the reason why kids aren’t taking internet safety seriously is because the people who are telling us not to put our personal information out seem so out of touch. no one acknowledges the possibility of meeting very real teenaged friends online, they always say that everyone you meet is a 40 year old white man in disguise. because they aren’t acknowledging things we know are true, it becomes a lot easier to dismiss the rest of what they’re saying as well. internet safety lessons absolutely must keep up with the times and acknowledge the internet’s capacity for good if you want kids to take to heart warnings about its capacity for bad.
1. Have proof they're a teenager first. More than just a picture, have a video call with them.
2. If you want to meet up with them, have your parents or a trusted adult come with you. Even if they are a proven teenager, its still good to have supervision in case any issues happen.
3. If you are talking to an adult, and they start being sexual in any way, you run the fuck away. It doesn't matter if they're 40 or 20. An adult inherently has a power dynamic that teenagers do not. And its up to the adult to act responsible about it. There's exceptions of course, if you're 16 and dating an 18 year old, that's not a problem, we're not talking about that.
4. Being in a server with adults or ran by adults is not inherently bad. Talking to adults is not inherently a problem, and will likely happen in any number of Discord servers. It is only an issue when they are acting sexual and show predatory behavior.
5. Look out for grooming behavior. It can be difficult, because at first it seems like innocuous behavior, like complimenting or giving gifts. Especially if you feel lonely and have low self esteem. And groomers actively target people like that.
If they start trying to isolate you, talk sexual with you, state they depend on you for emotional needs, blame you for their own actions, try to be secretive about the relationship- Then you need to talk to people you trust, block the perpetrator, and call the police on them.
6. If this does happen to you, remember this: It is not your fault. Even if you didn't listen to a single thing listed here, it is not your fault. It is the fault of the adults who knew better, and didn't care. It's not your fault.
To my followers: if any of you guys are underaged, please be very VERY careful on here, and don’t fall for any of the tricks the groomer would use on you, just block them and report them.
When artists do illustrations of their work with a certain theme, I tend to like to read into them. I especially like to examine art where characters are holding hearts, because it tends to show a little bit of how that character experiences, presents, or otherwise feels about love (not solely the romantic kind!). With these, I got the sense that they're specifically about how these characters express love. So, without further ado, I would like to read into the Valentine's art from 2019 (which would have been drawn during or shortly after the Second Test).
All images are official art by Kamome Shirahama, posted to her Twitter here. I've obtained them from the Independent Wiki.
Coco: Coco has the most hearts by far, and that's because Coco has a whole lot of love to give! She wants to help people, and she's quick to consider those she's met only recently as her friends. What's interesting about this illustration is that all the hearts are tucked into her hat: Coco strongly believes that magic is what allows her to find kind, comforting, and ingenious solutions to all manner of people's problems, and the way she primarily shows her love is through her own creativity; her ability to circumvent issues and find a path through. She's also holding that cap close to her chest: Coco's first love has, and always will be, magic, but the love she feels for her friends is something she is constantly cherishing and learning from. There is no extracting Coco's love for her friends from her love for magic, because both fuel each other in a cycle. But also, Coco has some difficulties with the limitations of what she can and can't do, either due to her lack of experience or from societal restrictions. She often laments that she can't do more, because her concept of love (helping others and taking accountability) and magic (used for helping others and taking accountability) are one and the same for her.
Tartah: I do think I have the least to say about Tartah, unfortunately. His gaze is averted, he looks shy. Tartah likes to feel like he is capable of helping himself and others, but he's not exactly used to feeling this way, so notably in the prologue to Silver Eve, he tends to get flustered when, say, Coco or Custas show their appreciation for his help. I do notice that him and Coco seem to be mirror images of each other in a way: Coco with her hearts tucked in her hat, and Tartah, who has foregone his hat in favour of holding only his heart - very indicative of the kinds of decisions he will make later on.
Qifrey: Oh Qifrey... this is from 2019, by the way. From all the foreshadowing in early manga to the extra illustrations like this, she had this all planned out from the beginning, I just know it. It's fascinating, because the connotation changes depending on how much you know or don't know about him. When you don't know, the placement of the heart looks as though it is hiding Qifrey's dark side - the gentle persona he wears to mask his desperation and his secrets. But when you do know, the context completely changes here. There is only so much he can offer. His love isn't a front, it's being shackled. Qifrey can't ever fully express nor accept love in the way he wants to. He lives his life as a balancing act, carefully split between the side he can let others see, and the side that he can't. In this way, both the mask interpretation and the shackle interpretation are valid - Qifrey's love and kindness is a convenient mask, and it is also entirely genuine. It's also always wrapped up in the guilt of his "selfish" motives for offering love - how love is always entangled in guilt for him, always filtered through the lens of something that was stolen a long time ago, rendering him unable to see a clear path forward. He's the only one of the group without a flush on his cheeks as well - missing that depth of emotion he must restrain.
Tetia: Look at her with her big smile and big heart! Tetia is facing directly forward and doesn't bother hiding her affection - she loves to be thanked and thank people in turn, and she has no qualms about saying so. I think the massive heart (which is the largest of any of the characters here) looks a bit like a big pillow or something. Tetia offers comfort primarily. She's not the one with the pragmatic solutions, but what she offers is no less important. She offers support and a smile when spirits are failing, she offers a nice comfy bed for comfort and security, she offers her compassion when she notices people are not being treated as people with the respect they deserve. Not only does she do this openly, but it makes her happy to do so. Having said that, her big open heart has me more than a bit worried for her in the upcoming arcs. A big heart like that is easy to guilt...
Olruggio: The attempted nonchalance here kills me, just like it does whenever he tries this: you are fooling no one. Interestingly, even though he's turned to the side, his eye looks directly out at the center, and the heart is not hidden at all. Both direct in intention and avoidant in execution simultaneously; very him. The heart tapping his forehead is good too - he largely expresses himself through magic and contraptions, which are a product of his inventive mind. His love is primarily shown through little things to make life easier based on his observations, or experiential advice he can give. However, if you've seen my other post about this illustration, you'll know that I am also deeply side-eying the heart being tapped directly against his forehead - exactly where one would need to apply a memory-erasing spell, for instance? It was, after all, originally his idea, and undoubtedly also an extreme expression of love. In this way, we can also read into the positioning of his heart as indicative of Olruggio's tendency to sacrifice (his memories, his constant overworking, etc.).
Richeh: What Richeh says is only a fraction of what she's actually feeling and thinking. There is a lot going on in Richeh's head - she's very introspective, and notably, even though on the surface, her desire to remain true to herself at all costs meant that others like Agott interpreted her as selfish, she actually cares a great deal for those who she considers her friends and family. Even her stubborn refusal to change wasn't something solely done for her own sake or out of fear; it was for Riliphin too. The heart over her mouth indicates to me that while she doesn't hide her feelings necessarily, there is a whole lot she doesn't quite say. She's very confident in herself, but perhaps less so in expressing her love to others, especially when at the beginning, she still has issues with trust. Nevertheless, Richeh's heart is positioned over her mouth, and when she decides to express her feelings, she tends to make direct declarations: of support, of protection, of promises, of appreciation. She holds that heart close to her, because that is the way Richeh loves - she wants to keep her people close (the rings!).
Euini: Shy little wolf boy. I love that Euini's heart is the second largest after Tetia. Euini smiles this sort of wobbly smile; he's a little nervous, as always, but it's not a closed off expression, even though his eyes are hidden. His heart is somewhat obscured but it's held tight to his chest and it doesn't exactly look like he's fully trying to hide it per se. Euini just feels more comfortable when he is at least partially hidden, that's all. He holds his heart tightly, because it is big and a bit fragile from having been beaten up too many times before, but it's still big. The very first thing he does all himself is stop Richeh from falling off the path at Romonon. Euini cares a lot, he just has no faith in himself, and even though he's probably still a bit scared of getting hurt, it doesn't actually stop him from trying to be supportive. The little wolf tail in the background standing up straight is cute too - he is excited and paying attention (we all know he's looking at Richeh <3)
Agott: Agott you are hurting me. Look at how small she's made her heart. Look how tightly she clings to it and how much of it she hides. If Euini's heart stayed large, Agott has compressed hers until she can concentrate without being distracted by the pain its been put through. She has to hide it, because just loving magic was never seen as enough. She's avoidant, her heart is clutched tightly to her chest. She has a true love of magic, and a true love for the people of the atelier, but it is so hard for her to show it. The centrality of her heart also reminds me of the "selfish" nature of her love, and how that actually turns out to be a good thing. Agott loves cute things, she loves animals, she loves the triumph of her own successes, and it takes her a long time to break down her walls enough for her to feel comfortable sharing any of that. But once she does, it is through her own self-oriented love that she is able to remind Coco, particularly, of how important it is to do things for yourself. "Agaffection" isn't something she shares readily, but it's all the more meaningful when she does.
# my favourite part about this post # is that nowhere does it say to reblog this # but we’re all reblogging it # because if we have to suffer # so do other writers
So the evidence implying Qifrey and Olruggio are romantically interested in each other is pretty well documented (myths, tassels, the entirety of witchen) but, I haven't seen as much about the scene that really seals for me that Qifrey wants to fuck Olruggio.
What happens literally is that we cut from baby Qifrey reaching for Olruggio and transforming, to adult Qifrey with his hand fisted in his lap, determinedly not reaching for Olruggio. And then he gets up and goes to stand in a lake and trigger his own PTSD to get the silverwood under control.
What happens symbolically is a guy thinks really hard about another guy, gets wood experiences an uncontrollable throbbing growth which fills him with horror and shame, and then he goes and stands in cold water until he can get it under control.
Completely insane scene construction. Yes, I know how the silverwood's growth is literally triggered, but sometimes a train going into a tunnel is the public transport system working as intended, and sometimes it's self-conscious Freudian symbolism.
Sometimes an evil parasite is an evil parasite, but sometimes it's also getting rock hard for your best friend.
see the problem is that despite around 8 years of french schooling the french language has utterly escaped my brain so even the most obvious set up i had created for myself by accident was missed by me. such is life.
i love olruggio witchhat so much. he’s a sun-coded black cat. he’s a lethally chronic procrastinator. he’s a girl dad. he lies to the police. his magic is warm. his kids bully him and they’re right. he’s in a decade-long magically induced situationship, but he doesn’t know it’s cursed and he’s in it for love of the game. he’s lowkey a celebrity but chooses to live in a cottage on the countryside with said situationship and their four children. he sleeps on the couch. he was a crazy child. he’s a bit of a picky eater. he has chronic anemia and is two minutes away from passing out at all times. he hates hurting things so much that he struggles to kill a disgusting giant leech. he’s a burnt out gifted kid. he is begrudgingly excellent at one of his jobs and on-purposely atrocious at the other one. he has a baby face and is nearly unrecognizable without his beard. he carries an enormous, inexplicable guilt. he’s the sky’s kindest, most radiant star. he’s the perfect man
If you're writing anything involving cons, scams, heists, or morally questionable characters who are very good at lying, here are some free resources I've been using for research. Saving you the "why is this in my search history" anxiety.
1. The FBI's Famous Cases & Criminals archive (fbi.gov/history/famous-cases) has detailed breakdowns of real fraud cases, Ponzi schemes, and confidence operations. The language they use is clinical and precise, which is perfect for getting the procedural details right.
2. The FTC Consumer Sentinel Network publishes annual reports on the most common fraud tactics in the US. Great for understanding how modern scams actually work and what makes people fall for them.
3. The Smithsonian's American Art Museum has a free digital collection of forgery case studies. If your character forges documents or art, this is gold.
4. Court Listener (courtlistener.com) is a free legal database where you can read actual court transcripts from fraud trials. Want to know how a real con artist talks under oath? This is where you find out.
5. The Internet Archive's collection of old newspaper crime sections. Search for "confidence man" or "swindle" in papers from the 1920s through 1960s and you'll find incredible real stories that would feel too dramatic for fiction.
Bonus: The Psychology of Fraud section on the Association for Psychological Science website has accessible articles about why people trust, how deception works cognitively, and what makes someone a convincing liar. Essential reading if you want your con artist characters to feel psychologically real.
Reblog to save for later. Your WIP will thank you.
