THE BAKUNAWA
It holds the universe in its coils of void. Time rides on its back, flowing outwards in a spiral. It wishes to devour the moon and plunge the world into eternal night.
A primordial force of chaos and disorder, the Bakunawa has the power to dissolve anything. It makes itself felt in the physical world through anything that spirals - tornadoes, whirlpools, snakes biting their own tails.
IN THE MIDDLE OF SUMMER
The parched earth cracks. Sweltering air rises in ripples. The droning cicadas announce his arrival. It is almost high noon.
He is the Heat Haze Boy.
The Heat Haze Boy represents all that is hot, bright, and restless. One of the twin forces acting on the universe, those under his sway are passionate, ambitious individuals, though with a tendency to be belligerent and hyperactive.
A STORM SIGNAL, RAISED
A cold wind blows from the southwest. In the distance, rolling thunder like a drumbeat. The chattering geckoes whisper her name. Rain is coming.
She is the Monsoon Girl.
The Monsoon Girl represents all that is cold, dark and flowing. She is the counterpart of the Heat Haze Boy. Those under her sway are dedicated, patient individuals, though with a tendency to be depressive and sentimental.
Like twin siblings fighting over a toy, the two constantly wrestle for control of the universe. All of creation is caught between their tug-of-war. However, when not in conflict, the two are known to collaborate - the world and all its creatures was born from the combining of their powers.
I want to live by myself when I move out of my parent's place but I'm really afraid of money problems? I'm afraid that the only place I can afford will be in the ghetto and it'll all be torn apart and I'll only be allowed to eat one granola bar a week. I'm really stressing out about this. I don't know anything about after school life. I don't know anything about paying bills or how to buy an apartment and it's really scaring me. is there anything you know that can help me?
HI darling,
I’ve actually got a super wonderful masterpost for you to check out:
Home
what the hell is a mortgage?
first apartment essentials checklist
how to care for cacti and succulents
the care and keeping of plants
Getting an apartment
Money
earn rewards by taking polls
how to coupon
what to do when you can’t pay your bills
see if you’re paying too much for your cell phone bill
how to save money
How to Balance a Check Book
How to do Your Own Taxes
Health
how to take care of yourself when you’re sick
things to bring to a doctor’s appointment
how to get free therapy
what to expect from your first gynecologist appointment
how to make a doctor’s appointment
how to pick a health insurance plan
how to avoid a hangover
a list of stress relievers
how to remove a splinter
Emergency
what to do if you get pulled over by a cop
a list of hotlines in a crisis
things to keep in your car in case of an emergency
how to do the heimlich maneuver
Job
time management
create a resume
find the right career
how to pick a major
how to avoid a hangover
how to interview for a job
how to stop procrastinating
How to write cover letters
Travel
ULTIMATE PACKING LIST
Traveling for Cheap
Travel Accessories
The Best Way to Pack a Suitcase
How To Read A Map
How to Apply For A Passport
How to Make A Travel Budget
Better You
read the news
leave your childhood traumas behind
how to quit smoking
how to knit
how to stop biting your nails
how to stop procrastinating
how to stop skipping breakfast
how to stop micromanaging
how to stop avoiding asking for help
how to stop swearing constantly
how to stop being a pushover
learn another language
how to improve your self-esteem
how to sew
learn how to embroider
how to love yourself
100 tips for life
Apartments/Houses/Moving
Moving Out and Getting an Apartment, Part 1: Are You Sure? (The Responsible One)
Moving Out and Getting an Apartment, Part 2: Finding the Damn Apartment (The Responsible One)
Moving Out and Getting an Apartment, Part 3: Questions to Ask about the Damn Apartment (The Responsible One)
Moving Out and Getting an Apartment, Part 4: Packing and Moving All of Your Shit (The Responsible One)
How to Protect Your Home Against Break-Ins (The Responsible One)
Education
How to Find a Fucking College (The Sudden Adult)
How to Find Some Fucking Money for College (The Sudden Adult)
What to Do When You Can’t Afford Your #1 Post-Secondary School (The Sudden Adult)
Stop Shitting on Community College Kids (Why Community College is Fucking Awesome) (The Responsible One)
How to Ask for a Recommendation Letter (The Responsible One)
How to Choose a College Major (The Sudden Adult)
Finances
How to Write a Goddamn Check (The Responsible One)
How to Convince Credit Companies You’re Not a Worthless Bag of Shit (The Responsible One)
Debit vs Credit (The Responsible One)
What to Do if Your Wallet is Stolen/Lost (The Sudden Adult)
Budgeting 101 (The Responsible One)
Important Tax Links to Know (The Responsible One)
How to Choose a Bank Without Screwing Yourself (The Responsible One)
Job Hunting
How to Write a Resume Like a Boss (The Responsible One)
How to Write a Cover Letter Someone Will Actually Read (The Responsible One)
How to Handle a Phone Interview without Fucking Up (The Responsible One)
10 Sites to Start Your Job Search (The Responsible One)
Life Skills
Staying in Touch with Friends/Family (The Sudden Adult)
Bar Etiquette (The Sudden Adult)
What to Do After a Car Accident (The Sudden Adult)
Grow Up and Buy Your Own Groceries (The Responsible One)
How to Survive Plane Trips (The Sudden Adult)
How to Make a List of Goals (The Responsible One)
How to Stop Whining and Make a Damn Appointment (The Responsible One)
Miscellaneous
What to Expect from the Hell that is Jury Duty (The Responsible One)
Relationships
Marriage: What the Fuck Does It Mean and How the Hell Do I Know When I’m Ready? (Guest post - The Northwest Adult)
How Fucked Are You for Moving In with Your Significant Other: An Interview with an Actual Real-Life Couple Living Together™ (mintypineapple and catastrofries)
Travel & Vehicles
How to Winterize Your Piece of Shit Vehicle (The Responsible One)
How to Make Public Transportation Your Bitch (The Responsible One)
Other Blog Features
Apps for Asshats
Harsh Truths & Bitter Reminders
Asks I’ll Probably Need to Refer People to Later
Apartments (or Life Skills) - How Not to Live in Filth (The Sudden Adult)
Finances - Tax Basics (The Responsible One)
Important Documents - How to Get a Copy of Your Birth Certificate (The Responsible One)
Important Documents - How to Get a Replacement ID (The Responsible One)
Health - How to Deal with a Chemical Burn (The Responsible One)
Job Hunting - List of Jobs Based on Social Interaction Levels (The Sudden Adult)
Job Hunting - How to Avoid Falling into a Pit of Despair While Job Hunting (The Responsible One)
Job Hunting - Questions to Ask in an Interview (The Responsible One)
Life Skills - First-Time Flying Tips (The Sudden Adult)
Life Skills - How to Ask a Good Question (The Responsible One)
Life Skills - Reasons to Take a Foreign Language (The Responsible One)
Life Skills - Opening a Bar Tab (The Sudden Adult)
Relationships - Long Distance Relationships: How to Stay in Contact (The Responsible One)
Adult Cheat Sheet:
what to do if your pet gets lost
removing stains from your carpet
how to know if you’re eligible for food stamps
throwing a dinner party
i’m pregnant, now what?
first aid tools to keep in your house
how to keep a clean kitchen
learning how to become independent from your parents
job interview tips
opening your first bank account
what to do if you lose your wallet
tips for cheap furniture
easy ways to cut your spending
selecting the right tires for your car
taking out your first loan
picking out the right credit card
how to get out of parking tickets
how to fix a leaky faucet
get all of your news in one place
getting rid of mice & rats in your house
when to go to the e.r.
buying your first home
how to buy your first stocks
guide to brewing coffee
first apartment essentials checklist
coping with a job you hate
30 books to read before you’re 30
what’s the deal with retirement?
difference between insurances
Once you’ve looked over all those cool links, I have some general advice for you on how you can have some sort of support system going for you:
You may decide to leave home for many different reasons, including:
wishing to live independently
location difficulties – for example, the need to move closer to university
conflict with your parents
being asked to leave by your parents.
It’s common to be a little unsure when you make a decision like leaving home. You may choose to move, but find that you face problems you didn’t anticipate, such as:
Unreadiness – you may find you are not quite ready to handle all the responsibilities.
Money worries – bills including rent, utilities like gas and electricity and the cost of groceries may catch you by surprise, especially if you are used to your parents providing for everything. Debt may become an issue.
Flatmate problems – issues such as paying bills on time, sharing housework equally, friends who never pay board, but stay anyway, and lifestyle incompatibilities (such as a non-drug-user flatting with a drug user) may result in hostilities and arguments.
Think about how your parents may be feeling and talk with them if they are worried about you. Most parents want their children to be happy and independent, but they might be concerned about a lot of different things. For example:
They may worry that you are not ready.
They may be sad because they will miss you.
They may think you shouldn’t leave home until you are married or have bought a house.
They may be concerned about the people you have chosen to live with.
Reassure your parents that you will keep in touch and visit regularly. Try to leave on a positive note. Hopefully, they are happy about your plans and support your decision.
Tips include:
Don’t make a rash decision – consider the situation carefully. Are you ready to live independently? Do you make enough money to support yourself? Are you moving out for the right reasons?
Draw up a realistic budget – don’t forget to include ‘hidden’ expenses such as the property’s security deposit or bond (usually four weeks’ rent), connection fees for utilities, and home and contents insurance.
Communicate – avoid misunderstandings, hostilities and arguments by talking openly and respectfully about your concerns with flatmates and parents. Make sure you’re open to their point of view too – getting along is a two-way street.
Keep in touch – talk to your parents about regular home visits: for example, having Sunday night dinner together every week.
Work out acceptable behaviour – if your parents don’t like your flatmate(s), find out why. It is usually the behaviour rather than the person that causes offence (for example, swearing or smoking). Out of respect for your parents, ask your flatmate(s) to be on their best behaviour when your parents visit and do the same for them.
Ask for help – if things are becoming difficult, don’t be too proud to ask your parents for help. They have a lot of life experience.
Not everyone who leaves home can return home or ask their parents for help in times of trouble. If you have been thrown out of home or left home to escape abuse or conflict, you may be too young or unprepared to cope.
If you are a fostered child, you will have to leave the state-care system when you turn 18, but you may not be ready to make the sudden transition to independence.
If you need support, help is available from a range of community and government organisations. Assistance includes emergency accommodation and food vouchers. If you can’t call your parents or foster parents, call one of the associations below for information, advice and assistance.
Your doctor
Kids Helpline Tel. 1800 55 1800
Lifeline Tel. 13 11 44
Home Ground Services Tel. 1800 048 325
Relationships Australia Tel. 1300 364 277
Centrelink Crisis or Special Help Tel. 13 28 50
Tenants Union of Victoria Tel. (03) 9416 2577
Try to solve any problems before you leave home. Don’t leave because of a fight or other family difficulty if you can possibly avoid it.
Draw up a realistic budget that includes ‘hidden’ expenses, such as bond, connection fees for utilities, and home and contents insurance.
Remember that you can get help from a range of community and government organizations.
(source)
Keep me updated? xx
Ok so a lil something different than Pokemons. I wanted to draw Philippine Deities in a somewhat surrealistic eldritch forms. Here are 5 of the most well know gods in Philippine mythology. Planning to do more as well.
"Don't put numbers into your stories." Jeezus.
I was midway through my answer when I realized this would be a good opportunity for a quick guide.
Honestly, I think the OP was probably a bit of a tongue-in-cheek, hyperbolic rant from a writer who had a frustrating review or critique. The problem is, a lot of people seem to be taking it as genuine/good advice, and that really concerns me.
Obviously, it's fine to be vague about dates, ages, distances, or anything else if that's what you want to do. But don't leave numbers out because you're not willing to do the work to keep your story's details straight. Doing the work to figure that stuff out and keep it straight is part of your job as a serious writer.
Look, I get it... when you're excited about a story idea, you just want to go wild and start writing. But if your story uses real world people, events, locations, items, or other elements--or heavily relies on them as inspiration--you need to sit down and do some research.
This doesn't mean you have to choose exact dates for your story if you don't want to. But if your story is loosely set in the 1880s (or inspired by an 1880s setting,) you'd better have a good idea of what did and did not exist in the 1880s so you can be sure you're not using a 1914 fashion trend or 1700s slang.
And, doing research doesn't mean you have to research every single element of your story before you start writing. You can stop and research as you go. In the middle of my writing session tonight, I spent 15 minutes researching what kind of pine tree would grow near the coast in my WIP's inspiration setting. And even though that location will never be named in my story, I care about my writing enough to take the time to make sure my details are accurate.
WQA’s Guide to Internet Research Researching an Historical Topic Writing About Difficult to Research Topics
Whether or not you choose to be specific about dates in your story, I strongly advocate the use of a story timeline, even if you're not usually a "planner." Having a detailed story timeline (that includes important back story events) helps ensure that you don't mix up dates, lose track of how much time has passed between events, or create overlapping events.
There are loads of different ways you can create a timeline, and no way is better than any other. You can jot important dates and events down on post-its, use an app, draw out a timeline on a piece of paper, create something in Word... whatever you want to do is great! Here are some different timeline styles I've used. Some of these are timelines from actual WIPs.
Standard Line Timeline
Calendar Timeline (You can print these out at Time and Date...)
Basic Scene List & Timeline
Complex Scene List & Timeline (This one is based on Save the Cat!)
Color-Coded Timeline
And, if you're like me and you have trouble keeping character ages straight throughout important back story events, I give you...
The Color-Coded Character Age Chart
And, honestly, that's how you keep numbers and number-related details straight in your story. Research and timelines. It's just that simple!
So, don't be afraid to include numbers or number-related details in your story if you want them there. :)
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!
Visit my FAQ
See my Master List of Top Posts
Go to ko-fi.com/wqa to buy me coffee or see my commissions!
I remember watching this interview of Hajime Isayama where he said that, when he presented the story of Attack on Titan to its current publishers, he was at the lowest possible point of self-esteem in his life, about himself and about his work, so much so that he was on the brink of giving it all up. It marked me so much because… I was watching this interview precisely because I deeply admired this man’s artistic work. I could not fathom that he would have ever doubted it himself.
It reminded me that you can only trust the work. It really doesn’t matter what your opinion of yourself or your abilities as a creator is. It is entirely irrelevant, even. Worse: it gets in the way of creation. When you focus too much on it, you stop trying and doing. And if there is one thing that cannot be doubted, it is that nothing is achieved without trying and doing. Nothing bad and nothing good.
So really, as long as the desire to create burns your insides and keeps you awake at night and makes your fingers shiver from the need to grab a pen or a brush, there is only one option: keep making. Doubt won’t ever disappear. Creating shall remain this uneasy, vertiginous activity, keeping you on the brink of the abyss.
Follow your guts and have faith in the process. Trust that the work needs to be done, no matter the whims of self-confidence. At the end of the day, your creation may have sprung out of your mind and your knowledge, your experiences and your emotions, your time and your dedication, but it is not you. It may be better; it may be worse; but it is a thing of its own that needs to be done and that only you can do.
redrew my girls last year for this year’s maynananggal!
in cities and towns, you won’t really have to worry about this but it’s important to be careful and respectful of the land you plan to cross, especially if it’s your first time visiting and especially if it’s in a forest. land spirits like duwende live in trees, rocks, dirt mounds, caves, and pretty much everywhere else. duwende can be playful but will get angry if you destroy/disrespect their home, so always ask permission before you pass through and don’t spit, urinate, or even run around ((be really careful not to crush mounds))
So it has been discussed that Dark Academia is quite Eurocentric and a bit (if not so much) elitistic. If you like it, it's alright, though.
If you, my Filipino mutuals, felt that Dark Academia is pretentious, maybe (just maybe) it's because we cannot really relate to it while its western practices cannot awake our connection to its roots. For us, it is just "aesthetics" and will never be a "way of life".
Personally, I like the dark hues of dark academia, but I'm a lover of Filipino culture eh.
I would like to gather your thoughts about the Dark or Light Academia aesthetics and lifestyle in Filipino cultural settings. I'm sure I can find many Filipinos here who have ventured more into reconnecting with the indigenous academic culture than I have.
Let's start! (lol haba ng intro ko, eto lang pala 'yon)
Share any media, books, movies, objects, study materials pertaining to the following categories: my examples, without pictures because I'm uncreative.
Book Reco: any myth book, tbh
Poets to read: Andres Bonifacio (for those who don't know, this boi made a poem about Sidapa)
Writing Instruments: Bamboo and ink
Classical Musical instruments: Talaandug (alam nyo yung bamboo flute ni Agilus sa Mulawin, yun 'yon)
Must study: Baybayin
Study Table snacks: Puto pao
Coffee and Tea Reco: Barako, tanglad tea, lavender tea, turnate tea, and Sampaguita tea, all of which are grown in south east asia and can be found in shopee/lazada.
Philosophy and ethics: I'm blank on this one. Sadly, I only know Nietzschean and Confucian.
Objects that should adorn your study table: sari manok, because I'm basic and edgy.
Objects that should adorn your wall: T'boli weaving, Fernando Amorsolo works, random wooden stick you found in the wild
Objects that should adorn your book shelf: clay pot, random wooden stick you found in the wild
Garments: red saya (I have 3! Who cares about heat death!)
All I can give are basics and general, I'm that surface level. Please share your knowledge to celebrate Filipino Academia aesthetics/life style.
((edit: ah, the problem of study aesthetics is the consumerism that comes with it. So a reminder, don't feel forced to buy anything. We're just vibing. And if you can buy things, go local as much as you can.))
new sengen fic is up lol more gen being a sad boy and senku being awkward because that’s my entire shit. don’t worry it has a good ending:)