#AMA 2016

[shxdowgirl-edits]

Selena Gomez at American Music Awards' carpet 2016. She's wearing Prada.

[periwinkle-the-11th]

NO TRUMP NO KKK NO FASCIST USA!!!!!

[justarandomgirly]

Lady Gaga performing Million Reasons live at AMA's 2016

[thinkingimages]

Cláudia Varejão, 2016 Portugal/Switzerland Japanese with English subtitles 113 minutes

Cláudia Varejão’s intimate documentary focuses on women living in a small town off of Japan’s Shima Peninsula who have carried on the 2,000-year-old tradition of diving for pearls, sea urchins, and abalone. Challenging notions of how Japanese females are supposed to behave, the Ama (“sea women”) dive without scuba gear or oxygen tanks, wearing minimal protection. Like the Ama probing the ocean’s depths, Varejão’s camera examines the minutiae of the women’s day-to-day existence: their hair curlers, the sea salt clinging to their skin, and assorted daily feminine tasks that are all too often taken for granted. Winner of best Portuguese documentary at DocLisboa.

_____

Ama-San review – a deep dive into Japan's fisherwomen culture

Ama-San: Diving into the abyss of femininity - Cineuropa

[hollywedits]

American Music Awards 2016.

[ariisimz]

✨AMAS 2016 ✨

Guys I'm literally in love with this edit omggg 😭😭

-

Outfit by @foreverfrancy-stuff

Ponytail by @moon4sims

Body skin by @thisisthem

[herawell]

.

[rennybu]

finished veilguard finally 💆 if you have a pc with parts from 2017 and no ssd, know you did not struggle through the load errors and preset character bugs alone

some thoughts for closure (mostly negative from a place of love)

Despite the preceding 3 games all looking, sounding, and feeling different gameplay-wise, as someone who picked up the series in 2016 and played them back to back, i felt like they all shared the same scope and the same enjoyment of the setting and had stories that engaged with that setting in a way that was eager to keep exploring it. All 3 games had hook moments for me, either in a major plot development or a presentation gimmick that made me want to continue and made my character feel unique to my player experience. Veilguard never hooked me and broke my immersion constantly. I kept feeling like the script was reluctant or embarrassed to be taking place in The Dragon Age Setting. Which sucks because I like it there and want to play in it. It felt stripped down and very removed from the world of the last 3 games. And I mean. like everyone, I’ve been following the development hell, reading dev responses, the ama, looking at the scrapped joplin art concepts. I can see the shape of what it might have been but it’s too big a gap for me to want to play in and do any headcanon fic-writing work on my own. I had a few ideas early on but the game overall left me feeling burnt out on trying to… bridge the gap on my lack of immersion. My enjoyment shouldn’t have to hinge solely on headcanons. For the previous games, the foundations were strong enough that headcanons were an extra sauce on top of what we were given. I really didn’t feel like a mover in this story.

A lot of ppl have better articulated more precise complaints and I don’t have it in me to sit in deep contemplation and type up a full review 😭 everything I enjoyed about the game, there wasn’t enough of. It’s like I can see the rough idea of Rook being a foil to Solas, but I did not Feel It in the gameplay or the writing or the interactions and the options given to me to play. The regret prison was cool, but i wish it had the depth to consider Rook’s faction, their exile, their ever becoming Rook at all. I wish the team had had time to sit and invent more Thedas-specific, setting-informed gender terminology. I wish I wish I wish!

I think most of my enjoyment now is derived from seeing others’ ocs and designs within the setting. Wardens hawkes inquisitors rooks yay. I think I will need a very long break before I make any new fanart myself (impossible to say for sure) but I don’t like. Hate it now. And I love what the series has done for my past artistic improvement and inspiration/influence. The games are important to me and I’m just disappointed ahgkskgkd

Love dragon age. Going to stare at my screenshots folder for the entire series and not say another word

[sophieinwonderland]

A Roadmap and Why Anti-Endos Are Getting Left Behind

A recent post of mine was controversial and has been making waves. That post was the short un-nuanced version of a pro-endo future that's coming. It was phrased to sound threatening and inflammatory because it feels like that's all anti-endos will listen to anymore. But now that I've successfully gotten your attention, let's talk seriously about what's been set into motion, why it's bad for anti-endos, and why there's absolutely nothing you can do to stop it.

Positions on endogenic plurality in psychiatry

The nature of DID has been the subject of much debate within the psychiatric community for a long time. Most experts have agreed that the cause of DID is virtually always trauma. (Although many doctors are hesitant to assert this cause 100% of the time because edge cases can exist with anything.) But there's a smaller group that views it as sociogenic or iatrogenic, being caused by suggestion or doctors themselves.

I tend to agree with the majority.

But that majority group that believes DID itself is caused by trauma has also consistently acknowledged that there are, or at least could be, other forms of plurality beyond DID. This includes Dr. Colin Ross, who in the 90s speculated that there could be a non-pathological endogenous form of multiplicity. This was also echoed by Kluft, another DID expert who holds the traumagenic view of DID.

In the early 2010s, the creators of the theory of structural dissociation mentioned in a paper that mediumship and hypnosis may involve self-conscious dissociative parts of the personality.

By 2019, the World Health Organization's ICD-11's DID entry stated that you can experience multiple distinct personality states without a disorder.

Every source you can find about endogenic and non-disordered plurality either affirms it as a real thing or is at least neutral on it.

There is no hard anti-endo papers in psychiatry or psychology.

You can look through peer reviewed sources if you want for a single one that supports the idea that all plurality is traumagenic, and I promise that you won't find one.

A growing trend in research.

Like I said, in the 90s, there were a couple doctors talking about non-pathological multiplicity as something that may or may not exist. But this was largely un-studied. Later, this phenomenon got more attention, but there were no studies into non-pathological multiplicity, outside of spiritual possession, until 2016 with Varieties of Tulpa Experiences.

That was only 8 years ago.

The year after, in 2017, came a small interview study into online multiples that concluded this:

2018 saw the publication of Transgender Mental Health by The American Psychiatric Association, which asserted plurality could be non-traumagenic.

And again, 2019 saw the ICD-11 worded to say that one could experience the presence of multiple distinct personality states without a disorder.

There have been so many studies conducted in the intervening years that this post would go on forever were I to list them all.

If you want to see more, you can look at Guardians Systems' doc. Progress is happening at a rapid pace with new studies published every year.

This leads us to the next big milestone... actual fMRI research and brain scans. Because THAT'S HAPPENING.

Stanford University conducted a massive $50k study (not including the payment to researchers themselves) into tulpa systems, and the people running those studies recently did an AMA about it on Reddit.

The results are promising, showing neurological changes during possession. (Possession is a tulpamancy term for a headmate taking control over a single part of the body without fronting.)

Once this is published, it's only going to further pique interest in tulpamancy and endogenic plurality in psychology.

Are you scared yet? Because Rod Dreher is...

Rod Dreher is a transphobic conservative pundit and reactionary. I'll preface this by saying it's unclear how much of his fear is legitimate and how much is playing to a transphobic base as a way of saying "look what these liberals are doing now." Personally, I think it's probably a bit of both.

I'll be linking the archived version to avoid giving him clicks.

What conservative pundit Rod Dreher believes is that tulpamancy and plurality are going to be the next frontier of identity politics, as he makes the case for here.

He's of course NOT in support of this, but he's afraid of it.

And he's not wrong either.

In another quote from the AMA, Dr. Lifshitz mentions how much interest he gets from colleagues when he discusses tulpamancy.

The awareness of plurality and interest in it in medical spaces is rapidly spreading, and current studies do show tulpamancy improves mental health.

While it would be easy to dismiss Dreher's predictions as typical conservative fearmongering, the current trends clearly support what he's predicting.

He may be on the wrong side of the debate, but he can see the same signs and trends I do.

Plural Acceptance In Therapy

As said above, studies have shown thus far that tulpamancy is healthy, as are other forms of plurality. Plural awareness and interest is spreading quickly through academic circles.

And in one interview, Lifshitz mentions that they're interested in using research into tulpamancy to develop better DID treatment.

This will take a while to apply, and I don't know when they'll start using knowledge from tulpamancy in clinical settings, but there's a good chance that within the next decade, this research into tulpamancy may start to influence the treatment of DID systems.

How this will manifest is still unclear. Perhaps it won't go further than the advanced inner world exercises tulpamancers use to immerse themselves in inner worlds to communicate with tulpas.

But... a number of DID systems with tulpas have reported positive benefits from creating tulpas to help their systems. So maybe we'll see studies into using tulpamancy to intentionally make alters for DID systems and see how that benefits their mental health. If results are positive, this could be used in treatment.

Speaking of which, we're probably also going to see studies into having singlets create tulpas intentionally.

They're already having children make imagined companions, and have recorded these imagined companions are able to act seemingly autonomously, possessing their own thoughts and feelings.

This research cited research into tulpamancy, and suggested future studies should be carried out on adults to see if there are benefits.

I can already see the path from having adult singlets make tulpas to test for benefits of plurality, and then to testing on DID systems to see if this could be used to help strengthen communication in those systems.

And if these studies are done and the methods are proven effective and put into practice, anti-endos won't even know that the methods that are being used to treat them were derived from tulpamancy studies.

But as more anti-endos are being treated by therapists who are working to get them into healthier mindsets, it's likely you'll see a trickle down from the opinions of therapists to their patients, helping dismantle their bigotry towards endogenic systems and internalized pluralphobia.

If you're anti-endo and have seen other anti-endos complaining that their therapists seem pro-endo, know that it only gets worse from here.

Plural Acceptance and Gender

Plurality is also likely to become an increasingly big thing in topics around gender.

Just last year in 2023, we saw a study into the intersection of living as plural and transgender.

This study also marked a major milestone for plurals, being the first time ever that a system name (The Redwoods) was used as an author on an academic paper. Authors in this study worked across multiple universities, a hospital, and a gender wellness center.

This will almost definitely not be the last.

Additionally, we've lately been seeing live gender conferences with plural speakers speaking about plurality and this intersection. No longer is this community based entirely online.

Plural acceptance is going to quickly spread within the LGBT community. And anti-endos will be tolerated in those spaces less and less.

A Stranglehold on Resources

Another reason anti-endos are going to lose is because most resources are already pro-endo. Simply Plural and Pluralkit both support endogenic systems, with Simply Plural having links discussing endogenic plurality, linking young systems to the information.

There have been anti-endo attempts at breaking this stranglehold, but it always comes down to copying a more popular pro-endo thing and making it more hateful and exclusive, and it never gets close to enough traction.

Anti-endos contribute nothing to the community and are reliant on pro-endo resources, and every person they suggest Simply Plural to brings them closer to those pro-endo articles from The Plural Association.

Confidence in Being Out as Plural Means Plural Role Models

I don't know who these role models will be. Aimkid came out as a DID system and is pro-endo. Unfortunately, anti-endos have had success in bullying Aimkid off of social media.

But some studies have shown about 3% of the population is plural, only about half of which have DID, and I believe the real numbers are actually much higher.

As plural acceptance increases, it's only a matter of time before you start seeing some of your favorite celebrities come out as plural.

It's only a matter of time before plurals have their equivalent of "The Puppy Episode" where Ellen came out as lesbian on television.

I can't predict when this will happen. Things like that tend to come out of the blue. But I do believe it will happen and when it does, plurality will suddenly be pushed to the mainstream conversation.

This is Going to Quickly Become a Left-Right Issue

When plurality hits the mainstream, conservatives will fiercely oppose it. Because of the way reactions tend to work, that means liberals are going to fiercely defend it. Each side feeds into the other and results in more support in liberal spaces and more opposition in conservatives ones.

I'm not going to sugarcoat this. If you stand by bigotry in these liberal spaces, especially queer spaces, you're going to find your social circle shrinking unless you keep that bigotry to yourself. When this is part of the national conversation, you will find yourself cutoff by people you care about and spaces you previously would be accepted.

Intolerance to plural systems of any kind will no longer be tolerated. There will be no safe space for hate in those communities.

And with the overwhelming science and doctors supporting the existence of non-disordered and endogenic systems, with the support of the psych community, anti-endos will soon find themselves regarded the same way we regard anti-vaxxers and flat-Earthers in liberal spaces.

A Choice to Make

You're not doomed. This isn't hopeless. You can make a change.

System medicalism is The Titanic but you have life rafts you can hop on before it goes down.

Plenty of anti-endos have changed their ways. But if you stay on your current course, this is where it ends. You either maintain your bigotry, as you're cast out of queer communities, watching endogenic plurality infiltrate your favorite media, and with therapists who are pro-endo, all while your own hate and isolation destroy you...

Or you can choose to be better before it's too late. Because the longer you maintain your hate, the more people you hurt along the way, the more guilt you'll carry with you after you break away.

Or... I guess there's a secret third thing. A worse choice. You could join with the Rod Drehers of the world, because the Alt-Right will probably accept you gladly if you're willing to toe the party line, and turn against both fellow systems and the queer community.

I'm sure they would love systems with internalized pluralphobia who speak out against a plural future that they can hold up as examples, the same way they love homophobic gay people like Milo Yiannopoulos.

If that's what you want to be, I suppose that's an option too. 🤷‍♀️

If you do make right choice...

You can find acceptance. Your past mistakes won't be held against you.

Admitting that you're wrong and choosing to be better can be scary. But that's no excuse to continue down a path of hate.

If you do choose to make a change, we can build a plural future together. One where we won't have to hide or fear discrimination for being plural.

One where future plural children won't have to grow up feeling crazy and hating themselves and their headmates for being different, and they'll have real people to look up to who have been where they are.

My Part...

For myself, I'm going to do everything I can to push this future forward, to help bring it about. This future is an inevitability. But the more of us that spread awareness of the science and what's happening, the sooner it gets here.

But with or without my involvement... anti-endos... you're losing. Bit by bit, every single day, and you don't even realize it because you're surrounded by an echo chamber that refuses to see the reality of what's happening.

But We see it. Dr. Lifshitz sees it. Even conservative Rod Dreher sees it.

And you are so far behind in this battle that there's no way you can possibly prevent what is coming. Maybe you could have stopped it had you started paying attention half a decade ago. But you've walled yourselves off from anything that contradicted your worldview and that willful ignorance has left you playing catch-up.

Your echo chamber will tell you that you're safe to keep being who you are, to keep spreading hate and hurting innocent people because of what we are. That the future I promise won't happen. They'll tell you to ignore all the signs.

But the reality is that the world is changing and the future is plural, and you are going to have to make a choice.

I sincerely hope you will choose the right thing. But for those who don't...

Well, like I said, it's up to you. I can't stop you from choosing hate. I'm not going to try to make you into a better person either. That's up to you.

But I think you at least deserve to know what's happening and how it will end up affecting you if you don't make a change.

[sertsiken0606]

güzellikler bitmesin

merhaba arkadaşlar . Benim ismim Firdevs kocam sürekli kendi anılarını anlatıyor belki inanmayanlar vardır ama ben biliyorum tamamı doğru. Sizlere Hasan ile ilk swing e nasıl başladığımızı anlatacağım. Biz Hasan la 2016 yılında evlendik. Tam 15 temmuzda

Aradan geçen zaman içerisinde harika geceler geçiriyorduk , ben sosyal hizmetler çocuk esirgeme yurdunda büyümüş anasız babasız biriyim. Evim çalıştığım hastaneye çok yakın benim gibi shçek da büyümüş bir hemşire bizim bölümde işe başladı ismi Yasemin . Yasemin ile kısa sürede çok yakın arkadaş olmuştuk 19 yaşında çok güzel bir kadın 1 hafta 10 gün gibi sonra Yasemin in sağlık bakanlığı misafirhanesinde kaldığını öğrendim Hasan a sormadan Yasemin in eşyalarını toplayıp bize götürdüm akşam Hasan hep anlattığım Yasemin i görünce şok oldu yemek çay faslı bitti yatak odasına geçtik Hasan her zamanki gibi seks yapmak istiyor bende Yasemin e ayıp olur diye düşündüm ama Hasan ne yaptı etti beni sekse ikna etti o gece Hasan düşünsene Firdevs videoları hani 2 kadın 1 erkek sevişirken ne boşalmıstık sen konuş Yaseminle ikna et dedim bende madem sen Yasemin i istiyorsun bende Özkan hocayla yatmak istiyorum dedim tamam dedi ben sana Özkan ı ayarlayacağım sende bana Yasemin i günlerden salı ydı artık her gece seks yaparken Özkan ve Yasemin i hayal ederek yapıyorduk cumartesi günü sabah eşim nöbet için gitti bende Yasemin ile kahvaltıda konuşurken erkek arkadaşı olup olmadığını sordum yok ama çok teklif eden var seçim yapamıyorum dedi gülüştük konu sekse gelmişti Hasan ın beğendiğini söyledim bende Hasan ı çok beğeniyorum dedi eğer seninle evli olmasa teklif etse birlikte olacağım tek erkek dedi bakiremisin dedim evet bakireyim ama 2 3 kez anal ve oral seks yaptım abla dedi . Sözü Hasan a getirdi her gece seks yapıyor hiç bıkmaz mı seksten diye sordu , gülüştük yok daha hiç boş günümüz olmadı dedim adet döneminde de mi diyerek şaşkın şaşkın baktı adetliyken anal ve oral seks yapıyor beni böyle alıştırdı dedim. Senin sesin benim odadan duyuluyor demek ki çok zevk alıyorsun abla dedi bende sen onun sikini bir görsen şok olursun çok kalın ve çok uzun dedim akşam yemeği için mutfağa gidip hazırlık yapıyordum Hasan aradı akşam misafir var ben hazırım Özkan da hazır sen ne yaptın dedi daha anlatamadım hem kızmış nasıl derim kocam seninle seks yapmak istiyor diye . O zaman Özkan seni sikerken ben izlerim Özkan ile konuştum yapacak bir şey yok dedi telefonu kapattı kapıda beni dinliyormuştu ne zaman geldin duymadım dedim epey oldu herşeyi duydum sen kabul ediyorsan ben dünden razıyım o koca yarağı görmek istiyorum dedi ben hemen mesaj attım gerdek gecesine hazır ol dedim. Akşam olmuştu hem kendimi hem Yasemin i hazırladım erkeklerimiz için saat 18 30 gibi kapı çaldı Hasan ve Özkan ellerinde kırmızı güller ve kırmızı şarap ile içeri girdi bana Özkan uzattı gülleri Yasemin e Hasan yemek odası hazır yemek yiyelim içelim zevkimize bakalım dedim Özkan belime sarıldı boynumdan öptü yemek sırasında hiç konuşmadık masayı birlikte toplayıp beni Özkan kucağına aldı öperek soyunmaya başladık Hasan Yasemin i kucağına aldı yatak odasına götürdü bizde sevişerek soyunduk 69 pozisyonuna geçtik o dilini Hasan kadar iyi kullanıyor bende o ne kadar zevk verirse o kadar sikini ağzıma alıyordum

[okuryazarlar]

2024 yılında Türkiye'de, 5 çocuk yanarak öldü!

İzmir'de anneleri gece hurda toplamaya gittiği sırada elektrik sobasından çıkan yangının dumanından zehirlenen, en küçüğü 1, en büyüğü 5 yaşında olan Fadime Nefes (5), Funda Peri (4), Aslan Miraç (3), Masal Işık (2) ve Aras Bulut Akcan (1) yaşamlarını yitirdi.

Yaşları 1 ilâ 5 arasındaydı. Çocuklarını evde bırakıp hurda toplamaya çıkan 27 yaşındaki anne hakkında gözaltı kararı verildi.

Suçlu, bu ailenin durumunu önceden tespit etmeyen ve bu felaketlerin önüne geçmeyen, görevini yerine getirmediği için insanların ölümüne sebep olan ama yine maaşını alan ve sorumluluğu sorgulanmayan muhtar, kaymakam, vali, milletvekili, bakan ve diğer yetkililer ya da kamu görevlileridir. Ve haklarında hiçbir soruşturma yine yok!

Üstelik AKP'li Özlem Zengin, yangın sonucu hayatını kaybeden 5 kardeşin annesini suçladı ve "Dönüyorsunuz, dolaşıyorsunuz her şeyi paraya bağlıyorsunuz. Başka sebeplere bakılmalı. Annenin yaşam tarzına da bakılmalı." diye konuştu.

Evet sebebi para! Sosyal devletin yokluğu, açlık ve yoksulluk sınırında yaşayan milyonlar yaratmanız. İnsanları çöp toplamaya, sadakaya muhtaç bırakan, tarihin en berbat gelir adaletsizliğini yaratan, yoksullukla cehaleti yarıştıran politikalarınız!

Ya toplumsal çürüme? Onun da sorumlusu sizsiniz. Yeni doğan çetesi de sizin iktidarınızda güçlendi, Narin'i yutan karanlık da. TÜİK neden 2016'dan beri kayıp çocuk istatistiklerini yayınlamıyor? O çocuklara ne oldu?

Aile Bakanlığı ekipleriyse 18 kez aileyi ziyaret ettiğini açıklamış. Bakanlık 18 kere gittiyse aileyi güvenli bir yere yerleştirebilir, iyi gıda yardımı yapabilir, anneye iş sağlayabilirdi. Neden çocuklar, devlet korumasına alınmadı?

"Annenin hayat tarzı" cümlesindeki ima etmeye çalıştığınız kirli düşünceler, ölümü hak etmişler mi demek?

Uzun süredir o kadar koptunuz ki halktan! Çocuk cinayetleri, yenidoğan çetesi, derin yoksulluklar.

Ülkemizi karanlığa boğdunuz, memleketin güzel çocuklarına yoksulluk, açlık ve ölüm getirdiniz.

Yaşanan her ihmal olaylarında sorumluluk almak yerine hep “suçlu” mu arayacaksınız? Sorumluluk almanız için daha kaç çocuğun ölmesi gerekiyor?

[alinaastarkov]

I kind of fell down the jonrya rabbit hole and would like to hear more opinions. I'm not convinced that George gave up on JonArya. No one has proof of this or can pinpoint exactly where he was abandoned. No character has replaced Arya's importance to Jon and vice versa, and I don't think that will ever happen. Their relationship is the strongest in asoaif and is treated as a driving force and something separate from the rest, and I ask myself why. What is the reason for so much emphasis? ADWD is the book with the most clues, since Jon spends a lot of time agonizing over her. He dies for her in the end, and she is his last thought. Not to mention that famous line about the heart, which is very romantic coded. The foreshadowing didn't vanish with the first books, and I truly wonder w h y. Does anyone have any interesting theories about them or speculation?

When I re-read an AMA from George, I was quite surprised by this response.

Has there been a character that you have given a reprieve to, or maybe deviated from the path you originally were going to send them on? If so, whom?

No, not really.

In some cases the chronologies have diverged from what I originally intended, but the overall character arcs remain the same.

This was years after the 1993 outline. And in 2016, he stated that he would continue with the endings he had in mind since 1991.

Also, this is from SSM:

Question: How different is the plot from what he originally envisioned?

GRRM: Not different - just more of it. It has grown in complexity but he likes it that way because it feels real to him. - SSM 2010

Some more quotes.

"But the size is different, and I've introduced some other elements to the books, but it's still the same characters, the '91 characters."

"Some major characters — yes, I always had plans, what Tyrion's arc was gonna be through this, what Arya's arc was gonna be through this, what Jon Snow's arc is gonna be. "

"Who is the most major character you've changed you mind about your plans for?

I don't want to reveal what I've planned for some of these characters, but I'm pretty well on track with most of the major characters. It's minor characters like Bronn that assume greater importance."

After a re-reading, I started to wonder… Why did they give up on being together if they did everything to be by each other's side? They are their true selves with each other, so why shouldn't they be together? Or share their lives together? I've seen some people claim that their relationship will never be the same. And yes, that's true. But isn't that applicable to any relationship in asoiaf? They are deliberately written as something too deep and an intense transcendental bond that no one else has; if they have no chance of thriving, no one does. And as much as George is accused of doing things for shock value, he cares about consistency. He definitely doesn't treat this relationship as trivial to be shattered. Jon is Arya's first priority. He is her home. They love each other unconditionally, and there’s no one Jon loves as much as he does Arya, no doubt on that. My impression is that George may have created an infrastructure for them to end up together somehow. Not necessarily in the way he initially envisioned it, but as soulmates who find refuge in each other and are saved by their unique bond that inspires them to live. Resurrected Jon will probably take the FitzChivalry Farseer route. I doubt he'll come back super damaged because he needs to be reasonably okay for some plot lines. And George always intended for all 5 main characters to survive so.

I would be more inclined to think that everything was scrapped if Jon's arc in ADWD was vastly different. George not only deepened their connection and recycled an old plot line, but also introduced powerful new themes. They are each other's hearts and homes. This approach is very rare in this universe. And no other relationship is treated with this same importance. Why should we pay so much attention to them? What is George's point in this? Like, a lot of time passed between 1993 and 2011. He had more than enough time to rewrite Jon's arc and remove Arya's influence. But he continues to keep these characters intensely and emotionally connected throughout all the books. If he accidentally wrote them as soulmates, wouldn't it be easier to remove it after the first book? I have some vague ideas of what he's going to do with them. But I genuinely don't think it's out of the question as so many fans confidently claim

sorry for taking so long to answer this anon! it was mostly because i agree with everything you said and couldn't think of what to add. i agree there seems to be consensus that george initially planned for them but changed his mind, probably after the first/second book. however, as you say, it then makes no sense that jon's adwd arc is the way it is. for me, it's the most explicitly romantic we get, with many of jon's thoughts (i want my bride back, imagining arya in ramsay's bed, winter's lady etc.) being things a brother cannot innocently think about his sister (despite what some people say and i worry about their relationship with their sibling tbh). if it was scrapped, i wonder how they explain adwd? (they mostly don't, explain it away as platonic, or pretend these thoughts are just about his 'family'). there's also the fact that george's affc outline (before affc and adwd were split) had jon going to and probably dying in hardhome, removing his rescue of arya and betrayal because of that entirely. george explicitly altered his adwd plot to include more arya. i frankly would be amazed at the ga's lack of awareness of the books they claim to love if j*nsas didn't exist

[sillagen]

2016'dan beri aynı kabanı giyiyorum. Markası Tekbir kabanın eskisine nazaran ciddi kilo almaları ve vermeleri gördüm elhamdülillah. Ama yine de aynı kaban. Bol gelince kabanım ahh hakiki tesettür oldu sevinci yaşamıştım. Her yıl kaban telaşına düşen insanları anlayamıyorum. Bir kıyafet eskimemişse ve hâlâ temizse istersen on beş yıl aynı kabanı giy yani. Bazı insanlara göre köylüce düşünce sistemi geliyor ama bana göre akıllıca olan şey. Bu utanılacak mevzu da değildir. Pöpüler kültürün saçma bir dayatması. Benim ortanca da böyle şeylere meraklı ve yüzüne de diyorum.

[stuffyflowers]

Masterpost of everything we learned from the Kissy Cutie AMA with Merengue on ACDS for those wondering

(Merengue is the creator I should probably mention that lol)

The game, particularly its theme of racism, derived from the rise of Trump in 2016, during which hatred towards Mexicans was popular. As a Mexican woman herself, she says this was a very personal source of inspiration and she considers Kissy Cutie a "healing journey."

Similarly, Sona is inspired by her personal experience living with a controlling parent. Her confusing motives and reactions take you off guard. She depicts a complex person who is full of regret but fails to be better.

The endings were were a criticism of dating sims, trying to follow Undertale's ending style and the fandom.

She regrets making the truest ending so hard to obtain. She is tempted to make TikToks showing people how to get all the endings to stop the suffering.

She would love to remake Kissy Cutie, but "ran out of budget on the intro." In all honesty, she would think about it if people are really interested.

The game has so many artstyles as no artist wanted to compromise to draw all the sprites. While the end product worked, she would have preferred a more homogenous artstyle.

If she were to remake the game, she would like to redraw everything herself.

The yellow soul was renamed to Clover as the demo of Undertale Yellow had released during development. There are also references to Flowerfell (such as in Sona's final transformation), which was another fan creation she loved.

Sona's powers had many changes during production. She was going to be a doll-like monster that absorbed human souls (and goes bald at the end?), then she was going to have Flowerfell reset powers, but in the end she was made to be a witch whose powers came from an ancient artifact. She is also able to turn the monsters human through "determination."

She wanted to explain every loose end left in Undertale, hence the focus on Chara's backstory and their upbringing with Sona. She says Chara is the main character, not Sona.

She was nervous about doing a Sans path due to his popularity at the time. So she made him "that way" on purpose.

She handles the Frisk/Chara/Player relationship "like the Catholic Church handles the Holy Trinity."

She has played Danganronpa, but has not read Homestuck or watched Glitchtale.

The characters with no sprites are a result of their artists abandoning the project.

Alphys, Mettaton and Toriel paths were planned, but never got far.

The Alphys route was being written by a friend who she began to distance from. She never got to see any of it.

She has not played Undertale Yellow, only the demo.

The disappearance of the 42 Ayotzinpa students is another source of inspiration (The scene in which you find Mettaton's body likely alludes to this).

She loves and encourages fan content of her game, including using the game's code as a base for projects.

The humanification arc was intended to explore how a racist would 'solve racism' without violence, by turning everyone into "someone like them."

The human designs have slightly pink hair to reflect Sona's influence. Human Papyrus was inspired by his in-game comments about wanting muscles and hair, human Sans was "the typical fandom approach," and everyone else became anime characters.

The music was the last thing worked on. It was rushed and they didn't know what they were doing.

Sona was not intentionally similar to Monika or Makima.

Sona is (supposedly?) wearing a black mourning dress (Likely mourning Chara hence the yellow flowers).

The cover of Waterfall is her favourite track.

The idea of Sona being a skeleton named Arial was tossed around briefly.

The truest ending was created after some staff requested the option to save Flowey and Sona. It also fulfilled her plan for Sans and Papyrus to take over the orphanage.

Sona's final transformation intended for her to be kept human "but not without her sins showing"

The glitchy text character was Flowey. The glitchiness showed the interference and Flowey being manipulated

[world-of-wales]

Marking Black History Month and recognising the incredible contributions of the black community, not just this month but every day of the year!

This year’s theme of ‘Reclaiming Narratives’ encourages us to shine a spotlight on the untold stories, the unsung heroes, and the everyday individuals making a big difference.

To celebrate we asked a number of our patronages to highlight some brilliant people whose work is having a lasting impact 👇

Farah Saeed is the Lead Assessment and Resettlement Coordinator at @PassageCharity House. She helps recently homeless individuals transition off the streets into sustainable housing. Nearly 90% move into long-term accommodation with personalised care.

Dwayne Fields is an adventurer, TV presenter, and the UK’s Chief Scout. After seven years as a Scout Ambassador, he now encourages young people from all backgrounds to embrace the outdoors, helping them build self-belief and find role models. As a dedicated volunteer, he also inspires @scouts' 140,000 adult volunteers, motivating others to get involved.

Yasmin Liverpool is a former Great Britain 400m runner and previous beneficiary of @TeamSportsAid support. Since retiring, she has joined the charity’s National Awards Committee and also supports its work in creating more accessible and inclusive talent pathways.

Ama Agbeze MBE has been a trustee of @TeamSportsAid since 2020. The England netball legend, who captained her country to Commonwealth gold in 2018, mentors talented young athletes and supports the delivery of its mental health and wellbeing programme. She also helps guide SportsAid on enhancing its equity, diversity and inclusion work through her role on the Board.

Alero Omaghomi is a Sickle Cell Nurse who supports children with the disease through resources and equipment funded by @NHSCharities Together. She helps sick children stay engaged with their education when they have to spend long periods out of school.

Loveness Scott is the Positive Action Lead at North East Ambulance Service, engaging ethnic minorities to improve understanding of NHS services. She leads lifesaving workshops and supports the recruitment of community ambassadors. Her role is funded by @NHSCharities Together to address health inequalities and promote first aid.

Olivier Nsengimana is the Founder of the Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association, which helps to protect the endangered Grey Crowned Crane in Rwanda. He trained as a vet and originally worked with gorillas, before founding the RWCA. Olivier was a @tusk_org Award for Conservation finalist in 2016.

Sandra Igwe is the founder and CEO of The Motherhood Group, a leading social enterprise focused on improving maternal health outcomes for Black women in the UK. Sandra also coordinates Black Maternal Mental Health Week UK and organises the annual Black Maternal Health Conference. @MMHAlliance

- The Prince and Princess of Wales

[sophiaforevs]

Between the early cancellation of Discovery, Seven/Raffi and Mariner/Jenn being erased in their respective shows, and SNW having queer coded characters but not confirming anything on screen, I'm really afraid that we're entering another "No Gays in Trek" era.

For those who don't know, 90s era star trek featured so few queer characters b/c Rick Berman largely held a policy of not wanting any homosexuality in his shows. And yes, we all remember the handful of episodes that slipped through that addressed it but the fact remains that there were no canonically queer main cast members before Into Darkness in 2016 gave us a five second shot that could be cut when whoever was showing the movie found the idea of two men in a loving relationship disgusting.

Then we got Discovery with multiple queer characters that allowed people to feel seen. And people never stopped bitching about them. The amount of times that I've had to listen to people complain that Adira's only character trait is that they're non-binary despite that literally being a single thirty second scene and never brought up again makes me understand that they very likely don't want to like the queer characters in that show. And it's not that there aren't criticisms to be made about the queer representation in Disco: Discovery Buries it's Gays before the end of the first season. Making your trans characters aliens who already have a history of gender fuckery is problematic b/c it somewhat plays into the idea that queerness is unnatural for human beings. But I never hear those complaints. Only the pronouns. Only the "We get it you're gay but don't shove it down our throats." But I don't want to get too off topic.

Now Discovery is being canceled early. And by early I mean, the writers weren't given proper notice that their show was ending. They were halfway through production and allowed to adjust the end episodes of the season to try to give a satisfying ending.

In Picard and Lower Decks, we got two sapphic relationships ("sapphic" meaning a romantic or sexual relationship between two women who aren't necessarily strictly lesbians) and they were pretty good. People had been asking for Seven to be queer and Jeri Ryan had been playing her as such since her introduction (see again: Rick Berman) and to see her finally get to express that was really healing. Mariner got off to rocky feet when the creators tried to pull a "Dumbledore is gay" where they said she was bi but didn't commit to it, but they she actually got a fairly satisfying relationship in season 3.

But in their most recent seasons, both were completely written out. Seven/Raffi gave us no explanation beyond that they "broke up." They went out of their way to keep them from being on screen together for most of the season. Mattis said in a Reddit AMA that he wanted Seven to be captain and Raffi to be first officer at the end of the season and that Starfleet would have regulations against relationships between the two despite the biggest reason Seven was promoted to captain was that she was a rule breaker. We didn't even get that much for Mariner/Jennifer. Jenn just wasn't in this season except for two background appearances.

And in Strange New Worlds there's just… nothing. SNW is the most recent new show and there's no queer representation. They code Ortegas as gay but don't actually confirm it on screen. There's just… nothing.

And this is how you loose the culture war. The bigots make enough noise that the show that is supposed to be a beacon of diversity doesn't necessarily side with them but they just kinda bow out of the conversation. They decide that it's easier to not bother than to take a stand. And so I and many many queer star trek fans are left wondering:

Does the franchise even want us any more?