#AND THAT'S NOT EVEN ALL OF THEM HELP

[gatheredfates]

Altitis Edition ✧˖°.

Tagged by: @riftdancing / @thefreelanceangel - thanks so much!

FAVOURITE.

Oh man, that is like asking someone to pick their favourite child. All of my characters are my 'favourites' for different reasons. I think, if I had to narrow it down, I'd default to the big three: Ashe, Azuma and Koret.

Ashe is my content main; she is the character who has everything as far as mounts/titles/etc. She was my mental health cleanse coming from WoW, and her entire existence as a character is someone I can escape into when the darker aspects of my other characters may be too much to deal with. She's your bog-standard adventurer; she's always up for a challenge, nothing complicated happens in her life, and she just wants to hang out and meet new people. I love her spark and how she follows the beat of her own drum, whilst also being a caring friend to those around her.

Azuma was my first character in xiv, and really the only one that exists just in this universe. I wouldn't have met @riftdancing if not for her, and the friendship she has with Siyoh mimics the same I have for her player - even if we didn't have the luxury of knowing each other since we were children. I'm far shyer in sharing stuff for her than I ought to be, but her quiet strength of will is a comfort to me and something I love playing.

Kor... is feral. Who knew a off-handed OC made for WoW would turn into my absolute hyper fixation. I love her strength and snark. I love how, on the one hand, she doesn't give a fuck what people think about her whilst holding the opinions of her loved ones in high regard. Much like Azuma, the bonds I have made with people in writing her mean the world to me and that's why I've played her for so long.

OLDEST.

Aryele. Originally called Arianna — I made her when I was ten years old and injected her into nearly any roleplay that would have me. She's gone through a couple of name changes (Aryele/Aryette on WoW, for example, just to name a few), but the fundamental crux of her character as a wandering mender has stayed the same.

NEWEST.

Technically Elandervier. She was the last OC I made in WoW, though a few other characters have preceded her since then, but her adaptation to XIV has been the most recent change to my roster. I found it difficult to have her and Seelu, for example — as well as trying to differentiate her between other characters whose defining traits were 'void-aligned' verses 'fel-aligned' (El was a Nightborne Warlock in WoW, which is why I have her Gelmorran heritage, but void and fel are two clearly defined factions in WoW). I'm really happy with how she's turned out, though. She's quickly shooting up to be one of my favourite OC's.

MEANEST.

If we're talking characters who will say hurtful shit or just be a bit of an asshole? Kor. If we're talking characters who will actively undermine you for their own ends? Elandervier or Z. The latter are closer to villains as opposed to Kor, who is just aloof and bitchy as a surface level protection. Z is a voidsent with heavy inspiration from vampirism - he will take what he wants from who he wants with reckless disregard. El has bargained with said voidsent (including Z) for most of her life and will offer sacrifice and placation to keep her power. I think the major difference is that Z hunts for sport, whereas El will keep to herself unless you disturb her or go out of your way to be a nuisance in her space.

SOFTEST.

Aryele or Alaice, but they both have different reasons. Alaice is Ary who went through trauma but kept her softness, whereas Ary is just blanketly soft but knows herself enough to not fall into some of the trappings that Alaice did. Azuma is not too far behind, but her soft is masked behind a layer of Doman formalities and trauma that tends to make it seem forced for those who don't know the culture well.

MOST ALOOF/STANDOFFISH.

Kor. Next question. (I think El and Z can be standoffish but they're more likely to say nothing where Kor is just 'fuck you, fuck off.') ...Eve is also a close contender.

DUMBEST (AFFECTIONATE / DEROGATORY)

Some of you might remember when @riftdancing did her Altitis edition and mentioned Poki twice here... Ashe is her adopted mum. It runs in the family.

I JEST, THOUGH. Ashe is not book smart but she's emotionally intelligent. I like to think of her as a character who really 'sees' people for who they are; cutting through the fat and bravado (positive or negative) people use to cloak themselves. She gets a good read on people quickly, even if she doesn't understand their specific situation, and that makes her easy to talk to/interact. She's the kind of person who will admit honestly and earnestly she probably has no idea what they're going through, but she'll listen and help where she can.

SMARTEST.

Probably Elandervier. I think Seelu would be a close contender, but she didn't have much of an education growing up and has had to work hard for the intelligence she now possesses. El would simply 'know' what something is, whereas Seelu would work hard to find the correct tome and cultural knowledge.

HORNIEST.

Sarrai.

I will not elaborate. Sarrai is the kind of person who loves unabashedly and will return affection to those who give it to her in kind. Understandably, she knows there are people who don't give it altruistically but she's lived with an egomaniac capitalist for the better part of eighteen/nineteen years and knows how to 'play the market', so to speak She'll forgive a lot of shortcomings if the dick/strap is good.

CHARACTER YOU'D BANG.

Sarrai. I think she'd treat me nicely but test my limits (in a good way)! DFKGHJDSFGSD. I thirst for Kor probably the most, though.

CHARACTER YOU'D BE IRL BEST FRIENDS WITH.

Ashe or Sarrai, no contest. Sarrai is the world's biggest hype-woman and would be amazing to have in times where I am not feeling my best mentally/physically. She'd be like "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU FEEL SAD?? YOU'RE SUCCESSFUL, YOU HAVE A GOOD RELATIONSHIP, YOU HAVE FRIENDS WHO ADORE YOU GIRLIE!!! But also get therapy if you need it, you crazy slut."

Ashe would be nice to go on a walk with and just chat about life. She's easy-going and doesn't expect much of the people around her, other than to treat each other kindly and with respect. She's much more active than I would be, though!

Another close contender is Azuma. Much like Ashe, she enjoys easy conversation and good food. She likes to surround herself with people who love her and will go out of her way to maintain relationships with people she cares about.

Tagging: @gaygentofchaos, @dawnstriding, @syerraffxiv, @snakemoltsiren, @dragons-ire, @fist-and-fury-xiv (I know you all have alts, don't look at me), @allyennah, @thefrostflower, @82-99 and anyone else with more alts than sense. If you'd like to be tagged in any dash games I participate in, I heavily recommend you like my permanent interaction call here!

[uncanny-tranny]

I think so many people are so deeply alienated from themselves that they have no clue how to exercise their free will and autonomy. For some, this alienation runs so deep that they are afraid of their own autonomy and humanity. It is completely understandable why one would have those feelings, but it can be worrisome.

I want to help others who feel this way, so here are small things I have done to exercise my free will:

Add "guilty pleasure" songs to playlists and actually listen to them (I have a ton of late 1990s-early 2000s music I listen to now proudly that I never listened to in the past out of shame)

Getting the décor item, bath set, bed spread, ect. in the patterns you like, even if it's "childish" (I got a dinosaur-themed wastebasket from the kids' décor section and I adore it)

Taking a new route to get to a place you go to often

Eat dessert first

Celebrate well, and often

Collect things that are "odd" or don't seem like an "acceptable" thing to collect (somebody on my "for you" page collects dandelion crayola crayons and it was so cool!!!!!!)

Incorporate one new piece in an outfit you wear frequently (e.g., a new chain, a necklace, ribbons, bracelets, ect.). Challenge yourself to add onto the outfits if you feel up for it.

Sing along to songs without worrying that you sound "good" or your intonation is completely accurate

Read a book from a genre you weren't allowed to read as a kid (comics, thrillers, mysteries, anything!)

Walk without having a specific destination or goal

Pick up a new craft without expecting yourself to master it or to ever be "good" enough. Get your hands messy.

I don't want to shame anybody for not feeling as though they have free will or that they are exempt from exercising it. However, I wanted to give ideas so that you might read this list and find your own ways to express your intrinsic autonomy and will. You deserve to be a person, to feel alive, not just living. That is what our lives are for.

[milesofstars]

dont worry about it jason...

[redsray]

my favourite part of the Wayne Kids being, you know, the Waynes, and popular celebrities is the fact that these are teenagers and young adults who are given ... celebrity powers. and i know they're stupidly petty with them. every time you log onto twitter you'd see 3 of them engaged in a sibling argument, completely uncaring that it's being broadcasted to thousands of people

Dick, tweeting: Tim stole my sandwich today, hey siri how do i un-adopt a sibling?

Tim: ??? I didn't steal your sandwich??

Dick: Then who did??? It was there this morning and you were the only one in the manor the entire morning??

Tim: Dick, my unfortunately kind of favourite brother, I was not in the manor today

Dick: YOU WEREN'T?!?!?

Tim: no, I've been in my apartment all week. did you hallucinate me?? LMFAO

Cass: I was there this morning.

Dick: Oh. No wonder then??? You 2 look too similar, one of you needs to cut your hair

Tim: Not it

Cass: . . .

Tim: on second thought, maybe it's time for a haircut

Cass: :D <3

Tim: Love you too, Cass

Random Twitter User, quote tweeting the last tweet: So did you ever find out who took Dick's sandwich????

Cass: Jay did.

Dick: JAY DID?!?!?

Cass: Oh. Did you not know?

Dick: NO?!????

Cass: Oh. @/jason start running. Sorry.

Steph: Guys Jason might deadass die again Dick is ONTO him

Random Twitter User: ... Again?

Steph: hardly the point rn, jared

Babs: Why did Jason just climb in my window asking me to hide him

Tim: he's running from Dick, lol

Babs: Oh, why?

Tim: he ate his sandwich

Babs: Got it, he's hiding behind my couch now, screeching about Cass betraying him.

Dick: BABS DON'T MOVE. DON'T LET HIM LEAVE.

[trans-androgyne]

I want there to be fewer MRAs. Do you want that too? Do you want to know what helps us get there, from a feminist perspective?

You may not like my answer: acknowledge that sexism can affect men. Recognize that, although the patriarchy generally privileges men, they are also subject to restrictive gender roles that are harmful to them (shunning all things “feminine,” not showing emotions, being protectors/strong, never admitting being victims of SA/IPV, having to “earn” their manhood, etc.).

Give young men a place other than the right-wing manosphere to be heard about the issues they experience. If these grifters are telling them “only we understand how hard it is to be a man, the left hates you for your gender” and they look to the left and see “men claiming they have ‘problems’ are losers who just hate women, all men are trash,” do you think they’re going to be drawn towards or away from feminism?

Before you leave an angry response: no, this does not mean to center men instead of women in feminism, it just means including them at all. No, it is not “coddling” men to treat them with human dignity, you can and should continue to hold them (and every other gender) responsible for unpacking sexist beliefs. No, this does not mean it is every individual woman’s and feminist’s responsibility to prioritize men’s issues, it just means at the least not shutting them down when they do speak up about sexism. No, it is not “not all men-ing” to point out that “men are trash” sentiments hurt the feminist movement rather than helping it. Ask questions before you make accusations on this post, please. I have been abused by men too, I get it, this isn’t easy to hear.

[octarineblues]

supporting communities & people impacted by the Southport attack and the far-right riots in the UK

here is a list of community fundraisers I found, starting with those aiming to support the Southport community after the appalling attack at a children dance party, to the fundraisers helping those affected by the subsequent racist and Islamophobic far-right/nazi riots

Edited on 5 August to include Middlesbrough fundraisers. Edited on 6 August to correct the link on the Books for Spellow Lane fundraiser, to adjust the name change for the Belfast fundraiser, and to adjust the wording in the second last paragraph.

Southport:

Southport Strong Together Appeal - organised by the community foundation for Merseyside, for those affected by the Southport knife attack

United for Southport families - the funds will be distributed among the nine families of the children who were at the party

Swifties for Southport - a fundraiser for the Alder Hey Children's charity, which supports the victims and the affected families, as well as first responders and clinicians. Extra funds will also support the wider Southport community

Fundraiser for the Southport Mosque - a fundraiser to aid rebuilding or possibly re-locating the Southport Mosque after the damages it suffered during the riots

Rebuilding Windsor Mini Mart - fundraiser to rebuild the locally-owned grocery store that was targeted during the attacks, broken into, and looted

Liverpool:

Fundraiser for the Spellow Hub - the Spellow Hub was broken into, looted and set on fire at night during the riots. The Spellow Hub is a newly created one-of-a-kind (in the UK) institution, which consists of a library as well as a community centre with a mission to help people get education and pathways to work

Books for Spellow Lane - another fundraiser for the library in the Spellow Hub, to replace the books and rebuild the library there edit: included the correct link

Hartlepool:

Fundraiser for the Nasir Mosque - the Nasir Mosque was attacked following Southport riots; this fundraiser is organised by Hartlepool citizens to help the mosque deal with the damages as well as to show appreciation for the role of the mosque in the community. edit: the funds will be also distributed to the local community!

Rebuilding the Farm Shop - the shop was targeted during the riots, and when the owner and his son tried to protect it, they were also violently attacked. The fundraiser is to help fix the damages to the store.

Sunderland:

help rebuild Citizens Advice Sunderland offices after arson - two of the Citizens Advice Sunderland offices were set on fire during the riots, and one of them is completely destroyed.

Hull:

Hull Help for Refugees - a local fundraiser to support the Hull Help for Refugees charity, the donated money will be re-distributed to community members affected by the riots

Fundraiser for Hull Help for Refugees and Welcome House in Hull - collected money will be donated to the two charities

Belfast:

help fix racially motivated damages - originally the fundraiser for the Sahara Shisha Cafe which was targeted by the far right in Belfast during the riots, now a fundraiser for all affected businesses in the area. edited to reflect the change of the name of the fundraiser to avoid any confusion

Middlesbrough:

Supporting residents after the riots - Middlesbrough has suffered so much during the riots, lots of businesses as well as just regular family homes were vandalised, had their windows smashed or even were broken into. This fundraiser wants to distribute the funds between affected people to help them fix the damages, and to generally support the local community. the newest fundraiser, imo potentially the most urgent one

Fundraiser for a Care worker's car which was set on fire - a car belonging to an employee of a care agency was set on fire during the riots while he was on shift at a care home.

If you want to donate locally but there is no fundraiser to support where you live, consider donating to your local charities oriented towards Muslim or PoC communities, or towards anti-racist and refugee organizations! And go support your local Muslim/Arab/Black/Asian/Refugee owned businesses!

If you have any information about other local fundraisers, feel free to add to the post or don't hesitate to let me know and I will add them here! We have seen so much hate in the past few days, we have to stay strong and keep supporting each other!

Stay safe everyone 💛

[lgbtlunaverse]

One thing i've run up against when dealing with fandom and characters making less than ideal choices is that people seem to treat a character's decision being sympathetic, the decision being understandable, the decision being reasonable, and it being objectively the best solution for the situation, as synonymous. When those are 4 very different things.

[transannabeth]

btw if you borrow dvds or cds from library you can rip them onto your own blanks or onto your hard drive or whatever. librarians don’t care and they won’t know if you do it or not

[giantkillerjack]

Today my therapist introduced me to a concept surrounding disability that she called "hLep".

[plain-text version of this post can be found under the cut]

Which is when you - in this case, you are a disabled person - ask someone for help ("I can't drink almond milk so can you get me some whole milk?", or "Please call Donna and ask her to pick up the car for me."), and they say yes, and then they do something that is not what you asked for but is what they think you should have asked for ("I know you said you wanted whole, but I got you skim milk because it's better for you!", "I didn't want to ruin Donna's day by asking her that, so I spent your money on an expensive towing service!") And then if you get annoyed at them for ignoring what you actually asked for - and often it has already happened repeatedly - they get angry because they "were just helping you! You should be grateful!!"

And my therapist pointed out that this is not "help", it's "hLep".

Sure, it looks like help; it kind of sounds like help too; and if it was adjusted just a little bit, it could be help. But it's not help. It's hLep.

At its best, it is patronizing and makes a person feel unvalued and un-listened-to. Always, it reinforces the false idea that disabled people can't be trusted with our own care. And at its worst, it results in disabled people losing our freedom and control over our lives, and also being unable to actually access what we need to survive.

So please, when a disabled person asks you for help on something, don't be a hLeper, be a helper! In other words: they know better than you what they need, and the best way you can honor the trust they've put in you is to believe that!

Also, I want to be very clear that the "getting angry at a disabled person's attempts to point out harmful behavior" part of this makes the whole thing WAY worse. Like it'd be one thing if my roommate bought me some passive-aggressive skim milk, but then they heard what I had to say, and they apologized and did better in the future - our relationship could bounce back from that. But it is very much another thing to have a crying shouting match with someone who is furious at you for saying something they did was ableist. Like, Christ, Jessica, remind me to never ask for your support ever again! You make me feel like if I asked you to call 911, you'd order a pizza because you know I'll feel better once I eat something!!

Edit: crediting my therapist by name with her permission - this term was coined by Nahime Aguirre Mtanous!

Edit again: I made an optional follow-up to this post after seeing the responses. Might help somebody. CW for me frankly talking about how dangerous hLep really is.

Plain-text version:

Today my therapist introduced me to a concept surrounding disability that she called "hLep".

Which is when you - in this case, you are a disabled person - ask someone for help ("I can't drink almond milk so can you get me some whole milk?", or "Please call Donna and ask her to pick up the car for me."), and they say yes, and then they do something that is not what you asked for but is what they think you should have asked for ("I know you said you wanted whole, but I got you skim milk because it's better for you!", "I didn't want to ruin Donna's day by asking her that, so I spent your money on an expensive towing service!") And then if you get annoyed at them for ignoring what you actually asked for - and often it has already happened repeatedly - they get angry because they "were just helping you! You should be grateful!!"

And my therapist pointed out that this is not "help", it's "hLep".

Sure, it looks like help; it kind of sounds like help too; and if it was adjusted just a little bit, it could be help. But it's not help. It's hLep.

At its best, it is patronizing and makes a person feel unvalued and un-listened-to. Always, it reinforces the false idea that disabled people can't be trusted with our own care. And at its worst, it results in disabled people losing our freedom and control over our lives, and also being unable to actually access what we need to survive.

So please, when a disabled person asks you for help on something, don't be a hLeper, be a helper! In other words: they know better than you what they need, and the best way you can honor the trust they've put in you is to believe that!

P.S. Also, I want to be very clear that the "getting angry at a disabled person's attempts to point out harmful behavior" part of this makes the whole thing WAY worse. Like it'd be one thing if my roommate bought me some passive-aggressive skim milk, but then they heard what I had to say, and they apologized and did better in the future - our relationship could bounce back from that. But it is very much another thing to have a crying shouting match with someone who is furious at you for saying something they did was ableist. Like, Christ, Jessica, remind me to never ask for your support ever again! You make me feel like if I asked you to call 911, you'd order a pizza because you know I'll feel better once I eat something!!

Edit: crediting my therapist by name with her permission - this term was coined by Nahime Aguirre Mtanous!

Edit again: I made an optional follow-up to this post after seeing the responses. Might help somebody. CW for me frankly talking about how dangerous hLep really is.

[vmkhoneyy]

I think if I could be the kind stranger in someone’s memory, that’d be enough.

[lucabyte]

On autonomy, and what it means to be Obliged to Help.

Bonus:

[hinamie]

cursed kids v2 ⚠️👹

i've been a jjk first years stan since day one and have been wanting to redraw the first art i did featuring the three of them

[stompandhollar]

reminding everyone that the in-universe problem with The Doctor and The Master isn’t “ooo horrible nasty enemies who hate each other and don’t get along and fight all the time but are also in love”

the problem is that they get along. the problem is that they can’t stop themselves from falling naturally into a rhythm of riffing off one another and enjoying the other’s company. THAT is the problem. the problem is that it works and that’s the thing that caused all their issues. they like one another. they just click.

[puppyeared]

these two are so interesting to me

characters belong to @canisalbus

[paperglader]

i just feel like someone should take one for the team and write the fanfic where miss homotron goes to dragonstone on foot, meets her situationship’s new lover, and immediately goes like blind with jealousy and fury (rhaenyra, as always when alicent’s near, looks and behaves like a very confused kicked puppy)

i just need homotron and saphotron to meet, so the real war can begin

[theminecraftbee]

IN CELEBRATION OF XISUMA IN MCC: one of my favorite xisuma clips of all time. "i made bedwars :(". important additional knowledge: they then proceeded to suck ass so badly. and this is also after they had already sucked so badly,