#BUT we also know that they’re identical

[tooturtly]

Thinking about how necromancy occurs. (I’m tired so this is half baked but it’s been nagging me all week).

So like, we know that necromancy wasn’t a thing for anybody but John pre-resurrection. We also know that several people who were not necromancers pre-resurrection were made necromancers by John after the fact. We know that there is something special about the 10 billion killed/resurrected souls that enables them (and their descendants) to do necromancy. (And also a lot of those 10 billion are currently unaccounted for)

The descendants of those who escaped John’s massacre and have not been to the Houses seem removed from any type of resurrection shenanigans. The devils have not yet targeted non-house places. There are no necromancers randomly born amongst the population of New Rho. Necromancy is impossible on any planet that hasn’t been “flipped” (killed) without a bunch of death happening.

We know necromancy isn’t purely genetic, because Ianthe and Corona are identical twins other than the fact that one is a necromancer (and I would posit that any dissimilarities between them physically is the result of one being a necromancer). This is also shown in the fact that Harrows parents had to kill 200 children to ensure she was a necromancer, and this had to occur on a necromantic planet.

But it also can’t purely be about the soul. I’m not putting it past John to alter billions of souls, but like, I don’t think he would alter every potential soul ever just to perpetuate necromancy? (Also this idea, like, does not answer the question of when souls are made or when they enter the body or if souls getting recycled is a thing in this universe) also, Palamedes can’t do necromancy in Camilla’s body, so there’s got to be something physical as a component.

I don’t know. This is mostly me fishing for ideas from other people. My current crackpot theory is that every necromancer is multiple/or a single broken soul that got fucked up in the river and that death energy is part of what gives them an initial necromantic kick or something, and then they cannibalize their own life energy which is why they’re all so physically fucked. Which is also based on my assumption that souls are not supposed to be hanging out in the river, and that this is just the place John chose to fence them in. And it also ties into my other tinfoil hat idea that the trindentarii twins were actually supposed to be triplets and Ianthe ate one of them in the womb, bc if the third were gonna go for flesh magic hubris, why not go for the drama of triplets?

[formosusiniquis]

never anything but sharing

For @genderthings Robin Gender Week Day 1: Sharing Pronouns

T | WC: 2123 | Genderqueer Robin (and also Steve) | Gender Identity; Fluff and Humor; Period Typical Discussion of Gender | AO3

The door of the Harrington house is unlocked when Robin storms through it. The only danger it would have any hope of delaying is seven unruly and unthankful children; today especially Robin appreciates that Steve has stopped making that effort. It makes it a lot easier to storm in and pull him off the couch by the hair and drag him into the nearest bathroom.

“Ow, Robin! The part is in the mail, the truck will be running by Sunday. Ow!” He doesn’t stop complaining until she has them in her favorite full-sized bathroom with the ugly tile and jacuzzi tub.

 He’s Steve, Robin’s Steve, so he doesn’t glare so much as pout as he runs a hand through his mussed-up hair, pretending that he’s tender-headed even though he knows Robin knows better. “You’re worse than Henderson, you had to bike to work one day.”

“First of all, don’t ever say that to me. But do you think I dragged you in here to talk about our truck, this is serious.”

He crosses his arms in that way that tries for bitchy but these days lands closer to fondly disgruntled. Parental, maternal, in that way that suits Steve. “Okay well seriously start talking then. I think you ripped out a clump.”

Robin takes in a breath, using the exhale to force out the thing that had worried itself in there like a burr at 11:57 that Saturday afternoon. “Someone called me sir at work.”

Robin can feel the slow track of Steve’s eyes as they take in the outfit. The wide-shouldered blazer and the pants in a different but complementary plaid pattern. Underneath is a t-shirt and, with the biking, Chuck Taylors had been a must though the thrifted, wingtip, dress shoes had called out from the closet begging to be worn instead.

“How do we feel about that?”

Always we. Steve hadn’t even been there and it’s a them problem, it’s easier to think in terms of them and we.

“She wasn’t looking at me from the front,” Robin says. That feels important to stress for some reason. Do they look like a sir from the front? Probably not, and Robin isn’t sure what the emotion that’s sitting below the breastbone at the thought of that is. 

“I was reshelving in Romance and she came up behind me and was all…” Trailing off all Robin can do is gesture, flapping hands leading away from a body that has become a source of confusion.

Arms still crossed, lazily now, relaxed. Cool and lean in the way Steve can be but only when the effort is accidental. He nods. “Oh, that makes more sense.”

“What does that mean?”

Steve’s hands on their shoulders, Robin is turned toward the mirror with Steve just behind in a blink. “From the back you have the same haircut as Byers.”

“You take that back right now.” Robin watches as their mouth moves in the mirror.

“It’s better, cause you steal my product. But when you don’t let me style it, it can get a little Byers-y.”

They’re in the ugly bathroom with the seafoam green tiles that have the print that makes no sense for a bathroom but Robin loves. That’s the only reason the counter beneath their fingers is bare. That it doesn’t have the accusing army of mousse and hairspray that has been slowly infiltrating the Buckley house.

“So you’re saying since I have a Byers-y haircut-”

“Not the whole haircut, just from the back and just sometimes.”

“That’s the only reason I’d be called sir.”

Steve slouches against the wall by the mirror. There’s a careful nothingness to the way he’s looking at them that means he saw something Robin didn’t mean to show. That he heard something in the forced sarcstic lilt in her voice.

“Do you want to be called sir?” The forced casualness extends to the question.

It makes Robin feel hysterical. Get prescribed a visit to the seaside, the real remedy is a good vibrator hysterical. “I’m a lesbian, Steve. That’s- I’ve always been a lesbian, it’s the one thing- So I can’t be a sir or a he-”

“Why not?”

The guidance-counselor-calm is infuriating, even as they make that mental note to add that to the list of things Steve could be good at if he wanted a traditional job. Robin could teach music, band, they wouldn't be broken up.

“Because..? Because it’s too much, isn’t it?”

He cocks his head to the side, circling Robin and their problem carefully.

“It’s not all the time, right? We’ll share.”

“What?”

“We’ll share.” Steve repeats, moving now to settle into the massive jacuzzi tub. Lounging for real in its dry basin now that, in their mind, the problem has been solved

“I don’t think that’s how it works.” Robin has to be careful in refusing. The two of them don't disagree. Trying to do it now tastes like ash on the tongue. Bitter and wrong.

“Why not?” Steve challenges. Brow raised in a way that hints at something bitchy like the girls at the last slumber party she’d been invited to, before she was too weird, right before someone got the dare that they’d asked for.

“That’s my shirt you’re wearing and you stole my favorite jeans last week. You’ll borrow my he and I’ll take your she and it’ll be fine.”

“Those aren’t the same thing, that’s not those words mean something.” Robin pleads. Begs Steve to be rational because Robin can’t be. Biked the five miles here faster than anyone ever has. Broke landspeed records and possibly the sound barrier powered by the feelings caused by a single word.

“Yeah, I know.” Steve says gently. But it’s Steve and gentle gives way to a catty eye roll and, “I saw that kangaroo song as a kid too, he will mean Robin sometimes and she can mean Steve and other times it’s the otherway around. It’s fine, Robbie.”

It’s Steve, Robin has to remember. Always remembers because Steve is something they are as aware of as their arm or leg or spleen. Intrinsic.

Steve would burn Hawkins to the ground for them: Robin, The Party, anyone close enough to be family.

What then would it be to him? To claim Robin’s errant she. He is Steve Harrrington. Hawkin’s perfect son. The Keg King, the reformed prep. Perfect in his John Hughes-ian glory. Everything a perfect corn-fed, Midwestern boy should be.

“But it has to mean something, you can’t just say that we’ll share because you want me to feel better.”

“When have I ever lied to make you feel better? I just told you when you don’t do anything with your hair it looks like Jonathan’s.”

“Yeah, and you’re the kind of freak who understands what Nancy sees in him.”

“And it isn’t his hair. Our whole friendship is based on saying what we really think, even when it’s annoying.”

“I thought it was based on you inability to resist doing your Miss Piggy impression.”

“Robin.” The stone seriousness of it drops Robin to their knees in front of the tub. Close enough to Steve that big hands can cup their face. “I love you. This is your moment, so you'll just have to believe me when I say it's fine.”

“It's fine.” Robin repeats.

“We’ll share.” Steve says.

“We’ll share.”

“You're a sir.” she says.

“I’m a he.” Robin says, “Today. Today I'm a he.”

“How does that feel?” She asks him.

“Good? Good. Oh my god Steve I don’t know how to be a he. This isn’t stealing your red sweater-”

She shrieks, “I knew you had my sweater!”

But it isn't going to distract him from the bigger picture. “I can’t just slip into your guy thing like it’s your clothes, you know that was the point.”

Arms crossed, she pouts, “The point sounds like you’ve been stealing my clothes.”

“Steve!”

“You don’t have to be anything to prove that you are something. Sometimes you’re a he, you don’t have to know how to shotgun a beer or something to prove it. I will show you the right way to do a keg stand, that’s a point of pride. And you should know how to fix up the truck, change a tire, to help you pick up babes.”

It's not the worst point ever made. Probably because some of it -- the first part, not the part about car maintenance as a tool of seduction though that has its merits too he supposes and it has a butch quality that is appealing -- is familiar.

“I hate when you quote me at me.”

“When did you tell me you were going to teach me to change a tire?”

“You know what I mean, dingus.”

“You’re the smartest person I know,” Steve says through her smile, “how else am I supposed to give you advice?”

“I love you.” Its the truest truth Robin can come up with at the moment. So true it's an understatement. Love too simple a word for what he feels right now and about Steve.

“I love you too.” She says back, and Robin knows its the same kind of feeling. “And you’ll love me even more when I teach you how to scale a trellis.”

“Why would I need to scale anything, why can’t I just go in the door?”

“It doesn’t have the same Prince Charming feeling. Girls love that stuff.”

“How many times have you fallen off the side of someone’s house?”

“Not as many times as you’re going to, Vickie’s house is laid out like a nightmare.”

He settles into the tub next to Steve. The oversized jacuzzi a tight fit for both of their bodies, but Steve lets him settle into her side like she doesn’t care that the faucet is digging into her shoulder. In sync, Steve lifts her head up enough that Robin can rest his in the space where shoulder and neck meet. The sound of Steve’s heartbeat in his ear gives his a steady rhythm to settle into after the flustered panic it had worked its way up to. Share, they can share.

Some things they can share.

He sits up enough to look Steve in the eye, a half-hearted glare that she wouldn’t buy for a second on his face. “Why have you been scoping out Vickie's house?”

“For you, obviously.” She says, rolling her eyes just like Robin had imagined. “I had to figure out the best point of entry.”

“It's not a siege.”

“It's breaking and entering, and it's embarrassing when someone catches you and it doesn't look cool. Trust me.”

“Some more expertise that you're sharing?”

“I'll share anything with you, Bobbin.”

He hears what's underneath that promise. Their bond forged in chaos, in danger, in blood, in fear. But it was honed in moments like these: honest, sincere, still frightened sometimes but touched by love and laughter.

“Even your green henley?”

He hopes she hears how he knows that Steve would do or give anything for him. His shirt, his time, his bathroom, his life. 

Whatever life may mean at that time. The actual thing, defending and protecting them all from whatever the next great evil is, or the more metaphorical life, marriage and it's safety net that they’ve discussed.

“Even all my best clothes when you have nothing in your closet you could possibly share too.”

“Welcome to the time honored tradition of girlhood, the friend that’s borrowing clothes from you is doing it for a reason. I’ll teach you how dress sizes work next time we’re at the thrift store.”

“Yeah okay, but who’s going to teach you that?”

She’s smiling as she says it, and the tub is too small a space for them to get a good fight started. Grief, the teasing kind, something they’ve always been good at sharing. So he takes his lumps and settles back down into the cradle of the tub and Steve’s arms that he moves elbows first. Let’s them share how unappreciated that dig might have been, the truth in it neither here nor there. 

They’ll lay here for a little bit longer, letting the moment settle. Sharing their space, their time, their breath, and probably the gossip from his day at Family Video without Steve. When the time is right, they’ll leave the bathroom and share a meal, maybe the couch or the bed. It’s just what’s right, like Steve so often is. What’s a pronoun or two among all of that.

“I know how to find a dress that fits. Just like I know that the kangaroo song is about pronouns. How do you remember a cartoon from when we were kids but not the thing they were singing about?”

[birdflashweek]

SFW Prompt Announcement (Full)

Sorry for the delay! The prompt list is under the cut! Reminder that you can write a fic of any rating with any prompt we just ask that if you are under 18 you don't write any 18+ (explicit) fanfic for this event. What you do on your own time is up to you!

Day 1: Friendship

“You, me, Wally, we founded this team. Without him…”

Relationship Reveal

Friendship bracelet

Day 2: Trans Visibility Day/Transgender

“I love you, not your body. Wait, I also love your body because it’s you… oh fuck”

Gender Exploration

Only out in one identity

Day 3: April Fools/Pranks and Tricks

“It’s hard to laugh on the day my parents died” Secret Identity/Identity Reveal

Team pranks him not knowing the anniversary

Day 4: Elseworlds

“No one but I will feat on your blood”

Dimension Travel

 “Find me”

Vampire Dick/Vampire AU

Day 5: Family Bonds

“Okay so I may or may not have a crush on your brother”

Accidental Child Acquisition 

Dick as Damian’s parent

Day 6: Secret Relationship

Teammates try to figure out significant other

Only one bed

Don’t know they’re dating

Day 7: Polyamory

“I think you’re cute, can I bring you home to my husband?”

Getting caught “cheating”

Dating both identities unknowing

Bonus prompts:

“He’s mine now, you can’t have him back”

Childhood friends

Bunny!Dick

Hogwarts AU

Soulmates

[jeonscatalyst]

Sometimes I get a little sad about the fact that I, a gay person, have been loving and supporting bts with Jimin and Jungkook as my biases for almost 7 years and never felt comfortable enough to show love for them as anything more than a friend duo. I’ve even been a quite vocal shipping-anti, don’t agree with the way shippers often behave, certainly don’t agree with companies gay4pay’ing while openly lgbtq artists are discriminated against and harassed. Not to mention having your sexuality and relationships speculated on can be incredibly traumatic. None of it sat right with me, no matter how normalized it is.

But with time I’ve come to realize the lines are blurry sometimes. Jikook is one of those times. For example now seeing that gcf post, Jungkook editing with those lyrics when jimin is on screen, the Tokyo one too with the Troye Sivan song, I am once again conflicted. What if all I’ve been doing for all these years is miss the opportunity to support real representation, to validate queer idols? What if they wanted to be seen? I’ve been actively dismissing so much about them just to be respectful, but what if the more respectful thing would have been to embrace them? I know I would have felt incredibly frustrated if people kept brushing aside all my efforts to show love for my partner and this part of my identity. So which one is worse? I honestly don’t know anymore and that’s why I just stay quiet on them altogether.

Hi anon,

I don’t think you’re wrong for intentionally avoiding putting a label on whatever Jikook might have, because the truth is, they’ve never explicitly told us what they are to each other. As a shipper who spends time on social media discussing Jikook and the nature of their relationship extensively, I am fully aware that I’m being invasive. This feels invasive because, while I believe they might have a need to be seen for who they truly are, I don’t think they’re actively trying to reveal that to the world…at least not yet.

I have a great deal of respect for those who choose to honor their privacy by not digging too deeply into their personal lives. Some of us are far too curious, and while we may feel a strong need to openly support what we believe they are, that doesn’t necessarily justify how much we probe.

It’s also important to remember that at the end of the day, everything we discuss is speculation. None of us know for a fact what Jimin and Jungkook truly are to each other. I wouldn’t fault anyone for their perspective, no matter what they choose to do. I don’t mind people who are anti-shipping because they see it as invasive….it is invasive, after all. My issue is with those who use anti-shipping as a cover to invalidate or disrespect Jikook’s bond. Likewise, I can’t stand those whose homophobia blinds them to the simple truth that love is love, even between bandmates who have lived together for years.

It’s perfectly okay to respect their privacy by not delving too deeply into analyzing their lives while still supporting them in a healthy, respectful way for whatever they are.

I also don’t think Jimin and Jungkook would only appreciate support for the idea of them as lovers. I believe they would be happy knowing people support their bond…whether it’s romantic, platonic, or brotherly. As long as you actively support and acknowledge the love they have for each other(which they constantly show us) regardless of its nature, you really can’t go wrong.

[sunflowersandthestars]

Something to think about….

As I’m sure US news, internet usage, etc will soon be monitored more heavily or filtered or hidden….i think it’s a really good idea for people to invest in a VPN if they can afford to.

A VPN is a private virtual network. It’s a service that protects your internet connection and privacy online. VPNs create an encrypted tunnel for your data, protect your online identity by hiding your IP address, and allow you to use public Wi-Fi hotspots safely.

Literally it’s how Chinese citizens have been able to access our social media sites even though their government has social media essentially banned. We use one at work to prevent security breaches since we deal with extremely sensitive information. They’re quick and easy to install.

This will allow us to access other news outlets throughout the world who honestly do their jobs with integrity and report the facts instead of the US who only show you what they want you to see. It’s the best way to stay truly informed instead of the bullshit they will be fueling us. Especially since the turd already wants to start banning certain news networks that don’t cave to him.

Other thing I learned from an IT security specialist: delete Facebook messenger. Meta is obviously in on all this. While Facebook itself and Instagram aren’t great, Facebook messenger is the worst offender. It tracks everything. It’s able to verify what network you’re connected to and other devices that are also connected to the same network included tablets, and even a smart TV. Messenger is what has helped train AI by tracking billions of conversations. This is why that congressman kept asking the TikTok dude if TikTok can access wifi because they know meta does. And they all invested in meta. They can’t get anywhere with TikTok which is why there was such a strong push to ban it because it’s not a public traded company & they cannot monitor or profit off of it.

This guy breaks it down. Delete FB messenger off your phones!!

[sorio99]

Thinking about “I Want To Unify The Kingdom But The Second Male Lead Is Too Indecent” again. Thoughts on how it’d play out:

The first episode starts with Bridget and Dick at the office, establishing her as competent but ignored and him as a half-joking, self-loathing sex pest. Around the halfway point, they both get hit by a truck while crossing the road and wake up in the fantasy kingdom (does it have a canon name? I’m gonna call Decentia) as Princess Bridgeton and Lord Dickington. Lord Daleton shows up and quickly becomes the only person either of them tell about their original situation.

Bridget and Dick don’t actually realize they’ve both been Isekai’d together until about halfway through season 1, at which point they finally put two and two together. Bridget is mildly horrified that the dignified Lord she’d been relying on for stability was Dickhead Dick this whole time, while Dick is just happy to have SOMEONE who relates to not being either a medieval fop or Daleton.

The big reveal of the season one finale is that most if not all of the kingdom’s characters seen across the season, from the major supporting cast to the extremely minor background staff, have at some point between the pilot and now ALSO been swapped with their Massachusetts counterparts, mostly within the span of the first few episodes. The entire second season is just trying to piece together what the fuck to do about this.

Bridget is throughout Seasons 1 and 2 torn between absolutely despising Daleton and genuine attraction (because annoying though he may be, he seems to mean well and IS genuinely hot), while also coming to see Dick in a new light and genuinely appreciating him as a person for the first time ever. For his part, Dick has been into Bridget since before the truck accident, and while he is generally annoyed by Daleton’s antics and indecency, he shows JUST enough tolerance towards him that a good portion of the fandom ships the pair. Eventually a small but substantial part of the fandom ships the three together in the classic ProZD Love Triangle solution.

(Season 5 ends up technically making that canon, so polyshippers stay winning)

Daleton is consistently a slutty bisexual disaster throughout the show, right up to the very end, but he is shown to have SOME genuine leadership skills and does actually want to help everyone, hence why Bridget keeps him around. He’s the kind of character who spends most of each episode being useless and fan service focused, but then always has one useful insight that manages to help turn the whole episode’s conflict on its head.

Not everyone who got isekai’d into Decentia has an identical appearance to their Massachusetts form or a [Name]ton name, but there are a few as foreshadowing for the Season 1 plot twist.

Season 3 focuses on the real Princess Bridgeton and Lord Dickington, who wake up in the hospital and immediately piece together that they’re each from Decentia. They’re the first characters from the Kingdom to make the transition, and they realize what’s going on with everyone switching over significantly faster than Bridget and Dick.

The first sign that something seriously fucky is going on in Season 3 is when “Dale Kingston” shows up and applies for a job at the end episode 2. Bridgeton and Dickington immediately recognize him as lord Daleton, but he denies this, and we the audience know that Daleton was basically the only major character to NOT know anything about Massachusetts in Season 2, which raises the question of if he’s just this universe’s counterpart or if something more is going on.

As more and more Decentians end up at Big Dick’s in Massachusetts, they begin taking over the company and, slowly but surely, the small town of Decent, Massachusetts (halfway between Boston and Springfield, just take I-90 and turn off at the giant pants sign, you can’t miss it).

In Massachusetts, Dale is mostly similar in behavior to Daleton, but slightly less indecently dressed and completely able to keep his pants up. This is because in Massachusetts, you can just buy pants at a store and don’t need a personal tailor who was originally really gay and inappropriate and then by episode 4 was replaced by an IT worker with a CompSci degree.

Season 3 ends with a portal being formed between Big Dick’s corporate office (where Dickington has just defeated the CEO Richard Parker in hand to hand combat) and the castle of Decentia (where Bridget and Dick have been panicking because Daleton has been missing all day). Then Dale shows up, and all chaos breaks loose.

Season 4 goes about as described in the Drawfee episode: they realize that their realities are collapsing and merging together, it becomes clear that Dale/Daleton has secretly (and unintentionally) been the lynchpin of this collapse the whole time, and eventually the Kingdom (which has semi-officially annexed Decent, Massachusetts) is unified with the goal of killing him. However, Bridget and Dick are both quietly opposed to the plan (Dick because he recognizes Dale could still be a “decent” human being, and Bridget because at this point she’s low key in love with him).

It becomes clear across Season 4 that Daleton really didn’t have any idea originally that he was somehow drawing the two universes together, he went to Massachusetts through a portal to try and figure out what was going on with the Isekais, and his indecency has more or less been out of his control this whole time. The fanbase is somewhat divided on the question of whether or not killing him is the right thing to do.

Season 4 ends with Daleton seemingly killed, the universes mostly going back to how they were before the series started (Princess Bridgeton and Lord Dickington are back in control of the Kingdom, the employees at Big Dick’s are all back in Massachusetts), but Bridget mysteriously missing. The last shot of the season is Bridget’s bedroom back home, with the camera panning around to reveal one more portal.

Season 5 is still pretty much just porn, but like a quarter of every episode is dedicated to either developing the plot, world building for the sex dimension, or genuinely well written character development. So you can’t even skip to the important or good episodes, you have to watch all of them (you can usually skip the sex scenes, if you want, though. They are still 3/4ths of each episode).

About two thirds of the pre-existing fanbase are actually really into the fifth and final season: partially because it is still beautifully animated, incredibly well acted, and (during the important quarter) impeccably written…but also partially because the show was always hornier than your average isekai, so its fanbase did kinda follow suit. A third of them still absolutely hate it and the internet kinda explodes into arguments about it, though.

The creators fully realize there is no going back after Season Five, so that’s the only season of the show to not end on a cliffhanger. Instead, the plot is resolved, the multiverse is saved, and Bridget, Dick, and Daleton retire to a pocket dimension of the sex dimension where they can live out the rest of their days in peace. It’s a surprisingly wholesome and happy ending, ignoring how incredibly nasty some of the smut in the rest of the season was.

“Season Five” becomes internet shorthand for a show completely self-sabotaging and self-destructing for years afterwards, to the point most new anime for the next half a decade is capped off at four seasons.

The fifth season does however reveal that Dick/Dickington is bigger than Daleton, so that’s cool.

[moltengoldveins]

OK SO MY INCOHERENT THOUGHTS-

in case you didn’t know, humans have this interesting mental capacity we call the Uncanny Valley. Basically, once something hits a certain threshold of Close To Looking Human, instead of going “oh! That’s a human!” Our brains instinctively panic. They classify that thing as So Evil. Ultimate Evil, Actually. You Should Kill It Or Run.

This is not the case in most animals! which is why I call it a capacity. Once something looks generally like an animal? Said animals tend to accept it as another animal and move on.

The theory, and I cannot find where I read this unfortunately so I can’t quote it, but the THEORY, is that the reason we developed this was to be able to recognize when something was Off about people because they had rabies. If something is aaaaaalmost human, but Wrong? It’s not human! It’s a human with rabies.

Another theory I read is that we developed this ability to distinguish between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens. These are both really interesting theories, but they’re also not what I was talking about in the above post.

Now, I’m gonna tackle the parasite thing first because it’s shorter. It’s a well known and documented phenomenon that diseases, especially diseases classified as parasites, get worse during the full moon. This is why moon madness is a thing. This is why hospice centers have a sort of mini lockdown during full moons.

Completely unrelated: did you know the herb Wolfsbane is one of the most commonly used herbal treatments for parasites? Yeah. Wild.

ANYWAY NOW FOR PRION DISEASES -

According to Wikipedia (not the best source, no, but this is a tumblr post fuck off) “Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies(TSEs), also known as prion diseases,[1] are a group of progressive, incurable, and fatal conditions…According to the most widespread hypothesis, they are transmitted by prions, though some other data suggest an involvement of a Spiroplasma infection.[2]Mental and physical abilities deteriorate and many tiny holes appear in the cortex causing it to appear like a sponge when brain tissue obtained at autopsy is examined under a microscope. The disorders cause impairment of brain function which may result in memory loss, personality changes, and abnormal or impaired movement which worsen over time.[3]”

prions are misfolded proteins that enter into a cell and start causing other proteins to misfold, leading to a cascading effect where every protein in the body is gradually replaced by a nearly identical protein that is entirely unusable. It’s not completely jumbled, either! It’s just…. Not quite right. It’s almost usable, but not. Almost human, but not.

This is the cause of chronic wasting disease in deer! The human equivalent is called Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease and it’s basically always fatal. It’s largely localized in the nervous system - twitching, delusions, pain, spasming, all from the slowly forming web of tiny holes in your brain tissue and nerves as the cells die of starvation. Deer with CWD are…. Deeply wrong. Uncanny, you could say. They wander around in circles, they act aggressively or irrationally. It’s very similar to rabies.

Now, prion diseases and rabies aren’t necessarily related, except for the fact that they’re both transmitted from animal to animal and that they’re difficult or impossible to cure, but the sensation that accompanies seeing a rabies victim or seeing a deer infected with chronic wasting disease is the same. It’s the Uncanny Valley. It’s that sense deep in your subconscious that something is wrong. That is not a deer. That is not a dog.

That is not a person.

I thought about that, and I realized I think that’s what vampirism is. It’s when you look at something and you realize that - though it looks human - creeping through its blood, through its nerves, is a misfiring of code. There is something wrong. That is not a person, that is a walking transmission of Other, of Bad Data, a shambling glitch self-generating outward into infinity until the host is dead and the pattern spins itself out. It ties into the nature of vampirism as something that freezes you in place: humans are capable of growth, of change, of life. A vampire is just… a repeating pattern that’s Wrong.

I’m fascinated by the fact that a prion is simply a misfolded protein. It’s literally not even alive. It’s not hostile. It’s not broken or aggressive it’s… just a mistranslation. If said misfolded protein were somehow fold itself in such a way as to be not beneficial, but not fatal to the body either, the disease would no longer be an unfortunate tragedy. It would be transformative. It would rewrite. It would wiggle itself down to the very smallest bits of you, would change them from the bottom up, would infect others through a very similar manner as a classic a vampire or werewolf. Saliva. Blood.

How much does one’s DNA affect one’s personhood? You can’t attribute every human flaw and failing to genetics, but I just found out I have a genetic condition that prevents my body from metabolizing a vital amino acid. The code doesn’t match. The acid can’t transform properly. I have to take it artificially, and now that I am, I am a shockingly different person to be around, but I can’t tell. I literally cannot perceive that I am a different person now, except for the moments when I see other people’s reactions to me shift in real time, and I realize that I’ve been doing something deeply ‘out of character’ for unmedicated me.

If someone were to have every cell in their body replaced, one by one, with a cell whose DNA was translated into a completely different genetic ‘language,’ despite said cells fulfilling the same purpose and holding the same memories…. Would they be a person? Ship of Theseus this shit, is that the person they were or is it something Else? What if those cells CAN fulfill the same function, but they’re also stronger, faster, smarter, more capable of growth and development? Are they still a human? Are they still the same human?

As someone who believes that humans have souls, I want to say that that wouldn’t matter, that they would still be the same person. But I ALSO believe that the nature of the soul and the nature of the body are intertwined. If the body changes into something inhuman, do you still have a human soul? Or is it a different kind of soul? Has the soul left the now foreign environment, leaving only a facsimile to puppet itself around in its absence?

In ‘conclusion,’ um. I’m. I’m face blind. I cannot properly perceive human faces, and because of that, I am, when with others, at all times experiencing the sensation of uncanny valley. It’s unpleasant, sure, but the real kicker? When I look in the mirror and see Not Human Bad Evil Run Hide staring back at me for a split second. It never gets easier. It never becomes normal. There’s always this uneasy sense around mirrors, that they’re off, that what I’m seeing isn’t real. That, one day, I might walk into a bathroom… and my reflection won’t walk in with me.

me, minding my business at work: boy I love making UV scanner bodies!

my brain: both lycanthropy and vampirism are prion diseases.

me:……………… holy fuck wait-

[andrewsleftarmband]

Everytime someone draws the twinyards as the twinkyards I take psychic damage

[selkie-tea-tin]

‘Danmei is mlm fantasy written by and for straight women’ is a lie. It’s written for transmascs and lesbians obviously.

[specialagentartemis]

When I write book/podcast/etc recommendations, I try to write them how I would want to see something pitched to me—what convinces me to read/listen to a work. And I’ve got a basic formula down:

Genre

Basic plot premise, 1-2 sentences for a short pitch or a paragraph for a long one.

What does it feel like to read? Is it fast-paced and action-y, or slow and sad, or dense and weird? Did it give me the shivers, or make me laugh, or break my heart, or go confusingly in-depth about the mechanics of wastewater treatment plant operation?

Something I particularly like about what it did. If the worldbuilding was particularly interesting, or if the narrative voice was compelling and distinctive, or the humor was constantly on-point, or the characterization was consistently well-done.

Talk about the queer identities of the main characters after I have done all of these things. This one is optional.

[gumy-shark]

"i love thinking about my mp100 tma concept au" wait come back. keep talking 👀👀👀

ok so first off i want to note that im calling it a concept au bc i dont really plan to do anything with it myself, its just fun concepts to think about, and at this stage its pretty much just entity assignments (with help from skye candyskiez in dms) and a fun venue for characterization. like seriously i don’t even know if it’s better for mob to still have psychic powers or not in this au tbh

so anyways the assignments

buried mob/desolation ???%. in world domination arc, he literally says out Loud how afraid he is of losing everything he cares about (and it being by his own hand/not being strong enough to protect them. both very desolation core). but at the same time the level of repression he’s putting himself through to feel like that won’t happen are suffocating him throughout the entire series. therefore the two sides of shigeo get their own entities and represent the other side’s greatest fear. never becomes full avatar of either but gets close to desolation in confession arc

stranger ritsu. this one was skye’s (i originally liked web ritsu for his control issues) and is bc of his Identity Issues (i mean hell big cleanup arc started because ritsu realized he didn’t know who he was underneath what everyone else thought of him!!). my favorite thing to rotate with this one is like. The Incident (or a version of it if i want to go full au) happening and ritsu justifying it how he does in canon, with “that wasn’t my brother. it looked like him but it wasn’t.” and then ritsu gets back from the hospital and mob is Different now and he just goes “that’s Still not my brother”.

reigen is. see it’s hard here bc his entire bit is that he Doesn’t Have Powers. so he’d have to be unaligned/a normal guy. but ALSO i think the lonely and the web are constantly trying to contact him about his cars extended warranty. so there’s that

dimple. he’s dimple! (leaning towards web for the brainwashing or end bc. well bc hes a ghost. but ALSO because hes afraid of being satisfied and reaching that final end! like thats why he does the whole divine tree arc!)

teru is, in my heart, like if adelard dekker was an annoying teenager. actively working to keep himself unaligned with any Fears and to stop rituals/keep avatars from gaining too much power. vulnerable to the lonely and the hunt but mostly manages to stay human

desolation shou. which yeah mobs also desolation but like. he did very much burn that guys house down. so it can be in a different way. in this au he’d be an agnes/gerry type guy, being raised into the desolation and then going “oh this fucking sucks. im going to stop this.” he and teru are vaguely aware of each other but don’t communicate

[laniidae-passerine]

god did not give me a computer strong enough to run Baldur’s Gate 3 on it because they knew the second I realised that I couldn’t court and keep both Wyll and Astarion, I’d burst into tears

[seaweedstarshine]

RIP Krakoa 🌹 I can’t lie I’ve been kinda behind since midway through Fall of X I’m gonna catch up before my first SDCC this summer but I hear Vulcan didn’t see much action anyway. Anyway my hand slipped and I found myself looking into the eyes of my canonically psychotic son the best Summers brother who’s never done anything wrong in his entire life, (he’s done lotsa wrong things but I love him more for it)

[lavenderjewels]

my only general predictions for jjk is that Yuuji will be able to target the different souls in Sukuna’s body to be able to reach Megumi’s suppressed soul and attack sukuna’s. Im actually interested in how this will all go down, especially with Higuruma in the mix, since these fights can’t be as simple as two overpowered characters with the loss of multiple special grade sorcerers. With the potential of a court trial domain or Yuuji’s knowledge of the soul, I imagine it’ll become more psychological or metaphysical in the fighting, with a lot of good insight into sukuna and/or yuuji, megumi, etc. As for Kenjaku, I have NO idea where their story is going (apart from Yuuta wanting to kill them), but i enjoy that part of the story being unpredictable—it fits their character

[sol-draws-sometimes]

I know everyone has complicated feelings about Valentines but shoutout to my fellow aro/arosepc people who forgot it was Valentines. Like I knew it was the 14, but I forgot that Valentines has festivities such as candy and dressing up in red/pink. Anyway, GO US!

[reflectionsofgalaxies]

a friend body doubled for me today while i went through pretty much all my clothes and i ended up getting rid of a bunch of old clothes from highschool that i enjoyed objectively bc they’re pretty, but i felt SO uncomfortable in bc i was trying so hard to be someone else.

anyway that also led to us talking about gender and presentation and stuff bc he’s also a NB trans masc person. and i don’t think i’ve had a conversation that felt that good and honest in like. years.

i also came to the realization that for the first time in my life i feel Hot. and it has SO much to do with my hair being shorter. like, i’ve felt cute or pretty at times, but never hot.

but now? me with short hair in black jeans and a flat black sports bra with open flannels or muscle tees and shit? i feel SO good.

anyway thanks for listening to me talk about how hot i am and how great it feels to have other queer people in my life.