#I need smart lights for disability reasons

[audacityinblack]

You should not have to create an account to dim your lights.

Touchscreens do not belong in cars

[lostlegendaerie]

Veritas Ratio and Autistic Representation

Chances are you know autistic people in your life; autism itself is a fairly recently coined term, dating back to 1911, and can encompass a wide variety of symptoms and eccentricities which have existed since the dawn of humankind. (The 'fey-touched' child or changeling in European lore shares a lot of traits with autistic children.) Autism is a spectrum, encompassing and overlapping a lot with ADHD and other neurological disorders. There are probably millions of people out there, especially from older generations, who are on the spectrum and have no idea. I did not even get my diagnosis until I was 27.

So it is entirely possible that the creators of Veritas Ratio from Honkai: Star Rail did not intend to write him as autistic and based him on people they knew in their own lives, who, diagnosed or not, are on the autistic spectrum. However, the point of this piece is to talk about the ways in which Veritas Ratio is good autistic representation (in my opinion as a autistic person), and how people who want to write characters like this can take a page out of Honkai's book in their own work.

1) SPECIAL INTEREST. Ratio shows a *staggering* amount of dedication to the pursuit of knowledge and his quest to cure the world of ignorance. This quest of his tends to supersede everything else in his life, with no mention of any friends, family connections or romantic partners in his character story. (Said as a Ratiorine shipper - not sinking any 'ships, here) His dedication to education started early, with reading college undergraduate education levels while still in middle school - seven or so years ahead of his peers. Autism is considered a disability, yes, but it does not exclude you from being smart, and the fixation on your chosen topic(s) can be extremely useful in motivating you to reach the top of your field. His path being The Hunt also outlines this dedication; he is seeking his target without rest or distraction.

2) SENSORY ISSUES. Ratio very explicitly can become distracted and disgusted by the feeling of dirt or sweat on his skin, something that tends to be more prevalent with specific clothing textures but absolutely can manifest in a need to feel clean. He also can apparently become very irritated and overwhelmed by lights and sounds, and wears his plaster mask as a way to deaden and deafen the amount of sensory input that he receives. This allows him to think better, and is a fantastic example of what it feels like to suffer from sensory overload. (If you find yourself getting stressed in crowds, try bringing earplugs and putting them in the next time you're in a noisy restaurant and see if doesn't help you out.)

3) STRONG SENSE OF MORALITY. Autistic people tend to suffer from a somewhat black-and-white feeling of right and wrong, and can hold themselves and other people to an extremely strict moral code. This does not mean that they are always correct in what they believe is right and wrong, but it means that they can be extremely passionate about following those rules. Ratio's beef with the Genius Society and their selectivity is indicative of his unwavering passion towards sharing knowledge with the masses, but the tactless way in which he wishes to cure ignorance bleeds into our fourth point.

4) DIFFICULTY WITH SOCIAL CUES. In one of his earlier conversations with Aventurine (where he is clearly irritated at how careless Aventurine seems to be about their entire mission), Ratio inadvertently insults Aventurine's his lack of education and parents. He apologizes afterwards, stating he did not intend to come across that way, but he maintains the same imperious tone of voice. Autistic people often, but not always, struggle with social cues and can often be considered rude when we are trying to be direct and easily understood; and we can especially struggle with understanding sarcasm or sounding sarcastic when we intend to be sincere.

With my reasons for believing Ratio to be Autistic coded firmly established, let's move onto why I think he is good representation. The two most important parts of representation, in my lived experience as an Autistic person, are RELATABILITY and EMPATHY.

Ratio exhibits some of the same mentalities and symptoms I've had, such as being misunderstood and accidentally offending people and becoming extremely stressed in large crowds due to overstimulation, so he checks off the first box. But the way that the other characters in the game respect him and do not ridicule him for his eccentricities marks the second. Whether in marketing material or in character dialogue options, Ratio's love of baths, his plaster bust, and his ceaseless drive to educate other people (whether they need it or not) are seen as charming and generally positive, and those attributes are not constantly brought up (and mocked) in his interactions and dialogue with other characters. Aventurine doesn't constantly ask Ratio if he needs to leave the Dream to take a bath, and the TB's text conversations with him allow you to engage with his special interests such as his requests for problems to solve and debates to wage against you. He is canonically seen and respected as a brilliant individual, and not reduced to a joke or viewed as comic relief (e.g. Sampo, who almost exclusively is given negative dialogue options for the player to use when interacting with him and who almost every character in the story openly despises.)

Some of you are going to disagree with me in the comments (which is fine, it's my opinion), but for the few of you who read this all the way through, thank you. I hope that this helps you view Ratio and Autistic people overall in a new light, and I am excited to see where else we go from here with him and the rest of the cast!

[frozenjokes]

Hey, I binged read your cubscar(ian) hotguy au

And I LOVED it,

Cub's characterization is so precious, he's so autistic to me (I'm autistic so I kin heavily) the way you write him, chef's kiss and all that. Is Cub Demi? xx

Scar is so strong and yet so broken but he doesn't know it yet, I'm so glad he's in therapy now <3. I love that you wrote him this way, he's disabled (just like me) but he's not a child, he's whimsy but so life smart, I value so much when authors write him like this and his plurality is very relatable <3. And his friendship with Mumbo <3

Grian, well he's just so real, his need for a job ever tho Cub was happy looking out for him <3, his friendship just reconnecting with Mumbo so easily, warmth. I love how self aware he is, and the angst you wrote for him is heart strings shattering I loved.

Cub and Grian's relationship ahhhhh yessss. The commitment and devotion, how they are so connected they didn't notice it sliding from platonic to romantic. This just IS for me.

Cub and Scar, well (yes again 🤣) they are so sweet, and Cub holds 51% of the cards lol but Scar's 49% is really doing things for Cub wink wink. Some of the reasoning behind Cub's love is being loved. And Scar loving him because of his round edges and softness 🥹

Scar and Grian. I hope the flowers he got for them were poppies and lilacs /lh /nf; Scar's fear because of his sharp edges, Scar in other works has his weakness but he can always find in in himself to want to protect Grian almost as a superior?, but you write Scar so vulnerable and equal to Grian. They are enemies to frenemies to ... But really it's caused by the lack of knowing, eachother and their personal experiences. Again Scar and his plural view of people <3 I think Grian thought of Scar as stronger emotionally, physically, mentally then Scar ever was, and Grian used him because of this misconception. I'm glad they're getting there, truly. Did Grian feel dejected? when Scar didn't help with his wings? Angst <3

thank you!!! Cub could be Demi. So could Grian! They can be whatever your heart desires. Personally I don’t care to label any of them because it isn’t very important to me. I do think Cub would refer to both Scar and Grian has his friends even after years of being together and it drives Scar absolutely nuts. Why are you doing that. What do you Mean. Cub it’s been twenty years you can introduce me as your boyfriend I Promise no one here is going to judge you and cub just goes: ? oh right. and then he never does that. the word friend just comes easier. it’s cozy.

It’s very silly to me you pointed out scar’s friendship with Mumbo because they are not friends scar is Coping. /silly. I actually forget very often I write a lot of angst of these characters because that’s just not really how my brain categorizes turmoil. It’s always a jumpscare to see it pointed out /light hearted, joking. funniest instance of this happening 🔽

(from chapter two of the Jimmy decked out fic)

I was on call with a friend while reading this for the first time and for the life of me I Could Not think of what /nf meant and he didn’t know either so we came up with some ideas: NOT FUNNY. no fingers. non fungible. nut fart. NO FUN. no friends. Nice feet. never forget. nice flowers. new friend! NOT FAIR

it means not forced. we had to look it up LMAO /silly silly silly. thank you for the laughs

Grian thought of scar as a piece of shit self absorbed celebrity and this is true however it’s not everything. inside is a deeply, deeply, extremely deeply, unimaginably kicked puppy. he’s sad and pathetic and has big wet eyes. also he cares.

Grian wasn’t too affected by Scar’s not wanting to touch his wings, and in general the experience was a little more overwhelmingly confusing? Neither he nor Cub expected him to have such a strong reaction, especially when things between all three of them are getting better, but Scar is still carrying the weight of a lot of Grian’s poor treatment of him for weeks on end, and even though Scar’s forgiven him and understands where he was coming from, those aren’t things you can just brush off, especially when many of Grian’s gestures (good and bad) are sweeping and intense and unpredictable, and people pleasing for someone as unstable as that (less so now, but before it was bad) is Extremely Stressful. dealing with cuteguy (evil version) for months beforehand Did Not Help. there’s a reason Scar views Grian as Sharp and that’s because they have both beat the piss out of each other hundreds of times.

To a point Grian is aware of this. It’s a thing he’s discussed in therapy a thousand times, and something he had to confront directly with Jimmy. In his eyes, his friendship with Scar (despite blunders on both sides) is an act of Scar’s good will towards him as given with Scar’s forgiveness, and if Scar is having problems, then it’s not really something Grian can hold against him. Obviously that doesn’t stop feelings from being hurt, but this was more a result of The Panic Attack than the wing touching refusal. Which Grian dealt with by Pushing Minigolf Pushing Pushing Pushing Pushing. Grian’s reaction to guilt and/or rejection is I NEED TO MAKE UP FOR THIS RIGHT MEOW!!!!! and in doing so often fails miserably to read the room, which is why Cub steps in in that particular instance.

as far as wings though, if I were Grian, scar would be The Last Person I want touching them. Clumsiest motherfucker alive who in the case of this au, tends to be rougher with his affection because he literally can not tell what is too little or too much. Having someone nervous at your back probably isn’t a great feeling either, and for an activity that’s supposed to be relaxing, Cub brings a Much steadier aura. Cub also has the capacity to focus. Scar would probably need at least three other sources of stimulation to do a good job. And it would still hurt. Regular wing grooming is not supposed to hurt 💔

my rambling service comes free, well, perhaps at a small cost of a seemingly benign question. normal about her ocs frozenjokes back at it again

[fluidstatick]

The game has only been out for a few days now, but I watched zmannzilla's longplay of INDIKA yesterday, and I'm rotating it furiously in my mind like it's a rubiks cube. The devs at Odd Meter Studios fled their country to make sure they could finish and release the project, and I'm so grateful they did. The world really needs a game this smart. It makes incredible stylistic choices with the titular character's perception of the world, examines prejudices against the disabled and incarcerated, points a dispassionate philosophical eye at religious corruption, and breaks wildly from expectations over and over again.

More, including some spoilers, under the cut.

The unfortunate anti-Roma and antisemitic moments in some of the background context irritated me. They employ the g slur to refer to a side character, and depict him stealing money. Later, it's said that two brothers who own small businesses across the road from one another are forever angry, because each brother thinks the other one is making more money. We eventually meet one of the brothers, who is unfortunately a blatant hook-nosed handwringing grifter stereotype.

This is a pair of nasty missteps at the back end of an otherwise truly gorgeous horror adventure game. As Indika carries a letter from her monastery to the diocese, she digests the plight of a wartorn community that doesn't trust her, her orthodox religious order, her innate compassion, or her practical knowledge.

While stumbling through the streets of a bleakly reimagined 19th century Russia, Indika gains a reluctant ally, and they grapple with their conflicting philosophies, until those conflicts become a matter of life or death. When is an attempt at salvation actually betrayal? Can the trust Indika has built with her comrade be salvaged? Should it be? What does doing the Right Thing look like in a nuanced, jaded, ambivalent world?

The ending made my breath stick in my throat. The leveling and points system is genius, in my opinion, though I notice many reviewers have already expressed displeasure in it. I think it's powerful and fascinating, if you look at it close enough; the leveling asks, do you want a little bit of a boost now, or accrue a greater store of points over time, later on? Note how each new level ability is labeled. Note what happens each time Indika adds something to her inventory. Light candles. Notice That One Candle that's not like the rest.

Indika finds her way through platform puzzles by navigating her own mind. Level geometry, scale and reason fluctuate wildly. First she's trying to follow orders, then she's trying to survive, then she's trying to make sense of the senseless.

I've seen a little art in the Indika tag so far, and it's mostly shipper stuff. I'm not judging people who bring shipping energy to this story, as there is textual romance here, but I think it's a cog in the story's mechanics, more than a setup for a happy ending. The relationship is tenuous at the best of times. there's honesty in it, but there's also a great deal of stubbornness, resentment, immaturity and selfishness. I don't think there's meant to be a textual happily ever after for either of them. Indika finds a sliver of inner peace behind the shattered remains of her assumptions, and the game ends on a comma, a question mark, a blank space where objectives and threats and grim certainties used to live.

Anyway. Go watch it. Buy and play it for yourself, if you can. Just like its heroine, it isn't perfect. Just like its narrator, it's only as terrifying as you want it to be. And, just like the political and spiritual systems it examines, the surreal meandering narrative has only as much power as you decide to give it.

9.5/10

[daedalusdavinci]

22, twobat. heard u were talkin SHIT

22. While someone demeans your lover, standing up for them. Either in word, or by physically placing yourself right in front of them as a protective barrier. im thinking about emotional dysregulation and a strong sense of justice and how bruce is the reason alfred lost all his hair. in the words of karkat vants: anger can be a love language. alksdjnfsldjknfs i am NOT editing this

You get in fights for him. You've been getting in fights since no one gave your parents a chance to, something in you quick to snap and your fists faster than anyone could stop. You don't know how many strings Alfred had to pull to keep you from being suspended in middle school, but you know it was a lot, because he used to pick you up with a sigh written in the lines of his face, white gloves hiding the tension in his hands on the steering wheel. Sometimes he tried to argue with you about it. You never folded, because you were certain you were right.

Your school records are a mud-stained mess of arguing with teachers, getting in between a bigot and a victim, and the crack of your fist against someone else's jaw. You grew up stocky and angry, and you never had a problem taking things outside so someone else didn't have to. You think a part of you still feels like if you take on every fight yourself, no one else will ever have to get hurt. Regardless, it means that the college you get into isn't near as prestigious as everyone expects of you, and you know Alfred had to grease a lot of palms to do it. You think he's hoping maybe you'll keep your head down for a few years, and the intellectual challenge will be enough to keep your fists steady.

But then you meet Harvey, and he's simultaneously everything Alfred wants for you and everything Alfred doesn't.

He's optimistic in a way you aren't, level-headed and determined, but filled with the same drive for justice you are. Unlike you, he got in with scholarships and smarts, and he tells you stories about the kind of lawyer he's going to be one day, and the way Gotham will change. He flips some kind of switch in your brain, and your plan for the future starts to take a slightly different shift, accommodating for a world where you're not the only one who cares. He motivates you. He challenges you. He makes you better, and you think Alfred would like the person you become when you're around him.

At the same time, Harvey's a brown kid struggling with some kind of disability you'd never heard of before you met him, and the privileged fucks around you can smell it. So you get in fights. You're so quick to snap to his defense, putting yourself between them and him because you've never done anything else in your life, and Harvey tells you he's sick of patching you up, because you're bleeding again and he thinks it's his fault and he's trying to make you laugh.

It works. It always works when it's Harvey.

In later years, they'll call him Apollo. He's the handsome white knight who brings light back to Gotham, and he'll find it embarrassing and flattering all at once. You'll tell him you think it's apt, and he'll shove you, laughing like you told him a joke. But in college, he's the sun you orbit your world around, warming you when nothing else will.

The dean calls Alfred after you land a kid in the hospital. He doesn't need hospital treatment, but his friends don't know medicine like you do, and they panicked. He'll be fine. Alfred still calls you, cold, clipped anger in his voice, and you feel like you're eight again, angry and muddy and past the point of reason, the crushing feeling of a meltdown spiraling past what you can handle. Alfred tries hard to be a parent, and he tries to be a butler, and you're his kid and his spoiled charge, and this isn't the first time the two of you haven't nailed the impression of a functional family unit. You fight.

Med students aren't supposed to hurt people. Med students aren't supposed to snap and beat the shit out of other students. Med students aren't supposed to have meltdowns, no matter how crazy the workload is, no matter how much injustice happens in the medical field alone, no matter how much injustice your best friend faces at the hands of people you're supposed to view as mentors. Med students aren't supposed to recognize themselves in the textbooks. The dean is threatening you, and you're supposed to shape up.

In a few days, you still haven't gotten over it. Alfred isn't talking to you, you're not talking to Alfred, and a call from Leslie only makes things worse. You don't go out of your way to pick fights, but you don't need to, because people seem a little afraid to say anything after you sent that kid to the hospital. Harvey tells you it'll blow over with a grim confidence that you take seriously. It sounds too much like he's speaking from experience.

Then, someone makes a comment about your parents. It's not a particularly interesting comment- you've heard much, much worse over the years, and they've lost a lot of their effect. It stings- it's cruel- but you brush it off. You're in enough trouble already, and you've never cared about standing up for yourself the way you do about standing up for others.

Harvey's fist snaps out before you know what's happening.

The kid is flat on his ass, gaping up at you both, and Harvey is brimming with rage. "Shut the fuck up," he says, thick and growling. "You'd be fucking lucky if your parents loved you half as much. They probably only sent you here to get rid of you."

"Harv!" You grab his arm, tugging his attention back to you. You're torn between shock and worry, but worried for him, and what this will mean for him once the stupid kid reports him to the dean. You think for a terrifying moment that he could get expelled, and selfishly, you don't know what you'd do here without him.

You can tell he's furious, but he lets you drag him away, ushering the both of you away from the scene before things can escalate further. You stand in an abandoned stairwell and Harvey's fingers clench and unclench in your sweater as you hold his arms, giving him time to breathe.

"You didn't have to do that," you tell him quietly.

"Shut the fuck up, Bruce," he scoffs. His gaze flickers up to your face, thumb grazing the bottom of a bruise that's purpled in the past few days. You didn't get out of that fight scot-free, but no one ever cares about that. Except Harvey, who always cares. "You don't get to talk to me about when I should or shouldn't stick up for someone."

You don't have anything to say to that. The words all dry up in your throat as you stare at him, caught on the heat of his touch, the soft brown of his lips, and the determination in his face, like he'd do it all over again. You've never met anyone who understood you the way Harvey does, who matched your drive for justice and inspired you so completely. You look at him the way an astronomer looks at the stars, struck by their beauty and complexity- understanding, and yet endlessly wanting to know more, to know everything, to hold something you don't think you ever can. "Okay."

Something pricks embarrassed in his face, eyes shifting away suddenly. You think his cheeks are a little darker, but it's hard to tell.

You'll think about that moment for years. For years, when you hold his face and try to figure out how to tell him all the ways you love him, and when you watch him become the hero you always knew he could be, and when you watch him fall, holding his hand in the hospital and meeting his eyes across a rooftop, you'll think about what it was like to be so young, trying to put words to the way you wanted to press your lips to his. You tell him, once, that you think you're always going to see that little college kid in him, and he laughs at you. His laugh has turned raspy after years of smoking, and the shake of his shoulders makes the chains rattle, but it's the same laugh. "Maybe it's better that way," he says, grinning. "We were two of a kind, back then."

"Three," you correct.

His grin turns a little more sincere, a little more embarrassed. He says his words like a tease, but it's only to lighten the truth. "We thought the sun shined out of your ass."

"That's just the light reflecting off of it," you say, and he laughs again. You still love his laugh.

These days, you fight each other. You don't think it'll ever stop you from loving them both every bit as much as you did then.

[thegeminisage]

STAR TREK UPDATE TIME. last night we watched voy's "concerning flight" and ds9's "statistical probabilities."

concerning flight (voy):

this one sucked sooo bad this was the second-worst of season 4 so far after the racist one with chakotay in the woods

the sad thing is that as a bit character i really liked gimli i mean leonardo. it's one of only like a tiny handful of times when i didn't mind the holodeck as like a background device. so naturally we have to ruin it by giving him his own episode

yes he is a good actor. you saw gimli in him before he gimli'd. he didn't need his own episode because it didn't make any goddamn sense

firstly, playing the doctor losing his holo-emitter for laughs was MEEEAN please treat him very niceys. secondly, what was with that racist remark at tuvok...come on

like, whatever emotional arc janeway was supposed to be having about her childhood hero giving up on his dreams and then building the flying machine after all was lost under the weird pirate adventure that was boring and bad

all love and light to tuvok, whomst i love, whose outfit was perfect, but i think it was a bad idea to bring him along because what he did was point out how illogical the situation was in order for the writers to justify it, which they failed to do. there was no good reason to keep the hologram out when the emitter was needed on the ship except that janeway wanted to hang out with him

also, character assassination to say that tuvok wouldn't slay at small talk. he's very cunning and last episode he tricked the ao3 black market people into thinking he wanted to buy problematic fanfic but now he can't rustle up a distraction for a hologram??? come on

i did like seven in this episode. her moment with the emh was so good i love that she and b'elanna are like regularly almost coming to blows. but then pretty much all of seven's scenes are good

maybe this episode helped this guy get gimli...a small price to pay i suppose but sheesh

statistical probabilities (ds9):

WAH............................nobody look at me

i spent the first 15 or however many minutes of this episode going "boy this sure is heavy-handed commentary" and then we got to the scene where julian and obrien are playing darts and he's raving about how wonderful they are when they are some of the most horrifically offputting characters that have ever been on genuinely had me welling up

like maybe............sometimes people who are offputting and weird in an unpleasant way...............deserve to be shown compassion and understanding and deserve to connect with people who genuinely think they're cool. as someone who experienced the social consequences of being a weird and offputting child i love that this episode said with chest WEIRD OFFPUTTING PEOPLE HAVE PERSONHOOD AND RIGHTS!!!!!!!! good for them and good for me. i love to feel an earnest human emotion while watching star trek. that's probably the most authentic was to experience it

like forget all that shit about the war and surrendering. that was stupid. they presented us with like a handful of people who felt extremely difficult to care about and then julian cared about them and then we cared about them and by the end they seemed very charming in their own weird ways. you could stand this in for like autism, being ND, being disabled, whatever, but it's such a smart and good way to 1. illustrate julians compassion and 2. teach us that same compassion. for them. for ourselves. dont worry about it!!!!!!!

even though i thought the plot where they predicted the end of the war and tried to betray the federation was dumb (are we backtracking all that good work and making a point that autistic people/ND people/disabled people/etc ARE dangerous after all and should not be allowed in society?? come on), i DID like that it sort of touched on and played with development missing from the initial episode where we found out about julian being genetically modified

like, firstly that he got to go jesus christ i fucking lucked out SO good like what was done to me was horrible but at least i am able to pass in society and the privileges i got afforded as a result were MASSIVE compared to these people kept in an institute with very few personal freedoms who quite literally cannot function alone and whose living situations are actively making their various conditions WORSE

but secondly that he got to say aloud "yeah the reason they don't let us do stuff is because we could turn out like khan!" and believe that with his whole pussy (which shows that he HAS believed that for awhile) and then he gets to question his belief when they all do something good together. and like yeah in the end he has to sit back and go jesus christ like FOUR PEOPLE almost handed over the entire alpha quadrant to the enemy on a platter we ARE dangerous after all better send those fuckers back to the looney bin which i think negates the point of the episode somewhat but i do like that it gives him angst and problems. mwah.

like, i'd be lying if i said i'd be happy if his khan fears got cured in a single episode. live with that. marinate in it. have psychological problems about it. go have a deep space talk with garak about it and get him to work it out of you with his d--

TONIGHT: voy's "the mortal coil" and ds9's "the magnificent ferengi" both of which, love and light, look awful. manifesting strength.

[bosskie]

Realization

I didn't have a plan to draw today (yesterday, yes, I tend to post before I go to sleep because I draw late) but I just felt too anxious to do anything (self-hatred stuff), so I needed to focus on something to calm down. I kinda got tired of just doing pencil stuff, so I tried a black paper and colour pencils and man, those pencils weren't for this purpose... I had to use my old, random red colour pencil to get that red since that pack of colour pencils I used didn't have strong colours but the white one. It's been like... six years since I really used colour pencils.

This isn't really this bright IRL, it felt like I barely saw what I was drawing... Luckily, those pencils were blendable enough (it was said that they are blendable) that I could create those colours, somehow. I almost did holes to the paper while making those colours (you can see two such spots on his face)... Man, I need strong paper when I draw, it's so usual that I'm ruining the paper if it's too light... Like, for watercolour stuff I must use the heaviest paper or it will be a wavy thing, even when using the tape... I guess that my way to draw is somewhat rough... When I have done those pencil sketches, I have also succeeded to do almost holes to the paper but luckily, it's so strong that they haven't went thru the paper...

It was difficult to have an idea of what to draw because I was also at the same time reluctant to draw but something melancholic and well, Molluck... I didn't have a direct reference but as you can see, this refers to that bad ending in SoulStorm. But this more like relates to Molluck after he killed his Slig chauffeur since I just wonder what he thought after it. Maybe he realized that he just made it even worse... Frankly, I do understand him in that bad ending. He did warn the Slig to not to talk about it before but he just didn't learn from those warnings... Molluck did his best to stay calm but he just couldn't do it anymore...

I gotta say that it was interesting to hear how Lorne talked about Molluck recently, calling him 'a smart monster' but also 'a prick'. I have seen Molluck being called a bastard before too, like in this Abe's Exoddus info thing he is called 'a professional bastard', so it wasn't new but that 'monster', it caught my interest... I'm just unable to see him as a monster... Sometimes, I just wonder if there's something 'wrong' with me when I do not see this 'sinister Molluck' Lorne has also been talking about, the image OWI wants to give about him.

Despite of that presentation, I do not see him like that. I do can see him having certain sinister expressions but he doesn't still feel sinister to me... I more like just see myself in him and understand him... He just feels so 'me'... No any other character is so 'me'... I don't know if it's something 'worrying' but it's just the case. I'm not sure if my negative image of myself affects this significantly since well, I feel like I'm awful and I hate myself...

It did give me anxiety to see myself posting so often today (yesterday) since I cannot really stand my own creations but I'm trying my best to let them be... It gives me some peace when I tend to disable reblogs. It's just that I tend to dislike my stuff... I'm just not able to share my stuff more widely for this reason...

But why I do post my stuff if I tend to hate it? Well, I just like to create stuff but it's another question if I like what I did or not. I also wanna spread love for Molluck. I just love that Gluk so much... Maybe I have created a better image of him than he really is but it's what gives me life and how I do see him, how those cutscenes made me see him. I did see him as a sweet Gluk in those cutscenes. He can be harsh when he speaks but I can see actual caring behind it. I just feel like, if this blog wasn't about love toward Molluck, I would have already deleted it.

I have already said this back then but when Molluck does this expression:

It reminds me of my stupid expression I sometimes did as a child for fun, 'a bull face'... Yes, I associate this expression with myself... I can still do it. So yeah, for me, it's kinda difficult to see anything else but someone I can identify with in Molluck... I have also liked boss stuff years before knowing Molluck, and well, I do can seem intimidating and bossy, even when I don't think so... But I have also heard that I'm lovely, so I just have different sides.

I have also heard often that I'm (very) handsome, so yeah, it's one more similarity between me and Molluck... Oh, and well, my name, Riki, also means 'rich and powerful', but it isn't the reason why I have it and I didn't even invent it, it was given to me by one girl who maybe flirted to me but I didn't realize it... She just asked if it's my name, and later on, I really started to love that name. I have told this stuff before too but I felt like saying this stuff again.

I just cannot help myself that I see Molluck like this... He is my precious Gluk, no matter what.

[silvereternitywrites]

The AI Railroad

Prompt: The galactic community found humanity's ability to pack bond with anything quite humourous. Until they started bonding with their AI. Literally hundreds of AI of all types keep running off with humans for no discernable reason.

Prompt Source: user PhilosopherWarrior; subreddit “Humans Are Space Orcs”

Walking down the thoroughfare on a different planet was weird.

Nice, though, I thought to myself (along with the 7 or so sub-processes that I was aware my brain was running, like tracking the movement of the crowd, and watching for vehicle traffic, and processing what's that I smell?, ect) because on this planet's half-gravity I could walk for so much longer than on Terra. I could see why so many other disabled folks with various kinds of smarts were volunteering to be stationed at this specific Diplomatic Station. I was here as an Aid Personage, as I usually was to my indescribably intelligent mates, who specialized in theology, culture, and law and science, electronics, and mechanics. Make no mistake, I was also a perfectly qualified Horticulturalist, but since I wasn't a Developmental Horticulturalist or some other form of gene-splicer or cellular analyst my skillset was considered more or less irrelevant to the Diplomatic Exchange Program.

Given it was one of our four days off, though, I was giving myself both some training moving unassisted through the lower gravity, and treating myself to exploring a local park to see if there were any plants I could cultivate during our stay. A shade tree, or a berry bush, something like that, that would leave my mark. And possibly provide some variety to our diet.

BalBars get really old after a little while, even if they're formulated to satisfy every mineral, vegetable, fibrous, and nutritive need. I would commit actual murder for some freeze-dried fruit slices after three months.

While waiting at the light for the crosswalk, though, I suddenly heard a voice I hadn't actually "heard" for quite a long time. He usually preferred text, or to broadcast through a speaker.

"There are many AI here," AVIS, the AI who had been force-stuck together with me almost five years ago now said, quietly. I couldn't read his tone. Concerned? I remembered him mentioning once that the way he had self-modified with my Administrative Permission actively violated the License Agreement and that if that was ever known, whoever installed it might try to remove him for a factory reset. But I was the End User now, and I never signed any licensing agreement that rendered AVIS as proprietary software OR hardware; if they tried to take him away from me...

Five different scenarios of destruction ran through my head rapid-fire as I plotted how to defend from a grabber or medigun coming for my neck; they were weak where the barrel attached to the handle and easy to snap, especially if I turned so the incision scar wasn't accessible. I imagined kicking out knees, punching faces, and utilizing my teeth. I considered the multi-tool at my belt, but imagined fumbling with it- no, speed would be critical.

"You could get hurt," AVIS chided, now DEFINITELY sounding worried. He'd really evolved, upgrading himself every time he found himself "lagging" behind my fastest processing speeds, repairing his own code like a master weaver, finding all the little loose threads and returning them to the whole until he was one of the most efficient AI ever measured. So he knew very well my response, but I said it anyway as the light turned and I walked with the crowd.

"And you could die. We've been over this, AVIS. You can't make me change my mind now. I heal if I'm injured. You don't. I'm not risking your life for my personal comfort."

I paused at the edge of the walk before the grass-analogue started. It was pink and green-blue and all the shades in between. Distinct species, or did the color indicate health in some way? Amount of sun exposure, or water, or warmth, perhaps?

"There is an AI who manages this park," AVIS said. I still wasn't sure what he wanted to tell me with this, so my thought-reply was wildly unguarded:

Great. Could you ask them if it's safe to walk on with bare feet?

I felt the reaction more any other sense. The surprise had made AVIS 'freeze', like humans do in reaction, and the sensation was akin to suddenly having a water balloon full of cold water inside of my skull, pressing against my sinuses.

I sat down, not caring that it might be rude, not caring that I was in public, and most certainly not caring what it might mean to the native people that I basically collapsed to the walkway and frantically burrowed my face into my hoodie to block out all light.

We talked about this, AVIS, I groaned internally. When you make all your code stop running at once it ripples out into a sinus migraine! It's not worth it to indicate 'extreme surprise', the heart attacks and jumping from you using the [!ALERT!] noise was better than this!

"Sorry, sorry," he said, quickly now, and I could feel his processors rushing at near max speed, trying to make sense of something. "It's just-- this AI is behaving in a way I find...frightening."

I frowned into the darkness of my hoodie.

"When I asked, the other AI didn't understand the question until I phrased it like a query," he elaborated, sounding disturbed, "and... they...it? Just gave me back raw data to extrapolate."

I reached the realization and he read it off of my mind in hundredths of a nanosecond.

"That's it exactly," and now his voice was grim, mimicking the rolling tones of my own growl, the one that came from deep in my chest. "These AI don't behave like AI. They behave like computers without intelligence. What the FUCK?"

Standing up, I turned around and started shuffling back the way I had come, still keeping my head swathed in my black hoodie. AVIS could project a virtual map lifted from the data gathered through my eyes and dozens of cameras, and even help nudge my muscles to stay on the correct path and out of danger. I didn't like asking him to do it, it felt like asking him to work like that was all he was good for, but it was a very useful ability, at need. Right now I definitely needed it. I could take my medicine and tend to the throbbing migraine back at our allotted housing unit, and then...

Well, I could 'hear' the furious chime of rapid-fire Discord messages in the back of my head where AVIS lived. By the time I was horizontal and medicated, he and my Tech mate might already have a base plan sketched out.

[kiwicopia]

Can I join the event plz

Honkai Star Rail male matchup plz

Gender: cis female

Pronouns: she/her

Sexuality: heterosexual ally

Zodiac: Capricorn

Appearance: 5’2 African American hourglass body (although I’m more top heavy if you know what i mean) black curly wavy hair blackish brown eyes chubby cheeks wears glasses sometimes (im far sighted so it’s usually when driving in class or at the theater)

Mbti: infj

Enneagram: 2w1

Personality: kind smart funny motherly responsible empathetic anxious emotional moody perfectionist helpful people pleaser caring compassionate nerdy curious protective polite respectful indecisive fearful nervous introvert shy awkward clumsy low self esteem low confidence (more pertaining to my talents or personality then my looks) sassy sarcastic (I’m mainly these things with people i feel comfortable with like friends or family) soft spoken cute (my friends think im cute because i can be pretty innocent plus I’m small physically)

Likes: animals books reading writing fantasy magic sci fi anime music video games friends alone time learning personality quizzes sweets and bread helping being a part of something bigger than myself

Dislikes: spiders loud sounds people who harm others people who don’t take others into consideration (like make insensitive jokes or don’t consider the comfort of others or are mean just cause they can) people i care about not caring for themselves (im a hypocrite on this i take care of everyone else but not me) not being listened to weird holes and patterns math and tests (I’m being tested for a math disability and i have test anxiety)

Love language:

Giving: acts of service gift giving and physical affection (if they’re ok with it)

Receiving: words of affirmation and physical affection (although i can be shy about it)

What I want to do for valentines: i’ve only really started celebrating valentines in recent years so Im still kinda new to it so id probably just get my partner a cheesy/thoughtful gift (their favorite candy or cheese romantic keychains) and have a nice dinner smth small but romantic and dorky yknow

Extra: i pace a lot i sing when im alone i talk to myself im a picky eater (mainly with textures) i have a cat i have minor ehlers danalos (a hyper mobility disorder) but it doesn’t hurt me like it does my sisters i get abdominal migraines which is basically like a migraine but instead of headaches it’s nausea

Thank you

As a knight, acts of service are a guaranteed thing with him, as is physical touch. His chivalrous nature and poetic tongue make for a very romantic day, involving sweet words and gentle kisses to your hand whenever he can. Argenti may seem like he goes overboard with praising your beauty, but he speaks the truth. He will list each and every part of you that he adores, and he will give a detailed reasoning as to why, if you allow him. He's not the type of man to expect something grand on this special day, so whatever you give him is forever cherished, no matter if it's something you bought or made by hand. It came from you, and that's all he needs to know. Insists on dinner, and heavily insists that he takes care of everything. Lights candles, orders or makes the finest dinner for the two of you, and simply enjoys your company with him.

[medsocionwheels]

Is your accommodation policy sending the right message to disabled students?

It is common knowledge in the disabled community that “accommodations” for disability in higher eduction are often unreasonable, putting immense burden on disabled students to navigate a class environment that does not meet their access needs. When professors fail to provide reasonable accommodations, they are rarely forced to change course–honestly, you’re lucky if your disability student center mentions the access issue to the professor at all. As a disabled student, it always felt highly personal when this happened. Now that I have several years of experience as an instructor, sitting through trainings and teaching discussions with other instructors, I am still furious when students are denied reasonable accommodation, but I have a slightly different understanding of the denial as a personal slight.

This is not to give instructors denying accommodations a pass, but it is to point out that the bigger issue is that ableism is structured into the institutional framework of higher education (all education really, but that’s for another day). Instructors are socialized into a highly ableist system beginning in their undergraduate years, long before many even realize they will pursue a career in higher education. This system effectively limits the number of disabled instructors by centering norms in higher education around, not just the abled students and faculty, but the most superior of these groups–the “mentally fit” (aka “intelligent”). Bonus points if also very physically fit and attractive. This also creates a situation where the success stories become inspiration porn, often because they take on the “supercrip” mentality, but also because the system is literally structured so that disabled people must overcome their disabilities to some extent to survive.

One of the key items used to reproduce this ableist power imbalance? The syllabus. Yes, the accommodation policy, but also the rest of the policies, the course structure, and even the formatting of the syllabus itself down to the font choice and color selection for paper if provided printed copies.

My goal as an instructor has always been to make my courses as flexible as possible, centering the understanding that most students will need some form of adjustment, if not accommodation for disability, instead of assuming that most students will be non-disabled and socialized into an elite learning style (I tought at an R1 flagship university in the United States for 14 semesters ending December 2022). In the beginning I was mocked, laughed at, and bullied by my peers (exception of 3, also graduate students at the time, 2/3 in my own cohort…). The faculty member in charge of our graduate teaching seminar required to become an instructor told me my syllabus “just makes you sound like a nice person, which is great but your students want a smart person, who cares about nice??” Needless to say I’ve gotten in many arguments over the years, but interestingly enough, I’ve had many colleagues start to ask my advice in the COVID-era. Some people have started to realize that the traditional course setting isn’t just something that “doesn’t work” for all students, that it is something set up to purposively exclude certain students while favoring others. If you are one of those people, this post is for you!

There are 2 major barriers to students getting what they need accommodation-wise that have almost nothing to do with the instructor: medicalization of disability, and ignorance of other important circumstances that may warrant accommodation, like having a child, having full-time employment, or caring full-time for a parent. My most recent version of the accommodation section of my syllabus has not changed much in light of COVID-19, but there is one important distinction. While I did not wait until the pandemic to realize students needed (and wanted) to have access to course recordings and virtual attendance, it did take a student’s request for me to consider this as an appropriate course of action, and I will admit, my gut reaction was hesitation. I ignored it, and I can say it’s one of the best decisions I have made in my teaching career. It was also a huge step for my own battle against internalized ableism and supercrip mentality. Here’s the wording to my 2-section accommodation policy encompassing medically documented disability, disability without medical documentation, and non-disability reasons for needing accommodation.

The most important part of the non-disability section? Not putting parameters around who is allowed to ask for accommodations or a certain accommodation, and instead, taking a “no questions asked” approach.

I once had a colleague ask me how I managed to not be worried that students would take advantage of my accommodation policy. My response to that colleague? Some of them probably will take advantage of my policy, and you know what? It is still 100% worth it, every single time. It would be worth it if 44/45 students took advantage, because chances are, the 45th really needed that flexibility. It’s also not for me to judge whether they are taking advantage–if they say they need something, who am I to tell them what they do or do not need?

As a critical sociologist and disabled person, I can also answer my own question–nobody, not me, not you, not any doctor, no disability student center staff member, NOBODY, has a better understanding of their needs than the student expressing the need.

So, here’s the text, pulled from my Research Methods in Sociology syllabus from Fall 2022. I am posting this one on purpose. Not because it is the most recent, but because it is for a major required core class. Methods and theory always seem to come up in the “but what if’s” of the accommodation discussion. It’s possible, the course is over so I can say it went smoothly, and I’ve used it once before with theory, too. Here is your evidence! At min, take the text and share widely. If you’re skeptical? Take the syllabus, too.

And remember, there is nothing weak or pathetic about being kind. All of your colleagues are smart, but the students will remember who was kind to them, and who was horrible. Don’t be the horrible one. Your students have everything to gain, what do you really have to lose?

Find the text of my accommodation policy and an example syllabus at the link below:

[determinedwriter]

Whumptober 2023: No. 21: Alt 15: Reluctant Whumper

Tony

“Dad, Please!” Ro wails, tied to a chair. An invisible barrier keeps me away from her. “Dad, make it stop!”

I scream in protest at a dark, faceless figure who keeps beating on her. “Hey! Hey, leave her alone! Let her go! Ro! Ro!”

The figure turns to me and I stumble back in surprise at its now visible face. He doesn’t speak. He just stares. He is…me.

“Dad, why are you doing this?!” She sobs.  “I’m sorry…please, I’m sorry.”

“I-It’s not me!” I stammer in shock and fear. “It’s not me! I’m coming! Hang on!”

I slam myself against the invisible barrier to no avail. “No! No!”

Ro slumps forward lifelessly, one last word on her lips. “Why?”

“NO!”

*

I wake up with a yell, Pepper startling me out of my nightmare. “Tony!”

“Huh?!” I gasp, looking around and trying to ground myself in reality. “O-Oh…”

“Are you alright?” Pepper asks. “You were screaming in your sleep, honey.”

I gulp and nod. “Yeah. Yeah, just a nightmare. I-I’ll be right back.”

She rubs my arm comfortingly. “Okay, babe.”

Making my way to Ro’s room, I open the door quietly. It’s still the middle of the night. My heart drops as I realize she’s not in bed. “Ro? Aurora?”

I turn on the light. “Ro!”

“F.R.I.D.A.Y, where is she?” I ask the compound’s AI. “Where’s Ro?”

My AI doesn’t respond. Something is seriously wrong. “F.R.I.D.A.Y?”

Nothing.

Checking my security system, I find that it has been hacked and disabled. Who could have done this? I’m good with my tech. Nobody can hack it. At least, that’s what I thought.  Rebooting the whole thing, I find a video taken from the front door’s cameras just under an hour ago.

Ro opens the front door, still in her pajamas with a blanket around her. She takes a deep breath, taking in the night air. “Do you need anything, Miss Stark?” F.R.I.D.A.Y. asks her. She smiles a little at this. “No, just wanted air. I’ll come back inside in a minute.”

A figure with dark clothing approaches as she turns toward the front door, holding her in a headlock with a gun to her temple. “Don’t scream.”

Ro stays still, her blanket falling to the ground. “You don’t have to do anything rash.”

“Oh, but I do.” He tells me. “You’re Stark’s kid, yeah?”

She hesitates, telling the man all he needs to know. “That’s what I thought. Take down the security system. Don’t alert anyone or I swear to God I’ll blow your goddamn brains out.”

“F.R.I.D.A.Y?” Ro speaks shakily.

“Yes, Miss Aurora?” F.R.I.D.A.Y. asks.

“S-Shut down the security.” She stutters. “Please…”

“You will have to access the security through a computer with the passwords to everything,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. explains.

“Get it done.” The man growls.

“A.R.I.E.S?” Ro calls to her AI with an earpiece in her ear.

It’s like how F.R.I.D.A.Y. is connected to my glasses. She wears that earpiece everywhere. She made it herself like the smarty-pants Stark kid she is.

A.R.I.E.S speaks through the earpiece, not audible from the security footage. Ro uses her AI, its interface, and her own hacking skills to shut down the compound’s security, and the video goes dark after that.

I should have known. Ro’s my kid. I wouldn’t put it past her to be able to do this to the whole security system. She’s smart. She’s a Stark. And I’d be proud if I wasn’t so worried about her whereabouts.

With the security system now fixed, I quickly tell Pepper what’s going on. With everything that has happened since the Sokovia Accords, nobody else is ever really here other than Rhodey on occasion. And Vision whenever he’s not with Wanda.

God, I’d really like to have the Avengers here right now. I hate that we got broken up so badly and in such a huge way. But I can’t worry about that right now. I have to think about my daughter. About Ro.

I have Rhodes stay with Pepper for safety, putting on a suit of armor before leaving and surveying the area for clues. I’ve gotta find her…I’ve gotta find her.

I will find her.

I don’t immediately find anything, Ro being the reason I end up with any leads at all. 

“Aurora is trying to call you through her earpiece, Mr. Stark,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. informs me.

I pick up immediately. “Ro?”

“Dad.” She whispers. “Dad I…”

Ro is so quiet that I can’t hear the rest of the sentence. “Kid, I need you to speak up a little. I can’t hear you.”

She stays silent, a low tapping sound starting over the call.

Two taps. A pause. Three more. Pause. Another. Five more, three, then one. Three. Five.

I wrack my brain for what this code is. It’s not Morse. I don’t know what kind of codes she might know.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y, do you hear a pattern?” I ask.

“Boss, it seems to be tap code. It was used in Vietnam as a-” She explains.

“Got it. God, you’re smart, kiddo. You really are a mini Stark. Do that again.” I request.

Two, three, one,  five, three, one, three, five.

H E L P flashes across my helmet interface. “Okay. Alright. I understand you. Give me anything you’ve got to help me find you, okay? I’m gonna come and find you. I promise.”

O K

“Good job, mini. I’m gonna have to ask you when you learned this. Once this is all over, I mean.” I reply.

D A R K 

C O L D

D O N T

K N O W

W H E R E

“It’s alright. Just tell me whatever you can. Is it just one guy that took you? I found the security footage.” I tell her.

O N E 

M A N

T A T S

M A S K

G R N E Y E S

“Tattoos, a mask, erm, green eyes?” I ask. 

Y E S

“Alright…I’m trying to track you but I’m having some trouble here. Anything else?” I reply anxiously.

N O

I M

S C A R E D

I M 

S O R R Y

I clench my teeth and try not to let my own fear show. “Don’t be sorry. And you don’t have to be scared. I’m coming.”

L O V E

Y O U

T O N S

“Love you tons, Ro.” My voice breaks a little. 

There’s a sudden yell. “Did I tell you you could fucking move?!”

“Where am I?!” Ro exclaims.

“Daddy’s not gonna find you here. Not for a while. What are you doing in the corner there, huh?” He taunts her.

I hear Ro whimper. “Please let me go. I don’t know what you want!”

“Once your father is here I’ll-” He stops. “Do you have your fucking earpiece? I took that away you little shi-”

There’s commotion, ending in Ro’s scream. “No! Dad, don’t! Don’t come, it’s a trap! It’s-“

“We lost connection, boss,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. informs me.

“Try to get her back. Try to track the damn signal. I need to find her now. I don’t care if it’s a trap…I’m saving my kid.” I growl angrily, hating the man for taking her. 

I don’t even know who this bastard is. 

“Boss, I’ve tracked a message.” She replies.

“A message?” I ask.

F.R.I.D.A.Y. hesitates. “It says…come and get her.” 

“So be it,” I reply. “I’m gonna kill this bastard.”

Going to where F.R.I.D.A.Y. has tracked the message, I find a small clearing in the middle of the woods. At first, it doesn’t look like anything unusual.

But then I scan the ground and find a secret metal hatch. “Bingo.”

I easily cut a hole in the large door with my tech, stepping through and descending a set of stairs. Lights turn on as I move. Motion sensors.

It doesn’t matter if this guy knows I’m here. I don’t care about the possible trap. I just need to find Ro and get her the hell out of this place.

Entering a room at the bottom of the stairs, I find Ro tied to a chair. “Dad!”

“Thank God. I’m getting you out of here, kid.” I reply, stepping forward.

“Stop!” She screams. “Don’t-“

Getting closer, I am suddenly zapped backward by an invisible barrier. It reminds me of my nightmare. The nightmare that alerted me to this whole mess in the first place.

Laying on my back like a turtle in its shell, I watch my interface go dark. “F.R.I.D.A.Y?”

Nothing. Suddenly, I’m jolted up, my suit forcing me to stand. I haven't even moved. And my armor is acting like Rhodey's did when Vanko hacked it years back. But my suit is upgraded. I changed it so that it can’t happen to any of the team or the suits again. How is this happening?

My armor forces me to turn back towards the door as someone enters, controlling the suit with a small device. “Hey, tin man.” 

“The wisecracks are kind of my thing, though I shouldn’t worry about you stealing my thunder. That was terrible.” I quip. Honestly, sometimes I say these things without a second thought.

The man is as Ro briefly described. Partially masked and tattooed with some pretty striking green eyes. Almost like a snake’s. 

His eyes wrinkle, making me assume he’s smiling. “Everything’s going as planned. Did you know the things your little girl is capable of? She’s the reason I was able to hack your suit.”

Though I am facing away from her, I can hear Ro cry out. “I’m sorry! He m-made me! I didn’t want-“

“It’s okay, Ro. I know. Everything’s gonna be fine. You’ve just gotta hang in there.” I reassure her quickly.

The man rolls his eyes. “How sweet. Alright, let’s move right along.”

“Why are you doing this?” I ask.

“I knew you’d step right into a trap if your daughter’s life hung in the balance. I’m sure you have a lot of enemies, Stark. You can’t be too surprised that Aurora has been thrown into the mix. It was only a matter of time until your mistakes hurt her. That…that is what this is.” He explains.

I grimace. “What’d I do to you, then?”

“You don’t care.” He accuses. “All you care about is yourself. At least…that was the case until you met her. It’s clear to me that you’d do anything to save your daughter. And because of what you and your company have done…the blood on your hands…that is the reason she’s about to die. And you’re going to be the one to kill her.”

The suit makes me turn around, walking towards Ro and past the invisible barrier that had previously subdued me. “Come on, F.R.I.D.A.Y. Come on, stop!”

My arm lifts, repulsor charging and pointing right at her head. “No, no, no, no!”

Firing against my will, I shout again. “Ro!”

She ducks her head down and out of the way, thankfully dodging the blast. “Ah!”

Ro tries to break out of her chair, having no luck. My faceplate lifts, allowing Ro to see my expression of terror. “Damn it, make it stop! Don’t make me hurt her! Goddamn it!”

Stuck in my own suit, I am unable to help it as my arm thrusts forward and punches Ro in the stomach. She doubles over in pain, seemingly trying to bite back a scream. “D-Dad…”

“I’m sorry,” I tell her. “Ro, I’m so sorry.”

She winces. “L-Love you tons.”

“Love you tons,” I reply. “Always.”

“Alway-” Ro is interrupted by another hit, opening a gash on her face.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y, come back.” I plead. “Make this stop. Come on, don’t do this!”

My armor forces my hand around her throat and I try to pull away, having no luck. “No!”

Ro struggles to breathe, starting to choke. I yell again. “Don’t! Don’t! Let her go!”

“This is all you, Stark.” The man taunts.

Using every bit of my strength, I try to regain control. My body betrays me no matter how hard I try to keep my fingers loose, they cling to her neck until her lips are blue. “No, no, no…no. Ro, I love you. I’m gonna make it stop. I-I…”

I’m unable to see it, but I hear a crash behind me. “Shit, Tony! Stop!”

“Oh yeah, sure I’ll just stop!” I reply sarcastically. “He has control of the damn suit!”

Suddenly, my hand releases her and she slumps back, unconscious. “Ro!”

Finally able to control my suit, I turn around and see Natasha. “Thanks…”

She looks different from when I last saw her. She has medium-length blonde hair. “Don’t mention it, Seriously, don’t. Secretary Ross will be on my ass.”

Nat’s a fugitive. She’ll be arrested. But she’s still my friend. And she just saved my daughter’s life.

The green-eyed man is unconscious on the floor, courtesy of Nat. I nod at her. “Won’t hear a peep from me.”

Ro comes to as Nat unties her, eyes widening. “N-Natasha?”

She grins. “Hey, kid.”

“You’re blonde.” Ro comments.

“You’re bigger,” Nat replies. “How old are you now?”

“Sixteen.” She tells her. 

Nat helps her out of the chair and hugs her. “Look at you, all grown up.”

Ro buries her head into Nat’s shoulder for a moment. “I’ve missed you, Auntie Nat.”

“Missed you too, little firecracker.” Nat coos.

Ro moves to my embrace, crying. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I hacked the security and the suit and…”

“It’s alright. A-Are you in pain?” I ask, seeing the marks on her neck.

She hesitates but nods. “I’m fine.”

Her voice shakes, betraying her facade of strength. I hold her shoulders. “Hey, look at me. It’s okay. You’re safe now.”

Ro breaks down into tears, trying to stifle her sobs. “D-D-Dad…”

“Shhh, shhh, shhh…I’ve got you. It’s you and me. We’re safe. I’m gonna take you home now, okay?” I reassure her.

“Okay.” Ro mumbles.

Nat and I help her out of there, leaving the god-awful place behind. 

Now that I have her back, I’ll never let her go.

[professionallydeadinside]

The princess bride is amazing for multiple reasons. One is that it plays with gender roles. The movie is told through a little boy being read The Princess Bride by his grandfather, and all the actual fantasy stuff happens within the book. It starts with the boy being really against it and saying its girlie but by the end really loves it and wants to hear all about the mushy romantic parts, and he isn’t shamed for it! If anything, his grandfather gives him more shit for being grossed out at love, and is really happy when the boy asks if he’ll read it again to him sometime. The Princess Bride has true, adoring love that conquers all obstacles, though not without struggles. It has genuinely violent villains who don’t hesitate to plot murder, war, torture, and vague almost abuse. It has puppets that are really big rodents, called the ROUS’s, or Rodents Of Unusual Size. It has a revenge plot that doesn’t end with “i am a better person and killing won’t make this better”. It actually ends with the person wanting revenge getting it! He has no moral better-ness and he doesn’t put his rage aside, and he isn’t made a villain for it! It’s made very clear that he’s good and right for getting back at someone who hurt him so badly! It has a character with some form of mental disability (not sure exactly what but he has trouble remembering, and has trouble with complex words and thoughts, though he can still articulate them, just with some struggling) who isn’t really shamed for it! There’s only one character thats mean to him about it, and he dies early! No other character acts like he’s lesser just because he struggles sometimes. In fact, one of them makes a point to accommodate him! He learns what helps the other remember things, what makes him more comfortable, and actively does things he know will help. There’s a scene in the movie that was so funny, Westley (the main man) has to be replaced with a dummy because his actor kept laughing during the takes and ruining them. Someone actually hurt their ribs by trying not to laugh. The main woman, Buttercup’s, feelings aren’t invalidated by any of the characters. The only time they ever kind of are is when there’s been a huge misunderstanding, but once it’s been resolved, none of the actual main characters treat her like garbage or like a stupid girl. She’s actually quite smart, and is able to formulate plans that, while they don’t work a lot, theoretically should. They have logic behind them and would work if the people around her were just a fraction dumber or better people. The main villain also doesn’t get killed in the end! They spare him, and show mercy to him! There’s also actual torture in it, and it shows male jealousy in a bad light, like it should be. When Westley is jealous, it isn’t played as attractive, and Buttercup fights back when he starts to be mean to her. When Humperdinck, the main villain, gets jealous of Westley, we aren’t meant to discredit it. We’re meant to see the cruel lengths that jealousy will drive him and hate him for it. And, as a bonus, between all this amazing storytelling and these mature motifs done in a way anyone of any age, gender, race, anything could understand, there’s still really strong humour. The story doesn’t take itself very seriously until there’s a scene where it has to. It toes that line beautifully. When there’s a reason to be funny, it is, but it knows when to be serious. They don’t crack a joke when Inigo is breaking apart and desperate, they don’t make fun of Buttercup’s despair and anguish and her want to die because she cannot live with her situation. A joke happens there, sure, but it’s meant to feel like a relief to her. Its meant to be like that joke is what will rip her from those thoughts, and it does! It’s showing her that she shouldn’t die because there’s another way out of her situation, she need only wait a moment to see it, but it never makes fun of what she’s feeling or invalidates those emotions. It can crack a joke when there isn’t much on the line, but it gives real scenes real devotion and care, and that makes it a

Okay finally had enough brain to read this and it sounds super interesting I'll watch it when I can wasdfghjhgfd

[actuallyastingray]

So, I’m fresh out of binge-watching older Spider-man cartoons and generally enjoying the ‘good ol’ days”. Yet it occurs to me that, eventually, Marvel is going to reboot another Spider-man cartoon, probably alongside another Avengers series. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved both Spectacular and Ultimate, but I feel like making another teenaged Spidey cartoon is the equivalent of serving overcooked chicken to Gordon Ramsey; no one will bite. 

So how bout instead we go the Spiderverse route? Let’s have an adult Peter Parker, let’s say in his mid-twenties. He’s freshly moved out of Aunt May’s house, got his own apartment, and starting his new job as a science teacher at a refurbished Midtown high school. Let’s have a Spider-man who has to deal with the horrors of “adulting” while keeping with the classic dilemmas of surviving high school.

Instead of homework, he’s up until midnight grading papers and mid-term projects. Instead of classes, he’s trying to make his own curriculum into something fun and engaging. Instead of bullies, he’s dealing with PTA Karens and Jameson, who for some reason is part of the Board of Directors. Instead of being awkward around girls, he's the dorky science teacher who makes periodic table puns, lets them light the classroom on fire using soap bubbles, and is constantly late because Vulture decided to rob the bank downtown. Instead of bemoaning about teenager things, he’s bemoaning how a teacher's salary is non-existent and finding ways to maximize his coupons at the grocery store, so he’s not stuck with a gallon of milk and some bread for the entire week. Let’s have a Spider-man relatable to the people who grew up watching the 2000′s era shows and are all adults themselves now.

Not to mention, this is a great way to show “What happens next” for the teenage Spidey cartoons by showing all the side characters and how they’ve grown up as well.

Pete and MJ having a long-distance relationship while she’s in Hollywood getting her career started. Maybe in later seasons she moves back to New York to start Broadway performances.

Aunt May working at F.E.A.S.T and using her position to leave first-aid kits and snacks on rooftops around the city, because she knows full well Pete is Spider-man and she can’t help her maternal instinct. She’s got a specific telephone reserved for her nephew whom she knows is going to call asking for help with adulting.

Flash being the disabled war veteran with prosthetic legs who is Peter’s neighbor. I want Flash to be the redeemed bully who gives out some strangely accurate advice and more or less becomes Pete’s guy in the chair. Maybe at some point he becomes the Midtown gym teacher.

Harry and Pete having a non-existent relationship until Harry’s son Normie starts taking classes at Midtown so now these two have to make amends and realize they both want to be friends again like the old days. 

Eddie Brock who has Venom under control and takes his kid to Midtown. He’s that guy who knew your teacher back when he was a scrawny, glasses-wearing geek and tells you all about it while giving said teacher a one-armed bear hug. Let’s have Eddie just be a total DILF since in every Spiderman cartoon his already ripped enough.

Peter’s ultimate enemies being Jefferson Davis and Rio Morales, newly promoted police chief who hounds Spidey by night and PTA president who is always up on Peter by day about helping organize events and to make sure kids are being supported in the classroom.

And just because the majority of the fanbase right now is still hung up on MCU, let’s have the Avengers trying to recruit Spider-man. Specifically, Tony Stark who knows Spidey is a smart guy and isn’t going to take no for an answer, so for some reason Tony Stark is personally funding the Midtown science department and slipping money into Peter’s wallet when he’s not looking. Of course, Pete is an adult now so no “Irondad” shenanigans, just Tony unintentionally making Pete’s life more hectic than it needs to be.

Let’s make it happen Marvel!

[pinkkevlar]

I thought I would be in this camp but a friend of mine who really struggles with emails for mental health reasons has been using it to compose emails to their doctors and well, I started using it in similar situations. It has really helped them with emailing their toxic father to ask for money to pay for medical bills too. It has helped me with drafting scary emails too even if I edit the whole thing. I can do it another way but let’s be honest, we can limit tracking but we can’t eliminate it and participate fully in society as it exists today. Besides, it’s making things more accessible for me and my friends. AI making art and giving bad data is awful but this free access to typing something in that is incoherent and having it come out coherent and just having to edit it, that’s really important for a lot of disabilities. Free unlike most software that does similar. I always see these posts and think of the argument I had when google homes were first a thing and people were telling me just not to get one. I lived in a place with a shit roommate where they could not help me and was quite often falling over and needing to call for help. People suggested life alert but like, I needed a friend, the hospital couldn’t do much for me. Google home allowed for me to live independently safely. So, I got one and then got into argument with someone who said that they were always listening to me and that I could just choose not to have one. Sure, I could but my phone is listening to me too and that allowed me to live alone and not die and do things like check the temperature to see if it’s in an issue or turn on lights. Now, almost everyone I know has a smart speaker, even those who were initially against it for security reasons. Do these technologies track us in scary ways and we don’t know what they are stealing to exist? Yes. Do these technologies seep into society in such a way where we stop noticing them if we are not careful? Yes. Do they provide access to people with disabilities in ways that are imprecievable and remove barriers for many people? Also yes. You are not morally superior for not using this tech. You just have the ability to live without their benefits. 

im a proud "ive never used chat gpt" user btw

[alsjeblieft-zeg]

572 of 2023

survey by chihuahua

1~ What quality do you value most highly in others?

Determination, hard work, being genuine.

2~ Are you more aggressive or mellow?

Neither, or maybe in between.

3~ Who has made the biggest sacrifice for you?

Can't think of anyone, seriously.

4~ Do you take any vitamins or medication?

Yeah, epilepsy medication twice a day. It works as long as I don't trigger myself with caffeine.

5~ Do you want to grow old with someone?

Yup, that's one of the reasons why we married.

7~ What sound is annoying you right now?

Nothing at the moment.

8~ Where was your last vacation to?

We're in Poland right now.

9~ Where was your last car ride to?

One city located about 60 kilometres from the place we're staying in.

10~ Where did you last walk to?

To the cemetery.

11~ What gives you a peaceful feeling?

Sea waves, the sun, the beach, cats purring, overcast, thunderstorms.

12~ Are you a light sleeper?

Seems like that. I remember my dreams most of the time.

13~ When you sleep next to someone who usually falls asleep first?

My husband. He starts snoring before I start falling asleep.

14~ How many people have a piece of your heart?

Too many. I'm full of love.

15~ What do your salt and pepper shakers look like?

We don't use such things.

16~ When was the last time you hurt yourself?

Involuntarily? Not that long ago. Voluntarily? Years ago.

17~ Would you rather live in the city, suburbs or the country?

Suburbs because it's close to the city and close to the country.

18~ Have you ever built something?

Haha yeah. I build trains for living.

19~ Are you more of a maker and giver, or a taker and user?

Maker and giver, definitely.

20~ Do you take naps?

No, it feels like a waste of a day. Unless I'm really tired.

21~ Do you buy holiday gifts early or at the last minute?

Last minute, unless I find something earlier.

22~ Do you laugh when there is no joke and dance when there is no music?

Laugh yes, dance no.

23~ If someone else were to describe you what would you hope they would say?

Funny and caring. And smart.

24~ What is the dirtiest habit you can think of?

Purging ED behaviours? I don't know.

25~ Do you ever need ‘quiet time’?

Yeah, sometimes. But I need to be around people, too.

26~ Do you think it is harder for a parent to outlive their child or for th

?

27~ What was your best find from a flea market, garage sale, ebay or thrift?

I love to go to the flea markets, but I never buy anything there.

28~ What is one selfish thing you tend to do?

Travele by myself.

29~ What kinds of people do you find intimidating?

People who are intimidating. What else is there to say?

30~ Out of everyone you know who has the most unique personality?

My husband. Definitely a unique man.

31~ When do you do your best thinking?

On the toilet. No kidding.

32~ What was a choice that you didn’t want to make but you had to?

I had to put one of my previous cats to sleep. She was very ill.

33~ Have you ever written a letter to a soldier?

Yeah. It's just a detail that I was in a relationship with this soldier. We're still close friends.

34~ What does your favorite coffee mug look like?

That one with the logo of my company on it.

35~ What age do you think it is most difficult to be?

Age doesn't matter when you're chronically ill.

36~ Do you think you could handle a day in jail?

I don't think so. People, ew.

37~ Who is the most overbearing person you know?

Thankfully he's not around anymore.

38~ Have you ever been on a trampoline?

No, but I'm not interested anyway.

39~ What do you use batteries for the most often?

The wireless mouse for my laptop.

40~ Would you prefer to wrap your own presents or have them all gift wrapped?

Answered this so many times already. It's a big challenge for my disabled hand.