#I was trying to decide whether this answer was too negative to post

[oswaldthatendswald]

Hello! I have been enjoying your Cora lives au a lot and wanted to ask a question about it. Feel free to ignore this if it's a bother.

In a recent chapter Shachi thinks about what drowning must be like as a devil fruit user and resolves to never eat one. I was wondering if you subscribed to the belief that he and Penguin are part fishmen, and if that affected his thought process. Or perhaps he was just being particularly empathetic as he seems prone to. :) Just curious!

Damn, this ask totally sent me on a spiral! Thank you very much for sending it. I ended up having a whole discussion about this headcanon with my partner, but I'll spare you the ramblings and cut to my answer.

The short answer is no, I don't subscribe to that belief. I think it's an interesting concept for AUs and I've certainly seen it written well in fics, but it's not a headcanon I find compelling for myself. More on my thoughts below the cut.

I don't want to bash that headcanon at all, and I certainly don't want to discourage anyone else from enjoying it or believing it, so I will add the disclaimer that all this is just my personal thoughts on the matter.

The long answer is that I've never really felt like that headcanon makes sense, both in the world and themes of One Piece. There doesn't seem to be much of a fishmen diaspora-- other than the Sun Pirates and Tom, most fishmen seem to be living on Fishman Island. Those who we do see seem to stick to warmer environments, while Swallow Island is cold and snowy. I find it somewhat implausible that a couple of part-fishmen kids could end up in the cold part of the North Blue, let alone survive.

But on a more thematic level, I don't find that the part-fishmen headcanon does justice to Penguin and Shachi's characters. A major theme in One Piece is that no one is immune to hardship, especially not kids, and the original Heart Pirates are a great microcosm of that theme. There's Law, who has lived through an atrocity and also carries a Devil Fruit people would literally kill for, and Bepo, who is both a Mink and Very Lost, but then we have Penguin and Shachi. They're just a couple of guys, but the world hasn't been any kinder to them. There's no grand reason to their suffering: no government plot or superpowers. But they're suffering is just as genuine as Law and Bepo's. For me, if they are part-fishmen, that really powerful thematic resonance is lost.

The reason for Shachi's bit about Devil Fruits and drowning is actually a lot less profound, I'm afraid. I'm definitely in the camp of thinking that Devil Fruits are super cool and not being able to swim is absolutely a fair trade, but my partner is on the total opposite side. Shachi's take on the loss of swimming is taken from her thoughts on the matter (in her own words: "There is literally no power that would be worth it to me").

I hope this answer wasn't too disappointing. Thank you very much for the ask, it was very thought-provoking!

[yurislilygarden]

ʚїɞ Self Aware! Hazbin Hotel

ʚїɞ Their reaction after becoming self-aware and first thoughts about reader!

ʚїɞ Charlie Morningstar and Vaggie / Part 3!

ʚїɞ Keep in mind English is not my first language, so you may find mistakes!

ʚїɞ Word count: just below 1.2k

ʚїɞ Part 1! (Lucifer and Alastor) Part 2 (Angel Dust and Husk)

ʚїɞ Not me casually posting like it hasn't been months since the 2nd part... ANYWAY... This took WAY too long but it's here!!!! This is shorter than I wanted, but I already knew it would be short as I don't grasp these two too well imo, so I didn't have too much to say here. Probably will rewrite it one day if I ever decide I got better with their characters as I would love for this to be longer <3

Very few characters would notice something wrong on the first watch of the show, but wouldn't realize, nor become self-aware until the 2nd or further watch.

While everyone's reaction would be different with different amounts of stages before total acceptance of the situation, they all would share the first emotion, simple disbelief. They would first need to even process the fact that they're not real, that they were created solely for the purpose of entertaining… something? Someone? In a completely different Universe. That everything that they thought had happened to them before they died didn't actually happen, they were never alive in the first place. Only after that did the emotions and reactions differ. The very first emotion or actual personal reaction would be:

Charlie

Fright, confusion, frustration

Charlie didn't know what to think at first. On one side, she, and everyone else, are 2D characters on a show for fucks sake, but on the other side, you didn't do anything to them. She would be the only one (in hell) to not be outright negative about you, she started out at the neutral zone.

Whether the others were already aware or not, they could notice a change in her behavior for a few days after the situation hits her. To think that the 200+ years that she thought that she was alive was actually a lie, fake, would be a hard fact to swallow. Her being rightfully confused about the situation, many questions filled her head and she had no answers. Like father, like daughter, if you will.

What exactly do you want from them? Can you do something else besides watching them? Do you want to do something more? Would you talk to them directly if you could? Do you-

Yeah, she's like her father in that aspect.

She was curious on just how much would change if they weren't in a show, no, if they had a choice in anything, since they wouldn't exist without the show. The thought may give her nightmares. Could her relationship with her dad be better than what it is? Could she do more for hell? Would her mother still be here and not missing? 

Some frustration could come in early on, as she was already stressed about the hotel, but also trying to keep everyone from being negative about you. While they didn't know much, you didn't show any malicious intent, which in her books was enough to not outright dislike you. She would be pretty close to the negative zone in the first few days, but it would quickly turn to neutral upon knowing she wasn't the only one to know, and being told what little they knew.

She didn't even look for the signs of everything around them being just wrong, she didn't need to. She would just sit there and realize how quiet everything was outside, how many memories that she previously thought she had, seemed to be actually lacking in existence.

As for whether she would be disappointed in herself for not noticing earlier or not, I see two options.

One, she wouldn't be necessarily really disappointed in herself for not noticing, at least not as much as some of the others upon finding out and processing the fact that there were people who noticed before her, but also that there were people who didn't realize after her.

Then there's the second option where I can imagine her being immensely disappointed in herself for not noticing much, much sooner. She’s the princess of hell, she should’ve noticed it! She would be overthinking that if something happened before she became self-aware, she wouldn't have been able to help in any way. She wouldn't be aware of it.

She may have not been the first to notice your presence, but she wasn't the last, which gave her a little bit of comfort either way.

She would be in the “can only watch” team with not much hesitation about it, and in the neutral zone from pretty much the start.

Vaggie

Anger, frustration and hatred

One of the few who would hate you the moment they processed everything. At first, her thoughts weren't the most rational, going off of negative feelings in panic and in general, but what she thought about you didn't change much even after she calmed down. She despised the thought of her, them all, being some bullshit made-up characters for someone to enjoy. She started out in the negative zone with no hesitation. She really tried not to think about the fact that she, none of them, were ever truly alive, that her whole life, existence, was fake to her very core.

After she became self-aware, she tried to find signs she missed before and it pained her when she realized how obvious everything was. She couldn't remember most of the things besides what was showed on the screen for you, the outside of the hotel wasn't filled with screaming 24/7 a day like she thought it was, there wasn't even anyone outside when she looked outside. It was painfully obvious and yet she, none of them, realized it fast enough for her liking.

She would be pissed and assume you like seeing them suffer, because why would you just watch as another character got rid of her eye? Why would you just watch bad things happen and do nothing? It’s frustrating as hell to her that she can’t do shit to you/your form and the only thing she can really do is sit back, observe, and watch as things happen, unable to do anything… ironic, isn’t it?

Unlike Charlie, she would for sure be heavily frustrated and disappointed in herself for not noticing anything earlier, the fact that she wasn't in the first 3 to notice after being told everything didn't help her inner thoughts, especially with how protective she can be.

If she became self-aware before Charlie, she would be unexplainably more protective of her (and others but she would try to not make it as obvious), until her girlfriend became self-aware herself and understood the reason (Charlie would still think its a little bit too much since she would think you were completely harmless to them). She would act in a similar fashion to finding out before Charlie if she were the latter to find out, but her actions wouldn't be as concealed due to the reasons already being known.

Would make her hatred clear whenever they were on the topic of you, or when your butterfly form was around them. Vaggie would throw you a glare the moment she knows you couldn't see her without hesitation. Tried to stab you through your small body or wing with her spear to see if she could (do some damage back) hurt you, only to be disappointed when it just phased right through you.

Vaggie would be on the “only watches but can do more” team, and start out heavily in the negative zone, before, Charlie would get her to the neutral zone with some time.

Notes, comments, and reblogs are greatly appreciated

｡⋆｡˚ ʚ Taglist ɞ ˚｡⋆｡

@laundrybear413 @leathesimp

[howdoesagrapewrites]

You should do one where reader just wants to spend time alone by themselves(whether it be the afternoon or morning) but hobie and pavitr won’t let them

𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙨

Cw: reader x lovesick!Hobie Brown x lovesick!Pavitr Prabhakar, overlooking toxic behavior, touching with dubious consent, oblivious reader, anxious attachment (Pavitr), suggestive, aged-up characters, reader's gender neutral but it is kinda fem aligned, reader knows about the multiverse but it's not clarified if they're a spider person, I already warned this but just want to say that just because the toxic behavior here isn't portrayed as negatively as my others fics doesn't mean I condone it.

Notes: while I was writing the first paragraph I was like "damn I should do this too" and started deep cleaning around my house. This triggered an episode and that's the reason I haven't been posting as much, I was cleaning. I'm actually on a break from cleaning /srs

You prepared everything to have some alone time this afternoon, you cooked your favorite meal, did an everything shower with your favorite products, you cleaned up everything yesterday so you didn't have to do anything today, and after putting on comfy pajamas, you sat on the couch with snacks and a face mask to watch a comfort show.

It was halfway through the fourth episode when you heard noise coming from your room, and see your boyfriends appearing into your living room, even though you told them you wanted to be alone today. You try and give them the benefit of the doubt, and imagine maybe the mission today was extra rough and they needed comfort, or they forgot about your petition, Pavitr had university, being spiderman, reporting to the spider society, Hobie was, well, trying to bash the president's head with a guitar plus the spider society stuff, so yeah, they had busy lives.

"Hello there, looking lovely" Hobie chuckled with his hands on his pockets, probably laughing at your face mask, Pavitr came in for a hug, you accepted, "ohh, self care day? Do you have any extra masks, I can buy us snacks? Wait- mumbattan currency doesn't work here, I forgot, anyways, is there any room left for us?" You moved quietly and smiled to let your boyfriends sit beside you.

It's not like you want them to go, but they do take too much space. Talking about the couch, of course... And maybe about your life a little bit, you loved them, but when you started your long distance relationship (between universes) you thought you'd have just a tad more time to yourself.

You can't concentrate in the show quite as well, thinking about what could make them forget about your you-day and still want to come, why did they always forget? They both seem to have pretty good memory, the zone off for a minutes, fortunately for you, it's the fifth time you watch this episode. Your phone rings and before you can grab it, Hobie picks it up, notices is not a call and hands it to you, it's the timer for your face mask, how kind of him to even set off the alarm to you since it's your day off.

You take the sticky sheet off your face and massage the serum into your skin as you start to walk to the living room, wanting to scratch the itch and address the subject you've had in your mind, you decide to soft launch it.

"Did any of you, read the chat yesterday?"

"Yes, I always do, Hobie does too, why?" Pavitr lies on Hobie's chest and mindlessly scroll through his phone while he answers you

"Then maybe you forgot that today I kinda wanted to be alone, you know, me-time? You also forgot last week, and the week before that..."

Hobie spoke "Sorry 'bout that, 'have bad memory, a flaw of mine, we can leave if we're a bother" it saddened you he saw himself as a bother, he just forgot, we all make mistakes

"Oh, I didn't forget, I just don't want to leave you alone" Pavitr responded with normality, he didn't like having Hobie speak for him, he regularly contradicted him in stuff like this. Hobie laughs and pata his shoulder, he laughed like a joke, so then it was probably a joke, even though you three were dating, they had their own things, so this must be one of them.

You sat down, you were on the right arm of the couch, and Hobie was in the left one, Pavitr was between you both, he didn't seem at all displeased.

You laughed at the show a few times, and a couple minutes in, you feel Pav's hair ticking you, he's sniffing around your neck.

"You smell good, like your regular scent but better, did you tried the body wash I gave you?" You nod and smile at his sweet antics "And your skin, you look radiant, jaanu" he kisses you cheek, then makes a face, scrunching up his nose at the taste, you giggle. "It's supposed to be good for my skin, not be tasty" you say in airy laugh, he pouts, "But I wanted to kiss you", "my lips have no serum" he looks like a kid on Christmas morning and puts dives right into your lips, you expect a quick kiss before going back to your binge-watching (that you'd been looking forward to all week) but he crashes his lips into yours with need, you try to pull away two times before patting his shoulder, Hobie sees this, and now manspreading on the coffee table instead of the couch, he grabs Pavitr's hair and lightly pulls, "give 'em a break, sweetheart" he obediently looks at him, dilated pupils and breath hitched, Hobie's hands traveled to Pavitr's cheek and he nuzzled on it like a cat, "We don't want them to pass out, now, do we?" Hobie's tone is firm, but still has that certain rogueness he always speaks with. Even though Pavitr's mouth isn't on you, he's still mostly on top of you, and his hands don't stop wandering in your sides, pinching playfully at the fat, kneading on your waist, you really wishes you could keep watching your show and then read the book you always say you should read, or organize that messy shelf that keeps stressing you out, but hey, is not like you dislike this, right? "You won't-?" Pavitr asks in a whisper, when Hobie takes his fingers off his mouth "I'll watch for now" his smile makes you bite your lip in excitement, it seems to have a similar effect on Pavitr, who grips your waist harder, and slowly goes to grab your hips, "Keep going?" Hobie asks, deep black eyes set on yours, it makes you flustered. He's asking for consent, he's very nice, and Pavitr did have your consent earlier, it's just he was a little... Excited, it's okay, because he's nice.

You have two very nice boyfriends, even though they're forgetful.

[hyperblue]

Everyday I scroll through your blog just to remember what happiness is.

Also, I did have an actual question or request(?) I suppose, I want, NEED more details about your specific AU with Wendy and Jackie, what fo they enjoy? How often do they fight with their fathers? What do they grow up to be??? You've said before that Jack is scared of his powers, so does this result in him going out and having a 'normal' life? How would that affect his relationships with his family?

Of course you don't have to answer but I am very curious!

hello there!! I'm so glad to hear that you're enjoying my blog, thank you for your kind words 💙

and yes i will gladly answer your questions! this will probably get a bit long, i hope that's okay with you

au's mainly focused on twins when they are around 17-18 (kind of symbolic to tim's age when he cloned them because I'm prosy like that)

one of the main reasons why I've decided to go for twins in this au (aside from being indecisive about whether it should be a boy or a girl) is because it gives me a chance to demonstrate how two people can have same upbringing/surrounding and be influenced by the very same group of people AND still form entirely different perspectives and opinions on certain things. i'm going to use both kids' relationships with kon as one of the clearest examples:

wendy appreciates kon dearly, she thinks very high of him and constantly seeks for his company and attention. on the other hand, as she gets older, it becomes really awkward for her to be around him because she's old enough now to actually understand and pear wiggle the whole "my dad cloned me out of this dead dude's dna without his consent" thing in her head, until she has to stop for a moment and go: "wow. that was So Not Okay of my dad." on top of that she's facing a major identity crisis because you know, teens, and starts to question her own existence and even tim's love for her, because she can't be sure now if he actually loves her or if she's just a good enough replacement of what her dad could have loved, but never got an actual chance. which eventually leads to her bottling up lots of anger towards tim, because obviously it's his fault that she can't look kon in the eyes anymore, and none of this would've happened if he just had his shit together and didn't try to clone kon all those years ago (and she's not even entirely wrong)

what she CAN'T fathom just yet is the fact that she loves kon so much partly because she got to see him through tim's eyes; part of her affection for kon is deeply rooted in a way tim spoke about him when she was a kid, always loving, always in awe — essentially, tim was the first person who taught wendy the concept and the feeling of love. and even her awkwardness and guilt that she's experiencing around kon are inherited from tim; she's just mirroring her dad's own feelings about himself without even realizing it

jackie, on the other hand... it would be easy to say that he's just not as close with kon as his sister, but when you start to look at the reasons, well, it gets a little bit messy. you see, jackie was always a "daddy's boy"; he and tim were inseparable when jackie was a kid, they still are, actually, it's just that tim only now starts to realize negative side effects of their closeness but that's for another post. not only that, he's also much more... observant than wendy in a lot of ways, so while wendy was soaking in tim's affection for kon as a sponge to eventually make it her own, jackie couldn't help but notice how hard it was for his dad to have kon in his life only as a co-parent and nothing more (they've bended their friendship as years went by, but it was never easy for both of them); not to mention that tim, to this day, experiences a very severe depressive episodes, to the point of not being able to get out of bed — jackie was very affected by it too growing up. so to him, as of now, it doesn't make sense for kon to stick around and be his usual "weekend dad" if he's not willing to stay forever, and he's kind of resentful towards kon, because he always felt sorry for tim in this situation. not that he doesn't understand why exactly it's the way that it is, it's just that his philosophy on that matter is: if you can't stay forever, do not bother visiting us at all, and stop giving dad any hope for more. jackie's anxiety regarding his kryptonian powers also does not help at all, more on that later

(got carried away with this, sorry, i just had to take this opportunity to explain why there are twins in my timkon clone baby au)

so about the kids, wendy is a rebellious soul and free spirit, and her interests really show that about her — she's been horse riding since she was five, tim was a bit hesitant about it at first, but with damian's help they managed to convince him that everything is going to be okay; damian has also bought wendy her own horse, the one she's connected with in her equestrian club (damian is her favorite uncle ever since; she did not let him call her horse a "Bathourse", tho). aside from that she plays guitar just a little, tim's also tried to teach her piano but ended up failing miserably; he also wasn't able to pass on to her his music taste, wendy is almost strictly a pop girl. she's not really good at photography from professional point of view, but she almost always has her little digital camera with her to take snapshots of memories

(she's also really into true crime videos/podcasts, it's one of the activities that she likes to share with her dad; most times after a fight with tim, if she wants to make up or apologize, she just sneaks into his office and starts playing random true crime youtube video at full volume)

jackie doesn't really have a "main" interest or hobby, even though he's passionate about a lot of things, some of them include: art (because damian), sports (although he's not playing himself), cars (because tim), photography (once again, tim), also I'm pretty sure he's good at math — a little bit of this, a little bit of that, as he himself would say. it could create a major problem for him to choose between college programs if he hadn't already decided that he is going to inherit drake industries, so business it is. tim actually had a whole conversation with him, like, "are you SURE that's what you want," resulting in jackie just. shrugging his shoulders, because it's just about as good as any other choice; not that he has some big, special dream anyway. also i think that he probably skipped a class (wendy did not; she's not too excited about going to college)

speaking about jackie being scared of his powers, it's most likely the result of an accident/series of accidents from his childhood when he unwillingly hurt tim or demolished something during tantrums (he used to throw them a lot when he was younger); kon has offered his help at figuring out how to control it, of course, but if for wendy it was existing and she wanted to get even stronger and make more progress, for jackie it was always about keeping it at bay so to not hurt anyone else. he never really wanted to become a vigilante either, which is good enough for tim because he's worried enough about wendy rushing to the field; he's as close at being a civilian as you can possibly get while growing up with bats and having a kryptonian dad. mostly it's a relief for his family ("at least one of us is going to graduate college"), although wendy can't stop bugging him about joining in and being the coolest vigilante twins gotham has ever seen. it's a bit isolating for him, sure, considering that everyone in his family is a superhero of some sort, but with tim mostly being a stay at home dad and only managing comms every once in a while it turned out better than it could

it DID get long, and i start to lose the train of thoughts; nevertheless, i hope you'll enjoy this answer 💙 feel free to ask more about them, I'm always up to chatting about my babies

[velvetvexations]

But they still use the n-word, anon. They still use the n-word. Yet you think that years and years ago they were so worried about being "challenged" on grounds of transphobia ("transmisogyny" was not in widespread use at the time) that they felt the need to change their language? Even though they still, to this day, use the n-word.

You're an idiot.

And yes, actually, GNC boys who present in a feminine matter does affect things! You can't seriously pretend that every single depiction of an AMAB person wearing women's clothing could only ever possibly be a trans woman or based on trans women. That's not only ahistorical and erases real people right in front of you, but it also gets fucking racist as hell when you start imposing that view on other countries. Did you know, for instance, that "kathoey", the term "ladyboy" is a translation of, is generally used by people who self-identify as men? Because I'm guessing the answer is "no."

Femboys are and have always been a thing, stop fucking erasing them and appropriating their language just because you desperately want the world to revolve around you.

So many young trans girls are going to come out of this traumatized from the dooming, isolated and potentially trapped in abusive relationships because they'd been indoctrinated into the belief that only other trans women will ever love and support them.

The problem is that it has "fab" in there, so they can't do it like they're trying to do with femboy because it inherently points to "TMEs."

(2/2 ana mardoll) i really dont mind when trans women genuinely criticize specific terrible shit that a trans man has actually done, and mardoll has always been a fucking loser who does all the stereotypical negative shit that people tend to act like trans men do. i just wish people would not act like its standard behavior to be like that and judge us all on the basis of the worst of our community lmao. this is behavior that goes both ways tho, trans men judge trans women like this too. idk lol

The person I've seen most accused of being a ringleader was Neon Yang, who was definitely not that even though they contributed. The one I most remember was the trans woman who said something to the effect of "yeah well it didn't sound like the author was trans so I was completely justified actually" and that drives me up a wall because the transradfem girlies are going to lose their mind when I post the first chapter of Nursed with Kerosine.

I have to answer them mostly in batches, with a few exceptions, because I get so many.

@ratbastarddotfuck

Imagine if everyone just decided to start saying a PoC who votes Republican is white.

It's going to be difficult for them to ever actually make a callout post for me because they can screenshot my takes but there will never be a single piece of evidence that I've ever harassed anyone and they know it.

It's not just about taking it seriously, but it's extremely repellent just as content and can be severely triggering, which it would have been for me if I hadn't watched it when I was a teenager before The Deeplore Trauma settled into my bones. I don't think I can even get into the later stuff now because of the association.

But fuck me gently with a chainsaw, everything else about it should be immensely cool and it sucks it's not in something that isn't weighed down by that.

Explicitly using dysphoria as a plot point like that is interesting and does sound like good fuel for a transfem headcanon.

No, it isn't, the only thing being discussed is whether he fits the criteria for "TMA" or not, and he does.

Buffalo Bill is not a stereotype of trans women, and in fact I applaud and deeply appreciate the author for making that crystal clear and treating trans people with great respect and sympathy for the time in which it was written, but he became the model for a stereotype of trans women that transphobes have taken and ran with since the day the the movie came out.

[imonlyanangel]

🪷 Manifesting Success 🪷

The most recent thing I manifested was self confidence! In this post I'll go over what worked for me.

I've successfully manifested several things in the past, but not nearly at the speed I would've liked to. There were months and months without success. I started to consider why- was I focusing on the 3D too much?? Was I engaging with negative, doubtful thoughts, or believing negative comments from others? How was my trust in myself?

Sure, sometimes I focus too much on the 3D, but I always catch myself. I've had some doubtful intrusive thoughts, but I always catch myself. I've over consumed at times, but I always catch myself. I'm human, and I'm still fairly new to learning how to manifest. None of these slip ups are a big deal! None of them can really affect my ability to manifest unless I allow them to. Unless I assume that they do.

The real reason I was struggling to manifest was this: I had a fear of being seen. A fear of being myself where others could see. A fear of succeeding in front of others. How can I successfully manifest if I'm afraid of success? How can I bring my reality into light if I only feel safe in the dark?

Self-confidence has been a struggle for me nearly my entire life. I've worked on improving it, but there was little progress over the course of my life. I didn't talk to people, or share my thoughts with family. I couldn't make decisions. I couldn't just be without being scared I was doing it wrong.

When I realized that this pervasive fear was keeping me from manifesting my desires, I made a decision. I wasn't going to work on manifesting anything else until I successfully manifested confidence in myself.

I tore a scrap of paper from my bedside notebook and wrote down an affirmation to stick under my pillow. All I wrote was: I always feel amazing about myself- I am overflowing with confidence. <3 I had read that the pillow method takes 7-10 days at most to manifest your desires. I wrote this down on the other side of the paper, and decided that it wouldn't take me more than a week to manifest it.

Before I fell asleep each night, I recited the affirmation in my mind. Some nights I only did it once, sometimes 2-3x. I imagined feeling like a pillar. Feeling upright, tall, visible, and strong. I imagined the heaviness and tension that came with being seen disappearing. I imagined feeling amazing about myself, or how it would feel to be confident all the time. I did this for 7 days in a row.

It didn't take me 7 days to notice a change!! The first morning I woke up after doing that was different. I was different. I went after what I wanted that day with no regard for whether or not I was being perceived. Since I started I've noticed many changes in behavior that have almost all felt natural to me. Sometimes I got nervous, but I had the confidence in myself to push through it.

Instead of shying away from looking at my face or my body in the mirror, I smile genuinely every time I see myself. Sometimes I catch myself thinking "wow, I am so f*cking pretty!" Now I intentionally make a comment about my confidence or my beauty every time I look in a mirror while washing my hands. I'm so confident. I feel amazing about myself today. I love the way I look. Complimenting myself in the mirror worked wonders and I recommend it 100%!!

Changes since I started manifesting confidence:

Engaged in my hobbies in front of others

Deep cleaned my room

Wore what I wanted

Voiced my opinion in family discussion

Decided to do a social media fast for a week

Made purchases to start a hobby I've always wanted to try (and started said hobby)

Had a difficult conversation with my mom that I was avoiding

Answered a phone call from a girl I've hardly ever spoken to, and we enjoyed talking for over an hour

Started decorating my room

Went out to eat (at a buffet) and chatted with a relative that I am not familiar with

This post! Whether anonymous or public, I've never posted or commented on social media till now, because I was too nervous.

All of these things are huge compared to where I was at two weeks ago. Some, maybe all of these things, would be small to others. But to me, especially with consideration for my neurotype and mental health, these are big steps of progress.

Am I the most confident, outspoken, assertive woman in the world? Not yet. But I improved so much in just a week. My sister noticed I was in a better mood every morning since the day I started. My mom has been complimenting me more often because of the difference in my countenance. My family noticed behavioral changes within 2 days.

I've been happy, and so much more confident. I have had more enthusiasm for life and for growth. And it doesn't take me more than 5 minutes a night. I will continue using this method of manifesting! I've already started a new affirmation.

XOXO,

Evangeline

[incarnadinedreams]

I frequently see people saying that the list of traits Jiang Cheng gave to the matchmaker are "impossible standards", ridiculous, unreasonable, outlandish, absurd, nobody could ever possibly meet them, etc.

Anyway the translation that's up on the wiki is:

His requirements in his partner are: naturally beautiful, graceful and obedient, hard-working and thrifty, coming from a respected family, cultivation level not too high, personality not too strong, not too talkative, voice not too loud and must treat Jin Ling nicely.

First off, the list comes from a random trivia answer MXTX gave in an interview, not the novel canon. So whether you even consider it canon at all is up for grabs to begin with. Though I think there was a scene in CQL with a similar list so it would be canon there, minus the Jin Ling point (due to the point in the story the scene was set)? (So I believe the matchmaker blacklisting point still wouldn't be CQL canon though, just the list?)

But if you do take it all as a Super Serious Canon Thing, well... to be honest I just don't think that list is at all unusual, given the setting? I believe many of the points in the list are just traits considered generally good for ladies of the time period (intentionally vague as that time period may be). (I am absolutely not an expert though so please correct me if I'm wrong about that.)

To me it seems that it's not that they're unusually high or unattainable standards, they're just so generic that they're sort of unhelpful. That he has like no idea what he wants at all outside what he's supposed to want.

The only points that actually seem to have any specificity are things like cultivation level not too high. Which some people could interpret negatively, and fair enough. But personally to me that seemed more like a flashing neon sign of 'please someone not like my mother', given her strength in cultivation was one of her defining traits (and something that he may have felt led to her disappointment in him). Even though Jiang Cheng may carry forward some of her traits himself (for better and for worse; this is not a YZY hate zone but there's... a lot there), he does seem to have at least given some thought to choosing a partner to counter some of the pain points of his own childhood and aim for something different (and we see him trying to do that himself in specific ways as well, like his staunch support of Jin Ling when he was crying after the Second Siege, even if he doesn't always fully succeed).

And, of course, 'must treat Jin Ling nicely'. Which seems obvious and not like a big deal at first, but I think actually could reasonably be a big sticking point in a potential marriage. My understanding is that he was wildly more involved in Jin Ling's life than a maternal uncle would normally be. Including this as a specific requirement seems to send a particular type of statement, as if it was important to him that any potential match would not take offense to him treating an orphaned child that wasn't his with a lot of attention and gifts and favor... hmmm, how could he have possibly decided that could be a problem in a marriage...?

(Obviously, the scenario would be very different than his parents' - none of the salacious rumors and the humiliation that came with them that really drove a deeper wedge between YZY and JFM - but he was obviously going to be doing a lot more for Jin Ling than an average uncle so it makes sense to have that be a specific point upfront.)

I'm ultimately in the 'it was MXTX making a joke and not meant to be taken nearly this seriously' with a side of 'the clan leaders of this generation aren't in a hurry to get married because MXTX just didn't feel like writing their wives in and also it was funny' camp so I think there's a limit to how much insight can be gleaned from this, you know? It is fun to play with it in-universe and explore the implications on the society and political system going forward in the decades post-canon, but I do try to keep myself from taking it too seriously when it's clearly not a well-thought-out plot point or anything, just a fun offhand jokey trivia bit.

But I like the vibes of it all well enough to accept it as 'semi-canon' or 'canon enough' for myself anyway because I think the 'must treat Jin Ling nicely' point is cute and the rest is just standard for the setting and the blacklisted by matchmakers part is funny, and I'm much more willing to subsume random bits from interviews into my brain's blorbo blob if it's something funny.

[fruitgummies01]

Just a question out of curiosity.....That you said you became BTS's fan after jhope was already Enlisted which probably means after 18th April 2023 and initially you were kinda in tkkrs space as in u saw more of their content cause of algorithms or wtv So how did you become jikook's fan? What i mean is in 2023 there isn't much of jikook seen together like in all previous years, because previous yrs it's like jikook were attached at the hip compared to that they weren't really seen together much and i guess even after April 2023 there's Taekook appearances here and there too so without having much of jikook content at hand how did you thought that they were probably closer than others?

This is just a question out of curiosity cause honestly i thought that most of the people who would join around 2022-23 will always have this impression of jikook that they're just co-workers who work for the same band and nothing else lol. Not like antis don't try to spread that agenda everywhere since forever.

Hmmmm. I'm deciding whether to make this a long or short post haha, because I really have so much to say about this. When I first started getting into BTS there was just soooo much content, but one of the things that would constantly and consistently come up with be tkk content. And I don't even mean in the shipping sense (at least not at first). Large update accounts would post about them frequently, and almost all if not most posts would be about them under any content. It was like BTS as a group and then tkk, those were the two things that I was seeing on a regular basis. Being a new person to the fandom, you take what you see at face value, especially if so many big accounts seem to be cosigning what is being said (and again based on what you said, because there was a lack of any jikook content, a lot of people just weren't pushing back on a lot of things that were being pushed). . And because the algorithim is what it is, I started getting recommended tkk videos. And again because I didn't know any better, I would watch them and that again would shape my opinions of the other members without fully knowing it. I started to believe that tkk was the foundational friendship/rs/whatever you wanna call it ship within the group that everything pretty much revolved around if that makes.

Looking back on it, a lot of the videos that I would watch to get myself acquainted with the group painted Jimin as the one being all over Jungkook and not respecting his personal space and wanting attention, and they used (what I would find out later) to be manipulated videos or videos taken out of context. So I began to form these somewhat negative opinions of Jimin (which is ironic because he is now my bias).

But to answer your question, how did I become a fan of jikook, it sorta happened in stages. I already had in the back of my mind when I would watch compilation videos of BTS, that I really wasn't seeing any um, emotional chemistry between tkk (that's another story), but I over looked it because I just figured it was because I was new. I think I mentioned this before, but Tae being seen with Jennie in Paris was a HUGE eye opener. And honestly, I might still be wrapped up in that side of the fandom had that moment not happened. But I'm so thankful it did, because it allowed me to see with my own eyes, in real time just how they lied and gaslighted fans into believing that the whole thing never happened by making up these wild theories. That people just believed without any pushback, and how that information was just parroted back to other people in this sort of weird circle. My brain just isn't wired like that, so I stopped watching those compilation videos and edits because I realized none of those people were reliable (no offense), and went back to watch all official content (that actually painted a completely different picture).

Watching Jungkook's weverse lives played a big part in changing my opinion on Jikook and Jimin. That man would bring him up without fans having to say anything, and be happy to talk about him. And what's apparent about Jungkook in getting to know him, is he never fakes anything, so if he's talking about him, it means something to him. Both Jimin and Jungkook would also say things insinuating that they had watched the other's weverse lives, which I thought was interesting. That weverse live with JK in bed trying to entice Jimin to do a live was also another turning point. I still laugh thinking about JK saying he would take his stuff to wash up AT Jimin's house, when he could've just done so BEFORE leaving. JK was on a mission that morning haha.

I should say after all this lol, that I am still not 100% sold that they are in an actual romantic relationship. I see A LOT of signs that point in that direction, but with cultural differences anything could be possible. I do see a beautiful and deep bond, especially with these AYS episodes and them enlisting together right afterwards. Even though they were planning to spend every day together for 18 months, they still carved out time in their insanely busy schedules to spend even more time together filming AYS. Regardless of what their labels are, it's clear that they are both priorities in each others lives. I think they both need each other in real ways that are very different from the ways they need the other members. I wrote a lot so I'll stop here, but I could go on, but won't haha.

[lotus-ashi]

Amorra week 2024. Day 1: Hope/Resistance

This shit is perhaps the most corny thing I've written in a long time... It was posted on ao3, too. :) Enjoy! @amorraweek2023

.

On the occasion Korra told him she was having his child Noatak felt as if all the air abandoned his lungs and his heartbeat stopped for a second. The news would have made anyone smile on joy or at least thank the spirits for their blessing.  

But he was no common man and Korra knew that. Perhaps that’s why she granted him some space, although her lips pressing together, and her elusive gaze gave away how much his reaction had disheartened her.  

There was a time in which knocking her up crossed his mind. At the time, he was her jailer, and she was his to do as he pleased. So, it didn’t come as a surprise the possibility of her carrying his heir to maintain the equalist movement. Ultimately, the balance of power shifted to the other side and Korra regained her freedom. Why she chose to stick with him was still a mystery to him. In any case, she liked to remind him she loved him every night.

Forgetting for a moment his defeat to the Avatar, Noatak was sure he had no motives to experience fear in all his life, not since the day he gathered enough courage to bloodbend Yakone. But the prospect of actually becoming a father felt as if he were at the border of an endless cliff, the water waiting for him from below being a turbulent whirlwind of emotions.

Terror, sadness, bitterness, spite, hatred.

He didn’t want to turn into an abusive monster like his father, dehumanizing his children to use them as weapons and tools of revenge. In the long term, Tarrlok ended up dead for that, also he still felt guilty for the pain he inflicted on Korra when he was incapable of seeing her like more than the Avatar, even if he didn’t admit it very often.

That night Noatak couldn’t fall asleep. For hours he shifted his gaze from the walls to the ceiling, until he had enough and decided to fix his eyes on his wife’s sleeping form. She looked cute, even if her disarranged position and snoring were not exactly ladylike, and he allowed himself to smile tiredly and place a hand on her belly. If he still had his bending, he could have perceived the tiny heartbeat, however, it was nice just to caress Korra’s little tummy and turn off his negative thoughts for a while.

Whether he was capable of pulling himself together or not, the arrival of a son or daughter of his was a matter of fact. It was up to him if he would still give the past the power to shape his future. Noatak didn’t want to feel like a prisoner of fate, with the path already traced by his tyrannical father. Among the fear and his concerns, a warmer emotion bloomed in his chest. A part of him craved to do things better than his predecessor, to make a real change and teach his child that bending, if he or she was born a bender, comes with responsibilities, that water was meant to heal, not to hurt.

Sensing Korra started stirring, he was pulled out of his reverie and moved back a little to give her some space. For several seconds they just stared at each other, it was kind of embarrassing getting caught with his hand over his lower belly and, on her part, awakening in such an arrangement. Then, she blushed, and he felt more confident about his prior musings.

Korra was going to be a loving mother, he was sure of that. So, why couldn’t he? He had enough motives to feel hope, even though that sort of emotion was a dangerous thing for a man like him to have.

“Korra, thank you.” He uttered. Before she could come up with an answer, he pulled her into his arms and cradled her against his chest.

Taken aback by his words, she let out a sleepy giggle, sinking into the warmth of his embrace. But still, it was too early, and being so bad at the task of waking up on the first try, she only could summon enough energy to raise her face and place a chaste kiss on his cheek.

“I love you, too, oldie. Just let me sleep a bit more.”

[bean-spring]

My take on 2x06 & jealous Brett because I just remembered I have social media and I can tell this stuff to people other than my fiance

Inside job s2 spoilers / Breagan my beloved / PLEASE DO NOT REPLY WITH HATE i can't stand negativity

- My overall take because I am a very organized person (I am not)

Whether I liked the episode or not really depends on the actual meaning behind it. The plot and structure were excellent! Ron and Brett's little rivalry was hilarious and I felt Reagan's anxiety all the damn time. I really enjoyed it and I always appreciate Andre's screentime <3 However, there is some stuff that just... Doesn't make sense? The ending is what I would call... Not rushed, per se, but forced.

I found the episode funny and cool (and stressful if you relate to Reagan or Brett in any way) and really worth it! But that's it. It's like they were trying to build a really sad and shocking climax for Reagan's relationship with Ron, but using a filler episode as the conductor. The whole episode focuses on Brett and his negative feelings towards Ron to end up with Ron and Reagan taking a break from each other. Which is not a bad way to focus on the story, but I feel like if they wanted us to focus on Reagan and Ron ONLY they would've made the episode only about them, and make the Brett/Ron argument shorter and less crucial for the plot.

I also feel like the conclusion (Ron deciding that maybe work is too dangerous for them) makes sense! But Reagan's? She says something about balancing work and their relatioship, and it makes sense too, but they don't really show how work affects their relationship in specific.

Another thing that just feels odd to me is Brett's behavior. Of course, this whole post is to defend my view as a Breagan shipper and you might think that I'm just gaslighting manipulating girlbossing you into thinking he was jealous, but I couldn't care less about people's opinions (that's a lie, I kin Brett). I genuinely think Brett was acting weird and definitely not in character if it's meant to be seen as only platonic. I didn't even ship Breagan this much until I finished the season and without having them in mind I still thought he was acting a bit too strange.

Aside from the ending and Brett's behavior (which I will address now), the episode is really good! One of my favorites for sure, and it's not even because Andre has more than three lines (It really makes a difference, though).

- The ending and how it made my girl Reags dirty

Let's start off with the ending, just like when you find an interesting movie on TV but you're too tired to watch it from the beginning so you just enjoy what's left without context!

Ron's conclusion makes sense, but Reagan's "We will find a way to balance our lives and jobs" just... Doesn't. You may not agree with me about Brett being jealous, but this is something that's been bothering me for a while and I know I'm right.

Ron decides, after being chased by his girlfriend's coworkers, realizing that her BFF doesn't like him and that Cognito is darker than he thought, that it's not a good idea to mix work and love. Which is fair, to be honest. He literally saw clones of Hitler and organs of babies, like, I wouldn't feel safe there either.

But it's not what Ron thinks about Cognito and work that bothers me, because nobody would want their girlfriend working there. What he thinks is completely valid and although I didn't like the fact that he ghosted Reags (dude just text her my girl was literally begging you for a proper answer), he has the right to want to step out from that world. What truly makes me angry is Reagan's search for the perfect reality in the last episode.

I know what's the point they were trying to make: Reagan is a workaholic and wouldn't be able to keep a stable relationship with Ron.

Which makes a lot of sense and it's not out of character at all! God knows Reags has been obsessed with Cognito and being the boss and changing the world for forever. But the show doesn't give us an explicit example of that.

I know. We aren't dumb. We read between the lines. We get Reagan. It's inside the subtext and her entire persona. Easy to see, easy to understand, doesn't need to be explicit.

This argument would work if it wasn't because there's no subtext! We don't see (not even ONCE) how work is more important for Reagan than Ron. In fact, it's the opposite. Every time she has to choose between work and love, she chooses love:

Date with Ron >> Their mission in Rome -> Rome on fire

Desperately trying to convince Ron to work for Cognito and forgetting about actual work to a point where you would think she wouldn't get anything done if Ron was there with her -> Zombie apocalyspe (that was on Brett but she was the one forcing him to get along with Ron so-)

Being scared to lose Ron in one of the timlines >> Actually saving the timeline (by this I don't mean she didn't care about the timline and the others, but she was pretty much focused on not losing Ron. Which is valid and pretty damn romantic so go girl!!!)

(This is not Reagan slander, by the way! She's been through A LOT and deserves to be selfish. I support women's rights but most importantly I support women's wrongs!)

So how the hell my girl (at the end of ep 6) gets to the conclusion that they couldn't balance both things? She was doing pretty well until the Halloween party, and it didn't even get in between their relationship, it just proved Ron's point about the work not being safe. Which, again, makes sense, but doesn't really get in between their lives in the same way the last episode says.

Episode 6: Work is dangerous and it gets in between our relationship. We have proof. Here's a whole episode putting Ron in danger to prove it.

Episode 8: Work gets in between our relationship because Reagan would put work first. Which makes sense due to her personality, but we've been proving otherwise the whole damn season!

Just stick with one reason or develop both of them but don't change them!!!!

We suppose Reagan would be a workaholic girlfriend if Ron worked there due to her personality and ambition, but we don't actually see it? And it's not really that important and y'all must be thinking I'm reading too much into it, but I just think an explicit confirmation of Reags caring more about work than for Ron would've been great. The different realities in which she treats him like shit aren't out of character but feel odd, considering that she's been choosing him over work multiple times this season. Man, just a little tiny example I'm not asking for much.

Maybe it would've been different if she hadn't gotten that promotion. Maybe she would've been happy with Ron. I know those realities are focused on the possibility of changing the world she didn't have before Ron asked her to move in together, but... I don't know. As if she didn't care for her job before the promotion, y'know?

Basically, for me the whole workaholic thing appears out of nowhere and doesn't make sense with the Ron/Reags dyamic we've seen.

And this whole thing is connected to episode 6 because I think that episode would've been a great moment to introduce both points of view: Reagan prioritizing work and Ron not finding their jobs safe enough.

- The writers' decision and how I would've written the episode because I apparently have too much free time in class to think about this

The episode is great, but I don't understand why Brett is the protagonist here. If the conclusion is meant to be about Reagan and Ron taking a break from each other and asking THE question ("Is work getting in between our relationship?"), why is Brett the one we focus on through the episode?

If it's meant to be just a slight dislike and just not getting along with Ron, why is it so damn crucial to the plot? It's not just Brett wanting to be friends with Ron in a silly, little, sitcomy way. It's Brett wondering WHY he feels like that towards Ron. It's Brett wanting to support his BFF's boyfriend but not being able to do it for no reason whatsoever. It's literally Brett provoking the reason why Ron decides to take a break from Reagan.

Whether it is meant to be romantic or platonic, Brett is technically the reason why Ron acts like that in the end. He even makes a whole zombie apocalypse happen! Just because he didn't like Ron! C'mon it's absurd to think that's strictly platonic. This plot has been going on for years in thousand of different sitcoms: F/M best friends! One starts dating someone! The other doesn't like them! They don't know why! Wow, turns out they were in love the whole time and didn't realize they were jealous.

Classic trope for best friends to lovers.

But yeah, let's say it's platonic. Let's say Brett's reaction to Ron is just a silly plot device to make the guy realize Cognito is dangerous and even the simplest guy with the most innocent intentions could cause an apocalypse.

Why make the episode focus on Brett, then? If his feelings for Ron aren't that related to his relationship with Reags, why are those the ones to make them question their rellationship?

If it's just platonic then I find the episode a bit unnecessary.

If they wanted to show us how work affects them, and not only Brett, why wouldn't they make an episode about that in specific? It isn't that hard.

I personally would've kept the same plot: Reagan trying to convince Ron to work for Cognito using the team's opinions and views on their work!

They go to Brett and everything's the same. They don't get along. It's uncomfortable. But it stays there. Brett makes some comments about how fun it is to work for Cognito but accidentally reveals how dangerous it is, and Ron starts getting a bit worried and confused because... Where the hell has been his girlfriend working?

Then they go to Andre, Gigi, Glenn, Myc... Basically, individual meetings with each. Funny sketches. All of them fuck everything up by talking about work and how it actually is and Ron gets scared with every experience he hears.

And meanwhile, Reagan gets caught up with work! There's drama everywhere! Something something someone died. Something something the Hitler clones scaped. Something something Kanye West is a nazi now and we need to end him. Something somehing zombie apocalypse.

That way we see Reagan sort of neglecting her relationship with Ron because of work, and Ron realizing how dangerous it is.

It doesn't need to be all about Brett. At all. The ending is still the same.

So why would they make Brett the main plot point, wondering why he acts the way he does, if not to be important later? Not to mention that his character is reduced to this from this episode to the end.

- Reasons why Brett could dislike Ron and why I think they don't make sense bc this dude would get along with fucking Mussolini

"Ron made fun of Brett's interests and was lowkey mean to him!"

Brett is a pathological people pleaser, and as the pathological people pleaser I am I can confirm that that wasn't the reason why he disliked Ron. Brett likes everyone. Everyone. No matter what they do. It's not even... Like, like. It's just having to see the best in everyone because he wants to be able to get along with them so they don't hate him.

Making fun of his favorite music? Drinks? Comedian? That's soft compared to what half of the people he knows say to him. Literally you could meet him for the first time, tell him that Friends is a shitty sitcom and he would literally tell you that you're right and then cry while watching the finale.

He's constantly putting other people first and swallowing his opinions and pride, so why not sharing the same opinions as Ron would make him dislike him? It doesn't make any sense.

Besides, Ron wasn't even mean or intentionally hurting Brett. And even if he had been, Brett would've probably been the one apologizing, too. He has encountered horrible people through his life and you're telling me that Ron, his best friend's boyfriend, is the one that makes him dislike someone for once? Not buying it. Doesn't make sense.

"Brett is just worried about Reagan."

Literally doesn't make any sense because Ron hasn't shown any signs of being a bad boyfriend. And if that was the case and Brett was just being an overprotevtive best friend, it would've been explicit. There's no need to hide it in the subtext. And it wouldn't even make sense for the last episodes.

"Brett has abandonment issues."

Yeah, this one's true I can't fight against this one. However, it doesn't prove anything. He can have abandonment issues and still be in jealous. It can be both!

"He's just scared of losing his best friend."

Once again, yeah, true. But it doesn't make sense to me! The reason why Brett is so obsessed with Ron is because he can't figure out why he doesn't like him. If it was meant to be platonic they would've just said so explicitly and it wouldn't have been the main plot.

"They just don't have chemistry."

Ron is like a sad boy version of Reagan with religious trauma, there's no reason why Brett wouldn't like him. They do have chemistry! Brett is the sun, Reagan is the moon, and Ron is an eclipse! (not in a bad way like- I hope y'all have seen that friendship dynamics pic because otherwise this doesn't make sense but I swear it's really cute).

They end up having chemistry and getting along! But only because Ron gave Brett a reason to like him, which Brett has never ever needed before.

"It's just a plot device lmfao stop looking this much into it."

Maybe???? But idk I would like to be a screenwriter someday so looking into things a lot is my thing.

- Brett and his people pleaser soul slowly breaking through the episode

Canonically, Ron is the first person Brett has ever disliked. Which might be an exageration because this boy tends to say stuff like this a lot, but as far as we know it's canon. So, having that in mind, we know that Ron is actually the first person to make Brett panic over not liking someone.

It's completely normal, he just wants to make Reagan happy. Everything he does is for Reagan. Can we PLEASE remember that he's doing this for Reagan? Because I think we don't talk about it enough.

The thing about Brett not liking Ron is that Brett doesn't know why he dislikes him...

Despite being a horrible father and boss, Brett likes Rand! We've seen them interacting or, well, at least we haven't seen Brett hating him. Brett likes Myc despite being a total asshole to him and the others, and he probably is the only one (except Andre) that considers Myc to be a real friend. For literal no reason. Brett still likes his bullies. He likes his shitty family. He liked Reagan although she treated him like shit in the first episode.

And maybe it's not like, like. But it's enough to make him have a normal life with them and be able to to be of service for their approval (istg this guy's just like me fr).

So why's this any different with Ron? Maybe the writers were just trying to make this a plot device and forgot about Brett's inability to hate people. But is that really what happened? Why make it the main plot of the episode, then?

And why make Brett ask himself why he didn't like Ron?

If it was because of not sharing interests or being mean or whatever (something tangible) it would've been obvious. But he spends the episode asking himself that. It's not just a silly little dynamic, it's Brett actively wondering why he doesn't like his best friend's boyfriend.

In fact, the first time he finds out about Reagan being with someone else he's excited for her! He's happy! And I don't want to project my neurodivergency on him, but maybe the fact that Ron was just an idea and not someone tangible for him yet made him unable to picture him as a threat. And when he truly is there, he finally has someone to be jealous of.

He ends up having a soft spot for Ron, but it's only because he explicitly gave him a reason to like him. And then the last two episodes his whole character is reduced to missing Reagan, projecting on a golden retriever they have to kill, and sacrificing his happiness for Reagan's.

Yeah, totally platonic! As if this clearly wasn't the same exact plot of every romantic comedy to ever exist.

-B plot and parallelisms through the season because I've rewatched this like three times already since it came out. I need therapy. Please help me get out of here.

You thought I had forgotten about Rand's plot??? Well, jokes on you, I was waiting for the parallelisms!

I couldn't care less about the B plot in this episode. If I'm being honest I found it funny but didn't really understand the reason behind it until the last episode and after rewatching it a couple of times.

B plots are often meant to be the juxtaposition between character arcs, parallelisms or just funny little stories to make the main one softer. This time it's the three of them.

Basically, two boys fighting for a girl. That's it. That's like the whole plot. Tamiko comes to the conclusion that work is what made Rand such a shitty and crazy person. Do I really need to say more? Like I'm genuinely tired of writing and the parallelisms with this subplot are pretty much obvious.

Then we have more parallelisms in the finale!

"I had everything. I had my job, I had power. I know it's a fucking cliché, but it's true. You don't know what matters most until you lose it." - Rand about Tamiko and Reagan, 2x07

Brett is well aware of how much he loves Reagan, but maybe not in what way exactly. Her dating someone else might just be that thing that tells him: "Yes. This is it. You're losing her forever. She's gonna move out and be with another man and you're going to be abandoned again. She doesn't love you as much." And I don't know if they're going to keep up with this thing next season, but it wouldn't be weird to follow this statement.

Although I know this quote is meant to be about Reagan and Ron and probably about her regretting not moving with him next season, so the Brett thing is just a theory.

"You can't just hit a button over and over and expect a relationship to go back to the way it was. And I know it's scary to give up control." - Reagan about her parents and her and Ron, 2x07

Once again, obviously about Reagan and Ron. But would it be crazy to think this could be about Brett too? Like wanting constantly to go back (after finding out about Appletone) to when it was just Reagan and him. Talking to the dog as if he was Reagan. Missing her. Wanting her back. The thing about Brett is that he doesn't hit any buttons to go back because he cares more about Reagan's happiness than for his own. But yeah, I think it makes sense.

"And I got this. All I care about is that you're happy." - Brett to Reagan, 2x08

"And as long as the person you love is happy, maybe you can be happy later." - Reagan about Ron, 2x08

"Thanks for sticking by when no one else did. A good leader wouldn't drag their best friend into their dad's bullshit. I don't know if we'll ever get back to our realities, but I've seen yours and it looks good. If I succeed I'll see you again. But if not... Good luck, Brett." - Reagan to Brett, 2x07

"I searched a thousand lifetimes for the one that would make you happiest. And you'll find it one day. Just... Without me. [...] I'll miss you, Ron, and I know it were possible, you'd miss me too." - Reagan to Ron, 2x08

Do I need to say more or....?

They both parallel each other so damn much- And to be honest, maybe it is unrequited. It probably is unrequited. But it could go both ways someday! Let's be optimistic.

-"I listen to Accidentally in love from the Shrek 2 soundtrack every day!!!!" Brett. Love of my life. Is it the vibes or the lyrics?? IS IT BECAUSE THE VIBES OR THE LYRICS????? ANSWER ME BRETT HAND-

"So, she said, "What's the problem, baby?" What's the problem? I don't know. Well, maybe I'm in love. Think about it. Every time I think about it."

"How much longer will it take to cure this? Just to cure it, 'cause I can't ignore it if it's love. Makes me wanna turn around and face me but I don't know nothing bout love."

The writing team choosing the song Brett could mention while starting an uncomfortable dynamic with his best friend's boyfriend: What about a song about falling in love accidentally and not being able to stop it?

Okay so maybe it's not THAT specific. Maybe they just wanted a silly little song from a silly little movie so people would look at Brett, smirk and say "haha he's just like me fr". But?? Is it really?? As I said I want to be a writer and I wouldn't choose something as important and cool as a character's favorite song (okay maybe not FAVORITE CANON but he loves it so) just for the memes. It has to mean something, c'mon.

-Why I think Breagan wouldn't destroy the show (as some of you say) and actually would make them one of the most powerful couples ever (this has absolutely nothing to do with my love for coworkers to BFFs to lovers)

I do agree with a lot of you: We need more M/F platonic relationships. However... Have you ever considered that Brett and Reagan are just... Not really that platonic anymore? It's not the first time we've seen this. Mostly in sitcoms! Jim and Pam from The Office, Jake and Amy from Brooklyn 99, Nick and Jess from New Girl, I can keep going... And going... I kin Brett I know about sitcoms!

Reagan loved Ron. She truly did. But it's true that he needed a normal life and she was... Midnight rain. Sorry, Taylor Swift reference. But!! Reagan would end up choosing work and it doesn't mean she doesn't love Ron, it's just that work is equally important to her and knew he wouldn't be happy if they stayed together.

But it could work with Brett. it works with Brett. Because if they dated he would understand Reagan's priorities. He would be always there for her. And he wouldn't try to keep her away from danger (he would be worried sick, ofc, and always would be there to help) because he knows Reagan wants that.

They work well together and their dynamic is sweet, a bit cliché and easy to build. Maybe it's the easy path but that doesn't mean it's necessarily bad.

As an aroace person I love platonic dynamics, but maybe this is not the one we need!! Or maybe it is, tbh I couldn't care less because either way I trust the writers to give us a great relationship development, whether it is romantic or platonic. But idk I would like to see more of Reagan with the other guys and Brett with Gigi! Maybe Andre and Gigi? It would be great not to rely on just one platonic friendship.

And by the way, there's also this possibility of them being completely platonic and Brett not being jealous. Maybe he's just a good best friend that feels a bit worried about his friendship and that's all! If you don't agree with my opinion, that's great too! Just respect everyone's points of view on this because I've seen a lot of hate towards breagan shippers and it's a completely harmless ship!! <3

If there's any mistakes just know that english isn't my first language and it's like 3 am here right now-- Thanks for reading!!!! <3

[multiplicity-positivity]

I'm ill informed about DID and the systems, and I had this question in my mind a long time.

Not everyone that goes through trauma end up having a system. How does trauma play a role in whether or not the person becomes plural?

Apologies if my question sounded off putting. I want to learn about DID the best I can!

hey, no worries, we definitely don’t mind answering questions like this.

we’ll try to talk about what we understand wrt the theory of structural dissociation, trauma, and the brain.

those who are plural or a system as a result of a complex dissociative disorder (so did or osdd-1) have systems that formed in similar ways.

as children, we need lots of support and care in order to develop into healthy people. our caregivers need to not only treat us kindly and take care of us, but also teach us crucial skills about the world, like processing negative events and emotional regulation. for many kids, their guardians were able to effectively teach them how to self-regulate and cope with stressful situations, on top of raising them with compassion. so when these kids faced a stressful or difficult event, they were able to process it, seek help from their support network of caregivers and loved ones, and successfully move on from the event. in this way, some kids are traumatized but never develop trauma disorders (like ptsd or did).

unfortunately, not all children are raised with an excellent support system. if a child is never taught how to deal with stressful events, and is repeatedly neglected or exposed to stressful events before their brain has a chance to grow and develop, it can have severe consequences. a consequence that may manifest is structural dissociation.

one way a young child may cope with an overwhelming situation is to disconnect from it entirely. if they are, for example, being abused by someone who they rely on for support, it may be too scary, shocking, or upsetting for them to understand or deal with at all. so they disconnect from the event. rather than effectively processing trauma, they separate themselves from it through dissociation. the trauma becomes someone else’s, and the more the child had to disconnect from their memories, the more likely those experiences are to developing into an alter.

not all children dissociate, and not all traumatized children are prone to dissociation. but if a child does dissociate to cope, and if they’re forced to dissociate regularly, the parts of themselves that hold particular memories, feelings, or knowledge… lose touch with each other. and they continue to develop separately, without ever interacting with the other parts.

in this way, alters form. as you can see, these parts separating like this are a direct result of trauma in childhood. however, if children are not prone to dissociation, if they are able to process negative events (either alone or with help), and if stressful events are not a regular, repeated occurrence, they may end up with trauma, but without a system or dissociative disorder.

does this make sense?

we’re happy to explain in more detail if need be. our apologies if this response seems muddled or doesn’t make much sense.

one last thing we’d like to note: not everyone with did/osdd/a dissociative disorder considers themselves plural or even a system (just like how not ever plural person has a dissociative disorder). some people with complex dissociative disorders view themselves as a single person with distinct parts, a system without experiencing multiplicity, or even just a person grappling with dissociation and complex trauma. so it’s best to ask each individual what terminology works best for them.

you can learn more about dissociation through the cdd-specific links in our resource master post. i’ll link it below:

don’t hesitate to reach out if you need any more help understanding this - it’s a difficult topic and one we’re still learning about ourselves! also, anyone with a cdd is welcome to come forward to share their thoughts on trauma, plurality, and how they are and aren’t connected. thank you!

🐢 kip

[thatrandomlemononyourcounter1]

WELL.

The people have spoken so now you guys are going to be subjected to a bunch of stuff about The Collector. If you don't want to see it, I'm sorry it's going to be taking over my page ;-;

Let's call this an introduction post but like...for the characters and plot.

SUMMARY: The city of Theona is welcoming a new ruler! Queen Tyra, next in line to the Sable empire, has taken the throne! She is widely loved and adored by the people, so what happens when an insider of the palace reveals a dark secret?

GENRE: It's a fantasy adventure. We got a healthy dose of found family and mythical creatures too.

CHARACTERS:

The main character is named Merissa Shermann. She's 22, has red curly hair (kinda like Merida lol), hazel eyes, and she's 5'6". Her stake in the story is that her dad's life was ruined by the queen... before she was queen. She's incredibly caring, but acts like she's not. She also tends to worry. She is strong, but only because she does a lot of household chores because her dad is old and can't really do much.

The childhood best friend is named Zell Odison. He's 21. He's also albino, mostly because I noticed that there is like no representation for albino people? Like yes it's rare, but stillllll. He's 5'11". He's very dramatic and goofy, but will also do anything to take care of his family (including doing jobs for a well-feared crime boss). He and Merissa have been friends since they were little, and he's also very protective of her. His stake in the story is that his family has a hidden secret and he needs answers.

The blacksmith is named Raymond Clyde. He's a small man, being only 5'2" at the age of 53. He's a brunette, but it doesn't really show because his hair is graying. It's pretty ratted, but he normally keeps it under goggles and a bandana anyway. He's a grumpy old man with wet cat energy but we love him. His wife died fifteen years ago, and his daughter never visits him, so he mostly stays at home, working. His stake in this story is that his wife's death isn't what it seems.

The blacksmith's daughter is named Aeriel Clyde. She's 30 and 5'8". Blonde, blue eyes, but the kind that stare into your soul. She's obsessed with killing the giant who took her mother's life, and that's how she finds out that her mother's death is not what it seems. She's arrogant, and negative, but as the story progresses, grows as a person. She tries to rebuild her relationship with her father. Her stake in the story is that she has a vendetta to fulfill.

The faery is named Tamiko Sable. She's only 10 and stands at 4'8". She has Japanese facial features, and straight black hair. She can always be seen with her cat, Cinder, that her birth mother gave to her. She's very bubbly and excited, and doesn't let anyone put out her spark, no matter how hard they try. She was born to a maid in one of the rich plantations, coincidentally owned by Tyra's sister. After being adopted by the late queen Tyra when her mother died, however, she starts to discover that all is not as it seems. Her stake in the story is that her adoptive mother is not who she says she is.

The alchemist's apprentice is named Hugo Holloway. He's a broody little teenager, at 13. He's only about 4'11". Him and his mother are usually the ones at home, with his father being a palace guard. Since his father is gone all the time, he decided he needed a way to protect his mother, so he became the apprentice of an alchemist. He's very determined, straightforward, and doesn't do well with 'feelings'. His black hair can never seem to lay straight, and his skin can't decide whether it wants to be brown or white, even his eyes can't decide what color they want to be, with one being blue and one being green. His stake in the story is that his father is in serious danger.

The artist is named Sasha Holloway. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride, that is until she is married to a palace guard named Noro. She soon realizes that being married to a palace guard means a lot of cold beds, and solo parenting. However, once her son became older, and more independent, she got back into her art. Dancing, knitting, and painting became constants in her life, once more. She does wear a hijab, but I refer to it as a headscarf in the story because it isn't really for any religious reason, moreso because she feels more comfortable in it. She's 5'3", and 37, and you better not touch her son. Her stake in the story is that people that she cares about are being threatened, and she can not let that happen.

And finally, the wanderer is named Estelle Foxglove. She has been a loner her whole life, always doing what it took to survive, but...what she did didn't always resonate well with her soft soul, so she retired, at the ripe age of 19. She's black with dreads, usually pulled into a ponytail, and stands at the tallest of the group: 6'0" (Can we get more tall women in media please???) Her background is a mystery, to both her and everyone else, but after figuring out that the notorious crime boss: The Collector might know something she doesn't, Estelle decides to un-retire for a bit, just to get their attention. Her stake in the story, is the want, the need to find out who she is, and why she is.

anyways

LET ME KNOW ANY OF YOUR THOUGHTS/IDEAS/CRITICISM/REMARKS PLEASE

[rachellaurengray]

Exploring Pendulums: An Insight into Their Use and Effectiveness

Inspired by a recent question from a client, this post explores the world of pendulums—those intriguing tools that swing from a chain and offer answers through their movements. In the midst of exploring this topic, I’m reminded of my own journey with pendulums, which started quite unexpectedly.

A Personal Journey with Pendulums

A few years ago, I was given a pendulum as a gift by a close friend who was deeply interested in metaphysical practices. At first, I was skeptical. It seemed too simplistic to provide meaningful insights. But one evening, feeling a bit lost about a personal decision, I decided to give it a try. To my surprise, the pendulum's responses were not only clear but also resonated deeply with me. That experience sparked a fascination with this tool, prompting me to explore its use further and understand how it might be working.

What Is a Pendulum?

A pendulum is a simple divination tool consisting of a weight suspended from a chain or string. When held still, the pendulum can swing freely. Users ask the pendulum questions and interpret its movements to gain insights or answers. The pendulum's movements can be classified into different directions, typically representing "yes," "no," or "maybe."

How to Use a Pendulum

Cleansing: Before use, it's essential to cleanse the pendulum to remove any negative or residual energies. This can be done through various methods such as running it under water, placing it in sunlight, or using smoke from sage or incense.

Programming: Programming involves setting intentions and establishing a connection between the user and the pendulum. Hold the pendulum and clearly state what each direction or movement represents. This step ensures that both the user and the pendulum are aligned in their communication.

Asking Questions: Formulate clear and specific questions to avoid ambiguity. Hold the pendulum still and ask your question. Observe the pendulum's movements and interpret them based on the programming you established.

Is the Pendulum a Legitimate Tool for Divination?

The effectiveness of pendulums as divination tools is often debated. Here are a few perspectives:

Psychological Influence: Some experts suggest that pendulum movements can be attributed to the ideomotor effect, where subtle unconscious movements by the user influence the pendulum. This explanation posits that the pendulum reflects the user's subconscious thoughts rather than an external source of guidance.

Energetic Connection: Others believe that pendulums work by tapping into a higher or universal consciousness. They argue that the pendulum acts as a conduit, allowing the user to access information beyond their immediate awareness.

Personal Experience: For many users, the pendulum's effectiveness is validated by personal experience. If a user finds consistent and meaningful answers, it reinforces their belief in the tool's validity. Personal intuition and interpretation play a significant role in this perspective.

Tips for Effective Use

Practice Regularly: The more you use the pendulum, the more familiar you will become with its movements and the nuances of interpreting them.

Trust Your Intuition: Pendulums often work best when the user trusts their intuition and remains open to the information received.

Document Your Results: Keeping a journal of your pendulum sessions can help track accuracy and provide insights into your own interpretative process.

Pendulums can be a valuable addition to your divination practices, offering a unique way to access insights and guidance. Whether viewed through the lens of psychological influence or energetic connection, their effectiveness often comes down to personal belief and experience. By understanding the mechanics behind their use and remaining open to different interpretations, you can better integrate pendulums into your spiritual or intuitive practices.

Reflecting on my own initial skepticism and subsequent experiences, I’ve come to appreciate the pendulum not just as a tool, but as a gateway to deeper self-discovery. For those exploring pendulums for the first time or seeking to deepen their understanding, this tool can be a fascinating journey into personal insight and intuitive growth.

[serpentembraced]

@windchaser: OO I AM CURIOUS WHY CASS WOULD PICK TALON ?

i'm answering here bc i'm using the opportunity to pretend i'm productive in this blog but! like i said in the post about katarina's fave sibling, i think cassiopeia ended up a little distant from the other two, both due to personality and because she was raised to follow in her mother's footsteps instead of her father's, but i do think she wasn't completely isolated from them.

kat and cass aren't that far apart in age, so from the moment they were aware and can remember, they had each other around, unlike talon, who was adopted at some point during their childhood. but funnily enough, i think it's really a matter of personality that would make talon cass' favorite. katarina is reckless, abrasive, too intense in good or bad; talon, albeit closed-off to the point of possible coldness, would be a better fit for cass than that, i think.

cassiopeia is too controlling, which even at a young age would've manifested in wanting things a certain way and being upset when they're not (and trying to ensure they'd be, whether that's crying about it or some other sort of childish manipulation). i just think when it comes to conflict situations, talon's dispassionate temperament, even if not conciliatory, would end up working better with her because. katarina would likely fight and argue and refuse to comply

and when they're older there's the fact tal remains family, and with how he's brought to shurima by the end of kat's comic, i assume he maintained contact with cass and sore to a level, even if distant. on her part, i think cassiopeia would've reached out to stay in touch with him (she has very few people who sincerely like her, even at the height of her popularity in the higher social circles; plus she genuinely misses her family).

that doesn't happen with katarina because katarina was disowned; unlike talon, cass cares for the public image of their family and her own (and she was like, 12 when that originally happened, so very prone to following her parents' guidance on such matters; if they say her sister disgraced their family to the point she's family no longer, she would believe they have reasons to do that - which in itself is also tied to the fact cass didn't have the same negative relationship with their parents katarina had, so she values their judgment, especially their mother's, much more). but basically, talon stayed in her life while katarina didn't, and katarina never bothered to reach out either — so even beyond personality, talon just ends up being a more significant presence in her life, no matter how limited that presence is.

and that's without entering the political situation of noxus and how the sisters are both fiercely aligned to opposite sides. on top of the disownment shenanigans, katarina aligned with swain. it's open knowledge she works with the grand general. and cassiopeia was being prepared to join the black rose since she was a teenager — the whole mission where she was turned into a half-snake was rushed because swain took over power and it made soreana desperate. cassiopeia sees him as an enemy; if katarina is allied with him, she's also an enemy. this impacts less kat's side of things because i feel even when she learns about cassiopeia and the black rose, she sees it as her sister being influenced by their mother and a change of heart still being possible.

but cassiopeia knows katarina's decisions are her own, she knows her own commitment to the rose (which, as of her most recent lore update like 5 years ago when she got her color story i think, has her come to terms with what she became and decide she's going to continue acting for them). she knows they're enemies, and i don't think she feels for that as much as her older sister does, because to her katarina turned her back on them (on her) a long time ago.

[scottxlogan]

I think that moving from live journal to tumblr was very damaging for fandom as a community. Tumblr is a very easy place to share images, meta, etc. but it’s not a good place to have discussions or try to form connections. Forum sites like Reddit can be better for certain fandoms, but you have to curate your experience. I’m sorry you’re seeing a lot of negativity. The best thing I can advise is to not be afraid to block people liberally. If someone is constantly posting negative discourse or going after people for different interpretations I don’t see it because I block them. As for leaving feedback on fics, there’s always going to be a percentage of any fandom that’s not going to for whatever reason. I try to be good about it if I like the story, but again it’s not like livejournal where the author is someone I know from discussion posts or participation in another fandom, etc. Their fics on ao3 are separate from their other fandom presence and that can be both good and bad. I really do miss fandom communities, tags on tumblr are just not the same thing.

I'll answer this under the cut for those who might not want to have to scroll through my response.

Thanks for the insight anon. I think you make some very valid points. I joined fandom after the end of live journal but was fortunate enough to find it along the way and meet some of the fandom community over there. It felt like there was a sense of connect and community over there and I regret that most of the height of that was before my time. Tumblr has been good in some ways and I see that Discord is attempting to bring back the notion of community being able to have real time conversations, but still it feels a lot of discord communities are a bit cliquish especially with new people coming on into an established community where as when LJ was still dying and barely hanging on and I was the too late outsider I met some really awesome people from fandom that to this day are my friends even though we've all kind of veered in different directions. Thanks for the blocking advice. I do block those who reach out to me on Tumblr here in being nasty. If something doesn't make me comfortable I will take the time to ensure I don't have to deal with that. With VPNs it proves to be difficult, but most of the trolling comes over on AO3 where I've also taken to moderating comments on specific fics that draw in trolling. It's just sad to see that people are so set on spreading negativity or not engaging at all. I know that it's always a small percent of the fandom that do engage and I'm appreciative of those who do. It's just sometimes when you see something you've worked on gets a few hundred views and there's not a like and/or comment on it you question things like did the readers just decide to nope out on it because they didn't like it? Was it a waste of time all around or is it something that people aren't really interested in delving deeper into. Being an artist whether traditional, digital or writing always breeds a sense of uncertainty and with that I guess we have that little insecure voice at times (at least I do) that asks those types of questions. I can understand your feeling of disconnect between here and AO3 and various places and not really knowing the author like you would've in the LJ community. I try to keep the same name everywhere if I can to keep a connect between my stuff, but I know most people don't and it's hard to get caught up in things where you know someone based on their posts, but you don't really know them. I've had people tell me we've been mutuals on Tumblr for a while and I don't think we reach out often or at all in some cases like people would've on LJ. The world is changing for sure and it's kind of sad. I have no doubts that you're great in engaging those you know since you took the time to reach out to me here, which I truly do thank you for. It's nice to hear other's opinions on the subject every now and then. Thank you for being so kind and insightful and I hope that the fandom experience is treating you right where you are! Thanks again!

[b66clematis]

they be fun and happy on my politics: the 2024 indogov elections discourse

i just seem to never catch a break when it comed to vibing in any fandom or community, ever! so i'm writing it down. and despits being in english, i'm not prefacing this with the issue background. so this post isn't exactly meant for international viewers, either. if you still want to try keep up, i suggest to just read any news about indonesia elections from your local news outlets, like this one for example. doesn't give out the full thing, but tapped it just enough. i have been wanting to post this for so long, but i just kept on rewriting it again and again, due to it being too long mostly. and how the situation evolves from time to time. thank, it's finished now. i'm just going to jump in.

the younger generations here do have apolitical issue (also other groups, but that's not what are we focusing at). very apolitical, that we really end up winning the most controversial candidate to be our president, as you can read above. i'm not sure, but this is also probably the reason the phrase politik riang gembira (happy and fun politics) exist? the previous elections was harsh. and younger generations need a "friendlier" approach to politics, in which i'm sure is the goal for any of the candidates here, as they're the biggest age group in the voters.

but, should politics even be happy and fun, in the first place? what if it's never meant to be?

(spoiler: this is not answered, as i am still in the dilemma myself. you decide.)

inbetween the things that spawned during campaign period, there are 3 forms of internet content, from what we call indogov, the actual "fandom' side of indonesia politics: 1) memes, 2) account parodies (ex/: anies bubble, tim penguin nasional), and 3) comics/illustration of imagining the candidates (and their more known campaign team) in a highschool AU. and this is how the discourse started, causing a debate whether such thing should exist.

for the pros, they see this "fandomization" as a good starting point to get interested in politics, and probably getting the context of the current political climate. making things lighter, as the younger ones tend to see politics as scary and complicated. if they sidetracked to the government's side, they'd just ditch the guy anyway (like sandiaga uno, when he announced that his party may move to PAGI's coallition). another thing, they see what they write as satire, not a fanfiction. it's simply another form of art expression to criticize. as a bonus, anies from AMIN himself responds to the fandomization phenomenon postively (IDN article).

for the cons, there's nothing funny or fandom-ish about politics, it affects you. and this is no different to what PAGI did: woobifying politicians, erasing their dirty records away, no critical substance whatsoever. they only portray/see what's good or funny from them, and not so much (or none) about their negative sides. such as how muhaimin was a government person before being paired with opposition anies as VP, or how they see sandiaga as a cinnamon roll, while he decided to open the tourism gate during COVID-19. and it's real people anyway, not fictional characters, and that's weird to do. oh yeah, and this criticism extends to the parody accounts too.

as someone who has meme-d the candidates too from the debates and tweets, i posted my cynicism and regret on my private account. i sided with the dislikers, for 4 reasons:

i have experienced being a fan a public figure myself. it didn't end well, and sent me into a possibly everlasting burn out to this day. the only lesson i got was that, you should never root for any kind of public figures. they're not perfect, and their imperfections will only destroy your sanity. you either live in a dilemma, or be delusional enough to stand up for their mistakes - parasocial poison. and the subject we're talking about here now is a politician. someone whose priority is their interest, and may screw you over for it. and when i said that politics is just a public figure fandom, there's a catch: there IS a major difference to it - politics has a direct impact you and millions others lives, public figures do not.

[on another quick OOT note (i just can't contain this feeling inside me too, sorry), this is also why i don't really want to associate myself to gerakan perubahan (change movement), perbaikan (correction/improvement), whatever. i mean, it's a good cause, i appreciate it. but the fact that it's initiated by a politcian, or a public figure, makes me reluctant with it. i don't want to be trapped in that sanity limbo anymore. more power to everyone who wants to, though! i genuinely wish you well, and i hope you know when to and can quit, whenver your leader figure goes too far.]

i feel... very disgusted, honestly, when the cons equalized making silly funny politic sh*tpost drawings to PAGI's gemoy gimmick disgusts me, a lot. i loathe how PAGI won the elections by making a fool of the people with stupid dancing, "savage" gestures that's just cringe and disrespectful, cutie grandpa persona, basically things with no political substance whatsoever, and just relying how uncritical we are. if i do the same, what's the difference then? you're not any better than them, you only come in a different cover.

i just... man, some of the con people also say "get a normal hobby, man". making an AU of people who are still alive, not familiar with fandom culture (as for anies' article news above, i'm sure he's not familiar with the fandom culture as a whole. that man is like, your average clueless, boomer, grass toucher guy.), and can mess with your life trajectory is just... weird. i could say this, because my previous public figure fan experience in point 1 really makes me question myself, "what the hell am i doing?"

some of the indogov election tweets/contents are just... concerning, blurring the lines of reality and projection and fictional imagery. besides high school AU, i also have seen a few others, like star wars or spider-man, and they're usually centric to the "good" presidential candidates, which are ganjar and anies... quite a lot and popular that they have a pair name: ganies. "well, i guess it's fine," i thought. treading the grey area, but these people are just taking it as platonic kind of thing. as long as they're aware of what's real and not, it's not too bad. but then... well, i'm just going to break it here: i once saw someone posted on wanting a ganies ABO fic. you read that right, yeah. there's a few more like janggar-anisa, but that one circulates in a more public space, so i would assume that this one in particular is also fine. but the ABO one is... uh, are you okay? they're real living people, with married partners and a whole family... it's good that they censor the names, but... yeah. still hoping these people are not taking it super seriously, but it's kinda disrespectful, at least.

those are my 4 reasons.

but also, i tend to think negatively way too deep and too much. like hey, it does make younger generations become more aware on how politics work, the people, how it affects them, and how to research your candidates. "maybe you're just projecting your own trauma too much, fear of being dissappointed and mistakes," i think to myself.

so, taking some steps backwards and seeing things as a whole... what if, instead of rejecting it as a whole, you do "fixes" to the contents itself instead? seems to be more pacifist, i think. it's arguably inappropriate to do this, as it could fall to the unsolicited criticism category. but considering the problem itself, i think the good outweighs the bad effects. so, here are some suggestions i can think of:

incoporate more of the politician's negative traits and bad track records. one of the posts that started this entire mess was an "looks like a cinnamon roll/can kill you, is actually a cinnamon roll/will kill you" meme that assigns the election politicians to that chart. one of the politicians among it was sandiaga uno, who was notoriously known to open the tourism gate in the midst of early COVID-19 mass outbreak. yet, he was assigned to the "looks like a cinnamon roll, is actually a cinnamon roll" column, due to his weird, funny, and... fruity behavior? whatever, but go google some sandiaga videos if you don't believe me. anyway, that incident sparked a criticism for these kind of contents, that they're woobifying them too much, especially for candidates like muhaimin (AMIN) who was known to be with the government, rather than opposition. so, i was thinking if you can incoporate their bad side to these AU comics. maybe they can make muhaimin easily tempted to quit the main gang, mahfud (GAMA) to be a misogynist/too much traditional conservative values (along with ganjar (GAMA) i suppose, but... i don't know, that man is a WEIRD case. he seems to always have some feminist values in him, but he only shown this during the campaign period. however, he's the opposite of a feminist before that (see: UGM mata najwa panel)? i digress.), lembong to not only be that "private school student with an asian mom", but also to have some weird ideas in him (reflecting his questionable policies as a ministry), or anies to... uhhh... be an opportunist? i think? ha... ha? but yeah, you got the idea. i think i saw one AU series planning to ditch sandiaga from this team, after he stated that his party is open to be on the government's side. so, i think they're not uncritical - but it could be done better, i suppose.

however, say, this idea does not work, as it still involves in utilizing people who are still alive. so, i propose a second, stricter solution: editorial illustrations. if you prefer a total eradication of "politik riang gembira" genre of indogov election contents, then this is your only option left (besides illustrations in a neutral nature, like a simple portrait). it could be actual satire comic that does not involve the AU things, or those illustrations in new york times, the new yorker, or tempo for local example. i have a thought that has sticked with me for long, and should be reviewed after this incident: editorial illustration is just politic fandom fan art. yes, politics fandom, you read that right. all those politic observers and panelists that shows up on your TV are just your fandom's well known fans. rumors on where a politician sides by observing their body gesture is, pretty much, like guessing whether your favorite singer is dating with someone from pap photos. opinion columns on magazines and newspapers are fan analysis essays on their favorite shows. and so editorial illustrations are: you could draw politics as is, or draw them in a more figurative nature. just like when you draw akechi as a doll because his life was controlled by shido and/or maruki. it's similar. the only difference is, once again, politics directly affect your life.

deep down to my heart? i honestly don't know, even when i'm familiar with this kind of thing since i was a junior high. rationally speaking, i would pick 2. but reality has proven us that 1 (minus the fixes) do actually work - so it's not as horrible as the cons side said. but again, there's another dilemma from this: would you rather sustain this mixed method that works, and does make politics more accessible to younger generations, or change it into something that's morally better, but likely less friendly to receive, preserving politic's harsh nature?

to preserve, or to change/correct?