#Overall Well-Being:

[zanmor]

We are well beyond canary in the coalmine warning levels with the way trans people and particularly trans women are treated on this site.

Maybe you've heard the metaphor of allowing wolves and sheep to share the same space, welcoming everyone. You end up with just wolves because allowing them in that space makes it unsafe for any sheep. Or the story about how a nazi goes into a dive bar and is refused service. The bartender then explains to someone else at the bar that if you serve them once they tell their friends and before you know it you're the nazi bar they all go to and normal customers don't feel safe.

Terfs and other bigots are seeing these targeted harassment campaigns succeed against trans women and rejoicing. They see Tumblr ban them and officially stand by those decisions as endorsement for their harassment. It's a sign to bigots across the internet that Tumblr is a good place for them.

And what's more is that a lot of us probably don't realize just how much trans women contribute to Tumblr. The women banned recently were sources of site-wide memes and posts I wasn't even aware originated from them.any years old memes and references can be traced back to trans women on this site.

How many of these folks have to be removed before this is no longer a site you want to be a part of it? Sure you cultivate your own experience, but you can't follow or interact with people who aren't here. And if I wanted to interact with the nazis and terfs I'd go to reddit.

I encourage everyone to reblog this. Trans women shouldn't have to be the only ones speaking out against the bigotry they're experiencing. They shouldn't be the only ones risking their blogs being nuked by staff. We have to stand with them.

[matthewdanchakofficial]

Matthew Danchak on Effective Mental Health Strategies for 2024

Mental health has become a significant focus in recent years, especially with the increasing awareness and acceptance of mental health issues. As we move into 2024, it's crucial to explore effective strategies to maintain and improve mental well-being. Matthew Danchak, a renowned expert in mental health, shares his insights on the most effective strategies for the upcoming year.

Prioritize Self-Care

One of the most important strategies for maintaining mental health is prioritizing self-care. This involves taking time out for yourself and engaging in activities that promote relaxation and joy. Whether it's reading a book, taking a walk in nature, or practicing mindfulness, self-care helps in reducing stress and enhancing overall well-being.

Embrace Physical Activity

Physical activity is not only beneficial for physical health but also plays a crucial role in mental health. Exercise releases endorphins, which naturally lift your mood. Matthew Danchak suggests incorporating at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise into your daily routine, whether it's through jogging, yoga, or even dancing. This can significantly reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Maintain a Healthy Diet

Mental health depends on a balanced diet. Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon and walnuts, are known to improve brain function and mood. Additionally, a diet high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains provides the necessary nutrients for optimal mental health. Additionally, avoiding processed foods and excessive sugar can help you maintain a stable mood and energy level.

Practice Mindfulness and Meditation

Mindfulness and meditation are powerful tools for managing stress and anxiety. These practices involve acknowledging your thoughts and feelings without judgment and focusing on the present moment. Matthew Danchak recommends starting with just a few minutes a day and gradually increasing the duration. Apps like Headspace and Calm can be helpful for beginners.

Build Strong Social Connections

Human connections are vital for mental well-being. Building and maintaining strong relationships with family, friends, and colleagues can provide emotional support and a sense of belonging. Make an effort to stay connected with loved ones, even if it's through virtual means. Joining clubs, groups, or online communities can also help expand your social network.

Seek Professional Help When Needed

It's important to recognize when you need professional help. There is no shame in seeking therapy or counseling. Mental health professionals can provide valuable support and coping strategies for dealing with various mental health issues. Matthew Danchak emphasizes the importance of reaching out to a therapist or counselor if you are feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or depressed.

Develop a Routine

Having a daily routine can provide structure and a sense of normalcy, which is beneficial for mental health. A consistent schedule can help regulate sleep patterns, reduce stress, and increase productivity. Ensure your routine includes time for work, leisure, and relaxation.

Limit Screen Time

Today, constant connectivity and information overload can easily overwhelm us. Limiting screen time, especially before bed, can improve sleep quality and reduce stress. Matthew Danchak advises setting boundaries for technology use, such as designated screen-free times or zones in your home.

Engage in Creative Activities

Engaging in creative activities can be a great way to express yourself and relieve stress. Whether it's painting, writing, playing music, or gardening, creative pursuits can provide a sense of accomplishment and joy. Make time for an activity you enjoy regularly.

Practice Gratitude

Focusing on the positive aspects of life can significantly improve your mental health. Keeping a gratitude journal, where you write down things you are thankful for each day, can help shift your mindset and improve your overall well-being.

Conclusion

Effective mental health strategies are essential for navigating the challenges of 2024. By prioritizing self-care, embracing physical activity, maintaining a healthy diet, practicing mindfulness, building strong social connections, seeking professional help, developing a routine, limiting screen time, engaging in creative activities, and practicing gratitude, you can improve your mental well-being and lead a happier, healthier life. 

[bacchuschucklefuck]

class swap design masterpost for convenience (from top to bottom: bard!riz, cleric!gorgug, sorcerer!kristen, barbarian!fig, artificer!adaine, and rogue!fabian)

[vaguely-concerned]

obsessed with the fact that if you choose the last purple option in lucanis' romance chat before going off to tearstone island ("they MOVED the MOON!!!" still in the running for the best delivery in the whole game btw it's so ineffably hilarious to me), it's rook who flinches away just a little bit (if still warmly <3) and tries to change the topic and lucanis who's steady even though he's clearly still so afraid. 'don't tempt fate'/'*the softest fucking voice you've ever heard in your entire life* I don't intend to'. pain and suffering

lucanis looking at rook and helplessly, with a wonder that verges on despair, saying 'what would I do without you?' is soooo. especially at that point in the relationship and with what's about to happen. and for whatever reason rook can't quite stay with the fact that they do mean that much to someone, that they are so reverently and so groundingly 'I want to know what your favourite food is so I can make it for you any time you want it' everyday loved, it's too much and they have to deflect from it or the fear of losing it. can say some very interesting things about them, too.

(there is also a Pattern in that in my estimation lucanis frequently responds better to inviting humour than to earnest shows of concern -- it seems to help him be more engaged/online to be offered that more neutral space to meet you in and uh 'build' the conversation around something funny together than to be confronted with compassion head-on because that clearly mostly deer-in-the-headlights him, as we also see with some of the early flirt options haha. contrast this especially with bellara, who repeatedly gets genuinely upset if you try to make light of some pressing and painful situation she's dealing with (girl I'm so sorry I'm so jestercore and I canot change this but I'll try :'( for you). I think the times lucanis reacts negatively to the purple options are much more about you siding with other (frequently more charismatic lol) people against him or throwing him under the bus interpersonally -- like seeming to go along with illario's charm offensives, or telling teia lucanis didn't want to come help out with caterina's funeral and he'd just sit alone and brood about it if you didn't force him (???!!! hello??? unprovoked and deeply unkind out of left field???? this option is so fucking MEAN and for what fhdaskjfa you're telling me there's no way for rook to be a bit of a dick in this game?)

when it's one on one conversation he consistently seems to find it quite comforting, though... which makes a lot of sense because in many ways it's how he interacts with illario, just shorn of the resentments and hidden daggers and things they Do Not Talk About but really should beneath the levity that makes it sharp. it's gone ugly between them, but I think the affectionate instinct beneath is real and goes back a long way before all of that festered -- it's a form of play he does with people he loves. and uh. not really caterina huh. notably.)

[st-hedge]

MGSV sketch dump. The brainrot is thriving

[firestorm09890]

Y'ALL. Y'ALL so for a long time I've believed that "the sun" in Meursault's story is Carmen, and I went to check Hell's Chicken's dialogue to see exactly how he said that he'd dealt with distortions before, and... you know what else he said?

To my knowledge, it is a phenomenon where an individual morphs into a form often unfit to be considered “human”. It has no known causes, and the appearances were all different.

Unfit to be considered human.

Meursault, who, in his book, was judged by the court to be soulless.

Meursault, who has EGO for Cyborgs who have been so mutilated they barely act like people anymore; a murderer who was experimented on until ceasing to be human; a sheep named after Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, a novel about the humanity of androids and the inhumanity of humans; and now a rose that can't help its bloodsucking nature, based on Carmilla, a vampire whose story emphasized the duality between her vampiric traits and her human ones.

Meursault, who answered Heathcliff's ironic question of if he had metal for brains like this:

I'm placing my bets now, that line from Hell's Chicken is foreshadowing for Meursault's canto even more than "I have witnessed a number of [distortion] cases in the past" was

[time-slink]

rock lee u are the world 2 me….

[turtleblogatlast]

Personally what I like best in terms of who’s older between Donnie and Leo is just them never knowing for sure BUT imagine Leo going up to Draxum and saying he’ll never bring up the roof incident again if Draxum tells Donnie that Leo’s the older twin.

[covertleathers]

I can't express how much I love the cafe scene. You see a really wide range of Lucanis' face animations and the cool things he expresses through them. Like, one moment, he's a shiny-eyed baby cow and the next his pupils are small, dark, and threatening. I would love to know *how* they did that. I'm not an animator, so it just looks like magic.

Too many screenshots under the cut.

[sideblogdotjpeg]

post battle, one last short rest

[humming-fly]

given how gluttony is shown being "born" in the anime I can only imagine the horror show that must've gone down with envy

[aq2003]

benedick challenging claudio to a duel, 2011 version vs the 2001 radio play version

[lgbtlunaverse]

Thinking of the Nie disciple that told Nie Mingjue it was Meng Yao who stayed behind to clean up corpses on the battlefield today.

Nie Mingjue didn't just randomly stumble upon poor lil meowyao eating bread in the novel, he was already looking for him to thank and reward him for his work.

That's what makes it so fun that nieyao's first conflict will end up being about someone else taking credit for Meng Yao's work.

And I'm sure that Nie Mingjue's actual opinions on plagiarism are a lot more nuanced, all we really get from him in this scene is "well you shouldn't kill someone over it!" which leaves a lot of room for what punishments he thinks are appropiate. But I bet that it isn't occuring to him in this moment that the only reason he knows Meng Yao at all, the only reason he got such a capable deputy, is that he noticed someone was taking care of the dead and cared enough to want to know their name. And then the Nie disciples didn't lie to him. The disciple he asked could have said "it was me, Zongzhu" to rise in the ranks himself, but he didn't. He went and asked others, who all also could have taken the credit, but they didn't. Someone saw Meng Yao working and decided to be honest about it and that simple decision is the catalyst for Meng Yao becoming Nie Mingjue's deputy.

Meng Yao can't just work hard to get results, others have to acknowledge that work. If they don't, it's as if he didn't do anything at all.

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

While Edwin’s more than a bit stand-offish and definitely not the most tactful, I never did get the sense that he doesn’t like people - in fact, I think his insistence that he’s “not good with people” and his general emotional detachment/disinterest has a lot more to do with his assumption that they don’t or won’t like him.

And while that’s very sad to think about… it’s not as if his belief here is hard to understand, considering his past experiences. But it’s left him quite guarded and lonely, and of course, the more he isolates himself from people other than Charles (and even here, he allows himself little vulnerability), the more he reinforces this fear that people won’t like him, and the less he allows himself to properly sympathize or empathize with others, which is why his friendships with Crystal and Niko and Monty (short-lived as that was) are so important. Once he started to let some of those walls down, to not be so scared of vulnerability and to be around people who allow themselves to feel and want so readily (to live! who allow themselves to live without fear of loving!), he’s really not nearly as bad with people as he seems to think he is - and, in fact, he’s actually quite good at saying or doing the right thing for them when it really counts.

[fjordfolk]

every time someone in a discussion about breeding for BOAS reduction in pugs says to 'look up this program called Retromops' i slip a little arsenic into the produce section at the grocery store

[scarlet-quinn]

I know we’re primarily focused on the byler-milkvan specific questions but here is the video of Finn talking about Mike’s mental health!!!!