#also just take responsibility for any damage you cause we respect that

[joyfuladorable]

Place a big stack of books to mend in front of me and I will be content for Hours…

[rabbitrah]

A continuation on my post about unloved foods, specifically this is my in-depth defense of root beer.

Root Beer isn't inherently gross, it's just one of those weird local flavors that's off-putting to people who didn't grow up with it. We all like different things and also we all tend to like flavors that are similar to what we grew up with. That's okay! But honestly root beer is pretty unique and, in my opinion, delicious.

One of the main complaints against root beer is that it tastes like medicine. Funnily enough, it was originally marketed as medicinal! This is true for most OG sodas actually. Pretty much as soon as carbonated water was invented, people were drinking it to soothe various ailments. A lot of the original soft drinks were actually invented by pharmacists. I just think that root beer is especially cool because the main flavor came from the root bark of sassafras, a common North American shrub. Because it's so widespread and aromatic, all parts of the sassafras plant have been used in food and medicine by many different Native American tribes throughout history and was subsequently picked up and used by European colonists. In the 1960s, some studies indicated that that safrole oil, which is produced by the plant, can cause liver damage. Whether or not this would actually remain true after it had been boiled and added to root beer is unclear, but it was really easy to replicate the flavor, so the sassafras in commercial root beer these days is artificial. Another fun fact about safrole is that it's a precursor in the synthesis of MDMA. None of this information has stopped my childhood habit of eating sassfras leaves right off the shrub whenever I walk past it on a hike. I'm like 85% sure it's safe and also mmmm yummy leafs go crunch.

Another root beer complaint is that it tastes like toothpaste. I think this is probably because another key flavor in most root beer recipes is wintergreen. I'm assuming that the people who think this are the same people who think mint chocolate chip ice cream tastes like toothpaste. I can understand and even respect that some people don't like mint and associate it only with brushing their teeth, but like. Mint is a pretty common flavor. I mean I think it's safe to say that humans have been eating mint flavored stuff for longer than toothpaste has existed... anyway!

Other common flavors in root beer (real or artificial) are caramel, vanilla, black cherry bark, sarsaparilla root, ginger, and many more! There's not one official recipe, and root beer enthusiasts often have strong opinions about different brands. Some root beer is sharper, with more strong aromatic flavors, and others are mild and creamier.

Another thing I think is cool about root beer is that it's foamier than most sodas. This was originally because sassafras is a natural surfactant (and why sassafras is also a common thickening agent in Louisiana Creole cooking.) These days, other plant starches or similar ingredients are added to keep the distinctive foam. Root beer foam > all other soft drink foams. That's why root beer floats kick more ass than like, coke floats.

If you've never had root beer before, imagine if a sweetened herbal tea was turned into a soda, because that's basically what it is. If your first response to that is a cringe, fair enough. That's why lots of people don't like it. If your first response to that is "interesting... I might actually like it, though" then I encourage you to track down a can of root beer today, hard as that might be outside the US and Canada. Next time you see an "ew, root beer tastes like medicine/tooth paste" take, know that there's a reason for that, but also the same could be said for literally any herbal or minty food/drink.

My final take on root beer is that it would be the soda of choice for gnomes. Thank you and good night.

[shishuri]

I honestly think Lakan's character design is smart.

Lakan's character design was made to be sus AF. When he was introduced, either in the manga or in the anime, the first thing you would have thought was "this guy looks sleazy", or there is an immediate reaction of, "i hate this guy". Because he has a generic design for an actual sleazy, character, you know that character in any anime that with one look, you know he is the bad guy. It also adds that Maomao's response to hearing that he is nearby or she could possibly meet him was with wary or fear, in case of the anime, that one jumpscare scene of angry Maomao.

And then we finally get to see him in action, he presented himself as this drunkard high official that seems like he would take advantage of anyone and everyone, he would take the woman he is infatuated with, with force. He invokes hate and disgust, it is fueling the 'hate bonfire'. we would never root for this guy, we hoped that he would never get Maomao ever.

And then we get the chapter Balsam and wood sorrel, Lakan and Fengxian's history, we got slapped so hard with their reality, and all that hate bonfire got immediately doused in one swoop. He was the opposite of everything we saw him as the audience.

He never forced himself upon Fengxian, he loved and respected her too much for that.

He wanted to marry her, it was against his will to just up and leave her after they had their first night.

Finding out that Fengxian was gone broke him.

She was the only person he could see her face and she was gone.

And then he met Maomao, he sees her face too, he described her as like a Wood Sorrel, the nail polish Fengxian used, this was their child and all he wanted was to be with her and raise her.

After all that the biggest gut punch for us the audience is when he was about to choose the Courtesan to redeem, without getting Maomao's hidden message. Meimei bless her heart, she was also inlove with him but she still led him to Fengxian, after all those years and all the damage to her face due to Syphilis, he still recognizes her voice and her face, she was still the most beautiful person he has ever met.

We the audience judged him right away from the moment we met him, but all along we were so wrong in a way. He is just a doting father to his children and loves his wife no matter what.

If this doesn't invoke the iconic

You need to check if you still have a heart 😂

He is admittedly sleazy when it comes to his job as a strategist,but that's besides the point cause that's his job lol..

[orionsangel86]

Lucienne/Lucien - How the Librarian Became the Chief.

In The Sandman Netflix adaptation Lucienne is a stand out character and second only to Morpheus in importance, screen time, and centrality to the story. Lucienne is Morpheus's loyal Librarian, second in command, ruler of the Dreaming in his absence, and often times a voice of reason and advice for our dutiful King of Dreams. She is so well respected in her position that the other castle residents consider her their boss and would rather go to her for guidance and command than Morpheus himself. She takes care of Dream's ravens and even appears to have the power to create new ravens from newly deceased mortals like she did with Matthew. She is clearly extremely close to Morpheus, and is one of very few people he seems to actually listen to and trust. Lucienne's role in this story can not be underestimated.

So it may come as a surprise to any fans of the show who haven't read the comics to learn that Lucien (as he is called in the comics) is afforded very few of the above traits. In fact Lucien is no where near as close to Morpheus even by the very end of the story, as Lucienne is at the beginning. It is this difference that has fascinated me since I first started diving into the comics after falling in love with the show, and its something I view as extremely important when considering how the story is being adapted into a kinder, more sympathetic universe surrounding our central protagonist.

Lucienne's role is expanded greatly from her comic counterpart, and her relationship with Morpheus is shown to be much deeper. This is evident practically right away at the end of episode one when Lucienne comes to greet Morpheus upon his return to the Dreaming following his escape.

The way she runs over to him as soon as she realises he is back, and lovingly takes his hand and is so pleased to see him is a far cry from the comic where the first thing Lucien does is bow.

So right at the start we see a very different form of relationship here. Where Lucienne is already displaying a level of care and devotion beyond the expectations of a servant, Lucien however, is exactly that.

The servant thing has caused a bit of contention among fandom in the past. I think the confusion could come from whether or not you see Lucien or Lucienne first. Lucien IS a servant of Dream. Lucienne is more like a vice president and royal advisor. Those are two very different things after all and that difference only becomes more obvious the further you go into the story.

Lucienne accompanies Morpheus throughout his return to his crumbling kingdom, helps him as he attempt to repair the damage, follows him to Cain and Abel, and watches over his meeting with the Fates. She is by his side from the moment he returns until the moment he leaves again for the waking world to begin his quest to recover his tools, and she is responsible for Matthew's reincarnation as the new Raven and instructs Matthew to stay with him because of her concern for Morpheus's wellbeing on his quest.

I cannot stress enough how much none of this is in the comics. Lucienne shows a level of care towards Morpheus that just isn't present in Lucien in the comics. After the first meeting with Lucien at the gates of the Dreaming, Lucien doesn't appear again until he is instructed by Morpheus to conduct the census of the Dreaming. He only appears again in the Doll's House very briefly and has no involvement in Morpheus's decisions during that arc, which takes place very rarely in the Dreaming.

That's not to say that Lucien isn't a very trusted servant of Morpheus. He is the closest to Morpheus of all the residents of the Dreaming except only Matthew. But I think a lot of what we see in the show of Morpheus and Lucienne's dynamic is inspired by much later in the comics. I also think that it speaks loudly to the change in Morpheus as a character. Show!Morpheus has people almost right away who care about him and want to help him, whereas comic!Morpheus is extremely isolated. It is clear in the early comic stories that comic!Morpheus keeps himself at arms length from basically everyone. He does not have a bond with Lucien, he did not have Jessamy, and at that early stage, he didn't even have Matthew. All of this of course was primarily to make show!Morpheus a more sympathetic and likeable character - you gotta give your protagonist people who care about them, it helps raise the stakes after all.

Taking Charge - Lucienne is the real boss

One of my favourite parts of the Dolls House episodes in the Netflix show is the conflict between Morpheus and Lucienne due to the other residence and Dreaming servants going to her for advice and instruction first rather than Morpheus. Bearing in mind this only takes place less than a year after Morpheus's return from imprisonment, it speaks volumes as to how Lucienne has taken the role of leader of the Dreaming in her stride.

But it also indicates how Morpheus' change in the show is coming at lightening fast speed compared to the comic. In the comic, Mervyn doesn't make these observations until the Brief Lives arc, and this is indicated at that point to be a very new thing - triggered by several years post fish bowl of having to face his past decisions and mistakes (and a string of scorned ex lovers one after the other ending in a horribly matched rebound relationship with a murderous witch that subsequently rejected him and triggered him literally seeking out destruction). Lucien was only put in charge of the Dreaming when Morpheus left to go on his trip with Delirium. It is during that trip that Morpheus realises how competent Lucien is and capable of running things without problem in his absence.

Mervyn's insights are made clear here:

This is the only time in the comic that anyone dares mention that someone other than Morpheus might be the boss - and it is in no way as directly spelled out as it is in the show. "You're practically running the place" and "you secretly run this place" are quite different statements. The first only makes an observation about Morpheus's current lack of interest (in Brief Lives) in actually running his realm. It implies that Lucien is doing Morpheus' job for him, but does not go as far as to outright call Lucien the boss. Whereas in the show, that's exactly what Mervyn does.

In the comic, Morpheus overhears Mervyn's speech and immediately points out his reasoning for leaving Lucien in charge, for promoting him and giving him more authority.

Because no one ever technically undermines Morpheus in the comic, there is no conflict here. Morpheus trusts Lucien as his loyal servant and gives him the power to rule in his stead (but only when he is absent) and there is no "secretly report to Lucien first" attitude among Matthew and Mervyn. We can perhaps interpret that this might be happening behind the scenes by this point in Brief Lives, or even just before the BL arc when Morpheus was distracted by his rebound murderess, but it is never actually directly stated that this is going on.

The tension between Morpheus and Lucienne in the show is born out of the conflict over Lucienne's position and Morpheus feeling undermined by his subjects, and its storytelling gold. But the only reason such a story works in the show is because Lucienne is so important to Morpheus in the show, because their relationship goes so much deeper than the relationship in the comic. Lucienne is not a servant, she's his god damn vice president and she knows it, and he knows it too. Throughout episodes 7 and 8 specifically he reaches out to her for her opinion and advice on the Vortex situation. He talks things through with her and seeks out her guidance. It is clear that he relies on her and it is only at the end of episode 8 when Lucienne disagrees with his punishment of Gault, that in his anger, he dismisses her.

Lucien/ne the Royal Advisor

Where Morpheus in the show seeks out Lucienne's advice and opinion frequently especially during the Doll's House arc, I have to stress that this never happens in the comic. Comic!Morpheus just does not have that kind of relationship with Lucien and does not seek his counsel at all, even though Lucien does try to give it on occassion, usually when Morpheus is about to do something extremely stupid and probably damaging to himself and the Dreaming. To name a couple times:

Season of Mists - before Morpheus returns to Hell:

Brief Lives - before seeking Destruction:

You'll note that in both these times Lucien's words of caution are completely ignored.

You'll also notice that in both times Lucien is taking a path of polite caution. Lucien very rarely speaks his mind to Morpheus, because he knows it won't get him very far to do so. The only time Lucien truly loses his cool and speaks freely is in The Kindly Ones (spoiler alert)

At this point in the comic story Morpheus has basically all but given up and accepted his fate and its fucking depressing AF. Lucien is well within his right to shake the bastard HARD and snap him TF out of it. I STILL think he was too restrained here tbh!

My point here is that Lucienne already speaks her mind quite freely around Morpheus in the show. She expresses her opinions and thoughts and gives him her advice. This is such a well established dynamic by the point of the argument that it is clear that Lucienne is offended by Morpheus's dismissal of her.

Take this exchange from episode 9:

Lucienne: "Rose is weakening the walls between realms" Matthew: "You gonna tell the Boss?" Lucienne: "No." Matthew: "No?" Lucienne: "It's none of my business." Matthew: "Er, since WHEN?" Lucienne: "Since Lord Morpheus reminded me that I'm merely a librarian and should concern myself with my books from now on." Matthew: "He said that?! What's wrong with him!" Lucienne: "Nothing is wrong with him. He's always been this way. He's just been away so long I'd forgotten. He's determined to deal with the vortex and the missing Arcana by himself. Without anyones help. So any news must be reported directly and exclusively to him."

It's worth pointing out here that whilst this is framed as Morpheus being a stubborn idiot, in the comic, he does in fact deal with the vortex and the missing Arcana by himself mostly and is not so much helped but saved at the last moment by Unity Kinkaid who realises what is happening in a dream and goes to save Rose, which also saves Morpheus from Desire's trap.

In the show, Morpheus has people who care enough about him and his realm to want to get involved and help him, not out of a desire to undermine him, but simply because they care about him. That is a drastic change from the comic at this point. Morpheus in the comic is constantly shown to be struggling under the burden of his own responsibilities and this is highlighted by the fact that he doesn't really get any support or assistance, and is far too prideful to ask for it. Lucien gets the promotion and chance to rule in his absence, but it is never framed as a job he shares with Morpheus - at no point does Lucien take the burden of his responsibilities off of him. This is no Samwise Gamgee "I can carry you" moment unfortunately. Lucien does not have the power nor the bond with Morpheus to undertake such a task because Morpheus keeps him at arms length throughout the comics - but Lucienne? Well, time will tell how that may change.

An Apology from the King

In a shock horror twist that comic!Morpheus would sooner die than do himself (ha) the great emo King of the Netflix universe gives Lucienne an apology for his behaviour (sort of).

Episode 9 displays the tension between Morpheus and Lucienne following their "break up" perfectly. Morpheus is clearly in the wrong, and Lucienne is clearly hurt by his dismissal of her support. Yet even after the fight, he still seeks out her advice in determining the cause of the disturbances in the Dreaming. He goes to her first before investigating himself (something that comic!Morpheus wouldn't even consider doing) and is surprisingly capable in swallowing his pride here even though it is clearly a struggle for him.

Later in the episode, once he realises that Lucienne was right about the disturbances, he seeks her out to tell her so, and to confirm that she was right and he was wrong. This is again something that I can't fathom comic!Morpheus doing, even nearer the end of the story I don't believe he does so, certainly not to Lucien. Fiddlers Green drums this point home when he says this:

Fiddlers Green: "... still his time there appears to have changed him as it has changed me." Lucienne: "How so?" Fiddlers Green: "Lucienne, he came to you and told you he was wrong. It was very nearly an apology. The Morpheus I knew was incapable of that."

This further reinforces not just how much Morpheus has changed in a short time, but also how much he respects and cares about Lucienne and their continued relationship.

Platonic Life Partners? Co Ruler and Closest Confident of the Dream King

When I set out to write this meta, it was with the aim to highlight Lucienne's elevated role from her comic counterpart. To try to stress the importance of her character in the show and what this means for the future of the story in the show. By the end of the last episode, Lucienne is practically granted co-ruler status of the Dreaming while Morpheus works on his creations. He asks her if she can "take care of things while he works" which she agrees "with pleasure".

I just... I can NOT stress ENOUGH how much comic!Morpheus needed this person in his life. Even though Lucien looks after the Dreaming whilst Morpheus is away in Season of Mists and Brief Lives, it is always as a last resort with Morpheus continuing to check in on Lucien during Brief Lives as if he expects trouble, and he always seems a bit confused when Lucien tells him all is fine. As if he can't quite understand how the Dreaming could be okay without him there (and I mean, after the trauma of watching your realm which is also technically a part of you crumble to dust I suppose you would be a bit attached to it!).

Comic!Morpheus constantly struggles under the weight of his responsibility. His entire thing is that he is desperate to step away and not be who he is but he simply does not have it in him to do that. He is far too bound by his rules and responsibilities. For Morpheus in the show to be given someone to support him in his rule as King and assist him with the burden of his responsibilities is actually a hugely mindblowing change to the comic, and could honestly have huge repercussions on the story going forward. Not only that, but the Morpheus in the comics is painfully lonely. He desperately needs companionship but he keeps everyone at arms length. He never allows his subjects to get too close to him, even Lucien. Even Matthew isn't afforded the same level of closeness in the comics as he is in the show. In the comics, the ONLY character who Morpheus is close to is Death. Which says a lot by itself. The second character he gets closer to as time goes on is Delirium. Which also says a lot. Think of the characters in terms of their concepts. Morpheus has no close friends in the comics (even his relationship with Hob Gadling in the comic doesn't have half the impact it does in the show) and keeps all those he interacts with at arms length except for Delirium and Death.

But show!Morpheus? He has a Matthew who is already so very devoted to him, a Hob Gadling who waited an extra 33 years on hope alone that he would return to him, and a Lucienne who rules by his side, offers him support, guidance, counsel, companionship and probably a good helping of love. How can this Morpheus possibly carry the same deep loneliness as his comic counterpart? How can this Morpheus be buckling under the weight of his duties when he already has his Samwise Gamgee right there by his side? It poses an interesting question for how the show will handle future story arcs, though it could all prove to simply make for a much more painful story, where we happen to have many more characters to react and show the deeply painful grief that we all feel at his eventual passing - or maybe, just maybe, this is a universe where Hope never died...

[abandoned--reality]

I see a lot of memes on how short the story would be if Odysseus just listened to Eurylochus, but like.. am I missing something?

Odyssesus telling his name to the cyclops is the biggest mistake obviously. But besides that… the crew and Eurylochus are constantly making messes that Odysseus has to clean up.

Full Speed Ahead: 6 hundred reasons to take what we can; let’s raid the place and go

Taking what they could is what GOT them into the situation in the first place. They took the cyclops sheep and brought the wrath of the cyclops

Remember Them: captain, we should run; captain please

If they’d run when Eurylochus wanted, they would’ve been caught and seen by the other cyclops. Certainly not able to make away with the sheep.

Luck Runs Out: please don’t tell me you’re about to do what I think you’ll do

If Odysseus HADNT gone to the wind god and gotten the bag, when they come upon Poseidon, the entire crew would have been gone. Having the bag of wind save them.

Puppeteer: we have to go save them/no we don’t!; let’s cut our losses you and I and let’s run

Had they done that, not only would all the men left alive be left as pigs, but the two would have never survived. They never would have gone to the underworld to the prophet, and never would have survived the journey home.

So Eurylochus doesn’t make any good suggestions to Odysseus. On the contrary, he proves to be a horrible second in command who doesn’t trust Odysseus and undermines his judgement at every step, causing constant conflict.

Remember them: insisting they run as the cyclops gather and possibly putting the whole crew in danger

Storm: captain, we will capsize at this rate, our fleet will fail; we’re taking too much damage to survive; at this rate, we won’t make it out alive

Luck Runs Out: the entirety of this song is not only Eurylochus challenging Odysseus and questioning his judgment in front of their entire crew, but also insulting Odysseus for the very thing that got 600 men out of Troy alive. It was Odysseus’s wit that ended the war in Troy. It was his wit that moved him to poor Lotus in the cyclops wine. It was wet to tell the cyclops his name was nobody, keeping them from being killed by all the additional cyclops that come to check out the scene.

Odysseus’s pride is what bringsPoseidon wrath, but it’s his width that has gotten 600 men that far.

Keep Your Friends Close: we don’t hear Eurylochus in most of this song, and that’s part of my problem with him. Why the hell is Odysseus staying awake for nine days? Why does he not have anyone on his ship that he can trust to watch the bag for him to close his eyes for 30 minutes? Where is Eurylochus when the other men are opening the bag and letting out the winds of the storm? Why does Odysseus’s second in command not have his back? Why are the men not conscious of the fact that the second in command would also disapprove of their actions? Is it because he wouldn’t? Is it because his constant undermining has encouraged it?

Then the very end, when Odysseus ask for help, closing the bag, what’s Eurylochus’s immediate response? it’s not OK. It’s not yes sir. It’s. “It’s too late.”

Even in the middle of a crisis, he still won’t listen to the captain. He still won’t trust Odysseus’s judgment that ultimately saves them in the end of the saga.

Puppeteer: Only I stayed outside, but the rest went in

Did Eurylochus not even try to stop the men? Does he have such little regard for their safety? He lets them do whatever they want? Has he earned such a little respect that they don’t listen to him?

Like I touched on earlier, if Odysseus listened to Eurylochus’s doubt, not only would all their men be doomed, but Eurylochus and Odysseus as well.

I honestly have so much distain for Eurylochus and his lack of respect for Odysseus. as the listeners and people who know the story, we know just how deep the facts of revealing his name to the cyclops run. But the rest of the men don’t. Eurylochus doesn’t. He just never trusted Odysseus to lead in the first place.

[the-badger-mole]

But FWIENDSHIP!!!! 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

Okay, so you all know how I get when something gets stuck in my head, but yesterday I saw a post talking about how Katara and Zuko's potential romance messes with their friendship, and I don't understand how, but that's beside the point. This is an anti-Kataang post.

I will once again admit that I don't spend a ton of time in Kataang/anti-Zutara spaces (cause I'm respectful like that), but every so often, I see one of those takes pop up in my safe area (because respect isn't always a two way street, unfortunately). It's interesting to see how many times this take seems to crop up. Katara and Zuko falling in love would ruin their friendship, yet those same people fail to acknowledge that Bryke went ahead and ruined their friendship anyway out of jealousy. These same people also tend to hold Kataang as a prime example of Friends to Lovers, the only problem is, Aang isn't Katara's friend at any point.

Throughout the series, it's made very clear that Aang likes Katara, but for most of the series (until literally the last few seconds, in fact) it's also clear that Katara only sees him as a friend. This should have been an object lesson that sometimes crushes don't work out, but friendship can be stronger than temporarily disappointed feelings. However, that's not what we get. Aang doesn't care about Katara's friendship. He doesn't want Katara in his life unless it's in a romantic capacity. We see it in how he reacts when he feels romantically rejected (lava fissure, EIP). The narrative doesn't give Katara any space to say no to Aang without it permanently damaging their relationship, because they never had the relationship Katara thought they did. Katara thought she was Aang's friend, but for Aang, their 'friendship' was just a precursor to romance. In this, the year 2023, I know we all understand why this is a problem.

Aang can't even conceive of a world where Katara does turn him down. He dreams about her enthusiastic response to his declaration of love; he assumes that since they kissed he kissed her and staked his claim, they should be together, despite there never being any sort of conversation, and the fact that the one time he did try to talk about it, she changed the subject very quickly. Katara's feelings are an afterthought for Aang, which is terrible for any relationship, but particularly in a romantic one. There is never a moment where Aang puts Katara's emotional needs ahead of his own. He never puts a value on her platonic friendship. There's never a moment where he decides that despite his feelings for her, having Katara in his life as a friend is better than not having her at all. That moment should have happened regardless of whether they ended up together or not, because friendship is the most important component of the Friends to Lovers trope.

By comparison, the friendship Katara eventually forms with Zuko is much deeper, and based on a mutual respect, understanding and emotional support for each other. This is a fantastic foundation for a romance, although bafflingly, people who laud Katara and Zuko's deep friendship don't seem to agree. Them potentially falling in love doesn't cheapen their friendship because they actually were friends first. On top of that, their Enemies to Friends journey ending romantically would not only not cheapen their friendship, it would tie into the themes of the show beautifully (the illusion of separation; love being stronger than hate; learning to respect other people's differences etc).

Let's be real, what Kataang actually represents is The Hero Gets the Girl, and I think deep down we all know that, even the ones calling it Friends to Lovers. In the Hero Gets the Girl trope, the Girl in question doesn't really matter. She's less of a romantic partner and more a prize for the Hero saving the day. Her emotional journey to falling for the Hero mostly plays out off screen, even though she may not have even liked the Hero like that initially, and the hero doesn't ever show that he respects her as a person. For the most part it works (arguably) because the Girl isn't a character in her own right, she's just part of the Hero's story. The reason it doesn't work with Kataang is that Katara is a character. She does have her own journey, and as passionate and outspoken as she is in pretty much every other aspect of her life, it doesn't make sense for her journey to falling for Aang takes place largely off screen. Not unless you understand how little Katara's feelings matter to their relationship. Had Katara actually rejected Aang, their friendship would have ended because Aang was never interested in her friendship.

It's interesting to me to see people who claim to value friendship over romance spend more time complaining about a romance that isn't canon over the actual canon ship that really does cheapen the friendship. But then again, I guess that was never the problem in the first place.

[theunsinkableship1]

Something is rotten in Lukolaland

⚠️DISCLAIMER: This is LUKOLALAND only. Skip this if you're not a shipper. This is only my point of view. No harm intended.

This isn’t the post I planned to share today, but I feel compelled to address the rising negativity within our fandom. Recently, I’ve noticed an increase in hate, and I’ve even been accused of encouraging extreme fan behavior, which is far from what I stand for.

Many outside our community are quick to label us as “crazy” simply because we ship real-life actors, and if I can understand their concerns in some ways, this hostility is not entirely deserved and it has pushed many of our own to withdraw from what was a fun and loving space. It’s also disheartening to see so much infighting, and I want to firmly condemn this behavior.

The Lukola fandom, like any other, is built on the love and admiration of two actors and the unique connection they share. However, recent actions by a small group of shippers have crossed the line, overshadowing the very essence of what it means to be part of this community. Harassing the stars, their friends, and their families and co-workers goes against the principles of kindness, respect, and positivity that should define any fandom.

Furthermore, doxing and harassing other creators, just because their views differ, is deeply wrong and damaging. This behavior is not only illegal but also violates basic human decency. It tarnishes the entire fandom and hurts the very people we claim to support.

This space was meant to be a celebration of love, yet lately, it feels like some have infiltrated our ship with the intention of causing chaos and tarnishing our reputation. It's as if they are not true believers in Lukola, but rather individuals trying to stir up negativity and disrupt something beautiful. Let's not allow these disturbances to undermine the genuine passion and support that brought us all here. We need to stand united, stay positive, and protect the essence of what our fandom truly represents.

Our ship is made up of fans who love both Nicola and Luke, and recent events have led to an unacceptable amount of hate directed towards them. This needs to stop immediately. There is no Lukola without either of them, and their current or past relationships do not diminish our belief in their connection as an endgame couple. If you no longer believe in their love, you are free to disembark or go aboard another ship. Please don’t overstay and bring negativity in this Love boat that should be filled with support, positivity, and love. Let's keep our ship sailing smoothly, focused on the joy that brought us together in the first place.

Being part of the Lukola ship is about celebrating the chemistry and bond between Luke and Nicola, appreciating their talent, and sharing the joy their on-screen and off-screen interactions bring. It is not about spreading hate, attacking others, or engaging in toxic behavior. We must remember that our actions reflect on the fandom as a whole, and it’s our responsibility to ensure it remains a space of love, respect, and positive support.

Let’s refocus on the heart of why we are here to celebrate the love and connection we see, and not to bring harm or negativity into the lives of others. We can enjoy our ship while maintaining respect for everyone involved, including the actors, their loved ones, and fellow fans. Let's be better and embody the love that brought us here in the first place.

I will take some time to reflect on my actions and commit to being more mindful in the future. I pledge to not go overboard by being overly invested or overanalyzing every detail, and I will be more thoughtful about the content I share moving forward.

Let's keep our LOVE boat exciting and new.

[encantobrainrot365]

So I just had an interesting revelation after an exchange of comments with a writer on ao3. Cause I think I finally figured out ✨Dolores✨

I realized that she and Mirabel are pretty similar people. And while some aspects of their lives and circumstances parallel one another, they don’t have quite enough in common to be all that close.

Mainly, their family is the glue that binds them together. So, they love each other, but they don’t know each other very well, or spend a whole lot of time together.

As they pointed out, Dolores doesn’t fully respect Mirabel. Not enough to take her seriously. In fact, it’s quite likely that Dolores pities her.

Yeah her cousin is gift-less and different from everyone else, but at least she has hobbies and free time. At least she doesn’t have to deal with any of the stress and drawbacks that comes with having a magical gift. And Dolores, of all people, would know.

Between the disasters she prevents; the secrets she keeps; the damage control she has to do; her mother’s weather; her struggles with her own gift; her crush on Mariano; and caring for her younger brothers, as she is the eldest sibling; on top of all her anxieties, Dolores has far too much on her mind to worry about Mirabel. She just isn’t a priority nor her responsibility. Pretty similar to Alma in that regard.

It’s not a pretty side of Dolores, but it makes her human. It makes her relatable. She is not perfect, no one is, and we shouldn’t expect her to be.

On the other hand, I think Mirabel sympathizes with Dolores but that won’t stop her from trying to butter her prima up and asking her for favors. She doesn’t really know Dolores and I don’t think she trusts Dolores either, at least not yet, (which is honestly, valid). She also might not see her as a role model, not the way she does for every other woman in their family.

This is made evident in “Waiting on a Miracle,” and “The Family Madrigal” where she expounds upon and sings everyone’s praises but Dolores’s. I don’t think Mirabel knows what Dolores does other than ‘she can hear everything we’re saying.’ We, as the audience have to guess, to infer what Dolores’s role in the community is. Dolores just isn’t someone on Mirabel’s radar.

Again, this is a character flaw for Mirabel; a blind spot that makes her all the more relatable to us. She’s not immune to taking people for granted or overlooking their hard work.

However, even though they’re not close to each other they don’t go out of their way to hurt one another the way Isa and Mirabel do.

Both of them care very deeply about their family and would do anything in their power to make them proud, protect them & make them happy. This is why Mirabel helps Antonio to his door. This is why Dolores goes out of her way to speak up, unprompted, for the first time, to share her honest thoughts and opinions about Bruno.

Someone that she empathizes with. Someone she loves so much, she kept the fact that he was hiding in the walls a secret for ten years! If you consider all of this together, it’s no wonder she blabbed at dinner.

Despite how wrong it was she was operating from a place of stress and anxiety, not malice (like some would assume).

I think during reconstruction for Casita, and without the magic hanging over them, Dolores and Mirabel finally find that report they’ve been missing out on.

The whole family is relearning how to respect one another and truly understand their needs and personal boundaries. To be more proactive in showing how much they love and appreciate one another, instead of leaving things unsaid. They spend more time together actually bonding and listening to one another.

Building a relationship they didn’t know was missing for the past ten years. Just like Mirabel and her sisters. Or Alma and her children and grandchildren. How beautiful is that?

[leiflitter]

okay cattonquick prompt: first time they fall asleep in each other arms

"It's meant to be fucking spring."

Oliver didn't point out that April Showers was a phrase for a reason, nor that summer was the bright and sunny season, nor that they lived in the UK and thus it was often pissing it down with no real rhyme or reason. Unfortunately, that meant that he and Felix weren't going anywhere.

Normally the stagger back to Webbe was fine. Fun, even, talking shit while trying to stay upright. Felix invariably needed a piss about halfway through, and Oliver had to stand guard just in case. He never peeked, though, because he was a good mate. A house party was a different beast, though. They weren't within an easy walk of their respective beds, and the torrential rain had halted their progress as soon as they'd opened the front door.

"Taxi it?" Oliver tried to sound casual, but Felix winced.

"Got banned again. Wasn't my fault- fucking Farleigh, spewing in the backseat- so I refused to pay for the damages. Just because I called the bloody cab... It shouldn't be my responsibility. I didn't do all those jelly shots- no, sorry, jell-o shots. Fucking Americans."

"Bit pissed, Felix?" They exchanged a measured glance, before Felix lapsed into a grin. "Just post up here. Wait til it stops, or the buses are back on. S'late. I can sleep anywhere."

"I bet you can. Come on, then, Ollie, let's see if we can't find a quiet corner. Shame I didn't pull- you could, I dunno, fit in one of the cupboards or something."

They ended up in the bathroom. A proper seventies avocado suite, and Felix lowered himself into the bath with a groan. Oliver looked around, wondering if he was meant to take the sink, before a swat on his thigh made him jump. "What, Felix?"

"Get in here so I can pull the shower curtain closed and have some bloody privacy. That door doesn't lock. Well. It locks, but you can get it open with a good tug." Felix scowled, rearranging his limbs so one leg poked over the edge of the bath. "C'mon, man, else I'll freeze. Imagine you're a blanket."

Oliver frowned, paused, but he was drunk enough that he didn't think his dick would start causing problems. He also doubted that they’d both fit, but if he didn't try, Felix wouldn't shut up about it. He took his shoes off, not wanting any accidental kicks to be painful ones, then got in. It took a lot of rearranging to get even close to comfy, but somehow they fit. Oliver using Felix as a mattress, head resting against his shoulder. Felix had been holding onto the sides of the tub, but as he yawned he settled his arms around Oliver's shoulders. "Right. Job's a good 'un. Night, Ollie."

Oliver tugged the shower curtain around them, flinching at the rattle of plastic rings on the metal curtainrail. "Night, Felix."

[damnfandomproblems]

Both of these asks did not read my ask

~~~~

"I am so happy for this person that they have never had to experience the things that would make people bitter uncomfortable and upset about this kind of thing but this entire response is so rude and disrespectful ."

Cool. Good job assuming you know my life or struggles. Children shouldnt be shamed for having fun. I also literally said that they should be taught to be respectful and not to mock the disorder.

Tiktok is horrible about filters and pushing things to you that you dont want to see. Ofc its going to upset you to see kids do this all the time. The algorithm doesnt give you a choice.

What those people do online spreads misinformation and has actual consequences for people who are actually living with those things.

No one said they didnt.

If you’re old enough to be online you’re old enough to understand the consequences of your actions and when behavior is inappropriate.

Wrong. No one taught them. Humans do have a sense of right and wrong, but thats all it is. A sense. It takes experience and wisdom to learn what actually harms other and what doesnt. We are not born with these answers and no one is teach these children these things. Our society has changed drastically and basic respect and self discipline is almost a thing of the past.

Screaming at kids for just doing what they believe is having fun will not fix the problem of lack or respect and consideration they hold for others.

They make it much harder for self diagnosis to be taken seriously and when those who actually have something mention it online it gets discredited because of these people. It is an actual problem in our community’s and I do not appreciate the lack of understanding and dismissive nature this person has.

Indeed. It is a problem. But again shaming kids is not the solution. Doing so will just hinder their creativity and make them feel insecure.

Many of these kids are dealing with problems of their own. Theres a lot of neglect going on due to parents allowing their children to be raised on the internet. This is also causing the problems in behaviour we are dealing with. Many are depressed and are just looking to have a bit of joy in their life.

You cant just take it away from them. You cant tell them they arent allowed. You arent their parents but shaming them will just cause resentment and more aggressive behaviour.

If theres anyone who has a lack of understanding and dismissive nature it is you.

~~~~

The person was probably talking mostly about teenagers and adults doing this kind of thing not kids because that’s mostly who do it and they know better.

You should never assume some people "should" know better about niche topics. There are still adults and teens who arent terminally online or look for drama. Many just see a cool concept, get inspired, make a video and move on with their day.

Also from the way this person talks they have clearly never had to deal with anything (mental illness or otherwise ) that was later made trendy ( but only if you have a fun version obviously).

More assumptions. I dont owe you my diagnosis report.

I was relentlessly bullied for things I can’t control you can’t even begin to understand how it feels to log on one day and see countless people acting out stereotypes of the thing people torment you for and spreading wild amounts of misinformation.

:)

Because that’s a massive part of the problem

MISINFORMATION BEING SPREAD

Correct. Misinformation is a problem. But you are attacking the wrong people.

Cutting off the flowers but leaving the roots.

It may be fun and games to you but to people who actually have those things it’s incredibly hurtful and genuinely damaging irl and online there is no way to fake it without spreading misinformation

You know what's also damaging? Telling children to kill themselves over stuff like this. Because that's what a lot of people do. Ive seen it happen here on tumblr countless times. Blogs disappearing and many other going quiet only to then at some point have a family member or friend come on and announce their suicide on the page or on a different blog.

No one os saying the lack of respect, consideration and the abundance of misinformation ISNT a problem.

But driving people to suicide is not a solution. Shaming people for having fun just playing pretend is not the solution.

And yes there are those that know what they are doing is wrong. That still does not justify harassing them or suibaiting them. It does not matter how much it upsets you, you dont get to decide a random stranger on the internet deserves to die for it.

~~~~

Honestly i dont care what kids do for fun

My elder sister got really upset at our niece (10) for making an OC with a split personality because its "problematic" and shes met people who actually have DID so she cant stand her making a "disrespectful" character.

Its stupid. Our niece was just having fun and meant zero disrespect to people who actually deal with these kind of mental disorders.

Read this 10 times please ^^^

Its important that children learn about these things. Learn what they are and how they can affect the people that have them. Im not trying to say they shouldnt, but we shouldnt shame kids for having fun with the concept of these things either.

Note that i absolutely said this ^^^

Unfortunately the kids who started doing this trendy stuff were never taught about these disorders besides people online and eachother. But they werent wrong to be having fun with it. Just they should have been taught how to be respectful and not mock people who have these disorders and to learn that them pretending to have "alters" or characters in their mind to cope with boredom and the general shittyness of life is not the same as someone who was traumatized to the point of their mind actually splitting into two (or more) separate personalities and people (among other things) in order to protect itself.

Biggest paragraph here so how did you miss me saying this

Its the new "kinning" thing in alot of ways and really kids just need to be taught discipline and respect towards others. Many think being a mean bully is "edgy and cool" but when i was a child all the "edgy and cool" teens were scene kids and they were ACTUALLY the sweetest people i knew because they knew what it was like to be bullied and hurt by their peers. Its just a big problem of kids not being properly taught how to behave around people. Zero consequences for their actions and not learning to take responsibility for them too

Like seriously how do you read my ask this badly to have missed this

~~~~

I never said there weren't any problems. Especially about misinformation and people's behaviour. My point was about how no one should be shamed, harassed, anything else for exploring DID and the like as a concept.

There are better things you can do to alleviate the problems you are facing that ISNT driving people off the internet and to suicide. This "solution" is incredibly prevalent in these communities and only creates more negative stigma around people with these disorders, so i suggest you work on that first.

The behaviour of people, especially children cannot be fixed by the DID and neurodivergent community alone, but people will be more amenable to listening to you about your issues if you suggest compromise and understanding.

They are humans with their own problems going on and you need to treat them as such. You will find people who are completely unwilling, but you need to not focus so much on them and instead move on to paying attention to the people who are willing. Eventually the people who are willing will outnumber those that aren't. Just learn to stop treating people like shit and assuming they are always intentionally malicious and you'll find a lot more people are willing to help you.

Anon is replying to two several asks relating to Problem #4978.

[frigigly]

I do indeed want to eat glass anytime someone criticises the latter parts of Steven Universe without the context that it was rushed as hell by the network literally because of homophobic reasons.

Also the show is just good actually. Any arguments I've heard so far about the moral aspects of the show being weird seem just wrong to me lol.

I think the show does a very good job of separating characters' actions from the characters themselves? Like pearl tricking garnet to fuse with her was deeply fucked up and will never be ok, garnet makes a point to tell her she doesn't forgive her for it. And rightly so. But also the response to that isn't just pearl should die or something, its that she just moves on and learns to improve herself because that makes her happier and her friends happier, and this is applied to almost every other character too.

Like rose has done a lot of fucked up things, but she's not just supposed to be a villain 'worse than the diamonds' (insane that some people think that). She's the story of someone trying to remove themself from abusive familial dynamics and trying to improve themself despite that history. It makes sense that she takes on more of a negative/ sinister hue, considering the series takes place from Steven's perspective, and out of anybody, he's definitely allowed to hate her a little bit lol. But his own valid biases and feelings don't have to undo all the good that is inside her.

See also Bismuth, see also Spinel, see also Lapis, etc etc.

So when the diamonds do fucked up things, like corrupt gems, like indefinitely bubble the real roses, like maintain a fascist conquering regime, and then aren't killed as some kind of 'punishment', it doesn't bother me because I know this show, and I know it hasn't forgotten everything it's said up to this point. Just because they aren't actively being killed by Steven doesn't have to mean they're '''''redeemed'''''. They really were just not an active threat anymore.

It's ok to hate them! In fact I'm fairly sure the show expects you to. Even the fact that they were undoing the damage they had done in future doesn't just magically absolve them of how fucked up what they did was.

Like I really love the episode homeworld bound cause it's this almost mocking display to steven how everything is fine now, (throwing him right back into the princess gauntlet!) and the diamonds are sooooo perfect and cool now, and they have absolutely no problems, even though steven is in one of his lowest mental states to date. And the whole time steven is like "What the hell! You can't just magically make me feel better after everything you've done to me!" and they literally say to him "Lol yeah we can :D whats wrong lol why are you so mad, if you dont think you deserve to be happy thats your problem lol!" Like it's really giving pretentious ass self help yoga instructors, ESPECIALLY white like christ. Their egos are all still definitely there, they're just trying to make up for what they've done, because it should absolutely be on them to do so. It does not absolve them of their crimes and the show doesn't want you to think it does! And of course they can't help steven because they aren't fully respecting how much they've hurt him by that point, and all they do is send him further into his meltdown.

I really think you'd have to be blind to not see that even if Steven isn't fighting them anymore, he HATES the diamonds, and doesn't want anything to do with them now that he doesn't have to stop them from ruining his life. He literally does try to kill white but somehow people will still try to argue that he ''''''''forgave them too easily''''''''. I'm sorry but that argument really doesn't make any sense.

I know this show covers some very heavy topics, so it is going to be divisive. The horrors of how deeply your own family can hurt you is a reality many people are unfortunately very intimate with, so I do understand if people just don't like what the show tried to do, or if it just makes people uncomfortable, that's completely fair. I really do think though that the show is trying to stick up for people like that who have been hurt, and how you still deserve a chance to grow past it, it's surely not trying to dismiss or lessen anyone's trauma associated with their own past.

I'm sure in a better world we would have gotten a longer diamond days arc that didn't feel so rushed. Personally I think even future could have used another season, and the parts of season 5 exploring the fallout of the rose/ pink diamond reveal could have used some more episodes too. Unfortunately CN was very unfair to Rebecca and the crewniverse throughout the entirety of SUs airing.

Anyway I don't even know if I coherently made the point I was trying to, but tl;dr Steven universe is good actually, it should be looked at as a historic show for lgbt media and television, and it could have been even better if it wasn't being brought down every step of the way by a homophobic system, please support queer artists, love u bye

[meraki-yao]

You don't have to post it if you don't want to, you can also block me or delete it's ok, I just need to vent because this situation is hitting rock bottom and I can't stand how people don't want to see the problem:

In short: there is a video of the q&a where the female producer gets Casey pronouns wrong when talking about them. It's totally ok to point this out and give respect that Casey deserves BUT who was given the main blame? Taylor obviously, despite him also using the right pronouns during the panel, is guilty of not correcting the woman in front of everyone so he's bad again.

But this time we're not talking about that handful of idiot Nick fans, we're talking about the rwrb fandom that says they love him so much but once again for the umpteenth time they threw him under the bus without thinking twice even though he had no fault. And it will be the third time that the same fandom has exaggerated something against him, subsequently causing serious problems ( like racism and homophobia and doxxing which took place in december where everyone then washed their hands of it pretending nothing happened and they did nothing wrong)

And I'm so tired of reading that we just have to ignore that social because that social is the most active and followed and we know Taylor a few days ago saw stuff and posted and today Casey saw and posted a story. That social causes damage and everything they bring there is seen and affects all of them. So no it's not enough to ignore and put our hands over our eyes and just talk about how beautiful the sky is and I'm so tired and sad and heartbroken because every day even unconsciously they make it more and more evident that there isn't the same affection and respect for both, it's not true, one will always be seen with a critical eye "yes you are beautiful, perfect, so sexy, wow how beautiful these photos BUT you are a bit problematic, BUT you should be better than that, BUT you should learn better, oh disappointed but not surprised" and it is obviously always the poc man who has to be better who has to do better even when he does absolutely nothing wrong.

And this comes from the people who say they follow him and love him. It's no longer possible, that man has been attacked every single day for months, now he must also fall into the transphobic category because he didn't correct another person in front of everyone even though HE had used the right pronouns. But do we realize that this shit fucks up your mental health in the long run? But why doesn't anyone realize how serious the situation is? I cannot take it anymore and I feel like I'm screaming into the void and witnessing the moment when everything will get worse and fall apart and then we will be here sad because it didn't have to go that way for him

…Woah.

Jesus Christ what the fuck.

Okay um, here we go. This is a monster of response to write but here I am.

I’m gonna start by saying I am not a direct witness of any of this. I didn’t know about the misgendering issue during the Q&A, I didn’t really notice it when I watched the Q&A myself yesterday. I’m not on twitter and I don’t follow or look at Taylor or Nick’s tags. All insults I seen regarding the boys are either from assholes trying to bother me or from people who want to talk about the phenomena, both in my inbox.

Regarding misgendering Casey:

Firstly I’m gonna state the obvious and say of course it’s a bad thing to misgender someone. Don’t do that

However I will also say this.

In regards to the extent of reaction: it’s not always done in malice. And in this case, I think it’s a genuine slip up, which happens. I had to consciously remind myself to deliberately use the right pronouns after my friend came out to me as non-binary. I had to correct my friend using the wrong pronouns when talking about our mutual non-binary student. It’s not ideal, but it happens. It’s not mean, it’s just careless. And please note that I’m not saying it’s ok to misgender someone, no it’s absolutely not but I also don’t think this case calls for a big reaction.  If someone maliciously, deliberately, publicly and repeatedly misgenders someone, that’s problematic, that should be called out by the masses to this extent. This, we should acknowledge, make a note, and move on. I think there’s some cases where the reaction to certain issues are massively disproportional, this is one of them.

In regards to Taylor not correcting Sarah and being targeted for it: Firstly, Taylor didn’t misgender them, Sarah did. Taylor used the right pronouns. In fact when they hung out in New York last August, Taylor used the right pronouns on his Instagram story. Secondly, he might not have picked that up. Thirdly, even if he did, it’s awkward to suddenly cut off a monologue, let alone one from friend or not, is someone on a higher level than you, to correct a mistake that doesn’t directly affect comprehensive. Fourthly, bystanders are encouraged to step into situations, but they’re certainly not obligated to. So placing the blame or putting so much blame on Taylor is ridiculous and unfair.

In regards to Casey’s Instagram story: I understand where the connection comes from but honestly… I think there’s also a possibility that that’s just a post that Casey saw and wanted to share without reference to this issue. They don’t have Twitter, and it’s been several days since the screening. Truthfully, everyone involved seems really friendly with each other, and how this very project is advocating for LGBT rights, I don’t really believe that if they were aware of the misgendering, they wouldn’t apologize to Casey.

So replying to the “You don’t have to post it…” anon, I agree that putting any blame on Taylor is kind of ridiculous in this case, just like what happened in December. I think there’s a portion of “fans” that are fucking around with this and genuinely hurting him, but there might also be a portion of people who have a problematic/complicated perception of this type of situation, and it’s not targeted specifically towards Taylor. Either way I disapprove with what they’re doing, but here’s a hypothesis.

Regarding the damage these stuff causes:

I’ve addressed the insults thrown at Taylor multiple times by now. And I kind of agree with “I hate that there are idiots…” anon that really disgusting insults thrown at Nick tend to be overlooked, it’s not like there’s no Nick haters, there is. But because of the inherent racism, attacks on Taylor are much more obvious. Either way it’s cruel and disgusting and the boys don’t deserve to be thrown insults like that, nor do they deserve to have people enact cruelty in their name. Rarely is anyone deserving of that, and in the case of these two boys who have been proven to kind and wonderful people, it’s definitely wrong.

I’m tired of reading and seeing these bullshit on social media as well, which is why I actively avoid it, but “You don’t have to post it” anon, I definitely understand and share your worries of this fucking up the boys mental health.

But the sad truth is that we can’t decide what he can see and what he can’t. We’re just gonna need to trust him, to believe that he knows how to regulate the exposure of response he gets, that he knows what comments matter and what don’t, that he knows how to take care of his mental health. He actively avoids twitter, so I think he has an idea on what he can engage with an what he shouldn’t. Same goes with Nick, all we can do is believe he knows his mental health and how to regulate it. Meanwhile, those of us who aren’t assholes, we’ll show them all the love we have for him. I think public figures all struggle with this to some extent, so when they stepped into this career, I believe they saw this as a possibility, so they’re prepared to some degree. That doesn’t make any of this okay, but again, ultimately, we’re not people directly in their lives. We can’t do anything else practical.

Ultimately I want to say, be kind, compassionate and considerate. We can’t control what others do, and truth be told when it comes to the majority of the haters, I don’t think calling them out will change anything. They have their mind set. So the best we can do, is manage and control what we say and do, and to some degree, what we see and engage with.

[ms-hells-bells]

idk why the dog discourse is back again, but as someone that both lives in a country with high levels of pitbull/staffie ownership and interacts daily with dog owners and dog issues in my volunteer work, they aren't just randomly violent for no reason with good guardians who are shocked that it happened. the way people treat pitties here is fucking horrible, because they have the rep/stereotype of guard dogs or attack dogs, people who are lower class, close to or in gangs, use drugs, or are just hypermasculine get those male dogs, DON'T DESEX THEM (so, more aggression), don't properly train them, but scream at and beat them, because they think that's what will 'toughen' a pittie up and make them attack dogs. 99% of the time it does not, they just become miserable recluses, super withdrawn and fearful (most dog attacks are NOT out of anger or territory based aggression, they're fear aggression, when the dog feels extremely scared, and doesn't see a way out, and the human (often a child) ignores the warnings, like growling, showing teeth, certain poses, etc. another one is food/possession aggression, where their trauma and lack of proper training means that they cannot cope with people in their space and taking their things. you'll see bites at children who grab food from their dog bowls).

but they still love their owners, i have lost count of the amount of times, literally more than the fingers on my hands, i have seen men scream at, kick, punch, etc. their intact male pitbulls (not legal in nz unless a licenced breeder btw, but still a widespread issue), and the dogs still get excited and wag their tails, and want to play whenever the man comes back from work or whatever, they still seek touch and affection. it's just horrible, i have aided in someone else....disappearing a dog to a better life not exactly legally, that was treated like this because the spca wouldn't do shit, unless there's a dead or gravely injured animal, and people physically saw the owner/s do it, they don't care. those dogs have so often been abused from 10 weeks old, and they still seek love. very rarely some are so mentally damaged that they DO attack someone, and unfortunately they get put down, which i have complicated feelings about, but that's a different topic, i won't get into it in this post.

but yeah, you abuse a dog, don't train a dog, and destroy a dog's sense of safety, of course they are gonna be at a higher risk of aggression, because they have ptsd, they are traumatised and in constant fear of harm. and i do believe that there is a biological element due to the bite force of pitties and similar dogs, as well as breeding for specific personality traits. but we also see so many bites (far more than pitties and other large dogs) from small dogs, they just can't cause deaths or usually severe injuries because they are small, but they are attacking for the exact same reasons; fear and lack of training. so many people just have zero respect for other living beings. it's why i'm against breeding and domestication as a whole, because we just completely fuck with their lives for our own benefit. pitbulls as a species should not exist, just like near every other dog on earth apart from wild ones (that do include domestic species, but very quickly become just 'mixed' dogs). which is a similar opinion to many ANTI-pitbull people, but i come at it from an angle of empathy (as well as applying it to all dogs, we should not be breeding 'the perfect pet'). they didn't ask to be here and be treated so cruelly.

i'm not gonna reply to any responses to this trying to argue. i have posted about this before and had all those arguments. i know the statistics, i know the biology, psychology, and i have real world first hand experience. you are not fighting with me on my opinion on this.

[harpagornis]

Have you heard the tragedy of rounded wingtips the wise?

Pterosaur wing diagram by Federico Benzan. This was on Wikipedia’s pterosaur page for the longest time… until someone noted them paddle-shaped wingtips….

Recently a controversy (which I’m using the broadest definition of the term since this hasn’t actually caused any significant drama) revolving around the maxim that pterosaurs have rounded wingtips has erupted on twitter. World renowed paleontologist and actually-legitimate cryptozoologist Darren Naish has noted that there has been an emphasis on “rounded wingtips” when describing and depicting pterosaur wings in modern paleoart; upon a response from Dave Hone (whoch has published the paper responsible for this) this has evolved in a broader conversation about wing membrane lobes and the actual shape of the pterosaurian distal phalange.

TL;DR: pterosaur wing tips were rounded to some extent… but also not.

What is “pointy” actually?

Examples of alleged modern pointy wings, a frigatebird (putneymark) and a Mexican free tailed bat (jabz photography). Note that in both cases the sharpness of the wing is undermined by different segments (feathers and cheiropatagia respectively) that still blunt the terminal profile. Pterosaur aktinofibrils apparently did the same.

First of all, lets get a few things straight:

The Dave Hone paper linked above that started this whole thing doesn’t explicitly make a pointed wing an impossibility, just unstable and stupid. Natural selection doesn’t operate on intentional perfection, so a “subpar” design can still exist if it doesn’t flat out damage an animal’s survival. Thus, a pterosaur with pointy wings could hypothetically still fly, just not as well as one with a stable rounded wingtip.

That said, there is evidence that most pterosaurs had terminal phalanges that were curved to some degree, so this selective pressure is evident on the fossil reccord, though not universal (see below).

Darren Naish doesn’t dispute the presence of some roundness (though he clearly favours a minimalistic take on that). What he is mostly concerned with is what he calls a “convex lobe”, a section of the membrane projected that blunts the wing shape.

With that out of the way, we are left with two main issues:

Are pterosaur wings universally blunt? Or are there exceptions?

Was there evidence of a lobe?

The former is already semi-addressed: most pterosaur wings have curved end phalanges, as the paper demonstrates. HOWEVER, this actually doesn’t seem to be universal: in rhamphorhynchids at least, the terminal wing phalanges seem to be pointy, and in the case of Bellubrunnus they actually do the opposite of most pterosaur phalanges and curve outwards.

Bellubrunnus by Dave Hone. Notice pointy wing phalanges.

So yes, for whatever reason rhamphorhynchids and a few other groups gave this trend the wingfinger. However, they are the exception that proves the rule, as they are considered aberrant for this.

Onto the next point, the presence of a lobe. I think we can safely argue against the massive lobes seen in some diagrams like the article opener, but Darren Naish actually argues against even small lobes like in this reconstruction of Bellubrunnus:

By Matt Van Rooijen.

This I have to disagree with. Abundant studies have some that the distal section of the wing membrane of pterosaurs was full of rigid aktinofibrils (Witton 2013, th aofrementioned Dave Hone paper), so it was clearly an adaptation to generate a more rigid membrane in this area. While this does not prove the existence of a large lobe, it does make the existence of a small degree of convexity, certainly enough to at least smoothen the terminal wing in conjunction with the curved phalanges.

Muzquizopteryx wing end by John Conway. The artist has largely popularised rounded wing tips by emphasising the curved phalange with just a little bit of soft tissue trailing, which I think is a good, plausible compromise.

Along the way some people on twitter used examples of alleged pointy wings in modern animals like some seabirds and bats. However, in both cases the “sharpness” of the wing is severely undermined:

In most birds, flight feathers have round distal margins. Additionally, they form the wing in multiple segments; if one feather is damaged, others can make up for it. They certainly did not have a bony element sticking out as in the “pointy pterosaur wing” model. In fact, I find pictures of birds with fully sharp wings to be fairly rare, with even triangular winged species like falcons and frigatebirds usually having splayed feathers at some point in their flight cycle.

In bats, the wing is inherently rounded due to the presence of multiple wing fingers. Sharp wing fingers are by themselves rather rare in healthy specimens — they’re emmersed in membrane, hence why they lost their claws — at most you have species where the third finger is particularly elongated as to form a subtriangular wing. Like pterosaurs they have specialised fibers (in their case muscle groups) that prevent fluttering and maintaing the membrane’s shape in flight.

So yes, I think pointy wings are biologically inaccurate and evidence points towards at least somewhat round wing tips. But not too round, as large convex lobes are absent.

Prehistoric Planet

Prehistoric Planet azhdarchid model. Since this is a teaser picture I’m assuming it is okay to use.

This controversy has come just in time for Prehistoric Planet’s release, easily the most spectacular prehistoric documentary to date. Since Darren Naish and Mark Witton had creative control on pterosaur wings, how do they fare?

In pteranodontians, they are in fact rounded. Not too rounded, but a combination of curved phalanges and some soft tissue trailing make them more in line with the modern paleoart trend.

Azhdarchids, on the other hand, have extremely pointy wings. This makes less sense to me because they were inland flyers, which tend to have broader wings, though their distal phalange curvature is less pronounced so a large convex lobe would be necessary to create their rounded wingshape.

Overall I’m satisfied with the results, but I hope the discussion continues, especially since some people are naturally being imbeciles and going the opposite direction.

[our-hyperace-experience]

i've had nowhere to talk about this, but this is the closest i can find. my experience is pretty much entirely unique so i don't think anybody can relate to it, but i need it off my chest.

hi, im a hypersexual aromantic-asexual. and an abuser.

i fucked up my last partner bad with my hypersexuality. and they exposed me for it. my mental health took a shit ton of hits during that whole time and just. any romantic or sexual attraction i felt went away completely. i've heard of people getting their romantic/sexual attraction taken away due to trauma, but i'm not sure if i'm a valid aroace person because. mine went away because of the trauma i caused other people. not the trauma put onto me.

i was doing really good. really good for a while. I didn't feel anything. no hypersexuality, no attraction. then i started talking to my victim again. we talked because of this whole big shitstorm event, and they admitted they missed us so much. It's been months and i know i've completely changed as a person, but i still did what i did to them. all that gross sex talk with them. the sexting they didn't want. my hypersexuality ruined them and it tears me up inside every goddamn day. yet they said they needed me.

and i can feel my hypersexuality and attractions coming back to them, and only them, and i'm screaming at myself that this is a "no". that i shouldn't do this. but they need me. it's been months. and they said how lonely they were without me. and every time, every time i think something sexual, it's always about them, and i'm disgusted. it can't be anybody else but them and i don't know what to do.

i want to stay ace. i want to stay aro. i want to make sure i never hurt anyone again. im 16. i shouldn't be feeling like this.

Hi, reading this, I honestly feel for you and your victim, here's what I'll say.

It's clear you are remorseful of your actions and regret for what you had do, acknowledging the harm you caused and taking responsibility is a very important step with self-growth and healing.

This also means that all the urges and desires you feel are most likely against your actual beliefs.

although, I don't know the specifics of what happened between the both of you and your victim. I will say, the victim claiming they miss you and that they feel lonely without you could be an effect from the past abuse.

What I would advise is set firm boundaries between you two, like, ex. avoid sexual topics. If you two's interactions might be triggering the sexual urges, I think writing down some possible boundaries that can reduce those might help.

If it's not enough, I'd also consider cutting ties with the victim, I know it's hard to do that considering the victim's feelings, but staying with someone that had deeply ruined them can also be unhealthy for the both of you.

Especially since you have been doing better during the time without them, and seeing how the urges came back when you started talking to them again could cause problems. If you think the urges are too much, don't be afraid to walk away from the relationship, even if it might sting, it's better to sting now than to damage later.

Another quick thing I wanted to add are healthy outlets. Typically, hypersexual desires and urges can be reduced when you have positive distracts, like exercise, hobbies or doing new activities.

Journaling your thoughts and emotions downs also helps out, it can make you process your emotions and understand the patterns of your behavior, this might help with self-navigation.

Overall, thats my advice, I tried avoiding telling you to get professional help, as many people might not have access to that. You are really brave for speaking out, even if its just to a tumblr blog. I'll keep this post untagged for you out of respect, I hope after this everything gets better, anon 🫂🤎

[em-writes-stuff-sometimes]

I don’t know why I had this random thought popped up in my head all of a sudden but I feel like what the thing Alicent is most jealous of Rhaenyra is her motherhood like we all know that even though Alicent is resentful towards rhaenyra bc rhaenyra does essentially gets treated like the bby of the family in which she can pretty much do whatever she wants w/o consequence from her father (kind of giving me the eldest sister who suffers the most consequence from her actions & held to a more higher standard vs the youngest who gets away with everything, which is understandable but I lost empathy w/ Alicent a bit when she lets it consumes her & extend it to her children to cause even further división even though it’s not 100% her fault in a way that her shit of a father warped her into this person but still as an adult she’s also aware of what she’s doing but anyways..) but when I watch Alicent along with her children, there’s such a disconnect between them vs when I watch rhaenyra along w/ her children, there’s so much emotions, love, & bonding that I can’t help but think further cause her resentment towards rhaenyra bc not only she gets favorable treatment but motherhood just comes naturally towards her as well. Idk, sorry for the disorganized ramblings, it’s just what stuff like this pops in my head it takes me for a ride lol

Hey, nonnie!

I really like this analysis. I do think a lot of her resentment comes from this, too, on reflection. Alicent was only a child when she started having children; I'm sure on many levels she feels frozen at that age. It makes sense to me, the respective casting of her children and her - I know there's criticism of how there's like NO age gap IRL between the casting for the characters of a mother and her children, but I appreciate how this highlights Alicent's juvenility at the time she gave birth. In many respects, she's stuck where her children have aged from the neglect they've received. Sorta an incidental casting flub that makes for some really interesting symbolic subtext to the narrative the show is presenting.

All this in mind, there's no wonder that Alicent would come to feel envy for Rhaenyra. Her role in society is marriage and motherhood, and she is not able to excel at either by virtue of circumstances out of her control. Still, she pushes for duty and devotion, because she's good and she's been raised to do the right thing. And then you have Rhaenyra, who has "flouted all" and done as she liked, and yet somehow has managed to achieve her societal goals and do it better than she has. Her children clearly idolise her; she first has Laenor, who was friendly enough with her to willingly claim her sons, and then Daemon, who while a wild card is evidently in her corner; and she even holds the vaunted title of heir over Alicent's sons. It must be infuriating. I don't blame her for that. I do blame her for how she's acted on those feelings, though. Well, blame isn't the word for it. More that I think it's dangerous in ANY respect to use someone's past trauma as a catch-all to absolve them of wrongdoing. Alicent is not a good person, but that doesn't mean she didn't also have a horrible youth and a right in her own mind to behave the way she has.

Lol, sorry for my disorganised and rambling response! It makes me froth to think of all the baggage these characters have. It's why I cannot truly despise any of them (notwithstanding the fact that it's just a show and none of it is real, of course). They all have their own damage and they do bad things because of that. What a fucked-up world they live in. Give me more of it!