#also sorry if it’s preachy as fuck

[character-kai]

Idk man, I kinda feel like the whole assassination thing is gonna be a lot more pivotal than we think. The way people are responding to it is already a lot more positive then similar things in the recent past. People are angry, angry to the point that shits starting to happen again. I want everyone to stay angry. This is not lip service, I genuinely believe that to an extent violence is the only way to get results. The oppressor isn’t going to hand over their power, you have to pry it from their cold dead hands. You have to steal it back.

[wildflowercryptid]

something that's been weighing on my mind ever since learning about the situation with ezra / toonimal is seeing how these predators will take the active hostility that is frequently directed towards minors in online spaces to their advantage and use it to prey on vulnerable children. i think that we as adults in online fandom should probably come together and maybe rethink the language / manner we go about interacting with kids bc clearly the way things are rn is causing active harm.

like obviously, if you're an adult and aren't comfortable with minors interacting with you or your content, you should be allowed to set that boundary and should be vocal about it, ( especially if the content you create isn't safe for them to consume. ) but i don't think talking to them like they're a blight on all that is good and holy is the way to go about it. maybe just saying you're an 18 plus account will suffice, you don't have to tell them to fuck off.

[lordofthesillystraws]

white queer people be aware of our privilege as well as the ways we can be racist without just "saying slurs" challenge (impossible difficulty for some reason)

[gotyouanyway]

i keep thinking i should rewatch thirteen’s era at least once but man. i just did not fucking like it 😭

[axolotlclown]

Would you happen to have some studies to back up the "more than one coffee means you're addicted" thing, please? Pretty sure I've seen that disproven as a lens to understand addiction through at all

~ 🪴

Hey! So sorry I never saw this anon. It never appeared in my notifs and I'm really bad about checking my askbox.

You have asked a question that falls in line with a field I am very passionate about! I found some interesting articles in my school library. I'm going to go ahead and write this response, but I'm still waiting on access to a few journals. I'll have to convert those ones to PDFs as they are likely behind paywalls.

Anyway, here's my long post where I intend to rant about a lot of different barely related topics. Caffeine addiction is one of those really controversial but historically significant subjects in psychology!

So let me start off with how to read and break down a journal. It's one of those things where if you don't go to college and specifically major in a research related field, no one ever teaches you how to do it. That sucks.

So when you're looking at a journal, the first thing you want to do is background check the author. What school did they go to? What degrees do they have? (For research, they should have a Ph.D. no matter what.) What is their current place of employment?

Often companies, or other private businesses, will commission someone to do some research and fudge the results to make that company look better. We saw this recently in regards to gender affirming care. The United States House of Representatives had proposed legislation to restrict gender affirming care for transgender youth. The Republican sponsor of the bill had presented a single piece of research that he claimed was significant. The research found that transition regret rates were somewhere in the 30% range. (I don't remember exactly and I know that I could quickly look it up, but I just spent the past two hours reading addiction research. I'll find it tomorrow.) Upon looking into the author and the sponsors of this research, psychologists found that the journal the congressman presented was commissioned by a conversation therapy center in Florida. The research held obvious bias, poor peer review, and inconclusive results. The bill didn't pass. I'm not sure they even voted on it, actually.

Anyway, this is why we need to be critical of the research we read. Chocolate, wine, caffeine, gender dysphoria, and autism are notorious subjects that require more scrutiny before reading.

So, caffeine addiction. This is a subject that more than one field is interested in. Before you read an article, you need to be sure what question you are asking. Psychologists are concerned with a more scientific or factual approach. In this context, a psychologist would be researching the concrete effects of caffeine on mood, sleep, and other psychological disorders. Sociologists are more concerned with the overall social consequences of caffeine addiction. They would be asking how mood and sleep affected family, work, and personal welfare. For your question, we're going to look into the psychological aspect. Also, I'm studying psychology, not sociology, so I would feel like an idiot answering those types of questions.

This distinction matters. When I opened my school's EBSCOHost database, I simply typed in "caffeine addiction" to start. I was bombarded with sociological articles and journals about the affects of caffeine addiction on productivity at work and on mood. Strange overlap with psychology. Two problems: some of the top articles had researchers with ties to coffee companies, and all "caffeine addicts" were self-reported. For the latter, this meant that there was no standard for how much caffeine was consumed. Rather than being a concrete article about caffeine consumption, it was more of a survey of public opinion. You want to avoid those unless you specifically want to know about the public opinion. Even psychologists run surveys all the time (they're cheap and easy), but people often lie on surveys, even if they're anonymous.

So I typed in more specific key words and came up with these articles. I'll talk about some without leaving a link, but that's because I had to request the PDFs for sharing. I'll come back to this post and link them. (Let me know if the ones I do link are broken.)

Okay, so I'm going to start off with a journal that interested me, personally. This study actually observed the effects of caffeine on psychiatric patients. This is an important reminder that different drugs influence different brains. Someone with ADHD experiences caffeine differently for a neurotypical person. Caffeine is a stimulant, and ADHD medications are stimulants. Cool. What about other disorders?

Here's the Sparknotes of the study, "Caffeine intoxication was more prevalent in psychiatric patients than in healthy subjects. The amount of caffeine intake was shown to be associated positively with the severity of pathology and inversely with sleep quality."

The study goes more into depth about the different psychological disorders that different patients had. There were 401 patients participating in this study (150 healthy individuals). Overall, continuous caffeine intake showed a decline in sleep quality and a general increase in severity of other mental illnesses.

So what causes that? What is caffeine? Here's an article that looks into studies about caffeine consumption and performance, as well as what the causes of an addiction could be and what constitutes an addiction. This is one I recommend giving a read, as it helps to illuminate a common problem with researching intoxicants.

Here's the big take away: "Although caffeine is widely perceived to have beneficial psychostimulant effects, appropriately controlled studies show that its apparent beneficial effects on performance and mood are almost wholly attributed to reversal of the withdrawal effects that occur after fairly short periods of abstinence (e.g. overnight)."

In habitual coffee users, the increase of mood and performance after consumption of caffeine is caused by the removal of withdrawal symptoms. Grouchy mood and lack of coordination are symptoms of caffeine withdrawal. Where one may perceive positive reinforcement for initial consumption, for habitual consumers, withdrawal symptoms become a negative reinforcement.

So, for people that drink coffee everyday, it's less about getting the positive effects of caffeine, but rather avoiding the negative effects of withdrawal. This can be classified as an addiction. There is now a reliance on this substance.

Something this article also points out is that caffeine is not just found in coffee. It's found in chocolate and most medications these days as well. Therefore, complete stone cold abstinence from caffeine can be next to impossible, making control groups difficult to find. This leads to the varying research and controversy between psychologists.

Okay, but coffee can't be as bad as alcohol or anything right? Caffeine is practically harmless! Let's take a look into an article discussing the health impacts of caffeine. (I'll provide the full text to this one tomorrow.)

In Dr. Saimaiti's article titled, "Dietary Sources, Health Benefits, and Risks of Caffeine," she explores the benefits of occasional consumption of caffeine and weighs them against habitual overconsumption of caffeine.

While occasional consumption can actually improve mood and cognitive ability, these benefits are lost with daily consumption.

Few people drink their coffee black. For those that put creamer, milk (especially oat), or straight sugar or syrups in their coffees daily, they may be overconsuming sugar. This is especially hard on an empty stomach. This is part of the reason you "crash" later in the day. The sugar raises your blood sugar. For most healthy people, this may not be the biggest deal in the world. For others, it could be a key factor in developing diabetes later in life. In general, don't drink coffee on an empty stomach. Have it with a meal. It's also easier on your liver.

Speaking of liver, what does your body do with the caffeine after you drink it? Caffeine follows the same principle as alcohol. Occasional consumption of red wine can help thin your blood and lower your hemoglobin (something that women may be more concerned about as they get older). However, daily consumption of wine can cause stress on the liver and potentially lead to dementia later in life (I say potentially because there has been a correlation, but no solid research as to why. While correlation does not always mean causation, it's important to acknowledge them in the meantime.)

Caffeine behaves in the same way. Continuous consumption of caffeine can put some real stress on your liver over time.

Caffeine is dangerous for those with cardiovascular problems. While this seems like a "duh!" point, many people don't know that they may be prone to cardiovascular issues until an event happens. This sounds like fear mongering, but it's something to take into account.

The article discusses pregnant women as well, but I would hope that's intuitive? Maybe not? If you're pregnant you should avoid intoxication in all forms.

I'll drop this quote from the conclusion of the article for now (I felt weird quoting text that you can't access yet, so I'll come back with more quotes when I can give you the PDF): "the long-term or over-consumption of caffeine can lead to addiction, insomnia, migraine, and other side effects."

The point is, caffeine consumption can be more dangerous to some than others in general, but excessive consumption with lack of knowledge can lead to long-term damage to one's health.

Okay, that study talks about a relatively small niche. Let's get broad. Let's talk about sleep and cognitive performance. (Another study I'll have the PDF for tomorrow.)

In Dr. Gottselig's article titled, "Random Number Generation During Sleep Deprivation: Effects of Caffeine on Response Maintenance and Stereotypy," she looks at the effects caffeine has on cognitive performance during sleep deprivation.

The conclusions of this research makes a very important point: "caffeine preserves simple aspects of cognitive performance during sleep deprivation, whereas caffeine may not prevent detrimental effects of sleep deprivation on some complex cognitive functions."

This article particularly found that while small cognitive functions such as motor ability improved with caffeine, complex cognitive functions such as problem solving and memory declined.

While a college student could read this and understand that pulling an all nighter and drinking 10 Red Bulls probably won't help them pass their test, there's something much more to be said about these findings.

One sleep deprived night won't kill you, and certainly drinking a cup of coffee to get you through the day won't either. But caffeine cannot prevent the damage that regular sleep deprivation does. Sleep deprivation leads to memory loss, worsening symptoms of depression/anxiety/ADHD, increased chances of developing dementia early (this one is real), and a decline in overall cognitive ability.

Rough. But it is a trap. If you have insomnia, caffeine may feel like your only choice to be somewhat functioning throughout the day. Caffeine promotes symptoms of insomnia. It's a vicious cycle if you can't afford proper treatment, and one, that I hope, that will be addressed with time.

So if you have the ability, it's better to prioritize a good night's sleep. I'll come back to this.

For now, why is caffeine addiction so controversial then? Well, it may not be for long. While there was a push to add "caffeine" to the list of diagnosable addiction in the DSM since the 1980's, the inconsistent and inconclusive research has led to a standstill. As we say with Dr. Jame's article, it is difficult to get a control group for caffeine. However, as research for alcohol and marijuana progresses, our knowledge of how to properly study intoxicants does as well.

The long-term health side effects of caffeine are still being studied as well. While this aspect isn't unique to caffeine at all (marijuana, for example, is just now getting approved for research, where before it was illegal), it's still worth acknowledging what we do know, for now at least.

So, coming back to the DSM. There's a new one coming out pretty soon. It's the talk of the town among psychologists right now. Everyone is arguing about what should be in the DSM-6. It'll be crazy when it does come out. Autism, OCD, Gender Dysphoria, Borderline Personality Disorder, and Facial Dysmorphia are just a few examples of disorders that will likely be completely recategorized.

(Unrelated, but Autism Spectrum Disorder is a big one because a lot of psychologists are arguing that it shouldn't be classified as a disorder at all. The reason being is that Autism is so common, that psychologists are theorizing that the majority of the population falls on the spectrum somewhere. Either way, the diagnosis is about to completely change because of this fact.) (Well, all of them are big ones. I could make a whole separate post about it.)

Anyway, the push to make caffeine diagnosable is becoming a promising endeavor as research continues to come out.

One psychiatrist pushing for this is Ronald Griffiths. In his opinion piece, Griffiths recalls his patients experiencing caffeine withdrawal symptoms that led to a decline in the quality of life. One of his patients was diagnosed with breast cancer and needed to stop drinking coffee immediately. This patient struggled with severe withdrawal symptoms that were difficult to manage while on cancer treatment.

Griffiths explains how difficult it was to treat this patient because it wasn't something he could easily diagnose with the DSM-5, something insurance companies use to decide whether they're going to pay for care or not. Add on the bills for cancer treatment, and you rapidly have a distressing situation on your hands.

Joseph DeRupo, spokesman for the National Coffee Association in the U.S. as quoted in this article states, "What we have here is really the opinion of one scientist who is a lone voice against the accepted view of the scientific community."

Lone voice? In barely an hour I was able to find 5 credible articles, all backed by credible researchers, supporting the understanding that American society consumes too much caffeine. You can take a General Psych class in college and the textbook would spend half a chapter going over caffeine addiction and the controversial research around it. Coffee companies piss me off. And most companies use slave labor to harvest their beans and lobby to prevent legislation to prevent it. Guillotine.

Griffiths also claims that "[e]ven people who consume as little as 100 milligrams of caffeine a day—the equivalent of one small cup of coffee—can become physically dependent."

So this ask is pretty old, but I'm guessing it was in response to me saying that you should only drink one cup of a random beverage a day and the rest be water. This keeps you hydrated and helps cut out where the majority of your sugar intake is. I called it the "desert beverage" and that "coffee counts."

It really does. In the morning, one feels tired, foggy, and grouchy. "Don't talk to me until I've had my morning coffee." They would make their coffee out of habit, barely minding the taste of it—drinking to medicate the headache they've already caused.

Life is worth celebrating, and if we can find little things in our day to celebrate, we should! When coffee becomes a habit, it's just a habit. That's sad.

I worked as a barista for a while at a coffee shop that hired people with intellectual disabilities. That experience is what made me switch my major to psychology in the first place. But I saw the joys coffee could bring, and the damage it can do, too. I had a coworker who would come in and throw a tantrum if we didn't immediately stop what we were doing and make him a coffee—and again in two hours before the end of his shift. It's upsetting.

I do remember the joys, too. Our manager would show us a new niche coffee drink from a random country. We would make cubanos like they would in Haiti and talk about the different names they had in different countries around the world. It ruled.

I don't drink coffee every day anymore. But it's always a wonderful thing when I do. You don't need to have an "excuse" to drink a cup of coffee—you don't need to celebrate anything at all. Coffee, tea, wine, soda, and juice should be celebrated as they are. Drinking them out of habit destroys joy. Intentional habits create stable foundations in life. Unintentional habits create monotony and boredom.

Anyway, the sleep thing I said I'd come back to. So if you're having trouble sleeping, here's the hot tip: avoid screens 30 minutes before going to bed. That sounds easy, but how many of us scroll our phones, watch TV, or play a video game right before bed? It's not worth it.

Instead, do something away from your phone that you enjoy. I like to read, but you can draw, journal, listen to some music, practice an instrument, or write something. Doesn't matter, just don't use your phone or laptop. Set a 30 minute timer for time.

If you're still struggling to sleep, you may find meditation useful. Meditation uses techniques that make your brain send beta waves which relaxes you and is the first step to falling asleep. But! If you try to learn some meditation, you'll have to commit to practicing it every night for it to be useful. It's a skill that requires practice.

Anyway, I could make a whole separate post about evening/morning/afternoon routines as that is another one of my passions, but yeah.

TLDR; An occasional cup of coffee is actually great and wonderful, but you really shouldn't drink it every day, especially more than once a day.

PS. I love Red Bull cream sodas more than the God that created them, I swear, but I only drink maybe one or two energy drinks a year. Energy drinks will dissolve your liver faster than hydrochloric acid can. An alcoholic drinking 5 packs of beers a day will look at your liver and be impressed. Also the Panera lemonade should be illegal. That shit is CRAZY. That bitch had more caffeine than a Bang energy drink. It literally killed a man. Wild.

[reikunrei]

it really honestly cracks me up that even when this idea of moral grayness is stated Explicitly on screen time and again, people still don’t take it to heart and actually apply it to all of the characters. yes, even our “big bad.” like, y’all didn’t realize that was the core theme of the show in season 1? and season 2? are you for real? “i’m the monster” “no you’re not. you saved me.” like that wasn’t clear enough for you? to see this little girl do bad things like kill people and call herself the monster right after doing something to help someone she just met? the fact that she opened this gate and let out this monster that killed and kidnapped people all across town and that is a Bad Thing, but she’s not a bad person for it? that wasn’t clear enough for you? and now they have to say it On Screen in the Fucking Script that there are no monsters and no superheroes, nothing is ever that black and white, and you’re STILL not??? listening??????? bye

[lackadaisical-lesbian]

Y'all are too committed to the speed limit

[actuallyprobablyafaerie]

list of things that made me scream in pjo episode 3

Percy picking grover because he trusts him not to betray him!!! THEY ARE BEST FRIENDS OK

Luke still comes off as so likable and inconspicuous that whole convo he had with percy and the shoes i just

GROVER AND THE CONSENSUS SONG I CANT

annabeth staring at the different flavors of candy in the gas station and not being able to pick and just buying all of them. Thats the annabeth we deserve

ANNABETHS KNIFE APPEARANCE ALERT and a fury is IMMEDIATELY killed

uncle ferdinand foreshadowing……………

When annabeth and percy start arguing in the woods and grover tries to change the subject by talking about his uncle and they both completely ignore him. I LOVE GROVER SO MUCH

the bickering in this episode is ON POINT by the way

like the stuff theyre arguing about makes sense. Yes i would be concerned about those things too

ESPECIALLY since theres such a focus put on trust (esp after percy learns that someone is going to betray him) and percy and annabeth are arguing about stuff theyve lied or havent told each other about???? Sorry that might be skipping ahead a bit but GOD is that the good stuff

i love that they changed how the three of them ended up going into auntie em’s because before it was a little concerning that none of them figured out it was medusa. Plus having a fury outside just adds to the tension a perfect amount i think, because it really traps them in there

all the discussion about the gods and what medusa talks to percy about in the kitchen - YES MAKE ME HATE THEM!! All of this is adding up to lukes motivations making so much sense in the end

ALSO!! Them harkening back to sallys line in the first episode when she tells percy that not all heroes look like heroes and not all monsters look like monsters - they brought it back so perfectly. Percy wanting to trust medusa because of what his mom said, medusa calling Poseidon a monster, ALL OF IT is so good

When theyre down in the basement and grover puts on the shoes and then just fucking. Flies away and disappears into the darkness yelling a little. and annabeth and percy just kind of helplessly watch him go before being like - welp i guess that plans not working. That was peak comedy

them using annabeths hat on medusa and then using it to kill alecto THEY WERE SO SMART FOR THAT!!! Also percy just the invisible severed head was a hilarious concept to me

when percy suggests burying the hat in the ground with the hat on to make sure no one bad finds it and annabeth just!!! Agrees!!! And then grover has to be like no that hats important to her its a gift from her mother!!! And then percys like well we’ll find another solution then. That whole scene was good yes i liked that

also annabeth revealing that grover was her protector too and percy asks about it and grover just changes the subject and doesnt answer. He is the KING of avoidance

also grover finally interrupting annabeth and percy when they start fighting and giving his whole speech about getting along. That wouldve felt a little cheesy and preachy and out of place from anyone else but considering grover tried to get them to sing the consensus song a few hours earlier i fully believe that he would say that

I AM IMPERTINENT

Why the fuck wasnt there a lin manuel maranda jumpscare warning. I couldve used one of those

but actually all the jokes in this episode were so on point. Like percy calling drachmas chuckie cheese tokens. And him arguing about voting on the bus. Anyways

10/10 episode i will be rewatching like eight times before next tuesday.

[dootznbootz]

I don’t have a link but I saw a post along the lines of “EPIC fans trying to gaslight themselves into thinking Odysseus wouldn’t cheat (he does in the books)” and I nearly had a conniption.

Some people WERE arguing he was assaulted, but other people were saying it depends on the interpretation and saying he has a child with Circe and that he stays on the island with her for a year. I also saw someone say he was just lying about being assaulted on another post about it.

The Odyssey/EPIC fandom is so exhausting I’ve thought about blocking everything sometimes ngl. It’s so hard to filter out posts like that. But there’s so much amazing art and content about it I don’t want to stop seeing it.

No, like that's the struggle of it.

I Love Epic and I technically got into the Odyssey BECAUSE of Epic. But I'm a hardcore Odyssey girly. I adore it so much. I've read 8 translations at this point because I love it so much and it's fun for me! And Epic is in no way a replacement for the Odyssey (Jay even says that it's not! he's simply inspired by the Odyssey) and it feels like high quality fanfiction of the Odyssey (FUN! JOYOUS WHIMSY! I still like it! :3 ).

But holy shit, like, both Epic AND Tagamemnon fans can be so fucking exhausting. (I am a fan of both. I can say this.)

(Obviously I'm not talking about everyone. <3 I've made many friends and have met lovely people in both fandoms.)

Like while yes, Epic!Odysseus isn't coerced/raped by either of the goddesses, that's simply because of the fact that Jay simply felt like he wasn't well equipped to handle such dark topics to that extent. And I honestly respect him for that! He knows his limits with the story he wanted to tell and that's good! And in general I think he did a fantastic job handling the aspects of it he did touch on (Coercion with Circe's threatening in "There Are Other Ways" is done well imo.)

(ngl, I kind of take back what I said about "Not Sorry for Loving You". I think a lot of my reaction was initially from my fear of how fandom would react. But I've been delightfully surprised seeing how (for the most part) Epic Fandom has really come through to show the "fucked up-ness" of that song)

THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT ODYSSEUS IN THE ODYSSEY IS A SHITTIER HUSBAND BECAUSE HE, IN THE ANCIENT TEXT, CANNOT SAY NO TO A GODDESS.

Greek Mythology isn't like Percy Jackson where 12 year old Percy beat Ares. (I was a PJO KID TOO!) It's not "Odysseus didn't try hard enough" fucking victim blaming btw because HE LITERALLY CANNOT REFUSE OR THEN HE'LL (AND HIS FRIENDS IN THE CASE OF CIRCE) WOULD DIE!!!

Like I wrote a whole ass essay on Circe's Situation (I feel so preachy and shitty about having to constantly bring it up but I will as much as I have to to get people to listennnn) and in general, if you can't see what's happening with Calypso, you've got your head up your ass and/or are just looking away because you don't like the actual implications of what's happening. For the main "gripe" I've seen with Calypso with how "He enjoyed her company at first", @lyculuscaelus has a great essay breaking that down.

And before? ODYSSEUS HAS NO LISTED CONCUBINES! And he brings up Penelope often in the Iliad!

And the whole "lying about being assaulted", I'm sorry but if someone is holding the "Men were so sexist that they couldn't possibly care about the women in their lives or have been victims" idea, then why would Odysseus willfully share that he was raped by women? Who, as they say, were viewed beneath him? Why would he lie about something that would put him in such a humiliating light?

Btw, Menelaus (sealy boy!!!) even says that he's being held captive by Calypso with what he learned from Proteus! Menelaus isn't known for telling stories!

I feel bad as like, I used to LOVE going into the tags and finding creators I haven't seen before and cheering them on! Art and Fics and yay! But like... It's sometimes so disheartening going in there and seeing nonsense or bad takes ;~;

Honestly, as much as I DO enjoy Epic, I think that hopefully once the hype dies down a lil, it'll chill out more :') We'll all be okay!

[insufferableprotagonistpoll]

Finals

Propaganda why Velma is insufferable:

"It’s that Velma from the VELMA TV SHOW.

I’m so sorry, I honestly don’t know what else to say right now.

If you know why she’s so insufferable, you know. 💀"

"Insufferable, preachy, annoying, does not even try to be likable

Seriously, who thought it was a good idea to greenlight this trash?"

"Do I really need to explain... My deepest condolences to the REAL Velma from Scooby Doo, she would never stand for any of this"

Propaganda why Oscar is insufferable:

"“I want to be famous!” Ok, what for? “Whatever means I don’t have to work.”"

"Selfish, shallow, vain, materialistic, reckless, irresponsible, etc. Doesn't even have an aesthetically pleasing design, he's horrible to look at (like every other character in the movie tbf) so bro has literally 0 redeeming qualities. That one shrimp with the ridiculous sob story should have been the protag instead"

"His entire personality revolves around being shallow and selfish, to the point he sees no issue with lying for his own material gain, in the process shamelessly screwing over his best friend/future girlfriend -- she gave him her grandmother's valuable precious pearl to pay off his debts and get out of trouble, because she cares about him, and instead he fucking gambled it all on a horse race on impulse because he overheard some rando saying the race was rigged and guaranteed to win (surprise, it wasn't). Never really faces appropriate consequences for any of his actions. Gets an undeserved happy ending to top it all off, when really he deserves to suffer a little and learn a lesson.

Also has one of the ugliest anthro-animal designs I've ever seen so he's insufferable to even LOOK at, jesus christ."

[sadistic-softie]

I hate being confrontational or preachy and I've never done it before, and frankly, it scares the shit out of me because I don't want people to think I'm mad at them, but I just need to get this off my chest.

I don't have NPD, but I'm so fucking tired of seeing bullshit CPTSD healing 'resources' that use 'narcissist' as a way to say 'abuser' or assume that all abusers are narcissistic and/or vice versa. Like...I wanna heal my trauma without seeing NPD people being thrown under the bus and stigmatized for something they have no part in. Like...wtf? Is that too much to ask for?? My CPTSD is not because of someones or anyones NPD. It never was and never will be. Apparently this is a hot take, but PTSD in general is not from anyones NPD. PTSD is from TRAUMA and or ABUSE. Apparently this is such a common misconception that even my father believes it. He said, "it's because she's a narcassist" after I talked to him about my mothers abusive behaviors to me. So, yeah...that's an awkward fucking conversation I might have to have eventually?? Narcissist is not another word for abuser. I'm saying this as a victim of abuse. Narcissist is not another word for abuser. Yes, it is possible that an abuser can just so happen to have NPD, but they could also have literally any other disorder and that would't be the cause of abusive behavior. NPD doesn't 'make' someone into an abuser. People with NPD are not all abusers. Not all abusers have NPD. These things are not synonymous. You can not blame abusive behavior on NPD. In my particular situation, my family has fallen into a cycle of abuse type situation, in which each mother was abusive to her daughters, causing the cycle to become seen as 'normal' in the family, thus perpetuating the cycle. An abusers actions are purposefully negative. Even if the intent is not explicitly to abuse or the abuser is not fully aware that they are being abusive. Each individual behavior is done with a certain intent. Manipulation tactics are meant to gain power over a person, constant invasion of privacy is done to control a person, constant belittlement and agression towards a particular person enforces an unhealthy dynamic, unwarrented and or cruel punishments, threats, pushings of boundaries are meant to train a victims actions and mindset, and I don't think I need to explain why physical violence is harmful. The list goes on. None of these abusive behaviors are symptoms of NPD nor fit the description of someone with NPD. These behaviors are abusive, end of sentence. It has nothing to do with NPD. The following are screenshots from a simple Google search (literally bare minimum research) defining Narcassistic Personality Disorder:

I'm sorry is this post overwhelms anyone. I don't want this to feel like a scolding and I really hope I don't sound like I'm trying to take a moral highground because I don't wanna make anyone feel like they're a bad person or anything like that. I know my wording and tone in this post is quite agressive compared to how I usually am, and I apoligize for that. I also wanna make it clear that this is not directed at anyone or any group of people in particular. Also, take this with a grain of salt too, as I'm not a professional in any field whatsoever and these are just my personal thoughts and frustrations. I hope you have a wonderful day if you're reading this and if you aren't. Thank you.

[golbrocklovely]

here are my opinions on snc's new video :)

i actually really enjoyed this one. the couple that they have done this year haven't been my most favorite (apart from the ones with the boys bc those are really funny but had a good amount of spooky mixed in) but this one felt like an older video, if that makes any sense. like it felt like a vid from 2021 or something, and i actually really like that in a way.

also they finally came to my state which is makes this even better lol

i think what was nice was the amount of time they spent in each place. it felt evenly spaced out (minus the last spot but i kinda understand why). the last time they did something like this, it felt so rushed and like none of the places really got a spotlight, but this video, i think, worked out the kinks of the last one.

now to get into more specifics...

farnsworth house - so i was a bit confused how jeremy has his own room, but it's not the room he died in bc that is sara's room??? that was a bit weird to me but okay then lol

them freaking out about the door "hitting" amanda…. imma be honest that part is so dumb. clearly it was just swinging back towards her bc they opened it. my thing with houses that are super old is that you can't trust creaks or knocks or doors. like yeah, maybe they are weird and creepy in the moment and you can't handle how you deal with things at that point, but after the fact it's just so obvious it's an old fucking house and not paranormal, at least to me.

but them constantly hearing footsteps was very odd, especially since they were assumingly alone in the houses. that part is very weird.

i liked that there was a lot of active spirits there. what i am a bit bummed about is we never found out what laura wanted to say to colby. also colby being drawn to the one bathroom, which is were jeremy died… that man is psychic and needs to get back onto that empath grind sksks

the emotion ball thing was dumb. sorry. don't try that again lol

i get why they use the spirit box but it is so hard to understand anything that comes out of it. i personally wish they would just stick to the alice box/estes method.

jennie wade house - first off their guide was a 10/10. she very much reminded me of ppl from philly, and i have no way of explaining why lol

it's a shame what happened to jennie. and i personally think that the soldier in the previous house did kill her, even if on accident.

what i will say tho is how is it that her father was a terrible drunk and downright shit dude, and everyone just accepts he was an asshole… but rosa carmichael was possessed by a demon or the devil??? she couldn't have been just a terrible fucking person who hated kids??? idk, just asking questions here.

again at this place, it was nice that they had "intelligent" spirits bc them interacting with the equipment was cool to see.

sam seeing a face was actually cool, bc nine times out of ten the boys gloss over shit like that and then pretend it didn't happen later down the line.

child spirits always make me sad. it's such a shame when children die. breaks my heart.

soldiers homestead orphanage - imma be honest, do i think this place has a demonic energy in it? ehh, idk. do i think it's possible that soldiers, as they lay there dying slowly, started praying to the devil? sure. i can see that being a thing. idk if that place is demonic tho.

personally, this place falls just an ounce flat for me only bc amanda and her preachy ways comes back full force and it just gets on my nerves lol

hey, just like 2021!

it was a bit much how terrified they were to go into the basement so every creak of footsteps scared them out of the doorway. at that point they should have just stood there and waited to hear the noises. i know at one point the steps sounded really loud so that definitely is worth being spooked out, but after the fifth time of them doing that it wasn't scary anymore - it was annoying.

the estes method was interesting, but again… idk how i feel about the place being demonic.

i think overall i would rate this video like a 7.5/10, maybe an 8 if i'm feeling really generous. it was good, got some good evidence in there, and it happened in my state so that already raises the score lol

please come back to pa snc. i need you to redo pennhurst so badly it's not funny.

lmk what you think if you wanna :)

[ask-husker]

Hey, Husk (and mod lol). I just wanted to take a moment to say that you’re seriously appreciated, even if you don’t always feel like it. You’ve got this charm about you, the kind that makes people feel like they’re not alone in this dumpster fire we call life. Your sharp wit and dry humor are like a reminder that it’s okay to be rough around the edges. You’re someone who deserves all the good things, even when the world feels like it’s weighing you down. You don’t have to do or be anything more than yourself to be enough, and that’s pretty incredible. Thanks for sticking around and being you, it means more than you probably realize.

-♫

(and to mod, I hope you're doing okay, you're incredibly appreciated <3 (also sorry for talking to you too in these asks 😭))

Thanks, sweetheart. We're all fucked up and imperfect. Best we can do is accept ourselves and accept others as they are, ya know? It's always gonna be a dumpster fire, eventually. But, shit, I'm gettin' preachy. I'll blame the gin.

Hope you're doin' well and takin' care yourself as good as ya treat others. You keep well, sweetheart.

(Thanks, friend. I'm just a silly human writing my favorite character, but I'm glad you enjoy it. Never apologize for your asks. They brighten my and Husk's hearts.)

[janeelyakiri]

So! After just having had a panic attack over a house spider, I'm obviously wondering if your lovely Ebott Valley boys and FalconCOUGH are regular ol' knights in shining armor when saving their S/O from the villainous arachnids? 🫠💖

SHKGLFDGF I am so sorry bout the spider. I myself am fond of arachnids but I get the 'whERE'D IT GO' feeling none the less 😅

So first thing is first, ALL of them would make sure it's NOT one of Muffet's. No one wishes to incur her wrath. But if it's not one of hers-

Pheasant- Easily picks it up with his hand, and pops the thing outside. They're wonderful natural insect control, he's not gonna waste that.

Shepherd- Same as his brother, just tosses the lil thing outside. Then maybe gets a bit preachy about how they are more scared of you than you are of them.

Rooster: Admittedly isn't fond of spiders. He woke up as a kid once with one in his socket. Also his father's name was Recluse. Specifically named after the spider. So if you ask him to he won't squish it. Otherwise...

Mastiff- Also not too fond, but mainly because his father loved spiders. He won't squish but they are getting removed from his home.

Quail- Leaves it be unless it's venomous or you ask him to remove it. He loves orb weavers the most!

Collie- Doesn't even notice unless you point it out. Bit more stubborn about just letting the lil thing do it's job. But if it really gets you panicking he'll take the spider outside.

Hawk- Watching it like a fucking HAWK (hah). He doesn't trust it. But he doesn't want to get near it. Enlists his brother to help you both.

Coyote- If you don't specify 'don't kill it', he will fucking eat it. JUST to get reactions from you and his brother.

Buzz- Same as Coyote, but only bc you don't. Waste. ANY. Food.

Bea- Please just ask him not Buzz he'll remove the damned thing fuck sake.

And Falcon- Cup and paper, and out the door it goes. Easy. Now does he get a kiss for his hard work saving you~?

[butch-himbo-king]

hello, here's some unsolicited advice for your sinus infection, pls disregard if you dont want that.

theres 3 things i think might be helpful to you and you might already be doing some of them.

1. neti pot or saline wash. depending on how clogged ur nostrils are, it might be difficult to use a neti pot, but if you persevere doing it daily, i think it can bring some relief. ceramic neti pots are more expensive but i think theyre safer than plastic. you can google how to do this, just make sure to use clean/boiled water. also when ure done, blow ur nose gently and without closing either nostril.

2. nasya, this means putting oil blend up ur nose in the morning. if you google, you can find a lot of premade oils, but i find it safer and cheaper to make ur own. i use coconut oil with 2% essential oil (i use tea tree and eucalyptus globulos) but if you choose to do this, you can just do the euc so you dont have to buy 2. google "nasya ayurveda" for more info

3. steam inhalation, this is the one you might already be doing like when u turn on the shower rly hot and breathe in the steam. i also like boiling water in an pan adding essential oil (again eucalyptus globulos reccommended) off the heat and breathing in with a towel over my head and the pan to trap the steam (this is physically uncomfortable but worth it for the relief)

source: ive had so so many sinus infections both as a child and adult and my mom is into aromatherapy so ive learned a bit from her and also google

Safety note 1: pls still take your antibiotics when you are able to get them!!! these suggestions are more for relief than getting rid of the root of the inflammation so u still need the anti-bios

Safety note 2: if you do this, pls be sure to dilute your essential oils carefully. they are incredibly concentrated substances that can actually do harm undiluted. all the suggestions i made here have been practiced in traditional medicine (specifically ayurveda) for thousands of years and are safe!! but only as long as you follow the directions

im very sorry if this comes off preachy or like im telling you what to do or like those essential oil moms, but these three things have helped me tremendously and i thought they just might help you too. once again, feel free to disregard and tell me to go fuck myself if thats your truth. im also happy to answer any questions if u have them!

i like ur blog and hope u and ur partner continue to do well and be happy!

thank you fr for sending this it’s so sweet and really genuinely appreciated!!!

i have tried the netipot but both of my nostrils are too swollen for the water to even drip into my throat let alone go all the way through to the other nostril. it literally just sits in whichever one i pour it into for a second and then falls straight back out once it overflows lmfao

and i have been doing a lot of steam inhalation with simmer pots and any time i make soup or tea

one thing i haven’t tried though is the oils. i know if i make a trip to my moms house she’ll have everything i need bc she’s also a very herbal remedy type of woman and she has her big wooden storage box of every oil imaginable.

thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to send me a little bit of help this is really and truly appreciated i hope you have an amazing day 🫶🫶🫶

[pinkiefemme]

I say this in the most genuine way bc I really am putting faith in your "I don't hate trans people! I am even friends with one!"

the thing is, you can say that you love trans people as much as you want but you still see people with dick as a man (aka, your dni says man = XY chromosome) and that's what one of the bare bones of the transgender moviment and it's really contradictory you say you support them but then turn around and says that a trans woman is not a woman bc of her dick

it's okay to say that you don't want to fuck an actual dick, just don't say these womans aren't woman!

unless all of those posts you say are a joke! if it is, I'm so sorry to send you this ask, I am a bit slower with ironies and jokes

Okay but like. This is where I get attacked. I don’t think trans women are women (or trans men as men). I respect them as people, and will refer to them how they want, but at the end of the day, I don’t and never will see them as women. I’ll always condemn violence towards them, bullying, or any kind of mistreatment, but I simply cannot ignore the fact that biological sex is a real thing and can’t be changed. And please don’t with the “but sex and gender aren’t the same!” Yes they are. Gender ROLES are a (mostly) social construct. Gender isn’t. My biggest question is at what point did the feminist movement start to prioritize males with dysphoria over females? I’ll never understand that.

I will also never be okay with the implication that males can be lesbians. Don’t shoot okay

All that being said! I am not being preachy or condescending when I say I love and respect people with different views on this. I’m literally the only person in my friend group full of gnc and non binary/trans ppl who thinks this way. Unfortunately, I’m definitely going to be called miserable, unloveable, evil, bigoted, worthless, etc. that’s what makes me genuinely sad. It would be one thing if I was out here calling all trans people disgusting predators, saying they don’t deserve rights, or that they should be mistreated, but I’m not. And I genuinely wish we lived in a world where I could have my beliefs and others could have theirs and we could all avoid telling each other to off ourselves :)