#and because it's a full-spectrum blend

[skaldish]

.

[hellotailor]

louis' final three costumes in S2 are so, so cleverly chosen. after the curated blandness of his interview wardrobe in dubai, this is our first glimpse of his personal taste in the present day. each outfit is full of meaning.

in the first half of S2, louis and armand’s coordinated interview outfits seemed like part of their performance as a happy couple. by the end, they have a more sinister subtext. louis has gone from having stylish, flashy fashion sense to wearing uniformly expressionless black and grey:

dubai-era louis exclusively wears the colors of depression and mourning, in a style stripped of personal expression, physically and spiritually separated from the outside world. i’ll write a separate post about armand’s costumes later, but you could interpret this as louis' taste being subsumed by armand’s nebulous 500-year-old absence of identity. at the very least, louis is blending into the chic minimalism of the apartment, presenting himself as part of the household unit.

with that in mind, his final three outfits signal a seismic change after leaving armand. his NOLA tour costume reflects the philosophy behind his 1940s wardrobe (ie. selected to blend into a human crowd) but he's also reconnecting with his home, wearing a New Orleans Saints hat with (in a potential piece of double symbolism!) a fleur-de-lis logo.

then we have the loustat reunion outfit, which is more enigmatic. he’s going for subdued colors (although not pure black and grey), with a silhouette echoing his mid-20th century wardrobe: high-waisted, wide-legged trousers and a bomber jacket - a cut he wears pretty often. IMO the reunion’s overall color palette is a major factor here, with lestat and louis' costumes and surroundings sharing a spectrum of dark brown, sepia and muted gold.

finally there's the last scene in dubai, arguably the most “pure” expression of louis' taste because he’s not wearing this outfit for an audience. coordinating with the apartment’s colorful makeover, he’s wearing a multicolored cardigan with yellow highlights, matching claudia’s dress, the yellow couches, and the gold background of his new painting. (i’ve identified this as a YMC cardigan retailing at £250; a mid-range english brand.)

this piece (paired with navy blue pants with a yellow stripe) is modern and distinctive; basically the opposite of his interview costumes, which displayed very little in the way of personality or cultural markers. you immediately understand that louis is expressing himself through fashion again, now in a more casual streetwear context than the tailored and accessorized suits of his youth.

[sophieinwonderland]

Hiveminds and Multiplicity

When thinking about Hiveminds, I realized that hivemind connection is a spectrum, with many plural or plural-like experiences across it.

At the same time, both the beginning and end of this spectrum are singlet experiences. I decided to represent this with my own horseshoe theory.

Unconnected Individuals

This is pretty self-explanatory. These are totally separate individuals with their totally separate bodies. These are not even the slightest bit plural. Or, at least, not for any hivemind related reasons.

Mind-Linked

Now we drift into plural territory.

At this point, the individuals have some sort of mental link to each other. Mind links can range in levels of complexity.

At a low level, this may mean feeling each other's emotions or sensing when something really bad happens with no words or other communication. The most basic form of this might be "twintuition" in shows, where twins can magically sense when something happens to another no matter where they are.

At high levels, this can come with full verbal communication and other hallucinatory experiences.

Mind-linked systems often have strong barriers between them, only being able to transfer limited information, and maybe only in specific circumstances.

But the mind-linked are having plural experiences. They have someone else feeling their emotions, hearing their thoughts. It's very similar to sharing your mind with headmates. As this connection grows, they may end up becoming...

The Multiple Hivemind

At the top most point of the horseshoe, all mental barriers have been torn down.

They're still multiple people. They still have their own individual identities. But the link has become so great that they can read each other's thoughts whenever they want. They can share memories and skills freely between them, being both multiple and completely connected at the same time.

The Median Hivemind

Having achieved perfect connection, identity starts to erode. The median hivemind starts becoming its own collective identity.

Individuals in the median hivemind still retain agency and sense of self, but are also blending together more now and feel less like separate people.

The True Hivemind

At this point, there is no distinction between identity of the members. The hivemind is now one singlet spread across multiple bodies. A contrast and opposite to traditional plurality, which is multiple agents in one body.

...

We Can Get Weird With This...

Okay, that's a basic overview of how hiveminds work and evolve with singlets. But... what if some members of the hivemind aren't singlets?

Now things are going to get weird because hiveminds and mental links enable a lot of peculiar things that wouldn't be possible otherwise.

What if an old headmate goes dormant for years. In that time, the system becomes linked to a hivemind and specifically become either a median or true hivemind where they all identify as the same thing? What if that headmate comes back to find everyone else in the system is part of this hivemind with their identities melded into it, but the new headmate is still separate?

Or what if a multiple hivemind enabled headmates originating in the same body to front in multiple bodies at once, essentially allowing system hopping as a thing in those specific circumstances? What one of the members of an in-sys relationship used someone else's body (consensually) to be with their partner?

Or what if, for whatever reason, only one member of the system had the connection to the hivemind while the rest didn't?

Or... imagine that there are two systems with a strong mental link. They become a multiple hivemind with headmates able to speak freely to each other and even share an inner world. Then two headmates, one from each system, interact more and end up fusing. What does this mean? Which body is theirs? What happens if the link is severed?

Or in the same vein, what if a hivemind starts out as existing between 5 singlets? They become connected and end up being a multiple hivemind, and share an inner world. What if the hivemind created a tulpa together in this inner world, and none of the members are sure whose tulpa it actually counts as?

...

Anyway, if there's any takeaway from this, it should be that plurality is weird. Hiveminds are weird. And put them together and you get a weird sandwich. 😁

[sagescented]

@autisticslp asked (on the old blog):

So a lot of cooking advice that people tend to give that seems very basic honestly comes from decades of experience; there's a post that floats around Tumblr sometimes, actually, that talks about how a lot of "cooking from intuition" isn't actually intuition at all. It's deeply ingrained memorization about the "laws of cooking" that we've learned over time, that feel like second nature to us to the point where we no longer have to think about it or physically reference recipes or tutorials anymore.

In essence: We're good at "taking what we have on hand and making a meal of it" because we have a lot of practice! We've built up a skill! A skill you're lacking in. And that's not a bad thing! But it also means that you shouldn't be too hard on yourself because you don't know or can't seem to grasp this stuff that seems so "second nature" or "easy" to a lot of the cooks you know. You're still really new at this! And with various disabilities and mental illnesses, cognitive issues, etc? Of course you're going to struggle harder at it than "most" seem to, to you!

As a secondary aside to that, you mentioned growing up on a farm. But farming and gardening, and the various forms of food preservation that frequently comes alongside small family subsistence farms, is a very different skill set! Knowing what's seasonal in your garden doesn't necessarily inherently translate into cooking it, and building a full meal up from scratch unless you also had someone who had that skill as well to teach you that.

I know my Husband's mom sure as hell didn't. He grew up on a farm like that, and she could can all day ... But Lord. She couldn't cook to save her life. She attempted to impart neither of these skills to my Husband, either ... I grew up on one, as well. But where my mom couldn't can or garden to save her life, she was a damned good cook and imparted those skills to me. Now I'm passing them on to my Husband decades later, because his mother failed to.

What you're ultimately missing is a fundamental set of basic skills, and a knowledge set built up over time and practice. And the good news is, those are really simple skills to learn. The bad news is, it does take a while to learn them and to build up that pool of knowledge. Most of it's experimentation, though, and not a lot of it's super difficult.

For basic knowledge of cooking science and spices, I'd recommend The Science of Cooking and The Science of Spice- both by Dr. Stuart Farrimond. I own both and love them dearly. They'll debunk some common myths, and give you a basic understanding of certain food sciences that are honestly really helpful.

When you feel like you're ready to actually sit down and experiment with spices, I love The Encyclopedia of Spices and Herbs: An Essential Guide to the Flavors of the World by Padma Lakshmi. It has information on various spices, tells you their cultural contexts, mentions what they're usually used on in those contexts (vegetables, which meats, etc), and even gives you some common cultural spice blends (though doesn't provide measurements). It's a thick boy, but it's a really fun one to work through if you have no introduction to spices or idea how to use them.

Past that, something you need to build yourself is a well stocked pantry with staple basics. I can't tell you what those are for you. That's something you have to figure out for yourself based on what you cook, how often, etc. But my minimum has always been at least 2 months worth of food in my pantry at any given time, across a broad enough spectrum that I can pick just about anything out of a recipe and only really need to shop for the fresh or immediate-need ingredients each week.

Staple Grains like Rice, Lentils, Cous Cous, and Quinoa.

Pasta Noodles of various types- like Elbow, Rigatoni, Bowtie, Penne, Fettuccini, and Spaghetti

Potatoes in the form of Mashed Potatoes and Scalloped Potatoes both, as well as a "fresh" bag each of Russet, Yellow, and Red Potatoes

Onions. I keep a mesh bag each of Red and Yellow (or White; whichever's cheapest at the time I'm shopping) on hand at all times.

Boxes of Stock (Chicken, Beef, Vegetable, and Protein Broth when I can find it)

Canned items that I use a lot of, like Diced Tomatoes, Tomato Sauce, Tomato Paste, every kind of Bean (Cannellini, Great Northern, Dark Red, Light red, Black, Pinto, etc), and Chickpeas; plus canned fish (Tuna and Salmon, Sardines, etc)

Condensed Creams Of (Chicken and Mushroom are the two we use most often)

Spices. Of every kind. You literally do not want to see my spice box. It's insane. Yes I'm proud of it. But it would make the average person cry with confusion and fear.

Frozen Veggies in the freezer (Green Beans, Brussel Sprouts, Broccoli, Carrots, Squashes, etc; personally I prefer the frozen to the canned)

I'm sure there's stuff I'm forgetting. But ultimately when you have a full pantry and only have to buy your fresh or immediate-need ingredients? It not only massively saves your grocery bill each week, but it also makes it so much easier to "make things with what you have on hand". Because a large part of the trick is, honestly, having things on hand to make stuff with in the first place. And that's really the big secret that goes unspoken in a lot of circles. But it really shouldn't be an unspoken secret, because it holds so many people back.

Another secret is just knowing basic cooking methods. What is chopping vs dicing? How do you pan fry? What's a dry fry vs a wet fry? What about baking? Broiling? Boiling? What happens if you stew an ingredient instead? How big does it have to be for each of these methods? How does it perform with rice as opposed to cous cous? How is it raw- if it can be eaten raw? Other than that, just knowing recipes is really going to be the big key.

Unfortunately I don't have a recommend for learning any of these ones, since I learned all this the hard way. I do see some cook books that could be useful (like Veg-table: Recipes, Techniques, and Plant Science for Big-Flavored Vegetable-Focused Meals by Nik Sharma; or Vegetables: The Ultimate Cookbook Featuring 300+ Delicious Plant-Based Recipes by Laura Sorkin). I can't personally recommend them, however, because I've never read or used them. But there's a lot of information out there on youtube that can be very helpful, especially for methodology since it's a visual medium- which is, I think, the best way to learn some of these skills in particular.

Personally, I did the recipe thing by looking at cuisines from regions where those foods or ingredients were really popular. So take your Eggplant for example. Eggplants feature a lot in Mediterranean, Levantine, and Middle Eastern cuisines. So when you want to learn how to use Eggplant and build up your knowledge about it? Looking at the people in those regions who use this ingredient a lot already is going to be really helpful to you. They know what they're doing with it!

When you've made those dishes a few times, you're going to get an understanding not only of how to prepare Eggplant for various methods of cooking, and how to cook it for those methods. But you're also going to get an understanding of what flavors pair well with it. And after a while of doing that, you're naturally going to start thinking "what if I do x instead?" and start experimenting on your own. Play with them. Get to know the ingredient on the most foundational level. And yeah, throw some herbs on it if you're comfortable! See what meshes with what flavors. What do you like? And yeah, some of those are going to be flops. But by the time you start thinking "what if" your skills are usually further progressed than you'd think to give yourself credit for. Just ask my Husband, ha!

As for the stuff regarding disability, mental illness, and cognitive function, I gotchu, babe! One of the most distressing things for me when I became disabled, started suffering really bad from cognitive decline, and started dealing with memory loss, was looking at the potential of never being able to cook for myself again. And that scared the piss out of me, because cooking is my joy. And so my Husband and I sat down and prioritized cooking and making it disability friendly for me. Here's some of the stuff we did.

First step: Get your butt a stool that's a comfortable height for your counter height. Once acquired, sit as much as you can in the kitchen. It conserves energy and lets you use more of it to focus your head.

Second: Get yourself all those fun little gadgets you think look interesting or helpful. Personally I have a fruit slicer (that works on more than just apples), a slap chopper microplane thingy, and a few others. Mostly I got these because occasionally my body loses my hands and has no idea where they went and it's safer for me. But I can't tell you how nice they are even when my body knows where my hands are, ha; they speed up prep, keep your fingers safe (usually), and leave more room for the brain to do its thing.

Third: Make as many lists as you can! I have a list on the inside of all my pantry doors of the staples that are in that section. When something needs refilling it allows me to put a mark there so I know to put it on the grocery list. But it also provides a quick reference when my brain's tired; it's so much easier for me to read a list than try and decipher box labels with various colors, font sizes, etc. Make lists wherever you need them and always keep them accessible.

Fourth: The recipe box. Yes. A good, old fashioned, classic recipe box. I have mine filled with tried and true recipes that I know for a fact my Husband and I love, that I know we have at least 90% of the ingredients on hand for at any given moment. So if all else fails and I can't think of anything? I can just go pull something out of the box and have him jot down to the store for anything we don't have.

Fifth: Keep easy meals on stock, because some days you really can't cook. Your brain won't let you, and that's ok! That's fine! But you still gotta eat, right? So we keep stuff like bagged Blackened Chicken Alfredo, Dirty Rice, Mongolian Beef, Jambalaya, Broccoli Beef, Red Beans & Rice, etc, on hand in the outdoor fridge. If at any point I just can't do it? We grab some of those instead.

And the good news is, you can spruce up a quick meal! Making Dirty Rice? Throw in some bread and butter, and a side of boiled Green Beans from the garden. Blackened Chicken Alfredo? Throw some Bell Pepper on in there; you can bulk this stuff up easily with your produce, and it takes even less effort most of the time.

As for the Covid sense of taste / smell? Keep trucking. It does get better; I suffered bad from Post-Covid Parosmia for nearly 2 years after I caught Covid the first time- bad enough to the point I couldn't bathe myself because of the smell of our water being nauseating to me; couldn't eat anything with Corn, or Wheat, or Onion, or Garlic in it for a year, either. the second I tried, my body auto rejected it. Bananas tastes like Iris flowers smelt ... I feel your pain so hard.

But it does get better. Your system is just rewiring itself completely from scratch right now. And Lord, it's so unpleasant. But the more you give it to taste, and smell, the better it does and the faster it rewires itself. Don't force yourself to eat things that are nauseating or unpleasant. But do branch out. Experiment. Even if it tastes left of how you remember it, keep going! I can't promise you'll get everything back (Lord knows there's still some things that aren't quite right for me, even 4 years later now). But it gets better!

I hope any of this helps- even if it's not as helpful if you'd like it to be. Hang in there, love.

My ask box is always open and Anon is currently ON.

[jenniferchaulam]

MLP G4 LU Chain HCs!!!!

/inspired by @kenvamp 's (check the art out here)and @cheatsylu 's (check over here)

I had.. cutie mark head canons for Pony LU chain and I need to talk about them (these are my own HCs and you guys don't have to agree btw!!!!!!!) So, how and when each pony gets their Cutie Marks: Warriors: same time as his scarf. He was given the scarf and then the cutie mark appeared. He got it a bit later than his peers, but it's a very cool cutie mark. Fitting for a captain.

Time: can i be spicy? i want to be spicy, he got his cutie mark when he was 20. Not when he did OoT, not when he did MM. 7 year nap and woke up hoping for a cutie mark only to see a blank flank. and during MM, Everyone comments on it! like he never gets the mark of adulthood ever! okay not "ever" i want him to get it when he's 20 or sth and his cutie mark sucks,. and even twilight doesnt know what it looks like like he got it during a battle

a battle when he was TWENTY and it looks like the FD

and like, yall know Trouble Shoes who HATES his CM, yea Time loathesssss his

first he wishes he has one and now he wishes he didnt - only person who knows what his CM looks like is his Wife btw

Wind: OHO OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE SPECTRUM- Bro probably helped his sister and taught her how to swim or sth and get his CM at age 4 like by the time he does WW his cutie mark has been there for a While. He is a Big Boy. He deserves it

Four: Would it be funny if he has four different cutie marks and when he's merged they're like, blended together - and his cutie mark gains another shape each time he upgrades the four sword - but like, instead of the four elements for the four sword,.his cutie mark is the forge and it just becomes more detailed and has different colors - like a red fire, blue hammer, green anvil, purple tweezers

Twilight: Yall know Yaks and Cows exist in MLP as like... high sentient beings that also go to school and talk and stuff. What if Ordon Goats. like Twilight's Entire Village. Twilight stuck out like a sore thumb. And he's Very very disappointed that his cm isnt a goat. he got his cm at age 14 when he was helping everyone on the farm, and it's some generic rancher stuff like a hay bale or sth.

Hyrule: is the triforce. id like to imagine that full triforce wielders gets a triforce as a cutie mark. He has a bunch of magic of his sleeves, and if you know anything about MLP G4 naming conventions, magic-adjacent ponies are named after light-emitting things. So, Triforce emits a BUNCHA LIGHT

Legend: Oh my god I imagine he hides his cutie mark because its something very soft (bnuuy) and people wont take him seriously - he got it when he was very very young, before his adventures. But the rabbit cutie mark depicts a rabbit that's shaking an apple tree. (proof of courage. or sth. that's what im aiming for as a symbol of bravery, but I am no writer)

Sky: Got his CM at the same time as Sun!!!!! They have matching cutie marks. His is a sword and a Crimson Loftwing's feather, while hers is a pair of wings, one white (like the goddess, but she didn't know that before the adventure) and one blue like her loftwing.

Wild: He DID have a CM before the clammy, but one of the side effects of the Shrine of Ressurection is that it also erases that pony's cutie mark. he woke up with a blank flank. and my guy fought the clammy and found his own new cm that fits him. honourable mentions: Spirits! He got it when he got on a train for the first time, it. was. magical

the train

the train was magical. i hc that he didnt thought much of his CM

[stratocumulusperlucidus]

WIP REC

I love love love reading WIPs, the anticipation, the excitement of getting the notification for a new chapter, even sometimes the cliffhangers... So here are some of the lovely fics I'm currently reading!

Oh and if you read these, please consider taking a minute to leave a comment, let the author know you appreciate their work 💖

This Is More of a Comment Than a Question by @caterpills

Rating: Mature | Chapters: 3/10

Three weeks before Henry Fox's tour for his fourth, highly anticipated, awards-bait novel A Brief War in December begins, his publicist Janella breaks her foot on a bunny slope at Windham. Alex can't be mad at her, even though he kind of is. Saying it out loud would be like kicking her when she was down, and she already went down a literal mountain in the worst way possible. Now crammed in Rafael Luna's corner office, Janella is shooting Alex extremely apologetic looks while slumped on her crutches, wearing a bright orange cast. The conversation about who is going to be joining Henry Fox on his multi-city trek across the U.S. is also going downhill. Alex is feeling the same sort of free fall while standing still. Because out of all the publicists available in their tiny underfunded department, the only one left to escort their company's best-selling author is regrettably him. The problem is, well, Alex absolutely hates Henry Fox.

Or: Alex is the publicist for Mountchristen Publishers, and is stuck on a two-week tour with their best-selling, but frustrating, author Henry Fox.

Her Royal Highness by @tailsbeth-writes

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 5/?

'Shaan, can you please put an appointment in my diary?' 'Certainly sir, what is it for?' 'A reminder to kill Alex for getting me into this mess.' Shaan tried to hold back a smirk as he stepped back, tapping away on his tablet. 'Personally I think the blue glitter really brings out your eyes, sir.' This terrible idea had started like most of Alex’s did, a seedling planted by the most chaotic of the chaos demons; Nora.

or How Prince Henry ended up as a guest judge on RuPaul's Drag Race UK.

the full spectrum of human emotion by @firenati0n

Rating: Mature | Chapters: 3/6

Alex grips his hand tighter. They’re going to need to have a long, hard conversation in the next five minutes, or else Alex is going to combust right here in Pez’s fancy office. Explode for all of Midtown Manhattan to see. Here lies what remains of Alex, for all the world to witness—taken out by a rogue marriage proposal from his evil boss-turned-fiancé.

Or: Working under editor Henry Fox-Mountchristen was only supposed to be Step One in Alex’s plan of achieving his big dreams—but when his boss winds up facing an even bigger problem, potential deportation, Alex finds he isn’t just a beleaguered assistant anymore. He’s the solution.

It’s fine. They only have to fool his friends, his family, the United States Government…and themselves.

Life Is Not A Movie (But We Can Have The Fairytale) by @lfg1986-2

Rating: Explicit | Chapters: 3/?

Three years after the smashing success of the first Red, White and Royal Blue film, Nicholas and Taylor are preparing to return to their roles as Henry and Alex to film the sequel. After a late night of catching up with each other and reestablishing their close bond just before rehearsals begin, they wake up to find themselves in a crazy twist of fate, where fiction blends with reality and the lines between fictional characters and the actors who portray them become irrevocably blurred.

Or

What happens when Taylor is transported into the movie universe and comes face to face with Prince Henry, while Nick wakes up to find Alex Claremont-Diaz in his living room in the place of his friend and costar? Both pairs must work together to figure out how to get themselves back where they belong, and along the way they discover some things about themselves and each other that has the potential to alter their relationships forever.

take me back to San Francisco by headabovethewater / @getmehighonmagic

Rating: Explicit | Chapters: 2/8

“You don’t look like you’re having a very good time,” a soft voice suddenly startles him from his thoughts. Henry’s entire body jerks and he spills some of his drink down the front of his shirt.

“Oh, bloody-” He leans over to put his drink on the table and starts wiping at his shirt. “No, I’m- It’s not that, it’s-” He glances fleetingly at the stranger and then down at his shirt again, before his brain finally registers that oh, glasses, dark curls, white smile, exposed chest. Henry’s head snaps back up and his lips part in astonishment. Handsome doesn’t even begin to cover it. Him.

“Hi,” the man says, then chuckles. He hands Henry a napkin and gestures towards one of the other chairs at the table. “Would you mind?”

or, Henry and Alex meet on vacation in San Francisco and an instant spark between them has both of them unable to let the other go. With only two weeks to spend together and the knowledge that it can't last beyond that, it's just a massive, insurmountable recipe for disaster.

Or is it?

Unattended / Unsent mails by amnesia_on_ice / @amnesiaa-on-ice

Rating: General Audiences | Chapters: 4/?

Alex is a Singer Songwriter, henry is his arch nemesis Actor but also secretively writer. There is a long running feud between Henry and Alex. Now they are meeting for the first time in person in a vanity after party and the stan twitter have lots to digest of the meeting.

The story of Unattended/ unsent mails.

the drag of your lips by rizcriz

Rating: Mature | Chapter 2/3

Alex isn’t sure how he got here.

Here being pressed into the couch, his roommate straddling his lap and warm against every point they’re touching, soft lips moving against his own in the most sensual, leisurely pattern that Alex’s fingers instinctively flex where they’re clinging into his lower back. He’s hard in his pants, straining towards Henry, but there’s no desperate hands grasping, no drive to take this any further.

Or, Alex just really wants to make out with someone. Henry helpfully volunteers.

Foxden Park by myheartalive / @myheartalivewrites

Rating: Explicit | Chapters: 4/9

“Yes, Alex, what a terrible destiny,” Nora says. “To be hosted for a week by all these charming rich people, who have bent over backwards to accommodate us, including sending their own carriage into town to fetch us. How very dare we drag you into their nefarious scheme.”

—

Invited to a week-long house party at the Duke of Windsor’s country residence, Alex Claremont-Diaz does not expect to find anything to enjoy about his time there. What he does find is Lord Henry, the duke’s younger brother—and a boatload of things to learn about himself.

Seven days in the country in a duke's house. What could possibly happen?

[arcandoria]

OC Deep Dive

tagged by @baldursghaik!

I considered doing a DA OC but reading Thyneron's made me think of trouble worm daughter so we going with Nathrae instead.

-> Phobias and other fears: Prior to the events of BG3 Nat was considerably chill on the phobia and fear area, but the tadpole and the looming threat of mind control installs a profound dread on her and loss of control and shots to fear number one. She's an orphan, an outlaw and a runaway, the only thing she fully possesses is herself, and to finally have that threatened is... yeah.

-> Pet peeves: Nathrae abhors complainers. People who constantly find a reason to lament and moan (about anything and everything) or are overly nitpicky just REALLY annoy her. Also really hates being interrupted or spoken over, she will walk away from a conversation if she keeps getting interrupted.

-> 3 things you can always find in their bedroom: Nat doesn't have a bedroom or anything akin to a house until like... farther post-BG3. So I'm going with things you can always find in her possession - her adamantine lockpick kit, a sketchbook and hygiene items (mainly for haircare, she can find body soap anywhere but she is strict with her hair upkeep).

-> First thing they notice in a person: How they fit the people around, and their general body language. Nat is on the "guarded" end of the spectrum so before she even notices any physical qualities, she's trying to have an idea if they fit in with the place, and if they seem tense, nervous or comfortable.

-> On a scale of 1-10, how high is their pain tolerance? Six to seven. That threshold is definitely passed during BG3 but as a drow and ex-Lolth sworn she's grown quite accustomed to pain.

-> Do they go into fight or flight mode when under pressure? Really situational, but Nat is generally on flight mode because she'd rather go for self-preservation than going on offensive right away. She will fight back if she's backed into a corner though.

-> Do they come from a big family/are they a family person? Nathrae is an orphan, and was "raised" in the community on the Braeryn in Menzoberranzan, which still didn't provide her any adoptive family. She doesn't really consider herself a family person after being on her own for so long.

-> What animal represents them best? Foxes. They're opportunistic predators rather than fully dedicated hunters, but they're also extremely adaptable and can do well in whatever environment they're in. Symbolic-wise, foxes are associated with cunning, playfulness and resilience, and that also matches Nat perfectly.

-> What is a smell they dislike? Heavily sweet or sugary scents, safe for the smell of sussur blooms (she tolerates it because she likes the flower). She also doesn't like the smell of surface leather after being used to drowcraft armor for so long, but again, she endures it because oh well.

-> Have they broken any bones? As a thief she's had her share of broken bones, though nothing major that would rend a full limb useless. Nat relies a lot on her ability to be as functionally mobile as possible, so she's careful.

-> How would a stranger likely describe them? Overall, Nat intentionally aims to be as ordinary as possible. Being a drow definitely gets in the way specially on the surface, and if she doesn't have her head covered people are likely to refer her hair color (as it stands out compared to the typically light-haired drow). The scarring on the left side of her face is also a potential physical descriptor. But other than that, a stranger won't have much behavior-wise to describe her. She blends in quite nicely.

-> Are they a night owl or morning bird? Night owl. As a drow, pre-tadpole she couldn't even reliably stay in the sun, and as a thief it's not like the light would do her any favors. BG3 is the most active she's been during daylight in her life.

-> What is a flavor they hate and a flavor they love? There's nothing she hates to the point of not eating because food is food and she doesn't have room to be fussy, but Nat doesn't really favor bland/delicate food and isn't too fond of sweets. She has a thing for wine though, and good wine at that. But generally speaking she loves trying alcohol of all sorts and recipes.

-> Do they have any hobbies? Drawing! Nat likes to pick up charcoal or any other medium that can stain paper and just do observation drawing. Her sketchbooks are mostly filled with botanical illustrations though, normally accompanied of alchemical notes of said plant.

-> Boom, surprise birthday party! How do they react to surprises? Any person who truly knows her would not throw a surprise birthday party, so it'd definitely be coming from someone that would just have her walk right back out and fucking disappear. Don't surprise Nat at best she will walk out on you at worst you'll get stabbed.

-> Do they like to wear jewelry? Yes! Though she limits how much she wears at a time and avoids wearing rings (they get in the way of having quiet and quick lil' paws), she does like earrings, necklaces and other accessories she can add to her clothing, notably silver.

-> Do they have messy handwriting? Nat has decent handwriting, simple and legible to anyone who can speak the language she's writing in. The Lolth priestess were really stern on being able to read reports and she was strongly forced conditioned to write neatly.

-> What are the two emotions they feel the most? Before BG3, uneasiness and loneliness, though she'd never admit the latter. Nat's always lived with suspicion of other people (possibly wanting to take advantage of her), but deep down craving connection to someone she can trust and let her guard down a bit.

-> Do they have a fabric? You'd think leather, but it's actually linen, specially expertly crafted. Her "guilty" fabrics though are satin (chiffon more specifically) and wool, but she only really indulges in owning/wearing clothing with these when she sort of settles down.

-> What kind of accent do they have? More eloquent and well-spoken than you'd expect for someone with her background, but still not quite hitting the super well read mark. She's learned how to talk to nobles in her line of work, but hasn't invested too much time honing it. When speaking drow, she has very little of the lyrical undertone often associated with how the noble houses talk, and lands firmly on the Drowic heard out in the Stenchstreet with borrowed words from other races.

I have a feeling this does very little to show her as anything to what I've often said: a feral street cat who deep down enjoys scritches fmsdlkkgm But- there she is!

Tagging, no pressure: @camelliagwerm @pinkyjulien @nokstella @lordcaptains @bardic-inspo

and @togepies!

[shineemoon]

SHINee ✨ Femina India Interview FULL Interview → HERE

You’ve always been completely ahead of the curve when it comes to genre, often blending several sonic elements in one album. In this album, for instance, you have wobbly drum and bass and soulful vocals on The Feeling, a really fresh take on the clear drum breaks of ’90s hip-hop on HARD, and dance-pop on Identity. Yet, you can tell a SHINee track from a mile away. How do you connect so many diverse sounds to the SHINee colour, and what – in the first place – would you say is SHINee’s colour? KEY: Rather than defining SHINee with one colour, I believe SHINee’s colour consists of all the colours each one of our fans sees us as. MINHO: SHINee is quite an interesting team because we have the ability to make any song into SHINee’s own colours. It’s our biggest weapon. We’ve built up this skill since our first album, and it only strengthened as we tried out various genres and concepts. Now, all our members know how to make any track SHINee-like. TAEMIN: SHINee’s colour is a combination of the various music styles we’ve experimented with. Without being limited to a specific genre, we capture several different colours and find SHINee’s own way of uniting everything into one.

SHINee has a way of tapping into a collective sense of nostalgia – whether we go back to View, Married To The Music, or 1 of 1 even. Yet, you somehow manage doing this in a future-forward way with both your look and sound. How do you access and communicate a wide spectrum of emotions for people across borders and gender? KEY: Songs and melodies are very effective in expressing emotions and conveying messages to different people and genders. Though the lyrics might be interpreted differently depending on one’s culture, I believe a melody has a relatable power for everyone. MINHO: We try to convey emotions directly instead of hiding them. One of those characteristics is being upfront about how one feels and not hiding one’s emotions. TAEMIN: Even if we do not speak the same language, it’s the energy we’ve poured into this album that makes it possible for us to connect and communicate with those who listen to it.

Often, when you’re with a group of people who end up knowing you inside out, it helps you to see yourself more clearly. How would you say the close bond that exists between all of you has affected or changed you? TAEMIN: I was able to learn a lot from my (fellow band) members since they are all very talented. The bond we’ve formed through our time and experiences together is such a valuable gift to me.

How does the future look? KEY: SHINee will always remain the same. MINHO: The future will always be SHINee. TAEMIN: I’d like to live a happier life by giving back to our fans with good music and maintaining the precious relationships we have together. And I hope to perform overseas more often.

[interpol-by-design]

Fuck it, I'm bored waiting for a delivery and my boss is getting on my case. Let's learn about eyeshadow!

The first thing you need to learn is that designer eyeshadow palletes? They're not a scam, but they're not exactly recommended, either. They're largely made for people with disposable income who want to be trendy, which isn't everyone. It's just a single demographic. Designer palletes are specially selected by people who are on top of the trends, who are on top of the latest colors, who are going to specifically pick precise shades that look good on a broad range of people, wearing a broad range of clothes.

Let me be blunt. I'm Kalosian, and while I love my home? We do have a classism issue. And I think part of addressing that is saying, in a neutral way, that not everyone has the same budget or the same options when it comes to cosmetics. Hell, my girlfriend grew up in a small town, so her foundation choices were pretty limited because they straight up weren't able to stock enough variety to suit her. She was between shades, and had to get creative with mixing foundation up to match her skin tone every time.

Anyways. If you want to start experimenting with eyeshadow, start with a drugstore pallete, something with a large selection! You can get two dozen or so colors to play around with, and while you may not have a lot of each one, that's okay. You're still learning. And it's okay if you run out quicker, because you're still figuring out what you like and what looks good on you.

Oh! And get good quality brushes. Start out with maybe one good brush that you like and take care of, and then, as you learn more techniques, you can continue investing in more. I get mine online from Lumiose Moon, which has actually started branching out into making paintbrushes now! Check out their beginner friendly section, that's the code for working on a budget, and make sure you use the half off shipping coupon. You can get the shipping a lot cheaper if you're willing to wait, too. They're super good about coupons, trust me. I'm a bit of a brand whore for them, to be honest, but frankly? Their budget options are nice and they let you scale up.

Why do you need good brushes? Because a good brush will pick up more pigment, frankly. You'll get better, more visible results, and more even blending if you're working with high quality equipment.

Anyways, the delivery I'm waiting for right now? See, I don't get individual palletes anymore. I just, once a year, buy myself refills for the Book of Eyeshadow, which is a full spectrum pallete with hundreds of colors. The casing folds up super nicely to fit in my bag, and all my colors are accessible in one place. I would absolutely, if you've gotten past the first step and want to get serious about makeup art, advise you to check online for a large pallete. You'll want to look for something that has both rainbow and nude shades, I keep mine separate but I know my girlfriend likes to mix them.

Oh shit, I think that's it now. Happy makeup times or something, remember that you're doing this as an art form and if you feel ugly without makeup, look into body dysmorphia! Bye for now!

[princesssarisa]

Character ask: Willy Wonka (any version)

These answers apply to every adaptation – that I know, anyway – of the story of Charlie/Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, as well as the original book and its sequel Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. I haven't seen Wonka yet.

Favorite thing about them: He's a fun character all around. I love his creative genius, with all the fantastical candies and treats he creates and all the fantastical rooms in his factory. I love his blend of weirdness, cleverness, mischief, and passion for his work. His hints of moral grayness and insanity make him interesting, but his underlying warmth and kindness, especially to Charlie, prevent him from seeming like a villain. (At least I don't think so: more on that below.) He's like an eccentric wizard from a fantasy story, but with a more modern, candy-themed twist.

Least favorite thing about them:

Original book: The whole story of how the Oompa Loompas came to work for him has unfortunate implications. Even after Dahl revised the text and changed the Oompa Loompas from black African Pygmies to light-skinned dwarfs from Loompaland, the concept is still very iffy. A businessman "importing" a tribe of people from a foreign country to work in his factory, where he never lets them leave the premises, pays them in food instead of in money, and tests his experimental foods and drinks on them, which sometimes cause them bodily harm... it wouldn't fly in a book written today.

1971 film: To a sensitive child viewer (as I was), his angry outburst at Charlie and Grandpa Joe for stealing the Fizzy Lifting Drinks is scary and mean, even if it is just a test.

2005 film: I don't like the subplot about his controlling dentist father. A character like Wonka doesn't need daddy issues to explain him.

Three things I have in common with them:

*I love chocolate.

*I'm at least a little eccentric.

*I often wear purple.

Three things I don't have in common with them:

*I'm not a chocolatier, an inventor, or a factory-owner.

*I'm female.

*I've never met an Oompa Loompa.

Favorite line:

Original book:

(Explaining why he won't let Augustus be cooked into fudge): Because the taste would be terrible. Just imagine it! Augustus-flavored chocolate-coated Gloop! No one would buy it."

"Whipped cream isn't whipped cream at all unless it's been whipped with whips! Just as a poached egg isn't a poached egg unless it's been stolen from the woods in the dead of night!"

And the full text of his "There's no earthly way of knowing" poem and the funny, creepy poems he recites in the Space Hotel to scare the White House in the sequel.

1971 film:

"We have so much time and so little to see!... Wait a minute! Strike that. Reverse it." (and the later variation with "...so little to do")

"A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men."

"But Charlie, don't forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he always wanted... He lived happily ever after."

And of course his various quotes from Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, and other literature.

brOTP: The Oompa Loompas, and Charlie by the end.

OTP: None, he's happily single.

nOTP: Charlie or any of the other kids.

Random headcanon:

*In all versions, he's on the autism spectrum – it just manifests in different ways for each different Wonka.

*In the 1971 film, he's Jewish, just like Gene Wilder was in real life (and like Timothée Chalamet, for that matter). Maybe this is true in other versions too. I chiefly like to imagine this as a "take that" to Roald Dahl's antisemitism.

Unpopular opinion: The popular "Wonka is a villain" take is overdone. Yes, he has some moral ambiguity to him, but he's not evil. People often seem to forget that the fates of Augustus, Violet, Veruca, and Mike aren't "punishments" that he deals out. They're accidents that each child causes himself or herself by ignoring his warnings. Now, I don't mind it when adaptations imply that he deliberately sets up those accidents to occur if the kids disobey him, or at least show him as unconcerned with stopping or rescuing them. But I don't think either of those things are true to his portrayal in the book, per se.

Song I associate with them:

"Pure Imagination."

Favorite picture of them:

This classic illustration of him by Joseph Schindelman:

This illustration by Quentin Blake:

This book cover illustration, from the edition I grew up with:

This much-memed image of Gene Wilder in the 1971 film:

Johnny Depp in the 2005 film:

Douglas Hodge in the 2013 stage musical (the only Wonka I know of in an adaptation to have his signature black goatee from the book):

Timothée Chalamet in Wonka, 2023:

[butchtateandtackle]

Why I Love Luan Loud

(1/4 of a series of essays in which I ramble about my favourite characters/ships in the loud house)

Luan Loud, with her blend of silliness and occasional mean-spirited pranks, might not seem like the most endearing character at first glance. I mean, she's one of the most disliked characters on the show because of her pranks and otherwise 'annoying' habits.

Yet, she has become my favorite character for a multitude of reasons that resonate deeply with me. On the surface, Luan embodies a stark contrast: her antics, which lean towards the extreme, particularly during her notorious April Fools' episodes, are balanced by an inherent sweetness and kindness, as shown by how she treats her siblings with physical affection and often supporting them. This contrast is what draws me to her character, and what I love about her so much.

Personally, I've always felt a connection to characters who are unapologetically themselves. Growing up, I was often labeled as an annoying chatterbox. Luan is similar to this, wherein she is often groaned at or implicitly called annoying in dialogue. Despite her family's lukewarm reactions to her humor, she does not take the hint, and just continues on regardless. This could be a mix of either neurodivergence making her misunderstand anything that isn't a clear verbal complaint as simply just a comment, or rather she understands that they dislike it, but doesn't care. However, i'm hesistant to say this due to the fact that she has been shown to be rather oblivious when it comes to social cues. Not to say that she is stupid, because she isn't, but rather her intelligence lies in technical skills such as mechanical engineering (as seen by her pranks), clowning, comedy and acting.

The episode "No Laughing Matter," where Luan decides to quit comedy is the episode that really stuck with me and made me be a big fan of Luan. Watching her hesitate and carefully plan her words struck a chord with me, as if she was struggling so hard to not bring up her special interest (puns/comedy) in any remote way, which I full heartedly believe is similar to masking, and I relate *a lot* too.

For those uninitiated, Masking is a form of pretending in which those who are neurodivergent frequently act a different way to avoid their more explicit ND traits causing them social alienation. However, this can drain energy and be harmful for neurodivergent people, as they're pretending someone who they're not, which is harmful to anyone.

I could make the case for all of the Loud siblings being on the spectrum in some capacity, but I want to specifically highlight Luan here given she's often disregarded when the fandom talks about neurodivergent headcanons, even though she could be argued as being explicitly coded as such.

There's a deeper layer to Luan that often goes unnoticed. Like many of the Loud children, Luan navigates a sense of neglect, which I believe fuels her over-the-top pranks on April Fools' Day. It seems to be her way of clamoring for the attention she feels she lacks, escalating her antics in hopes of acknowledgment. This cycle of seeking validation through increasingly bold actions could be stretch but in the future I plan to write an essay on how shit the Loud parents are.

Beyond the screen, Luan and I share a common background as theatre kids, which deepens my affinity for her. My own experiences was honestly fucking shitty, cause of an ableist drama teacher, but regardless, that's a shared experience I share with Luan. Aside from that, I also love the colour yellow, I also performed comedy routines in front of my family as a kid, I love vintage fashion similar to 60s (which Luan 100% embodies fight me on that) and I do love a good pun. So, as a result, I see my younger self in Luan and have a strong desire to protect and ensure her safety/happiness otherwise. It sounds rather silly but it's the truth. Characters can be like that, where they feel so similar that it just clicks for you.

In summary, Luan's unabashed silliness and her determination to remain true to herself is why she is, without a doubt, my favorite character.

[sophieinwonderland]

Personally, I’m coming to believe plurality is the norm and that all would benefit from connecting with themselves through a plural lens. I see it as a spectrum, wherein those with a greater innate propensity towards imagination may experience a more fantastic sense of plurality. Those with less imagination may appear as “singlet” but still have the ability to connect to themselves in a plural way and may even do so without awareness. This can be as mundane as accessing a “work” self to present as professional within a job. These selves are all extensions of the core self. DID may be different however, in that the core self never had a chance to fully develop and form, so that these selves become more like fragments, perhaps akin to different pieces from different puzzles, which can lead to discord within the whole. My thoughts aren’t fully fleshed out quite yet.

Thanks for sharing your perspective!

This is sort of the philosophy behind the internal family systems therapy. I think there are definitely some truth in this.

Although my host would claim that he was 100% a singlet before I came around. (Well, aside from Eria.) So I don't know. 🤷‍♀️

I do think that plurality is a spectrum. But I'm not sure if I would go so far as to say that everybody or a majority is plural. At least not in the way that the system community experiences plurality. Because even if a singlet does experience other parts of themselves that might have some division, those parts aren't necessarily self-aware. They're more like just... different modes of the same person.

Maybe if two modes communicate with each other then they could become separated into fully-developed headmates.

I've always been a big fan of John Locke's definition of a person, and how it relates to headmate identities.

This being premised to find wherein personal Identity consists, we must consider what Person stands for which, I think, is a thinking intelligent Being, that has reason and reflection, and can consider it self as itself, the same thinking thing in different times and places

To me, this gives a good basis for what I'd consider a full headmate.

It needs to...

Be capable of independent thought.

Have some level of self-consciousness.

Have some level of autobiographical memory and be able to recognize itself as its own self.

The difference between a full headmate and a singlet's work/home self is that a headmate at work will think "I'm working and Jack ate bacon for breakfast," while a singlet at work will think "I'm working and I ate bacon for breakfast."

That's not to say that there can't be blending and confusion in systems. But a singlet in different modes will never think of those modes as different people in anything other than a metaphorical sense. The modes won't ever really recognize themselves as separate, because they often aren't.

I guess where I am is that I think everyone has the propensity for plurality. There are probably far more that have had plural experiences than is known. And with Internal Family Systems therapy being beneficial, I do agree that taking a plural approach could be useful to many.

I'm just hesitant to hop too far onto an "everyone is plural" or even most people are plural train. And I worry that we might risk devaluing the concept of plurality as to make it functionally meaningless.

[drsteggy]

So like random story time because I just reblogged the thing about describing your job in the worst way possible. Everyone in my profession has a version of this story. They have more than one version, usually. I do. This version happened about 2 weeks ago.

I had a client who wasn’t thrilled to see me because his beloved cat usually sees the other doc. So I have to take time to be charming and funny and smart to win this type of person over. We rode the entire spectrum of human emotion over the spate of 15 minutes but by the end he was vibing with me and pleased with the plan for his cat.

Often, at this point, the appointment swaps to small talk. It did that here. This client’s ex spouse is a client I see pretty frequently (and I like her a lot) and he mentions her. They are still close, he says, and did I know she had a puppy.

I did know, as I’ve been seeing the puppy. So he is excited and sharing a puppy story that is about how this puppy scratched him. He then assures me he is not stripping, but he wants to show me the scratch and at this point I started having an out of body experience.

He again states he is not stripping as he proceeds to pull down his sweat pants, giving me a full view of his bare thigh. I think he was commando or maybe his underthings just blended in, I was just happy to not actually get flashed (this time) and then he goes “oh wait, it’s lower” and he pulls his pants back up, leans over and pulls up the cuff to show me a not insignificant wound on his knee and like…

1. No actually I didn’t feel creeped out because it didn’t have that vibe

2 no this is not the first time I’ve had someone remove clothing in my exam room

3 dude get the human vet to look at that holy shit

4 if I had an injury on my knee I would not show it off by grabbing the waistband of my sweat pants

Anyway. I am definitely down with looking at your weird scar or whatever but please get consent. Don’t just disrobe at your vet.

[papaver-decervicatus]

Headcanons- Simon "Ghost" Riley

Sorry in advance, these are the least organized by FAR and the longest because Roach is my all time fav COD character so a lot of Simon's is just "this is how I would put roach in the story :)" and I also love tattoos and piercings so

Birthday December 22nd, 1993

Early life

The calculation used for his birth year was that he would have been about 29 during the events of MW2 (he enlisted at 17 in 2001, so in 2013 during MW2 he would’ve been about 29.) Therefore, 2022-1993 would be 29 years old during the MWII campaign.

Born in a small rural village outside of Manchester, but moved to the city when he was 10.

His mother, Meredith met his father, Paul at a music festival in Manchester and became pregnant shortly after.

She had Simon at 17 and married Paul, 23, at the urging of her devoutly Protestant parents once they found out she was pregnant.

His father was a construction worker, and was terribly abusive to his family, his mother never had a job or a way to escape because she was practically abandoned by her family after Simon’s birth.

Tommy was 4 years younger.

Undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder. Mostly manifests in masking, sensory issues, unwillingness to break schedules, etc. 

I consider most of the Ghost comic canon, except moved up to the appropriate time. 

Specialty Section: Roach

I can't wait for this all to need a rewrite in November

Grew up with Gary Roach Sanderson. Some headcanons about Gary include

Is not deaf, but both of his parents are so he almost exclusively communicated in BSL as a child. 

Simon was one of the “weird kids” from a combination of his autism and abusive home life. The two got put together on a project once and were inseparable ever since. 

Gary definitely always had more energy but Simon was the more outgoing of the two. Simon used to be a very outgoing, casual flirt to the point that Gary would have to drag him away from parties. (The personality of MW2 Ghost, very talkative.)

The two are like brothers. They enlisted at the same time.

Simon and Gary got into some minor teenage shenanigans, drinking, smoking at school, playing truant, etc. they both were definitely the sort of kids that went under the radar, nothing special. 

Gary got his name Roach from escaping various explosions relatively unscathed, which led to the joke “only a nuke could kill Roach”. 

Unfortunately, this was not the case. Roach lost both his left arm and leg in an IED explosion of which he was the only survivor. He retired from combat after this and now works remotely as a radio technician and software engineer for the SAS in Manchester. 

Ghost genuinely considered retiring to help take care of Roach, but Roach wouldn’t let him. He knows Simon can’t really live in a civilian setting anymore. 

Ghost lives with Roach when on leave and not doing other things. He the only person outside of the army he really considers a friend that knows his full story.

Brief and nonspecific timeline

As a private, was under Price’s US friend for a few missions. Put in a good word and had him and Gary sent to Price. 

Met Price as a corporal, at the time he was charismatic, flirtatious, and generally outgoing after he got over his initial month or so of shyness. Was in Price’s squad for a mission along with Roach. 

Went back and specially trained with prices US sniper friend. This is where Simon met Alex as well. 

 All of her Snipers got names based on “pest animals” (affectionately named “Pest Patrol” or “The Critter Corps” by graduates and Price.)

Gary got Roach for being able to bounce back from any explosion

Alex got Cotton Mouth because he casually picked one up and broke its neck during training once

Simon got the name “Possum” because he was incredibly skilled at “playing possum” or playing dead. Survived multiple really tight missions for his ability to blend in with corpses. 

Went to a different squad, gains his Lieutenant rank

Roba happens, Ghost is born. 

Captain Price pulls a lot of strings for Simon to make "the Ghost" a tenable position. This makes Price a lot of enemies out of higher-ups but he doesn’t give a damn. 

Ghost and Roach are put into a squad together not with price. Work together for three or so years before the IED that wounds Roach. 

Roach retires. Ghost bounces around positions because he’s legally “an asset” and not a man anymore. 

Task force 141. Knows Gaz for about a year before he meets Soap in Las Almas.

General

He is triggered by Christmas and the holiday season, he found his family massacred on his birthday so neither Christmas or his Birthday are a positive association anymore. 

The only person who’s given him a birthday or Christmas present since the massacre is Gaz, which didn’t upset Ghost like he thought it would. Mostly because Gaz didn’t know and Ghost couldn’t have expected him to. 

Does not have any technology besides a cellphone and a computer he is required to for his job. The only three non-work related numbers in his phone are his tattoo artist/piercer, Roach, and his therapist

He genuinely enjoys gardening and baking but doesn’t do them frequently because of his life status. 

Has a terrible, terrible, terrible sweet tooth, when he can get away with it. When no one is around this man is putting 5 heaping tablespoons of sugar in his tea, but no milk. Never milk. 

Doesn’t like hard or sour candy, but does enjoy chocolate and biscuits. 

He can, and will, and frequently does, eat all three meals in one sitting. He will eat 400 grams of protein in 4,000 calories in 20 minutes. He eats alone in his room because this shit terrifies people.

Endothermic body build, he’s built like a rugby player. His musculature is not “lean and mean” he is built like a discus thrower.

VENUS DIMPLES

When in public only wears a black surgical mask so as not to frighten others 

It’s specifically to cover his Glasgow smile and lip scarring, which is prominent on his lower face

Jeans, t-shirts, hoodies, trainers, the occasional football-themed jersey or cap, nothing special 

He has a fake civilian identity that not even Price knows the details of for anonymity's sake.

Has a full sleeve of tattoos and also a patchwork arm sleeve

He's actually famous in the Manchester tattoo scene as a lot of apprentices' first human canvas, under his fake civilian name of course.

Originally he got the war sleeve after his first deployment but went back after he became Ghost to get a tattoo over Roba’s name that was burned into him

The first tattoo artist asked him what tattoos he wanted on the wall and he said “All of 'em.”

His current tattoo artist is a scarification expert, she helped him design a piece to cover Roba’s name on his left hip, it’s a memorial piece to his family with the names “Merideth, Tommy, Beth, and Joey” held on a scroll by an Angel with the massacre date in Roman numerals

He continues to go back to this artist whenever he wants new ink, she is also his piercer. He does not care about his body and the ink on it, so she tries to schedule apprentices with him as their first because he can sit well/is not picky about his ink.

She sends him various pieces of body jewelry for his piercings at random under the guise of “let me know how this goes, wanna know if I can recommend it” etc but it’s really because she cares about him but also knows he won’t let her get him gifts for no reason. 

A massive picture of his pierced nipple is in her shop as an example of her work

Has a shitton of piercings including but not limited to:

Quadruple lopes

Two conch

Rooks

Helix

Flats

Industrial (left only)

Bridge (taken out, since healed)

Tongue

Smiley

Lower lip (taken out, since healed)

He’s missing his left nipple, so he has both a vertical and horizontal nipple piercing on his right 

4 Jacob’s ladder

Prince Albert's

Ghost wanted a married life and a family before Roba but does not anymore. He intends on dying in the field, he does not think about kids or retirement or alternative careers or dating. He loved Joseph and Tommy and Beth and his mum with all his heart and was a little jealous of the happy companionship they'd found for themselves, he stopped wanting it when he realized how quickly it could be taken away.

Typically avoids attachments because he knows how “loose ends” can end up harming loved ones. He has failed at this, very very very badly.

Ghosts most toxic trait is that he is falsely cynical. He will tell himself til he's blue in the face that he doesn't really care, it doesn't really matter, he doesn't really deserve love, that it's just not important when in reality he cares deeply. Caring is a liability so he tries very hard to cut that part of his brain out, he works out, he doesn't socialize, he avoids attachments because he is convinced he will ruin it for others. He doesn't even know what it is, until it's too late, just like how it took Johnny in Las Almas almost dying for him to open up to him.

Talents, special bonds, ETC

Trained to be a butcher in high school, before he and Roach joined the army. He retained his butchering and knife skills from this time.

Phenomenal aim, he can throw even the least aerodynamic thing and it will hit it's target.

He is a great baker, but a terrible cook besides grilling. No one knows its him, but he will leave trays of fresh baked goods in base rec-rooms.

Surprisingly, he is the softest on recruits when they mess up. He has an uncannily calm ability to diffuse most any situation and turn it into a learning experience, he also will not tell Price if he doesn't think it's that bad.

The inverse of this is if it's bad, his explosion about it is fucking bad.

Kids gravitate towards him and when push comes to shove he is great with kids. He is not terribly comfortable around children but kids love him. Its bittersweet because they remind him of Joey.

Is incredibly close with both Gaz and Soap but in different ways. He sees them both as reflections of him and Roach. As much shit as he gives them, he could not see himself without Gaz's quiet and calm understanding helping him remember how to be human or Soap's loud and explosive personality helping him remember just what being alive feels like.

Price may see Ghost as an equal, but Ghost does not see Price as one, he considers Price very far above him in every possible way. He does not know what Price sees in him.

[bumblebeeappletree]

We met Elisabeth when we visited her horticulture class at Footscray High School. Her love of plants continues at home, where she has an impressive collection of indoor plants.

At just 16 she already has about 150 plants in her room at home in Melbourne’s inner west. Elisabeth particularly loves anthuriums or flamingo plants.

For optimum plant growth she has installed full-spectrum grow lights. She also keeps her room at 80% humidity, ”which can get a little bit much,” she admits.

Elisabeth buys plants from collectors interstate and does a lot of propagation.

One is Philodendron ‘Dean McDowell’, which she points out has extra-floral nectaries that produce necta; in the wild this farmed by ants which, in turn, guard the plant, forming a mutually beneficial relationship.

A favourite plant is Anthurium warocqueenum, which has long, velvety leaves. She ordered this plant from Far North Queensland and it inspired her to create a vertical garden, because it need humidity and something to climb on.

The garden was built out of an old laundry sink and a piece of PVC foam board covered in two layers of horticultural felt; the plant roots sit between the two layers with no actual substrate. The roots attach to the felt, which absorbs liquid fertiliser from the sink and so provides all the nutrients the plants need to grow. The sink can be wheeled out to hose down and eliminate any mineral buildup.

Elisabeth was encouraged by her parents to join local planting days as a small child and grew to love colourful flowers and succulents as she got older.

A birthday gift of a Monstera deliciosa one year kick-started her collecting bug.

She now has a spreadsheet of all the plants she has, which has helped her learn the scientific names and work out what she wants to collect.

Elisabeth shows how she repots an anthurium she has propagated, first soaking it for a few hours in liquid fertiliser to reduce transplant shock, then removing any old substrate from the roots. She then put the rootball in a pot and gently backfills with growing mixture.

Her preferred substrate is a mix of LECA (lightweight expanded clay aggregate) and mineral blend designed for succulents - this reduces the risk of mould and ensures there’s no fungus gnats, which can live in potting mix. She sterilises the mix before using it; this can be done with boiling water, steam or in the microwave.

Filmed on Boon Wurrung & Bunurong Country in Newport, Vic

[kimberlyannharts]

Ranger Academy #8 notes -

= I think this is a contender for Ranger Academy's best issue? A great blend of action, character, and plot progression

= I'm still really glad that the reveal to Lindy that Sage was lying to her about the fact that she could morph didn't turn into a big drama. Maybe it would have if the series was longer, but as is, it's very refreshing, and Lindy calling Sage her best friend is sweet

= Just in case you weren't sure that it was Katie in the previous issue, she's flat-out morphed here. Really wish we could have learned why the physical cameos are here though kdjkf the Pink Sirian Lady also takes orders from her, almost implying she's a higher-up??????? WHAT IS THE SYSTEM HERE

= We'll learn from a later issue that things didn't happen in the past QUITE as the Headmaster says - or at the very least key points of the story are being left out. Though it's hard to say if she's deliberately leaving them out or just simply didn't have all of the information because she didn't have the full picture that Rhianth did. She does come off as pretty evil here, or at the very least single-minded, with her brushing off Zilan getting murdered with "Rhianth saved everyone."

= This is also where we get an....interesting interpretation of how the Grid works, with Headmaster almost framing the Grid like....a literal grid, with a part of it dedicated to a particular color that can only be accessed by Rangers of that color, which is how Dark Specter infecting a Green Ranger led to ONLY the "green spectrum" being infected. It's a little confusing, especially since that's not REALLY how it worked in the main series or the show, but again, I'm choosing to take this as its own continuity and own interpretation of the whole thing

= Also part of me has to wonder if the implication is that since the "green spectrum" was infected, Green Rangers everywhere had to be shut down for their safety, which could explain why the students don't know about Greens even in their studies or via the cameo Rangers. The only problem with that is Sage can morph without getting infected, but eh.....maybe that has something to do with whatever Zilan's machine did to her to get Dark Specter out in the first place

= Also just because I feel it's worth mentioning, unless things change in the finale issue, the cameo count for seasons is

MMPR - Billy, Yale (2) (I just count Yale as MMPR since he comes from the MMPR series)

SPD - Crueger (1)

Time Force - Jen, Katie, Nadira (3) (technically twice for Jen, as she makes an appearance and the library is named after her)

Lost Galaxy - Leo (1)

Wild Force - Merrick (though by name only, so I'm counting it as .5)

= So all together....7.5 cameos across 12 issues, with Time Force having the most. Maybe the author is just a Time Force stan lol