#and i know language does not need to be so highly specific for everyone

[asterdeer]

been rewatching gravity falls during therapy and i think "double dipper" unlocked something in my brain for real. yeah it does feel like there are often 12 or 13 of me in my brain, all yelling about Plans and being Correct and how to do things Exactly Right Or Else You're Evil And Bad And Probably Ruined Everyone's Day And Will End Up On The Internet As A Subject Of Ridicule. there's also a half-baked version of me that's just Screaming. maybe sometimes it's okay to just douse the whole committee with a can of sprite and see what happens without them. maybe this will make it easier to ask if the anxiety-inducing thing has the power the committee is telling me it has or if maybe i can just not micromanage myself into paralysis and self-hatred.

[inmirova]

In an ideal world, it would be a program for Deaf teachers, the government could even put it under vocational rehab if they wanted to! Unfortunately, even some Deaf schools don't employ many Deaf teachers and a lot of teaching jobs end up going to interpreters or just hearing & non-signing people instead. But you're right and I love what you said, we can hope 🩷

idk man. i just think itd be really cool if sign language classes were mandatory throughout primary school. yeah because it would make communication with deaf kids and autistic/nonverbal kids much easier. and those kids would be accessible to the others so they cold make friends and have healthy relationships. yeah. and kids would eat that shit up man. like their own little secret language? they love that.

[paper-mario-wiki]

This isnt directed at anything specific, just want to do my best to help out the many people fleeing countries to seek aid in thailand as someone who both grew up here/speaks the language Id like to provide some specific experiences that help foreigners adjust.

First its extremely likely if someone moves to the south east that has been living in the northern hemisphere you will struggle most with the heat and humidity. White People Especially. All of you need to be drinking extra water everyday, this is not a joke heat stroke is very common for white people here because they dont realize how dehydrated they are until its already causing harm. Please stay safe.

If the summers start getting too hot take day trips to mountain towns/businesses there's a lot of local industry around people going to cooler weather at higher elevations during the hottest times of year.

Addition for health, Please get vaccinated Before coming here. We all trust all foreigners/tourists do (and since covid screenings in airports are much more common) Especially for mosquito transmissible diseases.

Thailand uses yearly field burning for crop rotation, this causes periods of the year with extreme air pollution/smog. cities will put out air warnings in advance so people can either seal their homes to prevent air from getting in unfiltered or wear smoke masks. I recommend people do this asap before its a necessity.

Language wise thailand has a large enough tourism base that most people also learn at least some english/there's businesses that teach foreigners thai. Learning before traveling is appreciated, the main thing to keep in mind is that since thai is a tonal language without tone control words can get mixed up/confused. (this is pretty normal for new speakers tho)

If people want to learn thai i highly recommend watching news broadcasts! you get to see a wide variety of speakers and use in conversations. Searching "ข่าว PP" or "ข่าว TNN" on youtube will get you fairly official political broadcasts, but even if you just search ข่าว or ข่าวดึก can bring up a lot of good examples of people speaking.

If youre an english speaker one of the best jobs you can look for is as an english teacher or tutor. It's a very searched for job and usually provides good opportunity for learning the language as well.

If youre in a big city look up the local train routes and use those, as finding parking/driving places will generally be much worse than just using the trains. That being said getting a motor bike is fairly easy and inexpensive for commutes if needed.

This is a disappointing but necessary heads up for foreigners, colorism is still a fairly wide spread issue in thailand. People arent violent but things like finding work/some aid does have discriminatory practices still and its extremely disappointing. There are local movements and people fighting to end it, but its been ingrained in a lot of people.

speaking of local communities if anyone who's coming to thailand is coming for hrt/trans support i highly recommend getting into contact with the local trans fem communities/gay centers. There's massive international culture and groups of people that will help you both get what you need and with support.

I know i said a lot here but i am genuinely really happy my home can provide safety and aid to people in hard times. I know from a lot of personal experience how scary it is when you have to flee your home, and if there's anything i can do to help ease that process even with limited resources i will do my best.

stay safe everyone and keep going.

noted. thank you so much. this is all incredibly helpful info, and it is obvious in how you delivered it that you sincerely care. i appreciate that a lot.

posting for anyone else eyeing Thailand.

[pomefioredove]

who they fall for, heartslabyul

I did a longer one of these for rook and now I can't get the idea out of my head, so... series! (part 1/8)

summary: soulmates type of post: blurbs characters: deuce, ace, cater, trey, riddle additional info: romantic, not proofread so maybe ooc, gender neutral partner, really just thoughts

𝐃𝐞𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐝𝐞

trope: dorks in love

Deuce ends up with someone who, most of all, challenges him. they put him at ease, and there's a definite shared gentleness between the two, but it's his partner's subtle rebellious streak that wins him over (though they definitely know when to tone it down). puppy love that turns into something deeper. they accept him as he is, flaws and all, and they support him in his growth towards becoming a better person. fiercely loyal. they and Deuce would constantly be fighting to be the "chivalrous" one. taking turns telling the waiter the other asked for no pickles, running to hold doors open, etc. it's cute, but a little competitive, just enough to motivate him.

𝐀𝐜𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐚

trope: tsundere

his soulmate? someone who can take a joke. no, no, I'm kidding, but they would have a wicked sense of humor, one that compliments his perfectly. and an adorable laugh, of course, snorts and all. someone who can feed his ego without overdoing it, keeping him wrapped around their little finger (trust me, he loves it). a little mutual teasing never hurt anyone, right? at the same time, though, they'd be completely devoted, loyal, and loving, just like he is. he brags about being a ladies man, though, really, he's almost completely closed off when it comes to matters of the heart. it takes a lot of patience (and a lot of putting up with his shenanigans) before those walls start coming down to reveal the romantic hidden behind them.

𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐝

trope: slowburn

similar to friends to lovers, but of a different flavor. Cater is subtly flirty with almost everyone, it's the people-pleasing, but a soulmate? yeah, he'll believe it when he sees it! of course, he's completely blind to what he's needed all along being right in front of him. someone who listens to him, who cares deeply about his feelings, who can read his body language and know just what he's thinking. someone he feels comfortable around without feeling the need to hide himself. a bestie, if you will. he's absolutely the first to catch feelings and drives himself mad about it, not daring to make a move out of a fear of vulnerability (or being a weirdo, take your pick) and it devolves into months, years worth of cringe pining. "looking at the pictures they'd taken together and giggling" pining.

𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐲 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫

trope: weirdos in love

thought it was gonna be domestic bliss? nope. I'm saving that one. Trey isn't quite ready to settle down yet, having spent his whole life taking care of others (to the point where he hasn't had a moment to figure out who he is...) and so he's put a hold on the whole "romance" thing. of course, the last thing he was expecting after graduation was to bump into someone that would throw that plan out the window. truly, his soulmate is someone he feels he can be himself with, who gives him the ability to relax and be the one who gets pampered, for once... it's a very equal and loving relationship with a like-minded and responsible person. one who goes along with all his bits, too.

𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬

trope: opposites attract

oof the ouch. no, Riddle is not ready for the ups and downs of a relationship, and he knows that. he's always chalked up his disinterest in romance to his studies, and his utter disinterest in taking anyone home to meet his mother's highly specific future-in-law criteria. though, secretly, Riddle has held onto his own little list of "perfect" traits, almost going as far to fantasize about an imaginary partner to keep him company. the person he does end up falling for makes that list null and void. they're daring, adventurous, creative, curious, open to all sorts of nonsensical ideas that challenge all of Riddle's. they represent a sort of freedom that he's never had, and before he can even hate them, he finds himself falling. but someone like that could never tie themselves down to someone like him... right?

[bubblin-trouble]

Twisted Wonderland theory time: Did Dire Crowley Summon Yuu on purpose? Does Yuu have powers? What is his true intention?

Spoilers for the game below the cut!!! You’ve been warned~

In the very beginning of the game, you, the player, play a short snippet through the eyes of our favorite headmage, Crowley. Here, he speaks in a way more serious tone than his usual manner, and no one else is present but himself.

As you can see, he’s speaking towards the Dark Mirror, but he is not referring to it. He speaks of a benefactor. A flower of evil. Interesting choice of words, wouldn’t you think?

It’s like he knows the person he’s seeking after is just on the other side.

For those of you who don’t know, a benefactor is (literal definition) a person who gives money or other to help a person or cause. Basically someone who helps someone else out. And who could that person in need of help be?

Dire Crowley. Is it because he’s in dire circumstances? In need of someone’s help? Here’s a quote I found:

“For you, for me, for them, time is running out.”

Seems urgent or dire, doesn’t it? Also, the terminology he uses here caught my attention as well. He refers to the unknown party as “my proud flower of evil”. What does a flower need? Nurturing. Crowley’s known to use interesting nomenclature for his students, after all.

But now, who does Crowley need to dump all of his problems on, expose them to immense Overblot incidents in the meanwhile? Yuu.

Another piece of evidence I’d like to bring up.

This confirms that he wasn’t directly referring to the Dark Mirror before, but he was seeking someone out.

The word “visage” can mean the manifestation, image, or aspect of something. From this, my guess is that Crowley is seeking out some unknown party to conform to him, like the flower language used earlier.

I highly doubt the Mirror would bring anyone to NRC who had no magic inside them. Yuu was sent because (I think) Crowley specifically asked.

Grim, a creature (cat-weasel) with immense layers of 1000 year old curse magic, however, was also sent to NRC. But, why?

By this point, we all know about the time loop theory. My personal interpretation is that after each calamity that falls, the cycle repeats again. And again. And again. It’s basically pushed into our faces that Grim will overblot at some point, but his will be even stronger than all of the others’.

Crowley says this to Yuu before he realizes they’re not the typical student.

Alongside with the coffin/raven imagery, it doesn’t give too good of an idea. That’s why the school is called Night Raven College. Each student represents a bird, a raven. Ravens symbolize the path between the living and spirit realm. Not saying that everyone in TWST is dead, per se…but it’s an interesting concept.

Let’s shy away from this for a moment. Consider this next piece of evidence as well.

For a student with no magic, it’s a little ironic that Yuu has prophetic dreams of the past, isn’t it? Every time, roughly 3 days before an overblot occurs, they have a dream based off of the overblotee’s member of the Great 7.

Now, anyone who’s watched the Disney movies featuring the villains in TWST know their true story. Obviously. Those in TWST idolize the Great 7, believing them to be good historical figures. Yet, we see the truth. Through Yuu’s eyes.

Let’s take a look at something else.

Considering the connection between Mickey and Yuu (In Thru the Mirror and Ramshackle Dorm), their interactions are just a bit more than interesting. Yuu sees him in their dreams, and vice versa. I have a small guess that the world of TWST was created by the Mouse himself, tbh.

The name “Mickey” actually means “Who is like God”. My personal best guess is it’s some sort of deviation from Micheal or Mikhail. After all, Mickey IS the mascot of literally everything Disney…

This might sound stupid/outlandish, but that mouse has power. I’m so serious. The Mirrorverse is canon in the Disney universe, after all. My guess is that TWST is one of those worlds, but where the villains were victorious instead of our beloved heroes.

Yuu is the only one to have such prophetic dreams, that we know of thus far. They so happen to embody the ravens perfectly, as they symbolize prophecy and insight. Though Yuu has no magic, it does make me wonder…

Were they blessed by a higher being, to have such powers to reveal the truth?

With all of the context here, it’s clear that the history of Twisted Wonderland is inaccurate. Warped. The villains aren’t actually the heroes, like everyone else thinks. In reality, they’re the complete opposite.

This might be because of propaganda pushed forward by the Seven’s loyal followers, as a way to blot over their muddy images.

Let’s talk about overblots for a moment. With Yuu always being exposed to so many overblots, you’d think they’d eventually go through it themselves. But, they don’t have magic, do they? Or so everyone else thinks.

I have a hunch that Yuu in fact does have some kind of magic, buried deep inside them. It’s dormant, asleep. Needing to be awakened. Needing to be nurtured to show its true colors.

Also, when Yuu first arrived, one of the first individuals we meet is Crowley. He literally says, “There you are!”.

Like he’d been expecting Yuu. Planning for them to come to NRC.

Another thing, Crowley doesn’t seem like the type of person to care all too much if a student misses a ceremony. But, he escorted Yuu there himself. And, when he found out that Yuu had “no magic”, he let them stay instead of sending them home.

You’d think he’d be more eager to send them back to where they came from, right? But, no. He doesn’t seem all too bothered by letting Yuu stay. Like he knows they have some sort of purpose to serve.

But, he has to have a reason for all of this, doesn’t he? Well, it’s not made clear at this moment. Maybe we’ll find out in future books.

Before we wrap it up here, here’s some food for thought, and some of my own personal thoughts.

Dire Crowley knows something everything else doesn’t. And it’s bad. Catastrophic, even. He knew it was bad enough that it could potentially put his world in danger. Desperate times call for desperate measures, don’t they? And he needed to call for something. And what would be the thing to save his world?

His beautiful flower of evil.

But, that’s just a theory. :)

@nrc-asteryn-crew @night-raven-miscellany @nrc-ramshackle-prefect @glitchtricks94 @knightcoree come get your food >:)

[20dollarlolita]

Can you believe it? 20dollarlolita Pattern School Step 2!

Only took me a year and a half. For people who don't remember a year and a half ago, we've started a project about learning to sew from patterns. The eventual goal is to help people become proficient enough at reading patterns to be able to tell what's going on in a pattern with instructions in another language, taking a pattern that doesn't fit and resizing it so that it does, and taking a pattern that isn't technically lolita and make it work in lolita fashion.

Step 1 was to make a non-fitted item from a commercial pattern. There were two goals of step 1: first to ensure that everyone was familiar with notches, grainlines, and other pattern markings; second was to give people experience with selecting fabric and trims to help give a non-lolita pattern a more lolita feeling.

For step 2, we're modifying a commercial pajama pants pattern into bloomers. In this step, we're going to become familiar with how to prepare a commercial pattern for modification, to compare pattern size to body size and to use your tape measure to judge added fullness, and how to do some basic flat pattern manipulation to add in style ease. Bloomers are a great first manipulation/fitted project due to the loose fit and the fact that, in most lolita applications, the vast majority of it is under your skirt and therefore invisible.

For this specific sample, I'm going to use Gertie's Harlow Pajama Pants pattern for this. I'm doing this because I bought a commercial pattern from Green Store and then promptly lost it, and these pajama pants are a free download. If you are printing the tiled version on your home computer printer, you only need pages 41-52 and 58-71, which will save you about 40 pages of printing.

I highly recommed doing some research and having a good idea of how long the bloomers you want to make should be, as well as how they are decorated. This is my research board.

You can use any pajama pants pattern that has a casing (elastic or drawstring) at the top, and no zipper. In this case, pants with a looser fit are going to be easier to turn into bloomers. If you like wearing your pants at a certain point on your body, I'd check for pajama pants that are at that waistline. The pants that I'm using are designed to sit at your natural waist, which might be too high for some people.

Your first step is to assemble and fortify your pattern. If you're printing this on copy paper, it's going to be strong enough, provided you use enough tape when tiling your pattern. If you're using a tissue paper pattern, like the kind you'd buy at the craft store, it helps to fuse some inexpensive interfacing onto the back of the pattern. We're going to work with these patterns a lot, so it's important to make them a little bit stronger.

Now, you are going to need to go into your pattern instructions and find two important things. The first is your overall seam allowance. In most commercial patterns, this is 5/8 of an inch. Some other patterns might have different seam allowance.

The second is how big your elastic casing at the top will be. In this case, my seam allowance is 5/8" of an inch. Because my hem casing is .25"+1.25" (the amount you turn up plus them amount you turn up the second time), I know that my elastic casing will take up 1.5".

You're now going to mark on your pattern what the stitching line is. Your pattern has seam allowance included. This is very useful for when you cut out the pattern. However, if we take our pattern measurements with seam allowance, we won't have accurate numbers. So we have to clarify where the seam allowance is.

The first thing that I do (not pictured) is to write how much I'm removing along each line. In this case, I write 5/8" along the side and crotch seams, and "1+1/2" at the top where the casing is. Since we're going to drastically shorten these pants, it doesn't matter what the hem allowance is.

Then, I take my ruler, and I mark my stitching line. I do it in pencil, check that I'm correct, and then go back and re-draw it with a red marker. This helps me make sure that I'm following the correct lines.

Make sure you transfer your notches onto your new stitching line. You can see in the picture above how I'm using the ruler to measure where the notch is going to go.

The next step, walking the pattern, is a little tricky to explain. Here's a post that goes into it in great detail.

Basically, you're going to overlap the seam lines, to make sure they line up. The only problem with doing this is that both seam lines are curved. So, instead of lining it all up at once, you're going to go about an inch at a time, letting the pattern rotate so that it stays flat on the table. At any given point, you're only going to have an inch or so of the line overlapping, but that's all you need. If you run into notches that don't line up, cross one out and re-draw it so that it matches the other notch.

If this seems really complicated, you don't really need to do that on this project. It just is a good practice to have.

So you now should have a pattern with all the commercial markings, but where you've drawn the stitching line.

So now, you're going to put your two pieces together along the outseam. Since this is a pretty straight part of a pajama pant, it shouldn't be too difficult to get them to line up. Remember to overlap them on your stitching line, and not on the edge of the pattern.

We're putting them together so that you can measure them both at the same time. it saves us some math.

In bloomers, there are three major measurements to take into consideration. You need to know how big you want the leg to be, how big you want the booty to be, and how long you want the leg of the bloomer to be. In addition, you need to make sure that the waist of your pants will be big enough to fit your waist. In most pajama pants patterns, this isn't a problem, but checking it is good practice.

So, in this picture, you can see that I've measured the cuff of the pants. These two pieces together make up one pant leg, so I just need to measure the two pieces to know how big the pant leg will be.

I then take my tape measure and hold it around my leg at the same size that the pattern is at that point. I just use my eyes and judge if I think that'll be enough room to make my bloomers nice and poofy.

If your pattern doesn't tell you your hip line (mine didn't), it's usually at the point where the two notches on the crotch curve are. One of the reasons why we're doing this on a commercial pattern is that someone did the work for us and put those notches where they should be.

Now, remember, these two pieces are only half of the pant pattern. When we measure the hips of the pattern, we have to multiply this measurement by 2. Half the hip measurement x 2 is the full hip measurement.

Once again, hold this out next to your body and make sure that you like how much fullness you need. Remember that, in addition to having extra fullness because bloomers are poofy, you need room to be able to move and sit down. This measure between the size of my body and the size of the pattern looked pretty good to me. I could definitely have gone a little bit bigger.

The pant leg measurement is okay to be a little bit too long. You can always make it shorter. However, feel free to chop about 18" off the bottom of a full length pant leg. This just makes things a little easier.

Now, we're going to move the two pattern pieces until they're the size we like. If both the hip measurement and the leg measurement are too small, we're going to move both pattern pieces apart. To turn pajama pants into bloomers, this is likely to be the most common adjustment.

If the hip measurement is pretty okay, but the cuff measurement is too small, you're just going to move the bottom part of the pattern apart.

You'll notice that this is still enlarging the hip measurement a little bit. This is fine for bloomers since the style is for a lot of fullness in that area.

And if your cuff is the correct size, but your hip measure is too big, you can keep the cuff size the same and move the hip line apart until it's the size you want.

This technique of lining up the pattern pieces, and then moving them until they're the size you want, is the basics of flat patterning. As long as you follow the philosophy of keeping the measurements you like roughly the same, and moving the areas that you don't like until they measure what you need, you can easily resize a pattern without having to re-draw everything.

If you had to spread your pieces apart, tape some paper underneath the gap. This piece of paper should bridge the gap between the two pieces, turning them into one piece. Really quickly double-check that these pieces measure how you want. Then, mark a line in the middle of the paper bridge. Draw your notches onto the cut line. Cut the two pieces apart on that line. You've now made both pieces bigger. Tape another little piece of paper onto the cut edge of each piece, mark out your seam allowance, and cut that off.

Bonus points: swap the position of the pattern pieces, so that the crotch curve is one continuous line. Measure the length of that. Then, hold your tape measure along where the crotch curve of your pants will fit, and make sure that you have clearance there. I'm not going to photograph that, andi t's not super necessary with most pajama patterns.

Go ahead and cut your pieces out.Even though I'd shortened the pattern, mine were still too long to fit on a 2-yard cut of fabric. Since I knew that my pants were a little long, I just let the end hang off the edge of the fabric.

Here's the really magical part about this. Even though you've resized your pattern, you still have all your seam allowance, notches, grainlines, and your pattern instructions. Since you kept all your pattern markings consistent, you can now follow the instructions that came with your pattern. Go up until it tells you to hem the pants, and then try them on.

In my case, my pants were way too long to be bloomers. I knew that I wanted to do a casing with a heading, which does use s pretty big hem allowance, but even so, I'd need to shorten them.

Check out your bloomer research board to see how long you want them to be. I wanted some long ones that did the old-school bloomer peek, so I made them on the longer side. I also didn't want them to ride up into my butt when sitting in a wheelchair.

So, time to fold up the bottoms, add my elastic, and call the basic construction finished.

I looked up on my research board to try to find a good way to decorate these. One of the nice things about bloomers is that you can wear them with a wide variety of coords. This makes them one of those items where you can add some extra lace, and then use that lace in multiple coords. I feel like, since these bloomers are a good way of adding detail in multiple coords, it's a good excuse to add a little bit extra lace. You can see how much of a difference it makes in this picture. It really turns them from baggy shorts into real bloomers. I really recommend sometimes investing in a couple of big purchases of lace. If you have lots of lace on hand, you're more likely to include it in your projects, which can really help push a meh project into proper lolita fashion territory. I have a rule that I don't spend more than $1.50 a yard on lace unless it's really fantastic, and I manage to find things at that point on Aliexpress and sites like Cheeptrims.

Now go on and let them peek out of your favorite skirt. And remember, definitely don't press that skirt before putting this picture in your tutorial.

[namgyunation]

Anon from before - haha you're welcome for more excuses to type. Thank you for respondinga! I honestly thought the same as you, but so many people on ig threads and reddit ones have been arguing this specific thing with me like "he was high so he must have thought it was min-su not nam-gyu". And fair enough about being high given what happened to gyeong-su, but the reason I don't buy that -apart from the fact that Him ditching nam-gyu after he was initially hesitant to give him pills he thought would hurt him doesn't make sense to me - is the way nam-gyu then very insincerely says "I told him you'd survive" like bruh did no such thing 💀 which sort of sets that up as a lie. then we have the "I'm sorry boyyyy! open the dooorrrr!" thing which again, insincere af before he's like I'M SO FUCKIN' ANGRY MAN111!!

And yeah I dont know if you watched the show in English/another language or in Korean with the subtitles but in the Korean version my subtitles said "thanks to you I bonded with nam-su here" when he's telling off mg coin in the beginning. Which seemed like a very genuine statement when he said because he didn't need to say it for any reason at that point, nam-gyu was already supporting him, he wasn't scared of him like min-su etc.

(adding onto this post with the other ask you sent me) +

Same anon also omg that photoset you reblogged where rjw says thanos looked down on him, yeah I think thanos sort of does that with everyone but the thing is, the others didn't care? Se-mi didnt care, gyeong-su is starstruck and not eeally noticing, min-su is scared. But nam-gyu cares. nam gyu's resentment combined with how he wants thanos to respect him and see him as his equal etc lowkey reminds me of like when you're seeing a guy and you want more/have feelings but they don't/are a fuckboy, is what I compared it to (a situation both me and a friend of mine who also saw it, have been in). I could honestly see that applying both for platonic (like gretchen and Regina in mean girls?) Or for more (he really did give the vibe that he was into thanos as more than a friend to me) but tldr; YES that is exactly how I interpreted them and I'm sorry I'm spamming you I'm just excited to find 1 other person outside of my friends group that has the same takes as me.

oh really?? i'm surprised ppl are fr arguing about that. i might be biased but idk. i thought it was pretty clear he was joking. he was already picking nam-gyu without a second thought throughout the whole game. it was never a question to thanos if nam-gyu was going to be paired up with him in all the previous rounds. it was always thanos and nam-gyu going, "ok, who's coming with us?" like when they made min-su and se-mi rock paper scissors to determine who they'd take. they didn't have to ask each other if they were going to be together!

i mean, it's fair to say that since he was high, the possibility of him fr thinking he was with min-su could be there. but ehhhh idk. min-su went along with what thanos said out of fear and because he had no idea how to say no or stand up for himself, while nam-gyu enthusiastically followed him around and backed him up on everything, stroking his ego perfectly lol. min-su barely actually talks or makes the effort to talk with thanos (or nam-gyu). for someone who thinks so highly of himself, i feel like the choice for which of them to "save" and maintain the strongest alliance with would be clear for thanos, even when under the influence. also i saw someone comment this, but i think it’s funny to imagine that thanos also favored nam-gyu over min-su in that moment because nam-gyu returned his weird ass head shake thing LMAO

and yeah the whole 'bullying min-su in the bathroom' scene. no hesitation from thanos to try and intimidate min-su and shove him back on the toilet, all the exaggerated sweetness from earlier gone. and then ofc nam-gyu's pathetic ass is there again to back him up like thanos knew he would LOL

thanos knew that choosing nam-gyu over min-su would be more beneficial to him because of the fact that he happily follows whatever thanos wants, while min-su's growing increasingly rattled and is obviously taking more and more convincing to keep voting the way he wants him to.

and yes i watched it in kr! i agree with what you said. because of how thanos's personality is, i wouldn't be surprised if he played it up a bit / exaggerated how deeply he and nam-gyu "bonded" especially with how he added "because.. we shared the same pain 😿😿</3", but either way i do see it as a genuine statement. probably also said it to intimidate mg coin more and make it clear to him that (at least) two of the dudes he was now stuck in this confined space with did notttt fuck with him at all and were likely going to give him a really hard time

and then to respond to the second part of your ask—

i agree! and i'd say that top basically confirmed that in his netflix interview.

"before facing off against the front man, thanos probably thinks he's the boss there. after getting beat up... he probably confidently considers himself second in hierarchy."

thanos looks down on everyone no matter what. his ego is huge. the difference between him and nam-gyu (who i'd say also has a gigantic ego), is that thanos can actually somewhat back it up through his unwavering confidence and status. also, unlike nam-gyu, thanos's ego is pretty hard to bruise. he just seems so sure of himself, despite being cringey and a complete moron (said with love)

the others don't gaf fr! gyeong-su doesn't give a shit, clearly, he's just happy to be there and is pleased enough by the simple fact that thanos is letting him follow him around. se-mi thinks thanos is an idiot. she seems sure of herself, too, so why the hell would she care about what he thinks, of all people. and yeah, min-su is too terrified to care about how thanos views him lmao. he just doesn't want to die.

and then nam-gyu.... clearly has a lot of deep set issues and things that had to have happened to him in order for him to have grown up into the way he is: extremely sensitive and susceptible to the criticism/opinions of others, insecure, etc.

also i can totally see what you're saying with the whole fuckboy thing. nam-gyu always seems like he's trying to subtlely inch closer to thanos and advance their weird parasocial 'friendship' into something more genuine. nam-gyu likes the idea of being closer to a celebrity, someone who's 'cool', maybe he likes his music too idk, but either way the thought of being close to someone like thanos is tantalizing to him.

while i personally prefer to see the two of them in more of a 'bros' way, where nam-gyu is pathetically trying to get closer to thanos for the clout of being friends with someone with status whom he's a fan of, i also can see the appeal of seeing it in a more 'shippy' context. it could go either way, and i feel that's where personal interpretation and headcanons come in.

also just a random comment, but nam-gyu's behavior reminds me a lot of the whole 'group leader' meme (2 examples linked lol) that went around, obviously with thanos being the 'group leader' and nam-gyu being the fucking loser constantly trying to impress him, and i just think that's funny as fuck, which i think is partly why i prefer to see them in a more platonic sense lmao.

despite nam-gyu's efforts, i really don't think their relationship advances much. there's some level of mutual trust there, like 'you have my back, i got yours', but beyond that, i wouldn't say i could see either of them genuinely opening up to the other or anything. nam-gyu repressed all his animosity towards thanos that slowly built up over the duration of the series. it's so hard for him to be honest and upfront about his feelings, clearly. thanos never saw nam-gyu as an equal, nor did he ever really respect him lmao. though in an au where they survived the games and actually talked to each other when they're NOT under the influence or desperately trying not to die, i could totally see them being actual friends.

i'd honestly argue that thanos didn't care nearly as much about nam-gyu as people try to make it seem (at least in the canon moments in the show that we see up until thanos's death). definitely don't see him caring about nam-gyu in a head over heels romantic sense, nor in a 'omg bestie bae forever and ever; we're so soul-bonded and you get me in every single way kyaaaaaa i luv uuuuuuu let's get noodles and drinks after the games mwah mwah <3'

NOT saying that i think he completely didn't care about him. he did care, but i personally view thanos's 'care' for nam-gyu being as simple and surface-level as "oh this guy hates the same dude as me, and he does what i want. that's my bro now. he's chill enough, and also won't stop fucking bothering me, so i'll give him the drugs." and then he shows concern over nam-gyu's arm in like a "damn, alright...!" way. he also shows concern in the basic sense that he doesn't want nam-gyu to die, which isn't that special. he was really rattled over what happened to mina in the first game. i don't think he consciously wanted anyone to die (except maybe mg coin LOL).

"i always thought thanos had the intelligence of a goldfish." - top

yeah, that guy is NOT forming any deep thoughts!

anyways. that was a fucking lot i'm sorry LOL

and omfgggg pls do NAWT apologize for spamming me LMAO; i encourage it. i'm insane about squid game (and nam-gyu) right now so i really do like hearing other people's thoughts about the characters!!! i'm legit hanging out with tumbleweeds in the desert rn

also a big part of the reason i make those posts anyways is bc it makes me feel so happy and also sane when other people say they have the same takes as me, especially since most of the fan content i see usually contradicts how i personally view these guys LOL so props to your friend group <333

[booksinmythorax]

On Tyranny & Tumblr #9: Be kind to our language

Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone else does. Think up your own way of speaking, even if only to convey that thing you think everyone is saying. Make an effort to separate yourself from the internet. Read books.

One popular authoritarian tactic is taking words with established, but complicated definitions and making them simpler, to the detriment of everyone. Some examples:

"Triggered" has a clinical definition: "intense emotional distress you may feel suddenly when you’re faced with something that reminds you of a past traumatic experience". Its common usage has become simply "upset" or "highly emotional".

"Critical Race Theory" is an academic term coined by Kimberle Crenshaw. (You might also know Crenshaw from her creation of the term "intersectional feminism".) It is an ideological framework that Crenshaw defines as "an embodiment of what I call racial literacy". The American Bar Association (which paywalled this article) explains that critical race theory is "the practice of interrogating race and racism in society that emerged in the legal academy and spread to other fields of scholarship... CRT grew from Critical Legal Studies (CLS), which argued that the law was not objective or apolitical". In the 2020s, far-right activists have begun using the phrase to mean "any mention of race or racism, especially that which implies white people benefit from being white".

"Woke" originated in African-American Vernacular English. The phrase "stay woke" was recorded in the 1938 song "Scottsboro Boys" by Huddie Ledbetter, aka Lead Belly, in a way that meant "to stay alert to others' deceptions and watch out for police violence, racially motivated threats, and the dangers of white America". Protests of police violence against Black people in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014 brought more attention to the word "woke" in this context. By 2017, non-Black people were appropriating the word en masse to mean "politically conscious" generally, and then almost simultaneously to mean "overly sensitive to the point of ridiculousness".

There are more examples, but I didn't intend for this part to go this long already, so we'll continue.

The point here is that repurposing words with complex definitions to mean something simple is an old, old part of the authoritarian playbook. It's one we shouldn't play along with. Repeating these new definitions or invented buzzwords gives them power, even if we're using them to disagree (Snyder, 60).

Snyder also spends a lot of time in this chapter recommending moving away from picture-heavy visual media in favor of longer-form verbal media. This allows for more in-depth learning, better retention, and less stress from being inundated with constant stimuli. He specifically recommends reading books, from "good novels" to histories to theory texts (Snyder, 62). He specifically recommends that Christians go back and read the entire Bible, because taking scripture out of context is a major right-wing weapon (Snyder, 62 & 63).

You can apply Snyder's lesson #9 to quite a bit of your online life, actually:

When fascists are gnawing a word into nothing, you have two choices: either let them have it (sometimes a word is too far gone to rescue) or insist on only using the word in its proper context yourself. Either way, take the activating buzzword out of the equation and discuss things on a level ideological playing field no matter who you're talking to.

Don't use this lesson for leftist infighting. Learn to distinguish carefully between who is trying their best but needs some grace and who is advancing a fascist agenda. Correct the former kindly and teach them the history of the terms they're using; do not engage with the latter.

Consider limiting your time on social media apps. On Android, you can turn certain apps "off" until after midnight the following day once you've used them for a certain amount of time: Settings>Apps>See All Apps>[Specific App]>Screen Time.

Borrow books from your library, digitally or physically. Try to broaden your horizons. Read genres you're not familiar with. If you read mostly fiction, grab a couple volumes of nonfiction (or vice versa). Try new authors: Octavia Butler, Alice Wong, and Annalee Newitz are all excellent. If you need recommendations, BookRiot.com is a great site to check out.

Feel free to list other applications in comments or tags or on reblogs.

Other lessons from On Tyranny:

#1: Do not obey in advance

#2: Defend institutions

#3: Beware the one-party state

#4: Take responsibility for the face of the world

#5-7: Remember professional ethics, Be wary of paramilitaries, and Be reflective if you must be armed

#8: Stand out

#10: Believe in truth

[sanctity-in-sexuality]

Fair warning, this may be a heavy topic... but do you have any advice or suggested readings for individuals/couples with a history of sexual trauma? Sadly I have experienced past sexual abuse and assault involving both extremely painful penetration and disordered degrading practices. I've been open about this with my boyfriend (who has been nothing but an amazing non-judgmental and comforting listener) and we've discussed that we have both wondered about whether we may need to approach things in a special way once we are married. By the grace of God I'm grateful that my everyday mental health is actually exceptionally good for the severity of my past trauma, but we wonder if entering in a sexual context would dig up old, highly negative feelings. I guess for me it also doesn't feel like something I'd be able to just sort of naturally figure out... I don't want like a graphic gratuitous description but I wish I had a more specific concept of how it "starts happening" because my experience was so abnormal and I have no idea how couples ease into things slowly and safely, and not having any clue is sort of scary. This is a topic that's usually too personal and dark to broadly ask about, but I'd appreciate any guidance beyond general "be loving and patient" advice that applies to everyone... Thanks for reading <3

First off, I am so sorry that you experienced such a nightmare. I would hesitate to even call it sex, and mentally separating the two might help you. It is so wonderful that you're in a supportive place to work through it.

I do not have experience helping others with past sexual trauma, so my advice may not be well-curated to your situation. However, I can give some more broad advice about easing into it (and this doubles for anyone who's anxious about marital sex).

After you've made vows, it's okay to take it slow and wait until you're comfortable to try sex. That might be days, it might be months. It's more common than you'd think.

Sex is incredibly vulnerable. Easing into it is merely taking small steps of vulnerability at a time. Cuddling in pajamas, undressing/dressing where your spouse can see, taking a shower together. Just getting used to seeing each other naked. Then move on to gentle but intimate touches, such as kisses on the neck or thighs. The important thing is to communicate honestly and constantly; tell your spouse immediately if something makes you uncomfortable, if it hurts, or if it feels nice. Ask your spouse to consistently check in with you, too.

In regards to penetration, it honestly depends a lot on how tight the woman is and how large the penis is, but it does tend to hurt a bit at first. This could be triggering for you. A lot of the discomfort is friction. Use lube, trust me (we just use coconut oil). Personally, even 2.5years into marriage, I'm still too tight usually, and we have a practice where my husband very slowly eases into me like 1/2in at a time - then he pauses, lets my body adjust to it, and waits for me to give a go-ahead to continue. There's absolutely no shame if you husband needs to do something similar to make you feel safe and comfortable. And there's no shame if you have to call it quits and try again.

As for how it "starts happening"... Imma be frank, a lot of the times married couples just ask each other. Once you're practiced and established the art, you'll get moments where "one thing leads to another" or whatever, but (a) when you're starting out and don't know the rules/language it's easier to just verbally confirm, and (b) even practiced, it's still sometimes easier to just ask. E.g., "Do you want to make time for sex tonight?", "I'm in the mood, want to take this farther?", or "Let's try penetration now".

Again, the main thing is to communicate. Over-communicate. Tell your spouse ahead of time what your expectations are for having sex the first time (for you, very slow and with an emphasis on gentleness). It may take time before your negative associations with sex as degrading are replaced with positive ones that make you feel cherished. It may not be enjoyable at first while you're learning to overcome that but it should feel safe and comfortable.

I've recommended this before, but I honestly think reading the Song of Songs can be very healing for those struggling with negative associations with sex. It is a really beautiful depiction of how sexual intimacy should be experienced between spouses.

I hope this was helpful, feel free to follow up with any specific questions. God bless!

[maochira]

Hii I just wanted to say you are my most fav writer cus your the only one who writes for lavin, Lorenzo and others who are not highly written and the way you depict them seems so on point 😭

May i request a crying, insecure kaiser, Lorenzo and Chris with a comforting fem (or gn) reader?

I read thru your request rules two times but if this ask is uncomfortable for you you can deny it ofc!!

Tysm for making our day with your fanfics, they are always extravagant <3

Aaa tysm <3 I only write gn!reader btw so yeah!! (only fem!reader if reader is a lesbian.) Also adding some characters hehe

Characters: Kaiser, Lorenzo, dad!Chris, Raichi, Tokimitsu, Zantetsu

Requests open! - masterlist

Tags: gn!reader, dad!Chris but the others can be seen as romantic or platonic (your choice), fluff, I didn't end up writing about the characters crying but comfort in general, mention and description of flashbacks in Lorenzo's part, not proofread

As high as Kaiser's ego is, even he has moments when he feels down. And luckily, you're always right there to comfort him. And it doesn't even take words to make him feel better. A simple hug is more than enough to lift Kaiser's mood when he's down. There's just something so special about your embrace. It's a specific comfort he's never experienced from anyone else before.

Lorenzo sometimes thinks too much about his past. He's mainly come to terms with the wrong things he's done, so nothing of that ever bothers him. But Lorenzo has experienced what it feels like to be on the verge of death, and sometimes he gets flashbacks of that from which he can't distract himself from. Only you manage to find ways to properly distract him and get his thoughts focused on other things, especially when you're close to him and hold his hand while you're talking. It makes him remember where he is right now, and not how his flashbacks make him feel.

Usually, Chris is the one comforting you. But every now and then, even your father has his moments of feeling down. He always tries to hide that from you because he doesn't want you to feel responsible for his well-being. But it's always easy to notice when your father is feeling down. Even if he thinks you don't notice it, you do. You try to not be obvious with how you're helping him so you always do subtle actions that you know will make him feel better like a hug or asking to play soccer together.

Raichi can get too rough with his words and often think he hurt your feelings. You're a very important person to him, so he always feels super guilty as soon as he thinks he's gone too far. He apologizes even when unnecessary and that's always when you notice how much guilt he's carrying around about this. Even though he sometimes really does hurt your feelings, most of the time he's just overthinking too much. And fortunately for Raichi, you always reassure him enough to make that guilt go away.

Tokimitsu gets anxious extremely easily. He's always afraid of doing something wrong but at the same time, he hates admitting that because he doesn't want to be a bother to you. But no matter what's dragging him down, you're always there to help him. Because he addresses what he struggles with so rarely, you've learned how to read Tokimitsu's body language very well. Most of the time there's no need for you to say anything, it's enough to hold his hand or give him a hug to let him know everything is okay.

Zantetsu is well aware of how stupid he is and he knows everyone thinks he's an idiot. Well, everyone except for you. You're always the first person he thinks of when he needs to be comforted. Zantetsu knows that no matter how stupid other people make him feel, you're always right there to provide him with comfort and reassurance. He may be dumb with words, but you always know just right what to say to make him feel better,

Taglist (sign-up link): @astruosie @kaineedstherapy12 @zyuuuu @yerinsshi @luvcalico @remy-roll @thedaisy78 @truegoist @rienniey @kalinkavx @vanitasbrainrot @rrueyuo @weichspuelertrinker @acacIa @kermitslefteyeball11 @futuristicxie @bluelock4life @yueyingwrld @yuehailin @keiidaydreams @takorirei @sagejin @https-archangel @ririgards @depressed-bitchy-demon @kaiserkisser @userwithlotsoftime @yellowelectroslime @nikokii @chaosinanutshell @quite-eerie @midnightymel @rzu @peachesncats @isagikisser @orah-s @gojosorrygeto @deerangle3 @mafuyudonutt

[songs-of-future-past]

Destiny 2 News

This again, because it was fun last time. A day late because I was out yesterday. So, fashion first:

Mariachi Pistolero: You know what? Could be fun. We always need more Western cowboy stuff in our space fantasy. 8/10

Crane Martial Artist: I can't think of many items that fit this theme save for the Untethered Edge set? 5/10, not something I'd personally use much outside one particular Stasis build I have, but could be interesting. At least it's different.

Atlantian Royal Guard: GIMME. I don't have any other comments. 10/10

Kami / Kodama: Again, not something I'd use, but it sounds pretty. 4/10, I'd have to see it.

Oni: Claw gauntlets, love it. Also extra fingers could be fun. 3/10, there's only one part of this that I'd use.

April Fools: Their description doesn't make too much sense to me, but if it's like the DDLC set I don't care. 1/10

Court Jester: Again, I'm kinda meh on this one, sorry. 1/10

Bardic Traveller: Oh we need instrument stuff. Been waiting on something string instrument related specifically for Strand. 7/10

Verity's Brow ornament: FINALLY!! I've been waiting on something, because that thing doesn't go with Jack shit. Now I can actually use that one DPS build in good conscience.

Everything else is under the cut.

First off, congrats to Biggz, Mariomonkey, and luigistyle for your dungeon race win. That was a tough run, and y'all should be proud of your gold. Although the race has ended, contest mode is going to be running again this weekend to make up for the PSN crash.

The exotic mission Derealize is out, rewarding the Barrow Dyad exotic submachine gun. Keep an eye on the preview screen, I've heard there's a secret with the gun there. Absolute blast of a mission, by the way. Everyone say welcome back to the dick wall.

The updated Trials of Osiris is now in full swing, so far it is much more enjoyable and far less stressful. Still don't like PvP, but I'll go visit our favourite bird uncle for once. On the flip side, Iron Banner is coming back, although Valus Forge is back to his usual one week rotation. Go bark at him while you can.

To simplify security, Bungie is updating account unlinking. If you need to do so, highly recommend unlinking now while you can.

Holochips have also been released, giving your guardian a contrail for twelve hours. If anyone would like, I'd like to get a couple people together to teach Grasp of Avarice to test out whether or not it can help with Sherpa runs.

Referring back to Destiny streams, Game2Give managed to raise an impressive $2,753,931.26 for disaster relief with the help of donors and over 200 streamers and content creators

~ Just gonna copy the known issues list over ~

The Nether:

Sometimes the Tome of Want: A Primer quest does not progress after meeting Step 3 and Step 4 requirements.

The Bolt Charge boon description should say, "At maximum charge, any ability damage generates a powerful bolt of Arc lighting at the target's location."

Several lines in each language for Memory of Savathûn, Memory of Oryx, and Memory of Xivu are cut off or not played at all.

Sundered Doctrine

When damaging shrieker bosses, players receive critical damage feedback, but damage is actually regular base damage.

When tracking Ikora's Drowning Labyrinth quest, completion of certain steps may stop progress on the next steps.

Upon a player reaching the rally banner for the second boss, previous areas will become soft kill volumes, which may kill teammates who are behind.

Abilities

The On Point gilded Triumph's description strings mentions Stasis, but it should say Strand.

The Hunter Arc Aspect Ascension depletes all Super energy when used during a roaming Super.

The On the Prowl Hunter Aspect currently grants a small chunk of ability energy over the seven-second duration of each stack instead of all at once.

The Ascension Hunter Aspect drains all Super energy if used while in a roaming Super and doesn’t work with certain mods and Exotic armors.

The Storm’s Keep Titan Aspect does not synergize with Arbor Warden.

The Volatile Marksman artifact mod is restoring class ability energy too quickly.

The Ionic Sentry Arc Warlock Aspect does not synergize properly with Exotics and other parts of the Arc subclass.

Weapons

Class-specific weapons (Swords & Exotic Glaives) can be used with any class. This is not intended.

The new competitive weapon, Redrix's Estoc, can only be earned once in the first week when doing placement matches.

Crafted Vault of Glass weapons incorrectly allow Deepsight Harmonizers to be used.

The Fatebringer (Timelost) doesn't have a socket for mementos.

The Discord and Harmony perks count down before the player switches to the necessary weapon.

Armour

The Stoicism "Heart's Pledge" ornament doesn't show cloth on the feminine body type.

The Tempest Strike Hunter Aspect does not activate Nightmare Fuel Perk on Sealed Ahamkara Grasps.

Blight Ranger's Exotic perk, Voltaic Mirror, does not trigger Bolt Charge when cancelled.

Memento Shaders can be previewed on armor in the Armor Management screen. This is not intended, and Mementos aren't being considered for use on armor.

General

Grandmaster Triumphs reference a previous Episode.

Ammo bricks give less ammo than intended.

In any case, go check out the main article for Artist of the Week and Movie of the week, and have a wonderful day.

[mothinashes]

"alter" introduction:)

i usually dont like getting too personal about my personal life, but i will post headmate art here and there and some do not want to be seen as ocs or just characters!

i do not have DID (which is why i highly prefer saying 'headmates' instead of 'alters') !! it's related to other health factors. we usually dont experience amnesia switches (or amnesia in general) either, so we share a lot of memories and life experiences, to which we all developed differently. There's some guys who haven't experienced those memories in the same way, but they mostly do inner work and as far as i am aware have never even fronted.

I'll probably be the only one taking care of this account, but IF anyone else decides to take a turn, I'll make sure to note by name.

The art of them are only embodiments of their characters that ive either decided to design to fit them, or images that have popped up in my head from time to time. I don't think they have a specific look or body in the headspace. that's why the majority of them look non-human. (i have no non-human headmates except Zephyr)

Since we dont experience amnesia switches its VERY common for us to co-host and a lot of the time it's hard to even tell them apart. Although we've been learning a lot more, especially with therapy:))

These introductions will not include everyone (as of now) because we've grown into a fairly big group, but they're rather for the sillies that partake most commonly and are ok with being introduced

Will also not pin this post because it does feel off to introduce myself as the entire system, its not the first thing i want people to know about me.

OKOK!! INTROS!!!

Moth (me :D)

• all info in pinned post:)

• he/him or it/its

• 18

• art i do of myself almost always represents what my/our own physical body looks like atm !!

• I front MOST of the time, id say like 80% is just me

Charlie

• The dumbest of them all🙏🙏/j

• he/him or it/its

• Very fond of the goat persona

• He's also here a lot:) mostly just to talk

• Most similar to me, just a lot more hyped

• I believe he age-slides from 14-17 y/o (or something close to that)

• He really enjoys video games

• He makes fun of literally everyone. Please dont take anything to heart 😿

• co-cons a lot with Pax (he enjoys being annoying)

• Headmate i know the most about

Cassidy

• she/her

• first headmate I've managed proper communication with

• very sweet

• loves loves loves gardening

• I'm very unsure of her age!! some where between 19-24

• i love her dearly:)

Ruby

• she/they

• we share a very deep connection and a history with each other that's very hard to describe, and something only really my big brother knows about

• caretaker? kind of ??

• Also very close to Cassidy:)

• Gets harsh if she needs to. Never for no reason tho. Usually she's also pretty sweet and caring !!

Zephyr

• no/any pronouns ?

• shows up commonly but compared to the others i know very little about them.

• probably god complex or at least feels to have more power in the system than they actually do

• doesn't communicate with words, but rather mental images and body language.

• used to really like the game minecraft

• least similar to me (out of all headmates)

Pax

• he/him

• grumpy ash😭🙏

• easily irritated but not anxious

• besides Charlie and I, he has the most connections to other people

(2021 art i apologise<///3)

• 25 y/o, ages normally year by year

• tbh i think he means harm

Shark

• any pronouns ?

• not gonna disclose much about them to strangers :) but they're one of two littles

THATS IT!!

if anything ever changes or someone else does start to show up more often, ill edit this post to be up to date:]

[the---hermit]

hello cris! i would love to ask as someone who is currently learning a language (i'm currently trying to learn italian again for the nth time) what are your favorite techniques when it comes to learning a language? i've been trying to study italian for two years now but i always end up giving up immediately 😭🫶🏻

Hello anon!

Firstly I had a vague memory of talking about this before and I checked my masterlist so in case you want to read more here is another similar ask I answered to a while back and here an ask in which I meanioned a few italian fiction books for people who are learning. I'll be honest I did not reread those and I don't remember what I wrote lmao. But you have some more reading to do after this just in case!

At the moment the main language I am very slowly trying to learn is Irish. But I will be honest it's more a free time hobby than actual studying. In the sense that I don't have a schedule for it and I have ups and downs in which I am able to focus a bit more, and times like the past few months in which my energy is nowhere to be found so I do very little progress. The main way I am dping this is with duolingo, which I feel is a great way to start and to keep a tiny bit of practice in your everyday life which is fundamental. Of course if you want to have more progress I would suggest coming up with a more structured study plan and schedule, but I'll talk about it in a bit. The other thing I am implementing is a grammar book that of course is what requires more mental energy. My technique with that is, as everything I study, to read it, underline important things and write my own set of notes. That is because I know it is my main way of learning in general.

And with this we come to a important point, before getting into learning anything try to figure out what are the ways you learn things best. Everyone's brain works differently, I personally have awful memory and my brain works way better using logic (which is why the way duolingo is structured works wonders for me, because it forces me to learn grammar rules with logic and it repeats vocabulary so much that even I end up memorizing it). Writing notes down, even several times, is my go to way of learning in general so of course I focus a lot on that. Clearly with learning a language you also need to implement a lot of practice, which is way I recommend trying out a well made plan. This doesn't mean create insane goals that will make you feel overwhelmed. Instead create a low effort plan in which you regularly do a bit of everything:

Learn vocab and practice it

Learn new grammar rule and practice them

Work on booktext esercises

Active learning with a book

Active learning with a video

These are just some ideas. When I self studied english what really made me learn the language was active learning by immersing myself with the language. That forces you to learn. Watch youtube videos in italian (I am pretty sure there's some people who make specific videos for language learnera in which they speak slowly and focus on certain vocab, so I highly recommend those, but when you feel more comfortable with the language go for pure entertainment, that will have you learn actual spoken Italian which is of course different from textbooks). Approach the language with written texts with either children's books or those novels simplified for language learning (those are great because you often get exercises to practice how much you understood of the story).

I know I have probably mentioned it before, but the first way I got into self studying English when I was younger was by writing down lyrics to my favourite album. I think I have it lying around still, a notebook filled with the lyrics to all the songs from Imaginaerum by Nightwish next to the translations. Listening to music in your target language is such a good trick imo. Take my brother, the guy does not speak one word on English but he knows by heart all the lyrics to Iron Maiden songs all.of.them. he never really had to practice English but if he had to I would suggest he started there. The more you get your target language into your daily life the better it is, and I don't mean just learning from books. Force yourself to describe the room you are in in your target language, write about your days in a diary and do that in your target language. When you are waiting in line list all the words that come up to you in your target language. It's hard at first, of course it is, but with time it gets easier and easier. The final goal is to be able to think in your target language, even if the grammar isn't perfect and it takes a long time to remember the correct words.

Think of yourself as a young child. They are learning languages like you, starting from zero, so focus on things that are for them, books and movies. You cannot expect to learn a language like a native speaker of your age right away, they have years of experience speaking it. If you instead think of yourself as a kid you will approach things that are at your current level, and after you can move on from there.

I think the goal is to make a plan and to fit even the tiniest bit of language learning into your everyday life. The progress might be slow but you are training your brain anyway. When you see something isn't working change it up, give yourself reachable goals, and keep it fun.

I hope this was somewhat helpful! If you have any other questioms my inbox is always open. Buona fortuna!

[whackacole3]

Junkrat and Schizotypal Personality Disorder

Upon some close examination (and projection), Junkrat's character appears to exhibit traits suggestive of schizotypal personality disorder (STPD). His eccentric beliefs, erratic behavior, and unconventional mannerisms align with the typical features of this disorder.

Now I will say, I myself have some personality disorders so I have the need to project onto him (despite mine being cluster B & C and STPD being incluster A). This might lead me to project certain traits onto Junkrat as I analyze his character, so keep that in mind please.

On another note, if you disagree please just scroll past and don’t argue. I’m not saying this is canon or even implied, it’s just a headcanon and a silly little analysis that I wanted to do because I was bored.

Let’s get into it.

To receive a diagnosis of STPD, an individual must meet five out of the nine specific criteria. Not the full set, only partially. It is important to note that everyone’s experience with STPD will be different because of the many combinations that exist within the criteria.

I will be using the direct diagnostic criteria in the DSM-5. Though Junkrat is Australian and would use the ICD-11, I’m just not as familiar with that.

Ideas of reference (excluding delusions of reference).

Now to explain what that means; it is when someone will take an event that is unrelated to them, some random occurrence and think that they are the cause of it. They think that something is referring to them when it is not, hence the name. One of the biggest examples of this is when one will see people laughing in public and think that they are laughing at them instead of something else. [source]

There is no canon examples or interactions or so on to suggest this, through what we know of Junkrat it is highly likely he experiences this. He tends to make things about himself and often talks about himself highly. Because of this mixed bag, I will give it a half point. In personality disorders, these half points are typically counted because of the complexities of these types of disorders. 0.5/9.

Odd beliefs or magical thinking that influences behavior and is inconsistent with subcultural norms.

This is when person believes their thoughts, feelings, or rituals can influence events in the material world, either intentionally or unintentionally. This is also common in other disorders such as OCS. [source]

Now, I’d say Junkrat most definitely has this. He has extremely odd beliefs about bombs and explosives among other things, as well as general magical thinkings. In an interaction with D.Va, he considers himself famous and suggests that they both need to keep their heads down. He’s a mad scientist with many extraordinary inventions, but he does not have the popularity that she has. That’s the only canonical example we have, but I still think it’s close enough to give a point. 1.5/9.

Unusual perceptual experiences, including bodily illusions.

These experiences refer to atypical sensory perceptions or sensations that deviate from what is considered typical or normal. These experiences can occur in various forms and may involve any of the five senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell. One specific aspect of unusual perceptual experiences includes bodily illusions. [source]

Now, I can’t say we have any canon examples of this other than maybe “Mum, I did it! I’m on fire!” which could say he senses his mother’s presence and is talking to her, but this is also a very common thing to say. Just referring to your mother, especially if she has passed, and talking to her. So no point for this. 1.5/9.

Odd thinking and speech.

Now this is in reference to vague, circumstantial, metaphorical, overelaborate, or stereotyped style of language. [source]

Junkrat’s way of talking is one of the first things I think of when I think about him. He most definitely has off speech patterns, overelaborate to be specific. He explains himself to an extreme and uses an incredible vocabulary at all times, no matter the circumstances. His thinking goes along with this, given some of his strange and eccentric ideas. So I’d say he has a point. 2.5/9.

Inappropriate or constricted affect.

This is when someone cannot feel the full range of “normal” human emotions or feel the emotions with limited intensities. Both flat and blunted count towards this as they refer to different levels of emotions. [source]

Now while we do not exactly see it, it is heavily implied that Junkrat is “happy” or “maniacal” most of the time. I would say he struggles to have most of the more negative emotions, which still counts towards this. So, another point for him. 3.5/9

Behavior or appearance that is odd, eccentric, or peculiar.

When it comes to this type of behavior in STPD, it’s not just “random lol XD” type of odd. This behavior would typically be perceived as unusual or unnecessary, without being demonstrably maladaptive. This is contrasted with normal behavior, the nearly universal means by which individuals in society solve given problems and pursue certain priorities in everyday life. [source]

Junkrat is basically the perfect example of this, he is half naked most of the time, has absolutely horrid posture, is constant twitching, and a lot of other things. He is very odd and eccentric in practically every single way, so he’s definitely getting a point for this. 4.5/9

Lack of close friends or confidants other than first-degree relatives.

When it comes to STPD, the symptoms and tendencies often make it hard for one to form any long lasting relationships.

We know that other than Roadhog, Junkrat doesn’t have any friends. While Roadhog is not a first-degree relative but he is a “bodyguard” so I feel like that bypasses this. Most of the other characters are unnecessarily rude and mean to Junkrat, showing he has no real friends among them. So I would say he gets a point here. 5.5/9

Excessive social anxiety that does not diminish with familiarity and tends to be associated with paranoid fears rather than negative judgments about self.

Social anxiety is an intense, persistent fear of being watched and judged by others. This fear can affect work, school, and other daily activities. It can even make it hard to make and keep friends. [source]

Actually Junkrat is very social able with little to any self-esteem issues (though I headcanon he had a little) so he doesn’t exactly seem to have any of this, no point here. 5.5/9.

And there we have it. Five and a half out of nine points. If he was real, he could very much qualify for a STPD diagnosis. Now there’s obviously factors like you can’t have schizophrenia, bipolar, schizoaffective, and blah blah so he could possibly be disqualified; but in my eyes he’s got STPD.

Now, again, this whole analysis is all for fun, shits and giggles if you will, so if you disagree that’s completely okay! Just don’t be mean about it, it’s just a headcanon/personal belief.

[pinespittinink]

Hi! I'm a novice writer who is looking to improve. I recently saw your post about how writers need to read published books to hone their writing skills, and I was just wondering if you had any recommendations for books/authors that are very strong in their craftsmanship to read and study? 

I know I should be reading books similar to the stories I want to write, but I haven't finished a published book in years because of work and school. I'm not even sure I know what I like anymore, and I think that's evident in my writing because I can't commit to a single story idea. At this point, I don't know where to start but I know I want to get back into reading by starting with a book I can learn from.

Sorry if this seems like a silly ask, please don't feel obligated to respond. Have a good day!

Hi there! Welcome, this isn’t a silly question at all. If anything I was musing on it because everyone has different taste, so I wasn’t sure how to answer exactly, but I’ll just list some examples I can think of that I’ve really enjoyed! These all fall under the sff genre for the most part, as that’s my jam. Though I will say, for a craft perspective, Stephen King’s On Writing is really excellent.

Insofar as authors i can think of immediately who really have their craft and voice down pat, ones who come to mind are Katherine Arden, Ava Reid, Madeline Miller, Erin Morgenstern, Tamsyn Muir, and RF Kuang. All of these authors really decidedly know what they’re doing with the craft, at least in my opinion, and the results are extraordinary. I’m currently reading The Warm Hands of Ghosts, Katherine Arden’s most recent adult book since the Winternight Trilogy, and the research she put into the setting of WW1 is so evident throughout it, especially in the voice and colloquialisms. She also did a ton of research for the Winternight books, which is historical fantasy at its finest, while creating an authentic old fairytale feeling

Madeline Miller is another with excellent command of voice, the queen of Greek retellings with Circe and The Song of Achilles, which are really tremendous character studies. Ava Reid I personally adore for the nuance of her characters—Juniper & Thorn and The Wolf & the Woodsman feature tremendously human and flawed protagonists—their language seeps through their settings, their metaphors are divine, and A Study in Drowning, her YA debut, is thoroughly saturated with all its core themes.

Erin Morgenstern, of The Night Circus and The Starless Sea, is known for her prose and atmosphere, a prime Vibes™️ writer. The Starless Sea is a more experimental novel, though both of her books play with disjointed timelines and perspectives, which is fascinating; The Starless Sea concerning itself with storytelling specifically.

Tamsyn Muir, the author of The Locked Tomb series, has such a handle on her characters and plot that it’s actually insane. Talk about a masterclass in writing a large cast with defined personalities. The difference in voice between Gideon, Harrow, and Nona, is unbelievably fascinating, just for how starkly different the headspaces of these characters are compared to each other. The layering and reread value is immense.

RF Kuang is a chameleon writer, who changes her style to match the genre she’s writing (grimdark historical fantasy, dark academia historical fantasy, contemporary satire-turned-thriller). Babel feels like her magnum opus, a modern day classic that I cannot praise highly enough. A slow start, but halfway through shit hits the fan, and it does not stop from there.

Shout outs also to: Simon Jimenez with The Spear Cuts Through Water, epic fantasy that uses first, second, and third person, and is a miracle for it. A masterclass of storytelling. Roshani Chokshi with The Last Tale of the Flower Bride, which might as well be evil toxic sapphic adult Bridge to Terebithia, dripping with decadence. Emily Habeck with Shark Heart, a contemporary spec fic novel that studies grief and caring for loved ones through a lens of terminal illness in the guise of a genetic disorder that turns people into animals; it plays around with script structure sometimes, and made me sob. Cormac McCarthy with The Road; bleak and dismal and post-apocalyptic, and nameless man and boy, nearly poetic. Camilla Andrew @aninkwellofnectar with When the Stars Alight, a romantic fantasy that positively teems with lush intentional language and is also a fascinating look at third person omniscient.

For classics: A Wrinkle in Time, the Lord of the Rings, Wuthering Heights, Frankenstein, Lord of the Flies, The Great Gatsby, Lolita.

I don’t think you can go wrong with any of these books or authors, though at the end of the day, there’s something to be learned from any book you read, whether it’s a good lesson or something to be avoided. I’m also down to try to give other recs, if you’re looking for anything specific!

[theswordfishy]

ok hi gonna drop my kkfos headcanons beneath the cut :3c

for all klowns -they speak their own language but can fully understand and speak in english! i also like to think they usually learn & become fluent in multiple, and not just earth languages either -have the capability to mimic & replicate voices and sounds almost perfectly. kinda like crows or something -sexual reproduction is rather obsolete, never existed (asexual reproduction of some kind or artificial reproduction, considering the slim scene)?, or the popcorn seeds ARE eggs. i guess they're like frogs... ((it's also interesting that popcorn is used so casually rather in attack or just dropped around randomly. implicative that klowns are disposable OR that popcorn klowns aren't actually *klown babies* but rather another species)) ---> (i actually used to have a klown oc who lived on earth after being sprinkled into the dumpster by jumbo, as a little popcorn)

anyways time for klown specifics

jumbo -7'0" -generally pretty quiet and self kept. not out of shyness but of just self preference and choice -very very intelligent, coordinated, and in a way controlling. he's very meticulous and never really makes mistakes; everything is intentional -seen as a leader but whether that's an actual role he holds is debatable. i don't know if they need a hierarchy of leadership -sadistic (though not as much as slim imo) and genuinely likes to kill for fun. carries a looming sense of eerieness and an unwavering gaze that makes him seem even more intimidating

slim -6'9" -prideful & narcissistic. generally a bit of a showoff who boasts a LOT, usually trying to do his job as efficiently and effortlessly as possible -extremely controlling and aggressive. refuses to share any bit of power and control he can maintain with any other, and very often degrades and puts down others to have his way. also he's just generally kinda physically aggressive, like the car scene -deeply sadistic and looooves killing for fun, as well as the thrill of breaking rules & using force when he can; very easily gets caught up in the moment of fun. laughs and giggles a lot -enjoys being praised but tends to become overwhelmed when complimented by mass groups or when given in private by another. fluster-able

spike (i know everyone else says he's an incel but he is my precious baby girl) -6'5" -easily excited and has much higher energy than others. very friendly, upbeat, and a little bit oblivious -very playful and fun-loving (he literally squeals "whoo!" when he goes down the firefighter pole im in tears), as well as highly optimistic. he often tries to see the good in things and others; doesn't really process/recognize passive aggressiveness or even direct insults -doesn't often experience more negative/conflicting emotions but generally attempts to suppress them. is also very protective when it comes to those he cares for; however, very easily trusting anyways -moderately intelligent but comes off as less so due to naivety

rudy -6'5" -super low energy, as well as generally neutral and passive. would probably be a centralist unfortunately. goes with the flow for the most part and is pretty indifferent to everything -follows the rules religiously and has a deep fear of being punished. is a little bit cowardly and generally refuses to speak up for himself or his beliefs (i imagine he might be a little more confident in case of someone he cares about bit it's situational) -struggles with physical expression, and generally goes from a neutral (even depressed looking lol) look to being able to actually smile. often looks exhausted or uncomfortable -easily distracted tbh. will literally forget what he's supposed to be doing and become hyper focused on another mundane activity

shorty -5'0" -super chill and relaxed. doesn't really have complex emotions and is overall pretty simple; though, this does not mean he's stupid -no fears of authority or generally negative emotions of the sort. doesn't mind doing anything else other than his job. again, super carefree and relaxed -despite this more carefree nature of his he also does have some more immature and childish habits and behaviors. likes to play and mess around a lot, and may often seem and act innocent -will sometimes try and interact with humans beyond his job purposes for fun and or curiosity. might leave you alive if he's feeling a bit funny