#and i'm thinking there's probably someone here who could use some help identifying them

[human-blob-nessie]

How to detect scam links in discord

i just learned how people make scam links in discord appear legit (for the untrained eye)

It's very easy to find the way to do it actually (it's slightly modified markdown), but as for how to identify it :

You can make any text clickable with a hyperlink. But a genuine link always has a header (http:// or something similar). Now discord has a security in that aspect : you cannot put a hyperlink on top of an actual link, so the only way for you to make a fraudulous link appear like it links to a genuine url (like the steam gift card example I saw today, which had all the normal steamcommunity.com url you'd expect from a legit link to a Steam page), you have to cut the header off.

Which means your link will look like this : url.somewhere.com

Instead of this : https://url.somewhere.com

(by the way, in the url of pages you're using, Google Chrome usually hides the protocol in the header, rather telling you whether or not the page you're on is secure or not. This is not great, as it is not showing what a complete link looks like, and makes people more likely to not see anything wrong with a url that does not have a header. Firefox always shows it, and anyone should be used to seeing the header in a url.)

So any hyperlink (clickable link) without a header is most likely a scam. Discord automatically detects a url via its header, it cannot link to anything without it, so not seeing it is a red flag. But wait there's more ! When you hover over a hyperlink, it shows you the url it links to. If you hid it with text, it will show you both the text and the url.

If the url at the bottom is any different to the text, the person who posted it is trying to trick you.

Obviously, never click a "free steam gift card $50" link from anyone on a public server, but if you want to better identify any form of fraudulous link that could be shared on discord, this is the best way to tell if it actually links to what is says.

[yellowjacketsfashion]

Do you think it would be possible to breakdown the outfits the characters are wearing during the Pit Girl ritual scene? I'm very interested in their outfits and want to analyse the deeper meanings behind them, but for the life of me, I can't figure out what they're actually wearing. If not, it's alright ^^

Sure! This might take a few parts so I’ll start with one of the people probably talk the most about (besides the Antler Queen).

This is Skunk Head, the first person we see in the Wilderness besides Pit Girl. Skunk Head is one of the Acolytes (a term Marie Schley and the Costume department used) to the Oracle (the term they originally used for the Antler Queen).

The thing that’s notable about Skunk Head is that their clothing pieces are used as easter eggs by the costuming department throughout the show to keep people guessing at their identity (which is why they’re often talked about).

The clothing items to look out for specifically are the fair isle sweater that’s used as a balaclava (seen on Misty and Mari), the coed naked soccer shirt (seen on Van, Travis, Akilah, etc.), and the pink converse (which I’ve seen Misty wear in a behind the scenes photo but I haven’t been able to catch anyone wearing in the actual show).

Here are some close up shots of the balaclava and Coed Naked Soccer shirt.

Besides those main clothing pieces Skunk Head has a cloak/coat of furs (not sure what animal it’s from), netted/knitted gloves and arm coverings, a navy blue sweatshirt under the coed soccer shirt, blue pants and leg warmers, as well as floral fabric wrapped around their knees and of course the skunk fur hat.

In interviews Marie Schley, the head Costume Designer has talked about how they came up with these costumes. Something she’s mentioned a couple times is that the animals featured on their costumes are supposed to reference the hierarchy of their Wilderness Society, and the specific animal they wear is supposed to signify their place in said hierarchy. The Oracle is a deer at the top of the hierarchy, there’s Skunk head, Misty wears a beaver pelt, and there’s raccoon, rabbit, and wolf motifs also seen on some of the other acolytes.

To me, Skunk head seems higher up in the hierarchy especially as they sit to the Antler Queen’s left and seem to have a more active role in the hunt but I’d be interested to hear other theories!

Something else that’s important to note is Marie Schley has also said that the costume department doesn’t know who the acolytes are supposed to be (which also means you can’t really use the character’s normal style motifs to help identify them). Stunt/body doubles were used during the Wilderness scenes so no one else knows either.

Misty, Shauna, Taissa, Natalie, Van, Lottie, and Travis are the current known survivors and there are 8 people seen in these scenes (excluding Pit Girl). The only one we know for sure is Misty as she takes off her beaver mask. Because Misty’s outfit is seen in a scene at the same time as Skunk Head I personally think Skunk Head is probably anyone else but her (I could be wrong though and again, I’m open to hearing your theories).

The photos in this post that are not stills from the show come from @schleystyle (the costume designer) and @devynlabella (the stunt double who played Skunk Head and Pit Girl) on Instagram.

Hopefully I covered everything you wanted out of your ask and I’ll post the other’s costumes soon but if you want me to focus on something else about the Acolytes or cover something in more depth more let me know!

[r--kt]

Good boy Tobi. Why is he acting this way?

"oh yeah, it was just Zetsu" a-ha, not even close. here I'll talk specifically why Obito resorts to roleplay, and why he is comfortable with the images of Madara and Tobi. (obviously because it's not being himself but let's dig deeper)

contents | responsibility · regrets · a sense of control · conclusions

Vol. 31 CH. 280. Tobi's first appearance.

sure this looks like another defense mechanism that allows Obito to avoid reality, especially when interacting with people. full coverage, imitation of someone else's voice, name change, personality change etc. his clothes literally look like armor, and I'd like to think that hiding and protecting himself "just because it feels right" is exactly the point (no need in armor, he's intangible, so that's a psyche). the very way he completely depersonalizes himself shows that on a subconscious level he is not comfortable being in the conditions he finds himself. this alone may indicate that he is not very happy with his position of a faceless world saviour. and this is his first damn appearance.

Tobi is another manifestation of Obito's escapism, which is the central theme of his story. I have identified three advantages of using Tobi's image for Obito, and all of them will be described below. maybe you'll find some more, feel free to reblog and add your thoughts!

Responsibility

escapism is just stress-relieving. for him, the roleplay was a way to relieve tension from the responsibility that he had imposed on himself. "no one in the whole world can do it except me" must be really exhausting. so what if I just don't be myself for a while? what if I be the one who can make a mistake? it's important to be frivolous and let things go sometimes, otherwise the psyche will be disturbed even more. so, that's the first advantage, that allowed Obito not to go completely crazy.

Regrets

CH. 652

as I said, Obito is not very happy with his position. even though he believes that tsukuyomi plan is correct, this doesn't negate that he is unhappy to fulfill it and suffer the hardships because of it.

during the war, we can see that Obito really regrets that he hadn't live his life the way he could, with his friends and dear ones. he began to ask questions: "could I have a better life?" "who have I become?" "who does my friend see me as?" these feelings burst out only at the culmination, before that they were deeply suppressed, with the help of detachment from reality, which Obito achieved mostly thanks to the image of Tobi. a ridiculous stupid guy who talks nonsense and does not pretend to be any role other than a comic relief. another personality allows Obito to distract himself from the real problems, which he can't reconcile.

CH. 281 idk what an idiot. love him.

in order to avoid all these dangerous thoughts for as long as possible, he came to this escapist behavior. it is not only a convenient tool for manipulation (I'm not really touching on that in this post, though it's important too), but it also distracted him from all his regrets. though, it's funny that he still chose orange and purple colors that probably reminded him of the past.

A Sense of Control

it seems to me that this is the most important reason to pretend to be either an inept, complaisant fool or a legend of the Shinobi world. why these two extremes?

many events in Obito's life showed him that no matter how he acts, he will still be punished, which means he personally has no control over anything. during the exposition, he is late helping the old ladies, but Kakashi condemns him no matter what. during the first turning points, he commits morally correct actions in order to end up first being mutilated and isolated, and then lose the most precious (and only) thing he really had: friendship with Rin and Kakashi. in the end, he does not even have control over his own body until he learns to control the mokuton and gets used to the constantly breaking off or deforming limbs. Madara and Tobi appear as other personalities who are able to achieve control under certain conditions and give Obito the necessary mental stability.

CH. 460

Madara is the epitome of control. the ghost of the Uchiha clan, the fear of which is alive many years after his death. by taking on a character who has more control than Obito did in real life he might feel quite cathartic and empowering, and it offered him a sense of emotional security (the mask helps with it physically, the personality and famous name — mentally).

while Tobi, besides an attempt to make up for lost childhood, is a demonstration of "the lowest standards" so that for once in his life, he did feel that he always met expectations, that more was not required of him. he's incompetent, he messes up, he's irritating, and therefore others don't expect anything else from him. yes, Tobi is judged and punished, but Tobi is not trying to be praised, so his own expectations are not broken.

CH. 359

Madara's personality is convenient because it's dominant, it controls others, inspires them with a certain fear and submission. Tobi's personality is convenient because with its help Obito choose to show fear and submission himself whenever he wants, that is, it does not become an unexpected blow for him. I would add that similar mental mechanisms work in many types of traumatic experience (not talking about his sexual deviations like moderate sadomasochism yet, the man is clearly traumatized).

does it all work? obviously, yes. there's no point in explaining that this whole Madara thing worked perfectly. Tobi, although condemned by Deidara, is at the same time accepted and encouraged by him a bit, simply because it is pointless to expect anything from him. however, this works as long as the fictional personalities do not overlap, as long as others believe in the reality of both.

CH. 396

another interesting topic is that Obito himself began to mix these personalities and demonstrate the falsity of one, which deprived him of the very opportunity to avoid reality (Madara clearly reminds him more of the responsibility on his shoulders than Tobi) and relieve the constantly increasing stress. therefore, starting from the moment when "Madara" shows that "Tobi" was just a cover, Obito loses the advantages of Tobi's image, suppressed regrets gradually surface, stress accumulates, the sense of control disappears for lack of any new personality other than his own (which has problems with control). and all these consequences falls on him during the war.

Conclusions

the reasons for this defense strategy appeared in Obito due to his low self-esteem, which was facilitated by the following. the early death of Obito's parents was most likely at the age when he was too young, and therefore psychologically this loss was fixed as "I was left because something was wrong with me. I can't be loved naturally, I need to deserve it first". because of that there was a constant attempt to be better, to reach the level of a genius opponent, who not only shows with all his appearance that you are not enough, but also constantly pokes you in your own shit like a puppy. and that's not the only situation where you're not that good. there's a lot, actually.

such an environment forms an attitude "to get recognition, I need to try harder than anyone else, because something is wrong with me". subsequently, this attitude is transformed into a new one: "I cannot get recognition in any case, which means I will achieve recognition, respect, attention through pretending and forming other personalities". and that's how Tobi appeared.

I don't even know what to add at the end. it's just great that you can see the depth in Obito, even when he's acting like a moron. here's some admiration for this silly guy

[super-paper]

I know you were pretty checked out already by this point, but what were your thoughts on Deku’s conclusion in the last chapter?

Some good ideas, but even the good aspects of his conclusion sadly feel bogged down by poor execution/characterization + literally everything that led up to the final chapter.

I do think Izuku becoming a teacher was probably the most fitting ending for his character as a whole, but tbh, I would have taken it a step further and had him become an elementary school/middle school teacher rather than a teacher at UA.

That is to say: Izuku working at UA-- a highly exclusive school that only accepts "the best of the best" and children who are already on track to becoming heroes-- sadly makes him inaccessible to the type of students who need him most, I feel? His chance meeting with Dai only reinforces that tbh. If that child hadn't tripped or if Izuku hadn't happened to be right there, Dai would would still be feeling miserable and discouraged because no one in his class bothered to stand up for him-- Not even his own teacher. Like I understand the purpose of the scene (to parallel Toshi's first meeting with Izuku and show that Izuku is now inspiring others to be heroes in the same way) but that doesn't stop it from feeling more manipulative than truly heartfelt imho, bc Dai's existence only highlights the issues still deeply ingrained in hero society rather than inspiring any sort of hope for its future lmfao.

Anyway! Back to teacher Izuku-- I do love the idea of Izuku becoming someone who would have helped his child self! (and who could've possibly stepped in to help children like Tenko, Himiko, and Touya) (Honestly, kindergarten teacher Izuku is also a possibility that makes me go 👀👀👀). But again, him teaching at UA specifically kind of undermines the idea of him becoming hero for children like himself (or tenko/himiko/touya/etc). I think that the scene with Dai could have worked a lot better (or at least felt more emotionally genuine) with Izuku as his actual teacher, maybe?

I also think Izuku as a kindergarten/elementary school/middle school teacher (or any sort of educator outside of a hero course, really truly #beatingthatdeadhorse) would have eased the sting from how deeply and terribly the finale fumbled his dynamic with Tenko, too— Izuku actually reflecting on how AFO completely abused his position as Tenko's "teacher," and then resolving to become the sort of teacher that Tenko needed.... Izuku using what he learned from Tenko’s past to better identify abused children and using his new position/power in society to advocate for them/get them out of those situations early.... framing it this way would have really sold the “I’ll never forget him” promise, bc as it stands now, that promise ultimately just comes across as more hollow lip service from Izuku. ☠️

As for Iron Deku... if I'm being honest, it just doesn’t hit the same way for me as Iron Might did? Like I've gone into detail on why Iron Might works for me before both here and on twitter:

Iron Might worked for me because it was ultimately used as a vehicle to tell/complete Toshi's story and helped tie together the underlying themes that connected him to Tenko and AFO's arcs. Like it might not have been perfectly implemented bc Hori decided to make it an 11th hour surprise for the sake of building hype/suspense in the readers, but this combination of factors still made Iron Might work for me. Iron Might itself was not the answer to "can someone w/o a quirk be a hero like you?," Toshi's willingness to act when no one else was able to was the answer. He retains his heroic shading even after the armor is stripped away and after he's left entirely at AFO's mercy.

At the same time/Conversely.... I feel like "Iron Deku" just muddies the overall message of the series in the end:

Again, Toshinori's answer to "Can someone without a quirk be a hero like you" wasn't Iron Might-- It was "Yes, because you always work hard and never give up on your dreams/because you're someone who could never let his dream die."

......... only for Izuku to more or less let said dream die after losing his quirk. Like????? (like, another big problem with heroaca's tone is that it keeps trying to prop Izuku up as "someone who never gives up" when he does, in fact, end up giving up in some fairly big ways with some fairly big consequences-- Like, even though the series tries to skirt around saying it outright, Izuku did ultimately give up on saving Tenko and chose to treat him as collateral to AFO. Like... it's okay to have your protagonist get discouraged/give up, but in cases like this, I expect the narrative to actually acknowledge it as such instead of trying to convince the reader otherwise. Attempting to gloss over Izuku's failure with sugary-sweet platitudes after the series spent 400+ chapters deriding platitudes and defining actual true saving as "saving their their hearts and their lives" is the type of shit that results in a complete breakdown of trust between the author/reader.)

At any rate, yeah. Izuku's conclusion had a few good ideas that were sadly weighed down by poor/rushed execution and mixed/unclear messaging-- and sadly, the epilogue/final chapter did nothing to fix the huge problems with his character writing throughout the entirety of Act 3. It's a shame bc Act 1 & 2 (and even early Act 3) Izuku really was one of my favorite characters, but at some point his writing took a complete nose dive that Hori sadly wasn't able to pull out of. :/

[fablesrose]

Hiiiii! Your leverage rewrite is giving me Eliot Spencer BRAINROT and I saw your requests were open, so I was wondering if you would be interested in writing something about the reader getting a bit beat up on a job, and falling asleep on Eliot while recovering? I don’t mind if it’s a oneshot, or if you want to put it in the rewrite or something. Thanks regardless, I love your writing so much!

Hi!!! Thank you so much, you can't even believe how much that means to me! I'm glad someone else is in the Eliot brainrot with me! I'm so sorry it took so long to post this, ever since you sent this I have been thinking about it and what I wanted to do with it and I finally got it on paper. Hope you like it!

Stay With Me

Eliot Spencer x Reader Words: 2.4k

As far as jobs went, this one wasn’t too bad. The ultimate goal was to steal some files for our client to prove gross misconduct. They would then go to the press or police, probably both, knowing how these types of jobs usually went. We were approaching the end game when some guards started to catch on. Parker and Hardison needed some more time and everyone else was preoccupied. So, it fell on me to be a distraction.

I quickly made my way through the building, dodging guards along the way until I made it to where Hardison and Parker were holed up, collecting files. 

“What are you doing here?” Hardison asked when he saw me step into the room. “You’re supposed to be keeping the guards away from us!”

“And I’m working on it!” I replied. 

Parker didn’t acknowledge me as she sorted through the physical files that she pulled from a cracked safe. 

“Parker, hand me a file we don’t need,” I asked and she quickly handed one over without looking at me. I grabbed it and turned back to Hardison, “Do you have a spare flash drive that has stuff that isn't important or nothing at all?”

He looked at me with a puzzled expression before pulling one out of his bag, “What are you doing?” 

I pocketed it quickly before answering, “Well the guards are coming to this room, they know something is up. What do you think they’re gonna do when they see someone walking out of the room carrying a file?”

Hardison started to nod along, “they’re gonna go after you and not bother to check the room.”

“Yup!” I called as I approached the door to leave. 

“What about the flash drive?”

I faced him before stepping over the threshold, “If I get caught, give them something to find.” I winked before stepping backwards into the hall. 

Just in time too. As the door latched, a group of three guards stepped around the corner. They made eye contact with me and I froze momentarily. 

“Hey!” One of them yelled at me.

I quickly dashed down the hall in the opposite direction. As I turned a corner, I looked back to see that all of them were hot on my heels and passed the room without a second thought. The one who yelled at me was talking through his radio to the other guards, directing them to my approximate location to try and head me off. It worked alright. Now to test my navigation and escape abilities. 

One thing I was blessed with was a pretty good memory and an interest in architecture. I liked reviewing blueprints and with the help of Parker, I was able to remember the layout of the current building. We were also able to identify interesting weak points and possible escape routes. This wasn’t the time to doubt my memory or my speed, so I just kept running. 

The original guards chasing me had fallen further and further behind, but I could still hear them behind me, so I couldn’t slow down. I turned another corner to find a lone guard running towards me. 

Change of plan. 

He got within a couple of yards when I threw the file I had in my hand in his face. It caused him to stumble just enough for me to get a head start down a different hallway. I finally made it to a stairwell and started making my way down. I had a large enough head start that I had almost thought I had lost them as I approached the bottom. I was proven wrong when a stairwell door above me burst open and sounds of shouting echoed down the stairs. I didn’t wait to see which direction they went before I burst through a door myself into the basement of the building. 

“Y/n,” Eliot said through comms, “Where are you? You still dealing with guards?”

“Yeah,” I panted, continuing to run and navigate the twisting hallways, “I’m doing okay, I’m in the basement heading to the north east corner where there should be-”

I turned yet another corner where the largest man I had ever seen stood barely three feet away.  He was dressed in a guard uniform and had his arm outstretched right in front of me. I couldn’t finish my sentence to Eliot before the guard clotheslined me, landing me flat on my back and knocking the rest of my breath out of my lungs.

I groaned, trying to scramble to my feet. “Where the hell did you come from?” I gasped, trying to catch my breath and run away.

The guard didn’t say anything as he grabbed my arm in a tight grip, pulling me to my feet. 

I wriggled and thrashed, trying to land a blow anywhere I could to break free, but the guard still didn’t budge. “Where do they keep you? In a cage?” I yelled exasperatedly, still not finding any opening. 

The guard didn’t seem to like the insinuation and with a grunt threw me against the wall. My shoulder and hip hit first, but it didn’t completely stop the momentum of my head from hitting the wall. A jolt of pain shot through my whole body before dulling to a throbbing ache. The only thing I could seem to do was curl into a ball, hoping it would make my body feel better. 

It sounded like someone was talking to me through the earpiece, but I couldn’t focus on it or decipher who was saying what. A slight whimper escaped my lips as I tried to raise my head. 

The guard approached me and started to rustle through the pockets of my jacket. He stuck his hand into the pocket where the dud flash drive was and I mustered all the strength I could into my less injured arm and launched it at his face. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was going for, a punch, slap, or scratch his eyes out, but I made forceful contact and I did feel my nails catch skin. 

The guard stumbled back, holding his face and swore loudly, the first word I had heard him utter. 

“He speaks,” I said with a pained chuckle from the floor. 

That comment also wasn’t appreciated as the guard gave me a swift kick to the gut. I simply gasped, not being able to muster up a sound to voice the pain. I wasn’t even sure if I could breathe anymore. My eyes screwed shut and I rested my head against the floor, not wanting to muster the strength to hold it up anymore. I was expecting the guard to come back and start searching me again, or even some more pain, but it didn’t come. 

I pried one eye open to see Eliot standing a few paces down the hall.

“Don’t touch her!” He growled, taking calculated steps towards the guard. 

The guard grunted, “Make me. I’ll snap you like a twig, too.”

I saw Eliot’s lips twitch into a smile before taking a fighting stance. The fight didn’t last long once the guard made the first move. He did get a couple hits on Eliot, but not enough to slow him down and knock him out. The guard hit the ground with a large thud that I could have sworn shook the ground. 

During the fight, I was able to maneuver myself into a sitting position against the wall. I started to try and use it to stand up when Eliot quickly approached me and gently helped me to my feet. He pulled my arm over his shoulder and wrapped his arm around my waist, carrying most of my weight as we walked down the hallway. 

“Where are the rest of the guards? Do we have to hurry out of here?” I asked slowly, trying to keep the ache out of my voice and calculate how to get out. I couldn’t use my previous route with how injured and sluggish I was now. 

“On a wild goose chase,” Eliot replied, not hesitating in his steps back toward the stairwell. 

“I’m not the goose, am I?” I asked humorously, but trying to keep laughing to a minimum. I had a feeling it would hurt if I tried.

Eliot chucked though. “No, I got them out of the picture so we can get out of here.”

My mind started running in circles trying to decide what he did, but eventually I half whispered to myself, “you know what? I don’t even want to know.”

When we got to the stairs I sighed heavily, anticipating how much effort it would take to climb them. 

Eliot looked at me and could see the dread in my face. “Here, sweetheart, I’ve gotcha.” He bent down and lifted my feet, putting me in a bridal carry and started up the stairs. 

“You don’t have to do that Eliot, don’t tire yourself out for no reason,” I said, but rested my head on his shoulder, feeling oh so tired. 

“I can carry you one flight of stairs, sweetheart, don’t worry about it.”

Another sigh escaped my lips involuntarily, “I’m so tired. I want to take a nap.”

Eliot purposefully jostled me a little bit, “Stay with me, sweetheart. Don’t fall asleep before I get you out of here and see if you have a concussion. It sounded like you hit that wall pretty hard.”

I groaned just remembering that initial pain, “Don’t remind me.”

When we reached the ground floor Eliot gently placed me back on my feet to seem a bit less conspicuous when walking through the building. This floor had a lot of offices and employees milling around. When I was distracting the guards I considered it a hazard, they could have slowed me down trying to not run into them. Now as we carefully walked through, Eliot still supporting much of my weight, the employees provided a bit of cover until we reached a side door to exit into the parking lot and the van. 

Eliot loaded me into the back and sat in front of me as Nate drove off, leaving the company and its guards far behind us. Eliot took a flashlight from Hardison and shined it in my eyes. 

“Your pupils look okay, responding well to light and are the same size,” he said almost distractedly as if talking to himself even though he was addressing me. 

 I simply blinked slowly and watched him think for a moment before he turned back towards me. 

“I’m gonna ask you some questions to test your memory, okay?”

“Okay.”

“What’s your name and birthday?”

I recited it quickly in the same pattern I always did when asked.

“Good,” he praised, “now what building were we just in?”

“Jackass Incorporated,” I replied. I paused before adding on sarcastically, “Oh sorry, I meant Jackson Inc.”

I finally got Eliot to crack a smile, “Glad to hear another confirmation that your sense of humor is intact. Last thing, say the months of the year in reverse order.”

This question took a little more time as I paused every few months to think, making sure I was right. When I finally landed on January I asked, “How’d I do doc?”

His eyebrows furrowed and his nose scrunched slightly, “I’m still nervous that you got a concussion.”

I sighed, “So no nap?”

He smiled grimly, “Not yet.”

The over hour drive home was relatively quiet, but the team kept me awake by talking to me. We finally made it back to Nate’s apartment. Normally we would be celebrating afterwards, but all I wanted to do was go home, and voiced as such. Eliot left no room for argument when he said he would drive me home, still not convinced of my cognitive capabilities. Frankly, I didn’t even want to argue with him, both because it was no use, and I didn’t mind the free ride home. 

He kept talking to me when driving, making sure I stayed awake. We finally pulled up to my place and Eliot insisted that he walk me in. Again, I didn’t put up a fight. 

“Do you have any other injuries that we need to take care of?” he asked once the door closed behind us. 

“It took you this long to ask?” 

He gave me a small glare, “I figured you would have told me if anything hurt more than you could handle, but I’m just double checking.”

I smiled, showing I was kidding, “Uh huh, sure. But no, nothing feels broken, everything seems to be in working order. If anything, mostly bruises.” I patted myself down gently, finding some tender spots, particularly around my ribs where the guard kicked me. Then remembered where my head hit the wall, “Hey Eliot, would you mind checking my scalp? I don’t think I broke skin, but…”

He nodded wordlessly and pulled me towards the couch and sat me down. He sat beside me so I turned away from him so he could see the place where my head hit the wall. He gently started to comb his fingers through my hair. His fingers immediately brushed against the spot where I hit and I flinched.

“Sorry, sweetheart. I don’t feel a cut though,” he whispered to me. Even after checking the area, he continued to card my hair through his fingers. 

It felt even better than I expected and a sigh escaped my lips. My head tilted back as his fingertips explored my scalp beyond the sore spot. My eyes drifted closed and that urge to sleep washed over me again. 

“Can I fall asleep now?” I mumbled, mostly to myself. 

Eliot sighed and stopped his movements, “Yeah, I’ve kept you up for a couple of hours now, you should be okay. I should go and let you sleep.” He started to remove his hand and shifted to stand. 

I turned back around to face him and grabbed his hand, “Stay with me? I hear I’m supposed to be monitored for at least twelve hours for a possible concussion…” My eyes were fixed on our hands being clasped, but I eventually lifted my gaze to his own to find that he was transfixed on me. 

His lips curled into a smile as he shifted, leaning back into the couch, “Yeah, I think I can do that sweetheart.” He gently grabbed my shoulders and pulled me down to lay on his lap. He resumed running his fingers through my hair and across my scalp. 

I grabbed his unoccupied hand and held it to my chest, occasionally squeezing it in gratitude. It didn’t take long for the sounds of our consistent breathing to drift me off to sleep.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for being friends with someone my roommate didnt like?

ok this might be long but here we go. Last semester I had a roommate who I liked pretty well, and we had a mutual friend, H. At some point, roomie got mad at h because h had apparently outed someone as schizophrenic.

H is not exactly anti-weed, but she is very adamantly against it for herself and anyone else at risk of psychological complications from it. My roomie was smoking with someone who h knew to be schizophrenic, so h told the group that they were smoking with about her concerns. I don't really agree with the way h went about this, but I'm ashamed to admit I sort of forgot to bring it up with her.

Later, h told me that roomie was avoiding her, and we talked about her possibly apologizing and why it was something roomie was particularly sensitive to.

[I'm afraid there's something missing here, maybe something more that I did to drive roomie away. I dunno.]

Roomie began to avoid both of us, but I didn't realize that it was on purpose and I was probably forcing myself into conversations with them because of that. Eventually, roomie started to move out of our room without telling me. Somewhere towards the beginning of this, a mutual friend? of ours made a joke about them looking for a new roommate. I asked why their books were all packed up, they told me it was because they'd be taking them home for thanksgiving. I thought ok, sounds like a lie, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. I truly had no idea why they would be moving out. I gradually went a little crazy watching them sleep in another room and pack all their stuff up, all the while saying nothing to me about it. I finally asked them about it, and they told me yes, they were moving out. Problem is though I think they might've been upset about something already when I asked about it? But they said they were fine so I accepted that as the truth. Again, I dunno. I think I was rude during this interaction but sadly can't remember anything I said besides yelling maybe the start of a sentence and then cutting myself off.

They moved out the next morning. I offered to help, they asked me not to. I was really upset and, stupidly, decided to take it up with them. That evening when I asked if we could talk, they openly rolled their eyes at me. I know it's stupid and probably the most asshole-y thing in this ask, but that drove me crazy. I said some shit, I don't remember what, but part of it was that I was "disappointed" in them. I don't know what that was supposed to be but it was NOT what I wanted to say. They, understandably, were really mad. I left and, too soon, texted them an apology. They replied, not rudely, telling me they don't want any contact with me, but also said, and I'll paraphrase, that they knew h had told me some things (probably referring to the possible reasons they moved out) and [my] friend is one of the reasons [they] left because they like to lie. This really hurt me because I still have no idea what this was about.

Later on, I'm not sure how much later, I was talking to h while roomie and their friends were in the next room. h was saying some things about the situation that I thought were a little extreme. I don't totally remember the order of events but it somehow ended up that roomie was yelling at h and they said something about h "creeping on transmasc freshmen." H is a trans woman and a sophomore, we are college students. I have a vague idea of who this might be referring to, if not myself or my roomie, who I don't think identifies as transmasc, but h had led me to believe that things ended amicably with this third party.

Anyways this story doesnt totally fit the aita format but I just needed to write it all out. If you're involved in this story, please know I'm trying not to be mad abt it anymore which is why I'm submitting it here, I'm hoping to be told why i'm TA or NAH.

What are these acronyms?

[jazeswhbhaven]

Wish good health and positive vibes to that salt anon, bless their salty heart.

With the MC stuff going down I think I felt I identified a few things. We know what happened with MC's parents but it's never been touched at all and I think PB made a huge mistake. Because that part is probably a good start to give some flesh on that bone that does nothing but bone every devil. Hence why people are complaining that MC is horny...yes it's a horny game but MC's only personality is that and that can fall short without any substance, or clash with the story.

The real questions that need to be ask is: What is WHB MC doing in the story to give them any merit? The answer is: not much. We could give them merit during the end of Chapter 3-4 with Nina and Leamas...but then the dildo thing ruined it. And speaking from the narrative...what else do we know about the MC? They're Solomon's descendant, and for the devils, Solomon was the big deal and very dear to them. But again, this is where the writing falls short. I remembered there was an argument about if the devils even value MC because they're MC and not Solomon's descendant but I won't touch on that we know the devils like MC and it's really just plot armor. I shouldn't be sitting here reading and wondering what EXACTLY makes the devils LIKE MC? Because MC barely has done a lick of anything than sit there and watch, oogles devils, gets kidnapped, gets hanged, etc etc. I guess for me, MC isn't impressive which I expect from a faceless character, they're frustrating because all they have going for them is their horny thoughts but they're ragdolled throughout the chapters and haven't done anything useful even though they're the key for this war deal going on(I swear if chapter 6 makes them a joke again I'm killing everyone in the room), and honestly any sort of situations that's meant to be funny isn't funny to me unless it's just the devils interacting. Then again I enjoy taking a backseat and watching characters interact than any MC in any game.

On a lighter note: if someone as useless as MC can have 6(7) kings and that many devils wanting their dick/cooch then please open the gates and ship all of us to Hell. Unlike MC who dawdles there, we're ALL willing.

Dialing back to answer some old inbox asks before all the new stuff happened (phewihavealottocatchupon)

But yes anon, I wonder though if your opinion on MC is the same after chapter 6 if you've finished it? I'd like to hear your thoughts now that we've seen a bit of push back from MC and them at least vocalizing things this time around.

Now since I don't know if you've finished the chapter, I won't go into too much detail but they DID slip up and it made me shake my head. But at the same time...they're human and perhaps that slip up was bond to happen. (if you did finish it and you know what I'm talking about feel free to chime in on that)

Without getting into Chapter 6, I feel that MC is indeed not giving me much to go on for the valid reason of their plot armor. I'm sure they can help with the entire underground lab thing that's going on, but from what I gather...chapter 7 is probably going to piss off most of us when it gets down to the wire of what MC needs to do.

But that's just my early predictions, I already feel my dread coming from that cliffhanger....

[chaotic-archaeologist]

hey so I've been transcribing/typing up my grandma's line-a-day diaries from 1937-1943. it's mostly for my mom and aunts and so on, and of course they're mostly about teen flings and skating rinks and movies and so on. but I've seen posts on here, including yours, about historians being interested in even very mundane journals. so I guess basically the question is, how can I/my mom get the typed up versions into the hands of someone who would find them useful in a historical sense?

Historians are absolutely interested in seemingly mundane records of the past! However, any interest from an institution is probably going to be in the physical documents themselves, rather than a transcription. I don't doubt that you've done a careful job, but the reality is that the pages your grandmother wrote in will contain vastly more information than you could ever hope to record—penmanship, the paper itself, the kind of pen that was used, residue, etc.

If you are willing to part with the primary source documents, I'm sure than an institution willing to take them would also be happy to get copies of your transcriptions, but I think it is unlikely that they would be interested in solely the typed up versions.

Most institutions have some sort of theme/mission for their collection. Maybe that's 1960s counter-culture, women of 19th century America, immigrant experiences, women's suffrage(political movements, time periods, specific events, etc.).

The best way to find an institution willing to take the diary is to identify themes that come up in your grandmother's writing, and then search for collections that are dedicated to that theme. Then you can reach out to the archivists and/or curators and see if they'd be interested in accessioning the diary. You might need to be prepared for them to say no—the curation crisis is real, and storage space is in constant demand.

There's also no guarantee that giving the diary to a collection will mean it becomes part of research. It would need to be cataloged, and then found by the right person doing the right research. Your transcriptions might help with this.

However, if you'd rather hold on to the diary—which is totally understandable—you could publish the typed entries on your own website. If you go that route, try to do your best to tag/denote any of the themes and events your grandmother wrote about to better the chances of it showing up in an internet search. It's also possible that an institution might be interested in helping with/platforming some sort of internet presence, so it doesn't hurt to ask.

Here are some links to previous posts I've made about keeping a diary. Looking through the notes might also be helpful.

How to write a diary for future historians

What should I write about?

If anyone else has advice, please feel free to chime in! This isn't exactly my area of expertise, so I'm always happy to be corrected.

-Reid

[bayofwolves]

Rereading The Evertree

We've come to the end. I'm finally at the last book of the first arc! Hopefully I can stop explaining what these posts are now, but one more time for anyone unaware: These posts are a compilation of notes taken from my rereads of the Spirit Animals books. They include interesting details, stuff I missed and how I plan to change certain things in my retelling of the series, A Revised History of Erdas. Shall we begin?

"I know you were supposed to be your village's Rain Dancer and all, but can you lighten up on all the dancing?" I know Rain Dancers have to engage in rituals and meditate extensively before they can produce rain, but Abeke influencing the weather with her emotions is a fun idea. Imagine the ceaseless rain is brought down by her pain and sorrow over Shane, Meilin, Tarik and her family.

It definitely feels to me like Tarik was one of the Greencloak leaders, alongside Lenori and underneath Olvan. His role in training the Four Heroes themselves, him having a seat at the table with the other leaders and a place at their important meetings, et cetera... it all seems like his rank was higher than he let on in-text. (Also, my two cents: I would nominate Finn to take his place as the third Greencloak leader.)

"The image of Gerathon's smiling jaws and slithering body disappeared, replaced instead with Rollan's lopsided grin and Conor's encouraging voice, Abeke's clear laugh." I am crying.

The typos in this one are funny. Kalani's dolphin, Katoa, is referred to as female even though he was introduced as male in Against the Tide. And Devin is mistakenly called Devon.

I don't like how Kalani and Rollan made up by completely forsaking the cultural beliefs of Kalani's people. If Hundred Islanders believe something is tapu and want nothing to do with it, they shouldn't be forced to go against that. They already introduced the concept of a ceremony to rid someone or something or tapu (noa), so they could have simply had Kalani perform this for Rollan. I've been saying this, but I'll say it again.

Finn should have been the leader of the Greencloak expedition from the beginning. He already has experience with these kids, and placing him back in a position of authority would be much less likely to spark resentment than a completely new person like Dorian would. Narratively, I do think it was necessary to see more of how Tarik's death affected the Four. But logically...

The Conquerors are monitoring their own people for signs of disloyalty. Interesting.

It seems some records of Stetriolan wildlife survived after all -- Finn knows that the animal who stole their provisions is a dingo. Since it was established earlier that the Greencloaks know next to nothing about Stetriol, I would have liked it better if Abeke was one of their only sources of information. She could use whatever she learned about the continent from Shane and the Conquerors to help guide them in their quest. And she identified a dingo in Against the Tide, so she could have done the same here instead of Finn.

Strange how the party just left the dead horse behind and continued on, instead of using it for meat. Between the meat from the horse and the water bulbs Abeke found, they would have been set to last for even longer.

Abeke swinging up onto her horse's back reminds me of that scene in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers where Legolas does that crazy mounting technique. I'm willing to bet that was done on purpose; both characters are great archers, after all.

Shane's intense reaction to Gerathon entering his mind must mean that this is the first time she has controlled him. It makes sense, given that she probably wanted to make him feel like he was the one in charge. Oh, what I would give to get inside Shane's head during this battle.

Gerathon forcing Shane to aim for Abeke specifically was definitely intentional. Her method of reading people and then turning them against the ones they love the most is the highest form of torture.

I know I've mentioned that Sundown in Rise and Fall may be my favourite chapter in all of Spirit Animals, but Duel is a strong contender, too. The contrast between the raw pain and rage of Duel and the peacefulness, the gentleness, the emotional vulnerability of Sundown is incredible. It makes sense why both are so close to my heart; they go together, hand in hand. You can't have one without the other.

Everything I read about the Four Heroes' travels is telling me that Erdas is a remarkably small planet.

Conor is sorely mistaken about the crater around the Evertree being caused by an ancient volcano. Additionally, when Abeke later sees a vision in the sky of how the world came to be, including the birth of the Evertree and the Great Beasts, there is not even a hint about the Wyrm. It makes me wonder if the authors had conceived of the Wyrm's landing at this point (or if they were purposefully covering up this plot point to surprise the readers).

Only the Great Beasts know the location of the Evertree. I wonder how it has remained hidden to the rest of the creatures on Erdas. Surely there are tribes living in southern Nilo, yes? It would be cool if the Great Beasts were able to conceal it with their combined magic, making the crater and everything inside it invisible to the human eye.

The Evertree bears fruit! Its description of "pure white" and, well, the fact that it comes from the Evertree itself makes me imagine it has magical properties of some kind. What could this fruit bestow upon you if you were to eat it? Good health? Eternal life? If humans knew how to find the Evertree, I'm sure wars would have been waged over this very question. (It could have made for an interesting storyline if Shane had managed to steal one of the fruits before he fled. Perhaps he would eat it, perhaps sell it, perhaps keep it to look at. I imagine it would stay fresh even after being plucked and never spoil.)

In ARHoE, Arax appears at the Evertree with a broken horn from when Barlow threw him off the cliff. Just a cool detail I thought to mention.

Tellun sacrificing himself is supposed to be seen as a noble act, but at a closer look it actually works against our protagonists. Kovo has made his intent to rule the whole world quite clear. While the Great Beasts dying might sadden him, it won't stop him. By taking themselves out of the battle, Tellun and the first few are leaving it all up to a bunch of kids (warriors, yes, but still kids) to bring down this age-old, godlike gorilla, instead of using their combined might to stop him and save the world they swore to protect. If Tellun had learned something from the last Great War and decided to fight this time, aided our heroes in driving Kovo into the Evertree and died in the process, it would have been so much better! On the flip side, though, it could be read as a testament to how selfish the Great Beasts actually are -- how they are shown time and time again to care more about themselves and their talismans than upholding their oath.

I would have preferred it if the brief moment when the Four Fallen appear as Great Beasts once more happened at the Evertree and not Muttering Rock. Like, if being in the presence of the tree that created them temporarily restored them to their old forms. Great Beast-sized Briggan, Uraza, Jhi and Essix fighting Kovo, Gerathon and Halawir with the rest of their brethren, a more hopeful and heartbreaking rendition of their last battle all those years ago, would have been amazing.

Something about Shane presumably fleeing further into Nilo, home of the friend he betrayed, and perhaps wandering there a while in the wake of his defeat... and many months later, Abeke restoring her bond with Uraza in Stetriol, home of the friend she forgave. Everything is connected.

Wow. This was a powerful finale -- high stakes, epic final battle, emotional climax, descriptions I could see in my mind's eye. There were quite a few things I didn't like about this one, though. Outside of what I've already mentioned: The ending should have been heartwarming, and for the most part it was, but Abeke reconciling with her abusive family soured it for me. I wish the Four had reconvened with Finn, Maya, Kalani and the rest of their party at some point, instead of them vanishing in the middle of a battle and never being heard from again. And once again, I protest the exclusion of Irtike! Aside from all that, though, The Evertree was a great read and a solid conclusion to arc one of Spirit Animals. There are a lot of loose ends to be tied, but for now, the war is over, and our protagonists can finally breathe.

It's been a good run. I plan to take a short break here, but I'm excited to turn the page and begin a new arc soon!

This is part of an ongoing series.

Wild Born | Hunted | Blood Ties | Fire and Ice | Against the Tide | Rise and Fall | The Evertree

Immortal Guardians | Broken Ground | The Return | The Burning Tide

Heart of the Land | The Wildcat's Claw | Stormspeaker | The Dragon's Eye

Tales of the Great Beasts | The Book of Shane | Tales of the Fallen Beasts

[danwhobrowses]

Okay so we are doing a very rare third post about the events of Critical Role campaign 3 episode 91 so avoid if you still haven't watched it because there will be spoilers again

Right. So I'm not gonna talk more about the Reincarnate vs Stay Dead debate with FCG, I still prefer Reincarnate for reasons I put in my last post but now I'm gonna talk about the other route, if FCG stays dead, what becomes of his remains?

It is almost ironic that a PC death happened a few episodes after Matt created the Ruidian custom of making weapons from a loved one's remains, something Ashton and Fearne were quite intrigued by, so I wonder if the Hells would do the same - in a way carrying a little bit of FCG with them to continue the fight. Outside of his loot it's hard to tell what the Hells can use, if it were me I'd have each of the Hells have a bracelet from his hair at the least, but the rest would probably need to be left in the hands of tinkerers to create things that may enhance the Hells' combat; maybe a conductive whip for Imogen to use for her more lightning-based magic for instance, I can also see Ashton fixing FCG's head onto their outfit or hammer and Chetney and Laudna maybe making little FCG dolls for each of them too.

Loot-wise I had to look at the wiki to remind myself of all the stuff FCG had on them, as well as see what Otohan had but outside of the backpack and swords it wasn't quite descriptive at this point, and even then there's no guarantee it'll all be undamaged from the blast, but there were some notable things that could end up in the Hells' hands to use. I feel like we're all in agreement that if FCG doesn't come back that Ashton keeps the Coin of the Changebringer, perhaps even have it affixed to their hammer so to feel like FCG is still fighting with them. The full extent of its magical properties were not shown outside of the Yes/No question and 1 bout of Lucky per day, but on Ashton's hammer the daily reroll might end up being helpful, though they are not a fan of the gods a little FCG-aided divine buffing could go a long way. Other than that, Ashton probably should claim the two Potions of Possibility FCG had, my earlier post mentioned my belief that Otohan's backpack should go to them because Dunamancy (I didn't however mention how echoes can work as temporary meat shields for Ashton to better negate enemy attacks that'd otherwise be aimed at the party) and the logic is the same here, Matt would probably have to try and balance Ashton's Dunamancy and Titan buffs so to not take all four potions (or more, think Fearne and Orym have one too right? *checks* oh and Laudna so that's 7 potions!) at once but those seem to be key loot Ashton should keep a hold of.

Outside of combat FCG would be helpful in using Identify when the Hells came across new objects. While Chetney has Grim Psychometry to do something similar, the Goggles of Object Reading that FCG used could be taken by Imogen - which in turn may provide Laura and the fandom a means to canonize glasses on the character - along with the Staff of Dark Odyssey that she has used before.

Fearne is another who could hold the Staff, but I find it unlikely. She would probably take the rod used to plane-shift to the Fey Realm, in a way being a key to home if she needs it. I can see her taking the Ivory Branch as well, albeit temporarily until a new healer presents themselves, due to the +1 Spell attack and +1d4 Healing. She might keep the Ruidian mood ring but I feel like that wouldn't survive the blast, same with the recipes FCG collected, though it'd be nice if someone were able to carry on his memory that way; Fearne, Ashton or Orym would be likely candidates for that.

Laudna would perhaps be able to use most of the scrap remains of FCG for her constructs, perhaps a little buffing for Pate is in order plus she doesn't use Sashimi often. Chetney only really works in wood so he probably won't take the remains, stuff such as his saws and propeller could be used to empower Laudna's own creations, maybe even the fake legs too.

One weapon I think will not end in Laudna's hands however is the Grapple cannon, which could suit either Orym or Chetney. Orym is the better candidate to use it though, given the 20 Dexterity compared to Chetney's 14, additionally there is the +1 Mithril Half-Plate Armor, which could be an improvement for either.

If Orym were to get both I could see it being a trade for Chetney not getting anything, in turn granting Chetney both of Otohan's swords to use - since Orym may want nothing to do with her equipment given her role in killing their family. Otherwise I can see Chetney maybe grabbing the saws ahead of Laudna, maybe the goggles but he does already have the monocle, and any utensils he can repurpose for crafting. There is also the possibility of him getting the Aeoran Scrambling Devices that we know little about, maybe adding a little 'this wouldn't happen if it were wooden' catharsis for Chet if he used them on machines.

The only other thing that is left from FCG are the bolt thrower and the All-Minds-Burn drugs. The latter could go to anyone but Ashton, Fearne and Imogen are more likely (she still needs to plant that seed), the bolt thrower could go to Laudna, she never used Bor'dor's slingshot with the Draconic Rune that Prism added to it, or to Chetney to fire a chisel. His coat he designed like FRIDA's would probably be kept for her to be given too. Outside of that the only other specific loot we currently know from Otohan is the Fake Treshi Ring for Scrying (not its official name), which won't be of use to the Hells since the next time they get close to a major enemy they will be fighting, but perhaps it could be placed in the hands of Liliana Temult, either to keep track of her or to plant on Ludinus so the Hells can track his movements instead.

[pasta-in-the-pudding]

Hello :3

Soo...here Is another jeff the killer x reader.⬇️

Femboy! Jeff the killer x reader

😋

GUH FEMBOYS 🫶🫶

(Btw i know there may be some misconception, but when i say femboy, i am writing about a boy, who identifies as a boy, and just likes dressing/acting feminine. Im not using femboy in a transphobic way, and ill never use it that way)

TW: Brief mentions of abuse

Thank you so much for requesting!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Femboy!Jeff x reader

I would think that Jeff grew up in a very emotionally abusive household

His parents were trying to mold him and Liu into what they wanted as kids, rather than just letting them expressing themselves and figuring out who they are as people

And so because of this, Jeff never really got to experiment with his appearance until he joined Slender's manor

It started off very minor, with things like dying his hair, getting his ears pieced, and wearing more alternative styled clothes

Since he was just always raised with the belief that "Boys don't wear makeup or dresses because that's feminine" the thought to act more feminine never really crossed his mind

So I think that he would have only recently started expressing that more feminine side of himself

It was probably you who helped him realize he could tbh

You guys would be talking in your bedroom, just hanging out and he'd bring up that he always wanted to try being more feminine in his appearance, because he likes to confuse people as to what he even is

He just likes looking genderless idk

And you were like "Ok so do that. No one's gonna stop you"

He got quiet for a moment before going "Oh yeah...I guess no one will stop me"

Because of his pride however, he would not wear those things in public for a very long time

Only you could see him in his makeup and dresses

But you manage to convince him to just go out with you and have a photoshoot where both of you are dressed as the opposite sex

This makes him feel more comfortable and confident, because if anyone sees him, he will at least have an excuse as to why he is all dolled up

And of course, someone does see him

"Woah, Jeff dude, you look like you just crawled out of Jane's closet"

"I'm doing a photoshoot, fuck off"

You will have to help him with his makeup, because lord knows his ass does not have steady hands

It frustrates him to no end when his eyeliner isn't even

AND OH MY GOD DOES HE LOOK GORGEOUS

HE'S SO BABYGIRL HE'S SERVING SO MUCH CUNT

Anyways, that's enough of that

I feel like he likes to wear really flowy dresses and big trad goth makeup

He doesn't really like skirts unless they're maxi skirts

When he does eventually get comfortable enough to go out in the manor dressed up, he will get many compliments

And if he goes out in public, you will have to herd him away from all the catcalls

His ego gets such a major boost

Good luck not letting it go to his head

Ben jokes around with him, asking what his drag name is and when he'll be able to bring home money from RuPaul's Drag Race

He's a silly guy, your honor <333

[aspecpplarebeautiful]

tw sex mentions

this is probably gonna sound weird but being a sex and romance positive aroacespec person makes me feel really excluded from the community sometimes.

I understand that I seem to fall into a much smaller group of people- most aroace people I've met are repulsed or neutral on sex and romance. but it makes me feel almost... invalid, I guess? especially because it's a result of how my identities work (demiromantic and demisexual.) and some part of me often feels that people like me don't really have a place in the community, and id we do find one there's always gotta be someone who treats us poorly. I actually remember once having some people get mad at me for having the "audacity to call myself aroacespec when I can still feel romantic/sexual attraction in certain circumstances." got told I was invading a space, wasn't welcome.

and idk it's just... weird falling on the other side of things. I understand I could hypothetically just talk to non-aroace people about my attractions and experiences but they don't understand without lots of explanation, or they think I'm making things up (as they so often do with aroacespec identities...) but I receive the same treatment from my own community; accusations of enforcing allo and amatonormativity, faking being aroacespec for attention, etc. I'm kinda just in a weird limbo where I just... can't talk about my experiences.

it makes an already isolating experience feel far more isolating and I really wish I knew how to even go about finding other sex/romance positive aroacespec people so I didn't have to be so alone.

I'm sorry you've been having such a hard time, Anon. It sounds like not only are you dealing with lack of visibility but you've been running into gatekeeping too, which can be really difficult to deal with.

I do think part of the problem is the way social media is set up these days, certain narratives tend to the rise to the top and get the most visibility. Gray ace experiences are important too.

The other issue with modern social media is there's no moderation, which means there's no way to curb gatekeeping. Whereas in a properly run and moderated space, you can ban people for going around trying to tell people they're not what they identify as.

(Also just for the record, there are lots of ace and aro spectrum labels that include experiencing attraction in certain circumstances, and there's always been people who experience sexual and romantic attraction in this community. You belong here, Anon, and exactly as you say in your ask, allosexual and alloromantic experiences are not your experiences. There's a reason you came to these labels and your experiences and identity are valid. If you identify as aroacespec, that's what you are and no one else has the right to say otherwise. End of discussion.)

I'm really sorry you've been made to feel you can't talk about your experiences, gray experiences are so important to talk about and share. We have such a diverse community and ace and aro spectrum identities can be so complex, it's always helpful and beneficial to hear different people's experiences.

One thing you could do that may help is look into the gray-ace/gray-aro and demisexual/demiromantic tags specifically, which are somewhat active, and try and find people there to follow. Seek out similar experiences. I also recommend blocking any gatekeepers. They're always going to use the most emotionally charged language they can. It doesn't make them right. And hopefully one day we can just build better spaces for ourselves that give us more room to talk about our different experiences and find others like us.

All the best!

[my-castles-crumbling]

Hi Cas :) was wondering if you would be able to offer any of your wisdom (or really just read my ask, I think I just kind of need to get it out, please don’t feel pressured to reply).

So my issue is that I think I might have a crush on my best friend. We are both nearly 15 and both female, which is where the bulk of the problem arises. I’ve been suspecting for a few years now that I’m probably queer, and probably bi or pan (not really going with a label right now, I’m not out so I see no reason to, but I’ve also just been sort of pushing it to the back of my mind).

Ive known my best friend since we first started school together in our first year of school, and I know she’d be supportive of me if I came out to her. But lately whenever she’s been talking about some guy or wanting to get a boyfriend or whatever I’ve been weirdly jealous, and once or twice I’ve been thinking about what it would be like to kiss her. To put it simply: if she asked me on a date, I probably wouldn’t say no.

I feel really terrible about this and want to tell her, but know it would completely compromise our friendship, and I really don’t want to do that. I also feel like I really shouldn’t like her, like I’m commuting some social crime. I’m like 95% sure she’s straight, so I don’t see any reason to tell her, but i still feel guilty about it for some reason.

And then I feel guilty that I even think I like girls at all, because part of me thinks I just want to be part of the LGBTQ community - I don’t have many good friends and the queer community seem to be one of the few communities that are really accepting, and I wonder if maybe I’m just identifying with them because I’m considered an ‘outsider’ as well.

I’m sorry to dump this all on you and I don’t even fully know what I’m asking. It kind of just feels good to write it out and know there’s a possibility of someone reading it, so, thanks?

Anyway I hope you have the loveliest day :)

Hi!!!

So a few thoughts here, okay?

First of all, it is literally so common for people to think they're like...faking being queer. But the thing is, you're not faking it. You literally took the time to sit here and type out this long message to some stranger on the internet. You're not faking.

Second, you're not breaking any rules or being weird by liking your friend. You can't control who you like, and it's so normal to end up with feelings for a friend. There's no reason to feel guilty at all! Objectively, being liked is a compliment!

As far as telling her your feelings, that's where it could get a bit tricky, because sometimes things can get a bit awkward if feelings aren't returned, no matter what genders people are. If it was me, I'd probably start by coming out to her (you said she's a safe person) and seeing how she reacts. If she starts to act more affectionate, then that could be a sign that she returns feelings, you know?

I hope this helps. Remember, your feelings are so valid and I'm here if you need to talk!

(Also I am naming all the anons who write to me in case they want to write in the future, and I am using a random positive affirmation generator to do so. So I dub thee: admirable anon. Enjoy your free tag!)

[tlbodine]

Socializing 2.0 - Talking to People Who Are Upset

I was trying to write this as a reblog to my other "how to socialize" post and it keeps glitching out, which is very irritating. So here, let's try it on its own post.

Last time I talked about some tips for making small talk, and some scripts/talking points for how to show interest in what people are saying even if the topic doesn't excite you.

Now, I want to talk about a different scenario that can be really challenging for everybody (but, I think even harder for folks who don't come by empathy easily). Which is: How do you talk to somebody who is upset or having a tough time? How do you express sympathy without making the thing about you and your feelings?

While I'm by no means an expert at this, and I can't claim I've got the solution for every scenario you might encounter, I do have some tips and techniques that have helped me along the way and hopefully they can prove useful to you, too.

STEP ONE: Identifying that a person is upset

Sometimes it's very easy to tell that someone is upset, because they will yell "ARGH I AM SO MAD ABOUT THIS!!!" or they will be crying or some other obvious outward sign. Other times, though, it can be kind of tricky to tell. It's even harder in text, where you sometimes have to guess whether someone is jokingly mad or mad-mad when they post keysmashes, all caps, angry emojis, etc etc.. Folks also sometimes deflect from their actual emotions by joking them off. Or they'll say something you feel is alarming, but then don't act like it's a big deal.

People are complicated, in other words. So it's OK if you get this wrong sometimes. Everybody does.

In general, some signs that people might have something the matter:

Obvious outward expression of emotion (yelling, crying)

Acting more withdrawn or subdued than normal

Appearing distracted or disengaged

Looking more disheveled than usual

Acting unusually rambunctious or like they're compensating

If you notice somebody seems upset but you're not 100% sure, you have a few options:

Politely ignore it.

Let them bring it up if they want to. This is a safe bet if you are not very close -- ie, they're strangers, coworkers, acquaintances etc. HOWEVER, if you choose this route, you can still do this person a kindness by not imposing on them.

For example, if your coworker seems upset about something and you have a question about the job, could you ask someone else instead of approaching upset coworker? Could you quietly do them a favor? For example, could you offer to take over for them at the register and let them work in the back? Offer to watch things while they take a break? Small kindnesses can make a big difference in someone's day. It's not always possible, but it's nice when you can!

If nothing else, try to avoid dumping anything on them while they seem upset. If you're also having a shit day, you can probably find someone else to rant to.

Ask if they're okay.

This is more appropriate if you have a rapport with the person. If they are your friend or romantic partner, or if you have a rapport with them and want to express that you care, it's probably best to acknowledge that you've noticed something is wrong. Avoid saying anything that might be perceived as aggressive; don't way "What's wrong" or (even worse) "What's wrong with you?" Instead, try, "Is everything okay? You seem a little down today."

They may respond:

I'm just a little tired

I'm kind of distracted

What? Oh, haha, no, I'm fine...

Sometimes they mean this at face value, but more often what they actually are communicating is "I'm not OK but I don't feel comfortable talking about it."

That's fine. Don't pry. Drop the subject, and proceed as above -- politely ignore their perceived signs of discomfort, but be kind to them and avoid dumping anything on them unnecessarily.

Do not be surprised or alarmed if, after some time has passed, they come back around to reopen the subject and start to open up about whatever is bothering them. Then again, don't take it personally if you never figure out what the deal was. Maybe they really did just have a headache. Maybe they had an issue they figured out on their own. Either way, it's no longer your problem.

(note: this is a little more complicated if it's someone you live with and it goes on for a while, but that scenario is out of scope for this post).

STEP TWO: They Told Me They're Upset

Okay! So whether you started here with them, or this just came up after you asked if things were ok, you now have confirmed that a person is upset!

If they tell you the gist of what's going on, it's a good idea to acknowledge it. But stay fairly neutral about it and avoid value judgments.

For example: "My grandpa died"

An appropriate response might be, "I'm sorry to hear that" or "Oh jeez, I'm sorry :("

Some other great all-purpose responses when someone says something bad happened are: "Dude, that sucks :(" and "oh no!" or "oof."

Next -- and this is really important -- you should follow up by asking, "Do you want to talk about it?"

(you can also use that question any time someone says something vague like "I had a shitty day today" or "I'm so pissed off.")

If they say no, they don't want to talk about it, follow up with, "Well, let me know if there's anything I can do." And then, ideally, volunteer a couple options of things you can do, depending on your relationship and what you are capable of doing: cover their shift, approve their time off, take care of a chore, listen if they change their mind.

If they DO want to talk about it, by all means, let them talk.

Ask if they would like advice or if they just want to get it off their chest. If they don't ask for advice, don't give them any.

Use your active listening skills and ask questions. Avoid prying or traumatic questions, but don't be shocked if you receive more intensive answers than you expected. A safe question to ask when someone says someone died is to say, "Were you close?" or if a pet died, "How long did you have them?"

Validate their emotions, but avoid bringing your own judgments to the table unless they ask for your honest opinion. For example, if someone is ranting about their romantic partner, it's cool to say, "I'm sorry that happened. You shouldn't have to put up with that." but it's not so cool to say "Your SO sounds like a dick, you should leave them."

Ask if they would like a distraction or to be cheered up. If you're in person, and you're amenable to the task, "Do you want a hug?" is also acceptable. (just respect whatever they said).

You'll want to be mindful of your energy. I personally have the best luck with projecting calm, neutral, slightly joke-y vibes. "It do be like that" and "Dude, that sucks" delivered with some genuine warmth in your tone or an empathetic emoji can go a long way.

STEP THREE: How to Not Make It About You

There are a few ways you can unintentionally make something be about you when someone else brings up something that's upsetting them:

One-upping them. "That's nothing. This one time, I had...."

Invalidating them or passing judgment. "That's not a big deal" or "What an asshole!" (you can agree with them that someone is being a dick, bit they need to be the one who says it first)

Trying to relate to them by telling a story about your own experiences, which ends up taking a really long time, or puts them in the awkward position of feeling like they have to comfort you.

OK. So a couple things.

Relating to people with relatable experiences is not a bad thing! In fact sometimes it can be really helpful! HOWEVER if you go that route you need to be really cautious of a couple points:

The story needs to be brief and stick only to the most relevant details. it's FINE if you don't provide the full absolute context of the entire scenario. You just need to tell them the relatable part, and then relate that back to them and how they are feeling.

For example:

"I'm so sorry to hear your dog died. I had to put my cat to sleep last year and I remember how guilty I felt, worrying whether I waited too long. Did you have a lot of time to prepare with your dog or was it pretty sudden?"

This is good! Here you are relaying information that you understand some of what they're going through, introduce an emotion that may or may not resonate with them, and then hand the conversation back to them with a question. Now they might tell you all about how, yes, they worried about that same thing too! Or no, their thing was really sudden and unexpected. Or whatever they tell you!

Then you can respond to that thing like, "Oh wow, I can't imagine how rough that must have been." or "Jeez, that's so hard. How are the kids taking it?" or whatever else seems appropriate in that moment.

STEP FOUR: OK But Now They Won't Shut Up About It?

One downside to expressing concern in other people's affairs is that this can sometimes mark you as their new confidant, purely because people so rarely just listen and care about other people.

If it's just the occasional bit of ranting, it's probably fine to just let them do their thing. And if they're coming to you to rant and off-load their stuff, then it's probably fine and expected that you can respond in time and maybe you guys are just ranting buddies.

But if you end up in a scenario where they can ALWAYS complain about their thing, but you can NEVER complain about your thing, that is a toxic dynamic! That requires some intervention! Friendship cannot be built on that foundation.

If you've expressed your condolences or listened to someone rant about whatever is pissing them off and you feel you have nothing more to offer the conversation, you can just say that: "I don't know what else to say, really. It's a tough situation and I hope it gets better for you."

And then you can just. Exit the conversation.

Some additional lines to keep in your back pocket include:

"I think that's beyond my pay grade to help with. Have you spoken with (a therapist/counselor/clergy member/whatever)?"

"That's so frustrating! You should definitely go talk to (the person they are complaining about) about that."

"Well, if you ever need someone to (specific thing you actually are willing to do), let me know."

Being kind to people and showing concern for their problems does not mean you have to become an unpaid therapist or doormat. You get to maintain boundaries about that stuff.

Anyway! This is super long! There is so much more I could get into here but I'll leave it at that. I hope this is in some way helpful to you.

[smaptain-smerica]

Female Reader x Rooster

Time: Post-Top gun: Maverick

Y/n Blackwood - L/n, daughter of Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood. Y/n took a strong interest in planes from a young age. Knowing her father was an esteemed pilot drew her even further into the navy. Quickly, she became one of the best solo pilots and graduating at the top of her class at Top Gun.

Her next mission? Return to Top Gun, Face certain death, romantic interests, and finally, her thought-to-be-dead, father.

This book contains strong language and sexual content that may be sensitive readers under the age of 18

This story was originally posted on Wattpad, follow me on there for faster updates. I have published a non-binary version of this story published there for those who do not identify as female or use she/her pronouns. It will follow the exact same story line. Link to Wattpad Account Link to the Non-Binary version

Master list

Hangover Cure

Third person omniscient POV

Rooster woke up with a nauseous feeling, instantly getting up and running for the bathroom. He threw up the burning liquid that was his demise the previous night.

Rooster groaned, sitting back on the freezing cold tile floors. A cold sweat covered his body along with his labored breathing.

"You had a rough night, kid." Maverick appeared in the doorway, leaning his shoulder on one side. Rooster looked up at Maverick and groaned, rolling his eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"I thought we were past this Bradley. What happened?" Maverick offered his hand down to Rooster, which he gratefully took to allow help for him to stand.

"I don't know Mav. My brain couldn't stop. I kept thinking about being in the plane. There were moments I thought I was still there."

Maverick felt a pull at his heart. He knew exactly what Rooster was feeling, he had went through it many times himself. He knew how damaging the affects of PTSD could be. Maverick put a hand on Roosters shoulder and gave him a gentle squeeze. "You're still going to therapy?" Maverick asked.

Rooster nodded. "Not as much as I should since we started back up with this mission. Maybe that's the issue."

Maverick nodded. "I would start there. Just let me know, you'll be excused from any exercise."

"But what if I'm not ready for this mission? I want to come back alive I don't want anything to get in the way of practice." Rooster said desperately. Over the past year, he wouldn't have cared if he came back or not. Images of y/n flashed in his mind. He didn't have a future with her yet, but the potential in his mind was rejuvenating. It gave him a reason to stay alive, even for just the mission.

"Bradley I'm not worried about you. You're not the pilot you used to be. Your skills have drastically improved. I need to do some more testing but I'm probably going to pair you up with Hangman or y/n." Maverick was pouring himself and rooster a cup of coffee.

Rooster furrowed his eyebrows together and tilted his head. "Why?"

Maverick slid the cup across the counter to Rooster and then took a drink of his coffee himself. "Because they're good. And I can't put them with together because they'll end up shooting each other." Maverick chuckled a little while taking another drink. "I've seen the way you fly with both of them. You make each other better. I hate to say y/n is just like me. If I put her with you, you can reel her in so she doesn't do anything stupid. God know that I would."

Rooster let out a small chuckle with a smirk. He sipped the coffee, consumed by the warm-ness it was providing. "I have a distant memory of her being here last night."

Maverick hummed and nodded at the comment. "Yeah. We got dinner last night when Penny called me. She came with me to check on you."

"How lovely." Rooster grumbled, taking a drink of the coffee.

"She asked me about you, how you two can get along better."

Rooster couldn't help but feel a flutter in his chest knowing that she had asked about him to Maverick, someone so close to him. He thought about mentioning the date to Maverick, but kept his tongue. He needed to decide where the relationship was going first before he told her own father.

"Really?" Rooster questioned, once again taking a drink of the hangover cure coffee.

"Yeah, she did. I don't want to ruin this. I want to be there. Ive already missed so much of her life, and to find out she was just like me all this time? It excites me. More than any mission ever could." Maverick admitted to Rooster. Rooster could tell having y/n in his life meant a lot to him. He had talked before about losing Charlotte, but it was now more than ever how much she meant to Maverick.

"It will be fine Mav," was all Rooster could muster up to say. He now felt guilty for his feelings towards y/n, why her? Out of everybody he's met why had he felt this way about her that he hadn't felt before?

"Do you think it would be too much to ask her to stay?" Maverick asked. "Do you think she would?"

Rooster expressed his confusion with his hands and a stammering of his voice. "I don't know Mav, that's between the two of you."

Maverick waved his hand dismissively. "You're right. It's way too early." Rooster let out a relieved huff into the hole of his coffee cup as he took a drink.

"Thank you for taking care of me." Rooster said quietly. He felt embarrassment after every time this happened to him. Fortunately, Maverick was always there to gather him up.

"Of course. We'll always take care of you."

Rooster smiled at Maverick as he walked away from the kitchen and back towards the bedroom. Roosters phone buzzed from the inside of his pants. He took it out of his pocket and looked at the name that flashed across the screen with a smile.

•••

Y/n's POV

I set my phone down after reading Roosters message. I smiled to myself as I began to fix my hair in the bathroom mirror. I ran a brush through it's as I adjusted it into the required military low bun.

I noticed the door open behind me open from its reflection in the mirror. In stumbled Fanboy with his eyes half closed.

"Good morning Fan." I chuckled at his sluggish-ness. He looked over at me with a toothless smile. He waddled his way over to me and stood in front of the mirror. He plopped his head down on my shoulder and closed his eyes. "I'm so tired." He complained in a whiny voice.

I pouted out my bottom lip and rested my head on top of his. "You poor thing." I sympathized with slight sarcasm.

Fanboy groaned in protest but never once moved from his position.  I went back to brushing my hair back when I heard his voice in my left ear.

"No way."

I looked over at Fanboy who had risen his head off my shoulder and was now pointing at my phone. "Do you have a date with Rooster?"

"Shh!" I hushed him harshly. "Keep your voice down!" I whisper shouted.

"You totally do!" He whispered with enthusiasm.

"Okay yes, it's one date. Then we will see." I admitted. Fanboy and I looked at each other for a moment and then he wiggled his eyebrows at me. I gave him a good punch to the shoulder which he recoiled from.

"Hey, ouch!" He exclaimed while laughing in the process.

"Go shower you stink!" I teased him. Fanboy responded with his charming smile and then retreated to the showering area. I chuckled, shaking my head at my friends ridiculousness.

Once my hair was to my liking I began to pack up my toiletries bag. I noticed movement in the mirror behind me. I glanced up through my brow. "Mornin' Bag Man."

"Good morning wolf pup. How'd you sleep?" He asked while stretching his long, bare torso upwards to the ceiling. I turned my body around to face him, leaning against the counter. I put on a kind smile, appreciative of his civility.

"I need more, that's for sure." I let out an exaggerated sigh that blew my lips forward.

"Yeah you are out pretty late last night, what was that about?" He asked me casually. I narrowed my eyebrows together in confusion at him. Before I could speak he continued.

"Untwist your dick, I'm not stalking you. I had to take a piss and walked by your room. Your door was open and you weren't there."

"Oh, I see. My dick is untwisted then."

Hangman and I chuckled at each other before he continued. "Your little wolf looked lonely though so I took him to sleep with me for a while. Great company, really." I grabbed my hairbrush off the sink counter and chucked it at him. Hangman caught it as it smacked him in the torso.

"I hate you." I said endearingly.

"You love me. Everybody loves me." Hangman said smugly as he tossed my hairbrush back at me. From inside the mens showering area, someone yelled; "Bullshit!"

Our laughter echoed in the bathroom as I finally gathered my things and left. I returned my things to my room and made my way out to the hanger where we usually have our briefings. I saw Maverick and Rooster walking into the building.

"Hey boys." I greeted them. Maverick met me with a large smile while Rooster gave me a small embarrassed one. "Good morning Wolf." Maverick greeted me. He gave me a gentle pat on the shoulder before walking back into the main building.

I looked up at Rooster and gave him a smile. "You feel okay?"

He nodded at me with a smile. "I won't be participating in the exercises today. I've got some... stuff to take care of." Rooster avoided eye contact with me as he grazed his foot across the pavement below.

"Don't worry. We'll have more fun without you anyway." I teased him while poking him with my elbow. Rooster chuckled and shook his head.

"That's great, really. Thank you."

We chucked along with each other for a moment before our attention was drawn back to each other. I looked up into his deep, thoughtful eyes. He looked like he wanted to say something but stopped himself.

"Amelia mentioned that you told her about our date." I took the lead in changing the topic of conversation.

Rooster smiled. "Well Mav told me that you asked about me?" He said smugly.

"Oh really?" I questioned.

"Mhm. It's cute really, you asking about me." He pressed on. I hardened my face and gave him a daring look which made him laugh.

"Yes I told Amelia. I tell her just about everything. But despite being a teen she actually keeps a good secret. So we're all good."

I smiled before thinking about a specific event coming up. "Do you think we should tell him? Mav I mean. I thought about it last night but I couldn't bring myself to do it."

Rooster sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I almost said something this morning. I don't know. I think we should wait. I'd hate to get his hopes up then disappoint him. Or worse."

"I think I'm more scared of the 'or worse'." I chuckled.

"Right, me too."

Roosters phone rang and he slipped it out of his pocket. "Shit. I gotta go. I'll find you later."

"Okay, bye." I said quietly as rooster was already jogging his way towards the door. I was confused by his actions. He left the conversation so abruptly. I shrugged it off at the notice of the pilots starting to file into the hangar.

It was time to put my game face on.

Next Chapter

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional, I do not know everything about PTSD nor do I encourage the romanticization of it.

[olderthannetfic]

I am currently conceptualizing a fanfic idea in my head and wondering how it should be tagged or if I should be concerned about tagging this specific issue at all.

It is supposed to be about characters A, B and C.

First, character A is alive as a normal human being, and has a little fling or one night stand or affair with character B. Character B is a scientist who later develops a concept for an artificial being. Sometimes later, something happens to character A and they are forcefully transformed into a hybrid of human and machinery.

Some hundreds of years later, character A still exists. Character C is the artificial being first conceptualized by character B, although they were developed well after B's lifetime by someone else on the basis of B's notes. Characters A and C then cross paths, and character A manipulates character C in a way by using their being an artificial being against them.

Character A and C then also have a little fling because there is genuine sexual tension between them and C's attraction to A is also genuine despite A probably/possibly only manipulating C for their own gain, which C is aware of but they're like "eh, but A is hot, so I'll comply for now, I don't mind sleeping with them for them to think I am complying fullywith their plan and not plotting against them" and is quite content with getting sex out of it.

Now I am wondering whether and if yes how to tag this specific thing, I mean character A sleeping with two people who technically could be considered related by character C's standards/perception.

C doesn't know about it, and I'm not sure if I'll make character A remember they've slept with both or not, so it probably won't be an actual plot point but rather a thing that happens to have happened, if that makes sense.

I know it's not incest or something like that, but am unsure if I'll cause some shocked reactions and want to avoid accidentally being insensitive by not knowing stuff and want to tag it properly for both people who would be squicked and people who would be delighted to read such a thing...

Hope this makes sense, it's so hot here that my brain refuses to remember how to English properly.^^ Also I hope this is vague enough for the characters to not be identified immediately, ha :P

--

Uh...

Being vague in these situations is never helpful.

Nothing you've written here suggests a particular tag to me, but maybe the actual details would. Who knows?