#and no i'm not shaming young ppl in general

[bitchofdarkness]

I hate how fandom has become "if you haven't created anything in this very specific time frame after the release of the show/movie, everyone will have moved on"

And call me old fashioned, but that's just not me. I sometimes take ages to create and publish. And I will love a show or movie for such a long time (years, babes, years) that I just can't relate to the fast consumerism that's going on.

Because, let's be real, it can get really lonely in a fandom if most have simply moved on to the next shiny thing. Is what's created less worth, just because it was created outside the hype? Why is it such a taboo for this new fandom generation to love an old or "late" fic or art?

It's so tiring and I'm too old for the 30-seconds-hype-tiktok-shit. Just tired. So, so tired.

[wannabedragon-yep-lumenemporium]

okay I didn't want to be the witch hunt dude, but what the fuck, I need to rant.

I'm talking abt Rickorty here, so skip if you don't want to feel sick today. I can understand those ppl who identify with Morty within the rickorty fantasy: you want to feel needed, never be left, always under your Rick's radar, be comfortable with the "always being controlled" idea, but I can't stand who actually just likes the age gap... those who specifically enjoy the power imbalance, the way they overly portrait Morty not as a young adult but as a f*cking child. These eyes have seen drawings of a so obviously 10yo naked body involved in bondage... Do I have to say more? Block these people when you see them, and if you are an enjoyer of this crap, stop posting please, don't fuel this sick stuff as it was okay, it's not, keep it to yourself.

You could have made Rick 14 as well, but NO. You needed to make him a 10yo, making out with a 14yo (that might also count as several centuries old, it depends how u "like" to portrait it). Wtf is wrong with u? Why do you even think it's okay to share something like this? I'm not shaming the feeling, 'cause that would be pointless if you feel it, right? I'm shaming the fact people think it's okay to normalize abuse in general, over children specifically. Dude, therapy is just right there, talk to someone instead of Tumblring, for f*ck's sake. You have to cognitively know this is f*cked up. You can be a proshipper as much as you want but this is not about freedom to express unconventional love, this is about assault, severe abuse and psychological torture.

Idk people, I'm tired.

[cunninghamchrissie]

i feel like i'm living in the twilight zone when i see ppl say "your 30s are better than your 20s because you have more financial freedom"

it genuinely feels like boomer speak, just as out of touch as saying "well, skip the takeout coffee every morning and in one year you can put a down payment on a house!"

maybe it's this insane atmosphere on social media nowadays where young people think that being friends with an older person means you're being groomed and a 2-year age gap in a relationship is pedophilia so it creates a bubble where no generation is ever in contact with another anymore out of fear of being publicly shamed but it's an absolutely bizarre rhetoric. i keep scrolling through these kinds of posts and it feels like people trying to convince others that the tooth fairy is real

idk how many 30+ friends you have, but myself and all of my friends in that age bracket are broke worse than we were in our 20s because the worldwide economy is only getting worse and we don't have our parents to help us out anymore

i earn more now than i did in my 20s and i can afford less and less

[whatudowhennooneseesyou]

Is there anything in taeils chart that could point to him being an awful person?

Oooh- I was so hesitant in wondering whether or not I should respond to this question BUT I'm going too for education purposes because this is a great way of understanding how unhealed/undeveloped/immature zodiac placements manifest in people.

Disclaimer: Before I begin and receive hate comments, pls be mature and understand that this isn't reflective on EVERY person who has these placements AND also this is for funsies and not to be taken srsly. Taeil's decisions are a product of his own free will and free will always surpasses astrological influence. 18+

Placements: Gemini Sun, Leo Moon, Cancer Venus, Taurus Mars ( Rising Sign Unknown)

Sorry to the ppl with Gemini placements watching this but we have another Gemini man bringing shame to the zodiac world.

The benefits of this Sun/Moon duo together is having the ability to use their natural charisma, ability to adapt to different situations, friendly appearance and whimsical sense of humor to bring joy to others around them and to help the underdog/misfits feel included.

I don't know much about Taeil but from what I've seen on Tiktok and X, many people who did bias Taeil biased him because of his talented vocal cords, overall 'sweet' persona and having a 'gentle' demeanour.

But of course, Gemini and Leo are known for being able to 'mask' easily and adapt their personality to the environment around them- it's why they are great placements to have if you're in the entertainment industry.

These zodiac signs typically enjoy giving and receiving a lot of attention from multiple people to satisfy their ego and if unchecked, can develop a god complex honestly.

Taeil's ego might have been so unhinged and inflated he might have thought he could commit these acts and not get caught, purely because he's too smart or too famous to receive the consequences from doing it.

When I see a man with a Leo Moon and a Cancer Venus, this is giving me such mommy's boy energy not going to lie. It's common for men with Leo and/or Cancer placements to grow up with a mother who blew wind up their arse and they could never do anything wrong and their mother coddled and did everything for them.

I don't know if he's a Mommy's boy but it wouldn't surprise me if he is.

And I've just noticed in general, that a large amount of men who grew up being a Mommy's boy or in an emotionally incestuous relationship with their mother (NOT ALL BUT MANY) tend to have a quite derogatory view towards women.

This is mainly because they already have a woman who satiates their psychological, emotional and egotistical needs and so may view other women merely for sexual gratification and that's it.

It's common that men with these placements typically have a conservative/traditional view and opinion towards hetereosexual romantic relationships.

South Korea is a country where the societal norms and standards towards women are very misogynistic, restrictive and sexist (don't argue with me on this, there's a reason why the 4b movement exists) and that Cancer Venus influence means he probably developed these views towards women at a young age.

Which is really sad because majority of ppl who stanned Taeil were women or fem-identifying so unfortunately, I wouldn't be surprised if...

Taeil stans viewed him as being this 'soft spoken' idol that was respectful and loving towards his fans when in reality...

It's more likely that he saw his fans as nothing more than to satisfy his ego, give him the fame he thinks he deserves and would warm his bed with a single click of a pen.

Again, this is just intrusive thoughts and a random brain rot about how his natal chart could show insight into his wiring and why he made these horrific decisions.

None of this is confirmed, might not even be accurate but hey, you wanted my opinion and so here it is.

And don't be afraid if you know a person or stan another idol who has similar placements because again, a human's greatest gift is free will.

[andros-paidophonoio]

My other controversial trait is I don't care for but I also don't hate Lore Olympus lmfao. I think it's frustrating to me for various reasons but all of them are completely different from the main reasons I see people hate it and I rarely see MY complaints and critiques come up which is pretty funny. Not that some critiques don't have merit, but a lot especially I remember from several years ago were ur run of the mill "sexualizing fetishizing & the young women r being led astray" from the same people also being nostalgic about their effervescent Twilight phases and problematic cartoon husbandos and it's like, let's be fucking real

I understand the being concerned about it giving the Wrong Impression of the mythological characters etc but it's just visually and stylistically SO different and distinct and basically looks and comes across like Teenybopper Inside Out. I feel like thinking it represents anything realistic to the irl material feels a little idk.....losing chess to a dog-ish. Losing chess to an archie comic. Personally I get more concerned about adapations that have an appearance and sheen of being "accurate" or educational and serious while peddling more misinformation XD So that in mind, most of my evaluation of the story is a bit separate from that aspect, which has already been discussed and analyzed a lot–i generally try to evaluate based on the internal world that a story creates and how it comes across to ME.

More of my thoughts (playing defense AND personal haterisms)

I personally find the main Fantasy of the comic to be extremely vanilla LMAO and Fine...its basically "what if I was a super hot and pretty girl but ALSO sort of underdog-ish but ALSO I had sexy older BF who was kind and listens to me and wants to worship the ground inwalk on and we have cute little fluffy conversations and dates and ALSO I'm super sexy and evil and powerful but ALSO Good and Innocent and Blameless--" it's kind of an incoherent mess, but it's trying to appeal to a variety of fantasies all at once, and I think the desires that are expressed are pretty basic ones lol. I know there's also the rumor (?) of the Hades basically being authors self insert Mads Mikkelsen au crush or whatever which ppl made fun of but like genuinely What is Wrong With That. It's a bit silly but how is that problematic or my business.

I actually liked Perse's character and parts of her arc, I think the strongest parts of the comic was parts like the gentle romance portions where characters got to "be themselves" and just hang out in more slice of life style stuff (before it weirdly delved into therapist talking). There are some really great expressions of emotion and nervousness around sex and desire and shame. And the fantasy of having an understanding person to be a friend and talk to and open up to and speak in a respectful way was pretty sweet, and a lot MORE gentle than tbh a lot of Edgy Romance where theove interest is just Mean and Insulting for a while. So while I find aspects of maybe the characters getting flat, I found that personally kind of more positive in terms of "lessons and takeaways." So it's funny to me when ppl talk about the comic as The Most Evil Fetishizing Ever when so much of it honestly feels sanded down to Niceness lmfao. I also weirdly found that it felt at times very sexually or sensually restrained–like I get it's for more younger audience, but the kind of coy dancing around stuff at times (I wonder from webtoon meddling) felt weirder than maybe being more open about it. In a weird way, the rape scene from earlier on in the story felt more explored in how it had an impact than later parts. I wonder if that's because it was before it became so popular and also started getting more attention and criticisms that then seem to have subsumed into the work in weird ways.

I guess it's overall, in the end, one of those stories that is very much speaking to the modern age and the modern (straight ig) young women; where the OG Story and hymn was about grief of losing child to a marriage out of ur control (and includes the comfort of other mothers or matriarchs), I feel this (clumsily) speaks to a kind of different struggle. Aka the issue of wanting to express and enjoy sexuality freely but being faced with the prospect of interpersonal sexual violence, or people seeking to control said sexuality either out of protection or their own gain, the idea that you become seen as "evil" once u express ur sexual desires or become "tainted" by association with a man in a way that isn't a Socially Sanctioned way. It's clumsy, but it's real, and a lot of stories I see in this subject are grappling with this a lot. Esp for an era where many women do have a lot more freedom to pursue and find partners by choice than in ancient times, but the journey to that kind of happiness can be held up by such adverse experiences and subsequent emotional states/expectations.

I think my problem with a lot of romantic stuff, including this, that wants to balance these twin fantasies–one of being Very Powerful and Dangerous, but also of being Blameless and Good, are often kind of at odds and can result in some pretty Bad Storytelling that often ends up kind of trying to backtrack and do apologism for the Bad Actions in a way that just feels weak And noncommittal (if ur gonna be evil girl BE EVIL), and also kind of gets weird because The Protagonist, and the Couple(tm) must Always Be Good, and this cannot always be the case!!! In fact, it can make characters end up looking worse lol. Solomon's Crown does this too and that I am offended by for the same reasons!!!

Anyways, I haven't finished the whole comic, although I found a lot of the later arcs very intriguing although it took too fucking long to get to it because of the other problems that irritated me which consist of the following in no particular order:

THE VERY UNFUNNY HUMOR. I hated the jokes so much. I feel this is a problem with a lot of serials where they try to stay topical but boy I do not give a shit. That and when characters started speaking more like therapists, it brings the Drama to a screeching halt. And we are supposed to be HERE for drama!!! This is the main reason it always takes me so long to read like there will be an interesting serious scene and then the jokes will be so bad and deflating the impact. Sad!

Minthe. Treatment of her character left a bad taste in my mouth; last I left off I kind of liked more time spent on her, but in general i just felt really weird about the role her character played

Generally disinterested in all the other characters aside from the main couple. Perse is really fun and I feel there's the most "real" experience poured into her mixed with fantasy.

The opening episodes are indeed extremely off-putting to me so I don't blame people for not getting into it bc it starts off with some bro-y behavior that is corny. And it never quite feels "established" in its setting which is an issue to me with a lot of webtoons but for here especially it feels very like I said earlier like Teenybopper Inside Out. These characters are fantastical concepts, but only at times do they feel real as People

Anyways it's one of those things where I can genuinely see the charm in it--i can see exactly why it blew up how it did, but also like most webtoon it invites the most simplified types of comments ever where every single character has to be Good or Bad and if anyone does anything complex everyone throws a riot. So I don't doubt that the environment in which the story was produced affected the way that it is formatted and created. In this sense it's an interesting work to consider culturally and sociplogically. I think it is part of the greater conversation of why such works connect to people for greater or ill at all. Still, the Bad Jokes will keep me from probably having the true knowledge and I definitely will continue going my own way

(I do have a few AU concepts tho I'd like to think about sometimes....infeel like some aspects of the story I think a transmasc perse is interesting to think about, especially the whole weird definitions of the "fertility goddess" and "pure maiden" aspect, and the desire for LO!Apollo to want them to embody kind of an Ideal Wifepartner to gain power and prestige...more disturbing but also interesting implications and stakes to think about. canon LO I see seems to be about moving from maiden to the fertility goddess aspect but what if there were other identity avenues to be explored? Also I was thinking that a lot of the LO haters I get it we don't like cringe heteros that's fair but I know a lot of y'all r reading BL that use the EXACT SAME TROPES but even more corny and it's like.....sometimes humans crave corniness I get it. It would be too many layers of gender for the original to even be considering lmfao but since a lot of the story is about finding the Self and also facing resistance for it, I don't think it would be unthinkable....the fantasy worldbuilding going on is like ??? But sometimes it produces some stuff I think more deeply about)

[clmntne]

man. sometimes being a very involved sonic fan is so agonizing. if ur opinion about characters is different than other ppls ur like. violently attacked and mauled and maimed and killed online. if people interpret characters ages, sexualities, relationships etc differently like. why is that a bad thing ...? i have very specific opinions about things but im not gonna attack someone else for feeling differently. learn to just scroll away rather than shame someone. you will feel better.

even sharing what i'm about to rn feels scary bc of how viscerally people react sometimes. but honestly? i think people care way too much about character ages. it's like oh my god unless it's truly, and i mean truly, harmful, who cares. they are talking cartoon animals and also not real. i'm of the mindset that whether or not u are attached to the previously canon ages that were removed, i think it's better they're gone bc they caused more problems than not. i personally see sonic's age fluctuate from game to game and in all the different iterations of him (like movie sonic is definitely younger) but generally he's like... a young adult to me. these characters feel like they've grown up with me, and it's cool that the ages are vague so people can have creative liberty and connect with the characters in their own way, also like... sonic is a mascot he should've never been given an age to begin with. to me it's just... be normal about characters that are clearly children, examples being tails and cream, yknow? otherwise it’s fiction and it’s meant to be something you can play and experiment with. if you see the main cast as younger, great! but some people see them as older so like. leave them alone if you disagree lol

[daemon-in-my-head]

I didn't mean to bait anyone, body however had a different plan. Anyway, Gortash opinion, and I'm using his actual name so yk I'm serious. Edit in hindsight its very Raphael heavy but those two are intertwined and the thing I'm getting at is Gortash is fucked up but not because of the commonly beloved(?) reasons.

I know theres a bunch of ppl who relish the idea that Raphael abused Gortash in every which way. I understand the appeal of it, but I gotta be honest with ya, I'm not seeing it. Truthfully speaking, personally I see him do hardly anything himself actually. Raphael is, after all, the hedonistic champion of outsourcing and manipulating the narrative. So, given all I can see, the overall narrative beats the chosen share and Raphael's greater modus operandi, I believe the way he went about it was not physical, but more absolute psychological destruction. Aka here's how I believe Gortash and Hope for that matter got conditioned by Mephistopheles Bastard. This is long so I'm putting it under a cut.

As mentioned before Raphael loves outsourcing. He sends the tadfools after the crown and Yurgir, Korilla to check on the tadfools, he send unknown Warlock to buy Gortash, that guy who wipes the floor to keep watch on him, hired his own librarian to keep a record of his own fanfiction and technically speaking you could argue he even outsourced jerking himself off to Haarlep. All in all, he's very hands-off in everything he does. Which leads me to believe he's also refusing to actually lay hands on Gortash, in any meaning of the word, himself. Rather he'd outsource that as well, leaving the torture to others and then sweeping in as it gets too bad (deemed by him, obv) to "save" little Enver, making him associate Raphael with a saviour rather than the mastermind behind his abuse, even if he very obviously is (abused kids, or people in general, don't tend to think logical about their experiences as they're experiencing them).

Obviously he wouldn't stop just at that though, Raphael's far too insidious for that. So I believe he also blatantly withheld his favour when his little mouse didn't act according to his whims. Actively refusing to play the saviour if Gortash wasn't performing perfectly, letting his goons get away with more, that kinda stuff, but also very obviously and continously rubbing salt into Gortash's wounds. Bringing up is parents betrayal again and again, showing him what grand things other souls are imprisoned here for and instilling how little Gortash is actually worth.

And yk how Gortash and Cazador have the same shoes? And how its implied that Gortash stole those shoes from Raphael? Well what if Raphael, who obv leaves the HoH frequently, saw Cazador wear them and decided to get a pair for himself. And what luck that he has the son of a cobbler at home? A young man who loathes his family and their failing business, who showcased creative tendencies. Someone who'd be utterly humiliated by a task like replicating an existing shoe design from someone else, for someone else, when he knows he could do something grander, even if he loathes the craft? Someone who'd be petty enough to steal those shoes as he escapes the hells, because not only is it spite but also shame that drives him?

Besides, Raphael, and the true antagonists of BG3s story have a track record. Bhaal played Durge against Orin, Ketheric played Shar against Selune and Myrkul played Ketheric against Isobel. Cazador and the Spawn he refers to as his children. Gale who alienated himself from his mother due to Mystras punishment, Lae'zel who abandons the Gith due to Vlaakiths betrayal, Shar who uses Sharts parents against her. Mizora and Gortash who try to use Ulder against Wyll. The Gondians. Heck, Raphael himself played Hope against Korilla, and Gortash is hyperfocused on his parents. Even more so than Raphael, who abused him longer and far worse than anyone else did. Family and sibling relationships are constantly being exploited and twisted. Kin is turned against kin, familial love is exploited and the actual primary abuser takes a backseat, as though it's just families falling apart rather than actively being driven to ruin by someone, "accidentally" or purposefully.

So I believe Raphael did the same. Except he had no geniune family of Gortash's down in the hells to play against him, so he simply became that himself, because who'd be a better manipulator than Mephistopheles' child, someone who despreatly wants to be seen as a fiend. Someone who's too lazy to physically get involved, but who's constantly plotting and scheming and using every opportunity that presents itself to torture people so horribly they go mad.

Shattering Gortash's ego, trust and hope all on his own, without ever actually lifting a finger. And besides, it's something Gortash himself constantly does, mimics Raphael, because he spent his entire youth learning every cruel, painful detail on how to do it masterfully.

[fairycosmos]

right it’s funny bc i always see 20 yr olds getting age shamed by the younger generation on tiktok and getting called ancient and will defend themselves by being like “i’m still so young” but then will go and age shame a 30 yr old

i think it's just a bit of projection tbh, 20 is such a weird and confusing age and seeing younger people make fun of you for it can compound that insecurity so they make fun of ppl who are 30+ for their age so they can think "well at least i'm not THAT old." obviously that's just me speaking generally and sometimes people just take the piss out of anyone older them for laughs, sometimes it's truly not any deeper than that, but that slight projection/discomfort is a common theme i notice

[nolanhollogay]

all the romance and intimacy & food questions for my dear nova ? <3

rest of the q's under the cut!!

What is your OC’s orientation, romantic and/or sexual? Has it ever been a source of stress for them? Have they always been pretty sure of their orientation?

shes bisexual! and she's always been very sure about her identity, she has no shame or self hatred of any kind

Is your OC a thoughtful partner, in whatever aspect of that you want to cover?

no<\3 but i fully believe she could learn to be! she's just a bit too self involved to allow herself to properly care for others, but that doesn't mean she doesn't want to or doesn't try

Does your OC believe there’s only one ideal partner (or multiple ideal if not monogamous) for everyone, or that there are many people who could be right?

I'm not sure! i think she's dated multiple ppl with the belief that they could be The One but i also don't think that's something she truly believes in or cares about

Does your OC believe in love in first sight?

nope! she thinks stuff like that is stupid and childish

Does your OC believe in marriage (or their culture’s equivalent)?

sort of! she's okay with the overall concept of marriage, but her parents' marriage ended badly and she's weary about the same thing happening to her

Has your OC ever cheated on anyone or been cheated on?

no!!! she would literally rather die than cheat! and she only dated john b before she gets with kie and he didn't cheat

What do they look for in partners? (Emotionally, mentally, physically..)

she wants someone that she can have fun with and someone who challenges her! she likes to get out of her comfort zone! and also she's into pretty brunettes, she can't ever see herself dating a blonde

food

What’s your OC’s idea of a perfect date?

cooking dinner together and watching movies on the couch! she's a simple girl

What are some things that your OC finds to be an instant turn-off in potential partners?

if you talk about money, if you chew gum loudly, if you're rude to her friends or family even by accident, if you sleep with socks on, if you sneeze without covering your mouth, etc

What are their favorite kinds of flavors– Sweet, salty, sour, spicy, creamy, et cetera?

she loves spicy and sour food!

Are they vegan/vegetarian (if their overall culture/species generally aren’t)? If so, why? Do they think animal products are wrong in all circumstances?

Do they have any eating requirements or preferences? Allergies, vegetarian, organic-only, religious restrictions…

she's allergic to blueberries but that's about it!

nope! that's another thing that she thinks is stupid

How often do they cook? Do they order out a lot?

she cooks quite often! her mom taught her young (to teach her how to be a good housewife 🤢) but now she just actually likes doing it and she takes turns with her dad!

Are they a good cook? Could they eat the same thing they enjoy over and over and not get bored of it quickly?

she's decent! not great but not terrible! and yes! she's a creature of habit who hates change and loves eating the same six meals in rotation

[placentaeater999]

More Ramblings!

I forgot to tell you, my friends, that this May 10th or 11th marked 10 (ten) whole years since I first came out as a trans man!

(Im open to asks/questions/new friends, i believe education is an important part of the path to acceptance)

TL;DR: trans kids become trans adults, trans kids you absolutely fucking belong on this planet and you are loved and cherished, if not by your own family then by me bc im adopting you now as your older brother. My experience as a trans man is below the cut

I came out at the age of 11, back in early 2014, just before trans ppl and bathrooms had really started to catch the eye of the general public.

My dad was quick to support my medical transition, and while my ma took a moment, she got there. My dad ended up only really supporting me if i matched his machismo ideals, but this has gotten a lot better over the years.

I have been extremely INCREDIBLY lucky to be able to come out and successfully begin my transition at such a young age and every day im grateful for that. That being said, I lost a lot of family because of it. I lost close and important friendships because of it. I felt shame for such a long ass time because of it. I was bullied by students, parents, and teachers. I've been assaulted, Ive faced medical discrimination numerous times, I was the first trans patient at this psych ward i went to and got weird treatment. I have struggled a lot with feeling like i belong in this world. And now at the age of 21 I still do sometimes.

But

With all the bad things that've happened.

The family that stayed ive grown closer with. The new friends i FINALLY made in college are so incredibly supportive and I'm lucky that most of them are also trans or queer in some way (most of my friends are long distance but idc theyre my best friends). I wouldnt trade them for the world. I I havent had a typical teen experience but I've gotten to lead important projects for the safety of trans students at my high school, I've been a part of my university's qsa, I've gotten to serve on a panel for GLSEN Los Angeles where I worked with city officials on how to make la safer for trans/nb people. I've had my art about being trans get into galleries and I've won a couple awards for it. I get to attend other queer events near me and sell my art there and meet other queer folks in a town that's not a super safe place to be queer in.

I've gotten to see people grow and change their opinions on trans ppl bc now they know one and understand the concept better. Ive gotten the absolutely honor of people telling me that because I'm so open about myself that they began to feel comfortable exploring more about thelmselves.

I've lived more in these past 10 years than a lot of people will in 20. And as hard as its been I'm so FUCKING proud of how far I've come and I can't wait for the next 10.

It's not always glamorous, it's fucking hard as hell. For a long while I'd trade being a trans man for being a cis woman in a heartbeat, but now I wouldn't trade being trans for the world.

[crapcafe]

hearing people talking about cooking is always such an interesting topic and i'm gonna take a min to ramble about it. i learned how to cook (eggs and pasta mostly) as a kid from my mom because she learned to cook at a young age as well and she would also be gone on work trips pretty often. later on in life i worked in restaurant kitchens as a kitchen manager and a line cook. i've even had the displeasure of working alongside new hire line cooks that don't fucking know how to cook but figure that they can still do the job (they could not)

some things just become intuitive so it's hard for me to remember exactly what i needed to focus on learning and what did just come naturally from the start, but a lot of it relates to just general science/chemistry knowledge. denser items will take longer to cook than less dense things (potatoes take forfuckingever but sliced button mushrooms take like a minute or two), high heat makes things cook way faster so liquids will boil off sooner, dense items will sear/burn quicker, and thin/small things will just burn. some professional cooks don't even know this based on the amount of times i've had to talk coworkers out of turning the fryer temp higher because things were taking a long time to cook (this is a great way to get a nice crispy skin on some shit that's still frozen in the middle)

there's a lot of learning how to read recipes. abbreviations (sometimes tablespoon is T or tb or TBSP or Tbs), how to adjust amounts if you need more or less of something, looking up substitutions for things (if you don't have milk but need to make a cream sauce, using applesauce instead of oil or butter or eggs in some baking recipes, etc). its definitely a skill to know how to read some recipes, and coming in with your own knowledge is great, but it's another instance of "you need to learn the rules to know how to break them." this is how you get the screenshots of ppl substituting kale in their banana cookie recipes and then wondering why they suck

thinking of foods in terms of nutritional value can also be helpful. if you have tortilla chips and salsa youre technically getting some vegetables in you. frozen and dried fruits and veggies are still fruits and veggies. rice and beans is grains and protein. miso soup with tofu and spinach is lots of protein and iron. romaine salad with balsamic vin, olive oil, feta, and tomatoes is some vitamins and fats and calcium but without grains and fiber it wont give you too much energy so have some bread or something with it. moving away from processed food will make you feel better. apple slice and peanut butter is my new depression meal bc it makes me feel more alive than shredded cheese from the bag and you can feel like a roman emperor a bit.

if you're just starting out learning how to cook: try to keep it simple with starch + veggie + protein (veggie pasta is a staple classic, roast some stuff and toss it with pasta and garlic and olive oil), find something with just a handful of ingredients that you actually want to eat. the act of cooking can be fun but not everyone thinks its fun, so at least make sure you'll want to eat the final product. if there's any sauces you really like try to keep some on hand. gochujang+soy sauce+sesame oil+sugar+broth can be really good in a stir fry, and basically all of those things will last a long time.

anyway theres a lot of text about cooking. theres a reason i stayed working in kitchens for almost 5 years despite how shit working in kitchens is. i like food and cooking. its one of the few things humans have been doing for a bajillion years and its necessary to live a healthy life and if you can find some fun and peace in the process then thats even better. theres no shame in not knowing how to cook but there is shame in refusing to try and learn imo

insert senshi page about eating well and exercising regularly to live a healthy life

[limitededitioncloud]

ok first scenario i had many thoughts n responses on tht one but i think actually all im gonna say on it is yes disclaimer i totally understand the saying smth to someone can cause a scene situation very prevalent here. but adults act horribly in public places too. adults get kicked out of bars for bad behaviour. road rage is another big thing. when another adult in your space is acting poorly at least here there's the same risk of causing a scene as another person in tht space asking the adult to stop. and in 'most cases' the responsible thing to do is you first talk to the adult responsible for the child so it's same adult on adult conversation. additionally well in my xp we see this happening a lot in places like banks buses or there lines etc and ditto goes for adults behaving badly in those places and the thing tht happens is someone from the establishment most times a security guard addresses the situation tht's their responsibility they are trained for conflicts n scenes n ensuring as far as possible tht everyone in the surroundings can have a safe and good experience. but in general i personally cannot imagine a scenario where addressing an adult behaving poorly is in anyway not on the same level as addressing a child who is behaving poorly it can both cause a scene n frankly from xp i think adults are the worse scenario bc personally i feel like parents with kids tend to hv a bit more shame abt their own behaviour in public n how u treat with their kid in public but tht's just personal n societal xp. in general i think this is just plain simple ppl human beings yes y inclus kids in public are always going to do things tht bothers another human being we all hv to learn to one act 'right' n two learn to deal with others who are not acting 'right' whether tht be accepting tht you cant control what anyone else does so just ignore n move on or leaving or tlking to someone in the establishment to deal with it or trying to deal with it urself. i dont see kids being a special category in this case. n i also dont see how kids are going to learn how to act in public if they arent allowed there not just as kids but for their development growing up.

as for the second example i'm really gonna chalk tht one up to cultural diff bc i hardly can imagine an example of such a situation or really understand it. here pre-k starts from 2 1/2 ish n is mandatory unless u choose homeschool which is very rarely common so kids are getting xp 'socializing' with adults from a young age w/o their parents arnd. added to tht i wont say like most but a good number of parents depend on like school buses or even other parents to transport their kids to school from as early as pre-k so tht's more 'xp' with adults. i mean i imagine ur giving a 'european pov' but i kno they tlk a lot abt how the housing 'system' is in america where like families dont 'interact' with one another bc of nightmarish highways n lack of spaces whatever etc n extended family members living far etc. obvi here tht's rarely the case and in general kids have 'a lot' of socialization with adults. and also idk i feel like i def dont agree with it but in the this ipads kids age it's even easier to mitigate these situations lol.

but i do agree tht one thing i'm taking from all of this is tht yh lots of adults dont see or treat kids as other human beings which is quite interesting bc not seeing kids as humans can hv so many diff forms n consequences. i wont say here we def see kids as 'humans' bc child abuse is 'prevalent' there are adults who still think kids dont hv rights n it's like an affront to say kids hv rights etc i guess kids are seen as human but just like very unequal n 'subordinate'? but kids arent really treated as these whole other creatures tht hv to be coddled n separated from society

myb it's my caribbean upbringing or myb it's bc im barely an adult so i dont hv credible xp with adult things but the emphasis on adult spaces bc adultsneed places to talk abt adult things what if a child hears is so lost on me. like ive been mostly surrounded by adults who dont particularly drink so they dont go out to bars typically they just go all the regular places when they want to go out. nvr thought like oh ppl go to bars not bc they want a drink but bc they dont want to be arnd kids. but also i guess modern times play a role too bc i suppose in the past more ppl had kids so if u go out the adults are occupying themselves together n even if the kids are in close proximity they are too busy occupying themselves together. but also if we claim to want to improve the generation gap n be better than the previous generations then wldnt the focus be on 'less' adult spaces. with proper open communication between the relevant adult like parent or guardian n the kid then a swear word or a sex joke isnt the end of the world. also in general i feel like if u go out with a group of adults to a place tht welcomes the general public n their are kids their but they are not in ur circle ie they didnt come with u what's the worry? n if u go out as adults n someone has to bring their kids along u say ok n act accordingly ur an adult it's nit the end of the world? also calls to question what abt just hanging out at someone's house which then we think of the economic n housing crisis. idk it's interesting how many things can play a role in like changing nirms n stuff. also in general i feel like i didnt realize there was such a market demand n group of adults who seek kids free spaces. like yh sure my parents hv had times they want some kid free time with their friends which is understandable but they dont go specifically kid free places they just go places without their kids. i also wonder if there's an upper limit to these adult spaces or a like certain demographic. bc like myb ur as unlikely to make a sex joke if an elderly person or religious person is near just as if a kid were near so

[numbknee]

Why do you think Kyman gets so much hate? I can understand some things about what people don’t like about it but some of the things they say, the harassment is so out of pocket. Especially on Tik Tok! It is like a battle ground out there and they all will shoot you down immediately if you SAY anything. I just wanna love Kyman without it seeming like a punishment 😭😭

Dude I totally feel you. It's so much easier to live and let live so I don't understand how these ppl have the energy to be so aggressively hurtful all the time. This has been said before ad nauseum but for god's sake, it's JUST a fucking tv show. I'm too old for this shit.

(longer explanation under the cut! like... extremely long lol I'm so sorry my thoughts about this have been building up for a while 😅)

I think the extremely aggressive kyman hate is a symptom of growing poor media literacy and the larger "purity culture" trend that's been present online for a while now. It's very reminiscent of American Evangelicalism or Puritanism, where members of the church have to follow a very specific set of rules for behaving and thinking and if you deviate from those rules in the slightest, you're shot down immediately by the community and shamed for being sinful and blasphemous, all to keep you on the "righteous path" and avoid burning in hell for eternity. This is why so many puritanical christians in the US hate themselves for doing what most of the world sees as normal behavior, and simultaneously force that self-hating worldview onto others to "save" them. (For example see this video by FD Signifier on youtube explaining how hardcore religious ppl/conservatives are doomed to be bad in bed because they see sex as "evil" when in reality it's a normal part of human behavior 😬 It's long but very good).

Though, it's important to note that ppl who think this way may not even be christian themselves, but the behavior is so pervasive in american culture that you absorb it even if you're not a puritanical christian. (for example, to quote Ian Danskin, athiests may think "I don't believe in god, but the god I don't believe in is Jehovah). Tons of the first generation of white USAmericans were exiled British puritans who were kicked out of their home country for essentially being self-righteous assholes and trying to force their shit worldview on everyone else lmao. And I think because so many online spaces are so USAmerican-centric, people from all over the world have started adopting that purity culture as well.

Now, South Park is extremely popular (duh). It's been around for decades so it has a ton of fans both old and new. Unfortunately a lot of new fans, especially young people, follow the show for very different reasons than the average normie/not-terminally-online viewer does. They take the characters out of their original context, use them like dolls to make their own stories and fan content, and ignore all the other blatantly controversial shit that's been going on in the show since day 1 (which is why so many exclusively make blasé creek fanworks imo). They want to keep their thoughts "pure" and only engage with content that's approved by the puritanical online community

It's extremely fitting but also sad that Cartman is the scapegoat for everything wrong with South Park, both in the show and in the real world. Either ppl don't want to acknowledge he exists, or ppl latch onto him and project all of that puritanical hatred toward him or anyone that likes his character. Hell, even I'M guilty of this kind of thinking before I watched the show and understood Cartman's character better.

Kyman in particular is a target BECAUSE it involves Cartman, but also because people boil it down to shipping a nazi with a jew which, at the surface level, seems horrible! But if you've ever actually WATCHED the goddamn show, you know that is an extremely reductive and inaccurate interpretation of their characters. It's horribly poor media literacy. These ppl CANNOT seem to comprehend that you can enjoy watching a character who's a "bad person" without condoning their actions, and that enjoying the shipping dynamic of such characters DOES NOT make you a bad person by proxy.

A huge role of fiction as media is to explore ideas that may be harmful in the real world in a safe way because... *gasp* it's imaginary!! It makes you think and experience emotions you may not have the opportunity for otherwise! However, in the eyes of puritans, the fact you're even thinking about something like that makes you a sinner. It's a thought crime, which is why they consider us mentally "sick" for shipping kyman. So, they send hate at the drop of a hat and publicly vilify kyman shippers to reinforce that behavior with each other, all to say "Hey look at me!!! I'm a Good Person! see how much of a Good Person I am??? I'm gonna go to HEAVEN, and YOU'RE going to HELL". Like I said before, it's not that they necessarily believe in heaven or hell, but that's the general root of the behavior. It's performative puritan dog-piling. Also, because they haven't even fucking watched the whole show, they conveniently ignore all the other horrible shit the show portrays because random kyman shippers online are easy targets while Matt & Trey are gajillionaires who are essentially un-cancellable for things they do on the show at this point because, to quote Trey: For anyone to go up and go "Did you see this thing on South Park? That was really offensive" someone's gonna be like "Dude shut up 😒 that's just South Park".

Geez man this got super fucking long lmao. But my advice is to please take care of yourself because, and this super cliché to say, but FUCK the haters dude 🖕🖕🖕 You're engaging with media that brings you joy and exploring interesting ideas with a community of awesome artists/writers/meta-analysts and more. This is supposed to be FUN!! Anyone who tries to take that away from you or shame you into stopping is a fucking immature, holier-than-thou asshole who needs to get a fucking life. The block button is your friend, so use it early and often. You have the power to curate your own online space, and you shouldn't subject yourself to dealing with these dickheads (this is a big reason why I don't have a tiktok lol)

Good luck dude, and keep on shipping kyman 😎🤘❤️💚

[vodid]

Question if you’re fine answering!

What’s advice you would give young people wanting to open an art store for the first time? If that makes sense?

this is a very general question and there is SO much to cover so i'll just put a buncha different points:

research research research all your store platform options (etsy, shopify, bigcartel, kofi, etc.) before choosing one and, when you find one that will work for you, look into how established artists structure their stores if you need help on building your own. you'll want products to have a decent picture and a description that lists its size and shipment options. not required but def recommended, i'd see about adding a faq page too that mentions shipping times, if you'll replace damaged artwork, etc.

prioritize having pictures of the physical product over the digital file (if applicable) customers want to see what they're getting!

keep track of all your finances (easiest way is to just use a google spreadsheet) track your revenue, fees, production costs, shipping costs, supplies, everything you spent money on for your store. i can give a tutorial on how to set up a spreadsheet if you need!

DO NOT SKIMP on protective measures for your art. buy chipboard, buy plastic sleeves/baggies, buy rigid envelopes, buy extras of your products! have lots of scotch tape! chipboard i think is the most important one that i hear some artists don't use. PLEASE USE IT HSDFSDFS it's a sturdy but flexible and thin piece of cardboard! this will make sure your artwork won't be as easily bent or creased during shipment. you can find these at crafts stores or online!

research post offices in your area. (if US) look into cost of postage, travel times to the post office, if you have a post office with a 24/7 kiosk available, and decide if you are willing to ship international (no shame in choosing not to!) — for this and the last bullet, i have a lot more about how to ship your art if you need it

optional but strongly recommended: handwrite your thank you notes! nothing makes people feel better than to see a personal touch in their order saying it was packaged with care by the artist themselves. you don't need good handwriting to write a simple ty 💕

be annoying about your store. promote it like fucking crazy (on your own blog, please don't self-promo on other ppl's blogs hsdfsdfs) and make it fun!

i hope that helps :') feel free to ask for clarification or about other things and i'll try my best to provide an answer!

and last thing, i'm not sure what you define as "young", but keep in mind that most platforms and paypal require you to be 18 or older to use their services!

[twopoppies]

hi, i just wanted to say that it actually makes me happy to see "old people/women" (as some anons put it) still here and still keeping up with their passions and hobbies cos it'd be a shame to grow up and give everything up just cos u feel too old for something. i believe that if you're passionate about something and that something makes you happy, then in no way should u give up on that. and seeing so many ppl that still support their fav artists, talk about them, have tumblr accs, read ffs, still pursue their hobbies...tbh that gives me so much happiness cos as an 18yo i can say that growing up (or aging for that matter) feels scary yeah, but knowing that in 20 years from now i'll still be me, i'll still be reading comfort stories, still be talking about harry and louis and one direction, still be listening to their music, still be writing...that is reassuring and not at all would ever make me feel ashamed cos if that's what makes me happy, then why should i be ashamed of that? why should other ppl's opinion make me feel it's wrong?

(also talking from the perspective of a person who when was younger gave up on listening to one direction cos some ppl close to me made me feel ashamed of that, saying i was obsessive or whatever other shit and now i'm sorry for my younger self, cos one direction has always made me happy and i'm sorry that for a couple of years i stopped listening to them just cos of what others told me)

(i'm sorry if this sounds confusing or dumb lol, i just think that some ppl shouldnt shame other just cos they're afraid of themselves if that makes any sense at all)

It absolutely doesn’t sound confusing or dumb. I really appreciate everything you said. Older fans have often been made to feel very unwelcome in this fandom (and older people outside of fandom spaces are often pushed to the side as having no value in general), so it’s nice to see someone young realize the benefit of having people of all ages around.

You’re so right, growing up can be really scary for a lot of reasons. And seeing people do it in a way that actually makes you feel excited about what’s to come, is a great thing. ❤️

[flying-elliska]

I came across another one of those "there is absolutely zero homophobia in this story about queer characters that's amazing !!! " posts (Or at least the op was intent on reading no homophobia at all in the text even when it was hinted at). And those types of post always give me such weird mixed feelings. I have seen a lot of them in the last few years.

I'm not discussing anyone's personal preferences - that is entirely up to them. And I also agree that I want more stories where queerness is not a big deal and people's problems come from other places. And queer characters can have the same amount of fun fluffy romance.

HOWEVER in the way ppl talk about queer stories (thinking predominantly abt book related spaces) these days it's often like any kind of obstacles or adversity makes it "bad representation" and honestly...that kind of worries me.

That's partly a matter of personal taste - a while back I went on a sapphic book reading binge and I found too many of them way too saccharine and boring and cutesy without depth.

But also - there is an element of cultural amnesia here that I can't help but link to the way some parts of online queer communities nowadays end up falling for conservative/queerphobic rhetoric often out of sheer ignorance (terfy bullshit, heteronormativity, assimilationism/wanting to be seen as normal at all costs/shaming queer people seen as too weird/gnc, sex negativity, gatekeeping, etc etc). It is still important for queer people who grow up in more progressive environments to know about the resorts of homophobia and heteronormativity. Because knowledge is power, and progress is never guaranteed.

Like it's amazing that more and more young people grow up without having to be worried about that stuff ! That's something the queer community has been fighting for for so long ! But still nowadays, a majority of queer people live in bigoted environments, and a majority of queer people alive have experienced homophobia and bigotry. And there is a subset of young, often very privileged in other ways, queer person generally living in ultra-liberal bubbles that I wish remembered this and was more mindful when they spoke. Because I have heard stuff that really made me angry - about how "tragic gay stories" were tired and annoying and overdone and less valuable. And like, personal taste, wanting more fluff, that's one thing. But calling stories that are often real people's past or even present worthless because they're kind of a bummer and not entertaining enough - well, that's deeply disrespectful, disturbing and circles all the way back to homophobic.

I was thinking about this the other day bc that mindset has influenced me in ways I don't like. I do often write homophobia into my stories and sometimes I feel kind of bad about it, wondering if it's like, perpetuating cliches or exploitative etc etc. But actually fuck that noise. Homophobia had a huge impact on me growing up. I grew up in a deeply homophobic environment - I was called a d*ke in disgust before I was old enough to know what it was, I first learned about queerness through images of characters that were all sinister, ridiculous, pathetic, or predatory ; bisexuality meanwhile was either invisible or supposedly fake or psychopathic ; I grew up surrounded by people making shitty jokes and casually using slurs, bullying people who didn't adhere well enough to gender roles (and a few times that was me, too), my bff in HS was all like "gay guys are ok but queer women are gross" - I soaked up that shit like a sponge and it's no wonder I didn't figure out my sexuality until my early twenties - I had repressed the hell out of that shit because it was so scary. Even though my experiences were not as direct as other people, it was still the ambient background to those very formative years. And still today - like, we regularly hear on the news about lgbt people being attacked, one of those attacks happened a few blocks from where I live ffs, and I supposedly live in one of the most gay friendly countries on Earth ! So I am well within my rights to explore that shit through fiction.

Do I blame people for wanting a break from that ? Hell no ! I do too sometimes. But I do NOT want to hear bullshit about how queer stories that are less than perfectly happy are somehow bad, regressive or less valuable.

I think personally what I truly want is more nuance. Sometimes I feel like we switched right from having mostly super tragic stories where queer characters were completely crushed by overwhelming oppression to a predominant mood that is very, like..."feel good stories only, homophobia is solved!!!!! If you still feel bad it's all in your head you're stuck in the past/annoying and we don't care about your trauma!!!!!" (hmmm big toxic positivity and online performativity vibes). I think the stories that have brought me the most, personally, are those where queer characters still experience some level of oppression but manage to fight the system/find some measure of joy and happiness regardless/crush their bigoted enemies while being very badass about it, all the while having epic romances and very full lives and also other complex problems.

I mean there is probably media that does this that I haven't found yet (pls send me recs if you have any). But it still feels too rare.

I don't only want fluffy escapism or idealism in fiction. I want to get strength and hope from characters who do manage to overcome less than ideal situations, I want to find recognition, I want to learn about other people's lives, and yes, sometimes, I want the catharsis and validation of tragedy.

And also ? I think you can still manage to address these things in stories and also have fluff and a happy ending. It's too often annoyingly one note, like characters who suffer too much are too broken to recover or hope/fluff is not believable in a world where bad things happen or you can't explore heavier topics in what is supposed to be a happier story like ! This feels like marketing segmenting bullshit to me. Life is beautiful and horrible all at once !!! The one doesn't exclude the other !!!!