#but i also don’t understand a lot of what they’re saying

[oldguardleatherdog]

Today's Wall O'Text: We've got just under two months to get the first things done.

Timothy Snyder is an American historian whose book On Tyranny made him a household name in 2017, followed this year by On Freedom. His take on what we need to do this time around to mount an effective resistance to Trump's insane agenda is urgent and essential:

Start now. We can get a lot done between now and the Inauguration on January 20th.

Here are excerpts from Snyder's interview in the Rolling Stone article linked above where he describes ways ordinary people can take meaningful steps right now to lay the groundwork for stopping Trump's agenda in its tracks:

~~~~~

[From the article, emphasis added:]

“You can’t despair,” he tells Rolling Stone. “Because that’s what they want. They want you to think that it’s hopeless. It’s never hopeless.”

Snyder’s first rule in On Tyranny is “don’t obey in advance.” He emphasizes that Americans opposed to Trump’s designs should take stock, and action, now. “The period of November, December, January, becomes very important,” he says.

For normal people, Snyder insists the key is “to get out in protest” — now and through the inauguration. The understandable impulse of “keeping your head in,” Snyder says will only embolden Trump’s reactionary team.

“You’re giving them even more confidence that they’re gonna be able to do what they want in January.” What’s demanded of activists in this moment is to “deflate that confidence,” Snyder says, and you do that by “showing that you’re not afraid, by cooperating with your neighbors, and by organizing.”

Snyder emphasizes a lesson of the “Wall of Moms” in Portland, Oregon, in late summer 2020, who helped drive up the political cost and terrible optics for Trump’s most heavy-handed crackdown on public dissent. Launching tear gas at Black Lives Matter protesters looked different on TV when the feds were brutalizing a wall of white mothers in gold shirts, locking arms at the front of the crowd. “It’s about corporeal politics,” Snyder says. “Getting your body out where there are other bodies — with people who are maybe not like you or maybe less privileged than you.”

Here, Snyder insists, is where the American public has its most important, and perhaps most challenging role to play. “The Trump-Vance initiatives can only work by getting the population involved — and basically corrupting us,” he says. Snyder argues that even Americans who might share anger with Trump about immigration may yet be recruited to block the border camps promised by Stephen Miller. 

“That’s the kind of active thinking that folks have to do — am I going to become the kind of person who takes part in this sort of thing? Am I going to become the kind of person who denounces my neighbors because they are not documented?”

“If Their Rights Are on the Line, My Rights Are on the Line”

A key to resisting authoritarianism, Snyder says, is standing up for the rights of the least powerful first. “If protest comes down to the people who are protesting only because they have to, then you always lose,” he says. “It has to be people who are one, two, three, four, even five steps away from being directly affected who show solidarity — and who also show pragmatism and wisdom by getting out early. 

“If you’re more privileged, you should be thinking, ‘What can I do for the least privileged people?’” he says. “If their rights are on the line, my rights are on the line. That’s not just a moral position. It’s actually, politically, 100 percent correct.” 

In the meantime, Snyder advises, America’s system of federalism offers hope for democracy at the state and local level. “Many things are going to be terrible. But controlling the federal government doesn’t mean you’re controlling everything,” he says. He exhorts Americans to support the institutions closest to them that uphold democratic norms — “whether that means some civil society organization, or state government, or a local mayor” — and collectively try to strengthen those bodies.

[End article text.]

~~~~~

[funhouse-mirror-barbie]

in an interview a while back, vivzie compared stella to beatrice horseman from bojack horseman. if you haven't seen it, beatrice's childhood AND adult life were awful but at the exact same time it's also very clear that nothing about it justified how she treated her son bojack - much like how bojack's own abusive childhood didn't justify the way he treated people. it just explained it.

we'll have to wait and see if viv can actually pull this off (signs point to 'no' atm tbh) but stella being written with this particular comparison explicitly in mind is giving me a little hope she'll at least try.

Hey, Anon! Thanks for the ask!

I’m really glad you brought this up because I had actually been planning a post comparing Beatrice and Stella because I find it kind of fascinating that the writers say Stella is similar to Beatrice Horseman. Because so far they’re really, really, really not.

In fact, the way Stella and Beatrice are introduced and developed as characters are inverses of each other. (Explanation below)

Beatrice is introduced to us as being unambiguously the one in the wrong—she’s so ridiculously abusive towards Bojack, her own son, that it sometime crosses over into pure black comedy. Bojack is clearly the wronged party here, as he was a literal child. He depended on Beatrice for everything and was met with abuse.

Even when Beatrice’s abuse becomes so over-the-top that it’s almost comedic, the audience still understands she’s in the wrong. We understand even though it’s played for black comedy, Bojack was clearly very negatively affected by the abuse, and that her treatment of him was horrific.

During the flashbacks to Bojack’s childhood in earlier episodes, the audience has no further details or information as to why Beatrice would act this way, (not that there’s any excuse regardless) so it seems like there’s not a lot of depth to Beatrice because of this. Season 1 Beatrice Horseman is a very flat character.

But after season 1, the writers of Bojack Horseman continue to develop Beatrice. In the beginning of season 2, we learn that Beatrice is aware of her abuse and how it affected Bojack and, in her own messed up way, tries to apologize to him. She acknowledges that she is a deeply flawed person, and acknowledges her own part in Bojack’s terrible upbringing.

We learn that she regrets the way she acted, that she thinks of herself as being broken, and she sadly admits that Bojack inherited this broken-ness from her.

NONE of this makes the abuse okay for course, but we’re given more insight into her as a person. As Bojack Horseman progresses, the audience is continually given more and more information about Beatrice that explains her in depth. We learn why she acted the way she did, how she coped (and failed to cope) with the intense trauma from her childhood, and how everything that happened to her affected her behavior and outlook on life, and how that in-turn affected Bojack.

The writers develop her from being a flat character to one with depth, one that feels like a real person.

In contrast, the VERY first thing we learn about Stella, before we know anything about her personality, or how she usually talks, or what her relationships are like, is that Stolas cheated on her. She is literally introduced to us as someone who has just been wronged, and presumably, hurt by her husband’s cheating on her.

I don’t think it’s unfair to assume that audiences immediately understand why Stella acts the way she does around Stolas in season 1. Being cheated on sucks. It’s a breech of trust, and extremely hurtful.

Unlike Beatrice, Stella is introduced to us as the wronged party.

Again, that doesn’t mean her actions are warranted or should be excused, but it’s very easy to understand why she is acting the way she is.

Due to this, while Stella still starts as a relatively flat character to b/c we don’t know much about her (other than how she acts directly after being cheated on) she has a lot of potential. The writers could have gone in lots of different directions in her character development.

So naturally, in the first episode of season 2 of Helluva Boss, we learn that Stella strangled puppies as a young child, was always mean to Stolas all the time even before he cheated on her, loves “tormenting” Stolas, and is physically abusive. We learn that since she was a young child she’s always been terrible and evil.

Any potential for some further depth to be added to Stella at the beginning of season 2 is fucking steamrolled by this writing decision.

Since S2E1, The Circus, Stella has been written consistently as being mean, rude, vindictive, and stupid. The audience has been given no further information on her, other than that she has brother who is smarter and than her, and that we should hate her for standing in the way of Stolas and Blitzø’s relationship.

Due to all of this, I have absolutely no idea how HB’s writers could possibly develop Stella to be even 1/8th as nuanced or “real” as Beatrice.

At this point, I think it’s too little too late for Stella’s backstory. Why would I care about her upbringing now? What important bit of information could the writers possibly give us about her past that would make her behavior understandable, or develop her character further??

I’m not saying it’s IMPOSSIBLE. But I can’t think of anything they could do to build upon Stella’s character after they already cemented her so firmly as a one-dimensional villain.

So. To summarize (TLDR)

Beatrice Horseman started out flat, and was developed over time until she felt like a fully realized person.

Stella started out flat, but with the potential to be developed into a more nuanced character.

Instead of being developed more gradually, like Beatrice, starting in season 2, Stella was written to be as evil as possible in all her appearances.

Due to this, the writers have made it incredibly difficult to go back and give Stella a backstory that will matter or explain her behavior in any meaningful way.

[blairdii]

i’m a psych student, so i did some analysis of behaviour. i’ve got an exam tomorrow, but clearly, this is more important to me.

a study on andrea’s stella’s negative and positive reinforcement approaches, and is it working?

now, we’re aware that andrea stella never praises lando in the media, and constantly praises oscar. even when lando performs beautifully, andrea has nothing good to say. when oscar performs terribly, andrea puts the blame on the car, and not the driver. lando performing terribly, andrea blames the driver.

andrea does a lot of negative reinforcing towards lando. like, if he continued to not praise lando, he will eventually be the best and reach his highest potential. while that could be a motivator, i do believe that andrea also needs to understand the driver and person that lando is. we’re aware of how lando is an over thinker and struggles with mental health. we’re aware that he constantly criticises his own skills and just believes that he’s not good enough. negative reinforcements work to a certain level. i have a negative reinforcement technique where i hate it when my enemy in college does better than me in exams. that’s how i motivate myself to study and get good scores. but, im also an overthinker and struggle with mental health and think that im not good enough, that when i do well, i need someone tell me that i did a good job, or get a reward in some form or the other. if lando does have a negative reinforcement as a motivator technique, and andrea is the one who gives that negative reinforcement, it’s also necessary that andrea gives a reward to his driver when he performs well. right now, for lando, the positivity or the positive reward comes from his friends and family. but, it will still stick in his brain that his team principal doesn’t think he’s good enough.

at the same time, andrea does a lot of positive reinforcement with oscar. maybe it’s what motivates oscar. being told that he can do it, and that he’s a good driver, and that something wasn’t his fault is his motivator. which is maybe what andrea is doing with the constant praises. yet, it doesn’t change the same thing as before, that if oscar does perform bad, a punishment, or a negative reaction must be given to maintain that balance. constantly giving positive reinforcements will not lead to an improved driver or an improved result. it leads to the driver not understanding what they’re doing wrong and how they can fix it. oscar is an amazing driver, don’t get me wrong, i’m merely pointing out the difference in reinforcement approaches. oscar needs to receive praise where it is due and receive criticism where it is due. if it’s only praise, it will never benefit him. as long as andrea continues with the positive reinforcements, oscar will continue to think that he’s doing everything perfectly.

now, i don’t know what happens behind closed doors, obviously. it’s very possible that andrea praises lando and criticises oscar during their team meetings and stuff. but, from a fan point of view, based on what we’ve seen and we’ve heard with the interviews and stuff, this is what i’ve noticed.

i personally believe that andrea needs to find a balance for both drivers. if he’s going to be team principal for mclaren for a while, i do believe that he needs to find a balance of praise and criticism between both drivers to really push them to achieve their full potential. and if andrea doesnt do it, we will have one driver on his high horse, never unlocking his maximum potential, and the other driver putting in all the works and falling deeper into a spiral of never being enough.

anyways, you don’t care, i just wanted to tell someone, and i decided to trouble you!

- wyr anon

OMG NO I DO CARE!!! this tickled and triggered the past psych student in me (i did it for a levels like.. 2 years ago. i barely remember jack thought so ntm on me 🙏)

me personally, i see all of andrea's treatment as both positive punishment and negative reinforcement. negative reinforcement in which andrea takes away 'praise', with the (futile) attempt to get lando to perform better, but also the fact that he's solely doing positive punishment to discourage the behaviour of lando performing well, which, in turn, leads him into performing...inadequately (more on this later).

(little visualisation; credits to b.f skinner🙏)

i am very sure that andrea knows what he's doing to lando. there's no way that he thinks this entire negative reinforcement system would work (????) on him, even given that there is nothing for lando to change.

now, we all know that is not lando's case. matter of fact, he should be in all of andrea's good books by now. and i think there are reasons to why andrea is doing this, but i will focus on one; warning, take this with a grain of salt, because obviously, i don't know what's going on inside his head, and i can only infer from what i perceive from what he shows us.

andrea is doing this with the intention to depreciate lando, this is where positive punishment comes in. i know it sounds a bit of a stretch, but when i'm weighing my options and really observing stella's behaviour, there is no other way i can perceive this. lando performs extremely well, for someone who has just gotten a good car after 5 years driving a tractor, occasionally putting it on pole, and even winning from it twice, and the other time he didn't, he drove superbly from p5 (if i recall correctly) to win the race. what could guarantee the need of positive punishment, public bashing, if not to bring him down.

again, could be argued that lando would benefit from it, perform even better (in a sick way, i know, but that's mainly the incentive behind positive punishment) but with someone already giving it their all, and on top of all that, is very open about his anxiety and overthinking, it's too far-fetched to think that it would be helpful in any way.

could this be a twisted method of manipulation? maybe yes, maybe no. but no one uses positive punishment without the intention for the behaviour to change; normally, this would mean, lando would stop performing 'bad' and start improving; yet, there is no 'bad performance', is there? so, in this process, andrea has (knowingly, unknowingly, who knows) used reverse psychology and inflicted the opposite of what positive punishment usually does.

(i think i should mention that positive punishment doesn't always work, not even taking into account whether the person has good mental wellbeing or not. in some cases, it can trigger the person to do worse just because they have, probably, received positive punishment their entire lives and so, with no substantial support, they end up doing the antithesis of what p.p is intended to do. kind of like a big fuck you. but anyways.)

andrea is aware that lando constantly does better than oscar; and his [not-so discreet] favouritism is inciting him to act this way, perhaps with the purpose of inculcating more doubt into lando, so that it appears that oscar is better. no better way to do this, than have the tp themselves tell the public that they think a driver isn't driving well.

we mustn't forget that everything in f1 is calculated. i am very aware my point is a stretch, but andrea can't be doing this for any other reason.

unto oscar's positive reinforcement treatment:

you've said all i have wanted to. this method only encourages behaviour, instead of discouraging like positive punishment does. it gives oscar a big wad of entitlement, especially since he is not being told where he goes wrong, and this praise is done so publicly, so it's even more long-lasting.

positive reinforcement will keep oscar at where he is, giving him that privilege of thinking lando owes him wins and places (which, i think, is so cruel; if oscar really thought that him helping lando with one point earned him that win, then he didn't do what he did in the brazil sprint out of the goodness of his heart.), whilst lando's negative reinforcement turned positive punishment will end depleting his performance. he'll not stop thinking that he needs to do better for the team, keep repaying favours, keep sacrificing himself, and with his own tp not praising him for all of these, he may end up seeing that even his good deeds aren't cared for.

[monotonesmile]

So kind of serious-ish I guess so totally find if you don’t wanna answer this!

Can I request Rise boys x Reader who is also an older sibling 

Reader is an older sibling so also has all those big sibling worries - feeling like they need to be a constant good example for their younger siblings and so they have to be good at everything, being a bit like a parent in how they worry a lot on if they’re a good sibling or not. Just general stuff like that 

Rise Boys X GN!Reader

——————————————————

Leo:

Leo probably would immediately know that you’re an older sibling, as much as people joke about him being a dummy, Leo genuinely is observant and smart, he could tell you were similar to Raph in some places, he’s seen how you act towards those younger than you, almost like a parent.

Leo doesn’t really mind you being an older sibling, he just wishes you’d take care of yourself for once.

Leo will actively hold you down in bed just to get you to sleep, and I don’t care what anyone says, THIS BOY CAN SING! He will sing lullabies until you fall asleep, he won’t leave your side until you wake up either, he is taking any chance to cuddle you.

If Leo had injured himself on patrol or something, he’d be surprised when you started to patch him up, not expecting you to actually know how to clean and bandage injuries and he’s curious about how you know, which is when he realized that you’ve likely done this to your sibling(s) before, of course you’d know how to treat wounds if your trying to protect and help your family.

Leo will try to get you to relax by watching Lou Jitsu or Jupiter Jim movies, because it helps him relax so why wouldn’t it work with you? He’d also watch you do your own hobbies with the most adorable expression on his face, he loves seeing you in your own space and doing the things you love.

Donnie:

Donnie absolutely knew you were an older sibling, he’d tell you to your face. What? Didn’t think he wouldn’t research you and your family? Come on, this is Donnie we are talking about. He would research everything about you before you even started dating, he does it to everyone he comes in contact with.

Honestly, none of them would really mind you being an older sibling, Donnie would absolutely try to make a schedule for your days, trying to help with the weight of your responsibilities to your sibling(s).

Donnie would be very strict about the sleep schedule he’d give you, he knows people can’t function properly without proper sleep (despite his insistence on not sleeping either), some nights, he would let you hang out with him in his lab if neither of you could get to sleep. You’d probably fall asleep before him, so he’d take you to bed but wouldn’t return to his lab, he’d lay down with you and get some rest too.

Donnie honestly wouldn’t be all too surprised by you trying to get him to take a break from his projects, his brothers have tried to do the same with varying levels of success. Though what would surprise him would be you not giving up like his brothers would, he’d probably be so surprised that you could drag him out of his lab so he can rest in his bed.

Donnie trying to get you to relax definitely is an…experience…because he doesn’t really relax himself, so he doesn’t really help you relax either, but he does try to make sure you’re following the schedule he made, which would include a point where you should be relaxing, though it’s up to you on what you want to do to relax. Donnie would be happy to listen to you ramble about your hobbies and interests as long as you’ll listen to his own rambling.

Raph:

Raph, you’d have to tell him that you’re an older sibling, and he’d be the most understanding of your situation, having been in a similar one for most of his life. He’d also be the most likely to try and help with your responsibilities, to the best of his abilities at least.

Like I said, none of them would mind, Raph definitely would try to get you to rest while he helps deal with your sibling(s), who either love him or not, but he’ll try regardless because he knows the struggle.

Raph would try to find a healthy solution to getting you to sleep properly, he’d be willing to watch movies or shows until you fall asleep, holding you until you wake, acting as a bed for you. He’d probably try to talk to you about your sleeping habits as well, trying to find something that works best for you.

Raph would be the most surprised by someone else trying to take care of him, he’s so used to taking care of others that the idea of someone taking care of him is honestly baffling. He’d probably appreciate it though, he secretly enjoys being pampered by you but he still wants to act like the tough turtle he is, you’ll wear him down eventually and then you’ll have a big churring snapper on your lap.

Raph would be slightly overbearing with trying to take care of you, he’d probably try to get you to relax with cuddles or going on walks together, but he wants you to be comfortable, so he would do the most to help you, whether it works or not, he is trying. As for your hobbies, he would watch and listen to you, maybe he’d even partake in them if he’s curious, it makes you happy and he wants to make sure you’re happy!

——————————————————

[Requests are open!]

[halastar05]

Thoughts on Mastermind

(So yeah spoilers ahead)

So after letting my thoughts on the episode settle a bit and giving myself time to analyze, I have a LOT to say.

So first of all… yeah I think this is officially my new favorite Helluva episode.

I think this episode was pretty well paced (a little fast, but there was a LOT to cover) and also did a surprisingly good job at balancing the drama and humor. Also obviously ADORED the IMP found family showcased in this episode, they were entertaining in the first scene, and heart wrenching at the court.

Now for a bit more analysis, the way they handled the writing was REALLY interesting here. While first watching the episode, I was a little confused about Andrealphus’s plan, but after thinking about it… it’s scarily clever.

He knows that Stolas is smart in his own right, if he straight up brought him to court, he’d find a good way to argue. He knows how to work this type of stuff as shown in Oops. But if they brought in only Blitzø, they knew Stolas wouldn’t see until the broadcasted execution. He would have no time to form a concrete rational plan, Andre wants him to either act irrationally, or make himself look like a fool and incompetent. No one knows exactly what he’ll do, but Andre is giving Stolas as little time as possible to think it out. The hope is that he acts as irrationally as he has before.

And even if Stolas didn’t come, Andre purposely tries to make Stolas seem weak and somewhat helpless, incompetent. All the while he makes himself look an almost better version of our favorite bird. His backup plan is to make Stolas look incompetent and vulnerable, while it may be less immediate, with Stolas’s already somewhat declining reputation, this would make it easier for him to take Stolas’s title.

And despite being EXTREMELY irrational, Stolas did a pretty good job with his plan in my opinion. First of all, he brought ALL the theater kid energy in the song (which was an absolute banger by the way, I don’t care how cheesy the Stolitz part was I LOVE CHEESY) and did a great job playing the part. To me, this is proof that he had finally started to realize the classism. This is the type of part you can only play by understanding it even if you don’t necessarily believe it. He plays up the the classism and distaste for imps, he uses the fact that the other royals see them as useless and incompetent. And honestly, I think it was smart of him to be so vague in the song. Once again, he didn’t have a lot of time to think this through, and he somewhat used this to his advantage. Being vague added an air of mystery and made it seem like more of an unpredictable threat. He’s building up the fact that this mastermind has a dangerous plan, something possibly having to do with taking over the mortal realm. And then when he reveals himself to be the “mastermind”? Well of course he wouldn’t expose any of his “future plans”, Stolas is playing as someone who just wants the recognition and to be feared. Someone arrogant, feeling offended that an imp was getting the credit for his crimes. Claiming he has more planed while not naming those plans makes him a threat and will draw away almost any blame from Blitzø.

And of course this plan is impulsive, but he barely has any time to plan. He arrives right before the axe is about to come down on his lover’s neck. His only goal right now is making sure Blitzø stays alive. In the song he even acknowledges how impulsive it is to throw everything away for this idiot he is still frankly mad at. But he’s learned he can choose his fate, and that’s exactly what he’s doing.

And of course I ADORED the Stolitz in this episode, they were both so perfectly dramatic and the absolute SOFTNESS in the last scene had me making absolute demonic and feral noises. But, despite this somewhat being a closure to the season 2 Stolitz drama (however we do still have Sinsmas) I’m happy they’re still leaving room for more angst even with them now being able to properly blossom. This episode did an EXCELLENT job at showcasing the classism via the unfairness of the court case, so it feels fitting that at the end the power dynamic almost switches. Blitzø is now a celebrity amongst imps and lower class demons, while Stolas essentially lost everything, including his daughter. And while I definitely think this is setting up for angst in at least the next episode (in which I very much think they’re going to go and try to save Octavia from her bitchy mother), this power dynamic is going to feel different, because while there is still somewhat a power dynamic now, there is also a much larger level of understanding between the two of them. They now feel more capable of facing this together, there is less doubt of feelings. I’m REALLY excited to see how they handle this, and yes I also am an absolute sucker for hurt/comfort.

Those are most of my major thoughts in this episode. I loved every single part of this beautifully dramatic episode (yeah I expectantly loved Vassago) but most of the other things I would bring up have already been said. Plus this post is too long so yeah that’s it for now.

[oc-ology]

How to get past the fear of OC posting

People should create for the sake of creating but people post to engage with the community. However, posting can be intimidating and anxiety-inducing for a lot of people. It’s easy to say “do it scared” but much harder to put into practice. So, I’ve put together a few steps that lead up to doing it scared. These won’t work for everyone and this is meant more as general advice.

Step One: Why are you scared?

The first step is to figure out what about posting is scary for you. Oftentimes, it’s not as simple as “what if my post flops” or “what if people think I’m cringe”. Once you’ve figured out the surface-level reason, dig a little deeper. If your post flops, does that lead to you doubting the worth of what you’re creating? If you’re worried about what people think, is that because you’ve experienced judgement before or are worried your inbox will be flooded with criticism?

Identifying why you’re scared will not only help you understand yourself better (yippee!) but you can also then work on the source of your fears and anxieties at your own pace.

Step Two: Find ways to lessen your fears

One way of working through anxiety online is to find ways to mitigate the specific source of your fear.

Some fears have easier solutions than others. If you’re worried about people criticising your work, you can turn off anonymous asks (as most people are less likely to be haters when there’s a name attached to it) or turn asks off entirely, as well as limiting replies to those who have been following for a week. This way, if someone does want to be an unpleasant individual, it’s a little harder for them to do so.

A lack of engagement is a little harder to remedy. Here, the only real solution is to try and divorce the idea that engagement = worth. Remember why you’re creating an OC. Because it’s fun! It’s an act of creation! Because you want to find a community…? A community or OC friends will never just drop into your lap. You need to seek them out yourself. Look into discord servers, forums, tumblr networks (are they still a thing?), fandom events and exchanges, and most importantly: go out of your way to send asks/questions to others and build friendships with them! If you’ve got social anxiety like me, this is going to be a big challenge. Which leads to the next step…

Step Three: Start small

It doesn’t matter how small your first step is - so long as that step is forwards! If you’re nervous about OC posting, find the smallest thing about them and post it with the expectation of getting no notes. That’s right, I want you to go in and expect it to flop. Anything over one note is an automatic win. This first post isn’t about engagement - it’s about getting over the initial fear of posting. 

It can be tempting to just go right out the gate with elaborate explanations of backstory, lore implications, power levels, everything. But the trick really is to start small. Most people scrolling tumblr aren’t going to read a few thousand words on something they’re not invested in yet. TL;DR is a curse that I’m sure we’ve all fallen victim to. 

Instead, break up information about your OC into small pieces that can be posted one by one and have some kind of visual piece with it. People are usually more drawn to images than text. For example, which of these two things are more visually interesting?

What Perseus keeps in his bag:

Amulet

Tinderbox

A broken blade

50ft of hempen rope

25gp of silver powder

Waterskin

Rations (cheese, bread, sausage)

OR

Obviously this comes down to personal preference but a lot of people would find the illustrated version to be more interesting. You don’t need to be an artist to do this either! You could make a version of that example in photoshop or a similar program. Picrews, moodboards, edits, game screenshots and photography can all be used to add a visual element to your posts.

Step Four: Why am I still scared?

Fear is not easily stamped out. Anxiety is definitely the kind of thing that lingers. These steps aren’t meant to immediately make OC posting not-scary. That’s something that will only come with time as you get used to it. Again: Do it. Do it scared. Gradually, it’ll be less terrifying and in the meantime, you might be able to make a few friends who also want to talk about your blorbo.

[lifea16]

Mastermind live thoughts [Spoilers below cut]

The animation is amazing like oh my god! 💕

Ah, gonna be the Stolas trial I see

Andre stop flirting with your sister

✨Unpaid interns✨

Fuck.. double trial I see

RUN

Be fucking faster

Why do they sound like the cherubs

What is this….?

“Face the music” is honestly a bit too funny

Trailer scene time!

FUCK

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck

Blitz you don’t deserve to be deadnamed :/

???

Andre what did I just say, stop flirting with her, at some point comphet is cursed

Oh thank Satan (?) that Blitz actually defended himself against the possibility he forced himself onto Stolas

Candle head in Wrath?

Vassago bilingual? And he here!

Don’t you wanna take Stolas down first??

Yep.. they are claiming Blitz S/A’d Stolas in the trial. Fuck. At least hopefully the Blitz antis will realise they’re wrong in the episode

Bestie (/s) I think you got Blitz and your sister’s names confused. Put Stella on trial coward

Grimour, Stricker

You tell them Blitz!

Poor Mox :(

Go off Bea!! /pos

Yep you too Ozz! Tell ‘em

Mammon aren’t you Ace?? Don’t you want not to be fucked??

Satan looks a lot more like a Candlehead than I would’ve thought

How is this not the finale?? AAAA

Well shit….

Yay! Classism!

Poor Fizz, seeing your best friend (?) almost get executed live on TV! TF

Blitz sacrifices himself (tries to) <//3

(My hc) “Bitches (Blitz) say “I wanna die” like a broken record, but when you almost get executed on live tv, you shit yourself

Stolas save your future boyfriend now!!!

Go off Blitz! Tell ‘em off on their classism

As much as I understand not liking racial coding, .. Blitz and imps in general especially in this episode are very POC coded, with a lot of he’ll just being racist

</3

No Blitz don’t accept your fate 😭😭😭😭😭😭

Stolas ex machena please please please please

😭😭😭😭😭😭

Why Blitz must you care so fucking much about your family and if I could cry I’m pretty sure I would be by now

The screencap I paused on is so pretty.. To bad it’s Blitz getting executed (And almost made me wanna cry) or I’d make it my banner

Aaaaa

Fuck yes Stolas!!

Blitz is saved !! ✨⭐️💕

Boyfriends protecting eachother 💕

Yay! Songs! <3

XD “half a brain”

“Some kind of Mastermind-“ roll credits

Stolas I know you’re dealing with rascists but please don’t act like that with Blitz rn ur doing a regression and I hope it’s an act

Nevermind lol kinda

Yep. This is a clear racial allegory. No hiding it now

Fancy ahh reveal Stolas

Also we just shifted the “I’ll sacrifice for my loved ones” horse to Stolas instead of Blitz

Stolas ur an idiot too

Fuck yes! Romantic ish Stolitz duet part!

No Blitz you fucking deserve to live <333

And I’m back too “if only tears could fall” again.. Please Blitz take his sacrifice and save him after that till the system breaks and you two will be free

Either death or.. whatever happened last two episodes

Shit

Where is Lucifer? Just because Luci’s in his depression era doesn’t mean you are the ruler of hell Satan

Oh nevermind

The sins have existed before Luci fell. Interesting

Blitz is so defensive over Stolas and his life ahh 💕😭

Step 1: *Panic* , Step 2: “Wow this is a sturdy door”

Blitz is being silly but not swearing so he must be concealing his emotions again

<33 Group hug <33

Are we starting some weird chain now (Octavia was now alerted and running for Stolas)

Or not..

Poor Via </3

Loophole! Also more racism allegory!

Banishing him is actually a decent idea (for once)

Ohhh Andrealphus just wants power. Honestly I should have figured sooner lol

If this is Mastermind then what the actual fuck will Sinmas be (unless it’s another Queen Bee situation)

100 years.. So have a relationship with Blitz and once that’s done go back to royalty! Sounds great!

..wait are we getting imp Stolas

Nevermind lol. Just hatless

He will enjoy very much

Ooh!~ Our theories were right! (Stolas must also learn classism the hard way for a bit)

So the white pupils are permanent now

<3

OMG Blitz hero! Yay!!! <3

<3333

Blitz is at an all time high and Stolas is at an all time low.. interesting

<33333

So.. are they immediately dating now?

THIS WAS ALL SO AMAZING!! Favourite episode now!

[halowishes]

november favs!

what i read this month

hi friends! i don’t have as many recs (i’ve been super busy) but hopefully these satiate the skts readers!

also: the links just aren’t working??? i’ll add all the links in the comments— sorry!

heirs by crinklefries

e. 237k. office/ soulmates au.

the DRAMA of this fic. skts are competing to be the next ceo of the sakusa company. why? all because kiyo doesn’t have a soulmate. emotionally driven, empowering, funny, tons of rich boy antics, background ushiten. this fic embodies the freedom in agency, dreams, and loving as a choice. expect to see many of my comments throughout the chapters bc i HAD to scream at them.

afflictions for below average asian-americans by nanjing

t. 7.5k. suburban american summer skts.

here i go again waxing poetic of the asian american experience! but really, this fic healed a lot of my regrets from 17. from feeling inadequate in every sense, to feeling like the world is against you, to feeling boring and dull. being 17 is really fucking hard. and this fic understands and embraces that.

the tide will turn by morethanlines

e. 80.8k. titanic au.

ok. wow. i’ve never watched the titanic but i think i have to now. this fic was full of detail and theatrics and lore and ROMANCE. kuroken were such a tasteful addition to the story, sakuatsu’s story was so emotional, and the events were sooo detailed. the fic was definitely a labor of love. i did cry multiple times reading this so read at your own risk!

call me baby by neverwere

m. 11.7k. mid-time skip.

(ao3 exclusive)

atsumu is a phone sex operator and kiyo calls out of sheer boredom😭 despite the steamy premise, there’s no actual explicit content! it’s just very sweet and entertaining to read! also had lots of motoya & kiyo moments which i love.

into something more by cabbybaby

e. 9.8k. established fwb.

ohhhh my god. atsumu catches kiyo reading erotica and decides to act it out🫣 this was sooo fun, surprisingly emotional, and beautifully written. i was on the edge of my seat reading this fic.

pas de deux by hatsuna

t. 19k. ballet omi x volleyball atsumu.

i am so grateful there’s fellow ballet kiyoomi brain rotters out there. this fic had so much to say about love and dance and art and change. finding your person is full of surprises and wonder— and this captures that. also has mysophobia omi representation❤️

bedside manner by DeathBelle

t. 7.2k. doctor omi.

hilarious. silly. flawless characterization. doctor sakusa and his appendicitis patient atsumu. shameless flirting, medical anxiety, and typical miya twin behavior. what more could you want?

double lift by winterwaltz6

e. 12.8k. atsumu injury recovery.

when atsumu is stuck at home recovering from his injury, kiyo takes his turn to help out. a very sweet story of sakusa acts-of-service kiyoomi and miya physical-touch-and-quality-time atsumu getting together! there is so much romance in doing someone’s hair and i’m glad i found the fic for that.

again i’m really sorry for the short list T-T

take a look at my september and october list on my page if you haven’t already <3 links aren’t working but they’re tagged #[halo reads]!

[optimnihilist]

i started nirvana in fire this weekend and its so good i cant. 3 episodes in i went on ao3 to check if my shipping predictions were correct and i was shocked not to see commander meng x mei changsu higher up lol. i thought the ‘recognizing someone after a single meeting even though they’re using a fake identity and have a whole different face from the last time you saw them which was a decade ago’ would have gone somewhere but apparently not! although tbh this was before jing-wang and the ‘i choose you’ scene so. anyway i can’t wait to see where this goes from episode 7! nihuang-junzu is so cool! xia dong-jiejie is so cool! fei liu is adorable! the crown prince is so pathetic and not in a good way! i can’t wait to know everyone’s names and titles and familial connections because at this point the only person whose name im sure i know is mei changsu’s! i still don’t know which of his two (not?) friends is who! what the fuck!

[ewwww-what]

an archdevil and a presidential candidate sneak into a gay bar

flatcolor + closeups below :)

[sea-jello]

hong kong miku,,,

[ropebunnykant]

i fear the ending of agatha all along is once again making people confuse “i didn’t like the ending/the ending made me sad” with “that was bad writing”

[mabaris]

no youre completely right - im a gay (trans)man and i legit wanna see so much more about the women bc There Is So Little. I wanna make a lesbian oc who gets bent in half by taash. im very normal.

i’m just tired man!!!! it feels so obvious how disproportionate it is when you’ve got. a cast of characters that we know almost equally little about. and a few of them explode in popularity and it’s like spongebob sticking his hand out the curtain. literally all a character needs to do numbers is to be a light-skinned man

[starlooove]

No one is asking you to like cops IRL, not even the show. If you look at Arcane and what you see is copaganda, if you look at Cait and only see PoLiCe OfFiCeR and not the character, the problem is YOU.

1. I never said anyone asked me to like cops irl

2. I know that’s what I said.

[monsterfuckermilligan]

i still cannot comprehend how u guys will write or draw or rb something of jack where he is present as a full grown adult and then call him a precious child….

[zefforuins]

God I wish we knew more about what specifically was going thru Jason’s head after his fight with Bruce, because essentially his entire worldview has been collapsed. He’s spent the past however many years believing that Bruce is ultimately responsible for the pain that he feels, that the entire Batman thing does nothing but harm others, and that the only way he will “get better” is by killing Bruce.

Finding out that he was apart of Jokers plan all along, and that no, Bruce actually DOES care about him and regret what happened, and actively WANTS to make it right by working together with him has to be insanely difficult for him. By the time he shows back up in game to paint the red hood symbols and get ready to save Bruce, he’s figured out that Scarecrow is going to finish the plan and kill Bruce and that he actually…doesn’t want that. And from there on now Jason has to spend time trying to figure out who he is again.

Not only did Joker put ideas in Jason’s head, but Jason also has spend the past few years with one goal in mind, kill Bruce. As far as I know he hasn’t spent any extra time on a side gig or playing some video game that he likes lol. So he needs to find himself again and figure out how to trust his thoughts and ideas and try to free himself from the joker.