#don't say this shit to hoh people

[aesthetically-dying101]

Hey! I wanted to respond to the TW advice rant you posted yesterday!! I think she was just trying to relate to you and maybe make you feel like you weren’t so alone. People do it with me all the time, my body eats at my joints, which causes a lot of pain (obviously). People tell me that they understand and how their joints hurt and how much it sucks and blah blah blah. It’s honestly so annoying because I’m like your joints just hurt - my body is literally eating the joint and it’s turning into bone on bone, stfu we’re not the same.

I don’t think she meant any harm by it but it’s absolutely annoying. Just smile and nod is all I got. I’ve always enjoyed asking those people what it’s like to still have joints and they just stare at me wide eyed 🤷🏻‍♀️ oops. I hope this helps!

Best of luck!

xx

Exactly!!

But even if it does come to from a good place and empathy and all that shit, it's still so frustrating. (also the smile and nod is so, so true).

Like i see what they mean... but urgh. It's not the same.. like this is permanent for me, not for you.

Also i haven't spoken to this girl again, even though we've seen each other multiple times, and i've refused to speak to her and she asked another of our friend tf was wrong with me. Basically she then apologised for her words (but not a real apology, one of those "I'm sorry you feel that way" apologies, emphasis on the "you").

Anyways she sucks, and i'm not counting on speaking to her again.

AND THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO ANSWERED MY PREVIOUS POST!! Your advice was very helpful.

[strawberry-pretzels]

things that i did instead of studying for my quiz tomorrow

[autopsyinreverse]

I asked Cap if I still had to go to a biweekly event if I was too HOH to hear any conversations, and he said yes. I asked if I could pretty much exclusively use ASL, and he and the program director jumped on that, immediately tokenized me. Without a breath of hesitation said how good it would look for the organization that all sorts are accepted in the organization.

Spoke to some crewmates at the beginning of the event in a mix of ASL and spoken English. There's a rule that crewmates aren't allowed to speak with each other for the first hour of the event, so we were split up. After that, there was a 10ft radius around me at all times and the only one to try to communicate with me was a lovely server who said she couldn't remember the sign for 'your welcome', so I taught it to her.

[bbokicidal]

A Simple Analysis. | OT8 [SKZ]

Warnings: I'm gonna be straight discussing these men and their pp sizes so if you don't want to read about that then just skip this post, no biggie.

Notes: I'm just theorizing what I think they're like 'n I included some good 'ol references. Please note - these references include pictures/videos of the boys AS WELL AS pictures that are NOT the boys but are references to what I picture in my head when I write smut for them. I also need to thank @skzms because I Lowkey could not find bulge pics/vids on my own and their post really helped me out w that.

Extra Warning: There are twitter links in this post, so you know what that means!! Watch at your own discretion losers, I don't want ppl in my inbox whining that I use refs that 'don't look like them' like obv jfc let me hop on bub quick to ask Chris for a dick pic smh.

Extra extra warning: I like slowly lost the ability to think the more I wrote this because all I was doing was looking at SKZ cock so I mean. forgive me.

Chris

HEA. VY.

Heavy Heavy Heavy !!!! I said what I said !!! And if you want to know why, you can simply look at this video!! If I'm being totally honest here, I don't think he's massive down below but I do think he's a little above average at least. Maybe -- mm... six and a half inches? Pretty sure it's pretty, pink, and always leaking pre because he gets hard so easily.

Also, pretty sure it's relatively thick. I mean, we've seen it a few times before in his pants/shorts, so... definitely enough to make you whimper when he's splitting you open. <3

I'm not even gonna like. explain why I think this bc I'm pretty sure we all know but it's veiny as fuck and you cannot argue w that.

And his favorite thing is when you mention during sex how full you feel just bc of how heavy he is. :]

In conclusion: Pretty pink fat cock that is more than enough to make you feel incredible each time you fuck. <3333

Minho

This man is... packing. p a c k i n g.

Packing like I'm pretty sure it's not like thick thick but it's thick enough and it's probably more on the purple side than the pink side, and it's so fucking long--

Not as heavy as Chan but definitely bigger. Bigger, longer, one pretty blue vein running up the side. Literally so perfect and just the right size for your hands to fit around. Also not too long to the point where it hurts to take it but definitely... big. Seven, at least. At. Least.

And his favorite thing is when you whine about how he's fucking you so good that you might die. Dunno why that comment specifically gets to him, but he makes sure to fuck you a little deeper after that.

In conclusion: pretty cock for a pretty man and so fucking yummy.

Changbin

Okay look people might disagree but I think Binnie's a lil on the smaller side !!

Now look. I'm not saying 'bah this bitch has a small cock' I'm just saying it's not a cervix-kisser like a few of the men on this list. It's just right!! It's the perfect size to be perfectly comfortable when fucking and he knows that 'n he's happy with it. (I'm thinking five, bc five is a comfy size.)

However.

He will ABSOLUTELY split you wide fucking open with how thick he is. This man has the chubbiest, pink, mouth-watering, pussy-dripping, eyes-rolling-back, tears running down your thighs, cock ever !!! He's gotta prep you for so fucking long and there is always soooo much foreplay to you two having sex because he's just so thick that if you don't prep lots it's gonna hurt a lil and Bin really really just wants to take care of you. :(((

And his favorite thing is seeing the way you struggle to take him in your mouth because of how thick he is. :]]]]]

In conclusion: best cock on this list. <3

Hyunjin

Hoh. My God.

Hyunjin,,,, ... Hyunjin's packing a fucking rod of a cock, I can't even lie to you. I'm like 90% sure it's at least eight inches and if it isn't then I'm dead. Y'all thought Minho was big? LAWD have mercy, Hyunjin's got a fucking PIPE on him. A third leg, if you will. Shit slaps his thigh when he walks if he don't wear briefs.

SO. PRETTY. I keep saying all their cocks are pretty BC THEY ARE I JUST KNOW IT but Hyunjin's cock is actually fucking gorgeous like it's the type where even if you're someone who's like "I don't like dick pics" and he sends you one?? you're like "omg y'know what I've had an epiphany"

Not like heavy or thick like the others but soooo long, soooo pretty, soooo mouth watering. The type of cock that has you actually drooling and getting fucked dumb every time he puts it in you.

And his favorite thing is when you do just that ^ and go all quiet n whimpery during sex because your brain is mushy.

In conclusion: Monster cock and no one can convince me otherwise !!

Jisung

Mm, okay. I think it's -- average?? But see I dunno why but I'm picturing a little on the thinner side. (AND NO THAT ISN'T MY SUB JI SUPREMACY MINDSET SPEAKING) but just bc it's a little thinner doesn't mean it's not heavy !!!

And even though it only might be like - five and a half, it's still so cute and so pretty and so fucking tasty!!!

Also like a firm believer that he jerks it at least twice a day, sorry not sorry.

And his favorite thing is when you blow him because you just take it so well and he loves seeing it all disappear down your throat <33 mm mm mmmm !!

In conclusion: Mmmm,,, cutest cock on the list <3

Felix

Y'all keep saying Felix has a little cock just bc you enjoy Twink Felix and look - I too enjoy Twink Felix but I also believe in frat boy Felix supremacy SO -

Big dick Felix in the building !!!

Pretty sure he's above average. Like, 6 or 6 and a half, maybe?? SO pretty, cut, pink, so so cute, so fucking yummy looking.

Easily like, the slickest cock on the list. And if you know what I mean, you know what I mean. if you don't that too bad ig.

The type of cock you wanna like. put in your mouth forever and just never stop giving him head fr.

And his favorite thing is when you jerk him because sometimes he just doesn't have the energy or care but he wants it. Plus your hands look so much better on it than his do. :ccc <333

In conclusion: Pretty, big, hefty cock that fills you up soooo good. Also constantly leaking cum n making a mess but you didn't hear that from me !!!!

Seungmin

Y'all,,, I'm not just saying this because I'm a Seungmin bias but,,,

This man has a fucking. rod. Not like Hyunjin-length rod but rod that's like at least seven inches and I refuse to believe otherwise because have you seen the,,,,

Fucking!!Monster!!Of!!A!!Cock!!!!

Thick! So thick! So heavy! Rivals Chris w how heavy he is !!

And his favorite thing is when you choke on it because raaahhh!!! (im not okay)

In conclusion: 2Min Monster Cock Squad

Jeongin

Holy God y'all.

Think I mentioned it once in a post where I was like, "P sure Jeongin has a big dick because as soon as he hit 21 he had this massive boom in confidence n I'm p sure it's bc his dick grew like 6 inches"

Sooooo,,, pretty sure he's also in the monster cock squad.

Like, at least seven inches, again. So big, so tasty. The type of cock that makes you pray to God it won't rip you apart because I just know he fucks hard, bro.

And his favorite thing is when you actually scream during sex because of how good he makes you feel. <3

In conclusion: Jeongin big dick supremacy, we all know he's packing a fucking log of summer sausage in his boxers.

Taglist : @dwaekkicidal @jabmastersurpriseee @possum-playground @thatonedarkskinnedsiren @oc3anfloor @theyadorevalerie

[olderthannetfic]

I really hate how easily it is to notice that, despite all the talks about tolerance and acceptance, the moment you start talking disability and the actual diversity of issues within, people get fucking uncomfortable

Especially abled-bodied, and/or neurotypical people who seem to have a might need to reframe disabilities. Not disabled, but DIFFERENTLY abled. Not disabled, but SPECIALLY abled. Or whatever, or reframing disabilities, especially chronic ones, as a superpower or some shit.

Even disabled people do that shit, it's still fucking annoying, but that's an issue between you and your life. Just don't try and push it as a "better term."

But what adds another layer is, that despite trying to pretend that people accept disabilities, they'll still become almost furious when something or a certain "life experience" is presented to be disabling. Not even "as a disability, period." but just disabling in your life.

It also almost always feels like disabilities are an afterthought in any discussions about society and issues faced. So many things don't get addressed or glossed over, UNLESS they also bother enough abled people. -Sever anxiety or other NDs that make it hard to talk to people? Nah, we won't give you the option for no-face-to-face ordering... oh the ablebodied people getting sick? Wait a minute, now it's much more accessible. : ) -Damn these stairs are hard to use because you use a wheelchair/bad legs/other shit? Ok, but can we wait until the people we actually care for need help? You can just crawl right? -You're a deaf/HOH person? And you wanna set up an appointment anywhere? Yeah... so... we only take calls. Yes we understand that we're a clinic specialising in HOH/Deafness, but you can't expect us to do HOH/Deafness-accessible appointment set-ups, like sms or email.

And then, when you dare talk about it. OTHER issues are more important. The WHATTABOUTISM in disabled issues is fucking staggering and painful. -Who cares that disabled people can't save money in fear of losing their life, what about POC people? What about queer people? -Who cares that disabled people are the first to be sacrificed when it comes down to it, covid anyone? Remember how disabled people were the first to be put on the "take them off the support" list? - Dating, relationships, marriage as a disabled person has red tape out the wazooo. But how dare you mention it, queer people also have problems.

It's not even like we get to say "Yeah both are important, let's work together." It's more like people are trying to push disabled issues out of the way, and occasionally add it on as an accessory in favor of the more "aesthetic" issues.

--

[lady-menrva]

On a more serious note, Nico being treated as this gay icon is some of the wildest shit in the fandom, which is saying a lot. IMHO it feels like a tight slap in the face of all those authors who've put in so much time and beautiful effort to ensure that their queer characters are well-written and free of tokenism, homophobic undertones, amatonormativity and ableism; all the ills that festoon Nico as 'representation'.

Right, so starting of with Homophobia, here's a great analysis someone did (The original post is here)

Tokenism: Some of the older fans have pointed out how Nico's 'big reveal' came in HoH, which was released in late 2013, and how this aligns with the spike in LGBTQ+ allies (around mid-2013). They theorize that it was done for popularity, and given how hard Rick is trying to milk Nico rn, the theory may have weight. Besides, his crush on Percy...no hints given (please don't come at me typing stuff along the lines of it was planned since PJO...like "oh ThE cRuSh HaD hIntS". Honestly, no? In PJO, originally, Nico did things for Percy out of platonic love, which can be, and is just as deep and beautiful as romantic love. Period. What's ironic is that in PJO, Platonic relationships routinely eclipse romance in terms of writing, dynamics etc.) Plus there's also they way he acted around Juniper and Annabeth, but that's so controversial these days that it can't be discussed without people calling you a homophobe...

Amatonormativity: To be fair, plenty of characters would have been better of without a relationship, but Nico is definitely up there in there 'doesn't require a SO' list, especially when you consider his emotional baggage, internalized homophobia, trauma etc.

Ableism: Oh Nico, you have mental health issues? Not a problem! Have a healer to heal you yikes *wow*. Also, I'm taken aback by the way his mental state is treated by the narrative.

Then again, Solangelo is another issue I don't want to talk about (I've ranted about it at length), and it just helps ruin Nico as representation even more.

[batfambrainrotbeloved]

I'd like a tip! How do I survive highschool? I'm being very tired and I don't wanna and you already did please

~✨

Darling let me say that considering ME a vestiage of sound advice is fucking wild- even worse is I actually have sound advice, though ill stick with general shit

SOCIAL LIFE

If you're worried about socializing? Everyone is. Its highschool. Best advice I can give is the corny "Get involved" stick but im not kidding. BE the fun person, check your schools calander, dress up for spirit day. Give away your Wednesday nights to help build theater sets and every other Tuesday tag along for your friends chess club meeting.

You wont wander in places and suddenly meet your best friends- but you wont be as isolated as Highschool sometimes makes people feel. As overwhelming as it sounds, it is easier to show up then to let yourself slip into the background, and harder to force yourself back to the foreground after.

GRADES N SHIT

Academics? Do not let yourself fail. C's get degrees, but for how fucked our system is, a shit GPA actually does fuck with your future oppertunities in a lot of ways. Also if you're talented in something, check about local school competitions, they're fun and low commitment for the most part (Also my hoh dumbass getting district 3rd place in LISTENING SKILLS??? I will never let it down)

But seriously- I know you have that feeling looking at 30 projects and wanting to just go to bed and finish it last minute. Some classes that works, I did 90% of my history homework in scribbled handwriting in my Psych class. But other classes you CANNOT get away with that, and you will find those out very quickly.

Don't EVER even humor the idea of dropping out (just don't- its NOT worth it) because the more you consider, the more days/classes you skip not out of nessesity, the more you let your grades fall "As long as im passing" you set yourself up for stress and failure alone

And unlike every 80's movies, being smart WILL get you respect (as long as you arent condesending, very clear difference.) from the right people at least. Its also a matter of self pride, you WANT to be proud of your academics, especially if you work hard for them.

You don't need to fight tooth and nail for A's, but getting an 80 on a project you were SURE you failed is a special kind of joy/pride.

CONFLICT

Lastly, if you ever deal with the more unfortunate side of being surrounded by a bunch of hormonal teens which is bullying. It fucking sucks, but its unfortunently common.

I never had to deal with much so I couldnt give advice on personal experience beyond a few things. But I was president of my schools GSA so I had a lot of kids come to me with shit and you bet your ass I handled that. So heres my advice

"sTiCks AnD sToNeS~" That bullshit will get you bullied HARD Pretending like you're the bigger person, ignoring it, etc etc- it works for SOME people, but not always. Tried and true methods? Guilt and Shame. Let me tell you a story of one of the few bullying/ mean fuck adjacent experiences I had and how I handled it As I said, I was part of my schools GSA, and for Day of Silence we had a lunch table information booth. Well some kids decided to be dicks and printed out a super straight flag (in color, had to respect the dedication) and were marching together past our table.

So what do I do? I locked eyes with a few of the boys (kids I knew by name, who id seen in elementary during their braces phase, who id helped carry books with in middle school, whose mamas knew me because of how involved I was my whole life), gave my best genuine smile and went "Oh hey do you guys have any question's? We also have some candy thats free for the taking"!

Every. Single. One. looked at me wide eyed, and apologized saying "Oh no thank you" and a few even accepted the candy. That flag they printed out?? It vanished, crumbled up in someones pocket, the moment I smiled at them.

"Kill em with kindness" Works better than you'd think when its more of a "Oh Im being genuine" then a "Oh im being the bigger person". The moment you match their energy, you fuel it. So instead you have to be that sound mind, shove a mirror in their face and go "You're being a dick."

Of course that only works with people who have any level of self respect, and also men because mean girls are a whole different breed. For girls, just act embaressed on their behalf- don't say anything, but if you ever get a "Woah I didnt know you spoke your always so quiet" You hit them back with a "Haha wait really? Thats so weird to say." or if you wanna still try for peace "Yeah I havent' talked to you before, though this is our first class together- oh and I love your necklace, silver is perfect for you- wheres it from"?

TO SUMMARIZE (and more)

Keep track of school events, and participate

DO SPIRIT WEEK- PLEASE, Its not cringe it actually is cool as hell (and a lot of people involved in school planning get so excited if they know you participate- easy way to be known in a pos light)

Find out your teachers fav candy, Buy them a little treat, make them a doodle. For the love of god let them know you outside your work (Ive had wild exceptions because teachers knew my character enough to GIVE me that grace otherwise not given)

Have a space finished essay tucked away if you are ever like "I just.. cannot" (same for PPT formats)

DONT USE CHATGTP I dont care the situation, at MOST I will say okay on help with ideas/phrasing- but do not copy and paste shit

Go to school theater productions, they are unironically cool as hell

Respect social etiquete, yes there is wanting to be "your own person outside the system" thats great, but not when a bunch of hormonal teens are stuck in a poorly ventilated building for several hours going over US history

Bring gum/mints and offer to share sometimes (if they are chill)

Always have some hairties, spare tampons/pads(even if you arent a girl), bandaids, deoderant. Basically anything someone could go "Oh fuck I forgot-" be the one prepared. Also Earplugs/ a quiet subtle stim toy do wonders

Bullying becomes a problem?? Document EVERYTHING. And dont let people act like its not a big deal.

Pull your weight in group projects, and be VERY truthful on group reviews (If you get stuck with a shit project? Ask the teacher about alternate assignments)

Have a fun little backpack (my senior year was a childrens white with neon rainbow dinosuars and I fucking loved that thing)

ALWAYS HAVE A SPARE CHARGER/EARBUDS

Best advice I can give? Be the person people recognize in a positive light. Reputation is ALOT. Not in the sense of "Oh Tiffany B is a whore so no one should talk to her" But in a it just makes stuff so much easier

Say hello and goodmorning, ask the teacher about their weekend (but plz god not during a group discussion), congratulate your classmate on winning regionals competition, ask a friend if they want gum, offer someone the homework awnsers or a quizlet you made last week, learn the lunch ladies/cleaning staff by name and greet them. All the little simple things add up.

Ive had some shit days in highschool- everyone does. But walking through the halls- having a dozen people call your name, wave, give even a head nod in your direction- it makes you feel seen which to most people, that means the world.

[annt-i]

okok really showing how mentally ill I am, but my mom watches Big Brother (Reality competition show for those who don't know) and of course my brain immediately started formatting on what kind of contestants Alex Rider characters would be. so yeah,,, enjoy.

DISCLAIMER, I personally have never watched the show, so all I know is from what my mom mentions and what I walk past when I go through the living room. Also I am operating under the idea that these characters are participating in the show out of their own free will and not for a mission or w/e

Alex: Would likely be an audience fav and would go far in athletic competitions. His personality would appeal him to the other players as he seems trustworthy. I think he'd prob make it mid-late comp but would fall victim to house politics. Would always shout out his friends in the voting room. Fans would say shit like "Alex should have won"

Yassen: If he wasn't putting on a front, he probably wouldn't be very popular with the audience. The house guests would be iffy on him, but if he wanted to, he would be able to manipulate them into liking him/not voting him out. I could see him performing equally in the competitions,,, idk. the thing about Yassen is if he would even *want* to be there. I don't see him winning bc he'd let himself get voted out or something, bc we all know if he wanted to win, he prob would. Anyway, he'd likely get Head of Household at some point and people would be *pissed*.

Tom: He'd also be liked by the audience, and while I can see him getting far bc of likeability and athleticism, he wouldn't win. He'd be funny to witness doing the competition loss punishments and would likely have a short relationship with another house guest. He'd be on the chopping block like every other week and then be saved w the power of veto or smth. He'd be like that one guy a couple of seasons ago who made friendship braclets for his alliance members lmao.

John: He'd win.

Ian: Looks really promising, but gets kicked out too early for anyone to really tell (I'm sorry lmao). Good at the more logical side of the games, likely always between different alliances and getting through by the skin of his teeth.

Jack: Could not fathom how she would do. I don't think she'd win, prob mid game. I can see her always gossiping about other people, and there are lots of scenes where it's her whispering so you have to read the subtitles they put on the screen. She'd be in a secret inner circle but then some drama would happen and it would be disbanded.

Sabina: I see her making it to the last five or even winning. People would like to see her, and she'd probably make HOH a few times. She would be head of an alliance with a secret alliance in the middle of it.

These were the only ones I really thought about and I'm not very good at analyzing characters so like, do with this what you will.

[an-exasperated-hades-kid]

Ranking pjo ships cause why not :

1.Percebeth: 9.5/10

They're so cute, and I loved watching their relationship develop through out the percy jackson series like they have the I don't like you to ig we're friends now to besties who have obvious crushes on each other to lovers like this is the only slow burn that didn't make me wanna pull out hair. I love that these two would do anything for each other and are mostly supportive of each other and the seaweed brain and wise girl nicknames that went from insults to terms of endearment and I also love that they're not afraid to call each other our on their bs like I've seen stuff where percy doesn't say shit to annabeth and like have we Been reading the same books cause in MoA and HoH percy stands up for what he believes and even before that he doesn't bend to annabeths will and wishes like in botl and literally all the time in tlt like bro stands up for himself and expresses his opinions and so does annabeth and I love that ?? It's a balanced relationship in which there are years of getting to know each other and then getting together like they are bffs before lovers

But it has some issues, tho like they're wayyyy too codependent on each other which isn't that healthy but this is my opinion and I could be wrong

2. Solangelo: 8.75/10

I love them ok they're so cute like they're all about balance , acceptance, and understanding which is something nico needs in his life he doesn't need someone who'll worship him or sugarcoat stuff for him he needs someone who will be real with him about stuff like will has always been real towards nico and he has always taken care of nico wether you like it or not. Nico has always had issues that people are creeped out by him and afraid of him and will is someone who has never been afraid of nico and has treated him normally like he jokes with him and isn't walking on eggshells around him and makes him realize that not everyone hates that he can find a home in chb and nico says this tsats and even before that you can tell how nico feels and is extremely supportive of him and reminds nico that he's safe and is extremely understanding of nico . In tsats, we see that they complete each, like nico is the warrior and will is the healer, and both roles are important like nico protects will from physical harm and will patches up nicos wounds and protects him from mental and emotional harm. It also shows that no one is perfect, like Will isn't always able to understand nico so he asks for advice and this shows that trying is the best you can do for someone you love , trying to understand them and support them . They also have alot of potential in general as we've only seen them in their honeymoon stage and their developing stage we haven't gotten the established stage and sure tsats isn't perfect in the adventurous sense but the point of this book was to show healing , moving on and making peace with stuff and it did that pretty well .

The only bad points about it is that one scene in boo which shows that will had good intentions but bad execution in expressing his pov and I want them to talk about it cause what he said wasn't nice and it was quite rude ik he didn't intend it but still it was not OK . Next, I want nico to set up boundaries for himself because Will isn't a mind reader and can not know what to not do unless he's told . I want rick to tell us more about Will as a person like we know more now, but still I want rick to flesh out as a character even further

3. Jasiper: 6.5/10

They weren't well developed, and it was kinda forced by hera even tho I know that at one point they truly loved each other but it wasn't well executed and they were bad as showing it I honestly wish that they had more time to understand themselves and then into a relationship like it would have been much better that way yk

4. Frazel : 8/10

They're cute together, they make each other happy they're comfortable around each other and they trust each other hence they're a good ship

I don't see why the age gap thing is a problem because it's just 3 years and where I'm from, that's a pretty normal age gap between lovers like my grandparents have a 10 year age gap but they're happy and love each other but ill add it since some people see it as problematic. They're underdeveloped and kinda rushed, and whole I get that they knew each other before SoN but still

5. Caleo : 4/10

It came outta nowhere dude like they were together for 2 chapters and then kiss kiss fall in love like wth 🤦‍♀️ but they have potential to be good ship ig I'm being generous with 4 because of that also the age gap thing isn't a problem because mentally and physically calypso is like 15-16 but if you see it chronologically calypso is older than apollo who is 4 thousand five hundred years old and that's 🚔🚨👈😄

6. Valgrace : 7/10

So so much potential they would have been soo cute and the most un problematic 🤧

7. Percico : 3/10

No, just no percy literally strangled nico when he was 12 even though he knew that nico didn't mean to betray him and honestly just wanted to know about his mom which percy should have understood because his mom means the world to him and it was clear that nico didn't expect hades to double cross him and percy had a right to be mad but strangling nico is too far . Bro also implied that nico doesn't belong in chb at the end of botl, and bro was silent during the negotiation of whether to save nico or to let him suffocate inside a jar which un excusable he also kept giving nico responsibilities like dealing with hades's wrath which could result in death during tlo and then the whole doors of death thing when nico was extremely weak. so yeah, no, they'd be toxic asf oh and I forgot mention percy never apologized for anything and never thanked him ( from what I remember, it's been a min since I read tlo ) also nico had a case of hero worship crush on him which would make a power imbalance in that relationship soooo

8. Jasico : 5/10

I see them as bros and so does rick and it's written in a way that people would see them as friends like it's clear that nico doesn't like jason like that and in tsats it's said that he missed the feeling of Jason's protective arms around him because he trusts jason and if he was to say something about Reynas hug it would be the same thing or even hazels hugs because that's how he sees them In a platonic/ familial way ( not saying that jason is his brother here ) and he also said something like a part of him died when jason died and that's because he cared about jason like he was his 1st actual friend and he felt him die so this is understandable he's allowed to grieve his friend and miss him . Also, jason is kinda unfortunately dead 😕 😔 so it's outta the question. And if he ended up with jason the whole I can belong thing wouldn't happen because it was will who made him realize that he can have a place in chb jason tired to tell him that but nico didn't really believe him . But hey, I understand the jasico shippers and respect the ship. I don't ship it, and I never will, but I can see why people like it because jason does care about nico and nico cares about jason .

Wait, I think it's canon that nico heard the sevens debate on whether he should be saved or not in his dreams, and if it is canon, then nico saw jason vote for him to die in a jar sooo

9. Jercy : 6/10

I don't ship it ship it but it's a fun thing to think about. It's my crack ship, but I could not see it happen in Canon at all

10. Pipebeth : 6/10

Annabeth was definitely pipers queer awakening, but same as jercy, it's my crack ship

11. Reyna with anyone is not my thing because rick said she's aro/ace, but if you ship theyna or jayna, you're cool because her sexuality isn't confirmed in the books, so you can interpret it in anyway you want

12 . Nico x any girl is ew because he's gay it's confrimed in the books and multiple times by rick himself and if you ship him with any female gtfo

13. Valdangelo : 2/10

I don't know how leo views nico now, but when we do get his pov, he always has something bad or rude to say about him and as much as I love leo it makes me wanna hit him

I'm sorry for the typos and mistakes. I still don't have my glasses, and if I'm wrong about something, please correct me

[macaroni-and-antifreeze]

alright gang im about to rant

tl;dr: not reading the instagram comments on big brothers instagram is self-care

so many people in the comments keep saying angela or tucker should be removed for bullying and that they should bring specifically matt or cedric back, and that they don't like t'kor and kimo anymore because of the 9/12 thing.

First off, because this one pisses me off the most, there has only been 3 documented reasons for expulsion for the game (im sure there are more that we just havent seen), those being

Physical altercation (Justin in BB2, Willie in BB14)

Discriminatory language [mostly racism] (Luke in BB25)

Interference with Production (Chima in BB11, arguably Scott from BB4 but I haven't really dived into that season)

Calling someone a brat is, shocker, NOT ANY OF THESE THREE THINGS!!!

Being a Boston asshole is, while deeply annoying, NOT GROUNDS FOR EXPULSION!!!!

And okay, I understand the love for Cedric, he's a sweet guy, but he was learning as he went!!!! He didn't know shit from a fart!

And Matt??? The weird kinda-creepy cardboard of a man? I think the soccer moms wanna fuck him. That's why they're so obsessed with bringing him back.

I think modern casuals would have a fucking stroke if they watched a season like BB10. Hell, I think they might keel over and die!

Okay, on to the second point.

Why do people suddenly not like players who evict their faves and play the game according to their best interests? Like I get having a grudge for a while, I've definitely been mad at a player for a week, but to completely flip on them????

This is Derrick Levasseur's fault.

No, not really.

Well, actually...

Yknow what, yes, it is Derrick Levasseur's fault. Partially The Brigade's fault as well but they were much more entertaining so I'll give them a pass.

So many people are used to the "OoOoOh you must go with the house OoOoOh SpOoOoOkY!!! No interesting dynamics wAaAaAh!!! Do what the HoH wants or we're gonna fucking kill you!!" mindset cemented by BB16 onwards that seeing someone play their own game and not lay down and die hurts their feelings somehow??? Like this is not Do What The HoH Wants Brother. There's a reason the HoH needs fuckin contingency plans! I will save my full "Derrick Levasseur Made Big Brother Worse & I Don't Respect Him As A Person" rant for when it's not midnight, but just know that it is always there in the back of my mind.

And finally, casuals love the furniture. Problem is, sometimes you have some furniture that's taking up space and you need to get rid off it but you haven't found the time because there's more important shit to get rid of so it sits there and makes you feel worse about your house. Get rid of the damn furniture.

[lockandkeycake]

HoTD moots I'm sorry again. This isn't my last pjo rant.

I'm continuing the deep dive into the Did Leo Bully Frank allegations, moving into House of Hades, where things get a bit more murky.

I'm not going to fully recap MoA read my other insane nerdy rant, but basically. Last we left them, Frank had disliked Leo, been antagonistic towards Leo, Leo was nervous around him and teased him a few times, they finally talk and become friends. But, everything is kicking off on a sour note. No one is happy.

Right at the beginning of HoH, we don't actually get much interactions between Leo and Frank until these scenes.

I'd like to note here that Leo's birthday is July 7th. so that's fun. He's not feeling too great about all the ghost talk. I didn't include it, but there's a scene of Hazel talking about Leo being angrier and more serious early on as well. Leo is thinking about loss and death quite a lot in this novel.

Then we get to Frank's pov and Boy Is It Different.

First, I'll also point out Frank remembers the whole his clothes getting sent out and destroyed on Buford but very clearly doesn't characterize it as Leo 'throwing his clothes overboard'. Even in the state Frank is in, he knows Leo didn't purposely destroy his clothes.

But Frank still has issues.

You can note that Frank actually starts off this thought process by essentially complementing Leo, but then Mars and Ares pop in - suddenly, Frank is now saying how Leo constantly teased him.

This is one of those things I think people are going to interpret differently depending on your bias. I have a Leo bias, and having shown that Leo was NOT constantly teasing him in MoA, at least from what is written, I think this is mostly influence from Mars/Ares. Leo does tease, he teases Jason in this book I think more than he does Frank, so I wouldn't ever say Leo doesn't tease people, he absolutely can be a little shit; but the difference is that it's rarely maliciously done on Leo's part. When Leo noticed Frank was embarrassed at the end of the last book, he stopped himself from making comments. We've also seen that Leo is also not great at realizing if his comments are being taken negatively, even if he doesn't mean them in that manner.

However, like I said, Hazel noted Leo's been stressed, not sleeping, and angrier than usual at the beginning of HoH. Leo blames himself for what happened to Annabeth and Percy. Leo is starting to think he'll probably die, and he's horribly lonely. Maybe he has been razzing Frank more offpage, and we just don't see it written. But because we do not see Leo explicitly dig at Frank's weight or looks or intelligence, I am personally still more of the opinion that it's the product of Mars/Ares.

We then get this scene

Frank says Leo had stopped making jokes at his expense here, but again, not trying to beat a dead horse at this point, we've not really seen Leo do that at all this book. Frank now has more confidence and feels more worthwhile in his place on the Argo after his Venice battle- I think Frank is now less insecure and those voices are piping in less. Again, I could be wrong, but this seems very similar to last book. Frank spent the majority of the book being very antagonist, then wonders why on earth Leo would be nervous around him. There's things clouding Frank's judgement that clear up, and suddenly, he's getting on with Leo much better. Shocker.

(that being said Frank does suggest leaving Leo in Croatia just for making a pun not even at his expense, so make of that what you will lmao)

Reaching the Calypso chapters, there's a lot I could get into. I'll eventually do a break down on just them and why I don't love caleo, but I'll save that for another day. Still - Frank is someone Leo actually makes a point of trying to help once he finds out Calypso has fireproof fabric.

Frank is his friend in Leo's mind, someone he wants to save too. Leo is big on trying to save people. I wonder why, definitely didn't come from childhood trauma or watching his mom burn to death or anything. Moving on.

Finally, Leo returns from Ogygia, Frank is said to have patted him so hard on the back it made Leo wince. Clearly he hates him.

But in all seriousness I think the slow progression of Leo and Frank's relationship is one of the better done character developments in HoO. It's slow, it's subtle it culminates in Frank hugging him next book, and Frank using Leo and Jason as inspiration for using up his wood piece.

The big scene to finish off this book are these pages. If Frank hated Leo, if he felt like Leo was only ever mocking him, trying to hurt his feelings, this would not have happened.

Frank trusts Leo.

Leo trusts Frank.

They're not afraid of each other anymore, they're not scared. They mutually trust one another and know they'll have each other's backs.

That is why Leo trusts only Frank and Hazel with his plan in the next book.

[bellobambino]

bad user interface kills people

i have worked with insurance and the government and lawyers and estates and hospitals for my whole life and I have some stories about how fucking terrible these institutions are.

Here's one of them.

I used to have Medicaid under Aetna while I was considered in the same 'household' with my ex boyfriend at the time. I was the head of household just for administrative purposes.

Anyway. Things didn't work out with him. I moved across state lines, and I had to remove myself from all other accounts that were accessing my medicaid benefits.

I called up Aetna and explained the situation. I told them please remove me from the account, and transfer the head of household to my ex, who was still living in the state and reliant on the benefits.

He said there was no way for them to remove me from the account (he reeeeally tried) and the best bet to keep my ex's healthcare coverage was to simply change my mailing address on the account to match the address I had on file with Medicaid. He said once that's updated, I just need to notify Medicaid that the change was made and it should be all good to go!

He must have pulled that idea out of his ass, because I don't hear anything about it for a week or two, and I'm assuming it's fixed and I can move on with my life.

And then my ex calls me. He was beyond furious. Because he went to his audiologist appointment just for them to say ... yea your insurance isn't effective anymore. And he assumed i hated him so much that I went through the trouble to forcibly terminate his Medicaid coverage. (we did not end on good terms and that would be kinda par for the course for me but i digress)

anyway, I spent the next 3 days on hold with Aetna and Medicaid.

Turns out, if you change the Head of Household's (HoH) address, it automatically applies that address to everyone in the account. So my ex's address was changed to out of state, their system database immediately considered him ineligible because of it, and ceased all coverage.

I know this is getting long, and maybe boring, but bear with me, it gets worse.

When he called, they wouldn't let him change his address to regain coverage. Because he wasn't head of household.

I called and told them to transfer him to head of household. They said they can't transfer HoH within the account, they can only add and remove members from the account. I said dawg... I first thing I tried to do to solve this shit last time was to simply remove me from the account. Now its possible?

They pulled some convoluted policy out of their ass to blame the confusion on. They said they'd look into the issue and call me back.

Well a week later (without either of us having any coverage due to this madness), Aetna Man calls me and says okay so i figured it out. In the program we have, you have to actually assign another member the Head of Household role before you're able to remove the existing Head of Household. It's a system issue, it seems.

I almost walked into the river. I spent 2 entire weeks PLUS with a lapse in healthcare coverage for me AND an innocent party. Because Mark or whoever had Boomer's First Computer Interface disease.

Still took an entirely separate series of phone calls to get them to change his address back to the one he lived at after their mistake.

im very much filled with hate.

[dvilsdesire]

I know people seem to think Haarlep isn't fond of Raphael, but there's nothing that really dictates that as truth

he did ask the player "why would you call this horrible man your master" if you took the deal

Random asks || always accepting

// (just so people are aware, the quote at the top is from an old post I wrote that the anon is responding to)

I literally just went back in game, took Raphael's deal, and went right to the House of Hope... After exhausting all possible dialogue options, I'm assuming you're referring to this quote:

(that is a legitimate screencap with an in game text error in it)

Nowhere in this does Haarlep call Raphael a horrible man.

I can see where you might be coming from, with how Haarlep uses the term "deserve", but something you need to understand about Haarlep's interaction and character is that everything the incubus is, is devious, mischievous and... self involved. When comparing Haarlep to someone like Raphael, who is obviously extremely Lawful Evil, Haarlep comes off as playful in his tone, jovial in nature, and obviously EXTREMELY manipulative. This is the creature that if you don't agree to have sex with them, outright attacks you. He doesn't give two shits about Tav and Co, he's literally willing to end them then and there if you don't agree to share Raphael's bed with them.

If anything, Haarlep appears to be more chaotic aligned than lawful, or even neutral aligned (depending on DnD lore and which edition, incubi and succubus could be seen as demons, devils or fiends--which means their moral alignment could be either Lawful Evil, Neutral Evil, or Chaotic evil). Haarlep, to me, feels less Lawful and more Neutral or Chaotic. Either way, he is still self involved and wants to manipulate any situation to his own (as most fiends do).

I think it's also important to note that everything in the Hells is not what it always appears to be. This is a world where torment and pain is pleasure, where the Archivist as well as Nubaldin both say about how much pain and torment is within the House and yet you'll have the best time of your life there in the boudoir, despite your limbs being mangled. Hope and Korrilla even make mentions on how everyone in the HoH is mad. It's almost like an Alice in Wonderland, going down the rabbit hole tale, where everything is twisted and contorted.

Nothing is quite as it seems, and Haarlep likely PLAYS on that, because of course he does, he's a fiend, and one that seems far more mischievous than Raphael. Note how Haarlep even says this line, claiming to be a far crueller master than Raphael:

When you go in and tell Haarlep that you're going to break your contract, he even responds with:

Pretty unlawful for a devil imo. Compare that to Raphael, especially if your Tav is a Paladin that's broken their oath? He's not going to deal with an oathbreaker, it's despicable.

Please note that I am not saying Haarlep is FOND of Raphael either. You literally get a 10 minute interaction with Tav and Haarlep where the incubus is attempting to take your soul and/or body as their own, and ZERO interaction between Raphael and Haarlep (which is honestly a fucking crime imo, but likely would have undermined Raphael's character and made him appear weaker since Haarlep is happy to insult him at any given chance).

A small note on making fun of Raphael as well... People do it. It's a part of relationships. I'm not saying it's healthy, and I'm not saying it's moral, but once again... this is the HELLS. Does anyone expect devils to sit there and dote on one another like a loving, caring couple? I don't. But do you know what I do see every day in real life when I interact with people? Old married couples who literally rag on each other in public, harass each other behind their backs, and tease each other at literally any given chance.

When you have been living with someone for an extended period of time, these relationships grow and change, for better or for worse.

Everything that you and me, and every other person in fandom says is pure speculation. And there is no right and wrong, because we are all going off tiny bits of evidence that can be skewed and nothing is finite. We don't know because we simply don't have enough information. A ten minute interaction is not enough information to prove ANYTHING in a game that doesn't delve deeper into what the relationship was between Haarlep and Raphael outside of a few notes and comments.

If you want to believe that Haarlep hates Raphael's guts, then who the fuck is stopping you? I'm not. I will continue to love Raphlep because, guess what? It makes me HAPPY. That's the only damn reason I need or care about ✌️

[shares-a-vest]

💖 Fic Writing Review 2023 💖

I was tagged by @penny00dreadful @rocknrollsalad @cranberrymoons and @unclewaynemunson Thanks everyone! You all smashed it in 2023. Here's to more words wording and fun fandom times with our faves.

Tbh, it took me a good month minute to work out how to do this, seeing as I don't post much to ao3 (something I intend on mending in 2024). I'm very much going with the 'feel free to show whatever stats you like' aspect of the rules.

But before all that, I'd like to use this post as an opportunity to acknowledge everyone who enjoys my writing. I kinda just fell into writing in this fandom and discovered that I love it!

I'm also sending love and appreciation to my beloved moots and everyone in the stwg discord server. Here's to another year of creating, sharing and interacting 💖

This fandom really is my happy place a lot of the time, a much-needed creative outlet and a space where I can talk to people who let me be my silly little old self.

I have so much I want to write in 2024 (including some in-the-works stuff listed below). One goal I know I have in 2024 is to write what I'll temporarily title, 'The Origin of Joanie Munson'. I would really like to knuckle down and write a looonnnggg fic this year that would tell that story.

Anyway, enough of me talking, I'll stop before I get too sappy...

Top 5 Posts by Notes:

Wayne and Claudia to Steve's Rescue

I'm Dating Garfield

My Prince

Eddie gets stuck in Steve's shower after the power goes off

Eddie Munson: Sparkly Vampire Boyfriend

Proudest Work & Reflections:

Wayne and Steve get hearing aids: This post was very much inspired by my pop's ongoing struggle with his hearing aids. HoH Steve is a beloved headcanon of mine so I was happy to receive so much love for a little ficlet that came from a very real place.

Steve spends Father's Day with the Buckleys: If there's one Steve trope I will write, it's Steve Has Bad Parents™. I always find myself writing this trope and getting Steve all sad and angsty as a personal coping mechanism/outlet for irl Dad Stuff™. I was a pile of goo over the tags and comments saying this ficlet resonated with readers! We really are just out here projecting onto our blorbos to get through shit.

Joanie Munson's First Word: I love my Joanie Munson AU. And one thing I love writing into it is Wayne being a doting Grandpa. It was a WIP for quite a while and I remember waking up at like 3am, unable to sleep and bam I finished it, proving that sometimes it's worth letting something linger in the drafts until the moment strikes.

My Fandom Events in 2023 (I did a sprinkling of others, but these I completed/worked on consistently):

Spicy Six Fanworks Challenge SPRING and SUMMER

Steddie Week 2023

Steddiemas

Upcoming Works & Events (aka, next in the pipeline):

Spicy Six Fanworks Challenge WINTER

Clarkson Mixtape Fic

STWG Hozier Project

Tagging some precious moots (plus those above) to send my love and good New Year vibes to! @thefreakandthehair @tboyeddie @steventhusiast @imfinereallyy @hbyrde36 @spicysix @momotonescreaming @withacapitalp @farahsamboolents @hellion-child @sidekick-hero (also feel free to do this tag game too if you'd like/haven't already!)

Rules: Feel free to show whatever stats you have. Only want to show Ao3 stats? Rock on. Want to include some quantitative info instead of stats? Please do this. Want to change how yours is presented? Absolutely do that. Would rather eat glass than do this? Please don’t eat glass but don’t feel like you have to do this either.

[rosesradio]

may i ask why ppl hate caleo so much? I'm reading ToA rn so idk if it's based on stuff that happens there, but in HoO I didn't really catch anything that would make it this "don't touch with a ten foot pole" ship, yk?

/gen

Hi !! Thanks for sending this in. I feel like I and others have kinda gone through some things in the anti-caleo tag, but I'm gonna go through some of the reasons with as much textual evidence and objectivity as possible. (minus my inevitable unorganized rambles, they're contextually relevant, stop looking at me--)

That being said, this is completely a matter of opinion, as all shipping is. I don't mean to say that you are "allowed" to ship or that you're "stupid" for shipping xyz, I couldn't care less what you ship--let's all just be nice to each other.

That being said, let's start with the two most common reasons why most people dislike caleo:

1.) the age gap

2.) their "bickering to lovers" dynamic is not written well/they seem to dislike each other/etc

The easier one to start with would be the age gap. Now (warnings for rent-lowering gunshots around my blog), I meant what I said when I said I don't care about ships. Most of my beloved mutuals ship the nastiest shit imaginable, and I am very anti-censorship (but that's several other posts). I generally have preferences for healthy ships when it comes to a Fluffy Endgame (dark fics with toxic ships are different to me).

That being said, I don't typically enjoy ships with a large age gap, and most other people find them unappealing as well. I could be persuaded with some (nipollo and rachel/apollo, i'm looking at you), but caleo just kinda grosses me out in this regard, probably due to other aspects of their relationship.

(Some people say she's "mentally fifteen", but I don't really buy that--if she were like a faerie or something, maybe, but I see her more as Edward in Twilight--looks young but has wisdom beyond her years. There's no definitive answer on this so it's not something I would like to debate (none of this is lol) but I thought I would mention it anyways.)

Although your question is about ToA, I'm only going to cover HoH through the first ToA book, because I'm still reading through the ToA books (though I know the big spoilers). I know caleo takes on a bigger role in the second book so i might come back and do a part two to uh...complain about their dynamic more? lol

so, without further ado--

The House of Hades

So, this is the first impression we get of Calypso from Leo's perspective--the highlights to keep this from being 1 million years long (it still will be lol)--

"She looked maybe fifteen, about Leo's age, and, sure, she was pretty; but with that angry expression on herface she reminded Leo of every popular girl in every school he'd ever attended—the ones who made fun of him, gossiped a lot, thought they were so superior, and basically did everything they could tomake his life miserable.Leo disliked her instantly.

---

The girl clenched her fists. Leo was pretty sure she was going to march down the crater and punch him in the face.

---

"Show yourself!" the girl yelled at the sky, completely ignoring Leo. "It's not bad enough I am exiled? It's not bad enough you take away the few good heroes I'm allowed to meet? You think it's funny to send me this—this charbroiled runt of a boy to ruin my tranquility? This is NOT FUNNY! Take him back!""

--pg 213 of The House of Hades pdf.

Now, keeping in mind that I read this for the first time at 13 and he was my book boyfriend (Or Whatever), I was not a fan of this, but even now that I've grown out of that, this still rings unfavorable to me.

He compares her to his bullies, the ones who made fun of him and created insecurities within him. And, making no effort to clear her name from this association, what is one of the first things she does? Screams at the gods for sending someone so conventionally unattractive. One of Leo's biggest insecurities in the books is not being as conventionally attractive or built as the other guys in the seven. One of his other insecurities is not having a girlfriend when everyone else is coupled up. So the solution is not to have him learn self-love and/or the love of friends, but to instead give him a girlfriend--the build-up time of which is short and intense. Not only that, but his love interest insults one of his biggest insecurities.

We're off to a great start.

Of course, I can't really blame Calypso for being pissed about the wreckage and about being sent another hero instead of being freed from the island. I would be pretty pissed, too, but she still treats him pretty badly, seemingly because he's not the "right" hero.

(For this next bit I am going through their time together in House of Hades and just noting anything that rings as a red flag to me--which is not a stretch as it's pretty much every other line lol. The brackets [] add context for dialogue, the parentheses () is my commentary, though most of these speak for themselves imo)

""Oh-gee-gee-ah." The girl pronounced it slowly, as if Leo were five years old.

---

She looked like she was about to answer but stopped herself. "It doesn't matter. You'll be gone soon. You're obviously a mistake."

That was harsh, Leo thought.He'd spent enough time thinking he was a mistake—as a demigod, on this quest, in life in general. He didn't need a random crazy goddess reinforcing the idea

---

"What am I supposed to do, then? Sit in the sand dunes until I die?" [Leo asked]

"That would be fine...." The girl threw down her trowel and cursed at the sky. "Except I suppose he can't die here, can he? Zeus! This is not funny!"

---

She looked the same age as him, but he wondered how old she really was. (age gap thing, delicious!)

---

"Would you be sweet," [Calypso said], "if they laughed at you by sending another hero, but a hero who looked like—like you?"

---

"Three thousand." Leo's mouth felt tingly, like he'd just eaten Pop Rocks. "Uh, you look good for three thousand."

---

"And now...the worst insult of all. The gods mock me by sending you." [Calypso said]

Anger bubbled in Leo's stomach.Yeah, typical. If Jason were here, Calypso would fall all over him. She'd beg him to stay, but he'd be all noble about returning to his duties, and he'd leave Calypso brokenhearted. That magic raft would totally arrive for him. (heartbreaking to hear about leo's insecurities but also...he is so gay for jason jdskjfs--)

But Leo? He was the annoying guest she couldn't get rid of. She'd never fall for him, because she was totally out of his league.

---

Despite the gifts, Calypso obviously didn't want to see him. One time he poked his head inside the cave and she freaked out, yelling and throwing pots at his head. (how to treat an abuse survivor 101)

Yeah, she was definitely on Team Leo. (this honestly just reminds me of the Echo scene and, honestly, I'd ship him with Echo Big Time over calypso)

He ended up pitching a more permanent camp near the footpath, where the beach met the hills.That way he was close enough to pick up his meals, but Calypso didn't have to see him and go into a pot-throwing rage.

---

"They are completely fireproof," Calypso promised. "They'll stay clean and expand to fit you,should you ever become less scrawny." (the prev part about her repairing the clothes was actually sweet in a platonic way...could have gone without the body-shaming !)

---

Then he remembered that this annoying fifteen-year-old girl was actually the immortal daughter of a Titan."

--pages 214-227 of The House of Hades pdf

Now, at this point I'll say that their relationship actually becomes quite sweet once they get past the frankly horrible section of time where they want each other to die. They're both lonely, they come to some understanding...I suppose this is a matter of opinion, but the romance aspect does feel forced. Time is different in Ogygia so it's hard to say how long Leo was there, if I were to estimate I'd say 3 weeks, but given that it's like 19 pages (and the text is larger on the pdf copy lol), it does feel rushed. Man do I wish they went for the platonic angle, but Richard could never.

The Blood of Olympus

Everyone's favorite book! lmao.

Now that our lovebirds are in Lovebird Territory (i guess), the amount of toxicity dwindles, but let's bite:

"'Sit tight, Sunshine,' he told Calypso's picture. 'I'll get back to you, just like I promised.'

Leo could imagine her response: 'I am not waiting for you, Leo Valdez. I am not in love with you.And I certainly don't believe your foolish promises!' The thought made him smile. (I guess this is supposed to be sarcastic, but way to reintroduce the concept of her really not liking him?)"

--pg 64 of The Blood of Olympus pdf

So, most of this book has mentions of Calypso from Leo's pov, and I gotta say (forgetting entirely that this doc is supposed to at least try to be subjective)...they neutered my boy. I often don't reread past MoA because of the caleo content, though what glimpses I've seen shows that his pov has experienced a massive shift. I think having so little page time and such an intense relationship buildup causes some readers to dislike how fundamentally she alters Leo's pov.

Additionally, I've seen some posts about Leo's suicide ideation. That is not something I want to go in depth about on this post, but I did want to draw attention to this excerpt I caught:

"Now the Argo II was approaching the end of its voyage. Leo's whole life – his childhood with Tía Callida; his mother's death in that warehouse fire; his years as a foster kid; his months at Camp Half-Blood with Jason and Piper – all of it would culminate tomorrow morning in one final battle.

He opened the access panel. Festus's voice creaked over the intercom.

'Yeah, buddy,' Leo agreed. 'It's time.'

More creaking.

'I know,' Leo said. 'Together till the end?'

Festus squeaked affirmatively.

Leo checked the ancient bronze astrolabe, which was now fitted with the crystal from Ogygia. Leo could only hope it would work.

'I will get back to you, Calypso,' he muttered. 'I promised on the River Styx.'

He flipped a switch and brought the navigation device online. He set the timer for twenty-four hours.

Finally he opened the engine's ventilator line and pushed inside the vial of the physician's cure. It disappeared into the veins of the ship with a decisive thunk.

'Too late to turn back now,' Leo said.

He curled on the floor and closed his eyes, determined to enjoy the familiar hum of the engine for one last night."

--pg 224 of The Blood of Olympus pdf

I'm not going to draw any definitive conclusions on the subtext of this or his plan with the physician's cure, but I will say Leo definitely needs therapy and the support of his friends over his want of a girlfriend. (And I'd say this regardless of ships--even if it were my beloved valdangelo. If Leo's mental health isn't addressed, it just makes it seem like a lazy fix-all)

I'm not going to pretend to be the best writer or understand character arcs better than our good friend Richard, but I think one of the reasons why Leo's character arc failed in this final installment is that Leo got what he wanted instead of what he needed. The best character arcs will display what a character wants, but by the end of the journey, a character will realize what they really need.

For example, in Gravity Falls (great show btw), towards the end of the series, Mabel wants to stay in a magical bubble created as a trick by Bill Cipher so she can stay in Gravity Falls forever. In the end, however, she realizes that what she really needs is to go back home to California with her brother, where they can get through high school with the support of each other.

If Leo had undergone an arc in which he really wants a girlfriend, but later realizes he needs to love himself first, that would have been really great and nice for kids to see that they don't need a significant other to make them whole.

Additionally--surprisingly--there were no glaring red flags for the rest of this book. They have a general vibe of "she doesn't really like him and he's a silly little guy" that I feel like is just rick pulling a "can I copy your homework?" with percabeth but it came out Wrong, but that's a matter of opinion.

ToA: The Hidden Oracle

""Here you go." Leo handed her a glass of lemonade. His expression seemed darker and more anxious, as if...Ah, of course. Leo had rescued Calypso from her prison island. In doing so, Calypso had lost her powers. Leo felt responsible."

--pg 239 of The Hidden Oracle pdf

This seems like something they'd have to work through, which is possible, but also a very intense thing to put on a relationship between an already traumatized 16 year old (and his over 3000 year old girlfriend, etc.) I suppose if this was written through in a thoughtful way I'd understand, but it's kind of one of those things that makes me look at them and go...realistically, at best I see them lasting 6 months to a year.

(tbh a lot of the ships outside of percabeth don't seem to have that...well, percabeth longevity--i mean just look at how jiper broke up. not that Richard would break caleo up atp, of course...unless...)

Final Thoughts (unless I return after finishing ToA but no promises)

And so, we conclude. I think I learned some stuff by revisiting canon instead of just remaining amongst online fandom & my memory of canon. Honestly, I can see why people would like this ship--I still hate it the most out of any pjo ship, but I gotta admit it had its sweet moments. Just as I pointed out red flags and had opinions stated as subjective, other people could point out what they consider green flags and why they think the ship is great.

To conclude (my English teachers quaking in their boots rn), myself and other caleo haters dislike the ship due to the age difference, the rushed nature, and the enemies to lovers dynamic being written in a way that ultimately gives the energy that our love birds do not like each other. I hope this dive into the foundation of their relationship clarifies some of these things for you, and thanks for the ask!

[flowergardeninthewall]

A quick list of types of hearing aids

I am hard of hearing or HOH and have been since I was born, and I have been wearing hearing aids for just about 18 years. The amount of rep I get from the QSMP is so special to me, and I've wanted to make a guide on the different types of hearing aids for a long time.

I will not be talking about cochlear implants because I do not know enough about them.

Hearing loss can be caused my multiple things. Loud sounds, aging, sickness, or even just because. Typically the sensors in your cochlear wear down and you hear less while the rest of your ear continues to work fine, so you can still feel pain from noises being too loud. Which is why Tallulah having hearing loss and being sensitive to noise are both able to coexist

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Your doctor will tell you don't stick shit in your ears. But if you wear hearing aids that rule does not apply to you. They go into your ear, they do not sit on the outside like an earbud

Much like any other accessibility device, hearing aids are not one size fits all.

In the canal (ITC) or (CIC) hearing aids sit fully in your ear canal and most of the time the only thing you will see from them is a little clear tab that can be pulled to remove them. These can be water resistant, and worn 24/7

In the ear (ITE) sit in your outer ear and are typically mounded to your ear. These are what a lot of people stereotypically think of when you think of hearing aids, but it's been a long time since I've actually seen someone using them

Behind the ear (BTE) there are two types of bte hearing aids. And the biggest difference is where the receiver sits. On a regular BTE there is a molded bud that sits in your outer ear and then extends into the canal. The receiver is up higher and in the aid that sits behind your ear. There are also mini BTEs where the receiver is in the ear canal.BTEs sit behind your ear with a small light bit of tubing that extends down into your ear. These are typically the bluetooth ones that can also act as earbuds

Why would a person who is deaf in one ear wear hearing aids in both? Why wear two at all?

Noise comes from all sorts of directions, and most people benefit from being able to hear in all directions. So if you are deaf in one ear the aid in that ear will send the audio feed to the aid in your good ear. Most of the time it is all about equalizing what you can hear in both ears. It's less disorienting.

You can read more about hearing aids here

https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing-aids

Y la página esta en español también

https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/es/espanol/audifonos

While yes that is an american government site it still has some wonderful info on all sorts of communication disorders.

I do want to say that there are edge cases, and I do not cover all of them here. These are typically the hearing aids that you will come across.

My inbox is open if you have any other questions!