#i guess it's in their nature as an imaginary friend <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[geezsims]

Polar is pretty cut up, but they're taking it upon themself to be everyone else's rock.

[artsycloudysleepy]

aaaaaa tysm!!!! this helps so much, you have no idea! have a great rest of your day and thanks again :D

(warning that the tags are long and lengthy!)

hiya nye!! hope you're doing good :3

looking for some OC advice if that's okay: i have an OC who has MDD, but afaik i don't have it myself and i really want to avoid harmful stereotyping or unrealistic portrayals!

was wondering if you have any tips on writing it, if there's anything specific i should know (if there's treatment, side-effects, etc.) or just anything to avoid in terms of stereotypes?

obviously don't answer this if you don't want to, it's probably very personal, and take your time if you do! i want to avoid screwing up, and while i am also going to check out articles and do my research, i also want to make sure i'm not accidentally being a prick or looking at misinformation and ask you if you have any advice :)

thank you so much! have a nice day nye, stay hydrated :D

Heeyyyy Artsy :3

I'd be happy to help in whatever way I can, but heads up I'm not professionally diagnosed or anything and am definitely not an expert on the topic, so this will just be from my personal experience

So of course maladaptive daydreaming is different for everyone, I think the most common interpretation of it is someone who might use their persona to self insert themselves into media they might like, or a personally written story. Sometimes they might be pre-written and played out (I personally believe this is what "shifters" do). A second common one might be writing a story by thinking about it as a show, where you yourself may not be involved. Many people wrote brilliant stories using this method.

My personal experience is that I can count multiple times where my maladaptive daydreaming was more prominent throughout my life, but I can't really pick it out if childhood experiences as it was kind of like the hit thing to be good at imagining when you were 5.

My standout experience with MDD is ongoing. It started five years ago and it involves myself and other people consistently. There is no change in plot or reboots, I consider these people consistent as any other person I might know. Plainly, I consider the maladaptive daydreaming characters that I have created (ocs) AND have not created to exist as people in some way, so I treat them as such.

Part of my MDD is that these people I know through my head interact with people from the real world, having casual conversations and such.

My level of focus on my MDD varies on my mental health and environment, it usually ranges from maybe 1 interaction a day to things I have planned for the day being cancelled because I'm busy daydreaming. My daydreaming friends will often grow distressed if I don't speak to them for long periods of time. Some of them (my ocs) fear that they'd cease to exist, while others may fear their friends could disappear, including me.

Something well known for MDD is repetitive motions, personally I find my stims outside of MDD are larger and more noticable, while I'm daydreaming sometimes my repetitive motions will be spinning a pen or something as miniscule as timed blinking or eye movement. It's like keeping pace to me, like they tell you to associate a smell with sleeping if you have a hard time sleeping. The motions help keep me focused on my daydreams.

I don't like closing my eyes when I daydream, but I do like dark rooms. I also prefer background noise. It's also well known people like to listen to music while they daydream, and I do, but the noise doesn't have to be music. It just has to be constant and have some kind of pattern that I can tune out to. The noise helps distract me from what I see visually!

I haven't researched treatment because recently I've been quite good at regulating my daydreams, and in the past it's been a fear of mine. I think the only treatment there would be for MDD is finding other coping mechanisms.

As for side effects, I'm not sure what would qualify. I can get angry at daydreams the same way I would anything else, same goes for every emotion. Sometimes it just makes my mood seem out of place, I think. I also think it's obvious when I'm daydreaming, because people usually poke me or wave a hand in front of my face (THIS IS SO ANNOYING DON'T DO THIS I'M DAYDREAMING FOR A REASON). MDD sometimes restricts my real life experiences, socializing, sometimes makes me forget meals, it also makes my memory of everything worse, instead replaced by memories of daydreams. MDD is something that I deal with, while I know it's a negative thing it's something that I don't have any desire to detach myself from. That's a scary idea to me, so I suppose that's a side effect in itself.

As far as writing a character with MDD goes, you'd have to know what they were daydreaming about first. A lot of the rest of the traits, such as what noise or actions they use, would be down to their other characteristics. If I was going to avoid something, it would be to not make everything they daydream about separate to reality. Almost everyone I've known with MDD has integrated their realities in some way, whether it be having their persona personality shine through, their daydreams interact with people around them, writing about it, drawing or infodumping. Of course this might not be everyone, but I think it also depends how private of a person they are. People who have MDD tend to know they're creating something complex.

Thanks for asking me Artsy, again, this is just from personal experiences. Hope this helped! :3

[mrsroosterbradshaw]

london girl <3

jake “hangman” seresin x british!fem wife

soundtrack: London Boy by Taylor Swift™️

summary: the team is shocked when jake slips up and confesses that he has a wife. little do they know that he is head-over-heels for his wife and he gushes at how much he loves your accent 🤭

“I love my hometown as much as Motown, I love SoCal and you know I love Springsteen, Faded blue jeans, Tennessee whiskey”

jake seresin wasn’t the type to get tied down. in his college days at UT it would be go to a bar, dance, get a girl, go home with them, then leave. he had quite the reputation when he got into the navy, too. cocky, didn’t care about anyone but himself. so, naturally, when the dagger squad was all at the hard deck playing pool and darts, they were shocked when hangman finally let it slip.

“phoenix, how is the boyfriend? finally scare him off yet?” bradley said, jokingly. jake let out an airy laugh.

“har har,” she said to bradley then turning to jake, “i wouldn’t be laughing, you’re the single, lonely one.”

“nope, got a woman i love at home.” he said, the look of realization on his face once he realized what he had said was priceless. the squad started laughing. no, not a short laugh, bradley is rolling on the ground crying.

“yeah right. good one bagman.” phoenix said.

he decided in that moment that it was time to come clean, after four years of being married and with a little girl on the way, he let it slip. “no i’m being dead ass.” jake said.

“no way. i don’t believe you.” phoenix said.

“believe me or not.” he said, throwing his hands up in defense. “but i do. we have been married for four years and we have a daughter on the way.” jake pulled out a folded picture from his front pocket of his khaki uniform and handed it to phoenix.

“no fucking way, you’re tied down?” phoenix said in disbelief.

“yep, i’ll bring her by sometime! well that’s my cue, said too much and don’t wanna be drinking and driving because i wanna get home to my mrs.” jake yelled as he walked out of the doors of the hard deck, determined to get to his pregnant wife.

“But something happened, I heard her laughing, I saw the dimples first and then I heard the accent. They say home is where the heart is, but that's not where mine lives”

“darling. i don’t think they will like me. i’m not like you guys.” you say, growing self conscious of your 7 month pregnant belly.

“sweets, they are going to love you! i promise. we have to leave in about 5 minutes!” he yells after he kisses you on the cheek and walks into the mud room.

“don’t forget to feed the animals! i’ll go out and feed the horses while you do the cows, sheep and the goats!” you yell from across the house.

“gotcha sweets!!” your lovely husband yelled from across the house at you.

(time skip to the hard deck)

“you go ahead to your friends, this pregnant lady has to pee for the twentieth time today.” you said, walking away laughing.

“be safe! we will be over by the pool tables!” jake yells as he walks towards the pool tables that all his friends are surrounding and talking.

“seresin, as i live and breathe!” bradley said, sarcastically.

“hey bradshaw!” jake said.

“where is your imaginary wife at? chicken out and not bring her? oh wait, she isn’t real!!” payback butt in and said.

“who’s not real?” you say as you waddled up to the group.

“hey sweets!” your husband drawls out with that accent you love. “we were just talking about you!”

“all good thing i hope!” you say.

“so, i guess you are real! sorry, we are all just a little surprised when bagman told us. how did you guys meet?” phoenix asked you.

“well i was at a flower festival in San Diego with my best mates and we went to a pub after that was near and jake here was there because he was stationed nearby.” you started.

“i was with javy grabbing a few beers after our training and i went up to the bar to get us another round, but something happened, I heard her laughing, I saw the dimples first and then I heard the accent. and i instantly fell in love. i knew i had to have her.” he said.

“oh don’t even! i knew i had to have you when i saw you and i heard your sexy accent.” you said, side-hugging him.

“aw you guys are so cute!” phoenix gushed.

“You know I love a London girl, I enjoy walking Camden Market in the afternoon. she likes my American smile, Like a child when our eyes meet, darling, I fancy you. Took me back to Highgate, met all of her best mates, So I guess all the rumors are true. You know I love a London girl. girl, I fancy you (ooh)”

“when we got married, for our honeymoon we went to London so i could show him around my home city! i took him to the Camden Market and he won’t admit it but he enjoys it.” you say.

“ okay okay, you caught me. i do like it.” jake admits.

“hey jake?” you say.

“yes sweets?” he replied.

“i need a break.” you told your husband.

“okay i got you, baby.” jake said, he went behind you as you kept talking with the group and lifted up your baby bump. you let out a sigh of relief.

“thank you.” you say, breathless.

“okay!” phoenix exclaimed, “Jake is a real softy! i’m jealous because you are both so madly in love and i wish i had that with Marcus.”

“oh i bet Marcus loves you a lot!” you say, trying to convince her.

“oh no, not like how jake loves you. even the way he looks at you! i’m jealous!!” she says.

“he does not look at me in any way!” you told her. “right jake?” you say, craning your neck to look at your lover behind you.

“huh?” he says, snapping out of his daze.

“see? my point exactly!” phoenix points out.

“oh shut up jake.” you say, laughing and walking away with phoenix.

“what did i do?” jake asked himself, quietly. “what did i say?” he asked coyote, who was right next to him to witness it all.

coyote put his hands up in defense. “nope, that’s on you.” coyote then walked away towards you, chuckling.

“NO SERIOUSLY!” jake yelled across the bar.

[sophieinwonderland]

if you had to guess, what percentage of do you think may be of a plural mind, regardless of if it’s a trait they identify with or not?

Ooh! This is a tough one.

It's going to come down a lot to how we defined plurality.

First, are we talking about people who currently are experiencing plurality or all the people who have ever experienced plurality?

I've talked a lot about how there are many imaginary friends who are experienced as acting outside of the child's conscious control.

One study showed about 65% of children have imaginary friends. Another showed 35% didn't always do what the children wanted while 29% were what was deemed as "noncompliant."

 Thirty-six per cent of the children described their imaginary companions as consistently compliant and agreeable, 35 per cent gave some indication that the imaginary companions did not always do or say what the children wanted, although they were mostly friendly and compliant, and 29 per cent described their imaginary companions as noncompliant in ways that suggested the children experienced the companion to some extent as being out of their conscious control. 

If we assume every imaginary friend who can act outside of the host's control is a headmate, the percentage of children who are plural during childhood would be a whopping 41.6%

But the numbers could be even higher. That only covers two manifestations of plurality. (Imposition and Inhabitation.) And it's probably ignoring spiritual experiences.

If a child has different distinct personality states they switch between, that's not accounted for in that statistic. Nor would praying to God be even if the child hears God regularly talks back in two-way conversation. And it's unlikely a voice in their head would be counted as an imaginary friend unless that voice had a form of some kind. So this number could actually be much higher.

But I feel comfortable saying at least 41.6% of kids are naturally plural.

What about adulthood? Well, things get complicated.

Purely on the disorder side, DID alone makes up about 1-3% of the population. OSDD and Partial DID make up even more. And personally, I consider certain experiences many psychiatrists would currently classify as hallucinations or delusions to be dissociative as well. (A delusion of being someone else could be a form of switching, some hallucinations demonstrate intelligence, etc.) Then there are many with MADD who report sentient Paras.

On a more spiritual side, Tanya Luhrmann, who is running the Stanford Tulpa Study, wrote a piece comparing people who build two-way communication with God to tulpamancers.

If we take the view that these are the same mechanisms at play, that could add a lot to the plural spectrum.

But finding accurate statistics for this phenomenon that we could apply to the whole population is hard. And it's unlikely everyone or even most people who say God talks to them is meaning with a literal mindvoice, and that this is happening consistently enough to consider this God of theirs a headmate.

Going back to the imaginary friends, only about 7% of adults report having imaginary friends.

While we might take the numbers from the children and apply it to the adult group, to say only about 64% of that 7% would be autonomous, I would actually speculate the number being much higher.

A lot of those imaginary friends will have been with the hosts since childhood. And I think it's likely most would gain autonomy and self-consciousness in that time. I would say most adult imaginary friend will be sentient enough to be considered tulpas.

All in all, my conservative guestimation for adult plurality is 10%-20%.

(This estimation might sound low after everything I've said, but consider that different forms of plurality tend to overlap. A lot of systems with DID may have imaginary friends who they don't consider alters, many spiritual systems are mixed origin, many self-diagnosed with delusional companion syndrome here on Tumblr also happen to be systems of some kind, some tulpamancers later discover they were already traumagenic systems, etc.)

Finally, if you were to ask me the percentage of the population with the potential to be plural, I would guess that at near 100%.

[caspersscareschool]

would u recommend working w kids? they are so so sillay. also leo being second oldest is very real to me and i love that your vibes for her are summer camp counselor

HI!! that's a complicated question because it really depends on who you are and what your needs are. kids are adorable and hilarious and i find their company extremely fulfilling, but they're also LOUD and EXHAUSTING, and you need to have a certain tolerance for screaming, grabbing, bluntness, and (if you work with toddlers like me) the occasional poopy situation. if you have sensory issues like me, I'd strongly recommend establishing a set time and place to recharge every day, (or even bringing headphones if you're able to) and setting clear boundaries, like "my body needs space right now," "i don't like being touched there, thank you," etc. (which also teaches them consent/setting their own boundaries as a bonus). if you've never really worked with kids before, you might look for opportunities to substitute, or even volunteer at libraries and whatnot to get a sense of how it feels for you. i feel like everyone remembers a teacher from their childhood who just hated their job and made it everyone's problem, so don't be that person. i guess what I'm trying to say is that it's important to put your wellbeing first, or you'll be miserable, and that will rub off on the kids.

personally, i love how kids are naturally curious and blunt. they will just say whatever. and it IS extremely exciting and fulfilling to watch them learn and grow in real time, because they absorb information SO FAST. it's important to be observant and patient and non-judgmental and kind, because they WILL emulate your behavior. every single day I'm delighted and surprised by one of them saying something sweet out of nowhere, supporting or comforting a friend, resolving a conflict on their own, pronouncing a word like CRUSTACEAN that's way beyond their usual reading level, or randomly asking to hold my hand or sit on my lap when they've never done that before....

HOWEVER. do not tell my employers i said this, but I'd eventually like to work with slightly older kids, like 6-8 year olds, because i feel like that's the age range where they've kind of had a chance to develop personalities and hobbies and interests (beyond favorite colors and animals and whathaveyou), and they're starting to learn how to make jokes and insult people but they just go about it in the funniest way possible. and their imaginary games have extended plotlines, and theyll sometimes just decide to write an entire comic book or movie script in an afternoon. and you can actually hold a conversation with them, wheras toddlers will often just lose interest and walk away if they don't immediately grasp something. you also have to be very direct with toddlers, which is something I'm still getting used to just because i really dislike talking down to people of any age or size. like do NOT get me wrong, i LOVE my 3-5 year olds, but i do miss babysitting 8 year olds from time to time. and age is something to consider, again, especially if you're squeamish about bathroom stuff. *shudders and stares off into the distance*

anyways that was probably a way longer answer than you wanted and just a bunch of nonsense words. tl;dr the answer is Yeah. If you want. ❤️

[ealienkreations]

Ok so I just last night/this morning finished Panacony act 2 boss and I wanna talk about stuff.

Spoilers for basically everything that is out for Honkai right now.

So I've been streaming my gameplay to my friends who had finished the boss before I did. Now my team through the entire game has remained relatively the same. Ratio has been on the team the entire game and Natasha and Aventurine since I got them have been main stays with only one member being swapped (I used Dan Heng during the Loufu and Arlen during Panacony).

Now up to that point, I had not struggled with bosses at all. I was accidently 5 levels above Cocolia (I was told she was level 40 not 35) and the second Boss was a cake walk with Ratio and Aventurine on the team. (Like no joke, my entire team took barely any damage until phase 3 of that fight)

So by the time I got to Panacony, my friends were joking that they hoped I struggled.

Which leads me to the Meme. Because that fight took me 3 or 4 tries simply because he kept killing Natasha who I needed alive to keep everyone else running. (Thankfully between all outs and follow ups, I was mostly able to pick who to sacrifice to the snatch.)

But Peacock Aventurine gave my friends so much trouble. We're talking 5, 6 or even 7 runs with multiple different team set ups. And they were both convinced my team would not be able to stand against him either.

Now I went in blind (I guessed the villain was Adventurine because my writer brain be like that and I went "oh he's either dying or the villian") so I didn't know his weaknesses but turns out he was weak to lighting, which was Lucky for me with Arlen on the team.

Something else is I went into that fight at level 50 with only my second Equilibrium. My friends had their 3rd. I had been level grinding all day to get to T40 and get the best relics I could for the team which gave me tons to spare for leveling up the best relics.

But essentially I ended up with everyone over 1000 health with the lost being Natasha at 1666. All my attackers have 1000 or more attack and pretty high defence (I managed to somehow get Ratio to like 300 or 3000 or something which was higher than Aventurine) and a lightning and attack boost on Arlen.

So I went into this fight, not even taking any consumables because this was more a "let's see what happens" kinda run so I didn't want to waste them.

Naturally, Aventurine and Ratio couldn't do much since Imaginary (although Ratio's follow up did do roughly 2% to 3% so that was pretty good.

Arlen was an absolute star in that fight. He was doing huge amounts of damage and stamina breaks. Like I'd only heard that he wasn't a good character to use but I chose him over Serval because I really like Arlen.

I also have no AoEs on the team aside from Arlan's Ult. Although Ratio and Aventurine decimated the dice game with follow ups every time.

So phase 1, while it took a bit (nowhere near as long as the meme though) it wasn't too bad since my strategy was use Ratio as a skill gainer, use Arlen for damage since he doesn't use skill points and he has the weakness, heal Arlen with Natasha and put shield up with Aventurine.

Natasha and Arlen did come close to dying but I was able to use Nat's skill or ult to fix the damage.

Then phase 2 happened and this was what my friends were warning me of (basically saying the dice thing was stupid)

Again thanks to my shielding, Ratio and Aventurine were fine and Arlen was occasionally able to squeak by. ( Plus Peacock Aventurine rolled a 4, 5 and 6 consecutively. So that was a pretty lucky one. Like I thought it was impossible for him to roll below a 7.)

But I didn't even struggle with that phase either because I again just stuck with the same strategy.

And Arlen was able to finish the job and win me the fight.

Like I was genuinely shocked and my friends were both proud and annoyed that I have basically never really had to change my team up that much simply because I built a good one on accident.

The most I did for research was looking at what relics and light cones worked best for each character.

And I also for some reason managed to get Arlen a like 36% boost in every dmg type in the game. I have no idea how, maybe it's from all the relics I fused into his worn set. I dunno.

I genuinely might take pictures of the stats and post them because it was absolutely ridiculous.

I even got a video of the entire fight as proof that it really did happen, it's currently on my PS5.

Like I was actually the one that made my friends realize that, if built right, Ratio is a beast because his follow up attacks decimated so many bosses.

But this time it was Arlen's time to shine and I'm so proud of that.

Oh also side note, my favs are Ratio, Aventurine, Arlen and Dan Heng (both regular and dragon version)

[wh00psramblings]

only after writing a really long post i realised my main gripe with the new itzy album is that all the songs either sound like itzy b-sides which belong on different albums or dont sound like itzy

like gold sounds like nmixx, imaginary friend just doesnt sound like itzy and bad girls r us n supernatural feel like you took itzy and sprinkled in some ive? then five sounds like a mature version of an early b-side

which yk usually wouldnt be bad (the album is like 1-2 title tracks n 3 b sides) but in an album where no song made be go HELL YH it just means the entire album was kinda underwhelming

its an album which i feel like is aggressively good but underwhelming and it might be because my favourite itzy tracks are from born to be and guess who which we can all agree that gold is not rlly similar to these but still i dont think many of these songs are going into my playlist which is wild bc like 75% of itzys discography is in there

like im not saying the album is bad its just good, not great, not shit, just good

like ive only been an itzy fan since the kill my doubt era (though i did catch up on their discography dw) but this album didnt make me go "HELL YH IM AN ITZY STAN" unlike born to be did and especially after kill my doubt born to be felt like a natural progression but gold doesnt feel like a natural progression of born to be

it kind of feels like jyp are trying to look at options for itzy but i think its happening in a very messy way where jyp have a schedule they cant just not release for a year while they sort out changing and evolving itzys sound and i think that shows especially badly in gold

[deedjre]

Day 3 - Old OC(s) ! uhm i made these three originally pre 2018 (all at the same time), but I did reboot their story sometime in this decade before redesigning them and, i guess, also designing them lmao. before then only iam (ghosty girl with the long hair) had actully ever been drawn, though sindy i've always had the idea of a blue dress and pigtails. originally they were 6-10 years old and existed in short stories i would write. they also have one superpower each. but since i grew up and they never had a real like continuity or anything, when i decided to use them again i aged them up to highschool and using my memory of this longer story i attempted once, gave them a falling out in their friendship and decided to write about how they all die.

i wound up scrapping the death thing later but it's incredibly funny that i immediately was like "how about i kill them" and tht stuck around for a while until i looked at sindy's death and thought i could make like a nice theme out of her NOT dying. so. yeah.

(prompt list) character refs and more on the characters below!

Sindy was always the youngest and bubbliest one of the trio. her power is foresight, though originally she could only see up to a few seconds into the future. I upgraded this to a week and came up with her seeing her own death and being able to do nothing to stop it. which is actually a really neat allegory in hindsight considering how she died. take a gander at her death. For her younger design she's always looked something like that. gave her mary janes bc those were like the only shoes i could wear as a kid. For her older design... yeah idk i just wanted to keep her more childish still with an increase of black spread throughout. yknow. for depression.

amelia is the oldest* and most mature of the group. artificially mature. her power is teleportation! i don't recall any drawbacks but it was probably that she could only teleport short distances at a time. but she like. just did chain teleporting to get around this lmao. sounds like something i would design. originally she died by earthquake. like she was hit by a rock just as she was teleporting out and then she was just an electric current. pretty neat idea. For her younger design... Amelia initially had no design. just long brown hair. I think she was designed to be more modest in order to reflect her personality, though? I'm not sure. I like giving characters boots. For her older design i thought "rebellious teen". one of the "popular girls". with certified angry depression. i probably should've mentioned that i was following the bad end version of that longer story.

iam (originally a name i made the fuck up pronounced "i am" but i guess you can pronounce it how it's actually pronounced. bc it IS a real name) is intended to be an age between sindy and amelia but she's part ghost. so. anyway her power is that when she dies, she respawns as a ghost in a cave her first incarnation died in. and after a while of being a ghost, she respawns there again, fully alive. kinda like when you bubble a friend in co-op mario. but worse. her personality was very feisty and temperamental. because she was a kid. she mellows out after her imaginary boyfriend got banished to a parallel dimension. actually no she doesn't she gets the tears depression. they all get different depression. gotta catch em all? she didnt have a specific death. actually her death is old age bc thats the only way she can die and then get reincarnated. i decided that at some point.

for her younger design i always just drew her looking like that. not the scars, maybe, but she had raggedy clothes and frizzled hair. because she just keeps dying. it's like sport for her. for her older design... yeah no that's just a natural evolution no notes. actually 1 note. i think it would've been neat to keep it relatively the same design and have her not really age when a ghost. but that's a bit too tragic and allegorical of grief for me right now

[xximnotafckingprincessxx]

Secret Life - Episode 3 'Secrets'

Welcome to the third week of Secret Life!

As always, remember that the 'Re-rolled Tasks' section at the bottom of this post will be for any task that may not have been completed by choice (aka. secrets that were willingly handed in for a harder task, or 're-rolled,' or secrets that had to be handed in for whatever reason), while whatever secret was the one intended to be completed will be listed in the main list. I'll note if anyone does not complete a task, while otherwise, I did also decide that, for this week, I would try to start colour-coding each members' name to acknowledge which life they are currently on—I thought I'd do this for this week because of the rule change mentioned, where if a yellow name guesses your task, it's an automatic fail!

I will also be updating this post as more people post their perspectives, if not all uploaded by the time I complete the initial post. With all of this being said, we have...

Bigbst4tz2 – "Deja vu: Listen into another player's conversation then try to have the same conversation with either of them later and get them to claim deja vu." (FAILED)

BdoubleO100 – "Use the words 'bet' 'poggers' 'dab' 'yeet' 'drip' 'slay' 'vibing' 'valid' 'rizz' 'sheesh' in the correct context over various conversations. If someone questions or repeats the words back to you, that whole conversation does not count."

*Etho – "Figure out someone's secret task and prevent them from completing it." (FAILED)

*GeminiTay – "Open the end portal."

GoodTimeWithScar – "Remove all the light sources from around 5 peoples bases. If someone questions you, you need to put them back for that player."

Grian – "For every heat of damage Smallishbeans takes, you must take the same. You can let them in on this secret, but no one else. If either of you die in this episode, you fail." (FAILED)

ImpulseSV – "Find any player over 25 hearts, and 'accidentally' take 5 off of them. The method is your choice. You fail if they ask if it is your task." (FAILED)

InTheLittleWood – "@ olavivarrud4180: Someone else on the server has the same task as you. Find out who it is. You must still keep this a secret. Do not re-roll."

LDShadowLady – "Yes man: You can not deny any request or question from another player. You must say yes." (FAILED)

Mumbo – "Prevent Scar from losing more than 3 hearts this session." (FAILED)

PearlescentMoon – "Request an item 5 times in one conversation but never pick it up. You must not be called out for it."

Skizzleman – "@ olavivarrud4180: Someone else on the server has the same task as you. Find out who it is. You must still keep this a secret. Do not re-roll." (FAILED)

Smajor1995 – "@ lieful: Tell someone you love them and have them say it back unprompted. 1 Attempt per player. Total of 3 required to pass."

*Smallishbeans – "Do a 100 block high water bucket clutch in front of the whole server." (FAILED)

SolidarityGaming – "Re-Bind your W key to A, S to W, D to S and A to D for 30 minutes of the session. If someone points out your weird movements, restart the timer. You must interact with other players during this time."

Tango – "@ chaoticgoodwings: You have an imaginary friend now. Talk to them as if they follow you round the whole session and are part of conversations. You must interact with other players during this time." (FAILED)

ZombieCleo – "@ KoolaEar: Film a nature documentary on the server about 2 people who aren't you for at least 5 minutes. If anyone notices you or interrupts the film, you must stop and find someone else."

*Re-rolled Tasks:

GeminiTay: "You declared yourself incorrectly successful last session, you must re-roll for hard as punishment."

Smallishbeans: "Deja vu: Listen into another player's conversation then try to have the same conversation with either of them later and get them to claim deja vu."

Etho: "Convince someone you have the same task as them."

[thevulpinehero1]

GWatch -- Mobile Suit Gundam 0079 Ep 1

Since Armoured Core came out and everyone's in a mecha mood, I figured I would talk about an entirely different mecha series instead. The plan is to watch one episode a day, talk about it, and include one (or more) screenshots to facilitate enhanced rambling. I want to start with the original series since I've watched it before, see if I can get through it all, and then maybe move onto some other Gundams if I have the spirit.

Beware! Spoilers for a 40 year old anime inbound, as well as possible misreporting since I probably am not going to fact check too well. Gundam nerds may feel free to correct me and dispense wisdom where appropriate. Also, I'm just going to go with whatever name spelling is on the subtitles I have at the time. Sorry, not sorry.

The first thing I have to talk about is the theme song, which honestly gives me emotions. Nowadays, we all have this image of Gundam as basically the show that invented the real robot subgenre, but you would absolutely never get that impression from the theme song or OP. Honestly, go find it and listen to it -- it's actually amazing how widely it misses the tone of the series, with lyrics like "Bring to bear the rage of justice!" and "If you are still burning with furious rage, you must fight the towering foe!" It sounds much, much more like a Super Robot theme song for like Daitarn 3 or Raideen or something, than something you would see associated with a classic "war is hell" series like Gundam.

And this was probably completely intentional. I remember hearing that even as far back as its initial run, the series had to fight the sponsors/toymakers in order to carve out its own identity, and part of that was projecting a surface level impression of a more palatable Super Robot style show. (Some things never change, I guess...)

To me, it adds a lot to the charm, because the singer is obviously going in and doing their best, singing an ode to a giant metal hero of justice who doesn't really exist outside of the fertile imagination of an advertising/toy exec who has been thoroughly mislead. I love that. I just want to go and tell them, hey, I appreciate you, you are singing your heart out on this theme song for an entirely different and imaginary series than the one they've actually made, and you're killing it. You are fighting the good fight, and you may be one of the reasons the series even got off the ground in the first place because you were part of this obfuscation.

This is Amuro Ray. His shadow looms large over every Gundam protagonist that will follow him; many of them either use him as a blueprint for their personality, or are meant as a study in contrast to it. He kills a lot of people. He eats a lot of sandwiches. There are long and intricate scenes of Amuro eating sandwiches, and they are among my favourite scenes in the whole series, and, in fact, any Gundam show I've ever watched. I'm not kidding.

I picked this screenshot not just because it shows a stone-cold, unrepentant sandwich-murderer in his natural habitat, but because it also showcases another thing I love about the show: the goofy animation. This was not a show with a huge budget. There is something weird or goofy happening in every episode, almost every scene, and the first episode -- traditionally one of the best funded in most series -- is no exception. Amuro eats like a turtle. Hayato's hand is an amorphous, misshapen blob. I think it honestly adds to the charm; the series is scuffed, and probably knows it's scuffed, but it's doing its best to tell a story in spite of that.

For now, Amuro is not the pilot of legend. He sits around the house doing science in his underwear, his neighbours don't like him enough to tell him about an actual military evacuation that he's supposed to be undertaking, and without the aid of his childhood friend Fraw Bow (who he mostly summarily ignores), he wouldn't bother to evacuate at all and would likely die at home. He's a scrunkly kind of dude. Maybe even a scrunklemeister. Your boy probably smells like a scratch and sniff card if you rubbed off all the panels and tried snorting them all at once.

The show is surprisingly quick at characterising him, too. Within a minute or two, we know all the above, plus that he seems to have a certain amount of tension with his father, who his neighbours blame for bringing the military to their peaceful colony. His father, Tem Ray, loves him at least enough to put a picture of him on his desk, and makes vaguely prophetic statements about how kids as young as Amuro are already joining the war as guerrilla fighters. Foreshadowing hit different in the eighties.

One scene I didn't actually remember, but really should have in retrospect, is the part where Amuro confronts his father ("Do you care more about Mobile Suits than humans?" is the absolute first thing Amuro says to him), and the death of Fraw Bow's mother and grandfather, both of which expose a more sensitive core to the scrunklebeast within. It's very convenient/poetic (delete as appropriate) that Fraw Bow was herself very nearly caught in the explosion that killed the crowd her family was in, and only survived because she separated from them in order to check on Amuro.

I was also kinda surprised to relearn that Amuro doesn't really 'fall in' to the cockpit; he very deliberately gets in, having happened to read the manual earlier, in an effort to either protect the remaining civilians or take revenge for the ones who've just fallen (the context doesn't really make it clear which one, but he rushes to the cockpit soon after Fraw Bow sees her family die and is making her escape).

One thing that's really interesting in the metacontext of the series is that although Amuro ends up being one of the best pilots (he's a legend in mecha anime for a reason), he kinda starts out as one of the worst. Many Gundam protags are either experienced, have some level of training, or have other reasons why they're hot shit right out of the box; Amuro really does not know what he's doing, and is carried entirely by the fact that the Gundam itself is dizzyingly durable for the time period. It also comes with a learning computer (which I bet sounded very advanced in the time the anime was made, but kinda brings certain chatbots to mind in the present day) to ease the piloting burden while he learns how to use the dang thing. Not only that, but he goes up against a lot of mobbers who aren't that much better than he is and can't do much against his much better machine.

(A really interesting experiment is to contrast Kira from SeeD, which follows a lot of the original Gundam's major story beats quite closely for the first part of the series and is almost a spiritual remake in some parts. Kira almost has the opposite end of the equation going on -- a very good pilot from day one, he has the misfortune of having five other named dudes who are close to his level and have machines that are arguably better than his in a vacuum, and he fights them pretty regularly.)

Anyway, through more luck than skill, Amuro manages to get through his first Mobile Suit battle in Side 7, but Bright is already looking to utilise him as labour, and Char is advancing on the colony. That's the first episode, more tomorrow. (I don't intend these to be exhaustive or talk about every little, but I wanted to go a bit more in depth for the first ep, and I don't want to restrict myself from veering off on tangents because those are fun.)

[protokirby]

Last night.

I woke up at exactly 3:02. Times are a thing I remember for some reason of all things.

The dream I had woken up from was all forgotten instantly except for the last few seconds of it. It was just the sight of Crispin. (If Crispin is in a dream, my odds of remembering the dream are very very slim for some reason. Forgetting everything except a feeling that he was there. Only this time I distinctly remember seeing him) He looked surprised as flip and the angle was lowering as if it were pov: I'm falling. And the surroundings were just nothing but black darkness other than the Surprised Crispin.

That's when I woke up.

But as I was in the process of waking up, I was in the process of getting up- like full on lifting myself up- as drool was falling out of my mouth??? While I was still just waking up, I was getting up??? Somehow??? What the whirl- I had to replace my pillow cover because of the amount of drool. I don't have a history of creating puddles of drool in my sleep so that is somethin new to me. I have had a recent history of almost drooling after waking up but nothin like this lol It's a wonder I didn't feel the urge to go wash my hands. They were exposed to the river but I was too tired to care I guess? Just wanted to go back to sleep to be awake enough for church in the morning.

There was one time (years ago) that I stood up and got out of bed (back when I had a bed) the half second of waking up. This was a one time thing I had been wanting to do just to see what would happen. My legs gave out then because of course they would if I stand instantly after waking. Such concentration and focus it took to remember to do that and actually do it in less than a second of waking up.

But this time.

This time waking up at 3:02 in the morning.

I was getting up while still waking up and I don't even know what the how the huh?? And the drool! Huh??

But hey ya know. I'm weird at times so it's natural to assume something of that nature would happen one night or another. Still insane though and I'm of course confused.

But the main thing I'm wondering about is what even happened in the dream itself? I have a sneaking suspicion that I shielded Crispin from an attack at the moment before waking up which means that's most likely what happened. The visuals I remember check out too. So I don't have any doubt that's what happened.

And when I woke up, I had a special kind of disorientation that normally accompanies a wake up from a dream I have control in. So based on that, I can come to the conclusion that I had better thinking capabilities in that dream.

With thinking abilities, plus my typical knowledge that I am indeed dreaming, of course I would shield my imaginary friend from an attack. I just escape to the awake world if I die in a dream. Meanwhile, with the continuation my dreams tend to have, I wouldn't have an assurance that an imaginary friend isn't going to have a permanent death if they're killed. It's happened before :[ If I can help it, I will defend my imaginary friends with my imaginary life. I can come back every time I fall asleep. These folks that exist only in the mind do not have that option under normal circumstances.

Another thing is the pure black background. That certainly wasn't a heavily detailed location. Most detailed thing there was Crispin who looked exactly the way he does in the game. I think it was very likely that I had an awake-level of thinking power, not only because of the "I could control this dream" kind of wake-up-disorientation, but because this dream didn't sacrifice processing power in favor of graphics. At least in the last few seconds I remember where the surrounding area was just pure void.

All of this along with the fact that the dreams that contain Crispin that I'm able to remember at all have most often been totally fun adventures, I can say that this dream was definitely something else.

I'm annoyed that I have no idea what else happened.

Presumably big adventure that I definitely have my usual awareness and self-control for? Wowie. That's like- something that would be super awesome to remember.

Not really worth being annoyed about anyway but - I am. Currently a little bit annoyed that I don't remember. I'll get over it in a couple hours or less

I wonder if in heaven I would be able to replay my dreams on a projector thingy or somethin-

[accessiblecalvinhobbes]

4 Panel Comic - Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson. Calvin is a young boy often in a striped shirt. He has an imaginary tiger friend named Hobbes. When Calvin is along Hobbes is a tiger who stands on his hind feet and talks only to Calvin. Others see Hobbes as a stuffed tiger toy that Calvin carries with him. Panel 1: Calvin and Hobbes are walking through the woods. Calvin says "Mom says death is as natural as birth. And it's all part of the life cycle." Panel 2: They stop and Calvin talks. Hobbes looks at him. Calvin says "She says we don't really understand it, but there are many things we don't understand and we just have to do the best we can with the knowledge we have." Panel 3: Calvin and Hobbes continue walking and are shown from behind. Calvin says "I guess that makes sense." Panel 4: Hobbes picks up Calvin and hugs him tightly. Calvin says "...But don't you go anywhere" and Hobbes replies "Don't worry."

[semimedieval]

the "chuji" and "obsidian" date, part 3: piratically, how was your salad?

i abandoned my reread aspirations because i started 'actually doing my job' on time a little often, moved back home, and most crucially started writing vital light instead of just thinking about it. plus what if i had come back to this reread and then started misnaming the whole cast while actually working on the story??? it would have been unconscionable. but now it is a beautiful autumn day in the washington dc metropolitan area, i have about 25 minutes til jenny gets home and about an hour fifteen until i'm done with work, it's a four day week, and i am very bravely relying on tomorrow morning katia to get their shit together, do their work on time, etc.

crucial factor i've overlooked: i have to scroll down a million comments' worth of beach episode and other nonsense to get to the date. also maybe i need a glass of delicious cold apply cider let's gooooooo

(one hour later, they had not even opened the gallery home page because they got distracted by telling baby gays on scratch to believe in themselves.)

but now, i'm back for real, i'm no longer at work, my beautiful wife is taking a nap, and i am putting off waking her up and going to trader joe's so that i can finally get through chuji and obsidian's silly silly date. i think i have devoted this much attention to it because it is at the end of the day very interesting to catch the moment where katia jack and augustine begin to embrace a form of writing where Character Exploration matters. we're about to get a lot of word count in which we try to figure out who chuji and obsidian are and what the root of their love for each other is. will it be underwhelming? absolutely. but i believe in giving out points for trying.

here and now, these crazy kids are walking down the street.

Obsidian felt her hand holding his. It increased his nervousness, and he found himself gripping it like a vice. Chuji read her little slip of directions. "Well. It should be on a pier near the beach... In about a block. Look for a building on a pier." He nodded, and made an effort to relax his shoulders. Chuji's face softened. "Lemme guess. Charlie overdid it?"

I do like this. Currently, the other crazy kids (me and Augustine) are trying and succeeding. I like Obsidian/Jasper and I think his reticence in the face of formal situations with strict social codes makes sense. I'm joining the war on autism on the side of autism. On a psychoanalytic level, I think it is telling that Jasper is the straightforward self insert of much of 1.0 – it is only toward the very end and into 2.0 that this role is assumed by Quartz. Past age 12, identifying with someone whose defining characteristics are being sad, quiet, awkward, and scared starts feeling less compelling. It's time to reclaim being sad and quiet and awkward and scared, though. It's time to reclaim jasper greythorne. <- being silly

Anyway, they see the restaurant, it's goofily large, katia and augustine freestyle imaginary facts about expensive restaurants like 'they ask you who you are by name' and... we'll, we'll get there.

"Charlie got you reservations and paid for a full-course meal in advance," the waiter informed them. "Oh! How sweet of him."she Said with fake happiness

I've been a real charlie hater this whole time, but this is just mean. If someone did this for me and jenny I'd be quite delighted. This is, in fact, quite a sweet gesture to make for your two friends who live in a cave and have never been on a date. I think the eternal little romance trope that Augustine and I are trying to go for is that Chuji and Obsidian are being placed into a social situation that does not come naturally to them or reflect their identities. It almost feels like it's setting up for a sort of 'skipping the prom' resolution where the two of them blow this popsicle stand and go eat at a corny seaside diner. But instead I think this set-up is only betraying a sort of queer embarrassment – our characters can only do a conventionally romantic thing if they are strong-armed into it. Notably, Chuji lets go of Obsidian's hand when they're escorted into the restaurant, a public space they are strangers to. (your honor they're lesbians to me)

Not quoting much here because nothing of great resonance happens – only classic silly things like me thinking that the more expensive a restaurant the bigger its menu, or that a 'soup kitchen' is a restaurant that serves soups. Although Morgan snaps at Obsidian for suggesting 'soup kitchen', so maybe he mistake is on him.

Fancy restaurants also don't give you size options like some manner of ice cream shop, but "Obsidian's eyes were, as Morgan would put it, extra large" as pay-off for that joke is cute. Anyway, he fails to order soup, the waiter leaves, and we get back into dinner. Chuji notes that the ocean is pretty; Obsidian makes a joke about how over the top their waiter is, which lands with a thud; Chuji utters the dreaded "This is awkward." Trouble in paradise! To make matters worse, they get bugged by the waiter about whether they're on a date, and he proceeds to harass Chuji, a 15-year-old girl about it. As I noted to Jenny last summer, Morgan behaves the way that one's social anxiety convinces you people treat you in public spaces.

Anyway, things pick up when Obsidian orders an extremely specifically-described salad:

"Uh..."Obsidian pointed at a simple salad with romaine lettuce, tomatoes, and an Italian-sounding name. "Large, Extra Large..." "Small!" Obsidian helped quickly. Chuji laughed.

An experienced writer would know to pull from this moment of levity into a moment when the awkwardness between Chuji and Obsidian disperses. 11 year old Katia, who claims that this exchange is followed by "fifteen minutes of awkward silence," is not an experienced writer. Obsidian finally asks Chuji what she's thinking about as she morosely stares out at the ocean, followed by an interjection from their bus boy. Service staff NPCs take up way too much narrative attention in this sequence, a fact that Augustine seems to recognize and I do not.

At last, Augustine and I get into the meat of what we've been working on all day: the hot new backstories we'd written for Chuji and Obsidian! As the two of them eat on the deck, the past returns.

she dropped her head as she remembered David, the blind boy Obsidian looked around. "I've never been to a place like this." He followed Chuji's gaze out to the shimmering ocean. "Yeah. really fancy stuff here." she started to eat her soup, thinking about the mob Obsidian seemed to sense that she wasn't remembering anything too pleasant. His own mind too was elsewhere, in a time before the Extranei. Silva's funeral, then the blackout, then Quartz coming into their room... Then the journey. And the fair.

I love these kids. They're so regular. Who else loves going on fancy dates with their girlfriend and taking said outings as an opportunity to contemplate their trauma? All my ladies with self harming tendencies say HEY!

Quite skillfully, the past re-emerges into the present during this moment where they are about to collide. There's a reason I want to write this scene again one day and think that it originated from a productive narrative direction.

She put down her spoon and looked at Obsidian "Obsidian, I want you to be truthful. Do you want Tozi reborn?" The question was sprung on him unexpectedly and he had never been much good at lying. He looked down. "I truly do want Tozi back, and I want to open my mind to him. But I am worried that you and I would get along...differently." Chuji laughed "Oh. It's okay Obsidian." she rested her hand on his "I love you. I always will." He smiled at her. "And so will I. Thank you for accepting my answer."

It is kind of admirable that our young selves were capable of haphazardly doing long-running plot lines like this. At fifteen, my impulse was to have everyone loudly and clearly talk it out and establish that everyone is valid and everything is okay. But this feels closer to the truer answer seen at 24: that there is no nice way to say "hey, are you planning to break up with me if we bring back your dead first love?" This is not necessarily compelling dialogue, but part of the discomfort I get from it is surprisingly productive. Obsidian's answer is blunt; Chuji's reassurance is nonspecific. But sometimes blunt and nonspecific is what one can manage.

They move on to verbalizing their pasts.

"Do you know what I was thinking about?" "No, what?" "The day me and Quartz met you," he said quietly. "Yeah,. Trike came out barking and Quartz yelled," she laughed. "And then we made contact... you look so curious."

There's a break for another Morgan interjection that even I seem to realize is out of place, because it's over quickly for once and we're back to MEAT.

Obsidian ordered hastily, then returned to the conversation. "Did I? I suppose I wanted to see who the beautiful girl was." Chuji blushed. "Don't be shy, I really do think so," he mumbled. "But that's not the reason I love you now. At least not the main one."

This is corny as hell but I am allowing it because Obsidian has needed to say nice things to his girlfriend for as long as they have been dating. Clumsy as it is, I like the implication that verbalizing where they came from, where they're going, and Chuji's intent to stay with Obsidian as an active choice rather than just a whim has broken some kind of dam of real affection between them.

Lorcan the busboy comes back and is expelled and, with an emotional revelation or development of sort established, we time skip to the end of dinner. Chuji says the famous line "Piratically, how was your salad?" Then, at last, their Third Kiss Ever:

The store was in sight, chuji stopped and asked "Obsidian?" "Yeah?" she stepped forward and kissed him, she pulled off and started off towards to the store He stood there for a while, dazed. Then he sat down, smiling, and enjoyed the night air.

Sometimes even a bad date can be turned around. Sometimes even bad writing touches truth. Welcome back to the og rp lb tag, audience of just me. NOW GET GROCERY SHOPPING!!

[purplesurveys]

1706

List 3-10 things in nature you find amazing.   How big and deep the ocean is and how little we’ve explored of it. Stretches upon stretches upon stretches of vast land that’s just completely filled with trees. How ecosystems can be formed inside a jar.

When was the last time you sat in front of a campfire? 🔥🪵   I’m not sure. You’ll never find those here given how hot it is. I think the first and last time was in 2008 when we had overnight thing in school and we built a campfire so we can roast marshmallows just like what we’d see in movies and cartoons.

What is your favorite campfire song, and why is it your favorite? 🔥🪵   I don’t even know any. I just know The Campfire Song Song from Spongebob, and I’d say that’s very catchy. I’d still sing it every now and then. It’ll help if you just sing along!

When was the last time you had a deep conversation with someone, and who was it with?   Sometime last week, with Celeste.

List three ways in which you are sensitive.   I’m very protective of certain socio-political opinions, like please don’t be a raging racist or homophobe around me (impossible with Filipino boomers).

I am quick to take things personally, so I think it’s bullshit when people excuse their mean words as being ‘in the heat of the moment’ - no, you mean exactly what you say *especially* when you’re angry.

Goes without saying but I am also extremely protective of BTS knowing their background, their rough way up, and things they’ve had to endure in silence.

How many brothers do you have?   One.

Are you faithful in a relationship?   Yes.

What is your favorite thing to daydream about and/or what is it that you daydream about the most?   Traveling the world.

Would you describe yourself as passionate?   Yes, but I also don’t force passion. I hate half-assing anything I care about, but at the same time, if I know that I’m really not feeling something then I wouldn’t pretend to like it either.

What are you the most passionate about?   These days, my job. It exhausts me but it doesn’t stop me from wanting to be good at it.

List three things you can see if you look out the window closest to you. 🪟   The rain, other houses, and trees.

Have you ever climbed through a window? 🪟   Nope.

What was the name of one of your childhood imaginary friends?   Katrina.

If someone were to call you crazy, what might the reason be?   BTS.

Do you think you are crazy? 😜   ^ I mean I’m definitely not denying that lol.

What are three ways in which you are blessed?   I try to avoid using that word because it has a strong religious connotation.

What are three trends from the 90's that you took part in and enjoyed?   I was barely alive in the 90s haha, but some 90s comeback trends that I like these days are high-waist jeans, baggy cargo trousers/pants, and athleisure. What is one thing you've moved on from?   My high school group of friends. I’m on friendly terms with 99% of them still (we even saw each other at one of my recent events!), but I’ve long accepted that my dynamic with them will never be the same as it used to be. You grow apart from certain people, and that’s okay.

What is one thing, if anything, that you still need to move on from?  I don’t think in these terms. If I’m not able to move on from something, I’d never be in a rush to get to that point already. If my feelings want to continue simmering I’d just simply let them be.

Which do you think is better: the real world that you live in, or the life that you daydream about?   The latter, I guess. Reality will never be 100% nice to you and a picture-perfect life is something I get to enjoy in my daydreams.

What group of people do you feel like you fit in with the most?   Low-maintenance people, BY A MILE. My college group and best friends all fit into this category and that’s why I love them to bits. I can have a good time with them regardless if we’re having cheap street food at a sidewalk, staying at a run-down hotel, or catching up at a fancier bar.

I realized this all the more when I went on vacation with my work friends and I witnessed them gradually go crazy just because the power went out at our hostel. All it took was an hour, and they decided This Wasn’t It and we packed our bags and canceled the rest of our booking so we can stay at a hotel with aircon. It drove me fucking wild. I’d never experience that with my irl friends; in fact a power outage would’ve been 100% all the more reason for us to make something fun and memorable out of the trip.

Where is one place you've been in which you didn't feel like you fit in at all?   My first school.

What is one song that motivates you?   Snooze by Yoongi, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and The Rose’s Woosung.

Do you prefer milk chocolate or dark chocolate? 🍫   Milk.

What are three of your favorite songs to sing when you're by yourself?  BTS has a ridiculously solid Japanese discography, considering they’re a Korean group. I’d never skip out on the chance to sing along to Crystal Snow, Your Eyes Tell, and Film Out. I feel like in general Japanese is also easier to memorize and pronounce, so that’s maybe why I enjoy their Japanese songs so much.

Would you describe yourself as a wallflower?   Not so much. I like going around and striking up conversations.

Do you smile at strangers?   No, not really practiced here.

Do you sing in the shower? 🚿   Very occasionally.

Do you prefer to take showers or baths? 🛀   Showers.

What are three little things in life that you enjoy?   Continued from the last weekend. Hitting all the green lights when driving, work meetings getting postponed to a later date, and seeing my dogs do the tricks they know. :D

If you could pick any three foreign countries to visit and explore, which three would you pick, and why? ✈️ 🌎   India, Norway, and Bhutan. All of them just seem to be vastly different from my own country, so it’d be a nice change of scenery and pace.

Do you feel you can honestly say that Jesus saved your life?   No.

What are three pleasant surprises that you enjoy?   Seeing old friends, like people from high school, somewhere random; Waking up, checking the time, and seeing I have 1-1.5 hrs left to continue sleeping before getting up for work (BEST); Anticipating really bad traffic only for it to turn out moderate or nonexistent.

How often do you wear your hair in a bun?   Almost never now. My baby hairs are super annoying and wearing a bun in all my hair’s frizzy glory makes me look 20 years older. I just do a low pony like what’s trending now.

True or false: Normal is boring.   Ugh, enough of this. “I’m not like other people” has become more boring than normal. Let people like mainstream or mundane stuff!

What are three ways in which you would describe yourself as "normal"?  I like a lot of mainstream things, like pop music and BTS; I work a very stereotypical, corporate, 9-6 job; Idk if this last one counts as normal but I like staying in and don’t feel FOMO when I’m not drinking on a Friday or weekend.

...and what are three ways in which you would say you are not normal?   I would rather cut people off than forgive; I take work more seriously than I should (the amount of times I get, “You’re not even the heir to this company, calm down” from my bosses, LOL); I hate fruits.

What would you say is the best thing about your life right now?   I’M SAVING MONEY. OMG like it’s something I’m so genuinely proud of and happy about hehehe. My self-control has improved a lot and it’s just great to see the effects actually come to life!

Do you still get excited about your birthday? 🥳   Yes. Weirdly enough, I’ve gotten more excited about my birthday the older I get, which I know is the opposite from what others may feel. My childhood birthdays were very uneventful due to financial limitations we had at the time, so these days I like to go all out and treat everyone with food enough for an entire village especially since I can afford to do it myself now.

What is one book that you've read over and over again multiple times, because you liked it so much? 📖   Twilight, hahah. I know I know it’s a ‘bad’ book, but me being a fan just overtakes everything at the end of the day.

Would you say are generally a quiet person, a loud person, or in-between? I’m an in-between that largely leans towards being loud. I’m only quiet when I’m hungry and tired, or when I’m surrounded by people I don’t 100% vibe with. What are three of your favorite ways to help people?   I let them rant to me and I always try to match their energy, whether they’re angry, exhausted, excited, etc; I share posts when someone needs crowdfunding/donations, or when someone posts a poster of their lost pet; I offer to drive people home even if it’s ridiculously out of the way for me.

What type of volunteer work do you enjoy doing the most?   I haven’t done any volunteer work, but if I get the chance, I will pick an animal shelter/rescue org.

What is one song that you've been listening to on repeat lately?   Seven by Jungkook and Latto.

Do you eat healthy? 🥗   Not actively, but I won’t skip out on it. Filipino cuisine is also, in many ways, healthy (we looooooove veggies in our food), so I feel like healthy eating is already kind of naturally part of my diet.

When was the last time you ate a salad? 🥗   I had a garden salad in May.

Would you say you mostly live inside your head?   No.

Have you ever been to California? ☀️   Nope.

Are you a fan of chocolate-covered strawberries? 🍓   Nopes.

True or false: You're not perfect, but that's ok with you.   False-ish. Perfection is impossible to achieve, but I can’t help but be competitive and get pissed off if I can’t do something right.

Do you enjoy creative writing?   No, it’s my biggest weakness when it comes to writing. 

I feel like this is also a good example of the previous question, hahaha. I just stopped writing stories and poems altogether because I never figured out how to be good at them.

What color was the last pullover hoodie you wore?   Black.

What type of list was the last list you made? 📝   It was two lists. One was a list of things I needed to do for the rest of the afternoon; then the second was a list of stuff I needed to delegate to my associate.

What is your favorite pizza topping? 🍕   Barbecue sauce, chicken breast, and onions.

Have you ever had a near-death experience?   Nah.

Besides Bzoink, what are three of your favorite websites? 💻   Twitter, YouTube, and Reddit.

Do you check Facebook every day?   Yes.

Do you prefer coffee or tea? ☕️   Coffee.

Do you think you look better with your hair up or your hair down?   I’ve been told it looks better up.

What color was the last coat you wore? 🧥 Black.

[ecofinisher]

Old Screenshots from the Sims games I kept in some file on Facebook 😂

I don't know, where to start, so I just go with Sims 3, then 4.

The camera was on a closer angle, so you can't see, what exactly was up. The pose is the failed giving flower options and it looks like she's shocked about seeing something.....interesting.

Talking about interesting areas......when WA wouldn't be such a jerk at glitching, when moving to Egypt or co. I would go with the current family I'm obsessed with to accomplish the missions. I did make Ayesha Ansari learn Kung Fu and randomly, they would do certain poses, when left alone. Durning a conversation, she was having she happened to do that and at the same time Xander began chuckling and I paused at this moment. This is how I accidentally created this weird moment 😂

During my teenhood, she gave me this sporty chick vibe, which I kinda was back then. I never knew any female fictional character from Disney or anywhere else, to which I could relate with. I forgot, what happened here, eventually, it was a romantic action.

You sure remember times, when you visited another family, for whatever reason a Sim would be invisible and interactions would look messed up, depending on what you would order them to do with other characters. Here she was making up with "air"

JAMIE, WHAT THE HECK? (Also, second Sim was invisible)

I did notice the girl sometimes go out off the house before going to bed, but I thought it had something to do with the imaginary friend. Once I followed her and she climbed on the double beds from the outside 🤨 Without the windows I could sell it as a boulder hall sample.

I don't remember, what happened here, but her neck needs to see the hospital.

The fear in his eyes is visible. What are you supposed to do, when he says no? Not that funny, but accurate, when asking the "future" father-in-law for the daughter's hand.

I took last time this picture to make a series to troll people, but I never noticed Simis roll his eyes 😂

I spoiled the surprise, so full revelation.

Another naturally happened pose. Parker got scolded for skipping school and seconds later his "flirty trait" just kicks in. 😂

Dog Maro is done with her owner's new baby. I love how a dog thinks of "begging for a promotion" I guess, dogs can as their "boss" for "treats" right? (The dog also seems to my eyes unmotivated, when zooming in)

Talking about dogs, another time I did get into a downloaded household and wanted the girl to go out with the sim Ethan Bunch. For some reason (I had started a new game) he was already dating the Sim River McIrish, which happened to be our neighbor. I stole Ethan away from her and visited her the other day, only to be hated by her and I thought about "making her pay back" by fighting her. What happened? She kicked my Sim's butt every flippin' time! Amazing, I didn't think Sims with the good trait would give you such a hard time - Returning back to the picture, after the fights I still didn't win, so out of boredom I went to torment her with our dog and when he locked her up by the corner she broke the fourth wall in fear 😂😍 So precious, she knew it was "someone else"

One bad thing about owning horses (Or unicorns) in a lot with a low place for them is the random glitching, that may occur sometimes. They would get stuck between walls and he was somewhere by the terrace. I moved the unicorn into the bedroom to take pictures and this one gave me vibes of Donkey from Shrek. (Just imagine the unicorn speaking with Eddie Murphy's voice) 😂 "Hey girl. I'm hungry. Have you got some carrots or some freshly-baked waffles?? Maple syrup on top of that would look delicious!"

I was working years ago on a story and used Sims screenshots to make it. During the work I was admiring the weird decor of the museum and when I was working on a fire scene at the museum, I pulled a Sim around the museum and ended up putting her in front of a toilet, 😂 It looks hilarious for some weird reason.

Natural reaction. Don't know, what happened nor what triggered it.

When you can't have the CC's you want, but you have a plan B....

Natural reaction as well or anything from moviemaker-cheats. I only used fainting as a movement, but if the face belongs to any of the existing commands.....I'm clueless.

Sims never had a height slider, but you would always know, that adults are taller than teens. Weirdly this fail made me question, why EA never added a height slider. (At least we know Parker is a smoll dude 😂) Believe it or not, I didn't cheat here, Parker just didn't obey my commands and went to sit down there and for whatever reason Michael sat there as well. This is what we got in the end.

Sims 4 had some funny ones back then, when I got the game. This was me zooming from another POV into a Sim before her getting pulled into a smooching session.

One of the family members I didn't really care for passed away in the fire, which still was active on the time the Grim Reaper appeared to pick our Sim up. He seemed surprised.

WHAT THE HELL.

At some point I didn't know Sims could walk around naked and allowed them to do that xD And as you see, we know who in this relationship wears the pants......uh literally? She's not wearing clothes, but like she's the boss you know..... goodbye, I'm heading out of here.

[willel]

I agree with you about Mike. But what kind of conflict they could have written for him that wouldn’t have felt forced? He grew up in a normal (doesn’t mean perfect) family, he’s white, straight, healthy, good grades, not ugly, found his girlfriend in the first season. There isn’t much to do with such a "normal" character, imo.

Like I said, I think something could've happened to his family at some point. Maybe not even a major tragedy like Holly and Karen dying, but SOMETHING.

Lucas grew up normal too, other than the racism. They still managed to find personal conflicts for him, racism included (even though they downplayed that part a bit, as I predicted they would)

Even Lucas's romantic issues seem so.... down to earth and real? Maybe because Lucas can speak more openly with Max about what he's feeling and thinking even if it's the wrong thing sometimes? Of course, not to compare the two pairings since they're very different.

Maybe instead of focusing so much on the "I couldn't say I love you"... I dunno... hm.... ah! I have an idea!

Everyone is pretty aware of Max and Mike's similarities yeah? They're kinda closed off snarky individuals. As they say, "same character different fonts."

MAYBE instead of the "I couldn't say I love you" dilemma.... Mike was just being distant like he does to pretty much everyone else (Will and Lucas in particular) Actually, Mike would be similar to Jonathan too because Jonathan is doing the same thing to Nancy.

Well shoot, seems like all my ideas are already being done for other characters. Lol

But hey, maybe that's not so bad! If he's being distant like Jonathan, well guess what? He's with Jonathan the whole season! Maybe Jonathan would give him advice.... as in, "I can give advice but not take my own advice" kind of thing. Or maybe Jonathan would see how distance has hurt El so obviously and he reflects more about Nancy and decides he'll come clean at some point?

That way we get development for two characters with one stone. If they played it out that way, maybe I wouldn't have minded so much. You'd be giving Mike interactions with a character outside of someone who is in love with him (El or Will), allowing his character to develop more naturally AND give Jonathan's character more stuff to do too. Jonathan was once the big brother of the group after all.

Let's see, what else. Well, if the Duffers weren't in such a rush to yeet Mike to California, they could've done more with the whole ditching Lucas for d&d stuff. That really hurt Lucas and Mike being confronted with that could've called for some growth. Then again, Lucas doesn't even bring it up to Dustin so that conflict just.... completely disappeared. :/

But in an imaginary world where they didn't drop half of Lucas's conflict, let's pretend he does see Mike one last time before he goes to California. They get into a tizzy, much like they used to. Mike arrives in California being even more of a sour puss because of his argument with Lucas.

AHA! This would be great! Then Mike and Will's discussions won't all have to be relationship and dating advice from the boy who's never been in a relationship and is gay in the 80's. It could also be about his fight with Lucas AND the fight between him and Will. It would bring up the conflict from season 3 all over again you know? And this time, they could actually work through it and Mike would tie it all together and reflect on his friends and his girlfriend! Yes!

When they get back to Hawkins and see Lucas in the hospital, it would hit so much more when Mike and Lucas hug too. Maybe even an apology. Oooo I like it a lot.

It'd be like Mike is juggling all these conflicts he accidentally and unintentionally started, but he'd come out on the other side with his bonds stronger than ever, ready to pull everyone together for the final season maybe.

Yes, I think that is what Mike's character is missing. More conflicts within the party that is resolved in a satisfying way. His conflict with Will was not resolved in a satisfying way in season 3. His conflict with Lucas was not resolved in a satisfying way in season 4. Bring things back to Dustin, I think he should get in this too. It's really too bad they don't wrote Lucas and Dustin together anymore.

So there it is. Some nice cool stuff for Mike to do that isn't just romantic drama that could've played well going into the final season if he's supposed to be the party leader again.