#i havent even seen the book physically

[the-mighty-toast-wizard]

Holy crap Neil Gaimen is actually on this site?

And the asks that get sent are actually answered?

And alot of them are wholesome?

Nice

[lunatic-fandom-space]

I just remembered, about a year ago immediately after reading interview with the vampire for the first time I stumbled upon this youtube comment under a video that was about progressive modern reboots and why so many of them suck, i think? that was basically like "the new iwtv show is a good example of a progressive reboot thats actually good, in large part because it focuses on the queer relationships that could only be hinted at in the original book bc it was published in the 70s" which absolutely flabberghasted me. like, im not gonna deny that homophobia was A Thing in the 70s but I never got the impression that iwtv was the way it was because of that. like Ive started rereading it and thirty pages in I feel like Louis just keeps saying shit to the effect of "what lestat and i did together was very much not unlike gay sex", so he is kinda vague about it but the homoeroticism is blatant enough that I dont think it was selfcensoring yknow. also, after reading the vampire lestat I feel like you can chalk that vagueness up to just louis' personality because in his own book (which came out in the 80s) he basically straightup says "i love louis the way i love my mother. romantically" which is wild of course but well. he said it not me.

[mo0nc4lf]

read fun home by alison bechdel and immediately listened to the broadway soundtrack right after and ended up crying my eyes out

[floorpancakes]

today's spoils and leftover snacks!!!!

[utarinho-bonjour]

my tsats 2 expectations!

Nico looking healthier: At the end of tsats1 we see him thinking "how could i not eat when it gives so much pleasure?" or smt like that. I can see him improving significantly his eating habits and at least gaining a bit of muscular mass (is that how we put it?), which will make him more powerful, since normally eating a grape a day might reduce your necromancy powers.

Nico being cute: we can absolutely expect that he will be insufferable next to will in this book. Like, he was already being the cringiest nerd ever at the first book, where he still had a LOT of emotional limitations, he wouldnt let go of will, always touching him and showing absurd amounts of affection through his touch. We can expect him being a little shit even more now that he seems to be getting more and more comfortable with wills touch.

TEENAGER COCOA PUFFS: (god i love this one). I think it could be something like: the more nico grows comfortable with aspects of his trauma, the more the cocoa puffs grow. The more he accepts and deals with shame, the more the little ball of darkness grows until it actually evolves as something with a physical form. I remember seeing something about the cocoapuffs taking animal forms as they grow and i LOVE this concept. Imagine some monster or deity trying to taunt nico with shame or envy and this teenager sized bear shows up from the darkness. God, i cant, nico is the coolest character EVER.

COCOA PUFFS: i like the concept of them also growing independet, as much as the idea of some little balls of darkness following nico is very dear to me, i also like the idea of them exploring the world or evolving as creatures too. They would be independent creatures but as an extention of nico, they have their own personalities, connected with their respective trauma but you can see the action part being similar to nicos.

COCOA PERSONALITIES: Shame being shy but when cornered they get angry and defensive. Envy being full of pride and "comunicative" but when triggered they get quiet and cold.

NICO GETTING HADES' BLESSING: i think one of the things most of the nico stans have in common is an absurd love for his demonstrations of power 🙂‍↕️. The thing with hades' blessing is: we dont know what it is, up to this point we havent seen anyone get it and deal with it yet, which is very cool because we can overpower it on our heads 🤭! I THINK, the hades blessing would act to counter the biggest weakness of most (ig) children of hades, it would waste way less energy. Of course it would seem sick, like making nico actually look and perform as a creature of the underworld, him getting horns, maybe? nico getting black eyes? his skin turning grey? his hair turning white? nico having less form? being completelly engulfed by shadows? God i loooove fanservice, lets go rick and mark yall have one job, and it is to make nico look like a dragon ball transformation, so we can look at it and think "sick". I like to think that his fighting style at this state merges with his powers, going for a kick at his oponents head then suddenly apearing behind them? sick. stealing the life of his oponents? killing them while healing himself from it? sick. getting shadows with venon around him? absolutely sick.

NICO BEING GOOD AT GAMES: i love gamer nico. It matches his personality soo well. That is like the best remedy to insomnia, right? Im not really a gamer myself aside from competitive online games, and i cant really imagine nico playing league (ew), but i could see him ending resident evil 7 in a night. Playing tomb raider? yes! I could see him playing most adventure, suspense and horror games, and the thing is: bitch can play the most gut wrenching games with the scariest jump scares EVER, and he wouldnt even flinch. on the other side, him getting easily scared by anything on this games would also be super funny. Bitch screaming like a prey runing from a lion while playing dbd. He went to tartarus and is dissolving by a jumpscare? funniest concept ever.

NICO LOOKING HANDSOME: and way more intimidating. With some sun, actually being happy for once, better eating habits and accepting himself i think he would look quite good. I see him now with very black hair and very black doe eyes, a full mouth and a very straight and a bit too big nose, a bony face shape and a little bit of eyebags. I like to think he still has these features but his face is really symetrical and his skin makes him look like a doll, his lips and beautifull but his eyes, even though they look beautiful, the look is haunting, and make you need to look away. He looks like he's reading your mind, but he also looks so handsome you want to keep looking. I think he has long lashes too, and his scar only makes him more intimidating, it is the only not symetrical thing on his face and it makes him stand out. He has a cold look in his eyes, you never know what he is thinking (aside from will that reads him like a book), and the fact that he is constantly getting healthier and more handsome is very haunting.

NICO ACCEPTING HIS GOOD PARTS AND WILL ACCEPTING HIS BAD PARTS: I think this one is my favorite so far, Nico being able to sustain himself in a fight, stealing life from oponents (i loooove this one), or simply learning how to heal because he understands that death and life are the same thing. While Will understands that not all lives are meant to be saved, and to save more lives it might take some difficult choices like not saving others. It might make him get the hability of necrosing things just like nico, or (like canon) giving diseases just like he heals.

thats it for now! english is not my first language! be kind.

[cyberdragoninfinity]

I would love to hear your thoughts about the fucked-up turtle (Terapagos)

"Now let's talk about the turtle. Can we talk about the turtle please, Mac? I've been dying to talk about the turtle with you all day."

Ok so. Short Answer Re: Thoughts About Terapagos:

WHAT THE FUCK. WHAT THE FUCK. WHAT THE FUCK. WHY DID IT DO THAT. WHY DID THEY [GAMEFREAK] DO THAT.

Long Answer Re: Thoughts About Terapagos [SPOILERS FOR THE SCARVIO DLC naturally. i havent seen Horizons so i dont rly know whats goin on with this little guy in the anime, just what we've got in the games]:

When the last little batch of new Pokemon in Indigo Disk leaked, about 12 hours or so-ish before the DLC dropped, I was at dinner with my bestie and we were looking at our phones like we were reading breaking world news. And I was looking at this tiny ass png of Terapagos's full Tera (Stellar) form.

And I immediately blurted out "holy SHIT it's turtles all the way down."

If you're not familiar with the phrase, check out its wikipedia page; here it's most relevant as a saying thrown around with regards to the philosophical concept of infinite regress, i.e. a series of elements (or questions begging an explanation) that that goes on infinitely with each member producing the next. So let's say the world rests on the back of a giant turtle--well, then, what does that turtle stand on to keep it from falling into the void? Why, another, bigger turtle, of course! But what about that turtle? Well, you're not gonna believe this, but it's turtles all the way down.

And here's the other thing about infinite regress: it's a logical fallacy, it's circular reasoning--honestly it's a little bit of a cousin to the "which came first?" chicken and egg argument. The question in these cases never truly gets answered, it just goes on and on forever. Bigger turtles on top of even bigger turtles.

It's a paradox. :)

So Stellar Terapagos, just look at that thing. Even its dex entries talk about how it looks like a planet, how it resembles "the world as the ancients saw it"--it's very much not only trying to evoke the World Turtle concept, but the symbolism of a classic paradoxical saying. So we've already got that going on with it, that already makes me bonkers. AND THAT'S JUST THE SURFACE LEVEL.

Cuz when we look at how Terapagos behaves, things start to go from "well isnt this guy a little weird" to "oh. oh this thing is kind of fucked up and terrifying, hello, what the hell is wrong with it" REAL FAST. Its two most stressed features we see in Indigo Disk are A.) its crystalline nature and how its the progenitor of Terastalization, but also B.) it is ferociously powerful and borderline uncontrollable. It's violent. It bursts out of a Master Ball and almost kills Kieran for daring to try and control it. Heath's illustration of its Stellar form in the Scarlet/Violet Book looks so otherworldly and almost cosmically horrifying. It has Weird Fucking Powers the game does NOT elaborate on (but I will; see more below.)

And also, hey, yeah, its Stellar Form looks like a stack of world turtles, but why the FUCK does its Terastal form also look like a goddamn dream catcher.

Personally I've been a big fan of the 'imagination theory' re: the Professors and the Paradox Pokemon and Area Zero, and folks have been arguing that Indigo Disk debunks that, but honestly I feel like we're loitering around some untold explanation that's even more bizarre. Terapagos is at least on some level tied to dreams and existentialism, and I really feel like there's more to Tera Crystals and Terapagos's relationship with them than what we've been told. Hell, its cry is even the noise we hear all game when we Terastalize our Pokemon, which produces its own myriad of questions (Are the Crystals some degree of alive? The Tera Crowns all do have Terapago's little turtle head at their base, too--does Terapagos physically or spiritually connect with a Terastalizing Pokemon? And what about that weird crystalizing the AI Professor does during its big boss fight? MUCH TO THINK ABOUT.)

Oh, speaking of Crystals--yeah. I can't NOT talk about the Indigo Disk Crystal Pool Postgame Secret when talking about Terapagos. ONE MORE SPOILER WARNING FOR THAT--SERIOUSLY GO TO THE CRYSTAL POOL AFTER GETTING THE DLC CREDITS. IT WILL BLAST YOU TO BITS. anyway.

Yeah so that's what I mean with Why Did It [Terapagos] Do That. The fact that you dont even need to have it in your party for the postgame Crystal Pool cutscene to trigger and for Terapagos to just pop out of the PC boxes on its own accord and warp space and time (and maybe even reality itself) to irreversible consequence, implying once again some great and uncontrollable power within this beast. Crazy Ass Moments in Pokemon History for CERTAIN.

And the thing that makes me most insane, thinking about Terapagos twisting time to allow you to meet the Professor, the Real Live Professor, to swap notes with them so to speak, the way it facilitates all of that, is the position it now puts the player and Scarvio itself in. If the Professor's research rests on the back of a white book given to them by a child, then what does the research of that white book rest upon? Ah, well, the expedition of Area Zero spurred forth by the fallout of the Professor's research. And what did THAT research rest upon, again...?

Turtles. The whole way down. Chickens and eggs and a paradox you're now responsible for. At the hands of a Normal Type Pokemon that tried to kill a 14 year old.

Terapagos scares the shit out of me. I love it so much. Why Did They Make It Like That <3

[limabean42]

can i get some relationship hcs for sadness and/or disgust please? i havent seen anyone make anything for them yet and i love them both dearly. thanks. big fan of your work so far btw!

Sadness and Disgust relationship headcanons

Yeee I’m excited! This is my first request with more than one character included! You guys can always request headcanons for more than one character. Just keep in mind though that because multiple characters are being written for each character’s headcanons will be shorter compared to if it was just one character! Hope you enjoy! Also if you requested recently your request probably won’t be filled until a couple weeks from now. I have a lot to go through and I try to write every other day :)

-

Sadness

• Sadness would’ve never thought she’d be in a relationship

• She honestly felt like she wasn’t worthy of being loved by anyone

• If she liked you a lot and couldn’t shake the feeling she’d confess to you but would anticipate rejection

• If you confessed first she’d be genuinely surprised

• “Really? You like me?” She would say

• Nonetheless you two would start dating

• Sadness would be a timid lover at first

• She wouldn’t be adventurous or make the first move at anything just in case you weren’t into it

• However, if you are the type to make the first move and do, she would gain courage to do so as well

• Gets shy with PDA but still accepts it

• If you’re not physically near each other in the control room she waves at you from across the room a lot

• You think it’s cute

• You go on mini dates around headquarters and read books together

• Gets shy when you two kiss

• Likes cuddling with you

• Prefers if you’re the big spoon because she likes to feel protected

• Once you two have been dating for a while she says I love you regularly

• Probably wouldn’t say it first though

• She gets tired easily and when she does she drags you to the bed to come cuddle with her

• You comfort her whenever she cries, even if it’s over trivial things like Riley dropping an ice cream cone

• If she’s crying about something more serious you hold her tighter and give her kisses on the head to help her get through it and talk about it

• She sometimes gets insecure and in her head about you being too good for her

• You can tell when she does because her mood change is easy to detect

• You always comfort and reassure her

• You two don’t really argue

•If she’s upset at you she’s usually sad, hardly ever gets mad or starts arguments

• Just starts crying

• This can be an issue for you sometimes but that’s a topic for another day

• Her primary love languages are words of affirmation and quality time

• Often needs verbal reassurance from you but also loves to be near you in general. Spending time together while chatting

• Overall a very sweet and laidback girlfriend

————————————————————————

Disgust

• Disgust was surprised when she discovered that she had romantic feelings for someone other than Lance to be honest

• She was a bit grossed out at first

• Cause like, why would she all of a sudden develop a crush on someone she lived with?

• She was in denial for a while, whenever she thought of being in a relationship with you she’d almost barf at the idea of her not hating it

• Eventually she would be forced to come to terms with these feelings

• She wouldn’t confess though, you’d have to do that part

• When you do she considers it for a few minutes then sighs defeatedly, admitting the feelings are mutual

• “Fine, whatever. We can date but if you do anything weird I’m breaking up with you.” She’d say in her usual sassy tone

• She’s hesitant at first to do coupley stuff with you. Cringes internally at it

• Eventually though, she more than warms up to it

• She starts craving physical touch and compliments from you

• Falls in love with you without realizing it

• The more time she spends with you the stronger her feelings grow

• She rarely ever gets grossed out by anything you do, just admires you all day from afar

•Doesn’t say anything about it though unless she’s feeling romantic

• Very protective over you

• Will always make sure you’re safe

• If anyone tries to cross you she’s always on your side backing you up, no matter if you’re right or wrong

• She completely turns into your number one fan

• Starts complimenting you on your appearance and giving you soft pecks on the cheek

• Doesn’t mind PDA. Likes kissing you in front of the others

• Loves holding your hand

• You two also go on mini dates around headquarters

• She gets really into planning them and likes having dates frequently

• Her primary love languages are words of affirmation and physical touch

• She also likes receiving gifts though, especially if it’s something lavish like jewelry or perfume

• Loves getting compliments from you and giving them

• Also likes having you touching her at all times in some way, it makes her feel more secure

• She loves cuddling you at night in whatever position you want

• Doesn’t get insecure or jealous often because she knows she’s that girl

• If you give her a reason to be jealous or insecure though, oh boy will she be mad and hurt

• Overall a very loving girlfriend if you keep her happy conistently

[twisted-confessions]

https://www.tumblr.com/cheekinpermission/746227919612936192?source=share

Hope not late! 25 , 5 and 28👀👀

Nope not late at all!!

25. Which character(s) would you actively avoid? Personally, you would not see me anywhere near Vil, Rook or Sebek.

I can appreciate Vil's efforts to have people more self-confident in their own image however I absolutely despise how forceful he goes about it, especially with Epel and the dance troupe. If I EVER caught him trying to change parts of myself that I'm proud of (my australian accent, my nerdy sense of fashion, etc.) it would be ON SIGHT- (Can you tell I'm still not over Book 5?)

For Rook, i can say I..... respect his dedication and loyalty to his beliefs. However? That man... he scares me... Also, i'm still extremely salty over the VDC/SDC results WE SHOULD HAVE WON THAT AND WE LOST TO THE TWST EQUIVILANT OF BABY SHARK- Rook, i don't care about your reasonings for why we weren't at our best, I've seen the video performance AND THE NRC TRIBE FUCKING NAILED IT!!!

And then our croccy boi- Now don't get me wrong, I do love Sebek as a member of the first year gang of idiots. I also don't know a lot about him personally since I've only known him in events and havent started Book 7 yet. From what I have seen, he does annoy me a lot with his blatant disregard and disrespect to anyone who isn't Malleus or Lilia. His ego and his racism also really piss me off and make me wanna slap some sense into him. I understand it comes from a place of self-loathing but dude, PLEASE read the room for once and not screech our ears off. I'm certain that I would eventually befriend him but if we actually met face to face, it would be a miracle for me to not punch him 1 minute after his insults.

5. If you could have any unique magic / signature spell in the game, which would you choose and why?

Ooooh I've never thought about that until now actually. Personally, i would want something that would be useful and practical both in a day to day life or in a fight since I'm not very physically strong. Going with that idea, i'd more than likely pick either Split Card or Paint The Roses/Doodle Suit. Multiple me's to help me do chores around the house or distract someone in a fight? YES PLEASE!! I also have a lot of sensory issues so I feel like Paint the Roses would really help me eat the things i need to or make a certain texture that feels funny to me turn comfortable. We've also seen how useful it can be in a fight during Riddle's Overblot when Trey turned the rosebush into cards and saved us.

If just for fun though, I'd love to try out any of Savanaclaw's UM's/SS's. Now THAT would be chaotic heheh.

28. What is the TWST related content that you've produced that you are most proud of?

I personally really love my HTTYD x TWST fic that i've been writing. Knowing myself, I probably wont ever finish/post it so I'll have what I've written linked here for anyone who's interested in my favourite brainworm lol. Bella is a very special oc near and dear to my heart as she's the first one that I've enjoyed writing for since being kicked out of home over a year ago. She gave me back my creativity and I couldn't be more thankful for it.

Right now, I've even been imagine a Fairly OddParents x TWST fic in my head which I think would be a BLAST to write, where my Twisted version of Timmy Turner (a girl called Izzy) would use their rule free wish to be a part of Wanda, Cosmo and Poof/Peri's family as their bio daughter when they're no longer her godparents and becomes a half-fairy hybrid in the process. The idea of a "magicless" girl at NRC who out of nowhere suddenly can not only make but GRANT wishes that bend the laws of reality around her is absolutely hilarious to me. Haha take that you pricks, you thought I was weak? BOOM you're a hedgehog, now you really are a prick. Rewatching FOP and seeing how Timmy can be such a menace/pos really makes me think he would fit in GREAT amongst NRC lol.

I'm also really proud of the Card edits I've done for other people where I turn their OC's into different rated cards so it looks like it's from the game. Seeing all the different kinds of OC's and hearing about their characters is so amazing.

Feel free to send in any more asks or questions!! I love interacting with the Twst Community <3

[autistic-katara]

stuff i wanna see in TSATS

its just less than 2 months until TSATS comes out and my pjo phase is coming back HARD so heres some stuff i wanna see (idc how popular or unpopular these r)

Solangelo kiss (seriously like all the other good canon couples had one)

explicit use of queer terms (i havent rlly seen anyone talk abt this but as much as i love queer characters just existing u have no idea how happy it makes me to see media, especially kids media, explicitly say the words gay, bisexual, transgender, lesbian, etc.)

Hunters of Artemis cameo

piggybacking off that, Nico’s reaction to Reyna being a hunter (ive wanted to see this since 2019 PLEASE i gotta know how he feels abt this considering yk his past w/ them)

confirmation on whether Will’s gay or bi/mspec (or just simply queer, no specific labels necessary)

a trans/nonbinary character (specifically transmasc)

a Piper cameo

during her cameo Piper explicitly saying her sexuality (which is lesbian, if u think otherwise ur wrong/hj)

Hazel cameo

more Lavinia content (idc how i just need more of my chaotic Jewish ADHD pink-haired Russian lesbian, ok?)

GAY ANGST

MORE GAY ANGST

SO MUCH GAY ANGST ITLL MAKE MY AO3 HISTORY LOOK LIKE A HAPPY HETEROSEXUAL PURE BIBLE CLUB FOR TODDLERS

canonically autistic Nico

that Lil Nas X reference we were promised

Nico making more trauma jokes (he just like me fr)

the multiple coming out scenes i heard were allegedly promised

Hades and/or Apollo cameo

Hestia cameo

Jason’s ghost cameo

dead Apollo kids cameo

explicit discussion of Nico’s religious trauma

explicit discussion of just Will’s trauma in general (seriously we all kinda ignore that our “sunshiney golden retriever uwu gay boi 😊🌸✨☀️” actually has some super serious trauma)

both of them coping badly with all this and being worried abt eachother (aka gay angst but more specific)

Maria di Angelo content

Persephone cameo w/ her either still lowkey hating Nico and being passive aggressive asf to him or having had him grow on her in the past few years and is now turning the overprotective mom mode to the max

just some cute, non-angsty moments between Nico nd Will cause goddam we need some queer joy rn ;-;

so much hurt/comfort u physically cant continue living anymore (going both ways not just Will comforting Nico)

a MCGA cameo

Fierrochase and Solangelo meeting and having the same funny interactions they have in the memes (but with the canon versions of them)

discussions of stuff like homophobia and internalized homophobia and mental illness

a relatively happy ending (but not a “2 months later and the world is perfect and neither of them had felt anything close to depression or anything since the ending and if for some reason addiction was a part of this we would we talking abt how they were magically 2 months clean and it would be physically impossible for the thought of relapse to even cross their mind” kinda happy ending cause i hate those kinda endings w/ a burning passion)

setup for another side book (preferably a Piper or Reyna one)

thats all i can think of rn off the top of my head but feel free to comment on any of these or add ur ideas cause 2 months feels like an eternity long wait + hearing other opinions is fun when we arent all in a heated argument over smthn stupid

[the-gayest-show]

bro it's actually so annoying seeing neil gaiman mentions randomly in stuff now where i used to be excited before.

picked up a copy of fahrenheit 451 (good book, currently reading) and it's not supposed to be about him but he's got an intro section in this book man.

like i don't know what to think, feel. good omens was my lifeline for so long that neil gaiman became my favorite author when i explored his work. i loved the dark vibes about it and stuff, but now it's got me reexamining everything like it's been poisoned.

i still believe in the merit of stuff like good omens and i still have an appreciation for the stuff he made already but it's like i've been soured by all the news of him being a rapist. which i suppose is fair.

but now i see him randomly IN STUFF I DONT EVEN EXPECT HIM IN

i vaguely remember reading a short story where ray bradbury was listed as a huge inspo or something for neil and neil visited ray bradbury or something. so that's why neil's in my world classic book, but it's still annoying. doesn't taint fahrenheit 451 (once again, good book) but it's annoying how his intro words feel horribly wonky to me. i didn't even read the intro i just skipped to the ray bradbury story i wanted to read.

-

i still own a few of his books, i still own good omens merch (including neil's scriptbook too)

i get the whole "separate the art from artist" and i believe in it but it's damn different because this man was like. my role model for cool writing. and i liked the stuff he's made. i still love good omens (hence why im still rbing occasional posts) but i dont think i'll view it the same, even if s3 will not have him in it. a lot of his stories are very affecting like they changed my life (i LOVED ocean at the end of the lane) and he got me reading all his short stories when i read trigger warning (which i own a forever copy of in my home). ive read every single one in there and then borrowed other short story collections.

-

on the one hand this sucks but i've gained some life lessons from it. one time i made the curse/blessing (both at the same time) of posting a question on reddit asking whether there was physical evidence because i guess i was in denial? i was trying to rationalize everything in a frankly unrationalizable situation, and half the people shouted at me thinking i was a rape apologist (i was asking if there was more evidence that i havent seen because i used to be on the fence but leaning toward believin the survivors) and the other half actually took me at my word and gave me solid advice on how to understand everything (the latter i thank so much for seeing the confusion in everything and answering the real question i had).

like if i've learned anything is that this sucks. you CANT rationalize it and also that i'm not very good at understanding the big social picture and it took me mentioning being autistic to realize "man, the neurodevelopmental disorder that makes you bad at socializing affects how you interact with others in a greater social context!" (and also for half the redditors to realize that i wasn't trying to be mean) who knew. but hey some nice commenters genuinely woke me up and gave me actual viable advice that's actually useful and ive learned so much from that it's crazy.

that;s probably my only positive though. i still get icky looking at some stuff he wrote and was a part of but i suppose im getting thru this in my own way and i'll figure it out.

[manie-sans-delire-x]

Asking out of real interest, what do you mean by “PDs aren’t just bad behaviour”? I know there’s neurological differences and all, but I feel as if there must be some element of choice for ASPD? Obviously it’s not a choice to have the personality disorder, but the behavioural aspects confuse me a little. Like what compels someone to lie pathologically, exploit, manipulate, be horrendously irresponsible etc. in daily life? Also: is it daily? How severe/frequent does this type of behaviour have to be to lead to dx

Yeah its a complicated thing isnt it? It really comes down to the discussion of whether humans have genuine free will at all, or if we're just animals at the mercy of our brain chemistry. Honestly, the more I study psychology, and evolution, the more I become inclined to believe the latter, even if it may sometimes be a "cop-out" excuse. But I don't believe humans are in control of ourselves as much as we like to believe, we are just animals, perceiving and reacting based off innate predispositions and our environment around us, neither of which we can control. Nature vs nurture? We cannot control either, and twin studies show nature/innate genetics actually determines who we are a little bit more- about 60% to 40%. Actions are decided based off thoughts and feelings, again neither of which humans can control, only try to manage after it has already come into existence and awareness. Unfortunately, whether its true or not, society can't really function on that premise. Society HAS to function on the premise that humans have total free will, or we couldn't punish crime or hold people responsible for anything. Even if its scientifically proven that humans dont have free will, I dont think humans are willing or capable of accepting or fully understanding that about themselves.

Also, its the same conflict with other disorders- people with anorexia "choose" not to eat. People with depression choose to not bathe. They are perfectly physically capable of it, but they are "unable" or at least its deeply difficult to do so because of internal factors, even if they want to recover. Is that truly free will? Are they under control of an illness that has co-opted their brain? Does a drug addict have full control over themselves when the drug has changed their neurochemistry? A person with schizophrenia may understand that they are being paranoid or having hallucinations, but they cannot stop being paranoid and having hallucinations.

You say that you know there are neurological differences and people with ASPD dont choose to have that, but aren't our actions determined by our neurology? Our thinking, our emotions. Brain chemistry determines it all doesnt it? Isnt that why medication works, that thoughts, feelings, and behavior strongly changes once brain chemistry changes? Isnt that why brain damage can completely change a persons personality and behavior? We know that physical damage to the brain often causes severe aggression, seen in many serial killers like Richard Ramirez and even in odd cases like Phineas Gage. So is it so different from that, whether the damage to the brain is cause by a physical outside influence, or abuse and trauma? We can see on scans that abuse and trauma changes the physical structure of the brain- its smaller, has less neural activity and less volume of gray matter.

Ultimately I don't know, I dont have the answers. But it sure is a fascinating topic!! Stanford neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky argued the same thing- that free will doesnt exist. I havent read it but he wrote a book about it.

-----

"Like what compels someone to lie pathologically, exploit, manipulate, be horrendously irresponsible etc. in daily life?"

Thats another complicated but very interesting question! But ok lets ask this, what compels someone to NOT lie? To tell the truth, to treat people well, to be responsible and show up at work everyday even when they dont actually want to. I think its the same answer- genetic personality and upbringing. Basically, maybe we are all just trained dogs. We all act based on what we are shown, what we are taught (and genetic predispositions). People do what they believe is best for themselves, what they deserve, what others deserve. People act on how they expect others will act- an abuse victim being aggressive and attacking first because they expect to be attacked due to prior life experience. Most liars think other people lie. People who scam justify to themselves by saying the fault is in the victim for being stupid, and separate themselves from the victim by believing they would never fall for such an obvious scam (whether thats true or not).

People can justify anything, most people dont think of themselves as a bad person. Even rapists and murderers justify it to themselves, and they can even be horrified by the same crime committed by someone else. Humans have a blind spot when it comes to themselves, especially humans with ASPD or NPD. Even though they are PDs, there really is an element of delusion in it, same as psychosis. They are not fully living in the mainstream "reality". Breaking free of that delusional state and realizing that they are the monster, they are the bad guy, that they are the problem, can be a huge shock. Its a complete change of perspective, their world turning upside down. Most arent capable of ever even reaching that break through point, because its too painful, and would ruin their self image and narrative of their life. Or they are not naturally insightful enough, or versed in psychological and philosophical thinking enough. I'm speaking from personal experience here, when I had my moment of "I am the monster in this story" when I was 19 it was very shocking because I was delusional, I did not see it like that at all, I was viewing my life from my perspective, naturally. Suddenly I saw two mirror realities of my life and myself, both equally real and valid, but very different perspectives. But I'll just say this- it makes total sense at the time. It makes total sense to lie, or manipulate, or kill, or rob. It all just comes down to perspective. I dont think people can fully understand something without experiencing it themselves. To understand a murderer, you have to commit murder. But then it really does make sense.

Most people with PDs are victims of childhood abuse and trauma. It warps your thinking, your ways of feeling, and thus your actions. You dont relate to other human beings the same way healthy people do. That basic bond and care, the recognition of the self in the other is damaged. Trauma makes your brain shut off your empathy and connection to others to better survive, so you dont have to carry the pain of others on top of your own suffering, so you can prioritize your own survival.

I think it can be very hard for a victim of abuse to admit when they are NOT the victim this time but instead the perpetrator in a situation. And I think thats because they have not been properly validated yet. Their trauma needs to be fully acknowledged first, or else they end up just feeling defensive, angry, resentful. "Well what about MY trauma? No one cares about that but everyone cares about my victim? NOW people care?" They need to be fully validated first, then work to acknowledge that a person can be Both a victim and a perpetrator.

-----

"Also: is it daily? How severe/frequent does this type of behaviour have to be to lead to dx"

It just has to be severe and frequent enough to meet the diagnostic criteria in the DSM or ICD. Yes its daily because PDs are a consistent thing, not episodic. PDs are serious disorders and can be harmful or even dangerous to others, but I also dont want you to have the wrong impression that most people with PDs are like these lurking scheming villians who plot all day. Most people with PDs, even ASPD and NPD, are just people who are really suffering and struggling to live day to day. Most have co-morbid mental illnesses, or addictions, and a history of trauma. The PD is considered a disorder because it negatively impacts their own life so much, and who in their right mind would choose that? As a mental health practitioner, I operate by the belief that the person with the disorder is always the one suffering the most. Its important to remember that when compassion fatigue is setting in.

-----

These are topics I find fascinating, and I'd love to hear what others think. I hope this answer wasn't too rambling, I'm a little high. I'm also going to post something I've been working on- I call it "thought perspective" and basically it's just an effort to understanding mental illnesses from the inside out, to see specifics of thinking. I think it may help you understand what I mean more, about people with PDs and/or severe trauma just operating in a different reality and how their actions make sense from their perspective. Thanks for the ask!!

[nataliaphantomhivesblog]

!!Black Butler S4≠Harry Potter!!

IF I SEE ONE MORE ANIME ONLY COMPARE THE PUBLIC SCHOOL ARC TO HOGWARTS I WILL BURN EVERYTHING DOWN I SWEAR.

I have seen countless people on social media calling this new season a filler and "lack of originality" because it looks like Harry Potter and as a manga reader for years this physically brings me pain.

Anime only's, please: Go get a snack and sit down comfotably while I explain the following.

Black Butler season 4 is NOT a filler, it's a genuine manga arc that goes right after the luxury liner arc or most famously known as book of atlantic.

WHAT IS A FILLER IS THE ENTIERTY OF SEASON 2 SO STOP WHINING ABOUT THE LACK OF CLAUDE AND ALOIS TRANCY THEY WONT APPEAR!!! RAAAAAAAAH LET US MANGA READERS HAVE ONE GOOD THING ANIMATED PLEASE I BEG

"This looks like Hogwarts wah wah wah"

Where season 4 takes place is a victorian era boarding school in Britian.

Hogwarts is a fictional magical wizarding school BASED on British boarding schools.

This is nothing like hogwarts, this isn't a magical school, if anything there's a morbid secret that will be uncovered and trust me, the secret won't be magic wands and Ciel screaming wingardium leviosa.

"The new characters are gonna overshadow my pookiebear Sebastian waaah waah waah"

The P4 are pivotal characters in this arc, but trust me when I say our beloved butler and his master will be the main focus in this arc.

IN CONCLUSION!

Give this season a chance, the canon accurate parts of the anime are the heart of black butler.

also, don't yap about something you clearly know nothing about, because that can actually cause us to not get more seasons AND WE HAVENT EVEN SEEN THIS SEASON YET GODDDD.

[alex-procrastinates]

my thoughts on the magic potion

HELLO i am so sorry i havent done any finished art in ages. school is kicking my ass and probably will continue to kick my ass for a while yet, but i promise i am working on things! and i am very excited to get them finished! im just swamped with homework and kinda suck at time management lol

but in the meantime, i have a 17 page google doc where i put all my asterix headcanons when i think of them, so i thought i would share my ideas about how the magic potion works :D

The potion is said to increase someone’s strength tenfold. That means it only builds on the strength they already have.

This means the potion will work differently for different people, based on their original level of strength.

For most people, they have about the same average strength, so the potion will appear to have the same effect on them. This is also due to the fact that the potion is simply so powerful that everyone who drinks it is insanely strong relative to non-potion drinkers. However, in some cases, the differences are noticeable.

For example, Fulliautomatix would have more brute strength than, say, Cacofonix, when on the potion. Or Asterix would be able to run faster than Geriatrix when on the potion.

The potion builds on strengths the person already has - for Asterix, it makes him extremely fast, as he is already agile and a fast runner without it. For Cacofonix, it allows his voice to create more powerful soundwaves, which can even have physical effects. 

(Edit: As pointed out by @elkaos, this actually conflicts with some of the books, where the potion is shown to have the same effect on everyone, and that's relevant to the plot in some cases. I did sort of know this, but it slipped my mind somewhat while I was writing this post. So I guess I'll have to retcon either this idea or the events of books 3 and 12 from my headcanon. These headcanons are based on my own interpretation of Asterix, which is inspired by a lot of fanfics and other creators' ideas as well as the books. Personally I find the idea of the potion's effects varying from person to person more logical, as it's described as multiplying the drinker's strength tenfold. Although maybe the effect being the same has something to do with how it was developed? I've seen a fic where the secret ingredient of the potion is Vercingetorix's ashes - maybe it's something like that where the essence of a person is used in the potion and its effect is equivalent to that person's strength multiplied tenfold.)

The potion also increases a person’s durability - their bones, ligaments, tendons, organs and muscles are stronger and more resistant to damage. This is necessary to make sure that they don’t injure themselves by doing things like punching solid rock. 

Even if they do get injured, which can happen when they are faced with sharp blades, the potion also fills their system with adrenaline, which means they usually don’t feel and are not really affected by most injuries until after the potion wears off.

The potion also increases the drinker’s stamina and speed, although this also varies depending on the drinker’s non-potion-enhanced abilities.

Obelix is a special case. But why exactly did drinking a whole cauldron of potion make it have a permanent effect on him? The potion’s effects can’t be stacked by drinking more potion while you’re already under the effects. 

I suppose the quantity of potion does matter when determining how long the effects will last - the more potion is flowing through the drinker’s bloodstream, the longer it will take to dilute enough to not have an effect anymore.

Wait. If the potion flows through the drinker’s bloodstream, then how does it have an immediate effect? Digesting it would take at least a few hours.

I guess it might have some magical property that lets it sort of phase into any blood vessels it encounters? So maybe it just radiates out from the stomach, gets to the heart really quickly and starts being pumped around the body almost immediately.

So if Obelix drinks, like, his entire body weight in potion, it’s probably going to last long enough in a large enough quantity to spread and be infused into practically every part of his body, so that then his bone marrow actually starts to make potion-infused blood. 

Therefore, every cell that blood flows to, which is basically every cell in his body, is enhanced by the potion, so it becomes an actual part of his biological composition. His blood, muscles, organs, bone marrow, fat, saliva, even his stomach acid is infused with magic potion. The only things that aren’t are his hair and nails.

This is why the permanent effects of the potion are so important to his survival. There would have been a couple of years where they could have gotten it to wear off, but that would probably have involved bloodletting or something, and obviously they’re not going to do that to a six-year-old kid. It doesn’t cause him any adverse effects, anyway, so it’s not something that needs to be reversed. He’ll just have to learn to control his strength.

He wasn’t the strongest before he fell into the potion, but because of how the potion became an actual part of his muscle tissue, he was still able to grow his muscles like a normal person would - just with much heavier weights, like menhirs. Which he has probably been lifting and carrying nearly every day since about his mid-teens. Also because the potion is part of his bone marrow and the blood his body makes is naturally infused with the potion, it creates a sort of positive feedback loop where the effects of the potion, and therefore his strength, keep increasing. This is why he seems to be stronger than the other villagers on the potion, and why his feats of strength increase in magnitude across the series, until Chariot Race when he’s able to catch the huge lump of volcanic rock that explodes out of Mt Vesuvius.

The potion also increased his durability to a very high level. His bones are as hard as granite, and his skin is also quite thick and resistant to cuts. He can still get hurt, but it takes a lot, and almost never happens. This is also why he is so mobile and flexible despite being obese. 

Obelix is a bit of an extreme case, but for everyone who drinks the potion regularly (mostly just Asterix and maybe some of the other warriors, hunters or guards), it speeds up their metabolism considerably in order to provide them with the large quantities of energy they need to function while on the potion. This is how Asterix is able to eat most of a boar nearly twice his size. (Although that was pushing it and he usually doesn’t need that much energy.)

The potion does not actively heal wounds except in the very short term, when it can exacerbate the effect of adrenaline to such an extent that it will completely heal minor to moderately serious wounds if taken within about a minute after sustaining the injury. However, it does give the body more energy, enabling it to heal faster. It also helps the immune system fight infection and the body to remake lost blood. 

It won’t cure concussions, but it does get rid of them faster and reduces long-term damage. (This is how Asterix can have had no less than six concussions in the space of a few years and not feel any lasting effects.)

Chronic illnesses and fatigue can be treated, but not cured by the potion. It unfortunately doesn't help with nerve pain, because there's no wound for it to help heal or inflammation/ bacteria/ etc. for it to fight.

Over time, this will cause regular potion drinkers to have stronger immune systems and heal more quickly. (Cacofonix still gets sick easily, but without the potion he’d probably have been dealing with asthma or an autoimmune disease. Obelix still gets hay fever in spring, but I guess maybe the potion doesn’t help with allergies. He does sometimes get mild colds and stuff, but the potion protects him from a lot of more serious diseases.)

The potion also increases a drinker’s core body temperature slightly and makes it easier to maintain, which is how all the Gauls can walk around in the snow either in sleeveless tops or just straight up shirtless, with only maybe a scarf or gloves to keep them warm. This effect also lingers over time if you drink the potion regularly. (Or if you’re Obelix. He’s like a walking heater.)

In Asterix the Gaul, we see the Gauls take potion regularly and use their strength for everyday tasks. This is because they used to take potion in shifts, so that some people would always be ready to go fight the Romans if they attacked. Doing chores while on the potion was just an added convenience. (As I speculated earlier, the potion lasts longer if you drink more of it, so maybe they used to drink more potion with each dose to make it last longer - maybe half or even a full day.)

This seemed like a great strategy until one day, a new centurion decided to attack the village at an unexpected time. The people who were on the potion went out to fight, but Asterix's potion wore off mid-battle. Not realising in time, he got into a fight with the centurion and ended up getting pretty badly hurt. (Inspired by this post - I came up with this idea while I was thinking about what might have happened in that scenario)

After that, they decided to just take the potion when needed to prevent something like it happening again. This also enabled Getafix to spend more time experimenting with new potions because he wasn’t making the strength potion every day.

so yeah! that's all i got. thanks so much if you read this whole thing. hopefully i'll have time to finish something else soon :D

[nikethestatue]

Correct me if i am wrong but in what part of hofas does it said they cauldron is wrong about the mating bond? It said it it was manipulated by the asteri to do what they wanted also as a switch kill for the acotar world. I dont remember reading “the cauldron was also force to make mate who would make better food”

So in the long run term is just us reducing the cauldron is wrong about the mating bonds because the asteri mess up with it.

Also this seems like an attack but is i genuinely question . I just didn’t see the cauldron being wrong really being explained in the book. The mating bond in hofas were kinda the same as the ones in acotar

No problem.

It doesn't. It doesn't outright say 'the bonds are corrupted'.

It's a deduction from across ACOTAR and CC worlds.

In CC we learned that the Cauldron used to be perfect and a perfect tool of creation. Until it was corrupted by the Asteri.

What do the Asteri need the most? Power. Fae power that they need to feed on to survive.

As we learn in HOFAS, unlike the Drop in CC, the Fae of Prythian paid a Tithe to the Asteri giving up some of their power.

Back to ACOTAR: Rhys tells Feyre when she asked 'who decides? what decides?" that there are a few options, the Mother, the Cauldron, maybe fate. He doesn't know for sure, but he knows that there are possibly various options, though most come from the Cauldron.

He also tells Feyre that ultimately, it's an imperfect selection of couples that would produce the strongest offspring.

Still in ACOTAR: We DO know for sure that some couples aren't well matched. Rhys's parents, as an example. But what did they produce? the most powerful High Lord of all time.

Furthermore, we also know that in Prythian, not only something physical happens when someone is mated 'the bond SNAPS', but also, a sexual 'frenzy' that is incredibly powerful, plus the social stigma of staying mated no matter what is very strong. So much so, that you have things like the Blood Duel and women (usually) have to go into hiding, if they dont want to mate. Lastly, supposedly (and we havent seen it yet) but for a man, it's a more painful and serious issue if the bond isnt accepted, and he suffers physically and mentally. Which again, makes him pursue his mate and forces her to succumb to him, even if she isn't into it.

So, we definitely know the Cauldron makes imperfect choices, but it does produce strong magical babies though its matching (Rhys, Rhys's sister, Tamlin, etc.). Which is exactly what the Asteri needed. Especially since they were limited with how much power they were getting in Prythian. The more powerful the Fae, the more power they received in a tithe. Making the mate bond more physical and oppressive, ensured that the matings would happen no matter what.

Finally, in terms of similarities between bonds in CC and Prythian--I would disagree. I dont believe that the CC folks go into frenzies quite like the Prythian Fae. CC can choose their mates too. And I don't believe that there is 'snapping'. There isn't an actual string attached to their ribs, like Elain has.

Hope this helps

[mclwcc]

they haven't quite turned on vcarb the way they did mclaren but from what i've read that seems to be bc daniel keeps saying "it's not the same problem as mclaren" when like idk dude if the only time you've finished a race ahead of yuki was bc you got put on softs at the end of the race it is smelling very shades of mexico '22 to me. just without the having to make up a time penalty bc u punted yuki off the track.

i can say yuki is already getting the lando treatment though. "hOW MANY RACES HAS HE WON AND YOU DARE SAY HES PERFORMING BETTER THAN AN 8 TIME GP WINNER?" (ya i'll go to the top floor of my apartment and shout it into the void through a megaphone too what are you going to do about it) only this time there's a heavy dose of racism added in. the amount of people i have seen calling yuki a "pokémon" derogatorily and refusing to admit the racist connotations there are wild. not to mention the ableist terms i've seen be used to refer to his height. it's all very gross and yet again daniel says nothing to even try to prevent it. it's wild how someone always has to get harassed by his fans regardless of if he fails or succeeds.

ok so like first of all yikes. i rly rate yuki but im v selective w my online (especially my tumblr)

experience so i rly almost never venture out of my mclaren-centred bubble, which means i never rly see what ppl say abt him. 'pokemon' is actually vile like thats so clearly racist bc its not even a pun of his name at all or any sort of reference to his personality?? AND the fact that its a cartoon w the infantilising implications of that... ku's essay on the infantilisation of east asian drivers u will always be famous.... like u guys ever noticed how nyck is also rly short and has a youthful face and nobody ever talked abt him in the way they talk abt yuki? much to think abt

now. permission to be mean here but even if its 'not the same problem as mclaren' is the problem not STILL the fact that daniel in his 10+ year career hasnt bothered to understand the way the engineering of f1 cars works in like any material way and thats the reason he always struggles to identify his driving issues / has a disconnect with his chassis unless its tailored exactly to what he already likes and knows how to drive? i saw that bit from newey's book about how max and checo give rly good feedback and so did webber and vettel and it was kind of subtly implying that during the bit in between (the daniel era) he designed less effective cars be he wasnt getting enough precise feedback.... i genuinely havent been able to sleep at night since. like it felt like smth slotted in my head like aaaah this has been the problem all along. if only daniel wasnt so busy going on podcasts making fun of the idea of women in motorsport and actually spent some time to do some way overdue physics homework... lol. Imao even

the truth of the situation is yuki is in the best form of his career and also wiping the floor w daniel. like factually so. EVEN with team orders favouring daniel so his fans cant say its bc of that like they did with mclaren. i genuinely think its quite sad the amount of personal stock daniel fans have clearly invested in this mans career and how much it bothers them when he doesnt perform to their expectations - like he's ur driver, swallow it and accept it, because thats what he's been doing to try to move on. doing all this intense online hate bullshit only makes him look bad bc it highlights how badly and for how long he rly has been embarrassingly underperforming. but by this point it feels like they WANT him to underperform bc they crave that martyr underdog victimised figure to root for and fight for - which is why ur totally right anon, that someone always inevitably gets harrassed regardless of if daniel is failing or succeeding. 

i will say one thing which is that i rly dont think daniel is at all aware of whatever the fuck his fans do on twitter and instagram (and deffo not tumblr lmao). so i dont think this is an issue of like him telling his fans to chill out - and it doesnt work anyways, bc lando literally has made talking abt how much cyberbullying sucks a part of his personality and theres still some rly mean and hateful lando fans (not in a fun way like me<3 lol) (i hate on my own blog and in discord groupchats). so like thats not necessarily on him, its more on netflix for making him the lowest common denominator guy to like, ykwim? also the unfortunate reality is that despite the tshirts and the kneeling (or no kneeling) no one rly seems to stand up to defend the drivers of colour who literally constantly get SUCH vitriol thrown towards them w any occasion. im not expecting daniel of all ppl to say anything abt it ngl

[littlegreenplumbob]

People you'd like to get to know better - tag!

i got tagged in a tag by @calicosimgirl 😁😁 which is insane to me bc i consider myself just a little tumblr stalker who occasionally posts piccys of my sims. tysm💚 this is my first tag as im extremely new to actually frequently using tumblr so idk how to do these things so i really hope im right with how i do this

Last song you listened to:

safety pin by 5sos. i am obsessed with those guys<33 ive seen them live in concert once and i cant wait to do it again:)

also! blissful ignorance by foxhaunt. im seeing them at a gig in manchester next month after seeing them around on tiktok and this song? it just perfectly scratches my brain in all the right ways

Favourite colour(s):

green!!!! my irl nickname is littlegreengirl, i have green hair and the majority of my clothes are green. i just think its funky. i also wear a lot of black so i guess that too

Currently watching:

superstore! cant believe i never watched it before. and also the new disney+ percy jackson. i also love bad education, b99 and futurama. i am a chronic watch-till-youre-sick-of-it so anything ive seen before that i can just whack on and know its funny.

Last movie you watched:

percy jackson sea of monsters. ive been rereading the books and reigniting my passion, what can i say (even though i have thallasophobia weirdly)

Sweet/spicy/savoury:

savoury. bc i dont think there is anything better than gherkins 🤩🤩

Last thing you googled:

i think it was ‘average amount of teeth’ bc i was on facetime with my best friend and we fell into a rabbit hole of how many teeth people have. if youre wondering, i have 24 (and that is the least amount of teeth out of everyone ive asked???)

Currently working on:

i havent played my nsb save in a while since im back home from uni atm. i go bsck on sunday so im sure i will be back into sim mode the second i step foot on mancunian ground. ive been really interested in posting lookbooks as well, as soon as i figure out how to take ok quality photos and sort out my cc. but if youre talking physically working, im at work on my break rn and i have been slaying at making those big macs.

i fear i have exposed a lot of myself to some people who do not need to know this much about me. but i guess thats the point!!!! i think tags are very fun and if anyone wants to tag me in future ones, hell yea! lets see what other weird things i can google inbetween now and then

im not sure who else to tag as i mainly only follow cc creators haha - pls dont feel any pressure to respond or anything but id like to make friends on here:)

@mooneonthings @simfestation @fayethegray