#i'm forcibly improving their lives

[emerdoodls]

unfortunately I have incurable I hate everything I draw disease but here’s this

I’ve been calling this one “local man who has never had a sunburn in his life takes fair skinned child to the beach, forgets sunscreen”

but yeah heres baby jean, baby kevin and wymack :)

[httpsserene]

𝐡𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫 | 𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨

summary: nobody can keep up with your growing list of hobbies, except fernando.

pairing: fernando alonso x brazilian!fem!reader

content warning: fluff and humor. explicit language.

from, serene: requested by and written for @loomiscorpse 🤍 i promised that i would write this for you in july and i finally found the time to fulfill it! this is how i learned fernando has a back tat. what rock have i been living under? happy reading, babes xxx

(in case i'm m.i.a., there's a category 5 hurricane that's looks pretty serious. i'm probably going to have a power outage. prayers to anyone else in the path of the storm, evacuate if you're on the west coast, and stay safe.)

⌕ join taglist | upcoming chapters | table of contents ↻

igstory • yourinstagram just uploaded!

[caption1; sip and paint with the ladies 👩🏽‍🎨🎨 carmenmmundt kellypiquet][caption2; for my first painting, this is good right?]

alexandrasaintmleux: i'll put it in a gallery 🤩 alexandrasaintmleux: i can't believe i'm friends with the best artist of our time 😌 yourinstagram: alex pleaseee omg 😳🤭 yourinstagram: you realize that means you think i'm better than claude monet right ? alexandrasaintmleux: ,,,second best artist of our time yourinstagram: 😆😆😆

fernandoalo_official: looks beautiful 😍 yourinstagram: you really think so??? fernandoalo_official: yes i like what you did with the colors and brush strokes of course yourinstagram: what detailed compliments meu bem 😂

carmenmmundt: i still don't believe that you've never painted before 🤨 carmenmmundt: you did so well !!!!!! yourinstagram: thank you my love 🥰 yourinstagram: i think i am going to keep painting. it was very fun! carmenmmundt: you should! you're quite good at it :)

instagram • yourinstagram

liked by heidiberger_, fernandoalo_official, francisca.cgomes and 101,723 others

yourinstagram encontro noturno em cores 🖼️

view comments

user1: ptbr to eng translation "date night in color 🖼️"

user2: wow!!! you improved so much already! have you been taking lessons?

➥ yourinstagram: thank you! the only lessons i'm learning are from youtube haha ➥ yourinstagram: and i have painted every day since i started! ➥ user3: you definitely have a natural talent for this! and a lot of potential!!! ➥ user4: it's taken me years to develop a minimal understanding of color theory and shadows. she's done it in two weeks 😕

user5: i know leonardo hates that he didn't paint this 😩😩😩

➥ user6: he's rolling in his grave for sureeee 🙂‍↕️ ➥ user7: bitch why tf would a ninja turtle be mad about this ☠️ ➥ user8: leonardo DA VINCI YOU UNEDUCATED CUR ➥ user7: my fault forgot the turtle wasn't the only person named leo 🫣🫠 ➥ user8: HOW DO YOU FORGET THE MAN WHO PAINTED THE MONA LISA ⁉️⁉️⁉️

pepemartiofficial: i loved doing art in school! i can teach you a few things if you want 😁😁😁

➥ yourinstagram: you mean primary school? which was like last year for you? i think i'll pass garoto 🥴 ➥ fernandoalo_official: josep maria marti sobrepepa don't piss me off. ➥ fernandoalo_official: test me and you can say goodbye to a formula one seat. ➥ user9: ain't no way pepe just tried to step to fernando's girl who's TEN !!! years older than him ➥ pepemartiofficial: shhh i can be mature for her 🤤 ➥ fernandoalo_official: count your days 🥱

carlossainz55: the painting is really good, you made the water look so realistic!

➥ yourinstagram: obrigada carlitos! ➥ carlossainz55: where's fernando's painting 😈 ➥ yourinstagram: it was very good! but he did not want me to post a photo of it :((( ➥ fernandoalo_official: it was very ugly carlos 🙄 ➥ yourinstagram: it was not that bad i just could not tell that it was supposed to be a tiger and not a house cat that was struck by lightning 😅 ➥ carlossainz55: i will pay to see this painting 🤣🤣🤣

twitter

igstory • astonmartinf1 just uploaded!

[caption1; admin was just forcibly handed bear coasters ??? she said they remind her of lance 🐻][caption2; the crochet culprit is on to her next project!]

user: lance bear agenda still going strong 💪

lance_stroll: i want bear coasters 😞 astonmartinf1: meet me downstairs, she gave me extras to hand out to the team lance_stroll: she's the best 🤩🤩🤩 lance_stroll: see you in 5?

user: DUDE she's onto clothes already??? how?!!!

user: admin i need you to send me photos of that sketchbook 👺🤲🏻 user: i need her patterns admin i'm not playing around astonmartinf1: lol get blocked loser 💀

instagram • fernandoalo_official

liked by carlossainz55, lance_stroll, yourinstagram and 234,586 others

fernandoalo_official there is yarn and hooks in my car. this has gone too far.

view comments

yourinstagram: you make a man a shirt with the materials HE bought for you and it's a problem. ungrateful behavior nano 😤

➥ fernandoalo_official: the shirt is very nice i even posed for a picture. all i ask is for no hooks to be left in the cupholders? ➥ yourinstagram: can we compromise and i leave them in the glove box 🥺

user10: let me get this straight: you crochet for a month and suddenly you become a fashion designer?

➥ yourinstagram: not a month, three weeks* i have been crocheting ➥ user11: oh fuck off- how are you good at everything 😩😩😩 ➥ yourinstagram: i am not! and i still cannot make a granny square no matter how hard i try to ☹️ ➥ user12: you don't need to know how to make a granny square when you can make actual pieces of clothing!!!

landonorris: may i have something crocheted too?

➥ yourinstagram: what would you like landinho 😊 ➥ landonorris: may i have a beanie? or a sweater?? ➥ georgerussell: ooooh i'd like a beanie too! ➥ francisca.cgomes: i want that top you're wearing! or something similar!!!! ➥ lance_stroll: what about earmuffs? ➥ lilymhe: a cardigan would be so nice ➥ charlesleclerc: i want a sweater!!! ➥ fernandoalo_official: leave her alone you greedy children 👹 ➥ yourinstagram: ignore him! text me what you all want with inspiration photos and i will let you know!!!

messages • sebastian -> fernando

igstory • yourinstagram just uploaded!

[caption1; hobby update >>>][caption2; to the woman at the craft store who put me onto oil paints...you saved my life][caption3; the wag crochet requests are almost finished!][caption4; first pottery class! had a really fun time :)]

user: i-i need to sit down👄 user: how do you even have time to do all of this?

user: i feel like i've never taken my hobbies seriously after seeing this

user: ffs how long have you been doing pottery? user: it's hard to learn at first but it's worth it if you stay committed 🫶🏽

instagram • yourinstagram

liked by charlesleclerc, lilymhe, francolapinto, and 192,037 others

yourinstagram que divertido! thrown, painted, and fired by me 🌸

view comments

user13: this is a reminder that there's always somebody out there doing what you love better than you 😒

➥ user14: wasn't she JUST at her first pottery class? and she already has a set of dishware 😨

user15: i feel like i have to apologize for even attempting pottery

user16: i would hate to give my gift after her on birthdays and christmas 😬😬😬

➥ user17: valid take. she can make custom clothes, paintings, and ceramics??? i might as well not even show up 🤦🏻‍♀️

kellypiquet: where do you even find the time to do this?

➥ yourinstagram: i have not slept for more than five hours in a very long time. it also distracts me when nano is away so, i keep myself busy. ➥ kellypiquet: please take better care of yourself! the clay will be there after you sleep and i'm sure fernando would like you to sleep too. ➥ fernandoalo_official: 8 hours at least mi amor ❤️ ➥ yourinstagram: fiiiiine 😞

lance_stroll: bring the domino set next time! i want to learn how to play!!!

➥ yourinstagram: i will make you cry if we play dominoes 🤫

user18: you need to start an etsy shop or smth? i think anybody would buy something from you!

➥ yourinstagram: if i do that, i'm afraid it would stop being a hobby and become a job. i don't want to lose the love i have for them :) user19: you could do limited releases? or just list a few items at a time? yourinstagram: i guess that's true. i don't think i will though, i didn't start my hobbies to make money. it's just fun for me 😁

twitter

igstory • fernandoalo_official just uploaded!

[caption; onto the next obsession]

user: damn you didn't lie about the entire botantical collection 😧 user: she's crazy user: i respect her grind though

user: and she made them look like actual boquets 😍 user: why didn't i think of that???

yourinstagram: they are not obsessions. yourinstagram: the proper term is hobby, we have talked about this nano 😒 fernandoalo_official: do you want the vespa or the bonsai…🤨 yourinstagram: both por favor! and get the porsche 911 kit while you are there 😚😚😚😚😚😚

user: she crocheted her own cover up dress user: i love women 🙂‍↕️

instagram • yourinstagram

liked by fernandoalo_official, kellypiquet, landonorris, and 317,940 others

yourinstagram um hobby? ok. quatro hobbies ao mesmo tempo? não repita meus erros 🤕

view comments

user20: ptbr to eng translation "one hobby? ok. four hobbies at the same time/once? do not repeat my mistakes 🤕"

➥ user21: thank u translator woman ➥ user22: thank u translator woman ➥ gabrielbortoleto_: thank u translator woman ➥ user24: one of these things is not like the others 🧐

landonorris: can't wait till it gets chilly in monaco 😌

➥ landonorris: the only thing i'm going to be photographed in is my crochet beanie and sweater ➥oscarpiastri: i'm surprised you're not wearing it now since you're perpetually cold ➥ landonorris: i didn't want to bring it in my luggage in case it's the time i lose my luggage 🤓 ➥ oscarpiastri: wow…that's smart ➥ landonorris: why do you sound so surprised 🤨

lilymhe: i see you learned how to make granny squares 😆

➥ yourinstagram: it took me three whole days to make one 🤧 ➥ lilymhe: damn 💀 ➥ yourinstagram: i am not lying when i say making that first granny square was harder than making your cardigan 😮‍💨

fernandoalo_official: is it weird if i feel proud of you?

➥ yourinstagram: i think it is something to be proud of :) ➥ fernandoalo_official: well i am very proud of you mi amor 😘 ➥ yourinstagram: 🥰😚😚❤️❤️❤️

user25: those paintings!!!! woah, you're like a serious artist now 😨😳😱

➥ user26: fr! you can see her own unique style clearly in these! ➥ yourinstagram: you all are too sweet! it took me a while to switch from reference painting into creating my own art pieces! ➥ alexandrasaintmleux: i wasn't joking when i said i want to put your work in a gallery 🤭🥱 ➥ yourinstagram: alex pleaseee 😖

user28: what are you going to do next? book binding LMAO

➥ yourinstagram: you are right! nano is out buying the supplies for me now 😁 ➥ user28: i was joking 😟 ➥ yourinstagram: and after that i think i am going to learn how to make a cute scrapbook!

© httpsserene - do not repost. photos used are from pinterest.

[bubblegumgothglados]

How to actually train a submissive, a how to guide

+Thoughts on the pervasive misinformation surrounding punishments and their usefulness.

Step 1. Make sure your submissive actually want to be trained. I'm into dom breaking, I'm into kidnapping, I'm into all types of situations where you forcibly change a person into the perfect submissive. But that's all fantasy, and they're fun fantasies to play out with willing participants. (Yeah i know this is pretty obvious stuff, everyone should know this already, but it is an important first step and it cant hurt to repeat)

Step 2. Pick a goal. The perfect example is getting them to take their pills at the same time each day. Its something they already want to do, its something that will benefit them greatly, its something that's very obviously pass/ fail, and its simple. Those are the criteria for a good behaviour to modify (with "want to do" flipped to "don't want to do" if its a behaviour you're trying to stop). The fewer of those things are true the more difficult its going to be to get the desired result, not impossible mind you but more difficult. As you and your submissive gain experience and become more comfortable with this process you can begin to modify more complex behaviours, but keep it simple to start.

Step 3. DO reward success, DO NOT punish failure. I'm gonna let myself rant about this at the end of this guide but for the moment just believe me when i say punishments are not a useful tool in training. So reward them every time the succeed. The best rewards are small things that stimulate the pleasure centre of their brain. Praise is a great place to start, stickers, snacks, tiny animal erasers, maybe shiny treasures if they have corvid like proclivities. Whatever it is make sure you give it to them personally, make sure you show you're genuinely happy with them, and make sure its something they cant get or aren't allowed to have otherwise. If the do fail (and they will sometimes) don't reward them, don't punish them, and don't let them punish themself. They want to be good for you, they will take failure hard. You need to make sure they know failure isn't a bad thing, everyone fails sometimes especially when starting to learn something. You need to reassure them that you're not angry or sad or upset and especially not disappointed.

Step 4. Be consistent. Reward them every time until they have a perfect record for a significant period of time. The specifics of this depend too much on the specifics of the behaviour and the reward so i wont try to give guidelines. Once they have that perfect track record start reducing the frequency of the rewards, stress to them that this isn't a punishment this is a really good thing. It means the training is working and they should be proud of themself and you are proud of them. Once you've weaned them off of the reward all together give them a big reward as a congratulations. And then sporadically reward them as a reminder that you're proud of them and to keep the habit strong. If the behaviour begins to drift you might need to go back and start rewarding them again, this shouldn't be seen as failure, its a normal part of training.

Step 5. Start again. Do they still want to be trained or are they happy with where they are? Is there another behaviour you want to modify? Is it time to try a more difficult modification? Do you need to switch up the reward to keep them motivated? Do you have the bandwidth to be consistent?

A note on brats. Specifically type 3 brats as described in THIS post. None of my advice changes. They still want to be good for you they just also want to play a fun game with you. Enjoy the fun game and train them to improve their lives. Just, don't try to train them out of being a brat, they're enjoying their game don't take away something that they enjoy, if you don't want a brat don't get with a brat.

Finally here is the as promised rant about punishment.

To the submissive reading this. You don't deserve to be punished, you never deserved to be punished. Even if you were a "problem" child you didn't deserve to be hurt for it. You still don't deserve to be hurt in ways you don't want to be. To the dominant reading this, yes you can rule through fear it is possible, but gods why?! If your ultimate goal isn't for your sub to be as happy and self fulfilled as possible, whatever that looks like for them, then what the fuck are you doing. And aside from that punishment isn't even an effective method of training. A dog kicked whenever it barks will learn to fear you and wont bark around you. A child spanked whenever you feel they've done something wrong will learn to resent you and will hide everything from you. An adult punished for stealing will learn to steal more effectively. Your submissive is no different from any of those examples. Kill the cop in your head, stop thinking of punishment as a legitimate means of control.

[irawhiti]

while everyone's rightfully talking about oppenheimer and its flaws regarding the erasure of japanese and native american voices regarding nuclear testing and detonations, i'd like to bring up the fact that pacific islanders have also been severely impacted by nuclear testing under the pacific proving grounds, a name given by the US to a number of sites in the pacific that were designated for testing nuclear weapons after the second world war, at least 318 of which were dropped on our ancestral homes and people. i would like if more people talked about this.

important sections are bolded for ease of reading. i would appreciate this being reblogged since it's a bit alarming how few people know about this.

--

in 1946, the indigenous peoples of pikinni (the bikini atoll) were forcibly relocated off of their islands so that nuclear tests could be run on the atoll. at least 23 nuclear bombs were detonated on this inhabited island chain, including 20 hydrogen bombs. many pasifika were irreversibly irradiated, all of them were starved during multiple forced relocations, and the island chain is still unsafe to live on despite multiple cleanup attempts. there are several craters visible from space that were left on the atoll from nuclear testing.

the forced relocation was to several different small and previously uninhabited islands over several decades, none of which were able to sustain traditional lifestyles which directly lead to further starvation and loss of culture and identity. there is a reason that pacific islanders choose specific islands to inhabit including access to fresh water, food, shelter, cloth and fibre, climate, etc. and obviously none of these reasons were taken into account during the displacements.

200 pikinni were eventually moved back to the atoll in the 1970s but dangerous levels of strontium-90 were found in drinking water in 1978 and the inhabitants were found to have abnormally high levels of caesium-137 in their bodies.

--

i'm going to put the rest of this post under a readmore to improve the chances of this being reblogged by the general public. i would recommend you read the entirety of the post since it really isn't long and goes into detail about, say, entire islands being fully, utterly destroyed. like, wiped off of the map. without exaggeration, entire islands were disintegrated.

--

as i just mentioned, ānewetak (the eniwetok atoll) was bombed so violently that an entire island, āllokļap, was permanently and completely destroyed. an entire island. it's just GONE. the world's first hydrogen bomb was tested on this island. the crater is visibly larger than any of the islands next to it, more than a mile in diameter and roughly fifteen storeys deep. the hydrogen bomb released roughly 700 times the energy released during the bombing of hiroshima. this would, of course, be later outdone by other hydrogen bombs dropped on the pacific, reaching over 1000 times the energy released.

one attempt to clean up the waste on ānewetak was the construction of a large ~380ft dome, colloquially known as the tomb, on runit island. the island has been essentially turned into a nuclear waste dump where several other islands of ānewetak have moved irradiated soil to and, due to climate change, rising seawater is beginning to seep into the dome, causing nuclear waste to leak out. along with this, if a large typhoon were to hit the dome, there would be a catastrophic failure followed by a leak of nuclear waste into the surrounding land, drinking water, and ocean. the tomb was built haphazardly and quickly to cut costs.

hey, though, there's a plus side! the water in the lagoon and the soil surrounding the tomb is far more radioactive than the currently contained radioactive waste. a typhoon wouldn't cause (much) worse irradiation than the locals and ocean already currently experience, anyway! it's already gone to shit! and who cares, right, the only ""concern"" is that it will just further poison the drinking water of the locals with radioactive materials. this can just be handwaved off as a nonissue, i guess. /s

--

at least 36 bombs were detonated in the general vicinity of kiritimati (christmas island) and johnson atoll. while johnson atoll has seemingly never been inhabited by polynesians, kiritimati was used intermittently by polynesians (and later on, micronesians) for several hundred years. many islands in the pacific were inhabited seasonally and likewise many pacific islanders should be classified as nomadic but it has always been convenient for the goal of white supremacy and imperalism to claim that semi-inhabited areas are completely uninhabited, claimable pieces of terra nullius.

regardless of the current lack of inhabitants on these islands, the nuclear detonations have caused widespread ecological damage to otherwise delicate island ecosystems and have further spread nuclear fallout across the entirety of the pacific ocean.

--

while the marshall islands, micronesia, and the surrounding areas of melanesia and polynesia were (and still are) by far the worst affected by these atrocities, the entirety of the pacific has been irradiated to some extent due to ocean/wind currents freely spreading nuclear fallout through the water and air. all in all, at least 318 nuclear bombs were detonated across the pacific. i say "at least" because these are just the events that have been declassified and frankly? i wouldn't be shocked to find out they didn't stop there.

please don't leave the atomic destruction of the pacific out of this conversation. we've been displaced, irradiated, murdered, poisoned, and otherwise mass exterminated by nuclear testing on purpose and we are still suffering because of it. many of us have radiation poisoning, many of us have no safe ancestral home anymore. i cannot fucking state this enough, ISLANDS WERE DISINTEGRATED INTO NONEXISTENCE.

look, this isn't blaming people for not talking about us or knowing the extent of these issues, but it's... insidiously ironic that i haven't seen a single post that even mentions pacific islanders in a conversation about indigenous voices/voices of colour being ignored when it comes to nuclear tests and the devastation they've caused.

[dozenssporks]

if Vash worked in an office he's be so very against hustle culture, always shooing people away from their desks to get lunch, going up against management about ridiculous overtime demands, making sure scheduled vacation days are not cancelled last minute by the boss, weekends are sacred, and deadlines aren't impossible . . .

. . . before turning right around and working ten days on and doing overnights to meet deadlines so the rest of his team can go home and sleep and live their lives. Some days he's running on red bull but no one notices because he's always Like That

his coworkers catch on tho and deploy countermeasures. By that I mean they have a list of phone numbers to call based on urgency.

#1 is most useful when vash is planning to stay late or overnight. It summons a priest, of all things, who grabs vash by the collar while saying something along the lines of, 'c'mon spiky we're grabbing a beer'.

#2 Is for when vash has been working ten or more consecutive days without a break. It brings forth a tiny woman towering with righteous anger who lectures vash until he slithers out of his chair and follows her obediently to the exit whilst she outlines plans for a light walk to improve blood circulation and afterward drinking the sleepy-time tea milly sent with her

#3 is for only the most urgent situations when vash has worked so many overnights that his blood is 90% energy drinks, the tiny woman is out of town, and there are an uncountable number of empty doughnut boxes around his desk. This number summons vash's 'evil twin brother' who marches in, hits the power button on vash's computer, smacks him across the back of the head, forcibly picks him up and slings him over his shoulders in a fireman's carry, giving the entire office the evil eye as he leaves. 'if they happens again,' he warns, 'I'm burning this whole place to the ground'.

[gffa]

If you want a Star Wars discussion, do you have thoughts on Anakin changing Ahsoka's lightsaber colors in TCW s7 and what we were intended to understand from that? Because it seems like such a violation, but that's clearly not the intended message behind that scene and it seems so weird to change the color for a few episodes only for her to throw them away anyway and get new ones the next time we see her.

I actually do have thoughts about this! And I think we actually are meant to find it a little "ehhhhh" because Filoni says that was the intention: "Him tinkering with her lightsabers while she is gone shows that he was always thinking of her. And the lightsabers are then a representation��of her in the story, and his thoughtfulness regarding her.  His changing the color can also be seen as him exerting control, or being too protective, which is very Anakin.  He means well, but often takes things too far when trying to express how he feels.  Changing the sabers, modifying them, improving them shows his care, but also his ego--something that Ahsoka is familiar with. So the simple adjustment of the lightsaber color serves as many aspects of the relationship between the two characters.” And this is an instance where I actually really agree with Felony, I think it's both things at once, that it's both a sweet gesture and Anakin's desire to control her, to forcibly hold her close to him, because that's what Anakin desperately wants of his loved ones, that's his whole big issue in the Star Wars story, that he can't let go of anyone or anything, not when it really comes down to it. That's why, as Lucas says over and over, he becomes Darth Vader, because he can't let go of people, even when it's time. Changing her lightsabers to match his color, it's a way for him to express how much he still cares about her, how much he's thought about her, how much he wants to do for her, it's a way of expressing a connection between them, because a lightsaber is so central to their lives, it's the housing for their kyber crystal, their semi-sentient rock that bonds with their soul. This is Anakin's way of expressing that she matters to his very soul. But it's also Anakin thinking he can just go in and change that connection someone else has in their soul, he can just change something that was a defining part of her--kyber crystals matter to a Jedi, they're each unique, that's the crystal they faced a trial to get, one that was about their own heart and their own issues they needed to overcome. It's Anakin trying so desperately to hold onto her, his ego thinking that his way is the best way and that he can't let others exist as they are when they're distant from him, that leads him to change something that's not his business to change. It's a sweet gesture. It's a warning sign. It's something in between. It's a representation of the complicated relationship that has both good and bad in it. That's why I'm okay with them retconning it, because it's such a good metaphor for both the joy and the hurt in Anakin and Ahsoka's dynamic.

[genderkoolaid]

Hello I am here pretty much just to complain about something small that i cant really say without sounding like a transmisogynist anywhere else, I hope that's alright

I was reading a post about how we're living through another red scare, lavender scare, and satanic panic all at once, and the post as a whole had very good points and I agreed with it a lot. OP got to a section about the current lavender scare and specified that she was talking about the recent wave of transphobia and said something about how everyone in the queer community was affected but it is very targeted at those who challenge gender norms, "especially trans women like [her]."

This genuinely isnt anything against OP of that post and I'm not trying to say that the legislation isnt heavily transmisogynistic. I'm not trying to minimize the transmisogyny coming from all sides. I just think it's a little unfair to minimize the way that transmascs are at least equally affected, and it hurts when other queer people seem to ignore that we're being hurt too.

One of my transmasc friends is being forcibly medically detransitioned because of this. Another was planning to go on T next year and now he cant. Some of them, including me, are worried they'll never be able to because of autism diagnoses. Rhetoric almost identical to the Irreversible Damage book is spreading rampantly everywhere we look. Transmascs are being hurt too. They want us gone just as much as transfemmes, but it seems like a lot of people are ignoring that.

I recently saw a post that had an addition by someone I know to be transandrophobic saying something similar ("trans people are facing genocide, mostly trans women").

I think its one part "people in general are ignorant to how transmascs are materially affected by transphobia" (see: The Archive of Violence Against Transmasculine People) and one part "there is a general narrative in trans spaces that trans women/amab trans people are The Most Oppressed* and trans men/afab trans people are only impacted by a few annoyances"

*this doesn't mean that trans women are always treated well in trans spaces. Honestly I don't think this narrative does much to improve things for trans women at all, all things considered

[tossawary]

Looking up some things has turned into reading the last 100 or so chapters of the "Naruto" manga for fun, because why not. Some random assorted notes so far (as of finishing Chapter 661):

This end fight is so fucking long, there are so many characters, and the pacing is bordering on excruciating. There's some stuff happening here that's delicious, but there's a lot of messy back and forth of the narrative focus that I personally am not fully vibing with. I cannot imagine trying to follow this split story weekly. This is common enough to a lot of big shounen mangas.

I generally like the basic artstyle here (the use of white and black especially), but the quality of page composition, panel composition, and scene clarity generally is obviously suffering heavily from these chapters being pushed out too quickly. I can barely tell some characters apart and some panels are just messes of lines. This is also common enough among mangas, so eh, it's also whatever.

It's kind of funny to me how Hashirama and Tobirama and Minato suddenly become major characters for like a solid 30 chapters or so. Like, yeah, I can see why Founders Era fic is popular. The flashback chapters themselves are pretty short, but Madara is one of the main villains in this fight, and the undead Senju brothers are suddenly here to kick ass on a level apparently far beyond most other characters. The grudges and betrayal here are delicious. These are also the people who founded Konoha itself, the main location of the manga for hundreds of chapters now, honestly not that many generations ago. It also helps that the Founders feel like they have nicely complete tragic arcs and lives to work with, instead of the relatively open-ended narrative mess that the main Naruto characters live in.

Also, Hashirama can definitely act the idiot and I think some of his choices / opinions are stupid as hell, but he's obviously a very clever and observant and ruthless person. Tobirama went on to become Hokage after his brother and will not hesitate to forcefully give his opinions, but it's also clear in some scenes that Hashirama is still the one in charge between them. Tobirama seems to fairly naturally fall into a very useful support role to whoever he's fighting with, including Minato and Naruto.

I like both Minato and Tobirama because I have a weakness for characters who engage with their magic systems to make new things. Minato improved on the Flying Thunder God technique and Orochimaru improved on the Edo Tensai technique, but Tobirama invented BOTH of those things? PLUS Shadow Clones??? All of which are basically carrying a significant part of the battle right now? Like, damn, Hashirama has his Mokuton, and Tobirama was stubbornly like, "Not being left behind. Fuck you."

So, yeah, the "Hashirama versus Madara", "Tobirama versus Madara", "Minato (plus Naruto & Tobirama) versus Obito", and "Kakashi versus Obito" are probably my favorite parts of this. Not knocking on Naruto or Sasuke or the large background mob of characters here, but they just do not have the same personal, ugly, emotional history in this fight, so I don't really care as much.

Ino can forcibly link hundreds of unknown minds together so Shikamaru can broadcast battle plans??? Holy shit??? The vibe I'm getting is that she was using the link apparently created by Naruto's chakra to do this, but still. Both Ino and Sakura have the potential to be incredibly OP badass characters and they are generally just... Not Allowed to take the spotlight here.

Shikamaru had this big dramatic chapter about surviving to become Naruto's future advisor someday, and I had to repress the urge to holler, "Gaaaaay!" at the screen. I do love the inherent homoeroticism of a right-hand man. (Also, *waves a hand vaguely* Gaara's whole everything.)

To be honest, though, I'm not even sure what Sasuke has spent the past fifty chapters doing. He's there! He sure is there! I think he just got stabbed, so now he gets to be emotional motivation for Naruto again. As far as I understand it, not being sure what Sasuke is actually doing sums up basically everything he does in the manga. There are too many characters here.

On that note, the vibe I'm getting from Orochimaru is that he's also mostly just here to spectate. Like, yeah, I know. Characters like Orochimaru and Sakura and Tsunade are keeping everyone alive with their bare fucking hands right now, but also, give Orochimaru some opera glasses and an alcoholic beverage and it wouldn't feel that out of place.

I'll probably have more to add at some point, but these are the (not that serious) notes off the top of my head.

[gay-caesar-truther]

Tehe drew my fucked up scientist <3

I'm also putting their whole backstory below uhh

Cw for self harm, suicide attempts, human experimentation and death

Name: Vespa Rubedo Valentine

Age: 26

Gender: Agender, they/them

Sexuality: Pansexual

Other- 

Severe phobia of the cold 

Loves bugs :3

Vespa was born in a very science focused Vault- mostly focusing on inducing mutations in various species in order to forcibly adapt them to a post-nuclear environment. 

Ves' mother, Dr. Ruby Valentina focused primarily on crop species and inducing harmful mutations in pests as a way to prevent crop loss. 

Ruby wasn't married, didn't have a partner nor did she intend to have either, but wanted a child- Both for the benefit of the vault and a means to have a tangible legacy, so agreed with a fellow vault dweller that he’d help give her a child- but would have no familial contact with Ves. 

Ves’ early childhood was mostly uneventful. Ruby gave Vespa the nickname “Cricket” due to how energetic and chatty they were. 

However, Vespa was about 4 they got infected with an experimental microbe after sneaking into the labs to visit their mother at work (it was not intended to be a pathogen but alas) and made them INCREDIBLY sick, causing permanent damage to their lungs, immune system, blood platelets. Ves was essentially bedridden for years, being constantly monitored, subjected to experimental treatments, almost dying several times. The microbe didn't affect adults severely, but given the example Ves was providing- was pretty devastating to kids. They were essentially home schooled by their mother and kept isolated from the other children until one of the experimental treatments proved toxic to the microbe and Ves was able to leave isolation.

At the age of 10 Ves was cured of their infection, and found in good enough health to go to school. However due to being the "new" kid in a Vault, and well known for being really sick/unhealthy/’diseased’ Ves struggled to make friends, or connect with the other children. 

They were subjected to significant bullying- the other children purposefully playing games that Ves couldn't join in with, being pushed and hit, having things thrown at them- etc, etc. As they aged the bullying just got more violent and aggressive. 

Ves became jaded and bitter, choosing to isolate themselves- not trying to make friends, focusing exclusively on their studies.

They would sit with their mother in the lab while she worked- learning about the various insects that would blight crops, and what insects could be used as natural pest control (start of their bug obsession), assisting with her research more and more as they aged and their own scientific knowledge improved. Their mother was the only real social contact they had.

When they were 17, around 3 months before Ves’ 18th birthday-  Ruby decided to leave the Vault and take her research to the NCR- people needed it, this could save lives by preventing food shortages but she didn't want to expose Ves to dangers of the wasteland, and as they were almost an adult make the decision to leave them behind for their own safety. She knew her child was determined and headstrong so decided not to leave any clues as to where she went, or why, in the hopes of dissuading Ves from following . 

She left instructions to the other adults in the Vault on how to help Ves cope with this change, hoping Ves would be forced to interact with others and develop a healthy social life now she wasn’t there for Ves to cling to. Ves did not give them the chance, isolating themselves in their home/ their mothers lab. Thinking that it was something THEY did that caused their mother to leave. They decided to forgo human contact entirely, it was something that had only caused them pain- As far as Ves saw it humanity was inherently cruel and inherently flawed, studying the social behavior of insects (ants and termites primarily) and comparing the “community focus” to what they’d experienced in the vault . They turned their interest towards solitary predatory insects (Tarantulas, Centipedes, parasitic wasps) as an example of how to be- fierce, independent, successful on their own and on their own merit. Any attempts to reach out by fellow vault dwellers were rejected- didn't need it, they would be okay on their own, these people were below them. 

Ves only left the lab at night to steal food from the canteen, the rest of the time they stayed locked away. Obviously the isolation and abandonment issues did some major damage to their mental health, they started self harming, and experimenting on themselves. They used the excuse of trying to make themselves tougher, conditioning themselves to have a high pain tolerance, so they can be strong, and only rely on themselves.

 In this time period they tried to take their own life by drinking random chemicals several times, fortunately their mothers work didn't involve hazardous chemicals so being unwell for a few days was the worst that happened (To this day being unwell is majorly upsetting to them- reminding them of both their childhood, and attempts on their life). Inspired by both their existing knowledge of invertebrates, and reading about the strength of ants, the toughness of carapace, etc Ves’ desire to be more like an insect branched out from just emotional resilience and solitary survival and into somehow gaining these physical characteristics. 

That in order to survive humanity had to be like insects- driven, independent, not beholden to emotional attachment, with the strength and sturdiness to allow them to thrive on their own. They began experimenting with attempting to forcibly mutate mammals via chemical exposure, genetic manipulation, on turning mammals into insects (or at least giving them all of the desirable features of them)

After a series of very successful tests on lab mice, and having no larger test subjects Ves thought they'd do the residents of the Vault a favor, granting them the gift and the mercy to be free of suffering that is being human, deciding to test their formula on them.

Maybe other people would be grateful, and Ves would get the adoration they secretly desired if they saved them from being mammals and made them stronger. 

Ves snuck out in the night, spiking the food and the air supply with their formula, and routing clean water and air to their own quarters- They were a good scientist, needed to observe the effects if they were ever going to be able to reproduce this on a larger scale (The world). They could wait- the formula had to be perfect before they’d use it on themselves. 

 To put it bluntly the test was a disaster- the changes started within hours, but the other Vault dwellers did not survive the physical stress. It took months of living with excruciating mutations, organ failures, and open wounds but eventually the whole Vault was wiped out. 

Ves decided it was their vault, they simply didn't want to be better than what they were. They hated Ves so much they'd rather die than watch them succeed. Ves took over the whole Vault, cleaned up the half mutated corpses and started again. After this failure Ves attempted to take their own life- again, but after waking up alive they went back to work- determined to not leave their great work incomplete, nor fail again.  

They Set traps for innocent wastelanders so they could serve as test subjects, and continue working to find the perfect formula to free people from the shackles of humanity. 

[sciderman]

Sci I would like to speak to you about your quote on quote “Wade Wilson is half native Canadian” agenda pls it sounds Coolio

i haven't had the chance to do due research, and i don't have a lot of greater plans but i kind of just always like to make wade wilson a little more complicated than he appears, even if it's something he's buried. i don't want wade to be a plain toast white boy. not that white boys can't be complicated, but - you know, you know. i need more to sink my teeth into. and i'm kind of all about wade and peter consistently having parallels, and that being a strange sort of explanation for everything. for why they kind of hate each other but can't let each other go. for why they kind of understand each other better and are so forgiving of each other, over and over.

for - well, for why wade picked peter, specifically.

i think a huge motivation for wade wilson in 9319 - like, a huge motivator for all of his behaviours, and the reason why peter is such a vital part of his journey of self-improvement is that - he kind of lives vicariously through peter.

[x]

peter had, has, or has the opportunity to obtain everything wade wilson has ever wanted. peter embodies what wade wishes he was, and what he feels like he could be, if... if he was dealt a different hand, or whatever.

kind of obsessed with wade "could'a been, would'a been different, if i had what you had" wilson.

so wade kind of becomes obsessed with getting peter to reconcile all the pieces of his identity. all the things that wade sees in peter, that peter buries. and all the things that peter has, that he doesn't show gratitude for.

peter had a loving father figure, wade wishes he had that.

peter has a flawless bod. he should flaunt that.

peter is fruity as all get-out. he should be proud of that.

and – well, peter has a culture and a heritage too, that he's estranged from. he's jewish, but he wasn't raised that way because his parents left him.

[x]

it isn't a part of his life or identity that he's reconciled with. even though he could. it's something he doesn't do much with. it's not wrong of him, really, but peter has a tendency to reject vital parts of his identity just for fear of complicating his life. for fear. fear of being othered.

wade's obsessed with peter as a project, and kind of likes to live vicariously through peter. if he can improve peter and get peter to reconcile those missing parts of his identity then it's catharsis for him too. he can feel proud knowing peter's proud.

i just think it speaks to wade a little that he also has this heritage that he's estranged from. and it's one that can't be reconciled with, because not only is his mother gone, but his community is so dispersed and so forcibly assimilated that there's very few resources left for him to better understand his heritage. so, when he sees peter ignoring or rejecting this heritage that he has the means to rekindle, wade encourages peter. it's - it's this whole storyline i really wanted to do. where wade falls backwards over himself trying to throw peter a bar mitzvah because he's SO invested in peter reconciling his cultural identity.

and i think he's so invested because he doesn't have the chance to do it for himself.

same as him doting uncle ben because he didn't have that for himself either.

wade "i wish i had what you have" wilson, lovingly forcing one peter parker to count his blessings.

anyway this is just a thing that lives in my head all the time. don't know when it'll make it to the blog. but it's in my head, every time i write wade wilson. a boy who was "othered" in his community for every little piece of his identity. every little thing about him made him different. his heritage, his class, his gender expression – his brain.

[x]

he's a kid in a world that never felt built to fit.

[x]

thinking of him, always.

[maniculum]

Bestiaryposting Results: Slagzogg

This is, interestingly, our third consecutive Beaſt that's actually a common everyday animal pretty much all over Europe, including the area where this manuscript was produced. This is interesting to me because the three are handled very differently. First we had the salamander, which I'm pretty sure got mentally separated from the actual animal somewhere, probably because people use different terms for the real-life amphibian in different regions and languages, and not everybody is going to recognize that it's just the Greek word for the same animal. Second we had the deer, which it seemed like the manuscript producers did recognize, because the illustration is clearly a deer... but elements of the entry are just nuts (As @sweetlyfez said, "How do you make up this many wild myths about a guy you live with"). And now we have the [redacted until end of post], which is just given a completely mundane, if engaging, description with the only weird part being the symbolism attached to it.

I think it might also be our first domestic animal -- the entry even talks about the difference between wild and domestic varieties -- which seems like it's worth noting.

Anyway, as usual people who don't know what I'm talking about should check https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting. The entry this week's artists are working from can be found here:

This is another one where I almost didn't put it in because it seemed super obvious what it was, but the artists have done a superb job not drawing that. Excellent work on everyone's part, and it can be found below the cut:

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) shows us both a domestic and a wild Slagzogg; the design of the domestic one makes me think of fancy pigeons, which I think is a pretty good direction to take here. The vulture-like faces really improve the design also. Very good birds, and you should go check out the linked post to hear about the design decisions and real-life inspirations behind this one; I think it's pretty interesting.

@pomrania (link to post here) observed that, though the entry mentions beaks and flight, it doesn't actually say "bird", so they can draw a pet dragon and have it fit the description. Fair call, and I think it turned out well. I like the contrast between the fairly dignified-looking creature on the left -- this is a Slagzogg who is on its way to win Best in Show -- and the sketch on the right of someone forcibly preventing it from getting into a fight. If you check out the linked post, you can see Pomrania's progress thread for this design.

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) has made the eminently-understandable decision that if they're going to draw a bird with no specific anatomical details given, it's going to be a potoo. On the left we have three domestic Slagzoggs socializing, and on the right we have a wild one perching alone. I like how this incorporates the symbolism of the entry: we're told that the wild type is meant to signify people who choose a religious life ("those who keep apart from this world wear the modest garb of penitence"), and this wild Slagzogg does look a bit more serious and... monastic? Like, that bird is a nun. (Also, thank you for including alt text.)

@cheapsweets (link to post here) also went with the direction of "well, it doesn't say 'bird'," and so we have this really charming image of a medieval person feeding their domestic... pterosaurs. Love it. Honestly, these alternate visions of the Middle Ages where people have entirely different domestic animals than our timeline are really appealing to me. Too much Dinotopia as a child, perhaps. Anyway, check out the linked post for substantially more detail, it's worth it. In fact, everyone reading this should just go ahead and follow all of the bestiaryposting participants. (Also, thank you for the alt text.)

@strixcattus (link to post here) is clearly thinking of the modern day's feral pigeons, formerly the result of selective breeding by pigeon fanciers. We can see the "fancy" domestic version on the left contrasted with the wild version on the right. (I think it's interesting that everyone who's drawn both has put the domestic Slagzogg on the left and the wild Slagzogg on the right.) Anyway, as is usually the case with Strixcattus, the writing included in the post is absolutely worth your time and you should read it. And again, follow them, as well as everyone who has ever contributed to bestiaryposting. Go do it; you won't regret it.

Now, to the Aberdeen Bestiary.

Beak shape aside, these are clearly geese.

I think the degree to which people guessed that varies somewhat; Strixcattus made a post suggesting they were leaning "pigeon", but Pomrania probably clocked it, because they described two Slagzoggs fighting as a "hissing match" despite hissing not being mentioned in the entry. I have no idea where everyone else landed.

Honestly, what I find interesting about this entry is that it's pulling symbolism while remaining pretty much entirely grounded in reality. Check this out:

The goose marks the watches of the night by its constant cry.

Okay, I don't know to what degree it's useful in marking time, but I don't doubt that geese make noise at night.

No other creature picks up the scent of man as it does.

That one I'm not sure about.

This next bit I cut because if anyone knows Roman history they'd nail it right out of the gate:

It was because of its noise, that the Gauls were detected when they ascended the Capitol. Rabanus says in this context: 'The goose can signify men who are prudent and look out for their own safety.'

Okay, that might be less history and more legend, but still, people know it, I think.

There are two kinds of geese, domestic and wild. Wild geese fly high, in a an orderly fashion, signifying those who, far away from earthly things, preserve a rule of virtuous conduct.

I can absolutely see medieval people looking up at geese flying in that V formation and going, "look how orderly these birds are; clearly they are virtuous creatures."

Domestic geese live together in villages, they cackle together all the time and rend each other with their beaks...

Yeah, that sounds like what geese would do in a village.

All wild geese are grey in colour; I have not seen any that were of mixed colour or white. But among domestic geese, there are not only grey but variegated and white ones. Wild geese are the colour of ashes, that is to say, those who keep apart from this world wear the modest garb of penitence.

This bit falls into the category of "I believe it, but it does not accord with my personal experience." Because if you told me that in Europe they had a variety of different aesthetically-pleasing domestic goose breeds, I'd have no problem believing that. And I'm sure some wild geese are gray. But I live in North America, so to me wild geese look like this:

And domestic geese look like this:

But again, I have no difficulty believing that the experience of the medieval Europeans was different from mine.

What really sticks out to me here is the fact that the characteristic behavior of domestic geese is to make noise and get in fights -- I think the Untitled Goose Game would have made perfect sense to a medieval audience.

(After the Smithfield Decretals)

[pizzacadres]

Fox Noise (Pizza cadres)

True personality: Sociable,patient,earnest

Shadow personality: unmanned, cunning, hates boredom

Mask ability: “Cunning”

(It can be snatch or cheat as they wish, but it's high risk)

Examples:snatch, unlock,attract items, etc...

"Snatch" can also be used to acquire someone abilities.

Mask features: A half mask covering all but the mouth in the shape of a fox mask.

It has a yellow base with a pattern of curled whiskers.

The eyes are comically deformed.

(As for his nose, it is not particularly disturbing since it deforms and fits while he is wearing the mask.)

He is a framer like Peppino, And he is also a street artist.

He likes to travel in the Framed world.

He is social, earnest and very patient, and he has a reasonable personality.

He rejects the shadow personality, forcing it down after a conflict.

He is truly terminally eroded, so even when he takes off his mask, black tears are constant and sometimes drip from his mouth.

and, he also often moans about his mental distress.

Fighting skills

He primarily uses a special red baseball bat when he fights.

Bombs, Noise crusher, and Skateboards are generated and disposed of using shadows and ink.

If he is wearing a mask, he can change his limbs into beastly ones, dramatically improving his athletic ability.

He also learns everything he can from people from other worlds and gains power from them.

He also seems to be able to use magic, although it is limited to the world of the picture frame.

Brief profile

He is from the same world as Peppino, but they have never actually met face-to-face until they bump into each other in the main story.

In his former world, he is a wanderer, forced to live on the run for one reason or another.

Along with his art activities, he is also trying to make people aware of the existence of the framed world.

He basically wears a hunting cap and a coat in the outside world.

Along with his art activities, he helps people as "Fox Noise ," wearing an orange hoodie and a mask.

Noisette is his girlfriend and assistant.

About his ability

His masked ability "Cunning" is very versatile and can easily ignore gimmicks.

It is limited by Faceless.

Each of his mask skills has a cost, and black ink accumulates in a vessel called "Ink cage".

When the vessel is full, the ability cannot be used for about ten seconds, and the he becomes fatigued.

Incidentally, snatch has the highest cost.

Back story

He and Noisette are forcibly drawn into a distorted, framed world by Faceless' pranks.

Faceless: "Howdy there^^, I know this is sudden, but come play with me, or I won't let you go back to where you came from.

If you play your cards right, I may alleviate the crisis in your home world .

I'm even willing to collaborate with your compatriots, whom you will meet in time."

Noise had no choice but to join in on his game.

His task, like Peppino's, was to repair all the distorted frames.

He travels the same way as Peppino, but takes a completely different route than Peppino.

When they do battle... it will be in the form of a mutual encounter,Faceless comes to check on them and says, "If you show interesting results, I'll lead yours to my place."and would pit the two against each other.

Noise is also interested in Peppino, who does not wear a mask, and tries to test his skills.

He sometimes creates a simple picture frame for a break and temporarily pries open an exit.

However, it is unclear where that exit leads,maybe the exit often leads to other AU.

afterwards

The crisis in his home world was to be alleviated and some of the missing people returned. He can come and go freely to the outside world.

But he is favorite by Faceless.

His appearance remains human, but his body is almost completely mutated, and he is not allowed to age or die.

…But then, so is Peppino.

[clonehub]

Hi! I saw some of your tweets on twitter regarding your thoughts on Force Dyads in Star Wars canon currently. I do think that the concept should be workshoped a bit more, but the concept sounds interesting to me. I know that th idea of it being s stat boost is a bit disappointing, but Im cheesy and i feel like that concept can work well with say, two close friends who are force sensitive. My question is, how would you personally write force dyads and how would they work?

Yeah totally! I came up with a couple different ideas.

Force Dyad By Choice - Two people who have a very strong non-romantic/sexual bond become one in the force, and they balance each other out. This is basically already canon except it shows the strength of family or friendship since its basically two souls choosing to merge.

Force Dyad by Force aka Forced Dyad - exactly what it says on the tin! Two people who want nothing to do with each other inevitably have a force bond and so must deal with it. Questions of autonomy and power and destiny and free will can be explored here.

Force(d) Dyad as Possession - Sorry, I love when the Force gets creepy and awful! Imagine if a Sith was able to forcibly bond someone to them to make a Dyad? But instead of it being like a real bond as we have in canon, it's a) like a grotesque approximation of a bond that seriously harms both of them, or b) a predator/prey relationship. IT twists, it possesses, it drains.

For me, as I'm writing this, I'm realizing that it's less the style of the bond and more the questions being asked and answered. Where does one person begin and the other end? How much do they see of one another against their will? What if one wants out? What if they don't want to be in the bond? What if being a Force Dyad just leads to a new form of dehumanization as people take you to be one person split between two bodies, and not two people sharing a soul, in a way (and is there really an improvement in viewing it as the latter rather than the former)?

What if there was a Dyad between a mother and her daughter? Her unborn child? What are the benefits and cons of being in a Dyad? Rey and Kylo seemed to keep seeing each other -- what if one person hates that? What if someone wants their thoughts to their own? What if, in the Sith version, the prey member of the Dyad becomes a shell of their former selves?

If one half of the dyad is in trouble and the other can't get to them, what happens? How is this resolved? What if one member dies? Is it still one Force Signature? Does the Force sensitivity decrease at all? Frankly, if there's no resulting physical/spiritual turmoil for the living member, then what's the point?

[leiawritesstories]

Congrats on 500 followers! <3

A couple of prompts...

-I put you down as my emergency contact because I don’t know anyone else in the city, and we literally only met in passing, please forgive me but I am stuck at the ER and they won’t let me leave without you.

-First time meeting the parents

-“I would marry you again in a heartbeat.”

I got one from each list. Just leave Frederick on a leash? :)

🥰🥰🥰Thank you, my dear ❤️ *forcibly shoves Frederick back into the basement* You'll be pleased to know that Frederick has NOT been invited to the party 😂

also, both you and @renxzs asked for the "emergency contact" prompt, so I'll fill that one separately (and hopefully you'll like it hehe)

Word count: 814

Warnings: absolutely none :D

Enjoy!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I can feel my blood pressure going up just thinking about this stupid dinner." Aelin leaned back into Rowan's arms, biting at her lower lip like she always did when she was stressed.

"Fireheart, it'll be okay," Rowan promised, kissing the top of her head.

She blew out a sharp breath. "What if they hate me? What if my parents hate you? What if they decide we 'aren't right?' What if--"

"Hey." He cut off her rambling worries with a kiss, gentle and sweet. "Aelin, love, my mom and dad love you already, and they've only met you through my stories."

"Yeah," she admitted, her tense posture starting to relax. "I'm worried about my mom, though. Her standards are so fucking high."

Rowan flicked imaginary lint off of his suit jacket. "That's why I dressed to impress, love."

She chuckled softly. "You'll always impress me, love."

A soft smile curved his lips. "I love you, Fireheart."

"I love you too." She rested her head on his shoulder, drinking in the peace of the moment. "We really have to go, though."

He sighed. "Yeah, we do." Lacing his fingers with hers, Rowan led Aelin out of her apartment and down to where his car was waiting. He drove to the restaurant where they were meeting both sets of their parents for dinner, taking her hand as they got out of the car and headed across the parking lot. "It's gonna be perfect," he reassured her in a low whisper, squeezing her hand.

"I hope so," she murmured, squeezing his hand back.

The moment they walked entered the elegant, low-lit restaurant, they ran into the rush of Enna Whitethorn's enthusiasm. "Darling!" she chirped, folding Rowan into a breath-stealing hug. "Oh, it feels like we haven't seen you in forever, son!" She beamed, soft lines crinkling at the corners of her eyes.

"Hi, Mom," Rowan deadpanned, biting down on his mischievous grin. "It's literally been three months, calm down."

She pinched his cheek, which Aelin thought was completely adorable and something she'd never, ever let her stoic boyfriend live down. "That's too long, darling." Wrapping her hands around his arm, she steered him towards Aelin. "And who is this lovely lady? She's miles out of your league, my dear."

Rowan cleared his throat. "Mom, this is my girlfriend, Aelin."

"Oh, it's so wonderful to finally meet you, Aelin dear!" Enna embraced Aelin, who took a few seconds to realize what was happening before she hugged Enna back.

"It's wonderful to meet you," Aelin laughed. "I can totally see where Ro gets his sense of humor." She winked. "When he allows it to show, at least."

Enna clicked her tongue conspiratorially. "Mmm, yes, he's far too solemn for his own good. I'm sure you're fixing that, though."

"We practice his smile for twenty minutes every day," Aelin agreed, nodding along. "The goal is an hour, but twenty minutes is such an improvement from the ten seconds he started with."

Rowan muffled a groan. "You two are getting along far too well," he complained, affectionately stealing Aelin's hand and sliding it back into his.

Enna beamed at the two of them. "Let me take you back to where we're all sitting." She walked them towards the back of the restaurant, where Rhoe and Evalin Galathynius sat with Pyotr Whitethorn at a table set for six, chatting animatedly. "The young ones are here!" she announced.

The parents immediately stood up, coming over to the young couple for introductions. Aelin threw Rowan a dangerous smirk and wink before turning to her parents, greeting them with smiles and hugs and kisses.

"Mom, Dad, I'd like you to meet Rowan Whitethorn." She paused for dramatic effect. "My husband."

Halfway through shaking Rhoe Galathynius's hand, Rowan choked on air, coughing violently and blushing even harder. "Aelin!" he managed to wheeze as he caught his breath. "What?!"

Aelin burst into bright laughter. "Ah, love, the look on your face is too good." Her eyes twinkled with mirth.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack," Evalin gasped, muffling a smile as bright as her daughter's.

"Learned from the best," Aelin teased. "Rowan is my boyfriend, of course."

"Good." Rhoe kissed his daughter's cheek. "I won't start asking about grandkids, then."

"Dad!" Aelin's face flamed red. "You promised to behave!"

"That was before you decided to shock ten years off my life, Fireheart," Rhoe chuckled. "Fair play, hmm?"

"Fine," she acceded. After another few moments of greetings, they all took their seats, Aelin sliding in next to Rowan.

He took her hand under the table, sliding his thumb over the back of her palm. "Just so you know, love, I would marry you again in a heartbeat.”

She nudged his leg with her high heel. "That's still several years away, buzzard."

"Good luck convincing our parents of that," he joked. "They're already planning the wedding."

~~~

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[incorrect-junji-ito]

Uzumaki episode 3 review

Spoiler warning for this episode

Okay, so this episode wasn't as bad as episode 2, at least. The animation is a little better, and the impactful moments get a little more weight than in episode 2. But I'm not here to compare this episode to the last. I'm going to talk about it as it is.

This episode covers the hospital arc, as expected. I also expected the anime to combine it with the end of Mrs. Saito. But even though it takes up a big part of the runtime, it still feels like it went by too fast. This is another argument for how this anime should have been given more episodes.

The firing effect section was disappointing for me. It's one of my favorite chapters in the manga because it contains one of the best quotes in the story: "We try our best with human hands, but sometimes nature can create things beyond our imagination. After all, most shapes are really patterns, but we can only see a piece of them at a time." This quote from Mr Goshima is important because Uzumaki is a piece of cosmic horror, and one of the biggest themes of cosmic horror as a genre is forces beyond what humans can comprehend. And it foreshadows that it's already too late to escape town because the spiral is already everywhere, we're only witnessing pieces of it at a time.

It also skipped over some great character moments that are in the firing effect. Kirie forcibly dragging Shuichi to her house is replaced by Mitsuo pulling him along, we don't get to see Shuichi running away and throwing up after eating from the spiral plate, or Kirie yelling at her dad for serving Shuichi food from that plate. And the fact that the clay comes from dragonfly pond doesn't come up in dialogue either. Shuichi calling Kirie because he felt lonely isn't there either. It just felt like they adapted the chapter with none of the depth that it had in the manga.

The typhoon chapter also changes things by having Shuichi being the one coming to Kirie's house in the storm instead of the reverse. It's a change that I don't like, since Kirie going out in the storm to make sure Shuichi has food is part of why I like their relationship so much. We didn't get Shuichi predicting the storm was coming either, or their nice quiet moment at the beach together.

Now for a part that I did like. The way they adapted chapter 13, "the house" was neat, even though a lot of details were skipped. Namely, because in the anime, Shuichi starts living with them in the row house. Though he doesn't speak a lot in this section, it's nice to see that he's included and is staying with Kirie. It makes sense that he would want to stay with the family to look after her, and I'm guessing his house was destroyed by the typhoon in this one. We don't get the Goshimas being temporarily infected with the spiral, but Wakabayashi's transformation is scary and effective.

Then there's Jack in the box. Yeah, he's here too, I guess. He just comes in at the end, does a few bounces and then falls apart. If they weren't going to do his part properly, then he shouldn't have been included, because the ending of the episode would have been fine without him.

Things that I liked:

Junji Ito himself voicing the typhoon was neat. Shuichi having more interactions with Kirie's family was also neat. Though I said the hospital arc went by fast, I actually think it was okay. The pregnant women were creepy, and Shuichi being with Kirie when the "mushroom" twist was revealed was pretty cool.

Overall, it's an okay episode. It's a big improvement from episode 2 at least. And I'm feeling slightly more optimistic about the end of the anime.

[cosmermaid]

God I'm so fucking weak willed.

I don't think I can ever save Orpheus in Baldur's Gate 3 if it means the Emperor siding with the Nether Brain. I get that it's the right thing to do but Orpheus just isn't as interesting of a character.

The Emperor has the morality of a question mark. He's a manipulative bastard, and I don't really think his ends truly justify the means. But at the same time, he's honest about what his goals are. He doesn't betray you at the end to take over the world, or forcibly turn you into a mind flayer at the end (though he can threaten to at some point.) He's genuine in his desires to protect Baldur's Gate and put an end to the cult of the Absolute and the Netherbrain. He doesn't do anything evil when given the opportunity to do so unless you the player pass a persuasion check to convince him to do so.

I don't fully understand why he switches sides so easily if you decide to free Orpheus, save for maybe he genuinely believes that Orpheus is going to slaughter all Ilithids. (He says as much earlier on when asked.)

I've seen people bring up his past with that dragon as an indication that the Emperor was evil even as Balduran, when the dragon tried to kill him for being infected with a tadpole. But I don't see how that's any different from the player defending themselves from Nettie in act one.

The Emperor wants to live. He has done questionable shit during his time as a mind flayer, but he is also trying to improve his methods of convincing people. So far, he has gone from outright brainwashing people to just... being a manipulative prick about it. But I can't fault his motivations. He wants to live. He wants to protect the city he founded. He wants to have allies rather than be killed for what he is. I don't agree with his methods, but I get it.

Freeing Orpheus can give you an objectively good ending. Probably the best variant being freeing him and turning Karlach into a mind flayer. But Orpheus is so weak as a character. He spends most of the game as a damsel in distress, chastises you for not rescuing him quickly enough, and depending on your choices, kills himself instead of leading his people to freedom.

Honestly, I think the Githyanki can probably revolt against their queen without his help. Lae'zel was able to turn on her queen with only a handful of istik friends while Orpheus was still imprisoned.

It's probably just a me thing, but I don't find him compelling. I don't think a "prince that was promised" is the solution that leads to the liberation of an entire culture. I'd rather side with my questionable mind flayer buddy than some monk prince that is likely to die even if you help him.