#if you want some potentially hot takes of mine as examples...

[anistarrose]

My current version, of my ever-evolving theory, on what constitutes "aromantic stories" is that first off, there's absolutely a wide spectrum between 1, "this is explicitly undeniably about aromanticism," and 2, "there sure is a noteworthy amount of aro subtext, but representing aros clearly wasn't the author's intent." But the spectrum is best completed not as a straight line, but as a triangle, where the 3rd point is "the story probably wasn't created with aromanticism at the forefront of anyone's mind, but was created with subverting particular expectations related to romantic relationships in mind." And in my experience, a lot of juicy aromanticism-related experiences that are underrepresented in their own right can lie in that third option, regardless of whether the characters are aro-spec or allo or kind of whatever you headcanon.

So, what does make a story on this spectrum "aromantic?" IDK, I wouldn't necessarily include all or most of the firm 2s (unintentional subtext) under the aromantic story mantle. But when you get into the gray areas that inch a little closer to 1 and 3, let alone the gray area between 1 and 3 where intent is ambiguous but ultimately may not matter, it makes sense that different people will have different takes.

[butterflydm]

rings of power, s2 eps 5-6

episode 5: Oooh, lots of rising tension in this episode.

We had some really good back-and-forth between Celebrimbor and Annatar, something of a soft power struggle that Annatar very much wins by the end. I can feel everything winding up tighter and tighter. Celebrimbor keeps placing his thumb right on the problem and then letting it slip away again, letting Annatar talk him around.

Something that Celebrimbor said... about how creating the Rings was as much about spirit as it was about metal. Maybe... maybe how corrupted each set of Rings ended up being depends on how corrupted the creator was when it was being made? We have seen some adjustment in behavior in the elven ringbears but it mostly seems to be about protecting the rings. But with King Durin, he was starting to behave in ways that reminded me of Thorin's goldsickness in The Hobbit. Greed and paranoia.

So... Annatar and Mirdania. She saw him in the Unseen World. She saw Sauron (yes, sadly, I heard her talking about his eyes being 'eternal and pitiless' and went 'oh wow that sounds hot'). And Annatar was able to convince her that what she saw was something that Celebrimbor had turned himself into. Using it as a way to sow distrust between Mirdania and Celebrimbor.

And then that moment at the end, when Annatar gets distracted by the play of the light in her hair and brings up Galadriel... I mean, I definitely noticed that Mirdania had something of the look of Galadriel about her, but the show wanted us to know that Sauron noticed it too. Thinking about the one who got away, huh? (that being said, Annatar didn't pay her any particular attention until she experienced his true form while wearing the ring and he needed to distract and turn her mind away so that she wouldn't realize the truth)

Durin III and Durin IV have now reversed their positions on safety measures, with the prince the one worrying over the dangers of where his dad is choosing to mine. And the king is falling into greed and paranoia - taking his ring off and then blaming other people for it being missing. Extremely concerning. And the Balrog is getting closer to where the dwarves are living inside the mountain.

Matters in Numenor continue to deteriorate. And this is not something I think we can blame on Sauron's influence. This is Numenor's own wounds eating itself alive, I think. Ambition and power-seeking, but not sparked by Sauron, except incidentally. It was Galadriel and Miriel who started this ball rolling, and it was Pharazon who forced matters to the point where they stand.

Oh, but the destruction of the shrine and the death there... that was heartbreaking. Poor kid.

And Kemen being all ~how does it feel to have a daughter ashamed of you?~ Ugh, what a slimy douchebag. Pretty sure that kid is destined for an ill end. Just like his mom predicted, apparently.

...I don't think Earien is destined for a long and happy life either. Path made of seawater... Ominous.

We got a hint of our upcoming potential alliance between Adar and Galadriel, but only a hint. In another example of reversals from s1 -- in s1, Adar was the common enemy that Galadriel and Halbrand shared; now Sauron is the common enemy for Galadriel and Adar. I will say... this is now the second potential alliance that Adar has sought with someone who kills Orcs (after the hill-troll).

My mom is really worrying over whether or not Isildur and his dad are going to get reunited! She really was heartbroken over Valandil (good kid) getting murdered by Kemen. So was I! She says that Celebrimbor definitely knows something's very wrong at this point, but doesn't know how to stop. She loved Galadriel coming out of the cage, just ready to fight ("such a warrior!") but doesn't think that Adar's proposed alliance is going to work out, because Galadriel won't have the patience for it.

episode 6: I feel like so much happened. Okay, okay, okay.

Gandalf's plotline is going well, no complaints. The romance between Poppy and Merimac/Nobody is... a bit rushed... but you know. So it goes sometimes.

The Numenor plotline was really good. Fascinating to witness the trial by Abyss, especially since it harkened back to the first episode of the season, when Halbrand also faced the serpent and it declined to eat him. Was that the Valar, giving Sauron a chance to show that he'd repented and was willing to change?

The conversation between Elendil and Earien felt very relevant. Pride vs integrity. Elendil will humble himself if he must, but will not disavow his genuine truths. Pride vs integrity feels like a very important distinction in this show, as pride is one of the things that Sauron encourages with his influence.

I feel like we brushed against the current limits of Annatar's power (and maybe why Sauron decides he needs to make the One Ring) -- he can't actually make King Durin do what he wants. The dwarven ring has turned the King into a greedy and paranoid shell of himself, but now that greed that Sauron created in him is stronger than the influence that Annatar can use over him.

Influencing but not forcing to his will.

So. The three elven rings -- the main influence we have seen them wielding is preservation (maybe including preserving themselves?) and a gifting of a certain level of foresight, perhaps (Galadriel and Gil-galad have both experienced this, but I don't know if Cirdan directly said that he has).

The dwarven rings... like I mentioned in the previous episode, I was getting Thorin Oakenshield goldsickness flashbacks when I was watching the way King Durin started to behave once he put the ring on. Greed, possessiveness, the need for more-more-more.

Now we have the rings for men (not yet complete). One of the prototypes for this ring allowed Mirdania a glimpse into the Unseen World (which, unfortunately for her, drew Sauron's notice to her).

Annatar also used the world 'precious' twice in this episode, which is always going to draw my attention in context of anything Tolkien-related. Once to King Durin and once to Celebrimbor.

Annatar's grasp over Celebrimbor's mind is so strong! All of their scenes together are dynamite, but creating that vision of the beautiful Eregion in order to soothe Celebrimbor and get him back to work... wow. Also, yeah, it puts Gil-galad and Elrond's fears about what might happen if Galadriel confronted Sauron into perspective. They are worried that Sauron could do this to her. Make her see a world that is entirely unlike the actual world around her. And he kinda is able to do that in the s1 finale - he yanks her into the meadow with her brother and then onto the raft to try to make his pitch to her.

If in ep5, we were given a reminder that (despite all his other work that he has going on), Sauron is still thinking about Galadriel, then we got a reminder here that Galadriel was... deeply affected by him in return.

I know that Adar is going to die at the end of the season, so that means that these moments between Galadriel and Adar are mostly about Galadriel's continuing story. It's about the connection between what Adar says about Sauron and how his words resonate with Galadriel, because she felt it too. The world without... Halbrand... is a dull grey in comparison to when she was with him. It is... diminished.

Galadriel tells Adar that she believes that Sauron has drawn him to Eregion on purpose; that when he's attacking the city, he's doing what Sauron wants. And she might be right. Annatar did not seem unhappy about the city being attacked (and, because they are very much mirroring each other, Adar also accuses her of playing into Sauron's plans by trying to 'prove her virtue').

The orcs are unhappy, though. The very first line in this episode was "Anything's better than dying to help Adar chase a ghost." They do not want to be doing this invasion. They wanted to stay in Mordor, where they could come out during the day and live their lives. They would have been satisfied with Mordor.

But Halbrand planted a whisper in Adar's ear. It probably worked even better once Adar put the pieces together and realized that Halbrand and Sauron were the same (though he did want to have it confirmed by Galadriel before he was certain), because he realized that he'd been tricked by Sauron.

His alliance offer was never a true offer, but a covert interrogation and Galadriel fell for it, which probably doesn't make her feel any better about her powers of discernment.

Did Annatar put on his hot new black outfit in anticipation of the arrival of the orc army? It's a good look on him.

Also, alas, @markantonys - I understand the Adariel vibe, but did not feel it myself. Maybe because I already know his fate? I do like his character a lot, but I found myself very much looking at him in context of what he implies about how Sauron relates to people (especially Galadriel), more than anything else.

My mom's thoughts: glad the queen survived! She is actually wondering if Adar might pretend to submit to Sauron in order to trick him and then backstab him again, which was an interesting thought, though I know the show doesn't go that way.

[sundrop-writes]

Please send in Teen Wolf requests!!

I was just going through some of my older fics, and I realized that writing requests for Teen Wolf was some of the most fun I have ever had writing fics all year. So if you have any requests for these characters, please send them in. Lately I have been feeling so lost creatively and I really need something to reset my brain and get me really excited about working on fics again, so even if I only pick one or two requests to work on and it jumpstarts my creativity again, that would be amazing. (Especially because over the past month or so, writing fics for me has felt like banging my head into a wall and I hate it.)

The characters I write for: Stiles Stilinski, Erica Reyes, Allison Argent (I would love to write more for her omg please), Lydia Martin, Isaac Lahey (please send in requests for him, my baby, my love), Derek Hale, (maybe) Scott McCall, and (maybe) Jackson Whittemore. (I would also be open to writing about Peter Hale or Mommy Melissa if the idea is right.)

I would love to have some requests for MLTs, Headcanons, Reactions, and other shorter fics, but I would also love some ideas for longer fics to play off of. Please read my Rules page before requesting - but I am gonna copy/paste some stuff from my Rules page here, because I have a feeling that a lot of people don't actually read it before they send in a request. Ooop.

I do write for GN reader characters (where no gender is described), male reader characters, but I mostly write for fem reader characters - especially if the gender is not specified in the request. I write smut, angst, any dark topics, but I don't write fluff all that often. (I do like writing hurt/comfort - because I love writing angst.)

In case you don't know what MLT means, to clarify:

MLTS - ‘Most Likely To’s aka a short description explaining which character of the group (or two, or three characters) would be ‘most likely’ to do something or enjoy something. This could be exploring their potential enjoyment of a kink or how they would behave on a date, how they would be as a romantic partner. It can be anything you want, get creative. 

Reactions - 'how would they react to…’ aka a short description explaining how the characters (two or three, you can choose) would react to a certain situation. (If you want this format done with the whole group at once, it will likely be much shorter.) 

Headcanons - a collection of bullet points that creates a shorter, quicker, more efficient style of fic by taking the reader through a tour of ideas, the character’s reactions and thoughts in a shorter format. (These are like full fics, but can usually be done faster.) 

(If you need some inspiration, there are examples of prompts on my rules page, linked above.) 

Here is a list of dialogue prompts that I would love to use for longer fics:

“Who did this to you?” 

“You died. You should be dead.” (Bonus: “Well, I’m not.”)

“Can you run that by me again?” 

“You know, if you weren’t so annoying, you might actually be hot.” 

“Could you please just listen to me for once?” 

“Why are you doing this?” 

“Oh, fuck.” 

“Hey, hey. It’s gonna be okay.” 

“Oh. Oh.” 

“Is that blood?” (Bonus: “It’s not mine.”) 

“No, shut up. Stop talking like that. You’re gonna be fine.” 

“Shut up and kiss me already.” 

“Why would you do something that stupid?” “Because I’m in love with you.” 

“I think I might be pregnant.”

“Oh, great. It’s you again.” 

“Is that a bite?”

“Oh my god. You’re here.”

“I’ll never forgive you for this.” 

“Why don’t you just let me help you?” 

“I am done waiting for you.” 

“I’m in love with you, dumbass.” 

“Please, just let me take care of you.” 

“What are you gonna do about it?”

“I’ll kill all of them.” 

“I can keep you safe.” 

“You’re lucky it was just a scratch.” 

“So you aren’t heartless after all?” 

“I had it under control. You didn’t need to do that.” 

“Can’t sleep?” 

“I thought I lost you.”

“You’re being really nice.” (Bonus: “Yeah, are you surprised?”) 

“I’m not afraid of you.” 

“You know, I was wrong about you.” 

“How about a goodnight kiss?”

[mdhwrites]

Having discussed at length about angst and how it can easily negatively impact a story (i.e. The Owl House), why do you think angst has so much of an appeal among people? Because I personally haven't seen much of an argument from others besides "it makes the character(s) more relatable" or "it's more realistic that way."

And neither arguments are inherently wrong, I'd say. But it's naïve to assume angst can by default improve a story's quality, especially if it results in tonal dissonance or making a work too miserable to sit/read through. So again, why the widespread appeal?

Realism and relatability is a bullshit excuse for a lot of angst. A loooooot of angst is actually just too over the top to be seen as realistic, or dealt with so poorly that it isn't relatable at all. The people making these claims are just saying "Angst" instead of "Dark and edgy" for what they think 'mature' storytelling i.

Now, why is angst popular? Because drama as a genre exists? I will get into it more but I really do think terminally online people, who mostly consume Youtube and fanfic, just forgot that there already was a term for stuff going wrong in people's lives and causing emotionally intense stories and asking how people deal with that and we call that Drama. Drama is also seen as a more mature genre, hence why the Oscars like it so much, but also a lot of dramas suck ass for the same reason angst sucks ass.

Which brings me to the appeal and danger of Drama: Conflict, and especially interpersonal conflict. That is what angst and drama is usually there for. A twist in things that causes resolutions to be harder to happen because there are deeper, personal problems that need to be addressed in order to make headway on the overall problem. It's not like an adventure story where the conflict is a more potentially far off or less personal thing, a grand goal that doesn't really make the heroes themselves fight until some angst and drama is added to make the heroes butt heads with each other.

When done well, these elements allow for deeper characters, a better understanding of them and a wider exploration of dynamics and problems between people than would be normally possible in genres that are less focused on the characters. Romance shares a lot of similar strengths in this regard but that's also why a lot of romances include a good bit of drama. The term hot/cold romance exists because of the drama of figuring out if you even want to potentially be with someone after all and what it takes to finalize that choice. These do allow for genuinely very human expressions of who one is.

To use a work of mine as an example (Spoilers for The Blight's Ruff Secret/Their Ruff Secrets):

In the middle of the book, not quite the moment of adhesion, Amity loses it at Luz about how her curse isn't something that's fun. How everytime she steps out the door to go to things like church, she has to constantly fear being found out for the beast that she is since she is a werewolf. She accuses Luz of not being able to understand having to deny who you are at all times because if someone caught you even once, your life would be over.

Luz, who has a big crush on Amity while being at church because her mother is catholic, who just got bullied simply for being gender non-conforming, forces herself not to say anything. She instead just apologizes, despite knowing the pain too well. Despite wanting to share her sexuality but believing she knows what the consequences are if she ever does.

That is drama. That is personal problems causing friction and causing people to hurt each other because they are people and they are in pain. It is exploring that which separates and stresses us out. And that's within what is mostly a romantic comedy because if there was none of that friction, the romance wouldn't be as compelling. It's part of why opposites attract is so popular because the drama of the situation writes itself.

And part of why the angst explored in TOH about Lumity is such a fucking waste. -_-

But I had a point including all of this drama. I had things to say with it. There are payoffs to that pain. When you include things that will be painful to the audience simply to hurt them, that can easily become exhausting and miserable. I honestly don't seek out dramatic works very often, not ones that are primarily dramas at least, because I've been burned enough times and honestly, I don't need to be reminded of how life sucks just because it sucks. That's miserable and the last thing I want from my media. I want to see these things explored and reminded that we CAN work past them. That we can do better.

And I think that aspirational element is part of why people will always want to see their character suffer because the deeper the Belly of the Whale in a story, the more you celebrate when they escape. With how much redemption and the ability to be better than who you were is a running theme in my works, I know it's what I personally want and I like to believe it's part of what people like in my stories because it's something we all want to believe in. Something we angst about and would like to be assured isn't impossible.

See you next tale.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[chaisshitposts]

Hi Chaii! If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to be 🦁🐻🦒 anon (it was supposed to be a zoo, don't judge me, I tried to be creative)

I came here just to talk a little and maybe make some reflections. Did you know that yawning, tearing, sniffling, or sighing isn't just a good sign? These are ways for your body to eliminate the energy that is accumulated, normally bad, during the practices we do, but did you know that an excellent sign is a chill? One of my many mentors says that chills represent a "change of state," whether for good or bad. For example, if you have a chill in the middle of the practice, it may be that you are in a bad or neutral state, and it indicates that you are changing to a good state. But before you say that chills are bad, let me clarify that I'm not talking about cold sweats, no. I'm talking about really good ones. Imagine this scene: you are on a cold, very cold day, 2 warm sweaters are not enough, and then, it's time to take a shower: imagine that very pleasurable moment, you are naked, in the shower box, and then you turn on the register and the water is so warm, like a hot spring in the cold glaciers of Japan where little monkeys love to bathe. You don't go in at first, but you just stay there, observing all the magnificence of the water and all the power it has. The same water that kills the body is also the one that kills the thirst. And you feel that rush of hot steam, and the little messy droplets splashing on your skin and giving you goosebumps. That chill is what I'm referring to. I feel these chills several times: When it's a cold day and I go to lie down with 3 blankets and while I wait for the cold on my feet to pass I just feel gratitude for having somewhere to lie down and sleep and the pleasure of being so warm. But I also feel this while I'm very relaxed (after meditating, psych-k, etc.) and then listening to music that I really like. The music of your soul is the one that makes your spine shiver when you hear it. Be proud of the music that makes your heart beat for it. Or when, in that same state of relaxation or during music, I affirm things that touch me very deeply. Some of them are: "If you found out about this, it's because there's a reason" (referring to emptiness/loass) "If you want this, it's because there's a reason" (I'll talk more about this later) "I'm doing everything right" (I also use this in 2nd person, it's very comforting) "I want, I can, I get" (The catchphrase of a character I really like) "At the end, it's me who decides" (this is a personal mantra of mine, as a gift) What do you think of this? Bye, until next time!! S? :3

oh yes I do agree! there are lots of different symptoms that can come from doin' psych-k. it's interesting to hear from anons talkin' about their different experiences— especially a 'chill'. personally, I've experienced lots of tingling in the head, as well as the feeling of pressure in certain parts of my skull. I think the main reason why I like psych-k is because I can feel some kind of physical change, and that might not be the same for other people, but there is always a chance that something will happen.

some people cry, some people's eyes randomly water, some people sweat, some people cough, some people sneeze, some people get dizzy, some people get drowsy— the list goes on and on, psych-k is low-key like a medicine and there's just a bunch of potential symptoms written on the bottle for it—

ty for sharing by the way, and welcome to the anonnies!!!

[lanceeselhombre]

An analysis of Xiao’s mental state

Okay so I’ve finally finished gathering all the info to make a coherent post about this. It took a hot minute but it was so worth it. The new trailer is a gold mine and it confirms some things that I’ve been thinking about for awhile now. Given the time of year, I think it’s time I pointed out something that’s so obvious, yet I have never seen a discussion about.

And that is Xiao’s (and his fellow yakshas) experiences with psychosis, and what it could mean for 3.4.

⚠️ DISCLAIMER ⚠️

I am not claiming that Hoyoverse intended to write Xiao with a mental illness and I am not diagnosing him with a condition. Psychosis is a symptom, not a condition in and of itself, and it can be caused by many different things, not just mental illness. I am also not going to be exploring a cause, simply pointing out that Xiao’s experiences as they have been shown to us so far (as of the ‘Endless Suffering’ teaser trailer) are an accurate depiction of psychosis.

That all being said, please proceed with caution. This post talks about and contains examples of delusions, auditory and visual hallucinations, disordered thoughts, and other features of psychosis, as well as character death. If these are triggers for you, please be careful.

Also, obviously there are spoilers ahead.

Discussion begins beneath the cut.

According to the DSM-5, psychosis is “defined by the presence of delusions, hallucinations, formal thought disorder (ie, disorganized speech), or abnormal psychomotor behavior (grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior), not better explained by another mental disorder, substance use disorder, or medical condition.” I realize that probably means a whole lot of nothing to most people, but don’t worry. Let’s take it one piece at a time.

Here, delusions do not refer to the in-universe devices made by the Fatui. Delusions, as a feature of psychosis, are false beliefs about reality that a person cannot be dissuaded of, even when the belief is undeniably proven to be false.

Let me give you a real life example. Imagine you have a friend over for dinner and you notice they haven’t touched their drink (let’s say it’s soda). You ask them what’s wrong. They say they refuse to drink the soda because the manufacturer is putting poison in it. You tell them that can’t be true because it would be on the news if it was true. You tell them that you have never gotten sick from this soda. You even drink a cup of it in front of them and nothing happens. Still, they insist it is poisoned.

This is an example of a common delusion. However, delusions come in many different forms.

Now, Xiao doesn’t immediately appear to have any delusions, admittedly. Even if he didn’t, that wouldn’t mean he isn’t experiencing psychosis; of the four features, only one needs to be present. That being said, I do want to point out one potential delusion:

His belief that his presence (or more specifically, his power) harms mortals.

I want to be clear that I am not talking about his backstory here. Xiao harmed mortals while enslaved to a previous god and I am not saying that didn’t happen, or that it was a result of a mental illness (because it wasn’t). What I am saying is he seems to believe that just existing around people can and will harm them, when what we see in game says the opposite. And no, I’m not just referring to vision holders, but normal people as well.

He claims that adeptal energy harms mortals. We see this several times in game. He says it when we first meet him.

And still seems to believe so during Perilous trial. (Otherwise Paimon wouldn’t be comforting him over the thought.)

Yet, we as the traveler, nor any other character he has interacted with on or off screen (that we know of) has fallen ill. Now for vision holders (aka playable characters) that can be explained away. For whatever reason, visions seem to increase a mortal’s tolerance to this energy.

So sure, if we assume his power really is dangerous, then ours, xiangling’s, and the Perilous trial gang’s lack of sickness from being around him doesn’t disprove this belief. But you know what does?

This NPC.

And all the visionless soldiers from the fight against Osial.

And everyone that passes Xiao in the harbor from the newest official video.

This isn’t even mentioning event content, like the time that we call for Xiao in the harbor to taste Xiangling’s cooking, or the in-game novels about the yakshas and adepti, which have only good things to say. You would think that one of those legends would tell of the horrors that follow the Vigilant Yaksha if such things were true.

But okay. Let’s say that none of these interactions were ‘long enough’ to cause the harm he believes will come to those around him. That still doesn’t explain why Yelan has a voice line about his presence aiding visionless mortals.

It doesn’t make sense that his presence could both have a comforting effect and a harmful one. And considering Yelan has an account of a person who had a (recurrent) positive experience from Xiao’s presence, and we have no accounts of a person who had a negative one, I’m inclined to believe Yelan. Yet, as far as we are made aware, he still believes enough contact, even with vision holders, will hurt them.

Remember, I’m talking about his power, his presence, not his karma.

See the parallel?

Let’s move on to the next feature.

Hallucinations are experiences of sensations that are not actually present. They can be heard, seen, felt, smelled, tasted, etc. Most people hallucinate from time to time, especially if they’re tired. Ever thought you heard someone call your name and they didn’t actually say anything? Pet owners, ever thought that you saw your pet walking in the corner of your eye, when they were sitting right next to you? Those are examples of hallucinations.

This feature is more obvious for Xiao. Starting with the most obvious, he experiences visual hallucinations, which were very clearly shown in the ‘Endless Suffering’ video.

Now before people brush this off as an artistic representation of his karma haunting him, may I remind you that there is literally a scene where the hallucination is shown through his eyes, and when he blinks it disappears, replaced by a little girl with a replica mask.

Notice how he sees the hallucination before looking to the little girl’s location. This shows that he was hallucinating beforehand, not mistaking what he saw for something else.

I believe the ‘other Xiao’ that he was shown to be fighting with earlier in the video to be something else. Due to the black aura coming off of him there, that seemed to be some sort of miasma or karmic manifestation. This makes sense, as he was fighting other monsters like hilichurls just beforehand. Regardless, the Xiao with the black aura and the greenish Xiao from the harbor were intentionally made distinct to show that they are not the same thing.

Similarly, he might also experience auditory hallucinations. I wasn’t able to catch something from the video that seemed to be this kind of hallucination, though Xiao does have a voice line about hearing voices.

This one is less concrete, as this is a fantasy world and the voices he hears could very well be really there. He tells us that he also hears the wishes of all those that wish on the lanterns at lantern rite. It could be an adeptus thing. So feel free to believe this one or not, but I wanted to put it out there.

Next is formal thought disorder. This feature refers to impaired ability to sustain and express coherent thoughts. Xiao does not seem to struggle with this at all, so I won’t dwell on it. Again, he doesn’t need to experience this to be experiencing psychosis, since we already established he is experiencing other features.

Abnormal psychomotor behavior looks at outward responsiveness to the environment. Both behavior that is unusually active (combativeness, restlessness, emotional agitation) and unusually absent (unresponsiveness) are possible manifestations of this feature.

Xiao is said to experience unprovoked bouts of anger and fear in the book ‘Yakshas: The Guardian Adepti’ just as his fallen comrades did as well. This book outright confirms that the other Yaksha all experienced psychotic episodes prior to their deaths and is both a great source of evidence for this topic as well as just a great lore read. The cutscene of Bosacius’s last moments is also a great example of psychosis. But I digress.

I was surprised to find that Xiao’s voice lines indicate he is pretty restless. Hoyo doesn’t repeat information unless it is important, and Xiao has not one (1), not two (2), but three (3) voice lines about his dislike for standing around or being idle.

Seems pretty restless to me.

Returning to the video once again, we can infer from the little girl’s dialogue that Xiao is at times unresponsive. If you want to watch again for yourself, the dialogue is from 2:22-2:39.

If you don’t, the scene is of the girl speaking to Xiao, but he doesn’t respond to her comments about her mask, or her asking if he is okay. Even when the girl calls to her grandfather to give Xiao some rice wine pudding, his only reaction is to close his eyes.

This is very unlike Xiao. From the Perilous trial quest, we know that he does not become withdrawn like this when tired, so exhaustion from fighting wouldn’t explain his behavior. He has never been shown to act like this, even around strangers. If he didn’t want to interact, he would simply teleport away. Except Venti’s later comment of the rice wine on his breath implies that he stayed. Therefore, this also seems to be evidence of abnormal behavior.

Everything I have discussed so far are positive symptoms, which cover abnormal experiences of psychosis. There can also be negative symptoms, or reduced experiences, that occur at the same time. These can be inability to show emotion, apathy, or withdrawing from social experiences, among other things. Presence of these symptoms starts to lean towards a specific condition, namely schizophrenia, but since they are relevant to Xiao’s behavior, I still want to mention them.

While Xiao openly admits to not understanding or experiencing human emotions, this is clearly an adeptus thing. Other full-blooded adepti such as Cloud Retainer share this experience, so I won’t consider it here. And while Xiao says he can’t understand human emotions, he seems to be able to sympathize, or at the very least treat others’ emotions with respect.

On the other hand, for what otherwise seems like an improvement, Xiao’s want to rest instead of stay with Venti concerns me. Firstly, because he has been shown to deny the need or want for rest every time it comes up in recent events. Secondly, because their dialogue indicates that late nights drinking on the roof are somewhat commonplace for them. Thirdly, because he was actively experiencing other psychotic features directly prior to the interaction, and him turning down Venti’s offer could be him starting to withdraw socially.

It should be noted that Xiao has already almost succumbed to his karma once, and the description of that event seems to suggest that he was deep into a psychotic episode at the time. This parallels the fates of his closest comrades, who all met their ends in this way. It is implied that his condition has since improved, though lantern rite is always a difficult time for him, and the trailer is letting us see for the first time what that really means.

Unfortunately, people who experience psychosis and psychotic disorders have poorer life expectancies than their peers. In game, psychosis has been shown to be a staple disorder of yaksha who are overwhelmed by their karma and will soon die. And right now is the time of year that it is all at its worst for the yaksha.

Death flags are waving for Xiao.

At the same time, his support system has grown larger than ever. Not only does he have Zhongli, but the traveler, Xiangling, Yelan, Yanfei, Itto, Shinobu, Qiqi, Baizhu, and Venti. Osial has been buried in the ocean once again and the earth rests. Burdens such as Bosacius’s unknown fate have been lifted off his shoulders, and he’s learned that maybe his siblings’ wishes for a mundane life aren’t out of reach after all.

With update 3.4 only a few days away, we’ll soon get to see what all this means for him going forward. Hoyoverse posted this video a few days before the update for a reason, and its contents show Xiao’s struggle in such a raw, new way for a reason. I can only assume we will see his current health addressed in some way, and while I will prepare for the worst, I will also hope for the best.

As an aside, I would like to take the time to applaud Hoyoverse for the effort they have put into making these depictions accurate. Psychosis is clearly an important topic when it comes to the yaksha and the effects of the bad karma they receive from their duty. I believe it is being used as a foreshadowing tool now, but despite being used for narrative, the disorder has been accurately and diversely represented amongst the yaksha (Bosacius’s cutscene vs Xiao’s teaser trailer), and most importantly, these characters remain fully fleshed-out people, not caricatures of mental illness.

Xiao is psychotic. He is also kind, loyal, and a strong warrior. He mentors others when they ask. He loves almond tofu and music. His dream is to dance among flowers, free from his duty as a yaksha. And despite Xiao’s past, of the violence he was forced to commit as a slave, and the danger that comes with battling alongside him, Hoyo makes a point to show that he has sworn to protect mortals and has never wished to harm anybody.

That is a distinction that is sorely underrepresented in media. Experiencers of psychosis are not inherently dangerous or violent, and of the two psychotic episodes they have depicted in detail, neither included violence toward people around the sufferer.

Once the second dropped, I couldn’t continue keeping this to myself, not when this gem of a detail has been going unnoticed by many. So once again, may I just say: well done, Hoyoverse. Well done.

Thanks for coming to my TedTalk. Happy Lantern Rite.

[funkymbtifiction]

Hey, is this common for high ne? Whenever I am really interested in something a part of me really wants to share that with others (friends, family) but at the same time I also want to keep things to myself because it often feels like things lose their meaning, joy and fascination once I share them with others.

This is what I hear from INFPs a lot of the time. Sharing it ruins it, gives others the chance to hate on it, and feels less interesting than to cradle it inside their Fi and plumb it for the depths of meaning it holds to them. Strong Fi can often override a Ne-driven excitement in sharing what's discovered. ENFPs rush to tell everyone what they have found that they love; INFPs tend to horde and cradle it closer in their soul for a longer period of time, and sometimes others aren't even aware of their interests because it doesn't dawn on them to be transparent about their current fascinations nearly as much.

For example if I read a really good book I kind of want to tell my friend about it but every time I do that and tell my friend that she needs to read it and how good it is and then she actually ends up reading it and tells me she read it and that I was right and the book really was good my reaction usually is “Oh, cool”. At this point all my excitement is gone and I couldn’t care less whether she read the book or thought it was good. I assume this is partly because I have already moved on to a new interest but even if I have not this is usually my reaction.

What if they sat down and read it that afternoon and then could talk to you about it? Would you be apathetic then? I find that I have to strike while the iron is hot, either in talking about things or getting others to watch them and discuss them with me, otherwise the moment has passed before they get around to it.

I think for me it is more enjoyable to have an interest, tell people about it without actually convincing them. In a weird way it always feels as if I have lost when I can convince people to take an interest in something I am passionate about and it somehow is more fun when I can be passionate about someone and everyone else around me sort of knows that but nobody actually ever develops a similar interest to mine. I am not sure if that makes much sense tbh but that is how I usually feel: I want to share my interests with others and try and convince them of giving it a try but I don’t actually want to succeed with that and hope they won’t get interested.

So. Much. Introverted. Feeling.

Another thing regarding interests and I thought could maybe also have to do with fi is that if I have an interest in something that is very personal to me and happens to be something rather rare and then someone comes along with the same interest I immediately perceive that person as an “enemy”. If I have an hobby that nobody else I know has and nobody takes particular interest in but it is something that has always been a strong interest of mine and I tend to be rather good at it and then suddenly a person shows up who happens to have the same hobby my first reaction is always dislike.

Cough. 4 fix. Cough.

My isfj friend is much different because whenever she encounters someone with the same interest she is usually delighted and sees the other person as a potential best friend. Could this be a fe/fi difference that fe users are usually more happy and positive towards similar people, while fi users may perceive similar people in a more negative way or even as a threat of some sorts?

No, it might just be 4ish Fi "I don't want anyone else to be remotely like me." In general, Ne and Fi is glad to talk about things with people, because they may have an angle or insight we didn't consider when we discovered it that could open us up to more exploration!

It is really weird when I have this kind of negative perception but the other person has a positive perception and this person comes up to me and says how great it is to have someone with the same interest and that we are definitely going to be great friends when all I am thinking is how being friends with that person is pretty much the last thing I want to be.

4 frustration confirmed in your tritype.

[genericpuff]

(1) Hello, than you for your posts about Lore Olympus and for recommending the Pyrrhic_Victoria podcast. I'm a very casual reader of the series, at time going months without checking the episodes and it's fascinating how many problems just flew over my head, although I had weird impression when reading the chapter about Persephone defeating Kronos, it felt odd and off (the reporters - just... how?).

Considering you put this into 3 parts, I'll just be responding to all three in one post if that's okay! (hence the copy pastes above!)

The S2 finale was definitely where I really started to go "uhhhhhh" with the series. The trial already had me raising my eyebrows (such as the Eris reveal) but the S2 finale was where I really just started to drop off and lose the love I once had for the series.

ETA: I realize the tone of this post kinda went off but it's a hot button topic of mine that I enjoy talking about so bear with it haha Thank you for wishing me luck with Rekindled, I got big things planned ❤️❤️❤️

To address #2, I actually have a liiiittle bit of beef with that notion. As a writer, I don't think it's necessarily good form to blame the audience for failing to meet expectations. Yes, audience members can come up with some wild theories and expectations especially when it comes to serialized stories like this, but the core of the issue is that LO/Rachel doesn't manage what it sets up well at all. Even the most basic expectations for where the story is going seem to be dropped, expectations that anyone who pays an inch of attention to the series would come up with.

For example, I don't think it was too big of an ask to expect the time skip actually show more than it did. A lot of people were hyped to see Persephone be on her own, forced to do her mother's job, and live up to everything she had bragged about at the start of S2 (about how she had 'peaked' in her mother's duties) not to mention offer her an opportunity to make spring her own. There was also the theory/expectation that it would potentially lead to an actual genuine abduction, through Hades option to go to the Mortal Realm and take her "back" to the Underworld in defiance of Zeus' sentencing.

And of course, there's what happened with the Eros x Psyche myth, the return of Kronos, and the Hymn of Demeter, all of which are stories that not only had setups as far back as S1, but Rachel has butchered within the confines of LO because she wants to try and be "subversive", not realizing that being "subversive" doesn't mean completely screwing over the original meanings of these myths or writing a poorly-constructed story.

These, to me, are not wild expectations to have in the slightest for a comic that's claiming to be a retelling of the taking of Persephone. But LO is as far from being a true retelling as retellings can possibly get. It can hardly even be called fanfiction at this point.

Point is, it's up to the writer to fulfill the expectations they set, and that's a separate thing entirely from an audience setting their expectations "too high". It's not like people are asking for anything that's outside the reasonable realm of what Rachel is tackling, everything that I see people "expecting" is pretty par for the course for the stuff Rachel has noticeably set up (like the return of Kronos, for example).

I see the argument crop up a lot that people should just "lower their expectations" of LO for the sake of enjoying it, but frankly, if I were in Rachel's position, I would be downright insulted and disappointed in myself if I found out my audience had to lower their expectations of me and my work to enjoy it. I don't want an audience out of pity, I want an audience because I've put out a damn good piece of work that's earned that audience. And this isn't something that's unique to me, this is pretty much the viewpoint of every other creator I know, so if Rachel is seriously hiding behind the notion that it's her audience's 'fault' for having their expectations too high, then she's a coward, full stop. She set those expectations herself in a lot of ways, and especially by going so far as to claim LO as a 'retelling' of some of the most beloved myths in literature.

As a writer, it's disrespectful as fuck to see people come up with these kinds of arguments instead of expecting better of someone who claims to be a professional and regularly brags about their awards (which weren't even earned, they were very likely bought).

As an audience member, I shouldn't have to turn off my brain and forgo my own intelligence as a reader to enjoy someone else's work. I'd rather just stop reading it altogether and put that energy into something else far more enjoyable and worth my time.

[skelekidd]

2 for you as well, aaand 11!

Hello Travis My Lovely Mutual Travis!! :)

ask game here

2. Song or two you've had on repeat recently?

Recently, I've only really been listening to some witcher game soundtrack music to help me sleep sometimes lol. Out of the playlist, my faves are probably River of Life and The Dike by Paweł Błaszczak.

11. Ideal haircut/color on yourself? If you could do anything

I've been cutting my own hair for ~6 years now and I'm alright at it, mostly doing some variation around mullet/wolf cut territory. I never found a reference that hit the right spot I've been thinking of, until the other day I saw this tiktok and I was like THERE THAT ONE. It's a little hot to have my hair that long atm, but it'll be all over for the haters once it gets chilly again. My hair color/texture looks pretty similar to the example in the tiktok (maybe a little blonder? Depends on the lighting). Mine doesn't hold shape that well because of how fine it is, and I haven't found the right product(s)/routine to get it to behave how I want it to consistently. Probably using a blow dryer would help? lmao

So anyway, that would probably be the ideal style for me atm, but color is another issue. I have thought about dyeing my hair, but picking any fun colors would mean that I'd have to coordinate my outfits with that color (already involves many bright colors and patterns and shapes), which might mean ruling out some of my outfits. So I guess ideally, I would want something that I could change to coordinate with my outfits and mood. but part of it is that I wear a lot of different colorful outfits, and if I made my hair something more fun, then all my outfits would have to take my hair color into account in the coordination. Which could potentially mean some outfits/clothing pieces wouldn't be as viable anymore. So I guess ideally I'd just be able to change it whenever I want based on my mood/outfits, lmao. I was thinking that maybe having sorta cloud gray hair tinted with some color coordinated highlights/ends (probably like teal, lavender, lime green, hot pink would be faves). I think my ideal hairstyle would probably be a similar cut and length to the one in the tiktok, but with some slight differences in how I style it personally.

thank you for the questions ! :) <3

[pinklovesandwich]

A review of Blackpink’s Singapore Leg of Born Pink

I want to preface this by saying that I am going to be rather critical. I felt that it didn’t live up to the standards that I would expect from the biggest girl group in the world right now, as well as from veterans that have been in the industry for over 7 years. If you enjoyed it, I’m genuinely happy for you and I do think there are things to enjoy about the concert. So let’s start with the positives

Girls looked really great. Some outfits I particularly liked were Jisoo’s Flower outfit and Lisa’s outfit for the second act.

Production looked really fantastic. It’s honestly the most beautiful lighting I’ve seen in the National Stadium (props to them for selling it out both nights) especially with the Pink Ocean.

They have some very talented backup dancers and musicians.

Solo stages were really good overall, and I would’ve loved to see more of that creativity in the group performances.

Now on to the gripes I had:

Duration

o This is the most common one I’ve heard throughout the tour and for good reason. Tickets are really expensive – ranging from $190-$400++ (including booking fees). For that price, a 1hr 40 min runtime in total is just pretty underwhelming. This includes the long ass VCRs, performances by the backup dancers and musicians. That’s just really short no matter how you spin it. TWICE for example consistently puts out >3 hour long performances. I’m not expecting that length for all groups but I do expect longer than 2 hours at least.

Crowd interaction

o This is a major gripe of mine. The crowd interactions were both brief and few, and basically were just “How’s everyone? I love Singapore food! The weather is hot, I’m so sweaty! Ok our next song is!”. There were zero details or like follow ups about what they liked about Singapore in particular, it was so lazy and just made it feel like they were checking off a box. I don't expect an entire essay but I think there were only like..five short interactions in total? And the last one when Jennie was saying we only have two more songs I was like bro wtf u just got here, don’t gaslight us into thinking it’s been a long concert lol

o I don’t think language barrier is a problem since the girls are clearly fluent in English sans Jisoo, and if it was then just bring a translator up? A performer/musician should always want to connect with their fans on a strong level, because without the fans they are nothing.

o When I as a fan see how brief and obligatory the interactions are, it makes me feel that my idol seems to just want to go back to the hotel room and rest rather than be forced to perform and interact with the crowd, and makes it hard for me to enjoy the concert.

o Like come on man, you are making a killing on this tour leg and you can’t even be bothered to show some love to your fans…it’s kinda off putting

Performance energy

o This is the other major gripe.

o I know Blackpink isn’t a vocal/dance heavy group, but that being said it felt like they (with the exception of Lisa) were phoning it in for most of the night, especially when comparing it to their rightfully acclaimed coachella stages just a few weeks ago. Some of the remixes and arrangements of their songs are literally the same as their previous tour as well. Lazy is not swag. Performing is part of your job – you guys are a 7 year old group that has trained most of their lives to be idols. I felt like they only gave maybe 50% of their full potential to us. As a former dancer I can also tell you their dances are not hard to learn at all, it takes probably an hour or two max. There’s no real reason other than laziness to not go all out ESPECIALLY with how short the concert is (and the fact that Singapore is one of the last legs on the tour). A common refrain some will say is “I’d like to see you dance and sing at the same time”. Literally numerous other idols do it with way harder choreography before BP was even formed such as SHINee, EXO. It’s not an excuse.

o I watched a newly formed group, Le Sserafim's comeback show recently as well after BP's concert clips and I was really shocked. There is such a stark difference in the passion, the level of choreography and expression, the energy, the hunger to perform. All the girls give it their all and bear in mind this is just a one year old group. One of their members Sakura I found out even has been in the game longer than Blackpink – she’s been in the industry since 2011 with AKB48 and later on IZ*ONE….and she’s still bringing her A game no matter where it is.

o A group as old as time, SNSD came back after 5 years. Some of them who are actresses haven't performed for years and they only practiced when they had free time from their individual schedules yet they did well both in their comeback stages and concerts so I don’t think having a long break in between is a good excuse.

o Groups similarly around the 7 year mark such as TWICE, Mamamoo, Seventeen and BTS are still giving it their all in every performance they have…so that makes it rather disappointing as well.

o There has to be minimum standards for A WORLD TOUR, like do they just bring those for Coachella?

My thoughts on the individual members

Jisoo: Jisoo is my bias but she seemed a bit…off. Maybe it’s being the non-English speaking member but she just seemed like she didn’t want to be here and was politely going through the motions. Kinda low energy. She spoke barely a few lines to the crowd. Her solo stage was decent and she did sing live for the most part if I’m correct, so props for that.

Jennie: Jennie really really disappointed me the most. I get that she’s arguably one of the hottest female stars in the world, so why don’t I see it in her performance and energy? Is Singapore just not important enough a market? It’s disappointing cause she is talented even at pre-debut and you know she can bring it when she wants to - but it’s so fed up that you who probably only will see them once in your lifetime, have to be at the mercy of which Jennie will show up today. Is it the moody, tired Jennie who only complains about the heat? Or is it the fierce, charismatic performer? Sad to say it seems she doesn’t give a damn unless it’s Coachella or US, looking at the fancams. I felt a real lack of professionalism from her.

Rose: I think Rose kinda tried a bit to liven the mood up at the start but towards the end after her solo also just seemed very low energy. She’s not the worst offender but similar to the other two members above I felt they could’ve tried harder to engage the audience throughout the concert.

Lisa: I’ll admit I never understood the Lisa hype but honestly she may have just become my new bias. Even though she’s the youngest, she gave it her all in every single performance. She tried to always hype the songs up in the background with her vocals, danced her heart out, even did some really decent pole dancing for her solo (for someone that has only learnt it for under a year I believe). She really tried to interact with the fans the most as well. Very professional and I wish the other girls had her energy.

Conclusion

Singapore is one of the last legs of the tour so rusty and nervous should not be an excuse by now, especially for a group that’s been around as long as they have. Overall, as someone who has been to numerous concerts in kpop, I can’t help but feel let down. You can call me a hater if you want, but personally as a former hardcore Blink – I know the girls are just capable of more looking at other performances that they went all out. This inconsistency in performance energy especially with members not named Lisa is just rather offputting frankly for a group that people paid good money to come and see and have supported them despite taking uncommonly long hiatuses in the past between. Glad I finally saw them but probably won’t pay such an exuberant amount to do so again.

reproduced:

[stampy-offical]

More of hells little darling.

Due to not wanting to cause a massive issue. [Aka deal with the fact that ultimately Alyx is in danger at hell and in the foster system.] She has to go to the mortal realm to go to school and oddly Noone questions anything.

Like..

Noone has her address and the one she gives is an old factory Noone found.

Her contacts are numerous and they can't find their work. Lines they've heard are ('Hello! This is the hazbin hotel! I'm Alastor! How may I help your wayward soul?' 'Hello. Hazbin hotel! Dove speaking.' 'Rughbbh..hazbin hotel Husk here...' 'this is the hazbin hotel mail office Stampy speaking.')

The one pta meeting they got invited too it was only Stampy who showed up. And due to him being the mailman he never told anyone PTAs were a thing. (The staff like him but the parents don't know why he looks like a old 1930s cartoon man fashion wise.)

She found some of Vellettes old class mates [she died in 2010 according to Vizepop] and muttered about val and vox and they thought she was talking about a different Vellette which turned into the students thinking she's cursed.

The hotel is the talk of the town by various news places that claim something wrong is going on or there's a plot. Cuase hells only nifelhim Lucifer and his daughter an ex exorcist hells most successful porn star and three overlords are there. So...it's an issue.

Carmella brought it up one meeting about how the people in neutral territories are getting suspicious and she sighs about how someone might be sending assassins after the hotel. They crew responded with.

Alastor:oh ho we know that already! I've made an example out of them! Also thank you for teaching Jackie my dear rosie! His Chilli was wonderful!

Husk:I'm certain at least one of the people in this room saw the halo collection of exorcists we've kept?

Stampy:Carmella. With all due respect. Where the fuck do you think I got all the angelic weapons I've sent to my factories to melt down to make the metal bits I use in my products?

Charlie made a suggestion box for added activities to do at the hotel or potential patrons they can have visit. So far the only suggestion was Angel's older brother cause apperntly he spends a lot of time at Husks bar and he's fed up with him being quote 'a fucking coward who can't man up enough to try and fix things with his brother and would rather cry to me while looking through the bottom of the bottle he's got.'

Charlie keeps getting confused on the various things she keeps learning about her patrons.

Jackie:yeah I died saving a friend. But hey! I got to meet you all and met rosie...hehe...

Stampy:she knows you're the one sending the letters. They smell like you according to her.

Jackie:*Spits out drink.*

Or..

Husk:*Yelling at someone in Russian*

Charlie:huh?

Stampy:*pulls out a collection of books he had gotten to help out with language barriers die to vaggie cussing in Spanish and angel mocking people in Italian.* uh...I think that's Russian?

Husk:I can speak a lot of things.

Charlie:like?

Husk:Italian, Russian, German, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, and Japanese. Though I'm not a PhD major in them can say some basic stuff. And other...what? (He's canon fluent in these. Like damn.)

Alastor:I must Say husker! I wasn't expecting you to be so smart! Why I can barely count as fluet in my second language. (It's French. FYI)

Husk:ill take it.

And finally.

Nifty:why is that meat in the fridge seem so icky?

Stampy:that's mine.

Nifty:you eat that tough cow stuff?

Stampy:it's moose. And I'm cooking dinner tonight.

Nifty:Moose?

Stampy:yeah. We didn't have Gator. And I don't want to deal with angel.

Angel:I'm saying it's technically cooked pus--

Stampy:I SWEAR TO FUCK ILL SLAP YOU!

Nifty:?

Stampy:it was couger.

Angel:oh? I think I'd know a few..*ducks after stampy throws a handful of peanuts at him* ha! Nuts. *runs away with stampy hot on his tail*

Alyx is working out with Jackie how to get mortals to summon demons cause alyx thinks it'd be a great idea to just summon everyone in the hotel for like a day or two.

Stampy keeps trying to get everyone to go to therapy. He's not successful.

@siempreminta (dove mention also alastor lore.)

@hopeful-hellion (I've mentioned jackie like so much.)

@alyxdefoisnthere (more AU stuff!)

[afr0-thunder]

[Poor Chronicles Pt. 41]

Topics: Work (Vacation)/Chicago vs. CPD/Photography/Vocabulary/Girls/Super Bowl/SEXI (Final Update Pt. 2)/Phoenix “Theory”

Week 1 of my work “vacation” is complete. I am not scheduled for this entire holiday season. This may have been one of the only weeks I’ve had off since I had started.

I was almost murdered by the police for ignoring their “greeting” and being identified as someone holding a firearm. It was a visual misunderstanding. Still, he pulled his gun on me and I was not entertained. Will not elaborate any further.

I took some more pictures, my Ralph Lauren Polo sweater is actually more intriguing than I had initially thought.

I will be referring to my housing design as an “assortment”. I want a 50-story assortment so that my promiscuous wenches must go through multiple levels of physical activity before fucking me. Showers on the 47th floor. For example, “wife” #1 must complete a video of 10 three point shots, 1 min of jump role (freestyling), obstacle course with barbed wire (Jokes. Possibly. I like crazy women). First woman to the top, no reward. Just fucking. I don’t want the others to get jealous, but she was first and this ideally shouldn’t take the same amount of time for them all, so it shouldn’t even be an issue on finishing first (for them). Not like if I did…sexually. Like who makes it to me first…because it’s not a race, so they won’t finish near eachother in time, as I only have one dick in my arsenal. How would I start fucking 50 bitches at once? A bit of a friendly fire on myself for the “finishing first” originally. But nonetheless (anyways), unless I make my room door transparent… should I just make them come join? Do I make them edit it and put it all together. If they have time. DON’T. BE. LATE! Class is in session *yard stick slam on the desk* (All jokes). Timed? 30 mins or less, if task based not speed based. Effort based? Like “punitive” measures for intentional slacking/decrease in quality? I will obviously do mine as well. I may do timed 30 minute sessions for myself as well for hobbies such as sketching to say sharp. There may be a hot tub or even a pool on my level. A large TV! First done can pick today’s show or movie. Watch whatever show in the meantime. Or update others as they come if you don’t choose an [appetizer show]. Paused? Or maybe it’d just keep getting stopped from someone new always entering the room and become a big group discussion. Once a week. I forgot they’d have to have jobs and have to travel a lot so I can’t make them do it ALL week. Can I? They may have time. It depends. Can’t complete a level? That’s okay. Ends at 2:00pm. We’ll have those digital clocks with the red numbers, so everybody knows what floor and hour they are on. Make it tomorrow’s whole day goal. If met early, complete other tasks from previous day (for daily fitness/exercise). Until you can complete the circuit by 2:00pm, don’t set a new goal. (This would be a great reality show, but I don’t want cameramen, have any interest in entertainment as far as movies/television and I could potentially do this naked. Why would I record obstacle course porn?).

The Ravens continue to reign dominant. Lamar Jackson is a spectacular Super Bowl champion versus the Dallas Cowboys. The Philadelphia Eagles will be there though. Obliterated the Dolphins for that 28 point comeback last year. I like Tua, but damn Lamar did him dirty.

I have decided to reduce the number of baby mommas. I said I would never speak to SEXI again, last year in 2022, for my own personal reasons. She responded to the direct message from the other day and said “Thanks” with a crying laughing emoji. I said she looked “sexy”. I’m about to leave this bitch on read for life. I, however, elect to resume fucking up people’s lives. I will not fuck up hers in any fashion. As long as she holds this fumble in. Otherwise, they will make fun of her.

Your pathways from birth until death carrying every breath you take, following your every step. New cells are created, hair sheds, skin sheds, blood, sweat and tears, saliva shed. One day, they will all follow along the same path as the airways and in the perfect moment will all come together and you will rise again as phoenixes do. Everything you once were will all come back together long after your death and you will rise once more. If you hate your being, you will continue to pollute the airways and deteriorate your natural being through practices such as drug consumption and heavy eating.

I have more thoughts, but time to smoke.

- MH (2023)

[12/31/2023 - 7:59PM]

[neonstatic]

i am bad at taking compliments

i'm not terrible at it. i don't particularly indulge in self-deprecating humour. when i do a good thing, i acknowledge it. i know i am intelligent, i know i do my job well, i know i look cute, etc etc. but sometimes... someone will give me a compliment and i will just. get so mad abt how inaccurate it feels. example: i have a pleasant voice. if i were to apply myself, i'd have the potential for radio work or voice acting. my singing voice? it's quite good. i've got range but no passion. one time i had a regular at work, sweet old gentleman, and he said that my speaking voice was so nice that he could tell i could sing like whitney houston....... it's like he wanted so badly to compliment me that he aimed too high and now, well, i just felt insulted. still do, btw! (ms houston i'm so sorry this stupid bitch talked abt you)

or. one time i was working the donations. i was hot and sweaty, in a plain black fit w my hair in a slick low bun. like, i looked normal but i felt gross overall. and my coworker/friend passes by and says, "ray, you're gorgeous." ,,,y'all. i straight up told him to "fuck off!" jabfakjbb what followed was likely the most confusing back and forth of his life, with him defending his stance that he "just wanted to say smth nice" and me chewing his head off abt it. dw i didn't yell at him. i don't yell <3 i was just. cold and short. bc "gorgeous" out of all the words? i'm cosplaying as a hard-at-work, sweaty steve jobs -- don't call me gorgeous, wtf is wrong w you?

recently, my sister and i were discussing breaking bad habits. she said i was getting better at some of mine and i was downplaying it, giving all kinds of excuses as to how it was getting better bc of outside circumstances (not rly) and then my sister just went, "oh my god! would you stop it, we aren't playing compliment ninja!!" and i was like ok weird analogy but i get it lmao

anyway the reason why i thought abt this is cus this new girl at work told me she liked my fit. i forgot what i was wearing so i looked down at myself and i was so unimpressed that for a sec i nearly forgot to say thank you. cus i was abt to argue w her and thought better.

now why do i act like that? well it's a cocktail combination of low self-esteem and impostor syndrome and the unfounded belief that i am convincing ppl that i'm a better person than i actually am. which is so silly bc i am Hot Shit!!! I Am!!! i'm Tha Bomb! i don't need to convince ppl that i'm cool, i just am cool. and i am pretty and on some days i am actually gorgeous. but it's hard to take compliments bc when ppl give it to me i feel like they mean it as a permanent, ever-present state of me and, like, no i am not consistently good or smart or pretty or handsome or cool. i am too much aware of my flaws to take a damn compliment arghhhh and it's one of the reasons why i've never tried being in a relationship, but that's a post for another time.

in conclusion, i will learn to take compliments. ish. and it's fine if i don't "agree" w them, ppl are allowed to experience me thru their own eyes, even in a light that is too bright for mine

[villainsimpqueen]

I am gonna add onto this as I seen this is a growing trend with newer Avatar fans and in general!

I’ve noticed a tendency in the Avatar and Recom OC (Original Character) communities to frequently use the term "hybrid" when referring to Avatars or Recoms. However, I believe it’s important to consider what "hybrid" actually means in the context of the Avatar universe.

In the original Avatar film and then Avatar 2, Avatars and Recoms are already established as human-Na'vi hybrids. Essentially, an Avatar or Recom is a blend of human DNA and Na'vi DNA, allowing humans to inhabit Na'vi bodies. So, if an OC is an Avatar or Recom created by combining a Na'vi subspecies with a human’s genetics, calling it a "hybrid" seems redundant.

Some might argue that if an Avatar or Recom OC has a higher percentage of human genetics than Na'vi, or if there is an even balance, it could justify the "hybrid" label. However, I think this approach can limit the creative potential of an OC. Instead, one could explore the concept of early prototype Avatars or Recoms—those with more human-like features due to a higher proportion of human DNA. For example, in Avatar, Grace’s Avatar had more human-like features because it was a first-generation model. Meanwhile, Jake’s Avatar, which I believe is a third-generation model, has more distinctly Na'vi features.

This idea of "generations" provides a more nuanced way to classify Avatars and Recoms rather than defaulting to "hybrid." It’s possible that different generations reflect different mixtures of Na'vi subspecies and human DNA. For instance:

- 60% Metkayina + 40% Human = Gen 1 Type Avatar/Recom

- 70% Metkayina + 30% Human = Gen 2 Type Avatar/Recom

If we were to talk about a true "hybrid" Avatar or Recom, it could imply a mix involving multiple Na'vi subspecies along with human DNA. For example:

Basic with what we already seen:

- 60% Metkayina + 40% Omaticaya + 15% Human DNA = Hybrid Avatar/Recom

Mixing fan clans (These are mine.):

- 40% Barren Lands (Desert Na'vi) + 40% Ivonyok (Cave Na'vi) + 20% Human DNA = Hybrid Avatar/Recom

In these examples, the term "hybrid" feels more appropriate because it signifies a more complex blending of genetics—not just between a Na'vi subspecies and human DNA, but among multiple Na'vi subspecies and human DNA.

That said, I want to emphasize that everyone has the right to call their Avatars or Recoms whatever they prefer. My perspective is just one way of interpreting the terminology based on what we've seen in the movies. The films don’t typically refer to Avatars or Recoms that mix one Na'vi subspecies with human DNA as "hybrids," and focusing on generational differences or the diversity of subspecies might enrich the narrative possibilities for OCs.

In the end, it's about what resonates most with you and your creative vision. If "hybrid" feels right for your character, by all means, embrace it. My intention here is to offer a different way of thinking about these fascinating creations within the Avatar.

This is just my two cents into the Hot takes department coming from a writer's point of view and is not a means to attack or offend anyone.

Very, VERY, hot take: you can do whatever you want with your ocs but I personally fucking hate the albino/small/blue eyed/blond and very unique, legendary, mythical na'vi trope 💀💀💀 like... we get it... you're white...

PD: Extra points if they ship it with specifically Neteyam (why are these grown ass people are obsessed with this child? LET HIM REST IN PEACE)

[thegoosewiththemost]

Beej with a breeding kink HCs (angst/nsft)

Request for anon, the first truly explicit thing on this blog. I’m not too familiar with this, so I’m not sure if this is what you mean but I feel like there’s so much potential for angst with this one because there’s a lot that can go wrong.

Hi there, feel free to ignore this if it’s outside your comfort zone but could I please ask for Beetlejuice with a breeding kink? Maybe with some angst or softness too? Thanks!

- you’re not sure if it’s a demon thing or if it’s more specifically a Beetlejuice thing. He’s always been really into his fantasies and he’s told you more than once how hot it would be if he got you in the family way. You both don’t think it’s even possible, but it’s the thought that counts.

- called you his mate once while nuzzling into you, slipping the word in during your normal pillow talk. Uses it to tease you too.

- loves the thought of fucking you so full of him that you can’t get rid of all of it from inside you.

- Drives him wild to see his spend leaking out from you. Loves it even more when he’s still dripping out of you days after.

- will try to screw you again if he sees his spend dripping out of you. Can’t have that happening on his watch.

- likes to come inside and collapse on top of you when he finishes, keeping himself connected to you in the most intimate way possible. Also serves as a way to keep his spend inside; he purrs in contentment as he feels your shiver at the constant contact to your sensitive flesh.

- the aftercare is amazing. Regardless of how rough you get. He makes sure his mate is well looked after and healthy for a time when you do have kids, not that it’s going to happen. Usually tries to keep you in bed as long as possible after spicy times to keep his spend in you for as long as possible, sometimes slips a pillow under your ass, keeping your hips raised and his sticky mess collecting against your cervix.

- it’s hot (and also an ego boost) to think about the fact that he loves you so much that he fantasises about starting a family with you. He’s good with kids, you think to yourself as you’re reminded of how happy and how well he connects with Lydia. Maybe one day he would make a good father too.

- can smell the change in your scent when you’re ovulating and gets particularly touchy and whiny during this time, practically trying to sweet talk you into bed with him whenever he gets the chance

- Knows that you’re pregnant before you do.

- catches a whiff of you one morning when you wake up. Something smells… different. Without even thinking he tightens his grip on you possessively. A single thought shoots through his mind as he curls into you protectively.

- Mine.

- it’s something that he thinks about often when you’re intimate, the distant fairytale of having a family of his own with you and all the hallmark moments that comes with having kids.

- Absentmindedly he rests his hand on your abdomen, contemplating. His heart does a flip as he considers the possibility, fantasising. It’s not possible… right?

- But something has definitely changed and the smell only grows stronger as the days pass until the reason why becomes undeniable to him.

- the smell of you drives him wild and whenever you’re there, he can’t help but be all over you at your beck and call. He’s been behaving unusually well lately and while you appreciate it, you know something is off.

- one day, when he is a absolutely sure, he decides to tell you. There is worry about him. How would you take this? Would you be angry at him? What if you wanted nothing to do with him after what he did? Did you even want this? What if his child hurt you? Did he want this? Sure it might be a fantasy, but he doesn’t know anything about parenting and had less than stellar examples of it in his own childhood. He didn’t want to mess up if you did end up keeping it.

- thank goodness abortion clinics are still legal in your area, because he knows that it’s ultimately up to you whether you keep it or not and he doesn’t want to see you mentally and physically stretched by a parasite that you don’t want. Seeing you upset makes him upset too and he can’t have that. He understands that you have your own dreams to fulfill too and you can’t just cut them short because of an unplanned baby. There’s still so much to do.

- you don’t miss the swirling yellows in his hair as you register the increasingly anxious demeanour he has taken on as he sits beside you on the couch. What’s wrong?

- you wrap your arms around his neck, pressing your warm body up to him as much as you can to let it permeate him and call him down.

- he considers backing out for a moment, to just say that he’s fine. But this needs to be told.

- I knocked you up, babes. He chokes out quickly before he loses the moment.

- come again? WHAT? You tried not to panic at the sudden news. He was joking right? Right?

- I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was possible I swear! Please don’t banish me. He whimpered.

- okay. Slow down there Beej. First of all, I’m not going to banish you. Second of all, how do you know and how long have you known?

- I can smell ya. Your scent is different. He doesn’t even need to smell you to know that you’re afraid, terrified. Of him? Of his spawn inside you? He cringes. It’s been two weeks since I noticed. I didn’t think it was anything until now, it shouldn’t have been possible.

- taking a deep breath to calm yourself, it’s still early days. It’s just a hunch right? It’s not real, not yet anyways. I’m going to go to the doctors. Get a blood pregnancy test. Then we’ll know for sure and we’ll figure out where to go from there.

- whatever you do, whatever you choose, I’ll be right there with you. He says, reassuring as he encloses you in a hug.

- you honestly weren’t sure how to take this news. The thought of having kids had never crossed your mind once since you and Beetlejuice had been together. It was never a possibility that either of you entertained and now the cold hard reality of it was hitting you hard. The financial and economic implications would hit you hard. But then you think about the potential for it and you let yourself imagine it for a moment, how nice it would be if you did have his kid.

- it was good to know that whatever decision you made, he would support you in it.

[plokoonsdisapprovingeyebrows]

Yo I just want to say thank you for all the inspiration, I love deep sciencey world building and you've got me writing again. I'm actually working on a fic set on Junkion and I was wondering if I could solicit your expert opinion.

What would the geology be like on a pile of garbage in space that grew so massive it became a planet from its own gravity. I'm imagining crushed garbage into paper thin sheets, with endless variations in composition. Do you think the denser material would gravitate more towards the core? Or would that not matter?

I understand that it's a lot to ask so don't worry about it. I just wanted to bounce an idea around and say thank you for being your intergalactic planetary cool ass self.

Omg thank you so much, that's so great to hear!! <33333 I'm just glad someone other than myself is getting something out of it!! XDD

A quick note - most of this is not super hard science, because I'm just a geology student and my research had to be limited to stuff I could actually understand lmao. Mostly I've come up with some major worldbuilding questions to think about - you've got a lot of options, I think! Lots of potentially fun ideas to explore. :D

[cracks knuckles]

So. I think the development of Junkion is going to be more or less the same as the development of a regular rocky planet, except for a couple rather important factors:

Accretion process? How quickly did it happen, how's it being managed (or not managed), how big did it get? This could mean it has less primordial heat than Earth - or maybe more? 👀 I could see the accretion happening slowly, more or less accidentally, via rubbish dumped in the same general area ending up in some gravitational point for bullshit astrophysics reasons, like some cosmic Pacific Garbage Patch... or I could also see it happening relatively quickly, with entire planets' worth of garbage being taken to the same point and dumped all together, like a landfill.

What sort of junk is being dumped? Some forms of waste are probably not going to end up on Junkion, because it can probably be dealt with wherever it was produced for a much lower cost. (Organic waste, for example). Others are likely to be recycled as much as possible because they're uncommon or just a pain in the ass to acquire (thinking of rare-earth elements here lol). Junkion might end up being built primarily of like, radioactive waste, or extraterrestrial mine tailings - things there's no shortage of, that are either worth the cost of being jetted into space to get rid of, or that are volumetrically massive and need to be put somewhere that they won't be taking up valuable space.

Planetary differentiation depends on heat. There's a few possible sources of heat, but the big ones are primordial heat, which is produced during accretion, and radioactive decay. Once your planet reaches a high enough internal temperature, shit melts, and then the denser stuff (metals, mostly) sinks into a core, and the less dense stuff (silicates, mostly) starts to float to the surface. Whether Junkion does this or not would depend on how hot it got.

If it's small enough, or accreted very slowly, it may not differentiate at all. (This is probably where your layers-of-junk idea goes.) If it's bigger, it might experience fairly basic differentiation, forming a protoplanet. (This also depends on relative proportion of metals to silicates - is there enough iron to make a core out of?) You might end up with something quite like Earth, ultimately, or you might end up with something more like the Moon. (It could be even more iron-rich than Earth - maybe iron isn't a particularly sought-after resource anymore...)

And then there's the eternal question of does this planet have water/an atmosphere? An atmosphere probably depends on a magnetic core, which depends on Earth-like differentiation. Liquid water depends on warmth - what's its heat source? Does it have a star to orbit? Presence of either, but especially both, is going to do some funky shit with whatever your outer crust ends up being made of. Oxides, sulfides, sulfates, maybe carbonates, etc. A lot of minerals come out of aqueous solutions, and hydrous alteration. On Earth, oxygen is the single most common element bound up in the crust. There's also a shit ton of water in there, literally individual molecules incorporated into mineral structures - this is probably why we have plate tectonics, which further drives mineral differentiation of the crust into mafic and felsic types. If Junkion ends up with liquid water, it may develop some form of plate tectonics.

And finally... a planet-sized junkyard may have some real funky bacteria going on. XD That might also have an effect on Junkion's mineral diversity.