#it was just like. this is not how you handle this situation. you cannot project so viciously onto any patient situation like that.

[canidbutch]

i don't know if that scene was intended to make us like trinity more or make us think she's actually badass! or something but i'm actually leaning towards it just reinforcing the prior characterization of her being emotionally ill-prepared for this environment and having no self control whatsoever. as a csa survivor AND someone going into healthcare ... yeah you can't just Do That, buddy

[majikkulu]

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ PILE ONE people  definitely  have  opinions  about  you.  a  lot  of  it  feels  kinda  personal.  like,  what  they  say  probably  sticks  with  you  more  than  you’d  like  to  admit.  some  people  think  you’re...  a  little  all  over  the  place.  like  you’ll  say  you’re  gonna  do  something,  then  take  forever  to  actually  do  it  or  change  your  mind  halfway  through.  they  might  call  it  indecisiveness.  you  just  like  to  feel  sure  before  you  fully  commit  to  something.  that  can  frustrate  people  who  want  fast  decisions  or  clear  answers  from  you.  also,  you  come  off  super  private.  mysterious,  even.  it  makes  people  more  curious.  they  can’t  quite  figure  you  out,  and  that  drives  them  a  little  crazy  in  both  good  and  bad  ways.  there’s  this  vibe  that  you  don’t  like  drama,  either.  you  probably  avoid  conflict  when  you  can,  choosing  to  stay  neutral  which  some  people  respect,  but  others  might  see  as  you  not  standing  up  for  yourself.  it’s  like,  “why  aren’t  they  saying  something?”  but  you’re  just  not  about  wasting  your  energy  on  every  little  thing.  there’s  one  person  who  cannot  stop  talking  about  you.  like,  obsessed.  they  might  be  watching  your  every  move,  bringing  you  up  way  more  than  they  should,  maybe  even  gossiping  about  your  past  especially  if  you’ve  been  through  toxic  relationships,  tough  situations,  or  stuff  that  really  changed  you.  people  are  drawn  to  you.  like,  you  have  this  magnetism.  you're  charming  in  this  soft,  unintentional  way.  maybe  you’ve  been  through  hell  and  back,  but  you  still  show  up  looking  good,  vibing,  and  staying  creative.  people  notice  that.  some  even  think  you’re  younger  than  you  are.  like  they’re  confused  about  your  age  because  your  energy  is  this  mix  of  softness  and  wisdom.  people  assume  you’re  either  rich,  super  successful,  or  just  lucky.  maybe  something  recently  popped  off  for  you  like  a  win,  an  opportunity,  or  just  this  glow-up  that’s  hard  to  ignore.  and  while  you  might  not  feel  like  you’ve  made  it  yet,  people  see  your  potential. 

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ PILE TWO sooo  people  have  a  lot  to  say  about  how  careful  you  are.  like,  they’ve  definitely  noticed  that  you  don’t  just  jump  into  things.  you’re  the  type  to  double-check,  think  it  through,  maybe  even  overthink  it  a  little.   to  some  people  that  comes  off  as  slow  or  “too  serious.”  they  might  even  say  you’re  boring  (which,  rude  lol)  just  because  you’re  not  out  here  making  wild  impulsive  choices.  you  like  structure.  you  like  to  know  what’s  going  on.  and  that  freaks  some  people  out  because  they  can’t  handle  someone  being  that  in  control  of  themselves.  what  they  don’t  realize  is  that  underneath  that  calm,  quiet  vibe  is  this  low-key  powerhouse  energy  like,  you’re  strong  as  hell,  just  not  flashy  about  it.  that’s  intimidating  for  people  who  don’t  have  that  same  kind  of  groundedness.  they  notice  how  you  barely  react  when  things  get  messy.  like,  someone  could  be  yelling  or  losing  it,  and  you’re  just  there...  chill.  calm.  sipping  your  drink.  it  either  really  impresses  them  or  makes  them  weirdly  annoyed.  some  even  say  you’re  stubborn,that’s  just  them  projecting.  they  wish  they  had  your  level  of  self-control  and  emotional  maturity.  there’s  also  this  weird  sense  of  competition  around  you.  people  might  not  admit  it,  but  they  compare  themselves  to  you.  especially  when  it  comes  to  how  you  handle  conflict.  you’re  not  the  type  to  back  down  or  stay  quiet  when  something’s  wrong,  and  that  really  gets  under  some  people’s  skin.  you  say  what  needs  to  be  said,  you  stand  up  for  yourself,  and  you  don’t  budge  just  to  make  others  comfortable.  and  omg,  some  people  legit  act  like  your  existence  is  an  act  of  war.  like,  you  walk  into  a  room  and  suddenly  they’re  triggered.  they’ll  say  you’re  provoking  them,  or  that  you’re  “too  intense.”  your  energy  demands  respect,  and  if  they  can’t  match  it,  they  try  to  tear  it  down.  not  everyone’s  gonna  get  you  but  that’s  not  your  problem.  keep  being  unshakable. 

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ PILE THREE people  definitely  talk  about  how  quiet  and  lowkey  you  are.  like,  they’re  super  curious  about  what’s  really  going  on  behind  the  scenes  in  your  life  since  you  don’t  just  spill  everything.  your  silence  kinda  sets  off  all  these  wild  guesses  and  rumors  because  when  someone’s  that  private,  it  makes  people  wonder  all  kinds  of  things.  some  people  even  start  thinking  you  might  be  hiding  stuff  or  playing  games.  like,  they  get  suspicious  about  your  motives  or  question  if  you’re  being  totally  honest.  they  might  say  you’re  manipulative  or  sneaky,  which  is  just...  ugh.  then  there’s  this  idea  that  you  avoid  drama  or  don’t  want  to  take  responsibility  for  things,  and  some  people  spin  that  into  calling  you  a  liar.  it’s  wild  how  much  they  fill  in  the  blanks  when  you  don’t  give  them  much  to  work  with.  there’s  definitely  a  vibe  that  you  keep  your  distance,  maybe  even  pull  away  completely  sometimes,  which  just  makes  others  wonder  what  you’re  really  searching  for  like,  what’s  your  purpose,  your  next  move,  or  what  you  want  out  of  life?  your  quietness  makes  you  kinda  mysterious,  and  while  that’s  cool,  it  can  also  make  it  hard  for  people  to  actually  connect  with  you.  some  feel  like  you’re  wearing  a  mask  or  just  choosing  to  stay  detached  on  purpose.  there  are  those  who  really  admire  you  for  it.  they  see  you  as  wise,  like  someone  who’s  calm  no  matter  what’s  happening.  your  chill,  guarded  energy  draws  people  in  even  if  they  don’t  totally  get  you.  they  notice  how  careful  you  are  about  taking  risks,  sometimes  calling  you  predictable  or  cautious  but  they  also  respect  how  gracefully  you  handle  all  the  ups  and  downs  life  throws  your  way.

[prlssprfctn]

Hi, hope you're doing well!! Regarding to your post about Jason admitting that he's not feeling loved by Bruce, i have a few things to add (as the unloved feeling child lmao)

My father is a disciplined man, especially in academic terms. He'd always make rude comments about me, this goes as far as threatening to abuse me physically if i'm not doing "enough". One time, he was arguing me about my academic success and he actually told me that how he brags to his coworkers about ME. How smart and easy-going i am, how my major is really hard and i always studied away from home starting from high school and i was so brave because of this. This took me aback because he rarely tells my face that i'm enough.

I felt that post, right in my soul. We know how Bruce talks about Jason to others after his death. And probably after he came back too. The JL members, friends at the galas... How jason was a bright kid, loving, strong, brave etc... But to his face? He never did.

So, picture me this. Jason finds out about this, when he is on a mission where he encounters another member of JL. They tell him "Bruce was right about you." and he assumes the worst, words like rough, violent, agressive etc. However, they hit him with the "You're really as good as he says."

And i feel like, this actually makes it worse for him. Why is it so much easier to talk about your love and pride on your kid to a stranger than to that kid directly? Jason feels not appreciated enough and he was fully accepting of that fact until that moment. But now, hearing the words he had ached so bad to hear from a stranger, he feels like undeserving of that appreciation. He had thought that no matter what he did, bruce would never be proud of him. Now he thinks that he just doesn't deserve to hear it. (Which probably makes shit worse because it would cause an anger in him, a rightful one imo)

This could be just me projecting lmao, because i actually started crying after reading that post. Love your works so much dude, you rock.

hi! firstly, totally can relate. though, my father is a lesser man than Bruce ever would be, and the situation between us is more complex, i certainly felt flabbergasted after hearing how he praises me to others, while we literally claw on each other's throat etc, etc. sending love.

secondly, y e a h-

that's right on point with canon, too! Bruce always admits to others that Jason is the best, one of the best kids he knew, but once he is faced with Jason himself, he says the complete opposite: "you were never meant to be Robin, you cannot handle this, etc". and that's of the main problems with their relationship, isn't it? Bruce always fails to show his true feelings regarding Jason to Jason.

he mourned him, he lost half of himself the day Jason died, and everyone keep thinking that Jason is ungrateful for doubting his father's feelings regarding that, but how Jason can know? how, if what he sees is this: his father, despite being his legal-adopted father, buried him under Todd surname, not Todd-Wayne. he buried him with Sheila as if mocking the cause of his death (in reality, I assume, Bruce never investigated the details of Jason's death, which is arguably worse). he made him them memorial as a good soldier, not a son. Jason's room (despite fanon) stopped existing at one point in the Manor. he continued picking up kids in the Robin mantle, as if Jason's death meant nothing - and he became just a precautionary tale, despite dying like a hero; as a hero that Bruce taught him to be. and the moment Jason actually comes back? he gets a batarang in his neck.

and, yes, we as readers know that for Bruce it was different - that he probably buried him not as Todd-Wayne and along with his mother because he thought that Jason would want this. that memorial wasn't his doing. that his grief is about hiding things and never mentioning him, about screwing his own memories and twisting narrative to calm himself down, to drown fault at least a little bit. that Tim's situation wasn't about Bruce's choice. but we are readers, we see all POVs. Jason cannot do that. he analyses what he sees, and what he sees is indifference bordering with hatred and despise.

so, yes, Bruce can tell Clark and others that Jason was the best out of them as many times as he wants, but at the end of the day is about being able to show it to Jason, both with words and actions. because at this point, he won't be able to convince Jason just with words.

[the-peak-tmnt]

Hey The Neon Void readers, quick update from the author's sister!

(art commission by @kaysdenofchaos)

Hi readers of The Neon Void fanfic. This is the author’s older sister. She’s been getting a lot of fan art and asks lately. She’s sent me screenshots of a few unanswered ones looking for advice on how to respond.

While all the love and support of TNV is genuinely appreciated, my sister @sugarpasteltmnt is not equipped to respond to a small handful of these asks/comments that are, quite frankly, inappropriate.

Sugarpastels is not a therapist, and she’s certainly not an internet stranger’s therapist.

She’s an adult with an extremely demanding and stressful job for a very large client. Some of you have already experienced and enjoyed her work IRL without knowing it. Her company is close to finishing another project that will bring a lot of joy to hundreds of thousands of people every year, but working on a project of that scale is extremely stressful.

She is writing this fanfic for fun. TNV is a way for her to decompress and put her creative energy towards something other than work.

What’s not fun is coming home to asks/comments from readers who are projecting their own struggles/mental health onto TNV, and even Sugarpastels herself, and demanding some sort of attention from her over it.

Let’s be real: it’s fun to watch our blorbos suffer! So much of fandom is just us putting our favorite characters in Situations because it’s fun. Simple as that. But I think another reason TNV has resonated so strongly with readers is because of the way Sugarpastels writes the internal struggles of these characters.

We are both aware that TNV deals with mental health topics. Since the early days of “modern” fandom, fanfiction has been a way for people to explore complicated, difficult and sometimes even taboo subjects. There’s no shortage of complex feelings being explored in TNV, which is why we’re all having so much fun reading it.

But that’s all it is; an exploration. Sugarpastels is not a mental health expert. I’ve read a handful of books on PTSD and mindfulness for research while writing my own fanfic, and I would never consider myself prepared to help someone else.

It’s okay if you relate to things from TNV. I know I do! Again, fanfic has always been a way to read about things rarely dealt with (or handled poorly) in published fiction/tv shows/movies. I will always argue one of the greatest things about fanfiction and other fanworks is being able to see ourselves and our own struggles through our favorite fictional characters.

But Sugarpastels is not a fictional character. She’s a real person. Most importantly (to me at least) she’s my little sister, and this big sister cannot handle watching some of her readers expect more of her than is appropriate.

So I’m asking you to please be mindful of what you ask/say to not just her, but literally everyone on the internet. Unless you’re chatting with someone regularly, they do not know you. Whether it’s friends, family, teachers, coaches, etc, there are people in your life who know you personally, and are therefore better equipped to help you than a stranger on the internet.

Sugarpastels is so full of empathy that it’s hard to not feel for you when you send things like this. But it just isn’t fair to put that kind of unnecessary pressure on someone who is, at the end of the day, just trying to have some fun writing about ninja turtles bein’ sad.

(That being said, PLEASE DON’T BE SCARED TO SEND HER ASKS AND FAN ART!!! They make her day every single time and are seriously so, so appreciated. She’s texting me about it constantly how much she loves all of TNV’s readers. This whole post is really directed at an extremely small percentage of her readers, but there have been enough I felt something needed to be said.)

[aashiqeddiediaz]

you know, after watching day 3 of the democratic national convention, i need to say something, especially to other muslims like me.

most of the muslim communities that i'm a part of have chosen to vote uncommitted, or independent, or sometimes, even trump. they refuse to give their vote to kamala harris and tim walz, because of the way the us has handled the war in gaza, and how they have been careless with acknowledging palestinian lives lost, how it was american bombs and american tax money that went towards funding this genocide. it's fucked up, and it's wrong, and there shouldn't be any debate on that.

and i am 100% in support of that anger. i am 100% in support of forcing america to stop funding this genocide. no one wants to keep seeing palestinian lives suffer. no one is free until we're all free, and i believe that to my very core.

my only concern is that where this anger is being placed, from 1 year to 11 weeks before the presidential election, is so scary. because the reality of the situation is that america has a bipartisan outlook. whoever gets the presidency is either democrat or republican. and every vote that doesn't go towards democracy (i.e. voting for kamala harris) inadvertently goes towards trump's big plan of project 2025, which is basically dictatorship. Even voting uncommitted, even voting independent. we cannot afford to elect trump for a second term, and voting anything other than democrat draws that line way too close, especially in swing states like michigan, pennsylvania, wisconsin, georgia.

yes, there are many issues that we wish joe biden would handle better. there are many ways that the democratic party has fucked up beyond repair. there are many ways the democratic party has refused to acknowledge the pain of people affected by their military people throughout the years, and we've been seeing it for years. this is not a new thing. this did not start on october 7th. we see it during pretty much every administration.

however, voting for your candidate should never be based on a singular issue. no political candidate is ever going to check every single box. and its so unfortunate that we have to always take the "lesser of two evils" approach when nominating our president, but that's the reality of the situation at this very moment. there are many other rights to be considered that are at stake this election, all of which trump is trying to remove. abortion bans, women's rights, healthcare, social security, climate change, to name a few.

(and, somehow, there's a belief that trump will lead to a ceasefire deal where biden-harris didn't? let me tell you that is never going to happen.)

does this mean we just stop protesting or pressuring? absolutely not. you NEVER stop, because if our votes are the ones that put the candidate in their position of power, then we expect results. we expect them to work towards what they promised. and we can't let up on reaching out to our local county offices and our state governors and escalating these issues further until someone takes notice and does something about them. we don't elect them and just leave them to do what they want. we keep them accountable. use that anger i was talking about.

but it also means not having tunnel vision. the election in november could very well mean the end of democracy if kamala harris doesn't win. this post is not me all giggly-happy over the democratic party, because trust me, i have my fair share of issues with them as well. this post isn't to tell you what to do, because i can't force you to vote blue. i can't force the community i'm in to change their minds about toss-up votes. but what i can do is put down plainly what's at stake this election. and that is, very simply, our right to choose everything.

so if you are eligible to vote and haven't registered, please do. if you haven't voted before because "what's the point", please see above what the point is. a handful of votes is enough to flip the outcome of an election, especially with the electoral college.

and if you're still on the fence on whether to vote for kamala or trump, hopefully this post gives a little bit more perspective in the most streamlined way i could manage without bogging you down with statistics and numbers.

the choice is yours.

[thiscityneedslessfog]

the Midnight Channel Killer is a control freak and I’m going to shout about it

Alternate title: I can’t take it anymore, I HAVE to talk about the bitchy spider

I have to say, I love that Adachi is impulsive as hell and that p4’s plot happened entirely because this guy flew off the handle at Mach 8 over not having his rather invasive question answered. He’s not at all a master manipulator (though he likes to pretend he is), he’s an emotional wreckage that’s ruled by his violent temper and desperate clinging to his pride and I’d argue naivety.

I mean, I'm convinced the real motive of the Midnight Channel Killings is a horrific cocktail of boredom, misogynistic entitlement, jealousy, and most of all a desperation for a sense of control over his life... I love that irony because he loses control over his own body in his attempted power grab via Ame-no-Sagiri taking him over in the end before the Investigation Team beats the crap out of her.

Why do I say it’s a sense of control over his life? It's a bit hard to explain, but I've noticed every time Adachi complains about his situation he projects the issue onto someone else. Here he puts the blame on his bosses for casting him out to Inaba when… they cast him out because he screwed up. We don’t actually know what he did (I’d bet it’s information leaking if I had to guess. It sounds pretty severe but it’s clearly not bad enough to completely ostracize him), but it’s clearly was his own fault he got cast out.

Here’s the thing—Adachi clearly genuinely believes he has no control over his life, and makes it abundantly obvious he believes in fate, the idea that your life is decided the minute it starts, throughout his dungeon.

I mean… this is just blatantly not how the world works… talent is just a skill you catch onto faster. Everyone catches onto some things more than others. The real magic ticket is connection. Humans are social creatures. I could go on a long winded rant about this but this isn’t about humanity, this is about one insecure, prideful dumbass. This is why I call him naive, actually—his horrendously warped worldview.

Meanwhile Adachi’s rant after Saki’s death makes it… really obvious that he feels he had no control.

Again, he deflects blame from himself when he made the damn mistake that locked him in here. He firmly believes that he’s a victim in this situation when he caused it himself. And he wants a way out.

It makes sense, right? Adachi is a very controlling person in general, after all. Hell, Yamano and Saki’s deaths both make it obvious. Yamano’s I have more to say on with Adachi being a control freak.

The first thing I want to talk about is Adachi’s threat towards Yamano before he attacks and kills her. So, in my experience (I genuinely cannot cite a source here it’s “trust me bro”) there are two bases of power that you can have over people: trust and fear. Trust is usually built by a good rapport with another party (or numerous other parties) so that they’ll let and even help you get where you need. Fear meanwhile is built on making them believe they can’t stop you even if they want to, and it tends to be easier to spark than trust. And since Adachi is pretty livid with Yamano and feels entitled to her due to his Midnight Channel induced desperation, we get this telling line.

Also, a late edit: I finally found out from some of my friends why Adachi said he wasn’t intending on killing her…

Anyways, I’m keeping in the fact that JYB made this scene genuinely chilling. Holy crap, it’s weird hearing him voice villains. And great.

The second thing I want to talk about is how his really creepy entitlement towards women (including a teenage girl—SHE’S NOT EVEN A WOMAN YET) is another facet of how his controlling tendencies manifest. Not even just that entitlement—it’s his possessiveness and jealousy over them, like they “belong” to him. It doesn’t help that he’s got a violent temper—he killed them both because, again, he flew off the handle!! Yamano’s death has already been mentioned—he was angry at her for “betraying him” when she didn’t even know who he was until he approached her to ask that question.

(hardly can be called an affair when you two aren’t dating…)

But Saki’s was even more of him being a controlling bitch—he attacks Saki because he saw her just talking to Namatame. He didn’t want someone he was attracted to interacting with someone he was jealous of at all, and in response makes some violent advances on her. And then when she literally just defends herself, he kills her in response. All because some guy he hates spoke to her, and that wasn’t allowed in his eyes. Talk about a green-eyed monster…

Not to mention in both situations, Adachi is taking advantage of his inherently more powerful position as a police detective (you know, LAW ENFORCEMENT) and taking advantage of the people around him’s trust in the cops. I mean Saki asked him why she was being questioned right before he cornered and attacked her. I’m mentioning this because these scenes were him aggressively abusing that power that he clearly genuinely wants to have…

And speaking of Namatame, Adachi was panicked when Mitsuo Kubo became his copycat. He didn’t want Kubo to get accused of being the Midnight Channel Killer, he wanted Namatame to be! Just Namatame, nobody else! He threw away a very easy out just because he was so particular about who he wanted to frame for the Midnight Channel Killings.

(As another aside, I played p4 with a large pack of friends and even though I’d suspected Adachi since Yukiko’s dungeon, Adachi throwing in Kubo was what made me go “no way it’s ANYONE else.” Great job, Adachi, you played yourself. 👏…👏…👏…👏…)

He also risked himself being exposed (and got exposed) because of the “threat letter” (which, to be honest, from his interactions with Nanako during his social link, was really a PANIC letter) because even though Namatame was now doing something he wanted the whole time up until this point… Nanako is actually someone Adachi likes, and that one factor being present causes everything to crash. (To be fair to him on this point, it’s Nanako. So it’s a mix of his controlling side AND one of… what, two? Three, if we include Yu…? people he actually is attached to being in danger.)

As for why he’s so controlling, I don’t really know. I have speculations, though. I believe he’s likely got trust issues because he questions why Yu trusted him, and even stifles a laugh when Yu tells him he believed in him.

The fact you’re Dojima’s best friend, dumbass.

Yu didn’t trust Adachi out of naivety. I don’t know if Adachi genuinely doesn’t realize or is in denial about it, but Adachi is Dojima’s best friend. In his second scene and his first where he does anything more than throw up, he playfully teases Dojima upon him saying “Our perp… it’s gotta be someone in Inaba.” Adachi is invited to dinner numerous times, right after Yukiko is rescued, he drunkenly tells you about Naoto being rescued at Dojima’s place, Dojima doesn’t bat an eye when Adachi is near Nanako. Dojima cares for and trusted Adachi, and Yu saw that. And Yu putting his trust in Adachi was putting his trust in Dojima’s judgement by proxy. It makes total sense Yu would trust Adachi…

Not to mention, he constantly pushes people away, like Dojima or Yu or the old woman. Relationships at their core are exchanges—there’s no fundamental difference between a friend and a business partner other than potentially trust and attachment, so I think he’s just… not really willing to give any of himself and just takes. Also he just doesn’t seem used to it (he literally states he avoids the old woman because he has no idea how to respond to a woman who actually acts like a decent parent.)

I think he not only thinks it’s safer to be this way, but…

Adachi is a very proud man, and shows that his sense of pride makes him believe he can do everything on his own. He sees all the events that led him to Inaba, to becoming the Midnight Channel Killer, as out of his control. I mean literally look at his rant after killing Saki above. He was “supposed to be the best of the best,” and blames his superiors for sending him to Inaba when, again, it was his own fault! I think partly because of his pride, he also just thinks “if anyone can do it right, it’s me, so if anyone should head this, I should.” I know tons of people like that! I mean, he tells Nanako that he’s the smartest person in the Inaba PD.

I mentioned this delicious irony with him and Ame-no-Sagiri, but even without all that, despite him being so controlling as a person, Adachi’s not even very good at keeping... anything under control. He was agitated when he realized Naoto wasn’t strung up on the power lines, and… he’s also wildly violent-tempered as Yamano and Saki experienced firsthand—this guy can’t even totally control himself. And manipulating Namatame severely backfired because it led to Nanako almost dying.

the spider is trying to weave a web. he’s struggling.

[tsbsredraft]

Queen Kat Productions,

A situation has been blowing up recently regarding Kat and her writing for the Lunar and Earth Show. I'm here to offer biased opinions, a short summary of what occurred, and sources so that people may gain their own perspectives.

I'm aware, I said I wouldn't get into drama on my blog, but this isn't drama to me. This is a serious issue with the fandom that I've had for a long time and am choosing to discuss and address it of my own volition. You do not have to read this! You are under no obligation to read this, skip it if you don't want to hear it.

Summary;

Kat, or Queen Kat Productions, is a YouTuber and Creative Content Creator. She voices Acts and Roleplays characters for several different channels and projects.

Most notably (because this is the project most people know her from, sadly) The Lunar And Earth Show and The Sun And Moon Show, all of which are shows under The Security Breach Shows universe, a Five Nights At Freddy's derived series hosted on YouTube.

She has recently been aggressively "criticized," mocked, and berated by the majority of the LAES/SAMS community because of her writing decisions and how she plays her characters, namely Earth.

My own Opinions and Thoughts;

This issue is not uncommon in the TSBS community, this hasn't changed for the 2-3 years I've been within this community and it isn't ending anytime soon. I used to moderate for the Discord server for many years, so I feel I have a good point of reference for how egregious some people can be within this space.

Many believe it to be purely from a place of internalized misogyny and while I do not disagree with that point, I do want to highlight how one can still be a dick and not be a misogynist. Just because you don't hate women doesn't mean you cannot be contributing to the problem. Do not try to exempt yourself because this is one of the only arguments being made. If you are responsible, you are a part of the criticism against the accusations being made towards Kat. Misogynist or not.

A lot of hate towards feminine and feminine presenting (or just straight-up women) characters has not been a suddenly occurring issue out of the blue. This has existed for the entirety of the show's runtime.

But allow me to run you through some of my main issues with the current situation and previous unresolved issues;

Many minor (as in, under 18) characters, such as Cassie, have been called whores and harlots purely for being 'annoying' or 'clingy' or 'cringe'. None of which is appropriate to say about or towards minors. I get it, they're fictional characters, not real people but take a moment to consider what those words mean (I have linked definitions to the words for you). Why would you imply that a minor is a prostitute? You can say what you want about adults, but it is completely disgusting and inappropriate to say such about minors, I don't care if you're joking. If you are a minor yourself and saying such horrific things, please do not do this. I won't berate you but your age does not excuse it, please take this as a learning moment.

The feminine presenting and female characters are not without criticism, nothing is without criticism. We are not saying you cannot have issues with the characters, the writing, the voice acting, the body acting, the handling of this or that- that's not the problem. The issue comes in when the only people you're taking issue with are the feminine characters and excuse the masculine characters who have, undoubtedly, done far worse than the feminine characters have. As Kat and Davis (and others) have addressed, yes, this show is set up to be able to go on forever so some horrific acts have to be brushed away to continue with the videos. But these issues should not be glorified and coddled outside of the universe and swept under the rug. It'd like a cartoon after they beat the shit out of someone with a piano. The number of people I've seen literally glorify BloodMoons thrill killing but cannot excuse Earth liking Barbie is insane. (as an example, not a direct reflection of everyone's issues or beliefs within this situation). If you have issues regarding internalized misogyny, that is okay. Having internalized discrimination issues is common and can be improved, it is not the end of your rope. You can come back from it and learn to get better. It takes time and effort, but please do not trap yourself in the mentality of this discrimination because you're scared of backlash for having these thoughts and viewpoints to begin with.

Some of it comes from a place of existing distaste for TSBS and while it's okay to be angry, upset, or dislike something, it is unhealthy for you to dwell on something that is causing you distress, broiling anger, or triggering you. I genuinely worry for the health of those who cling to these shows and outlet their frustrations onto them in an unhealthy manner. It's again, okay to have criticisms, not like an arc, not like a character, etc.. but it isn't okay to harass the people behind its production because you dislike this or that. It's not okay to harass people regardless but you know what I mean. You can critique anything you want, but it becomes too much when you begin to insult it or the person behind it. That's beyond unkind. Genuine criticism comes from a place of wanting the thing to improve and watch it grow, not to cancel and sink it.

BUT that's just a few of my standpoint thus far. Subject to change. If it wasn't made obvious, I support Kat through this, I support the VAs and I support the Discord Mods, who are most likely at least irritated by this whole debacle.

The VAs have been getting shit for as long as I've volunteered there. There would be fans who would pout when they couldn't get into direct contact or speak to them in the server because they didn't show up but once in a blue moon. Even back then I recognized why that was.

One of the ways we viewed Moderating back in my day was, and I quote, "bodyguards for the VAs" (if they spoke in public chats) so that they didn't feel crowded or overwhelmed so they knew they were supported and could interact comfortably.

They were taking care of their own health, even if they seemed "detached" for it. I'm very proud of Kat, Flora and Mario and any VA who interacts with the community even remotely. And I'm just as proud of those who don't. No one deserves the shit they go through.

It hurt my heart to hear Kat had been crying and to hear her cry on stream. I have been in tears several times over Moderating for TSBS because of how awful things can be. It hurts to see such a wonderful woman's heart get torn apart like that.

So I'm sorry, but if you don't support Kat, this blog may not be for you. You can do what you want I'm not gonna yell DNI Kat Haters, but this won't be another space for you to indulge in your anger.

——————————————————

Sources;

Kats Writing Break Announcement (Written Blog Post)

Davis Addressing Treatment of VAs and Kat (on Stream)

Kat Talks about Her Feelings (on Stream)

How to support Kat;

Bongo's Kat Appreciation Project (Written Blog Post)

Link.Tree on how to Support Kat!

Follow her on her Socials and support her YouTube projects!

And as a general note before I sign off, support and respect all VAs autonomy. Thank you.

[leggerefiore]

Wanted to request a funny one.. s/o slams their hand against the wall and flirts aggressively with them (AKA Kabedon pose), 😏😏😏😏😏😏 which would be even funnier if their partner is ridiculously taller/more dominant than they are. Pokemen are wondering why their smol partner is so feisty all of a sudden.

Can I request this with nanu, giovanni, larry and cyrus?

cw: some suggestive flirting, short reader

characters: Nanu, Giovanni, Cyrus, Larry

🐈‍⬛️Nanu❤️‍🩹

🌑 The Kahuna was zoned out as he leaned against the wall of the Po Town police station. His mind was so thoroughly out of it that he hardly paid any mind to when you approached him. It was around noon by that time, so maybe you were going to ask him for a lunch date. Before he could even find the energy to ask the question, however, you had suddenly slammed your hand on the wall next to his head while looking up at him. He cocked up a brow. What was this? Were you mad at him? He could not recall anything that he had done that could have attracted your ire. You spoke soon enough. “Why don't you let me break your hip, old man?” The question paired with the tone in which you spoke – some odd attempt at seductive masculine and domineering. Just what had gotten into you?

🌑 Nanu was not the tallest man, but you were still under his height, trying to intimidate him and flirt with him. He deadpanned at your words, opting to debate what this was. Break his hip? Well, he cannot say that you had not tried to, but usually, you were the one begging him to ruin you. He ticked his tongue and gave you a dark look. “Well,” his lazy manner of speaking held something under it, “Why don't you try?” Your composure fell right through at that as you had to look away from him laughing. He rolled his eyes. A change-up here and there was not so bad, he assumed.

🚀Giovanni🐈

🟥 The Rocket Boss had been leaning against a wall. His mind was debating how to handle a current nuisance who was trying so desperately to ruin his plans. Grunts had proven uniformly useless, but he did not exactly want to expend the precious time of his executives of a child. Your presence had been noted when you entered his office. He may have been lost in thought, but he was always aware of his surroundings. This only made the next actions you took all the more strange. You walked up to him and slammed your hand next to his head while looking up at him. He was “trapped” between you in the wall. His brow cocked up at you. What was this? Betrayal? Likely not. “Something on your mind?” you asked in a forced overly masculine tone, “Is it me?” Giovanni's expression was unamused.

🟥 He stood over you. Not by much, but by enough that he still had to look down at you. Something in his mind recognises this as a form of flirting. What from, he would rather not force himself to recall. Instead, he just let out a sigh. “Are you the one interrupting my plans again?” His voice was deep and authoritative, “If so…” He quickly reversed the situation, pinning to the wall, his hand next to your head. His signature smirk was on his lips as his eyes were lidded. “Then you are.” You swallowed, clearly having not expected this. Giovanni let you go soon enough, having had his fun alongside you having your own. He then assigned you to go handle the child sabotaging his current project.

🌌Cyrus🛰

☄️ The Galactic Boss had been distracted by emails on his tablet. His fingers typed out replies as frustration ate at his mind. How incompetent could they be? So lost was he in his frustration that he missed you creeping into the living room. You saw an opportunity in the distracted man. Trapping him, you slammed your hand against the wall next to his head as you pushed him against it. Cyrus put down his tablet to stare at you strangely. What in the world were you doing? His face remained stoic, but his eyes clearly held confusion. “… You got somewhere to be after this?” you asked him, attempting a husky and flirty tone. The blue-haired man's eyes then narrowed.

☄️ He looked down at you – the man was self-admittedly tall. Nearly everyone he met had to look up at him, and you were no exception. Your behaviour was odd and unsettling to him. What were you attempting to do here? Dominate him? Why? He had literally just been sending emails. Everything about the current situation was simply incomprehensible to him. “… I'm not returning back to the office tonight,” he gave a serious reply and stood over you, breaking out of the “pin” you had him in. Shaking his head, he finally allowed him a single question. “What are you doing, beloved?” it came out alongside a sigh. You burst into laughter and embraced him. He never got an answer. This situation haunts him for a while.

💼Larry🏢

🍙 The salaryman had gone into one of his moods. He stood outside the Treasure Eatery with his mind elsewhere. People passed him by and shot concerned looks at him as he stood unmoving and staring at the sky with a distant expression. This provided ample time for you to trap the middle-aged man against the exterior of the building, hand slamming down beside his head. That forced Larry back to reality, who stared at you in bewilderment. What was this? He blinked a few times, feeling similarly to when Geeta had apparently decided to voice her displeasure with him. You smirked at him. “Want to go to my place after this?” you asked him in a husky tone. Larry tilted his head like his Staraptor would. Your place… Your shared apartment? He was confused beyond words.

🍙 He looked down at you, having a bit of height on you. His face returned to its usual tired expression. What had gotten into you? Pinning him to the wall of a restaurant and asking him if he wanted to go to your place… Flirting? Why were you flirting with him? You two were already in a relationship… “Does that imply that I was not going to be allowed back in?” he questioned. You pulled away, unable to keep up the act any more. You burst into uncontrollable laughter, as Larry remained bewildered. He was now a bit concerned that you would lock him out, but that was soothed when you clung to him. Rika is later asked about this situation. She, too, burst out in laughter.

[mekkyz-dubz]

My final thoughts

I discovered a webcomic named Sparklecare Hospital back in 2021 and it got me intrigued to the point of using my Tumblr blog more often and drawing fan arts more often. I hanged out with my friends who has the same interests as I have and we talked each other about the plot and our AUs. I was so hyped about volume 3 and all that stuff.

During 2024-2025, I was so defensive on Kittycorn after seeing all the "hate" (Which turned out to be true today) and it got me to the point that I left the Sparklecare fandom by the last January due to the mental toll on some shit. I talked about the comic in private including my AUs until now. However, something has changed that I regret defending her and consuming her content at all.

People at @anonymous-sparklecarer made a doc (TW // Incest undertones) about her and I am absolutely disgusted by how awful she was doing behind the scenes. She is using incest undertones to one of her webcomics, primarily Cometcare and other projects and the worst part is that she had drawn two comics about Sly and Eve in incestuous and pedophilia moments. Considering the comic was previously marked as 16+ and now 18+, she lied to the audience including minors claiming it is a safe space, she lied about her being an anti-proship, she even lied about being not comfortable with anything disturbing. YET she even did it out of her hypocrisy. The real reason why Cometcare was created in the first place was due to her expressions of incest, the same AU that was made to the public.

As for her response, it is very vague. Just because it is a coping mechanism doesn't mean it is unhealthy and she made it to the public without letting the audience knew behind the scenes aside from the former ZCP. I cannot describe how bad she handled through that one of her ex-boyfriend ( @sparkleobserver ) made a post (TW // Zoophilia, necrophilia, nazi) about her in in-depth.

To almost all ZCP members (Except Imani and Emsody) who worked on a webcomic for 7 years (2017-2024), I am sorry to all of you who were unaware of this situation without getting silenced. I am glad you all spoke up against her behavior after getting traction.

To Kittycorn, I really hate you. You've made me joy so much that I wanted to appreciate you as a person and now you throw everything away just for your nasty projects. You lied about every single thing to please your audience. You made incest webcomics about Sly and Eve and you made multiple hints to a public AU like Cometcare. I hope you get serious help to reflect your actions and once you've successfully made it to the therapy, you should get off the internet and never come back.

To everyone involved making the doc and the Sparklecrits, I must thank you to expose all of her behavior and her disgusting actions that were hidden to us. Blind is a hell of a drug if you weren't aware of. The future of Sparklecare Hospital looks bleak so people are either reclaiming her OCs or leaking her hidden projects for the good cause.

In addition to this, I have private all of my Sparklecare fanarts (Nevermind, I gotta change my mind on this, purely on Tumblr because I saw perfect patient so just fuck it, I don't care. Here it is.) and I wish to never consume any of Kittycorn's content ever again. Like I said, thank you for making this doc possible. I wish anyone to share my thoughts by reblogging.

[pleasantspark]

The Critical Community Callout Post

Fuck it, I am done gonna release and tell you who I am vaguing about. Let's start by saying please do NOT send any hate to anyone, I am simply gonna make this clear.

This community cannot handle one week without having a singular issue at all, either it's Cherry, RaySquid or Chai it's some people who cannot handle the block/mute feature and go straight to making a hitpeice.

ChaiFootsteps Derangement Syndrome

There's been countless callout posts from people, and it's ALWAYS leads back to Chai as if HE's the issue, there's been misinformation being spread and most of it you're getting from is you guessed it Dani and the Hazbin Stan Community.

They find a way to link anything shitty as it being Chai's fault. Have we really went too far in hubris? Look, I hate proshippers but there's been misinformation done OVER AND OVER to the point people who accused Chai did NOT ever FUCKING update it, when they are made aware instead they ignore people.

This is prime example of not listening at all lmfaooo.

Let me tell you something Chai isn't the boogeyman you all think he is, he's NOT involved in ANYTHING that ANYONE does, people just have borderline issues and they project these issues onto others. For clarity on this, here's what Chai said.

So even when he EXPLAINS you properly didn't acknowledge it? Yeah I find it hard to believe.

This is proof when you cry for "CHAI PLEASE ADDRESS THIS!!111!!" you finally get it and it's "NOT ENOUGGGGH!" NEVER CHANGE CRITICAL COMMUNITY THIS MILK IS DELICIOUS.

My Bridge Incident

Alright here we go, about yesterday. I receieved varying asks about the Limus situation.

I also suppose it's this.

But context clues, Retard means STUPID, are we forgetting it means stupid? I mean harsh yes, but that's how I am.

The issue was, and I quote, I said a offensive word.

Oh geez. Let's see what it means.

It's considered offensive now because people find it offensive 10 years ago we didn't.

Usually it's used for people with autism you KNOW the MENTAL ILLNESS I HAVE? Lol. LMAO EVEN.

Everyone whose a seasoned OrionBug OG knows I had an abusive stepdad, he used that word to insult me ALOT, I use the word in my vernacular to reclaim it. In order to actually feel better about myself. Empowering moment, to take back control.

But for some reason all is ignored when people find it offensive on behalf of others, and it's all there is to it.

Critical Bug's (totally hit)hitpeice on me.

Y'all don't send hate bruv bc nah this isn't what we're doing, so for starters this person, who was one of my mutuals decided to make a post crying about what I said to them after instead of taking it to DMs like a normal person did it on Anon.

Now, listen. If you have an issue, I can open up a discussion in the DMs or my server (Link below) but this person did not, they instead made a post meant to Slander and diss me. I know it was directed at me, because this the post lol.

Yes, they are complaining about someone who is also having the same problems as them using it.

Before you wonder, "how do you know is it them saying it towards you?"

I simply have a right to say this, and like I said before I am literally within my rights to say it, oh whats this there's comments too?

BAWWWING COMMENTS.

Using disability to say a slur is not nice

>this community engages in using queer which is also a slur.

Funny oh whose is this on top? Oh it's our good friend Quackerzzz the person behind CharlieCritques and the ONE person who had an issue with my Viv Neo Nazi Callout.

I'm certain they were this comment.

Because this community has issues with parsing text the hate I got for allegations that are NOT solid proof I had to turn off reblogs, and I will be turning off replies for mutuals. And Anon asks.

Now, let's see what else we have here.

Oh.

Oh My Fuck.

ImpperfectCritique's Obsession with Chai.

There's been issues with people a-logging the hell out of Chai and the biggest besides RaySquid is ImpperfectCritique's while they make good fanart they have actively made their content digging and ragging on Chai who btb had enough time to call out Chai but didn't have enough time to apparently tell someone Chai is going by he'/him. Yeah, when I called out the issue beforehand they claimed they didn't know but considering you called them out and took the time to actively call out Chai and presumably research into Chai's history.

Yeah don't buy it.

If this is in reference to me, then I don't really know what to say, I discourage people doing these, I use my own reclaimed slurs to empower myself as a being.

It's the R Slur that's got people crying not the fact I said Nigga a slur I can say, goes to show they are afraid to say "erm don't say that," yea advocating for less slur usage because retard affects my sensibilities and I must have a space dedicated to my 1394232043290342 problems to a show and fanbase who ARE NOTHING LIKE ME GUISE.

Striking Similarities to the VivziePop Fandom.

Okay, so I'm gonna be blunt and honest, you guys are nothing better then Dani and the others. You dedicate your time and effort to crying about slur usage and doing borderline coordinated attacks over something that easily is solved by DMs, I made this to call everyone out because my boundaries were VIOLATED.

People disrespected my boundaries, I take it you want infighting.

"No, no we don't want--"

Bull.

shit.

You were given SEVERAL times and CHANCES to fucking solve this.

Also someone used the r slur, Impperfect where's the complaint and callout to that person?

I asked people to handle things in DMs, they did not, so I take it you want infighting.

Here's your infighting doordashed to your doorstep, free of charge, you disrupt my evening I disrupt the house of cards in this fragile little community. I'm done with society, I'm done pretending everyone in the community are innocent little beans with no problems.

You're all just as bad as Viv's Stan's if not worse. You treat this as some sort of joke, and instead of talking it out you go to make a hit piece, my life has been threatened, I've been told to end myself. I took a stand for MOST of you in this community but it goes to show that even if you stand for others, they won't stand for you.

The Final Verdict

Status of the community: Reached LolCow Status.

I notice some of you all react so badly, some of you all react so horrendously to shit Viv does, either it being tame or downright stupid, I hate the woman too, but some of you go way too far.

And when you can't find a reason to hate, you direct that hate to others in the community you are in. Not just that Chai has to be dragged in EVERY drama as if he's the puppet master. He's NOT, I have my own means my own opinions, Chai isn't a mastermind (not the Helluva Boss Episode.) believe it or NOT he doesn't know shit like this happens.

I am tired of seeing this community act like childish fools, and aim to prove and one up another because they wanna play the "I CARE ABOUT EVERYONE except this person lol." Olympics, if I am judged by my words that's shallow.

That's deeply disgusting and borderline distressing you judge based on vernacular rather than the terms and conditions of who a person is.

You are all people who do NOT actually understand the issue first and foremost, and I am done entertaining it. I do not stand the Critical Community because I own a different part of it.

People, it's not the end of the world because I a mentally sufficient retard with low IQ said so meanie words, you can utilize the red button not the button with the pencil in it.

This community is now overran by LARPING Viv Stan's and I want nothing to do with this anymore, word of advice. Any remaining people with actual braincells left? Leave. This community preaches about acceptance and understanding but when I someone within their rights are allowed to practice freedom of speech to call a drama or object the r slur it's seen as if I killed an infant.

Hypocritical Hotel Critic Community.

(replies restricted and anon asks off due to harassment from people. Congrats and have a good day everyone.)

[bloodgulchblog]

Nobody asked me, right, but I am gonna post about it anyway:

Romance with Chief is interesting to me because for it to happen would require a huge shift in the character's perspective.

It's easy to see why other characters could love him. John-117 is a big wonderful idiot who is constantly giving of himself to protect others. He's deeply unselfish. He's steady and calm and not aggressive or shouty. There is a lot to like about John.

The thing is that John would have to feel the same way about someone, and as he is right now he can't. He has too many problems going on, and most of all he has this foundational belief that his own personal wants mean nothing. I don't think he could genuinely tease out whether he feels something for someone because it's all just moot to him. John is a weapon used to defend humanity, and for him to want anything else for himself would be selfish in a way he is completely uninterested in exploring.

He also has a lot of rational barriers: Bringing someone into his life would be dangerous for them due to who and what he is, and it would be unfair to another person to make promises to them that he knows he cannot keep. We know how serious John is about his word when he gives it! If he did care about someone that much, he would be able to look at it clear-eyed and say "this person is better off with someone else who can be more to them than I can."

Therefore, looking at all of that, a situation where John does manage to feel something and act on it has to be a story where he's confronting all of the things that are fucked up about himself and his life. It would have to be a story about some kind of recovery for him, which is a huge (and interesting!) project. And romance itself isn't even the most critical part of John asserting any kind of desire to steer his own life, far from it, it's just... it's fun to have another character really really care about him when he's so very bad at caring about himself. It's messy and difficult. It would be easier and possibly better for him not to do that but complicated things are fun to play with.

A story where Chief does all of this is diametrically opposed to what the character needs to be to keep carrying FPS campaign stories. It can't be canonical. Given how incredibly poorly the TV show handled the idea of "Master Chief realized he's a person and wants things in life and what if he had a LOVE INTEREST" I absolutely do not trust Halo to do it.

But it's a big idea hole you can swim in if you want to. As a nerd with free time to burn.

[batchilla]

knight x princess Jason Todd opinion requests.

Normally, when writing, I have the readers family fairly absent just for convenience. Mentions are vague or not made, because I want to make projecting yourself into the story as easy as possible.

However as the Knight x Princess trope won the last poll and I am working on the fic, this Reader insert will need a family. So I ask you, Reader, how would you prefer to see this handled? I cannot promise that I will adhere to the result, as I may write myself into a situation where only one option makes sense, but I will take your opinions into account.

Poll is located and Options are expanded on under this cut:

Have her part of a DC family that already exists

Be aware that this may lead to an OOC version of this family / team, However I will do my best to make it work. I have things the royal family will need to do for plot reasons, which may be misaligned with most of the justice leagues morality, and they will have a more of 'period typical' views on women's rights. If you choose this option, let me know in the notes or tags who you picked. If enough people choose it I will possibly do a second poll to decide who.

Make a family of original characters

I worry that it may be odd to have an original character playing a major role in a fan fiction, and also, I would possibly struggle to have so many characters that I couldn't describe much without excluding readers who don't look like whatever I describe. However it would allow me to have them do what I need them to without being OOC.

Have her be Lex Luthor's daughter

He is the character I think I could most easily adapt to the role. I do understand however that it may not fit for many readers to have him as their father, so would probably throw in a line about how you closely resemble your deceased mother to avoid this.

Cardboard cutouts

Just have them super vague, no names used, just titles and 'mother', 'father', 'brother', and so on.

If you are one of the lovely people who re-blog my works frequently, feel free to let me know which your preference is, through notes or DMs, as I would like to give your votes a little more weight then someone who idly taps the poll while scrolling through the Jason Todd tag (not that there's anything wrong with that, just want to make sure the people most likely to engage with my work enjoy it).

[oidheadh-con-culainn]

Could you recommend some good resources on accurate depiction of parchment in the medieval period? I feel like most people interested in medieval studies have a basic understanding of what it is and how it’s made, but you seem more well-versed than most on its tactile properties and regular use cases. Where can others acquire this knowledge?

most of what i've learned about manuscripts and book history has been either during my degrees or from work (i have worked in various libraries including with special collections, although mostly with early printed books and later paper manuscripts in that capacity). and in terms of what it's like to interact with, i have learned this mostly from interacting with it, but if you don't have a library or museum near you that will enable you to do this, it's a bit harder. this makes it hard to give recommendations although there are lots of very good books out there about books and manuscript history

(there's one i read early on in my journeys with palaeography etc that went into loads of detail about different writing surfaces including wood and wax tablets and so on, but i cannot remember the title and past me did NOT write it down which was really unhelpful. if i remember it i'll post about it)

there are also a ton of online resources about manuscripts though. lots of museums have online guides to manuscript production, parchment, writing through history. there's lots of codicology stuff out there. so it's not like you have to learn it in a formal environment -- that's just where i learned it and therefore mostly from lectures rather than shareable resources

but to understand parchment specifically i think understanding the process of making it is a crucial step to understanding why it is the way it is (and why it's not paper). here's a couple of youtube videos that give an overview

this is a more detailed video about a project that got people to make parchment themselves which is just kinda interesting (haven't watched it all the way through but am watching parts):

once you understand how parchment is made and the resources that go into it, i think it's easier to understand why it probably wouldn't be used for ephemera and scraps, and that helps you think about situations where people might use something else -- e.g. a wax tablet to take hasty notes, send messages that don't need to be permanent, send messages that are emphatically not permanent (your recipient can melt it and hide the note), etc -- as well as beginning to rethink the modern world's reliance on the written word in general and consider how oral messages and other non-written communication might have been used

as for the tactile side of things, as i said in a previous post, if you can't touch book parchment, go find your local irish musicians and see if the bodhrán player will let you handle their drum (or good quality orchestral timpani will do too! but with a bigger drum it's harder to feel both sides of the skin). drumskins made of goatskin are very similar on a tactile level to parchment, just a little thicker and not processed to quite the same level as a writing surface. it helps you stop thinking of them as super fragile once you realise people are whacking them with a stick regularly, and you can learn about the difference between the hair side and the flesh side of the skin and stuff and see the way the hair leaves traces in the skin and so on. this helps with the tactile understanding

(the cheaper the bodhran, the rougher the reverse side will be even if the front is still nice and smooth, which also makes you realise the difference between high quality books where you can barely tell which side of the page is the hair side, and low quality ones where they're not fully treated, there's still hair, whatever)

i talked to a conservator lately who told me the way he got into book conservation was via musical instrument repair -- they are more similar than you would think -- and i know trad musicians scattered far and wide enough to be reasonably confident that even if you're in an area with no touchable medieval manuscripts, you can probably at some point find a drummer who will let you play with their bodhrán in exchange for a pint or something, lol

but in the mean time there's lots of cool videos about there about parchment making which i do think is a crucial step to understanding it as a writing surface! and i will see if i can remember the names of any of the books i've read...

[roaenexists]

Pick-A-Pairing Tarot and Oracle readings for the collective.

From left to right we have Pairing One: Leather. Pairing Two: Starburst. Pairing Three: Cerebral.

Pairing One: Leather.

You have been getting a little too big for your britches, as my grandma would say. You have been communicating and behaving in a way that has showed those around you a haughtier side of yourself than I know you'd prefer. In other words, you've been coming off as a bit of a bitch and we both know you're capable of better than that. You need to do some inner child work and tap back in to a learner's mindset. You don't have to fundamentally change who you are, just walk it back a bit. Did you ever love learning? Did you ever used to value the input of those around you? Tap back into that energy and you'll be surprised at how naturally it comes. Past You is here to support Present You. Stop trying to rush to your future self because right now you're missing the mark. Open yourself up to the lessons your friends and mentors and colleagues have for you, and embrace the youthful spirit you've been neglecting. Come home to yourself.

Pairing Two: Starburst

Recently you've ended something and then immediately begun something new that, quite frankly, you are ill-equipped to handle. I'm inclined to think it's a relationship, though for some of you it's a new job, or a personal project. But y'all all got one thing in common: You are going about this all wrong. You had your head in the clouds about what was going to be required of you, and how quickly you were capable of providing it, but the reality of the situation is that you have all the wrong tools, most of the wrong perspective, and none of the energy. You aren't seeing the situation clearly, most likely because you haven't been doing the necessary work on yourself to make sure you were ready for this new journey. If it's too late now to walk it back, don't panic. Set aside some time to really refill your emotional, spiritual, and physical cups. Make your own health and well-being the priority, at least for long enough to recenter and reassess. You cannot expect a battery to work when empty, and you cannot care for others without first tending to your own needs.

Pairing Three: Cerebral

Shit sucks right now. You're in a situation where you are powerless and/or unhappy, with the caveat being that there's no fucking reason you shouldn't be seeing and, more importantly, feeling progress already. You feel you've learned all you can from where you are, you've made all the moves, and all that's left is to move on. The good news is that it's only a matter of time. If you can bear down and get through time then you will be able to pursue your own idealistic future, which includes physically moving location in some way, and probably also mental health support services. Will you actually make it there is up to you, but overall this draw is giving big Trevor Project, "It gets better," vibes. It's corny but it is literally in the cards. You are moving forward. Time and space are not separate, so the longer you press on, the farther you are from where you want to leave. Things are changing. This is inevitable. If you can ride the tumultuous waters, they will eventually calm down, and you will be able to take control of your vessel in the way you know you need to. You know you are meant for different; you just need to believe it until your experienced reality is reflecting that truth back to you. Take this energetic hug from me and Spirit and know that your future is full of potential. If you need to vent you can DM me. Just keep going.

[janus-cadet]

So, I've been watching Hazbin Hotel, and Helluva Boss.

Loved it. Therefore, obviously, to none of my friends' surprise, I added the fandom in that nonsensical tarot project of mine- and it starts with Lucifer, the short king himself, as the Five of Cups.

(The Devil was already taken, which both caused me immense amont of dismay, and just as much relief, because that version of Lucifer does NOT fit the Devil card as much as he could.)

Now, under the cut (only for the braves who can handle a long post spoken in broken english), the mandatory explanation for the choice of the card and the composition.

A joyous card, isn't it! Ahah? Totally. Let's get right into it.

The Five of Cups, Upright, often appears in a reading when a situation hasn't turned out the way you expected, leaving you sad, regretful and disappointed. I mean, you just gave one (1) apple to humanity, just to give them free will, and look what they did with it! What the hell, literally! You are blaming yourself, and instead of moving on with your life (despite the small inconvenience of being banished to an endless pit of evil and horror), you ar choosing to wallow in your self-pity. All you can focus on right now is what went wrong and how you failed. You're stuck in the past, and you can't let go; old wounds you never closed are keeping you from trying to create some positive changes. Which is why the card is here: to help you forgive. Forgiveness, to others and to yourself, is the only way you'll be able to release yourself from your sadness and disappointment. Remember that foresight and wisdom in the present moments comes from mistakes of the past: reflect on what led you to this point, and try to find something positive by reflecting on the lessons learned. You can rebuilt, you still can challenge an unfair system, despite everything! New possibilities are waiting for you, as shown by your daughter. You just have to be ready to accept it. Shift your mindset and focus on what can go right from this point forward.

Reversed, the card suggests that you might look at yourself specifically as a failure. You are stuck in a loop of self-loathing, and can't bring yourself to open up to others about those feelings. The reversed Five of Cups card is here to encourage you to open up: people around you may not see how much pain you're in right now, so don't be afraid to ask for help or talk to someone you trust.

You cannot undo the past, and just as Lucifer at the end of the first season, you are starting to accept that. You are slowly discovering how to be open to the new opportunities and ideas shown to you; you are finally starting to be more hopeful anout the future. You may not be fully okay again, you might still be in pain, but you are taking the first step: the card encourage you to keep doing so. Focus on the bright side. Not all is lost!

Lot of talks already, so I'll quickly go over those. The cups (that I spend too long on for such a small detail in the whole piece agh agh) are, as I drew them, a symbols of the regrets and the remorses felt. The regrets are the titled, broken cups: Lucifer's marriage, his relation with his daughter, and the dreams he had as an angel. Three things that feels like they are lost, damaged beyond repairs- but that are, in fact, still within reach. The content hasn't even spill yet. The remorses are the acts that can't be undone, and the effect on the vision he has of himself- the bitten apple, and the beastly devil that can't be trust. Those are te things he keeps blaming himself for, and the source of the self-loathing he's stuck into. But! He's turning his back on them, as a way to show he is not as linked to those things as he thinks he is. One is a thing of the past, the other is merely a shadow of who he is- what's important is what lays in front of him.

And that's it for today! You're still here? Dang, you're resilient. Thank you very much, hope you enjoyed this. And you're just in time for a little ending poll!

See, I started two other WIPs while drawing Lucifer. Therefore...

[stansthemans]

Does Ford physically abuse Stanley in the family AU?

he doesn’t! So he’s got that going for him. Ford’s brand of abuse towards Stan in this au is verbal/emotional. It’s all part of his rationalization that he was the only one who was wronged, because Stan has never really come clean to him about what she was feeling when she accidentally broke the machine. He has no idea that Stan was completely convinced that if he left her even for a bit, that he would never want her back again. He has no idea that him not telling her about teh colleges he was looking at and hoping to go to completely blindsided her, that she was still 100% convinced they would be getting on that boat and sailing off together. He has no clue that Stan’s way of wanting to escape their childhood was so different from what his turned into. He has not clue how devastated she was by all of that. So he has convinced himself that she was just having a tantrum, that she was sabotaging his future bc she couldnt handle life without him (that’s what everyone says, their parents, their teachers, so it must be true right??). In Ford’s mind the situation is “you hurt me on purpose but I was the bigger person and saved you. Without me, who even knows how badly your life would be going. You should be the perfect version of yourself that I’ve concocted in my mind to prove that my efforts and affections are worth it”

One of my headcanons no matter what au or canon I’m working with is that Filbrick and Caryn were way worse parents to Stan than to Ford. Caryn is very emotional/verbal with her abuse, especially when it’s fem Stan. Filbrick is all of that plus physically abusive. It’s the biggest reason why I always still keep fem Stan in boxing. It’s a way that they hide what’s happening to her bc if Stan is a boxer, well, those bruises all make perfect sense and no one needs to look twice. No one, including Ford. Ford has absolutely no idea. Caryn and Filbrick make sure he doesn’t know bc they are very aware that Ford would pick Stan over them every time, and they want to milk that cow for all it’s worth. Stan keeps it from Ford bc he cannot stand the thought of hurting Ford like that, and he’s scared that Ford might try to stick up for him, which might lead to Filbrick turning his fists to Ford. Stan cannot do anything to risk that, so no matter how bad it is, he’s hiding it.

I think maybe one time Ford gets close to doing something physical. One time. It would be during the Bill possession times, maybe as things are starting to turn. Fiddleford has quit the project and Ford has suspicions about Bill but he isn’t ready to fully come to terms with the fact that he’s been used. Teh writing is on the wall, but he’s desperate to not see it for what it is bc that means he’s been played and was wrong when the two other people closest to him have been warning him over and over that something is up. So Stan and Ford are fighting about something and it’s getting really nasty, it’s maybe the worst fight they’ve ever had, and they are both saying horrible things. Stan finally hits a point where she’s done with this. She isn’t continuing this fight (maybe this is where she threatens to take Noah and leave). She turns to storm away, and that just lights Ford up. He’s seeing red. He’s so angry bc how dare she say these things to him how dare she turn her back on him. He reaches out and grabs her. One hand around her arm. One hand in her hair, forcing her to look up at him. He has no idea that their father used to grab Stan by the hair to drag her around, but he does recognize the look of complete terror in his sister’s eyes. It takes him a second, but he recognizes it from the times when Stan would be sent down to the pawn shop’s back office. He recognizes that that is how she used to look at their father. He doesn’t know about the physical abuse, but he does know that Stan was sometimes beyond scared of Filbrick, and right now, she’s looking at him like that.

He lets go of her, but she’s still staring at him like that, tears in her eyes, trembling like a leaf, and Ford cannot get away from her fast enough. He barely makes it down to his lab before he’s sick with it. How could he do that? He always hated so much how small and scared and quiet Stan would be after having to deal with their father because small and scared and quiet is not his precious sister and it was horrible that anyone should make her be like that. And now he’s done it. He loves Stan more than anything else in the world and he made her feel that way. What has he become? How did he come to be so far removed from that little boy who was only ever capable of looking at his sister as a beautiful and precious thing to be cherished? She was made for him and this is how he treats her?

Ford, rightfully, beats himself up about this. He stays locked in his lab for days (Stan kind of figures that’s his move, but she still stays in Noah’s room with him, pretending that they’re having a slumber party marathon. Noah knows something bad happened but he plays along) and when he does come back up, it’s very tense adn he’s walking on eggshells. He knows he should apologize, beg for forgiveness, but he’s also scared to bring it all up again. Because he’s had a lot of time to think down there, and why was Stan so scared of Filbrick? Yeah, Ford didn’t like him either, really didn’t like having to go down to the back office and be lectured about being the only child who was worth anything, to have expectation after expectation piled onto his shoulders until he felt like Atlas, to be told that it was his responsibility to make something of the family name and pay back his parents for all the hard worth they’ve done raising him and keeping a roof over his head. But he was never scared like Stan was. Why was she so scared? He wants but doesn’t want to know the answer. He doesn’t want to come to terms with that reality and how he failed to take care of her like he was supposed to. And if he’s fucked up so royally that Stan can look at him and see their father who she was always so desperate to escape, will she leave him? He’s told her so many times that who knows how bad her life would be without him but really, how bad would his life be without her.