#it’s like 100 degrees on the regular where I live

[musical-chick-13]

I’m having too many Feelings™ about Noir again, this time specifically about how no “Sympathetic and Well-Intentioned Tragic Villain” in any other piece of media will ever be done as successfully and effectively as Altena.

[hyperfixatedbastard]

Hi i hope you doing well. I have a resquest... more like a headcanon. What if Adam was a dad ? What his behaviour will be ? Does he be a good or a bad father ?

I understand if you don't do it. I don't want to force you for something you don't want to.

Dadam (Dad!Adam) Headcanons

we bringing out the daddy issues on this one boys

WARNINGS: none

A/N: I haven't done a headcanon type of post yet, but they're easier to write than regular one shots and I'm too tired for that shit. The request didn't specify what kind of Reader (spouse or child), so I just went with general headcanons that don't specify the Reader at all. Insert yourself as you wish!

Also, thank you all for your patience! It's been very busy for me lately and I've been too exhausted to write much, so expect a lot more of these kinds of posts (the formatting is easier and I don't have to write a bunch of dialogue lol).

Dividers

As the father of humanity, Adam had...a lot of kids. The guy lived for 800+ years just populating the earth. That's a LOT of kids. We all know how the first two turned out. That is, not fuckin' well. To be honest, I don't think Adam valued his children. It was just kinda... a thing he had to do. (When Abel died and Cain got exiled, he fr just went and had another kid to replace them.) But I am in deep, deep denial and this is for my enjoyment as someone with severe daddy issues. So fuck all that.

At first, Adam is 100% the guy that freaks the fuck out when he finds out he knocked someone up. That man is SWEATING. He's actually pretty chill if it's someone he's in an established long-term relationship with, though. He still freaks the fuck out, but to a significantly lesser degree and with a much smaller chance of up and leaving. Once he's over the initial shock, he's shocked to find that he's kind of excited. Back when he was alive, having kids was just normal because it was such a common occurrence.

This man knows every little detail about pregnancy and infants. With the amount of kids he's had? He has seen it ALL. Sure, all his information is thousands of years old, but knowledge learned through experience is super valuable when it comes to this shit! He doesn't know what the fuck a uterus is, but he knows exactly how to make his partner the most comfortable, how to deal with cravings, etc. If his partner has a problem, he's got a solution. It might be a fuckin' weird one, but it works! He'll probably grumble and complain, but he doesn't actually mean it. Bitching is just his thing, y'know? But... pregnancy hormones + Adam's douchebag-ness = feelings getting hurt. If his partner starts crying because of some shit joke or complaint he made? He's scrambling so fast. "Shit, babe, fuck, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, fuckfuckfuck, don't cry—"

Once the baby is born, he definitely surprises literally everyone but his partner by actually doing helpful shit. Changing diapers? Easy fuckin' peasy (he does watch a tutorial online because he doesn't know how tf modern diapers work but he's a fast learner) Feeding? No problemo. Getting up in the middle of the night to do both of those things? His sleep schedule's already fucked, this shit ain't new.

When it comes to parenting and raising the kid, though... that's definitely where Adam struggles. He'd struggle with bonding. A lot. Adam mostly talks about things that you really shouldn't say around children, much less bond over. I think he'd be better at just letting the kid ramble while he's just sitting there, fully engrossed in whatever bullshit his child is saying. He's not just passively listening with little 'uh-huh's and nods, this man is active in the discussion. Have you ever heard a small child speak? They say the most random shit ever, and Adam would love it. It's peak entertainment to him. Even if it's just incoherent babbling, he'll have full-on conversations with this baby.

He'd definitely have some shared interests as the kid gets older. I think Adam's favorite shows/movies are a mix of action movies and shit like Power Rangers. He's not ashamed of it either—'fuck you, the Power Rangers are fuckin' cool.' This also goes for video games. I know that man is a toxic COD gamer boy and you can't prove me wrong. Basically, the only thing that keeps him from becoming one of those husbands that locks himself away in a man cave to play video games is the fact that he can game with his kid.

And once they get into school, he just gets really invested in the drama. Elementary school drama is such bullshit, and it'd be the best reality TV he's ever seen. "Oh, don't tell me—it's that bitch Cindy. The fuck did that little shit do this time?" He'd be gasping like it's a damn soap opera. 'Oh no she didn't!' kinda vibe.

He'd talk so much shit around his kid about the parents of their classmates, the teachers, anyone. Then the kid would repeat it and Adam would get sat down in the office with his kid like: "Your child said, and I quote, 'My dad says your mom's a bitch.'" "What? She fuckin' is." And yeah, he's not wrong - some of those parents are fucking nightmares.

If his kid got in trouble for fighting, his reaction would depend on the situation. If it was unprovoked and/or a part of bullying, he'd originally laugh it off but would be freaking the fuck out internally. He's probably a little traumatized by what happened with Cain and Abel. But if the fighting was an act of defense (whether of themselves or someone else) he would be the proudest dad ever. Fist-bumps his kid in the office in full view of the principal.

You cannot trust this man to give his kid the sex talk. It just will not go well. Like, if his kid needs advice when they're older (basically anything beyond 'where do babies come from') then he's your guy, but it's still gonna be awkward and uncomfortable. He'd probably have Lute handle most of those issues just so he doesn't have to know about his kid's sex life but can still trust that they have a responsible(?) adult if they have questions.

In terms of where Adam is lacking as a parent, there's a few areas in particular to focus on.

Emotional availability? Not his strong suit. At all. He can't deal with his own feelings, let alone his kid's. Most of the emotional support will be coming from his partner. That doesn't mean he doesn't try. But he can't show it with words all that well. He'll show emotional support in other ways—quality time, gifts, and acts of service for the most part. Like going out for ice cream, watching a movie, etc.

He's not good with discipline. To him, everything's no big deal. If his kid hasn't killed their sibling, that's good enough for him! Generally, his partner will choose when/how to discipline (with Adam's input ofc), but Adam's job is to just enforce it/not overrule it. He's 100% the type to be sneaky about it tho. If his kid is grounded, he'll go out with them to give them a break from being stuck in the house, y'know, stuff like that. Because of this, his kid forms a closer, different kind of bond than with Adam's partner. It's more friendly, I guess is the word? Like, his kid won't go to him for actual helpful advice, but if they fuck up somehow or are in a bad situation that they kinda got themselves into (drinking, car accident, etc.), then Adam is the parent they call.

I think Adam's peak parenting era would be when his kid is a late teen/young adult. 'Cause then he can actually be himself, for the most part. His personality is not very kid-friendly, so once his kid isn't really much of a kid anymore—he is so fucking excited. His relationship with his kid would be a lot more unconventional as they grow older. Like, he's really close with his kid once they're an adult. (totally not basing this off my relationship with my mom) His advice would be shit, but he'd give it if his kid needed it!

Definitely the type to text his kid more often than most parents. Mostly because he texts more like them and has the same sense of humor. Lots of shitty memes.

Also!! I think Adam would definitely make time for his partner. Date nights are a must. His kid better get comfortable with sleepovers at friends' houses or getting babysat by Emily 'cause he ain't letting parenthood fuck up his sex life.

I think that's all I got. Not sure how to end this so uh... shoutout to all you bitches with daddy issues lmao

Taglist: @little-miss-chaoss @fakeguysarehot @3sire-777

[cinnamonest]

hii!! do you think any gnsn yandere would go for anal with the intention of making it very pleasant for darling? like, "I'm telling you, it can feel so good" and "I read about it" (<- that's definitely Haitham lol) and maybe "I know what I'm talking about"

Yessss he would! Alhaitham thinks himself The Expert™ and that any fears you have are silly and unfounded. He takes the matter very seriously and has actually done his research, which, while he can be very annoying at his pretentiousness and stubbornness about it, is actually reassuring, because he does actually know what he’s doing, makes sure he gets in at an angle that will still press against the sweet spots that make you feel good, and keeps his hand practically latched to your clit too.

He develops quite the fixation, actually. You know, you can make this a regular thing, some people get into making it a lifestyle, and the thought appeals to him quite a bit. So he can train you, keep toys inside your ass throughout the day to ensure that if he ever wants it, it’ll be easy to access without having to go through the process of stretching you out a lot each time. And eventually, he can set a day or two per week — or maybe a full week per month? — where any other hole is off-limits, ensuring you get mentally adjusted as well.

Also, the man has a specific little fantasy he intends to fulfill... that is, he's into the idea of switching holes while he's fucking you. Having you on your back and railing you hard and fast, letting the slick fluid pour out of you and drip off his cock as gravity makes it trail downward, coating your asshole too... then pulling out and flipping you over onto your stomach before sliding into your ass, lubed by the grool your body already made for him, feeling you stiffen and clench and gasp... let him live that out just once, and he can die a happy man... well, he thinks that, but you let that happen once, there's no way he can leave it at once.

Albedo has something very similar going on, perhaps an even more intense fixation, although for him it’s part of a much larger pool of kinks and turn-ons ranging from fairly normal to outright depraved, and you’re not quite sure where this compulsive need to ream your poor ass falls on that scale. He’s just not content until he feels like he owns every part of you, and the more vulnerable and sensitive a part of you is, the more satisfying it is to take it for himself.

Still, he at least knows what he’s doing, and he has a way of keeping you calm with how gentle-sounding his voice is. He can also make you various consumables that act as either aphrodisiacs or numbing agents and so on, anything that enhances the good while diminishing any discomfort as much as possible (unless he’s mad and wants you to have some discomfort, of course).

He gives you the I know what I'm doing line quite a bit, and assures you that if you just calm down and hold still, it'll feel good... and he ends up being right, at least to some degree, as he also manages to make you cum that way.

He in particular develops an obsession with trying to get you to cum just from anal stimulation and nothing more, and no matter how slow and gradual the process may be, he's quite determined and patient with training you to achieve that, and it'll be all that much more rewarding when he finally does get the desired result.

But also, he uses his anatomical knowledge against you, because he knows you’ll take whatever he says seriously, so he will do his best to convince you of the therapeutic and health benefits of letting him cum in your ass, and unfortunately he’s actually quite convincing…

Childe’s on the list too, except it is 100% a lie and he does NOT actually have the requisite knowledge, he just has a level of confidence that is directly inverse-correlated to his IQ and it will become your problem. He’s alarmingly uneducated on something that by definition necessitates a lot of know-how to do properly, so please be on guard or else he will just approach it the same way he does pussy — trying to shove it in all in one swift motion, not enough lube, goes way too fast and hard, etc… he still wants it to feel good and insists it will, he just doesn’t actually have any idea what he’s talking about, so be wary and force him to slow down lest you suffer for not doing so.

[ancaporado]

I know that many ancaps/libertarians are pro population growth and pro development, I however think that the global population and megacities are a government abomination. I keep thinking that places like the UK/Beltway/LA of USA are so fucked up because they don't have any real wilderness left. it's just a cultivated grid of human housing, industry, agriculture, the largest undomesticated creature being a racoon or fox or something pathetically small and unthreatening. Even the meme "birds aren't real" I think is a riff on this; you live in a 100% man-made environment, even the birds might as well be government spy robots.

When you fundamentally have to interact with an artificial rules based world all the time you have a tendency to systematize everything, and believe the lie that imaginary things like laws and governments are real physical things, and not just the whims of the police officer on the corner. Somewhat like abuse victims internalize the rules of their abuser to avoid punishment and cope. The urban landscape is the breeding ground of the cancerous and parasitic human survival strategy we identify as socialism/collectivism/progressivism.

The only real laws are those of nature, physics, chemistry, biology, evolution. Humans are an animal and we adapt to our environment, which is a mouse utopia. The modern world is so sick and against nature because our power to wall it out of our lives has created a hubris to rebel against these things. Progressivism in a sense, is rejection of natural order, a rejection of subjection to nature or nature's God. This is how you get to where we are today. I don't need to list the examples, but the unreality of thinking we can abolish scarcity, inequality, sex, the family, etc...

I don't want civilization and cities and humans not to exist. I just want radical concentrations of those things. We had 2.5% the global population in antiquity and still got innovative and talented thinkers that we still discuss today, artists, engineers, etc. These people had ample access to an untamed world, one that was unpredictable, and challenged them.

The urban human is a domesticated one. They have no real self-determination. Without a world unmade by humans, they have no reference for something beyond the imagination of another human, no blank canvas to make their own. Like the shadows of Plato's cave I'd wager it's like a person forced to look into a mirror their entire life. They would have no ability to identify themselves in the mirror as they have no reference that the mirror isn't just the entire world.

Climbing mountains, navigating rapids, scaling rock walls, skiing couloirs... the physical conquest of nature yields a surprise that cannot be claimed from an artificial challenge.

Think of the sweating, yelling, heaving mass of Cairo,

Bangladesh

Lagos

Mexico city

You might just assume they make great films, music, art, thinkers, engineers, and we just don't hear about them because they don't get distributed here or something. No it's just a mass of human flesh consuming the natural world, no ability to reflect and create, just consume.

Almost all of these places import food from the temperate climates of developed nations. A two year breakdown of global supply chains would result in them starving in the millions.

Even here in western civilization we yield the prime 'high-density walkable" real-estate to degenerates via council and section 8 housing.

Government programs of fiat currency, the welfare-warfare state, followed by deindustrialization has resulted in a massive mismatch in human population and economic/environmental capacity. Sure, here's where someone could politely chime in that "humans have infinite creative capacity, we just need to unlock their potential and your Malthusian doomsday is no more" and I grant that to a degree.

But massive declines in human population, the standard of living, and technology are regular historical occurrences. Western science has had an absolute "ick" towards actually understanding and implementing Darwinism towards human populations. Country-wide datasets of IQ probably remain stable due to the continuing rise/Flynn effect of the middle/upper class offsetting the sliding downward of the welfare class. There's no evolutionary biologist who wouldn't recognize that the market economy selects for intelligence and the welfare state was our feeble altruistic effort to carry the "but I did have breakfast" population along with us.

We've had nearly a century and, in some cases of repeated teen pregnancies, 6 or 7 generations who were never asked to provide for themselves meaningfully. They live in an ever more confusing world of late payments, cash advances, welfare office applications, prison stints, evictions, and unplanned pregnancies. Each generation more befuddled than the last. Recent studies show that there have been population bottlenecks through human evolution. In the bronze age as few as 1 in 17 men reproduced at all.

Biological imperatives of reproduction rule over all other sentiments and altruistic masochism. For the silent generation and the boomers, the welfare state was a token price they agreed to pay to keep the peace and they could afford it as they got race-rioted out of their downtown homes into the suburbs. Now the jig is up and millennials en-masse are finding that they can't afford to have kids *intentionally*. They look at their pay stub getting taxed at 40% so that, over at the section 8 housing, "baby mamas" collect government checks for the consequence of a hookup with serial felons, who are also housed and fed with working people's taxes. The boomers made a devil's bargain, they cucked their children!

Now we enter the final death spiral of empires and welfare states: below replacement fertility rates and above GDP national debt!

The group most prepared for the coming calamity, the group who predicted it, and who will emerge as victors are those who are internally pro-growth/pro population but maintain in-group preferences. The stats bear out:

Now this shift isn't just conservatives but libertarians also. In a couple generations we have gone from 1% in the 70's to 10% in the 2010s and now easily 25% in the 2020's (many libertarians simply don't vote or vote republican). We will replace left-wingers, who only reproduce vampirically via public education, in the next generation. There is hope at the end of this journey but it will be difficult in the mean time. Prepare yourself accordingly.

[nyooms-corner]

-moonwalks into your ask box like its McDonalds-

AYO can I get uh soft Macaque who is touch starved and a S/O whos live language is giving physcial affection/acts of service?

Yes, you absolutely can!

Physical affection

So this man is so fucking touch starved yeah

Man's also has a fuck ton of trauma

Needless to say, it takes a WHILE before you can touch him with any degree of regularity beyond patching him up from random fights.

But once he does let you

This mf is clingy

Clingy Bitch™️

Also pet his ears, like gently rub the shell and inside of the tips this man will be putty in your hands.

If he's out doing a show, you can 100% tease him

He has the self control to not stop in the middle of a show to get back to you but srsly whisper into a shadow in the house complaining that you're lonely and wanna cuddle.

Be warned if you do this however because once he gets home, you are not leaving his hold.

The tail

Oh my God give the tip a kiss. DO IT.

You will not escape the bed I promise

Grooming, or just generally petting through his fur: you will have an unconscious purring monkey in your lap in less that 2 minutes. He will also get grumpy if you stor grooming him unless it's because you fell asleep, then it's revenge time and your turn to get groomed.

Acts of service

Sharpen his training weapons, you will get kisses, or food

Make him a nest/fix up the one thats already made he will swoon

Make him some food/cut up some mango for when he gets home from a play.

Due to what happened with wukong and macaque feeling like he gave far more than he got he will respond 1-1 with whatever you do for him.

Make him a meal: he'll make you breakfast since he wakes up earlier (it devolves into a routine where macaque will make breakfast, you'll make dinner and you both do your own things for lunch)

For the first few months macaque keeps meticulous track of what affections you've given eachother so he can track what he needs to do for you in return still

He doesn't realize that 1) that's not how that works, 2) you aren't doing that because refer to 1

It takes a good while before he let's go if the original purpose of the list, but he still keeps it updated so he has a reminder that someone loves him.

He keeps the list a secret from you.

[idyllic-affections]

Hiii^^ hope youre having a great day/night!! can i ask for platonic Tighnari and his child? where his child got a fever where its temperature hit 100 degrees, like how would he deal with that. If only its fine by you to do! take care and stay hydrated!!

what does tighnari do when his child is ill?

summary. how does tighnari handle his child's illness?

trigger & content warnings. fevers, descriptions of medicine and pills.

tropes, pairings, fic length, & other notes. comfort. tighnari & biological child!reader. 0.5k words. they/them pronouns used for reader.

author's thoughts. hello lovely!! i went with biological child!reader bc i think that would be a cute dynamic, just tighnari and his lil fox child <3 as someone who lives in a VERY hot state in the united states of america, i have had my fair share of experiences with the heat and fevers and whatnot. heat stroke sucks. getting EXTREMELY sick sucks. one time i had a fever of 106°F. that was crazy. pleaae remember to drink water this summer, especially if you live in a hot place like i do! dehydration can be very very serious.

tighnari, although worried, is confident in his ability to handle his child's fevers.

tighnari is no stranger to heat stroke.

he's no stranger to being extremely sick, either, much as he hates when it happens.

on top of all that, he is no stranger to illnesses and ailments. he's a forest watcher. he's seen his fair share of conditions, so he's more than qualified to take care of his kid.

(he also might be just a little posessive—he dreads the thought of letting some other doctor taking care of them, only to make them even more sick. he's a worried mother fr. he'd be furious with himself and with the hypothetical doctor if something like that ever happened.)

he's very doting, but almost in an overbearing way LMAO

tighnari has them take medication on a very regular schedule. it's as if he has a sixth sense for when it's time for them to take their medicine again.

he may craft the medicine himself using local flora, but if their fever is bad enough, he'll go to sumeru city to pick up pills or liquid medicine (depending on what his child can take; as a person who can't take most pills, i totally understand being unable to swallow them). in the time he's gone, he usually has collei watch them. he trusts her.

he also sets a damp rag on their forehead, changing it every now and then once he feels like its absorbed enough heat from their body.

tighnari just stays very close to them in general if possible. he's worried, and he's noticed that they get a little fidgety and restless in their fever-induced delirious state if he's not around. when their fever delirium is at its peak, they might even cry if they can't hear or smell or otherwise sense him.

if he's busy with something he absolutely cannot reschedule or push back, he'll leave them with a clothing item of his. it's not the same, but it's better than nothing.

he often ends up sat at their bedside because of this. he can't have them stressing out; it'll both make their fever worse and make it harder for them to recover.

tighnari also does his best to keep them cool. sumeru is both hot and humid, and he knows from experience that their ears and tail will retain a lot of that heat, so he does a lot to keep their overall body temperature down.

he'll often end up carrying them to the river below gandharva ville so they can cool off like that. he'll carry them back, too. they may be too unwell to walk straight and he doesn't want to risk them falling or otherwise hurting themselves.

another thing he does is makes sure they eat enough.

they may not want to nor feel like they need to, but they do need to eat. if he somehow fails to coax them into eating, he'll get collei. it's hard to deny collei when she cooks specifically for them.

tighnari is said to be a little irritable when they're ill.

best not to ask him any dumb questions if his kid is sick (there are no dumb questions... not until his beloved child isn't doing well LMAO)

you think "teacher mode" is bad under normal circumstances? wait until you ask him something silly when his kid is ill.

yeah...

he's overall just very doting and attentive and worried for their health. everything goes back to normal once they're on their feet again <3

please consider reblogging, it helps me out quite a lot!

[dross-the-fish]

I love Watson and Adams dynamic so much- 🥹

Do you have any more facts about just the two of them?

At the start of their relationship Adam tries to copy Watson, the way he stands, the way he dresses, the way he speaks, he's convinced that Watson is the person to emulate. Eventually he grows more confident in himself and discovers his own interests and behaves in a way that comes more naturally to him. Watson is thrilled to tell Adam stories. They're all about Sherlock. Every single one of them. Watson hyped Sherlock up so much that by the time Adam met him he was a little disappointed that Sherlock, while every bit as intelligent as Watson claimed, was still basically just some regular if kind of weird guy. Watson manages to pass Adam off as a regular guy with a medical condition. This allows Adam to move around in public but doesn't spare him from being stared at or facing a shitton of ableism but it's at least better than what he was dealing with 100 years ago. Through Watson Adam gains an interest in the medical field and Watson even encourages Adam to study medicine with Watson as his mentor. In a timeline where Adam isn't killed off he continues to stay with Watson and care for him in his old age, with Watson's help he even manages to obtain a degree in medicine, though is not able to open a practice of his own or work outside of providing his services for monster hunters and groups with supernatural entities like the motley crew in a similar vein to his former comrade Dr Jekyll. Treating the cursed and the damned and the humans who come into conflict with such creatures. After Selma he doesn't reanimate again. He has proven he can, but understands why he shouldn't, limiting his work to treating the living as Doctor Watson instilled in him he should do.

[antianakin]

Do you think you’d like Mandos if they were more like Vikings? I think I heard from somewhere that’s what they were based off of. If they were anything like the TV show Vikings I would be behind them 100%. Imagine if they made Boba more like Ragnar instead of the Feloni version.

I can't quite tell if you're asking me if I'd like Mandalorians if they were written to be more like actual real life vikings or if they were writing more like the way the characters are written in the fictional TV show Vikings, but my answer is going to be similar either way. I don't know enough about either regular viking culture or the way the show Vikings chose to depict them to really be able to answer either way.

The thing I think you're remembering is that I believe it's been said that Lucas chose to bring in Mandalorians as a concept into TCW but changed them up to be more like "pacifist Vikings" (which is why they look the way they do in TCW) because he found that an intriguing concept despite how little it had to do with the way Mandalorians had been depicted in Legends up until then. And that concept mostly seems to come across as like "a group of people who were known for being very violent and doing a lot of pillaging and raiding and fighting in their past but it got to the point where they were so violent that they nearly destroyed themselves and their new leader has enforced a pacifist lifestyle in an effort to keep them from going completely extinct." I don't know that it necessarily took a lot from actual viking culture or traditions beyond that.

The reason I dislike the Mandos is more about the way they're written and the way fans tend to interpret them (especially in relation to the Jedi) than anything else. There's also the issue of like... the contradictions between Legends Mandos, Lucas's Mandos, and Disney/Favroni canon Mandos. People have tried REALLY REALLY HARD to fit in Legends Mando stuff with Lucas's canon Mandos, which leads to this idea that while Lucas shows Mandos as like... very black and white with Death Watch being the more traditional violent version and Satine being the modern pacifist version, there is actually some sort-of in-between that can exist. This is where you get the "True Mandalorians" and characters like Jaster and Jango and even newer characters like Din and, to some degree, Bo-Katan. There's this idea that you can be a violent person who works in something like bounty hunting and still be a good honorable person. Din is someone who does not CARE who he kills so long as he gets paid to do it when we first meet him (his whole catchphrase is "I can bring you in warm or I can bring you in cold" which tells his marks that he doesn't care if he has to kill them to get the job done), he's even initially fine with child trafficking being a part of his job description and BARELY ends up turning around to rescue Grogu after he's already been paid. And while I understand that this can make for some interesting character work and that a lot of people really enjoy the more morally ambiguous nature of this kind of character, these flaws and nastier choices often get brushed under the rug by their fans to try to portray them as better people than they are.

And of course, this often also ends up leading people to represent these characters, these "True Mandos" as the epitome of what a person should be. That these are people who truly understand honor and love and family, often as a direct contrast to the Jedi specifically. Even though these are people who hunt and kill others FOR A LIVING and are still choosing their leaders based on who can fight well enough to acquire one specific weapon. This is still a culture based primarily around violence, towards each other and towards the rest of the world. This doesn't mean these characters cant' be INTERESTING or ENJOYABLE, but too many people sit there and act like Mandos, especially "True" Mandos, are some sort-of mystical better than everyone else beings instead of the IMMENSELY flawed people that they are who would honestly be much better off if they were more like the Jedi.

This is one of the reasons I initially liked Sabine so much in Rebels, because we see how she has to learn a LOT of Jedi lessons about patience and mercy and sacrifice from Kanan that she's able to then apply to her Mandalorian heritage so that she can recognize which parts of their traditions are worth holding on to (the armor that's been passed down for generations and holds a lot of spiritual meaning regarding connections to their ancestors) and which are not (killing your enemies instead of showing mercy, being forced to be a leader just because she happens to be wielding this one specific weapon even though she's not ready or interested in the position). Notice that the things worth keeping about her culture are the things that are specifically NOT VIOLENT IN NATURE.

I think people also regularly overestimate how important and competent Mandos even are, True, New, or otherwise. We ROUTINELY see Mandos get their asses handed to them, by Jedi, by the Empire, by Rebels. There seems to be this pervasive idea that Mandos could change the course of the galaxy, that Mandos are the BEST fighters in the galaxy and if only they were around to help, they would be able to beat everyone else, and it just. Isn't true. They're good at BEING VIOLENT, sure, but this doesn't actually equate to being a better fighter than anyone else. They're so good at being violent that they keep just... exterminating their own people out of sheer stupidity to the point that they're not a real threat to ANYBODY. They destroy their own planet to the point that it's practically uninhabitable, they refuse to have a civil discussion with a group that is clearly outgunning them and then act surprised when this ends up with all of them fucking dead, they make themselves neutral in a galactic civil war and then act surprised when that means trade dries up, they lead two Sith lords and FOUR crime organizations onto their planet and then act surprised when they end up ousted out of their own leadership and instead accidentally end up with a Sith lord as a leader because he beheaded the Mando guy. Mandos IN GENERAL are just reckless, irresponsible, arrogant assholes, no matter which flavor they come in. They can't even help THEMSELVES let alone the rest of the galaxy.

And to some degree, I think that's part of the point of the Mandos in Lucas's canon, that they're just... total flops most of the time. They're an intentional foil to the Jedi in that they are a culture that RELIES on violence as a cornerstone of their behavior and worldview and never see peace as an option whereas the Jedi relies on peace always being an option and violence is just a last resort as a recognition that many other people don't share their desire for peace. The whole point of Mandos in Lucas's canon and even in Rebels to some degree is that their way of life is BAD and not one that SHOULD be preserved the way that it is. If the Mandos don't figure out how to change, they ARE going to just die out, not because anyone sees them as a threat and wants them eliminated, but because their own arrogance and stupidity is just inevitably going to cause their own end. The Mandos are a CAUTIONARY TALE more than anything else.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that that isn't true about the vikings in the Vikings show. You're clearly rooting for them, so I have to assume that you don't view these characters and the culture they're representing as a cautionary tale about what NOT to do or be like. And that's fine, that show is clearly doing something very different with its story and the themes and messages it's sending than Lucas was doing with Star Wars. And I think shows like The Mandalorian are trying to do something similar by making their sort-of violently morally ambiguous character and his culture something you root for rather than a cautionary tale. Which... fine, in the vacuum of the story we had within the first two seasons of the show, that worked out okay. But as it's expanded outward into the greater Star Wars saga, this has become more and more of an issue because the Mandos AREN'T characters you root for in regular Star Wars. They just aren't, especially the variety that Din and Bo-Katan tend to represent. They're usually villains or antagonists for the more genuinely heroic characters, there to either be an obstacle or to represent the consequence of selfish choices. But Filoni and Favreau are SO insistent on making the Mandos the heroes AND on making them like the Legends Mandos they grew up on that these messages are getting flattened and lost entirely.

So I guess my answer to this question is that no, I don't necessarily think that the Mandos would be more enjoyable if they were more like the vikings, either the real ones or the fictional ones, because they just straight up aren't the heroes of this story and their entire culture as per Lucas's canon, the one based around violence as a first answer to everything, is intended to be a cautionary tale rather than something we root for. I think that the Mando culture as we know it isn't something that can be glorified and romanticized and still feel like it remains within the themes of Star Wars.

[cryptidsurveys]

Thursday, November 7th, 2024.

Have you ever had a sexually gay experience? I have.

Do you find any of your friends hot? Oliver is quite handsome, but I am not romantically attracted to them.

Are your legs freshly shaven? I don't even remember the last time I bothered to shave my legs.

Does your best friend wear glasses? No.

Have you ever woke up crying from a bad dream? I don't think I've ever woken up crying, but I've definitely woken up with a huge pit in my stomach.

Who knows more about you: online friends or offline? I don't really have any offline friends, but between online friends and IRL acquaintances, people online (especially those who read my surveys) know more.

Does your family own any land? No.

Who is the oldest sibling in your family? I am.

Are you close to any of your aunts/uncles? I'm not.

When was the last time you were in a hospital? I'm not entirely sure about the year, but possibly late 2006 through early 2007. I just know I was there over Christmas. I've been to the ER after that but wasn't admitted to the hospital.

Do you plan on losing weight any time soon? No. My eating disorder brain might want to lose a bit of weight, but even slightly reducing my intake makes me feel like shit.

What do you think of people who get drunk every weekend? I don't think about them. It's not really any of my business.

Are you looking forward to anything? Tasting the pie I'm in the midst of making. Hopefully sharing it with staff at the shelter tomorrow. (Evening edit: I was called in today from 2-5, so pie has already been enjoyed by all!)

What was the last bad news you heard? As much as I love snow, the possibility that I might not make it in tomorrow if the roads are too bad.

What was your GPA in high school? It was all over the place.

Do you require a lot of private time? I do need some time to myself to decompress and do my own thing, but not an unusual amount of it.

Do you know how to play any odd instruments most people can’t play? No.

Have you ever had a parasite before? No.

Have you ever been punched in the face before? Maybe as a child while play fighting. Never seriously.

Are there regular trains in and out of your town/city? I'm the wrong person to ask about that sort of thing.

Do you bathe your pets regularly? No. They're cats; they bathe themselves.

What was the last animal you saw, and was it a pet? It was Esther, one of my kitties.

Who was the last person you messaged on Facebook?

When was the last time you saw them?

Where do you see yourself in a year? Hopefully working at the animal shelter at least part time.

[TW: OVERDOSE/SUICIDE] Do you know anyone who has overdosed? I didn't know him well, but Nick's father might have passed away from an intentional overdose.

Where are your siblings as of now? As far as I know, they live in Virginia.

Have you ever lost anyone close to cancer? No.

Do you personally know anyone who is transgender? Yes.

When was the last time you got a shot? Very early 2020.

Have you ever been in a car accident? No.

When was the last time you spent over $100 in one transaction? What did you buy? Groceries, as well as a hand mixer and a glass pie plate.

Are you a breakfast person? I very much am.

What type of books do you like to read?

How do you get rid of hiccups? I just wait for them to pass. If they're really bad and I'm able to do so, then I might lie down for a bit.

Do you have any healthy addictions? Lol does oatmeal count? Or drinking lots of water?

Do you pay much attention to speed limits while driving? I do.

Which parent was more strict when you were growing up? Neither of my parents were especially strict. My dad could be somewhat protective, but not to a stifling degree.

Have you ever watched The Golden Girls? I've seen portions of a few episodes, but it was never something I watched regularly.

Do you like getting dirty? Not really, but when it comes to the animal shelter, I just accept that I'm going to feel gross by the end of the day. I can always take a shower.

Are you a very flirty person? No.

Who was your favorite babysitter?

Do you believe in the death penalty? I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it.

Name a person that you can’t stand and tell us why? Alex. I've explained why many times.

If you could have a video of one event in your life, what would the video be? Backpacking trips. I do have videos, but I'm not sure where all of them are anymore. At least some of them might be on my dad's computer or posted to YouTube.

What is the most illegal thing you have ever done? Hmmm.

Last person you sang happy birthday to? My dad.

What form of government do you like the most? (capitalism, socialism, etc.)

Is there a song you can’t handle listening to, even though you like it? Yeah. A certain song by Pearl Jam.

Last time you saw fireworks? Probably the 4th of July.

Do you have a black dog? I don't.

If you took someone on a tour of your town, what would you show them? I'm not sure. Maybe the riverwalk and downtown area, various restaurants and coffee shops…there's not a whole lot to see here, though. It's not exactly a vacation destination.

Have you been to the capital of your state? Yes.

Would you be more in your element camping in a tent or an RV? A tent. I've actually never slept in an RV before. If I was going to be staying put in the woods for a long time, though (as in, not backpacking), then I think I would prefer an RV.

Kissing someone with facial hair, do you mind? It might be a bit prickly/tickly, but it doesn't bother me all that much.

Would you ever enter any kind of pageant? No.

Do you have sympathy for hobos? Yeah. I can't imagine not having a safe place to live.

When holding hands, do you intertwine fingers? Yes.

What’s your opinion on Johnny Depp? I liked him in a few movies when I was younger, but when it comes to the recent controversy, I didn't pay much attention to it.

If you write, isn’t writer’s block the most horrible thing? I don't write, but I do make art. And yes, being in a creative slump is such a drag.

How old were you when you met your first love? I'm not sure who to consider as my first true love.

Did you get ice cream from the ice cream truck when you were little? Do they still have an ice cream truck where you live? I did. There was one in my neighborhood last summer, but it was hard to catch them because they drove so quickly. :'(

Your last ex finds out you’ve fallen in love with another person? I haven't fallen in love with anyone else since my last relationship, but hypothetically…oh well…?

Who was the last friend you added on Facebook?

Have you ever encountered a black widow? I think three. One dead one on a porch step, one small one in our upstairs bathroom, and one huge fvcker under a log at a ranch.

What letter does your surname begin with?

Have you ever used a muscle stimulator before? Did it hurt? No.

How many times have you dated the person you’re with now?

Do you know anyone who has gotten pregnant despite using contraception? No.

Would your mom care if she found condoms in your room? The real question is why is my mom rummaging around in my room?

Would you ever get band artwork tattooed on you? I have lyrics on my wrists and a song name along my collarbone, but no band art.

Do you think the last person you kissed has ever lied to you? Idk.

Would you ever pick up a hitchhiker? No.

[alpydk]

Writing Interview Tag Game!

You said it was open tag @dr-demi-bee so yoink!

When did you start writing?

I've always written since I was a kid. I remember writing a self insert Jonny Quest fic of about 100 words when I was really young. Couldn't tell you what happened it in but I know I kept it hidden because there was kissing involved.

Then I remember being about 11 and writing a fic of a girl who lived with her two step parents (Guess whose parents hadn't got divorced by that point so they didn't understand how that worked). There was so much angst and TV soap drama I got asked if everything was okay at home. But serious writing wasn't under Feb this year with the BG3 obsession. I don't have a fancy literature degree; I don't have analysis skills of Shakespeare and other fancy authors. I'm just a muppet with a keyboard.

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

I love reading sci-fi, especially if its dystopian, Children of Men is one of my favourite books, as are a lot of works by Philip K. Dick, but I've never tried writing sci-fi before and don't really plan to. I also enjoy reading some smut (within reason) but really dislike writing it. I will happily give you a nondescript non/con fic over an explicit love fucking. I've done it, you've all seen it and some even liked it, but my smut writing days are very much on hold right now.

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

I've never been compared to anyone else. Do we normally get compared, is that a thing? I'm curious who I would be compared to now... As for emulation, I don't really want to. My writing is my own, and it conveys who I am as a person. If I were emulating someone else, would I not just be a cheap copy of them? (Possibly I'm seeing emulation in the wrong terms, blame the illiteracy)

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

This is it currently. Basic I know, but I'm not one for clutter on my desk otherwise I get distracted easily. I share the room with my kid who has her PC next to me, normally playing Minecraft or nattering away, so I get pulled away plenty. The troll has been with me since 2005 and sat on my desk in various offices across the UK and Ireland, now helping me to write with its words of wisdom. (It doesn't really but maybe I can claim it's a beta reader or something.)

What's your most effective way to muster up a muse?

Spite! Yes, I know this sounds insane and petty and all the other negative words but fucking hell is spite one hell of a muse. One of my fics I wrote very long ago was based of a fanfic I read that just got under my skin. The subject had been taken and turned into this fluffy, romance thing and I was so fucking bitter and annoyed at how little the person had clearly researched into the topic. I went and wrote my fic including the reality of it all and it felt so cathartic to do so. (This is not the way to write fics, I'm just a terrible person) Otherwise, walking, daydreaming, regular tropes you like. Browsing the tags on Ao3 and seeing what strikes your fancy. That's where the hate sex fic came from.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

Control is a big theme that I find creeps in. Whether it be Gale and smut and his self control, or the non/con fics that seem to slip in. Then there is Nana and her past, and the PPD fic, and of course the S/H fic. Yeah control is the big one. Does it surpise me? Not Really. Control is a topic I've tried to explain many a time to a therapist only to be misunderstood so I think I use my writing a lot to get my thoughts on it out into the open.

What is your reason for writing?

More productive daydreaming. If I could lie in a room all day or walk around in a daydream I would, but unfortunatly the world seems to be insisting that I embrace reality, and so writing is the compromise. I also genuinely do enjoy it but could not explain to you why.

Is there any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating?

Motivating? I'm not sure... I like comments, I like validation like anyone else but they fill that void, they don't necessarily motivate me. When I finished my bachelor paper we had to do an oral exam to back it up, and the exam censor was a professor of literature. Her feedback to my writing was that it was easy to understand and a pleasure to read. That comment stuck with me and has definitely motivated me to stick with my style. I don't like gatekeeping behind faux intellect. So possibly that comment?

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

I AM A GOD! I don't know really. I guess just being thought about in general is enough. I've always been sort of out of sight, out of mind in life. Like Gale, I've always believed myself to be very much 'if I'm not needed then I'm not wanted' - So just being remembered is enough. (Gods, that sounds so fucking sad now that I think about it.)

Under the surface, I'm pretty sure I'm worthless if I can't be of service

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

Hopefully it's just ease of understanding. Like I know we all want these literary masterpieces that will change the world or provide some sort of beauty that bring people to tears, but I just want to tell stories and make people feel stuff other than confusion. And I like to think I manage that. So yeah, that's my strength.

How do you feel about your own writing?

Hmmm.... I am my own worst critic in every single aspect of my life. It will never been good enough (see how I've got Gale's angst down so well???). I like my writing, I like flow and repetition. I like how it covers topics I want to read about and isn't just being produced to be produced like I've seen some bigger writers do (they're not on Tumblr, don't worry before you all start wondering 'is it me?'.) And I like how it's not all the same stuff. I have quite a lot of variety of varying standards. Some I really like, others I sigh at and wonder how I'd do them differently.

---- Anyway, do I tag this for others or open tag it again. I just like talking and am trying to distract myself from the inevitable chapter I need to write today.

[zahri-melitor]

One amusing aspect of my current Bat books read is because I have not been reading Super Sons alongside the rest of the comics (because I bounce off it quite easily and have to take it very slowly) and I also have not been reading Teen Titans, and those are the titles that Damian appears to have been spending most of his time hanging out in, Damian just sort of...occasionally shows up to say he's on the outs with Bruce, because ??? (presumably whatever is going on over in Teen Titans that is part of the push to make him go evil that is about to get sharply derailed by Didio getting fired).

But it's actually quite funny, because every time Damian does show up he's...working just fine with Bruce? Damian had a lot of feelings over the whole marriage with Selina and Dick getting shot in the head, and then he's his usual crotchety self with Tim's return from the dead, and then Bruce asks him to help investigate what's going on with Leviathan and Damian's like 'well obviously it's Leviathan and Talia's involved, I am here to help, Father, and fully suspect Jason of having gone off the rails and tried to take over Mother's pet project' (ahhhhh canon Damian and Jason interactions, you have absolutely nothing to do with random theories about Damian and Jason meeting in the League, which makes sense as your timelines mean that Damian was almost certainly off on training elsewhere while Talia was busy trying to work out the way to make Jason as annoying as possible, okay digression over). And then after that Damian again turns up for all the times Bruce calls in help over his fight against Bane and Flashpoint!Thomas Wayne, which I might add Jason is 100% not bothering to do (and since I am also not reading RHATO I have no idea of why Jason isn't bothering to show up. Presumably for Jason sucks-related reasons) and has to deal with Alfred getting executed in front of him and STILL handles his part in the plan with aplomb with all of the other Batfam who turn up (Tim, Duke, Babs and Helena, aka the other real mvps here).

And Tom Taylor just had a story in Detective Comics #1017 where Bruce took Damian with him to solve the problems of some runaways from the Martha Wayne Orphanage, which is obviously a matter of principle because Bruce didn't like to go visiting it when he was a kid with his mother, but since it has Martha's name on it he obviously feels strongly about it now, and so he invited Damian for some family bonding involving the next generation ALSO feeling awkward getting dragged off to visit an orphanage that has Martha's name on the building. And Damian emotes that he's feeling awkward around Bruce right now, but clearly tracking down these runaway and trafficked kids is obviously more important, and they get to bond over the runaway kid they tracked down together in the snow, and Tom Taylor, you live in Melbourne, I know you spent all of your time translating the Fahrenheit temperatures you put in this issue through google from Celsius to work out what temperature it should be. And also you live in Melbourne so your calibration of 'cold' and 'deadly cold' is set at Australian levels, which is why there is a raging snow storm starting on panel at (I just fed this through google myself to work out temps in a scale I understand) 0℃, which drops over a week to... -2℃, and then over the course of the NEXT week to -12℃, and while the first week of temps for this is "freezing clear morning in Melbourne", the second week is a whole TEN DEGREES COLDER, which is why Taylor's designated it as unsurvivable and this kid freezing to death from exposure. Which I cannot tell whether is realistic or not, because again, both Taylor and I live in Australia and not in the tiny couple of towns that experience regular temperatures that allow snow to settle, but I also fully know that TAYLOR would also be unsure on because if he has ever experienced -12℃ it was in the normal manner for Aussies to do that (a ski trip to Japan).

But the point of this entire digression is to point out that Damian's current difficulties with Bruce or fight or whatever is going on is ENTIRELY ABSENT from Batman or 'Tec and is purely inferred characterisation from Damian just not being around very often and when he appears going 'you've been brooding a lot and unpleasant to be around' to Bruce.

[yandere-paramour]

I am offering you all a look into Noelle's place. You might be wondering why I know what her place looks like, well the answer is that I was invited to her pad for an interview and it took me a while before I could show off her place. Had to get the photos transferred after all.

These are the plans for Noelle's place and as you can see, its massive as all hell.

This is the bathroom. Its VERY open as you can see and most of the ventilation comes from opening the windows. She has a few heated towel racks and a regular towel rack. She also has a bathtub that can fit both her and her lover. The shower is between the two windows as you can see, but it also has two heads, one that is handheld an one thats overhead and static.

Here we have the laundry and storage area. You also have the water heater too. This is where Noelle puts things in storage like food items or even seasonal clothing that she won't be wearing. Obviously she also does laundry here too.

THIS is the multipurpose living room, kitchen and dining room. Theres also a little bar counter near the kitchen for when Atalanta and her darling comes over, obviously for chatting and having a drink together. The dining table sits 6 people and the couch holds 4, or 2 if you're cuddling while laying down.

And now we hit her bedroom. She has a work area, a shelf with some of the awards she's won from her academics and such because she is a LOT smarter than most people think. Her little desk with her computer is often used for when she's working at home, she also has a printer for if she needs to print anything before she goes out. You can also see her large wardrobe and a little vanity mirror as well. She also has a LOVELY bed with two bedside tables. She also has two bookshelves by her computer, there are a variety of books from programming to psychology and even accounting. She also has novels too but I'm not allowed to talk about them.

And lastly is her walk in closet where she has a standing mirror and lots of clothing and outfits for when she plans to go out, whether its work or a date, she has an outfit for it and she'll look amazing.

Anyway, this has been the exclusive scoop into Noelle's home. Join me next time when we get to see the inside of Vivien's place.

NOELLE'S PLACE!!!!

I'm gonna go in depth about every single thing I'm thinking

First of all, damn her place is huge but you're so right. Atalanta absolutely makes sure that Noelle lives in a very nice apartment and has all the luxuries. And when Darling moves in, there is plenty for space for both of them.

Noelle! Never! Denies! Herself! Any! Luxuries! Ever!!!!

You're absolutely right that she has heated towel racks and a bathtub large enough for her and her lover. Sometimes she'll lay her morning clothes on the heated towel rack to make them all nice and warm before she changes in them. And she likes to have relaxing baths and bathe her lover after work. It's a form of caring for them.

It's funny that you think Noelle does laundry and doesn't pay someone to come in and do it for her.

The living room is so spacious and open! Noelle loves modern decor so her place absolutely looks like this. In truth mostly Noelle and her Darling go over to Atalanta's place. I love how clean it is, Noelle always keeps her space immaculate.

LOVE Noelle's bedroom. She absolutely does a lot of work in her home, but that computer is definitely used for hacking/coding as well.

You're right, Noelle is super intelligent but she often hides it. A lot of her awards from childhood and college are in her bedroom, and her degree is framed right over her desk.

Shhh don't mention the romance novels, she doesn't want anyone to know about these

Noelle likes to sit at her vanity mirror and do her skincare and haircare routine. She's like Rapunzel, she brushes her long hair 100 times before bed and she's super strict about it.

Noelle is SUPER into clothes and making herself look nice, she is very interested in her image. She has to be, working with Atalanta Montclair.

I love how you kindly omitted the secret cameras definitely watching you.

Also Vespera, if Noelle has invited you to her place, you are like in the final stages of the relationship before being kidnapped so you should maybe watch out for that.

(Vivien's bedroom is totally messy with suspiciously crusty biohazard socks and tissues under his bed)

[threestripeslider]

okay i got this comment on the new OMO chapter a while ago and i was positively GIDDY at the question since im such a fan of nifty worldbuilding!! idk yet if this will ever come up in the fic in detail so im just gonna smack it on here bc i have several ideas!!

How do Yokai and Mutants differentiate from eachother?

in my mind, i believe yokais have a way easier time when it comes to picking out mutants because there are several factors that they can use to their advantage;

1. Scent Mutants, especially when mixed with some sort of human DNA, tend to smell a lot more human than Yokais. obviously, it gets a little trickier when mutants don’t have any sort of human DNA, which brings us to;

2. Awareness Mutants with no human DNA tend to more animalistic and instinctual, not unlike the mythical creatures in the Hidden City – even if a yokai cant correctly dub them a mutant, they will write them off as a mythical creature, so it’s usually a simple 50/50 on them.

3. Social Behaviors the best and most obvious way to spot a mutant for a yokai is how they behave in a typical yokai social setting – obviously, having been previously human or similar, mutants tend to flounder a lot in their new environment, unfamiliar with specific customs or basic social etiquette in yokai culture. by no means are they malicious, but mutants are pretty clumsy at first, which makes them easy to spot in the crowd.

4. Non-Mystic this one’s a little more unreliable but can be a way to spot a mutant; in general, mutants typically have little to no mystic abilities. i believe most yokais have some sort of mystic ability to different degrees, but mutants do not. however, there can be outliers, such as the turtles, but their mystics is also a point of contention since it isnt really “yokai” mystics but more of a generational human mystics ability. however, it still gets categorized as mystics so they remain the outliers of this, which is why this route of detection isnt always 100% reliable.

on the flipside of it all, the poor mutants arent really that adept at differentiating who’s mutant and who’s not – i think only with time they start to take note of the little differences, but generally speaking it’s a little harder for them to immediately spot a fellow mutant.

Do only Yokai wear Cloaking Devices?

yes and no. generally, cloaking spells and devices are a lot more wide-spread within the yokai community than the mutants, only because it happens to be a yokai invention. that, and they can be rather expensive, depending where you get it from, who made it and the strength of the spell/device. that’s why it’s usually safe to assume 98% of the time the person wearing some mystic cloaking device is a yokai of some kind. mutants arent really aware such things exist until they’ve lived under the yokai for a while and hear about it. and while they arent super accessible, mutants can get their hands on them too if they wish to do so.

Do Yokai view Mutants differently?

that varies from person to person. generally speaking, mutants arent being discriminated against in the Hidden City, however some yokai can be rather distrustful at first since mutants used to be human, especially yokai who initially were born from human effects (eg. curses and other spirits). the non-human mutants tend to be just like their regular creatures so they’re usually seen as a mundane headache when they tip over some poor yokai’s trashcan again. many mutants tend to seek refuge in the Hidden City as they no longer believe they fit in with their human kin Topside, so a good chunk of the Hidden City’s population are mutants – its safe to assume that there are also mutant-yokai offspring popping up.

so yeah!! here are my worldbuilding ideas that i’ve been thinking about!! honestly i cant wait to write about the Hidden City in general bc i just LOVE the concept of it so much OAAAAA

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for refusing to fall into madness?

I (1,147M) have been in possession of a cursed magical artifact for about 1,100 years, which keeping around me has slowly driven me into madness. I struggled with this for a long, long time, causing me to lose my wife, the love of my life, survive a horrible worldwide atomic incident, and completely drive away my surrogate daughter, (7NB) who was abandoned by her only living parent, and who hated when I used to artifact to protect us.

The more I used it, the less I became like myself, and it was utterly terrifying, both to me and to those i loved. I used this until I was almost entirely corrupted for a long, long time, and was revolting to every person that came around me, and my surrogate daughter (1,007NB) wanted nothing to do with me, and couldn't stand to see me at all anymore. I became obsessed with a woman (827F) who subconciously reminded me of my deceased ex wife, and I acted horrible to her as well, kidnapping her many times and attempting to force her to be my bride.

I felt so subconciously guilty over the way I behaved that, eventually, I did something that no one in history nor in any parallel universe where the artifact exists managed to do; the artifact is incredibly difficult to part with, as the powers it grants you are so overwhelming and tempting it is difficult to see your own corruption, and even harder to resist it. But I have managed to mentally brute force my way out of it! I've succeeded in both keeping my fantastical powers and my sense of self, both entirely within my control.

A few of my friends I've met recently (1,047M, alternate version of moi), (29F), (CatF), have told me they disapprove of my methods of this action, referring to them as "immoral" and "donked up".

You see in order to do this, I had to redirect the madness the artifact forced upon me onto someone else. This did in fact take a degree of concious effort every moment I was doing so, and I did know what I was doing. I redirected my madness onto the previously mentioned women (now 927F), as she seemed discontented and bored and stressed with her own life, and I didn't believe she would mind a bit of a change.

Doing this drove her mad, causing her to fall in love with me. Over the past 100 years of this she's kidnapped me on a regular basis to show me her newest songs and art projects about how she is in love with me, which has become incredibly tedious, but not unlivable, as my loyal guards I created always swiftly come to my rescue.

The most recent time this happened she kidnapped both myself and an alternate version of myself, one who has lost both his artifact and his powers in exchange for himself. The woman found herself madly in love with both of us, as we're somewhat the same man, and the situation quickly escalated into the woman putting us into much more immediate physical danger than I am used to, as she was about to murder us. The alternate version of myself has been insisting that this isn't the true version of her and that she can be 'fixed', which made me very hesitant to actually inform him of how she got this way.

Our other friends as well as my guards managed to save us in time and incapacitate the madwoman, but when I gave one of them a kiss as thanks for saving me, my artifact didn't exactly seem to like that she was from another dimension, and promptly, immediately, failed on me. As this artifact was 1. generating the madness 2. keeping me alive and 3. pushing energy into the kingdom I built, not only did my beloved guards and kingdom all immediately disintegrate, but I also rapidly aged all these unnatural years and died, as well as the woman lost her (technically my) madness and went back to her normal state as both leader of a kingdom and a scientist.

All three of my friends as well as the woman are all in agreement that what I did in those 100 years was messed up, even moreso than the way I behaved for the 1,000 years before, kidnapping people willy nilly and unable to take others feelings into account. They all hate me very heavily despite my hospitality to my new friends (giving them a place to stay, offering to give my alternate self his powers back, training one of them in the art of swordplay). The four of them are the only people currently able to hold an (extremely biased) opinion of this, as all my other subjects died with my powers, and my daughter having been dead for a long time (100yrs) now.

I simply wanted to both stay myself as a person and harness my abilities to their full, positive extent, even if that came at a price. AITA?

[didnt-hear-idsb-live-again]

do you have any tips for Americans looking to move to Australia?

yes! under the cut because this is LONG.

there are 3 ways you can get citizenship here; via skilled occupations, school, or a WHV.

Skilled Occupations. If you google "Australia skilled occupations list", a list of them should come up. Basically, order to gain citizenship here, you need to score 30 points on a 40 point test; having different abilities gains you more points etc. You gain and lose points for things like being a native English speaker, being between 27 and 35 (this is the age range worth the most points; they go down on either side as you'll "contribute" most to society if you arrive between those ages), but you almost 100% for sure cannot score enough points to pass if you don't have a skilled occupation. They update this list every so often, but if you're not going via the other 2 options I'm about to list, you'll have to get a "non sponsored" one off here. It includes everything from plumbing to nursing to pilates instructor, etc. more trade-based stuff but there's some random shit in there. you have to have proven qualifications that you can do this job, and experience with this job in the US. You get additional points, and way more jobs are added in, if you agree live in a remote area when arriving to Australia for 3 years. If you get this with a regular skilled occupation, you get approved for the visa and then can find a job after. There are also "sponsored" occupations on this list, with WAY more job options, where you get an employer first and then the employer co-signs on the visa, but you will likely not get one of those without one of the following:

Working Holiday Visa. This is what I'm on! A working holiday visa (462 is the visa type for Americans, not to be confused with the way more lax 417 for British people) entitles people under the age of 32 (you have to apply before your 31st birthday and then have one year to enter the country) to work in Australia for 1 year, theoretically to supplement your traveling [I am not traveling]. If you spend 88 days of this year working in hospitality in a remote area [basically, the middle of the outback or the far north tropics] or on a produce farm anywhere, that 1 year gets extended to a 2nd year. If you spend 6 months of the 2nd year doing that type of work, you get extended to a 3rd year. The 2nd and 3rd years don't have to be redeemed right away; you can go home for a couple months or years in between if you want. So what one would do, if they're after citizenship, is spend the first year living and working here to build connections, do the farm work, and spend your 2nd year acquiring a SPONSORED job from the skilled occupations list! I have known people who are sponsored by their employers as a massage therapist, as a nail tech, as a bar manager, etc. You can also do it with 9-5 type jobs; Graphic Design is on the sponsored skilled occupation list, and that's the pipeline I have been seeking to go down since I planned this out.

Student Visa. this is the hardest of the 3 just because it's the most expensive. I almost did this one with an actual degree when I was 18 because at that point I was about to be spending a shitload on school anyway, but I chickened out. Something worth noting is that you can go to school for ANYTHING and be eligible for this, so a lot of people with no other options will go for the cheapest trade course they can find a class for and do that. Anyways, on a student visa you're allowed to work 20 hours a week during the time you are in school, and then have a 9 month grace period after you complete your course where you can 40 hours a week before you have to go back home. Similarly, you would use this grace period to find an employer willing to sponsor you.

Get married. If you can't find a job on a student or WHV for sponsorship, I guess just find a husband.

hope this helps and isn't just telling you stuff you already know! my main tip is that you have to be IN the country to get a less-skilled sponsorship, so I would either REALLY say you're gonna do it, and start a career in one of the skilled ones in option 1, or just get on over here on a WHV or student visa and figure the rest out as you go :)

[arcticdementor]

The Iditarod arch has greeted Iditarod Trail race finishers for the past quarter-century. It collapsed the week before my arrival in Nome, Alaska. Wood rot, according to the local paper. Surveying the town center, it is tempting to see the collapse as a metaphor for an isolated northwestern Alaska town facing the cumulative impacts of outmigration, declining birth rates, and climate change. Dilapidated, single-story wooden homes with cluttered lawns scatter the snow-covered landscape (it was 20 degrees Fahrenheit when I visited in early May). Some wooden facades still resemble Old West saloons, suggesting Nome’s origins as a 19th century Gold Rush town, as if Tombstone had been transposed just 100 miles south of the Arctic Circle. Its face set toward the frozen Bering Sea, Nome felt unwelcoming when I arrived, out of season from the hustle and bustle of the famous Iditarod race. Appearances can be deceiving, though. If Nome seemed forbidding to me as an outsider from the Lower 48, its denizens and regular visitors were extremely welcoming. The next day, I met with Amanda Van Vliet-Snyder outside of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, where she is the pastor. Originally from California, she moved there six years ago with her husband, an Alaska Native from a small village 200 miles away, north of the Arctic Circle. Exchanging texts with Van Vliet-Snyder before my flight from Anchorage, I learned that her husband, Jordan Snyder, was also on my small commuter plane. When I found him in the waiting area, he told me he was headed home from a family member’s graduation. As we were speaking, the graduate in question passed behind us on a moving walkway, and the cousins exchanged friendly, casual greetings. He told me this kind of encounter is common, since in Alaska flying is a fact of life. Nome is only reachable from other parts of Alaska via plane, which cultivates a friendly atmosphere between staff and regulars at Nome’s tiny airport, and makes you realize the TV show Northern Exposure was probably closer to life than many viewers may have appreciated. Jordan drove me to my hotel, giving me an informal tour of Nome’s landscape and local characters on the short drive. Despite its unique history and atmospheric surroundings, in many ways, Nome is any other small town. But the remoteness is still an issue for many. “A lot of congregations are just feeling, I think, kind of frustrated that there’s no pastors that want to stick around,” said Van Vliet-Snyder, “because it’s not really an easy place to live.” She pastors a small congregation, and a big part of her job consists of traveling to the remote places, like the fishing island of Shishmaref, that lack pastors of their own. It’s challenging work, complicated by a larger dwindling of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) nationwide. The situation is a far cry from the denomination’s heyday in Nome, although a Lutheran legacy remains in two visible Nome institutions: the Lutheran Church and Christian radio station KICY.

…

The Lutherans were one of several Christian denominations tapped by Jackson to bring Christianity and traditional American values to Alaska Natives. “Carved up” is an often-used phrase to describe Jackson’s attempted cultural overhaul of the territory, but it’s hard to think of anything more apt. A map from Jackson’s tenure, included in a congressional report from Alaska on his reindeer scheme (of which, more to come), illustrated how different denominations had different areas of responsibility. The Swedish Lutherans had Nome, with Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Methodists, and Swedish Evangelicals operating in the territory right next door. The Episcopalians were even farther north, and the Moravians a few hundred miles to the south in the Yukon Delta. Since the relationship between religious indoctrination and public education was more porous back then than it is today, it is perhaps unsurprising that a general agent for education would concern himself with this sort of thing. What may be less intelligible is why this information was included in a congressional reindeer report, or what a congressional reindeer report was supposed to be.

…

When he arrived in Unalakleet, Karlsson had already done a stint in Central Moscow Prison after a failed attempt to convert Russia. His presence in the Native Alaskan village on the Bering Sea was the consequence, a second foray into bringing Pietism to Russia, this time working westward beginning with Indigenous Siberians. But Karlsson soon switched his focus to Indigenous Alaskans after hearing there was a need for missionaries there. He had a rocky start, but Karlsson soon managed to establish a school for Native children (“the children all got new names and clean clothes and promised to wash their faces each morning,” Karlsson wrote in his journal on the first day of class). He was joined by more missionaries two years later, who helped establish a children’s home, and Karlsson started to garner financial support from Mission Covenant Church leaders in the United States. Karlsson’s missionary still faced challenges: financial challenges in the form of a depression in the Lower 48, theological challenges from the long-present Russian Orthodox Church, and moral challenges from the Gold Rush boom in Nome. Since the discovery of gold in the late 1890s, the population of 200 had ballooned by a factor of 100 by 1901. No less a personage than Wyatt Earp soon established a saloon in Nome to accompany the various other bars and brothels that had sprung up there to serve the new clientele. All the same, Karlsson’s efforts bore fruit. “In 1890, there probably was not a single Christian Inupiaq Eskimo,” according to a 1994 essay by anthropologist Ernest S. Burch Jr. “Twenty years later, there was scarcely an Inupiaq who was not a Christian.”

…

While KICY reached the original Covenant missions that Karlsson and his successors had established, their signal also reached hundred miles away. Indeed, the U.S. government received a letter from the Soviet government complaining about KICY, which indicated to the ECC missionaries that they had finally attained Karlsson’s dream of evangelizing Russia. But devotional programming was only one part of KICY’s mission. At the time it was founded, many villages still lacked private home phones; it was not uncommon for a village to have one public phone for everyone. A nightly program called the Ptarmigan Telegraph became a vital communication link. According to the book on KICY’s history of the same name, “The Ptarmigan Telegraph (pronounced ‘tarmigan’) invited listeners to call or write in messages for family members, work colleagues, or distant relatives. These brief comments would then be read on the air so that the intended recipient would hear and respond in an appropriate manner.” The news and weather updates meant that, according to author Greg Asimakoupoulos, “[f]or the first time, listeners had up-to-the-minute forecasts and warnings of approaching storms, severe temperature drops, and low-pressure fronts moving in from the Bering Sea.” In a place scattered with remote villages where transportation was a challenge, such information could mean the difference between life and death.

…

But the ELCA still has clergy, and a tech evolution in rural Alaska 2023 has complicated their mission. That’s when Starlink first appeared in the state and in 2021, Alaska’s largest telecommunications company brought fiber internet to Nome. Until recently, provider caps on data usage were common in rural Alaska. As broadband access has increased and data limits have decreased, Van Vliet-Snyder told me how technology has created challenges as she works to bring up the next generation in the faith. She said that she had had to cancel the church’s summer camp this year, which she estimated has been running for about 60 years, when the church recognized Nome’s young people were underoccupied in the summer. The church purchased some land near Salmon Lake, Alaska, to start a youth camp. “Gorgeous place,” Van Vliet-Snyder said, where she had led a junior high camp and a high school church camp the previous summer. She brought the weeklong junior high and high school church camps back in 2023, after COVID suspended them in 2020. But something was different. At one time, the church had attracted kids and pastors from around the Seward Peninsula. But Van Vliet-Snyder said that she partnered with only one other pastor for the revived camp, and he in turn could wrangle just two adult chaperones. She ended up calling her own husband in a panic to take time off work and come lend a hand with the logistics of feeding and entertaining the campers. “The thing was, the kids didn’t want to be there,” she said. “The kids that were from villages that have technology were so bored. Because our camp has no electricity, no running water, no cell, you know, no data, no Wi-Fi.” A proposed Alaskan baseball game deteriorated into a fight for the limited outlets to plug in their devices. “They all refused to get out of the car,” Van Vliet-Snyder said. “They all had their devices loaded up, and they all downloaded stuff that they can do online.” A trip to some nearby hot springs didn’t yield much more interest. By contrast, she said, the kids without electronics “were having a grand old time.”

…

KICY General Manager Patty Burchell sees it differently. “Radio is still king here,” she said. “For six weeks of the summer, people are out at their fishing camps. So the culture here is still very much subsistence.” Shipping costs drive up prices in rural Alaska, and according to the state’s labor statistics, unemployment in the Nome census area in July 2023 was 6.8%, almost twice the national average. Because locals in the region still augment their groceries with seasonal fishing, moose hunting, and even berry picking, they still rely on radio when they go out. Internet is “spotty” (a truth I can personally verify), and a 2023 Federal Communications Commission report stated that Alaska ranked 55th out of 56 states and territories in broadband availability coverage for fixed and mobile service, even after a 2016 FCC program to expand broadband access over 10 years. And while more people in and around Nome are adopting Starlink, it can be expensive to get started. According to a 2023 Nielsen study, Alaska remains one of the top AM-listening states in the nation, ranking seventh for its percentage of AM radio listening. Although Burchell said there is a radio “on the table in every home,” KICY also broadcasts online, as well as over AM and FM channels. It is one of two radio stations in Nome (the other, KNOM, is affiliated with Catholic missionary work), and it operates out of a small, unassuming building, not far from the World’s Largest Gold Pan at the center of town. KICY is no longer staffed by career missionaries as it was at its founding. Today, the station is operated by part-time staff and by volunteer missionaries who raise their own support to come work there, usually for one year. Covering the Iditarod race is a big part of their job, but so is Native-language programming featuring locally produced Native singing, and a Russian-language program that reaches Siberia.

…

But Joseph is not that different from other young adults from the Lower 48. A conference on outmigration from the state at University of Alaska Anchorage concluded that the state’s demographic problem isn’t young people leaving the state, but that the ones who leave aren’t adequately replaced by new arrivals in their 20s and 30s. Research chief at the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development Dan Robinson said that for the past 12 years, more people have left Alaska than moved in, something he said was unprecedented. Some of the demographic change is due to college-age Alaskans opting to attend college in the Lower 48. But Robinson thinks there are other factors keeping young people from moving to Alaska—a reduced military population at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, for one thing. The other factor is less quantifiable—“Alaska is an adventurous kind of place,” Robinson said. It would appear that the call of the wild that has long beckoned young people north no longer holds the same allure.

…

The Seward Peninsula Indigenous culture “just loves music, loves singing,” said Burchell, “And from the early days translated hymns into their language, as well as created their own music, sacred music.” Even today, she said musical get-togethers still happen in the spring, “when a village will invite the three or four surrounding villages and anybody else who wants to come, to come in for a weekend of teaching, Bible teaching, and testimony, and song.” These gatherings occur in late winter and early spring, when longer days and a hard snowpack makes snowmobile travel over the hundreds of miles between villages doable. In the summer, there are no roads, and around the Norton Sound, there are no rivers to facilitate travel. Burchell said KICY sends representatives to record the testimonies and music for later broadcast, and a remote unit to broadcast the evening services live. The hymns, many of which are translated into Native languages, have a unique sound all their own. Burchell describes it as reminiscent of Southern gospel with a “distinct flavor.” Southern gospel is popular and in heavy rotation at KICY, she said. But Van Vliet-Snyder said there is little in the way of syncretic pre-Christian practice mixed with Christian worship at her church. It is a legacy of Sheldon Jackson’s twin senses of cultural supremacy and agrarian paternalism. Unlike the Russian Orthodox Church’s earlier presence in Alaska, which was a more-or-less organic process that embraced cultural syncretism, the Lutheranization of the Seward Peninsula had a more compulsory edge. Van Vliet-Snyder’s husband told me that his own last name, Snyder, was given to his Native Alaskan forbears by missionaries.

…

Her challenge, however, is not to present herself as a new kind of progressive white savior, a 21st-century Sheldon Jackson trying to reform the Indigenous people according to her own view of what right looks like. “Who am I to come in and say, ‘Let’s look at your Native values, and then look at what the missionaries were teaching you back then, and then look at how they came in and completely changed the way you think’”? said Van Vliet-Snyder. “How can I be a learner? How can I not be seen as, ‘There’s just another white person who’s going to come and tell us about her white Jesus.’” She says her congregation post-COVID is only about 40 people, and “the next generation of kids, they’re like, ‘eh, whatever.’” But she said it’s still the place Native Alaskans turn for funerals or in an emergency, and Our Savior’s Lutheran Church is a popular place of worship for local Native Alaskans on Christmas Eve. “They still see that as their church,” said Van Vliet-Snyder, “even if we don’t see them every week.”