#like learn to hold them accountable

[clumsypuppy]

i feel like im not making any sense but does anyone else feel like there are stories that let u run with them and ones that spell everything out for you

[zakiyah]

.

[amelikos]

I thought it was kinda interesting that Onipurin seems to have some confidence issues?

Like, it matches Sango in terms of energy and noise and has a bit of a mocking streak too, so it can keep up with her banter and Onigohri's. But for a Pokemon that is all about screaming, they pointed out that when it's scared, its voice won't come out. Onipurin was seen tearing up at some point, too. And there was lots of focus on Onipurin's expressions during the battle, which made me think that it was kind of inspired by Sango's determination and guts and that seeing her and Onigohri try their best spurred it into action and made Onipurin want to keep fighting?

Onipurin clearly wanted to follow Sango at the end too (that shy looking towards her at the end because it didn't want to leave yet, and allowing itself to be caught). Sango said Onipurin was awesome too, so it's cool that Onipurin must have been touched by her words enough to want to stick by her side. And that Sango comes off as kind of inspirational and someone to get attached to, despite everything.

Anyway, it's kinda neat how Sango managed to befriend(?) Onipurin by being her usual (obnoxious) self. Also, it's cute that Sango probably doesn't know it's a Paradox Pokemon. She just assumed it was a Purin and gave it a nickname based on that assumption. I wonder if she'll learn that it's a Paradox Pokemon eventually, especially given Agate's words towards them (her thinking some truths must never be revealed, etc).

[drsantosgf]

oh this actor said something off-color and problematic a while ago and now you think people should stop enjoying the popular ship their character is a part of? should we tell everyone? should we throw a party? should we invite jenson ackles?

[mer-se]

please pick friends u can argue or have misunderstandings with and actually communicate with immediately after like, it’s so fucking important

[trainerethan]

In my world oak isn't a malicious abusive bastard. But he is unintentionally greens villain origin story. And I don't think I will write about green being the bigger person and forgiving oak for constantly being obtuse and seeing the worst in green for no good reason. Sometimes people write their conflict as "maybe we were both wrong...you made me miserable during my developing years but....I WAS rude as an 11 year old with no parents and a grandpa who was always scolding me and telling me he's dissapointed in me so...I guess is deserved it..." Especially when oak never actually apologizes or realizes how he hurt green. But it's just like "okay we're good now :)" I refuse. That said I think I am obligated to write them eventually having some sort of heart to heart and good relationship once green is an adult. I don't want him to be miserable forever and in pokemas green gets excited when you bring him up so i don't want to make their relationship seem worse than it actually is. Granted this is also a fanfic where green is an autistic she/him lesbian so canon doesn't matter THAT much but y'know. Still.

[theheadlessgroom]

@beatingheart-bride

"I'd rather not find out," August chuckled nervously-as much fun as it would be to dress as a pirate, just for the party, he didn't want to spend the entirety of the celebration avoiding becoming a tasty treat for a hungry alligator. Having heard the nervousness in her husband's voice at even just the idea, Josephine reached over to squeeze his hand, assuring him, "I wouldn't let it eat you, Auggie, don't worry-not even a nibble."

"Thank you, Josie," he replied appreciatively, flashing her a shy, boyish smile (a smile he had unknowingly passed on to his grandson) as he squeezed her hand back, a sight that made the Pace brothers smile wistfully-for as much fun as they'd had at Gracey Manor, reuniting with Wilhelm, meeting their sister-in-law and their extended family, it was clear that they missed their wives and children back home in Ireland, lending a bittersweetness to the air as they sipped their stouts.

Neither Lon nor Erika missed this bittersweetness, with the latter venturing to ask, in a soft, shy voice, "Uncle Colin, Uncle Callahan...will you come back for Thanksgiving?"

"And Christmas? And New Years too?" Lon added, both of them looking at their uncles with wide, expectant eyes, looks that made the elder Pace twins chuckle as Colin assured them, "We certainly will-we'll talk it over with your aunties and cousins, and see about all of us making a trip back. It'd mean a lot for all of us to spend the holidays together-it's been too long since we celebrated with our little brother, and having everyone here...well, that makes it even more special."

"And even when we go home-and we will have to go home eventually; we can't shirk our duties at the farm forever," Callahan continued, resting a comforting hand on his young nephew's shoulder. "We'll make sure to keep plenty in touch-we'll regularly give everyone a ring, and send cards and letters too, between our visits. Trust us, lad-even when we're halfway 'round the world, it sure won't feel like it, I promise.

And besides, if there's a holiday we don't want to miss celebrating here with you, it's Saint Paddy's Day!" he added with a grin, a grin that got both Lon and Erika to brighten up a little, taking solace in the notion that it wouldn't be long before they saw one another again. "We hear tell that's your mama's birthday to boot, so we'll be sure to be here-it's gonna be a real special one!"

[daughterofsarenrae]

anyone have advice on learning a language when you don't have anyone to speak it with

[moe-broey]

Me, losing my absolute mind over the fairies and the greater implications of it all and the intricacies I swear to fucking god are there I swear to fucking GOD there's way more to them than meets the eye and I'm going to fucking get all the alts I fucking can so I can study The Lore and I'll fucking get to the fucking bottom of it all --

.............. you know what. A nap does sound nice.

[silverjirachi]

Hey, look at me. Look at me. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: you need to condition yourself to being okay with being inconvenienced by things. The first time I spoke about this I meant it in a mental health way- it is good to go out to the store and see people versus just ordering alone at home- but there is another more pressing societal issue you should be more concerned about as well.

Any service you rely on for convenience can be weaponized against you the moment you begin to rely on it. Streaming used to be a cheap and convenient way to see movies at home. It is now exorbitantly expensive, you need multiple accounts just to get what you want, and any of those movies can be taken from you at any time. And unless you have gotten used to going through the “inconvenience” of owning physical media, you can do nothing about it. Same goes for buying things on Amazon. Same goes for any service like DoorDash etc. These companies WANT you to be reliant on them for convenience so they can do whatever they want to you because, well, what else are you gonna do?

Same thing goes for the uptick in AI. If you train yourself to become reliant on AI for doing basic things, you will be taken advantage of. It is only a matter of a couple years before there are no free AI services. Not only that, but in the usage of AI’s case, it is robbing you of valuable skills that you need to curate that you will be helpless without the moment the AI companies drive in the knife the way they have done with streaming. Delivery. Cable. Internet. Etc. It will happen to AI too. And if you are not practicing skills such as. Writing. You are not only going to be at the mercy of AI companies in the digital world, but you are going to be extremely easy to take advantage of in real life too.

I am begging you to let go of learned helplessness. I am begging you to stop letting these companies TEACH you helplessness. Do something like learn to pirate. It is way more inconvenient at the beginning, but once you know how, it is one less way companies can take advantage of you. Garden. Go to the thrift store (older clothes hold up better anyway). These things take more time and effort, yes, but using time and effort are muscles you need to stretch to keep yourself from being flattened under the weight of our capitalist hellscape.

Inconvenience yourself. Please. Start with only the ways you are able. Do a little bit at a time. But do something.

[idiosyncraticrednebula]

It's crazy how there are people over 30 who are still getting played in relationships. I mean, I guess I could understand if they were still isolated from the world, but the vast majority of 30-yo's got some level of experience. When is it time to take responsibility for their actions instead of just blaming the other party? I expect this from a teenager or person in their early 20's because they are young, naive and easy to manipulate, but grown ass 30-yo's? C'mon, man....

[takkytakk]

Weight Watchers....who knew? Their point system works pretty well for me.

[followerofmercy]

Networking/Knowing A Guy: A Guide

This is the autism website. Now, as an extension of the power of love and friendship, there are few things more useful than Knowing A Guy. Knowing A Guy means you have a support network. Knowing a plumber, or a tax accountant, or just that one dude that's really fucking good at finding the information you need when you're really overwhelmed, can be the difference between being able to pay rent and having a fun party with friends to fix your shit.

How does one end up Knowing A Guy? It's a skill you can develop called Networking and it is one of the foundations of society. Unfortunately making those connections with people is fucking hard and nobody makes a tutorial for it. So, here you go:

The golden rule is you scratch my back and I scratch yours

It is necessary for survival to seek out useful people

Great news! Everyone is useful in some form or fashion - including you! When given the opportunity to learn about someone, do it! Extroversion does not come naturally to some people and that's okay. Just take whatever falls in your lap.

Types of usefulness: trade skills, connections of their own, personality you jive with, pleasant to talk to, niche interest in shared hobby, security - the list is pretty much endless. I know a guy that lives in the metro area - no job, no major hobbies, inoffensively annoying to me personally, kinda ignorant, not attractive to me, but you know what? He knows how the fuck to get around the city by foot. My rural-raised ass APPRECIATES the guide.

Remember important information: general personality, background, skillset, likes and dislikes. You can find this information by making smalltalk about their life. There is no such thing as pointless conversation. (Yes, even the annoying smalltalk)

The more people you know, the higher the likelihood that one of them will be useful in a given situation - or will know someone who is.

It is overwhelming. In a given clique/community/workspace/whatever, there is A Guy Who Knows The Other Guys. This Guy is a shortcut. Find them. They're often elderly, extroverted, a little bit annoying, a secretary or in some otherwise forward-facing position. Look for people that are gossipy/talk about other people a lot but not in negative ways. If they constantly talk shit, they'll talk shit about you too. They're still useful but be careful with the information you share

You do not have to like someone for them to be useful.

You do not have to like someone for them to be useful.*

If you have low self esteem, you're going to feel like you're using people. You're not. That's the devil talking. People like feeling valued and the connections you are making are the threads holding community together. Recognize people for their talents. It's only a problem when you're taking advantage of people

So: don't feel scummy about it. You're an animal. You have to claw out your right to survive and people will respect you more for it.

Luckily mutualism is the name of the game in the animal kingdom. Offer something back. The foundation of a Know A Guy relationship is Mutual Benefit

Sometimes that Mutual Benefit is just spreading news of the The Guy far and wide. My plumber friend is my actual friend and I love her to death, but I'm maintaining our backscratch relationship by pimping out her plumbing business to anyone that'll listen

Food is a good Mutual Benefit. People across cultures for all of human history have bonded over food. I have good success asking people for a favor and then offering to buy them lunch in return **

General compensation is also good. Offer a service in return and always do your best to offer financial compensation as appropriate. Having your plumber friend take a look at your drain: doable with a case of beer. Having your plumber friend redo the pipes in your entire house? You need to pay for that.

Being transactional is not necessarily a bad thing. I would advise against keeping an itemized list of things owed, but fish don't seek out cleaner shrimp just because they enjoy their company. Everyone gets something

Unfortunately being extroverted and generally personable is a huge benefit here, but that's the value of the Guy That Knows A Guy. There's someone out there that has consolidated All The Guys so you don't have to be the local expert. Always remember nobody can do everything and you don't need to master every skill

* This is the foundation of a functioning community. I have many acquaintances that I find incredibly annoying. They include doctors, welders, artists, social workers, lawyers, construction crew and random fuckers at the grocery store. I do not hang out with them. I do not have to in order to maintain a civil Know A Guy relationship. I can drop them useful tidbits and fuck right off so I don't have to spend any more time than necessary with them

** People may assume romantic intent. Be prepared for that. I generally denote that it's a friendly/work lunch by calling them bro at some point if they're my age. Otherwise my general demeanor is sufficient to show that I do this with everyone

Source: personal experience, mother's teachings of crime, booth vending and poverty

[spicy-apple-pie]

Happy Father’s Day here’s a little thought for you guys

One year, the batkids all decided to band together and make a photo album of their baby photos.

Some are easy. Duke has the easiest access because most of his parent’s possessions are accounted for in Gotham. It’s pretty easy to make copies of the ones they choose. The Thomas’s had a lot of pictures too. They have the classic first birthday where Duke is covered head to toe in blue icing from his Cookie Monster cake. They also have Duke screaming in Mall Santa’s arms followed by a picture of him with red wet cheeks gnawing on a candy cane.

Same with Tim, tho there’s not a lot in comparison. Not that his parents were absent, just that there’s a lot less candid ones. Just birthdays and studio photos kinda deal. There’s an especially cute photo of him in a teeny tiny tux.

Talia has a whole binder full of Damian’s baby pics including some art works he did and his baby teeth. Those she’s not willing to part with tho. There’s a cute one where he’s doing a finger painting and Talia captioned it “Damian exploring Abstract Expressionism” and frames the outcome beside the picture.

Cassandra’s are a little harder to track down, but there are a few. They are mostly taken to track her progress, and it’s a bit depressing to see chubby baby Cass who just learned to walk already learning martial arts. But there’s a few where she’s doing puzzles and that’s pretty cute.

Dick had to go to Haly’s Circus to look. Luckily they keep a little memorial wall for the Graysons and there’s some with Dick in them. There’s one where his mother his holding him while he’s dangling from a trapeze bar with a big gummy smile.

Jason’s is the hardest to find. But he manages to track down a preschool photo. He’s smiling big and awkwardly with his hair slicked down and a tidy polo shirt.

When Bruce opens it, he immediately get tears in his eyes. And like, he doesn’t cry a lot, but seeing his babies as babies. It just hits him like monster truck and a few tears drop but he never sobs or anything. It’s probably the best Father’s Day gift Bruce has ever gotten and it’s really hard to beat the following years

[fozmeadows]

the older I get, the more the technological changes I've lived through as a millennial feel bizarre to me. we had computers in my primary school classroom; I first learned to type on a typewriter. I had a cellphone as a teenager, but still needed a physical train timetable. my parents listened to LP records when I was growing up; meanwhile, my childhood cassette tape collection became a CD collection, until I started downloading mp3s on kazaa over our 56k modem internet connection to play in winamp on my desktop computer, and now my laptop doesn't even have a disc tray. I used to save my word documents on floppy discs. I grew up using the rotary phone at my grandparents' house and our wall-connected landline; my mother's first cellphone was so big, we called it The Brick. I once took my desktop computer - monitor, tower and all - on the train to attend a LAN party at a friend's house where we had to connect to the internet with physical cables to play together, and where one friend's massive CRT monitor wouldn't fit on any available table. as kids, we used to make concertina caterpillars in class with the punctured and perforated paper strips that were left over whenever anything was printed on the room's dot matrix printer, which was outdated by the time I was in high school. VHS tapes became DVDs, and you could still rent both at the local video store when I was first married, but those shops all died out within the next six years. my facebook account predates the iphone camera - I used to carry around a separate digital camera and manually upload photos to the computer in order to post them; there are rolls of undeveloped film from my childhood still in envelopes from the chemist's in my childhood photo albums. I have a photo album from my wedding, but no physical albums of my child; by then, we were all posting online, and now that's a decade's worth of pictures I'd have to sort through manually in order to create one. there are video games I tell my son about but can't ever show him because the consoles they used to run on are all obsolete and the games were never remastered for the new ones that don't have the requisite backwards compatibility. I used to have a walkman for car trips as a kid; then I had a discman and a plastic hardshell case of CDs to carry around as a teenager; later, a friend gave my husband and I engraved matching ipods as a wedding present, and we used them both until they stopped working; now they're obsolete. today I texted my mother, who was born in 1950, a tiktok upload of an instructional video for girls from 1956 on how to look after their hair and nails and fold their clothes. my father was born four years after the invention of colour televison; he worked in radio and print journalism, and in the years before his health declined, even though he logically understood that newspapers existed online, he would clip out articles from the physical paper, put them in an envelope and mail them to me overseas if he wanted me to read them. and now I hold the world in a glass-faced rectangle, and I have access to everything and ownership of nothing, and everything I write online can potentially be wiped out at the drop of a hat by the ego of an idiot manchild billionaire. as a child, I wore a watch, but like most of my generation, I stopped when cellphones started telling us the time and they became redundant. now, my son wears a smartwatch so we can call him home from playing in the neighbourhood park, and there's a tanline on his wrist ike the one I haven't had since the age of fifteen. and I wonder: what will 2030 look like?

[luna-azzurra]

Character/Story Tropes We Need More Of #1

⛧ Characters who genuinely suck at magic/combat/whatever the “thing” is but are still allowed to go on the adventure because they bring snacks, emotional stability, or a shovel.

⛧ Best friends who stay best friends even after one of them gets a god-tier promotion and the other one is just vibing in their mortal mediocrity.

⛧ Emotionally intelligent villains who are like “yeah I had trauma but I got therapy, I’m evil for other reasons now.”

⛧ Main characters with low charisma but high wisdom who don't win hearts but do win battles of logic and slowly get respected by being right all the time.

⛧ The “smart one” who's not a secret badass, not hiding a tragic past, just genuinely obsessed with fungi or cryptography and refuses to hold a sword ever.

⛧ Fantasy worlds with actual working public transportation. I’m so serious. Where’s the transcontinental dragon train or goblin-run subway system.

⛧ Teen protagonists who don’t want to save the world because they're already dealing with algebra and anxiety and one more prophecy will break them.

⛧ The hot morally gray character who thinks they’re mysterious and broody but is actually very bad at lying and everyone sees through them immediately.

⛧ Introverted characters who stay introverts. They don’t “learn to open up,” they just learn to mask better and set boundaries. That’s growth too.

⛧ Characters who actively un-romanticize violence instead of getting turned on every time someone pulls a sword. Please. Therapy.

⛧ Platonic soulmates. Yes, the “I’d die for you” bond, but no kissing, just trauma-bonded telepathy and shared snacks.

⛧ Chosen ones who are like, "you know what? no." and hand the glowing destiny sword to someone else while they go open a bakery.

⛧ Divorced parents who co-parent like competent adults instead of using their child as a battlefield.

⛧ Neurodivergent characters written like they’re people and not teaching moments or quirky plot devices. Bonus if they’re not even labeled, just exist.

⛧ Healers who have zero bedside manner but are really good at their job. “Oh, you’re dying? Sucks. Hold still.”

⛧ Female characters who are allowed to be weird, loud, gross, hairy, messy, and not secretly beautiful the whole time.

⛧ Lazy heroes. Not out of cowardice. Just genuinely do not want to get out of bed. They still save the world. Eventually. After coffee.

⛧ Stories where someone who did awful things doesn’t get redemption, but does get held accountable and still chooses to be better anyway.