#linked article is a very interesting read btw

[expergoe]

The 2004 Miami match is the most important one Nadal has played to date. He took away the knowledge that it is possible to play almost perfect tennis, and that he, Rafael Nadal, could beat the best player on the planet. Federer, on the other hand, in attempting to stare down his future nemesis, blinked. Nadal noticed. (x)

2004: Rafael Nadal beats Roger Federer, then world number one, at the Miami Open, 6-3 6-3. This upset marked the first of the sport's greatest rivalry, spanning forty matches and fifteen years.

[madeofvoid]

BEHOLD

THE SINGLE GREATEST NEWS ARTICLE OF 2023!

funny hat seal and article link under the cut

HAT IS INDEED FUNNY!

Here's the article btw, give it a read! It's very interesting.

[kiefbowl]

I was reading an opinion piece on Kate Middleton's cancer diagnosis on CNN by Jamal Baig about the increasing rates of cancer in patients under 50. As far as 5 minutes of googling and JSTORing can lend me to believe, there's nothing illegitimate about Dr. Baig. However, I found this bit in his opinion interesting:

Now, I'm always dubious when reading anything that attributes a very broad generalized idea that changes in diets have caused an increased in cancer, because more often than not it's not pointing to an exploration of, say, increased pesticide use, but the author's personal bias against the quote unquote "unhealthy", especially those who are deemed "fat" by the medical industry.

That being said, I was curious what source he linked, half expecting it to lead to just another op-ed from some other doctor from who knows when, but I was pleasantly surprised! Written by a man named Michael Donaldson, it was an evidentiary review published in a scientific journal called "Nutrition and cancer: A review of the evidence for an anti-cancer diet."

Now I wasn't going to give the whole thing a read, but I stopped in each section, gave a quick skim to get a general vibe, moved on to the next section, etc. I was immediately suspicious that the very first line in the abstract was "It has been estimated that 30–40 percent of all cancers can be prevented by lifestyle and dietary measures alone" as that seems to be a bananas statistic to just posit, but it still had the air of scientific integrity, so I did my skim.

The first handful of sections had things that gave me some moments of pause, that this article was in fact another doctor simply cherry picking data to confirm his own biases, but nothing so egregious as to do a spit take. That comes in a few minutes. The first section that made really go hold the phone was when we got to his Flax Seed section.

Compare how he writes about Red Meat...:

(that's all he wrote, btw)

...with how he starts writing about Flax Seed:

Did I just enter a Flax Seed commercial? Does this guy work for BIG FLAX SEED? on and on he writes about Flax Seed, and I start getting a sense that perhaps this man has a Flax Seed Agenda. In any case, he eventually moves on and I quickly skim to get to the end (because it's boring among other things).

So, who exactly is Michael Donaldson?

Girl are you kidding me

The Hallelujah Acres Foundation is a FOR PROFIT company that sells a """biblical""" based diet program called the hallelujah diet and also sells supplements on said site.

Now, in case you forgot where I started with this, this was the link provided as a "source" to a legitimate doctor's claim in an op-ed about cancer that "at least part of the answer" of why cancer is increasing in under 50 patients are the "changes to nutrition and lifestyle that took hold in middle of the last century." Dr. Baig did not read this article, or if he did was not concerned that it was written by the employee of a company that profits from unscientific research it uses to sell supplements and diets. Which is worse, I don't know.

The point I'm making is that you absolutely need to be vigilant all the time. You need to understand that doctors can not only have biases, but agendas. Researchers can have biases and agendas. Scientists can have biases and agendas. And that magical thinking about real health issues that can affect your future can permeate the scientific community because weirdos write convincing enough evidence that support their already determined world view.

This kind of shit is the reason why women go into doctor offices complaining about pain in their abdomen and get told to go lose weight and come back in 6 months. This is why ideas like moralizing eating have huge effects on women's health and influence medical misogyny, and why it's a feminist issue.

[gogandmagog]

Hi, @gogandmagog. You have commented on my posts before and they were all very nice. Now I want to ask you this. Wikipedia says the following about Anne and Gilbert in AOTI:

At the beginning of the novel, Anne and Gilbert, looking forward to a "splendid four years at Redmond" wander around to the Haunted Wood, to taste the "delicious apples" where "under tawny skin was white, white flesh, faintly veined with red; and besides their own proper apple taste, they had a certain wild, delightful tang".[4]: 70  The Canadian scholar Elizabeth Waterson noted the "erotic" overtones to the scene of the apple tasting in the Haunted Wood, as sign of Anne's attraction to Gilbert of which she herself is not entirely aware.

I did not read the comment of the academic mentioned, so I did not understand exactly what the erotic implication was. If you know, could you please explain?

Thank you for the ask, my friend! This was really interesting to read over, and although I also have not first-hand seen or read the article/essay being referenced here... I do think I’m (kind of?) fairly familiar with the concept that might be being brought forward here. And while I don’t think the language by itself is overtly erotic, I do think when we couple it with the underlying themes of Anne and Gilbert’s developing relationship in Anne of the Island, it actually does lean that way, all things considered.    To begin with, let's consider the existing apple symbolism that is already huge in the text and subtext of Anne and Gilbert’s relationship. If we backtrack to Anne of Green Gables, directly after the slate incident, Gilbert tries to make peace with Anne by first offering her a pink heart-shaped “you are sweet” candy (🩷) that later makes way for the pink enamel heart necklace of equal infamy, but secondly... with an apple. And not just any regular apple either, but a ‘famous’ Blythe exclusive strawberry-apple. 

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Anne, though decently enticed, outright rejects Gilbert’s apple, and in so doing, also pointedly rejects the relationship (friendship at this point, they’re just little guys respectively aged 11 and 13 here) with him that’s being offered with it.

Bearing even just this one single apple-incident in mind, when we return to Anne of the Island, and the passage in question, we rejoin a Gilbert that has managed to become Anne’s friend (in true or-die-trying fashion), but wants (is ‘looking for’) more, and things begin to take further shape.   

Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery

What has Gilbert’s pursual of Anne been, if not ‘brave’ and ‘determined’? Bravely putting himself out there, again and again, and determined in his persistence, his years-long devotion to her only. Has their relationship not ‘grown and flourished’ after ‘springing years ago’? Anne no longer rejects the literal apple that Gilbert offers her... they both eat of the fruit, and gladly so... and this tree, embodying their relationship, is now flowering and is ‘ripe’ and ready to be gathered. This on the heels of a chapter backwards in this book, where we see Anne (a child no longer, readers are privileged and are ‘catching the moment of transformation’ from her girlhood into womanhood, also see: Anne and Gilbert’s last moment together in Anne of Avonlea, where this transition is underlined) begin to have cheek-burning-and-increasing physical sensations/reactions to Gilbert; this attraction no longer avoidable.

Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery

Maud also directly links these wild-apples that Anne and Gilbert experimentally taste together + enjoy (which are btw secret, and presumably known only to them) to the one from the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden. Certainly, she uses “Eden” often enough in many of her books –usually just referring to a great lush and beautiful place or a happiness – but direct citing of the actual fateful fruit? Not so much. And it’s an important distinction. Because the ‘fatal apple’ of Eden meant sinning… that ‘fatal apple’ was used to tempt Eve. It’s anything but pure. (Now I’m half-way reluctant to say so, and I promise I’m not trying to invite theological discourse, but it does feel necessary to put it out there for your personal consideration that some Christian denominations will argue that that apple from the Garden of Eden was actually a euphemism for intercourse. Lucy Maud was Presbyterian of course, and for Presbyterian’s, I’ve personally seen opinions go both ways. Add in that Montgomery was a 19th century Presbyterian, married to a Minister, and well, it makes attempting to decipher her thoughts on that particular subject [and all it might allude to for this passage especially] all the more difficult.) 

(Oh and a tiny disclaimer/P.S. that plenty of other apple-related symbolic meaning is assigned to these two throughout the series, including little Joy being laid to rest in a velvet casket lined with ‘apple blossom’ but for now, and in an effort to be even a little bit more concise than usual and also because it’s 4:44 am, I’m just shutting up and going to sleeep lol.) 

[loving-n0t-heyting]

new yorker has a new article out on the hip new trend of teens and adults estranging their parents. its mostly what you could have predicted based on that short description, if you have any familiarity whatsoever with the part of internet culture where issendai has any currency (read linked series if you havent, very interesting stuff)

what kind of weirds me out is the way it frames the problem as entirely a tradeoff of offspring entitlement vs filial piety. seems to omit the obvious elephant in the room of individuals and communities that encourage members to cut off families of origin as part of a broader technique of isolation and manipulation. issendai explicitly flags this in the og intro post btw:

Not all of the members of estranged parent communities are abusers. Quite a few people show up with stories of losing contact with their children because of drugs, mental illness, cult involvement, abusive sons- and daughters-in-law, or the influence of a vengeful ex. However, most of the people who know why their children are estranged filter away from the group quickly. I don't know where they go, but I suspect they find help in other groups—parents with drug-addicted children find groups about dealing with drug addicts, parents whose children are in the control of an abusive partner find groups about partner abuse. What's left are the people who have no idea why their children left them.

well, happily that boundary is tidy and luminous. and ofc, it is universal practice among predatory movts and ppl to encourage their marks to explain in detail to the support networks from whom they are deliberately isolating them why this is happening

[lopposting]

Lies of P interviews compilation

[Masterlist]

Mostly just a reference/archive for myself. a lot of cool little anecdotes/clarification from the team, or otherwise interesting details.

Links are in korean/japanese/english.

I will keep updating as I go along! This is a work in progress:

[currently very messy!]

Justin Carnahan (publishing manager) and Neowiz heads: (kor)

https://m.thisisgame.com/webzine/nboard/5/?n=180372

QA (Quality assurance) team interview [thisisgame] (kor)

https://www.thisisgame.com/webzine/nboard/5/?n=177995?n

Art team, art director [thisisgame]: (kor)

https://m.thisisgame.com/webzine/help/nboard/11/?page=8&n=174446

choi pitched pinocchio souls

this is where they mention there was very little left on the cutting room floor

Choi + Core team [thisisgame]: (kor)

https://m.thisisgame.com/webzine/special/nboard/11/?category=2&n=176072

jogging lol

Naver - dir choi, dir Noh (Kor)

https://m.post.naver.com/viewer/postView.naver?volumeNo=32854956&memberNo=49631020

director choi, director park [thisisgame] (kor)

https://m.thisisgame.com/webzine/nboard/263/2522675?n=175190

korea game awards [stream]

choi [gamevu] (kor)

https://m.gamevu.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=21904

choi pitched pinocchio souls :)

4gamer set: (pre-release) (japanese)

[update]

dir noh changyu:

https://www.4gamer.net/games/571/G057139/20221119009/

https://www.gamespark.jp/article/2022/11/20/124601.html

https://www.4gamer.net/games/571/G057139/20221118128/

japan press event (japanese)

https://www.4gamer.net/games/571/G057139/20230904030/

Director Choi interviews (english) (prerelease):

https://www.prankster101.com/articles/interview-with-choi-ji-won-of-lies-of-p/

sportskeeda (ENG)

https://www.sportskeeda.com/esports/i-m-excited-witness-players-react-lies-p-director-ji-won-choi-favorite-moments-player-feedback-pinocchio

fandomwire (ENG)

https://fandomwire.com/heres-why-lies-of-p-felt-easier-than-bloodborne/

the demo was never patched

fandomwire 2 (ENG)

https://fandomwire.com/lies-of-ps-game-director-choi-jiwon-discusses-the/

it was too late to switch to unreal 5

Director Choi interview (post-release):

https://gamerant.com/lies-p-post-launch-interview/

Dorothy cameo was chosen in Summer of 2022.

btw, can someone tell steamy biscuit (I'm pretty sure it was steamy) that the director saw their playthrough

choi rare 2020 interview about the gaming industry (ruliweb users dug this one up because they are (unfortunately) pretty much obsessed with him):

https://www.jobkorea.co.kr/company/1616277/interview/view/?ItvNo=21764&ListNo=21764

also interesting to note, that at this time (2020) there were actually two projects under Round8, one being lies of P and the other I can only imagine was Bless Unleashed.

some background on working at neowiz and round8 studios in the past. interesting knowledge if you are interested in joining the game development industry in south korea or the gaming industry in general.

mentions BTS (again)

says the process is more important than the end result

less on the development side of things, there was another interview mentioning the devs studying cults and cult mentality, especially surrounding laxasia. I thought that was really interesting and I have to dig it up again, unless I just made it up

some notes on the interviews +

some more interviews I remember reading but have to source -

more interesting development note, it looks like the project being pitched was a Fairytale Soulslike. Choi came on board to direct. Choi and other team members pitched the idea of Pinocchio independently.

[prankster101]

Choi thankful to neowiz for allowing them to do a console game (IGN) and that they had a hard time even finding developers to do a console title in korea in the first place. I remember him referencing this a couple of times but I have to sift through some stuff again.

Re: The confusion surrounding Neowiz/Round8/Team Nough. Round8 is a studio currently signed/owned by Neowiz. Looks like there are actually two teams within Round8, one of them being Team Nough, who were responsible for Lies of P.

Re: the amount of people working on Lies of P, other interviews reference starting with thirty people and ending at around 60. The latest interview (near release) mention that they had currently reached 120. (to update)

So what was interesting/confusing to me about the job postings that came out later that year following the success of LoP was why they didn't just pull team members from within the studio or merge [unless they probably already did]. Unless the game that Choi was referencing in 2020 wasn't Bless Unleashed, the other game under Round8 has been in production since LoP has been in production, and has (seemingly) not been released since LoP has been out.

more on the djmax soundtrack:

https://gamerant.com/lies-p-sound-design-puppets-interview/

they worked on getting a bandoneon, not an accordion, even though it was hard to find, because it was period-accurate.

https://gamerant.com/lies-p-audio-design-djmax-bandoneon/

there is another korean interview somewhere where he mentions having to ask Neowiz for the rights to use the djmax soundtrack. I gotta dig around for it

korea game awards win:

inven win

https://m.inven.co.kr/webzine/wznews.php?idx=290442&hotnews=2&site=console&iskin=console

NAVGTR win:

https://www.kukinews.com/article/view/kuk202402280213#_wider

neowiz stock rising:

https://biz.sbs.co.kr/amp/article/20000156888

https://www.thelec.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=25468

Lies of P having a remarkable effect on the stock

Jason park and studio 8 and the console market in korea:

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2022/11/17/business/tech/Korea-GStar-2022-Neowiz/20221117175024136.html#google_vignette

namu news

https://namu.news/article/2013434

gamescom win (to be very honest i have always been perplexed by this because the game wasn't out yet??) KOR

https://m.thisisgame.com/webzine/news/nboard/4/?utm_source=naver?utm_source&utm_medium=outlink&utm_campaign=thisisgame&utm_content=93273&fbclid=IwAR1CwMMoA3mKm_k2SgM3AOe5iK046AUl8olN7WSg5CT6MDz5BJEaF9VT050&page=69&n=156755

misc

https://www.gameinsight.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=25231

[kebriones]

Hi!! I know we haven’t interacted, but I’ve seen a lot of your Alcibiades posts - and I’ve gotta say, I’m very intrigued!! I’ve tried googling around a bit to see what the main sources he’s featured in are, but I’ve sort of pulled blank multiple times. Is there any book/essay/anything you’d recommend starting with? [[and I love your art btw - you’re so talented, and your effort really shows!! :) ]]

WELL WELL WELL you've come to the right place! First of all, I am so glad that my posts about him made you intrigued! Alcibiades propaganda is the purpose of my life. Anyways.

Here's an earlier post I've made on the topic, with links: https://kebriones.tumblr.com/post/729395530643472384

But I'll elaborate a bit here as well because i have time to kill until i have to go catch my ship to athens!

The "Life of Alcibiades" by Plutarch, available in English online, is a roman-era biography of him. Definitely a good starting point. Many of the anecdotes inside are to be taken with a grain of salt since this was written a few centuries after Alcibiades' death, but it paints a very complete image of his life

Thucydides. Alcibiades features at the final part of his work, and I don't recommend you go read Thucydides unless you're obsession levels of interested in Alcibiades. But he is our most objective and most reliable source on Alcibiades. He had known him and had lived through the events he writes about.

Plato is another very important source, though more literary rather than purely historical. He also personally knew Alcibiades, and Alcibiades features in multiple of his dialogues including most importantly the symposium and the first Alcibiades

These are the three Main sources on him, but there are many others like Xenophon, some orations and writings from others, contemporaries, or people from a few years after his death, or roman-era authors.

In the post I have linked there's a link to Jacqueline deromilly's book on Alcibiades, which is my favorite modern biography of him, though I've heard very good things about other biographies too, which I haven't personally read yet and can't comment on

I recommend staying away from other modern sources like podcasts, youtube videos and articles about him. There's a lot of misunderstandings and misconceptions about Alcibiades that keep getting propagated, so i definitely recommend starting with the ancient sources like Plutarch and plato, and with that basis moving onwards if you want.

There's a lot of mentions of him here and there in all sorts of ancient texts, just the other day I came across an anecdote i had never seen before in my 2 years of obsessively researching him, so it's definitely a very fun and rich rabbit hole to go down into!

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

Meghan's Prostitution Resurfaces amid her Links to Prince Andrew

I think everyone on tumblr knows that when Dorito told Joshua Silverstein that Meghan was "traveling the world as a MODEL" (5'2 ordinary looks and political ambitions) she was doing more to earn money than take photos in tacky clothes.

I'm a big fan of TRGs work. In a video, she addressed the recent article that connects the transactional relationships that put Meghan Markle into Harry's orbit.

What surprised me most was the large number of comments from people who really had no idea that Meghan's past most likely put her in Jeffrey Epstein's orbit. Even Lady C has spoken about rumors that Meghan allegedly met Prince Andrew before she actually met Harry. Lady C also said she knows things about Meghan that are encased in cement: "the press knows, everyone knows."

While I'm glad TRG finally told her audience that both Harry and Meghan were in Istanbul Turkey in April 2015 she did get several other details wrong. It's important to connect the dots but the people in her comments section aren't doing their own research like what we do here on Tumblr which is the reason I get concerned when misinformation is spead on YouTube etc because it makes people question the validity of the entire thesis.

Here are my notes to TRG:

1-According to Bower, Fitzpatrick---- MM met via golfer Rory McIlroy. MM pursued Rory like everyone else, via her social media & she used the ice bucket challenge to meet him. He sent her the challenge and she told him to come over and do it himself. Rory was staying at John Fitzpatrick's nyc hotel. Rory helps John with good PR for Ireland.

I think you actually spoke about this mtg bc I recall you speaking about the notorious late night parties at Chiprioni's. Perhaps you forgot. Use the Revenge index to read the full story. Mm pursued Rory. Fitzpatrick seems to tag along with Rory for the celebrity social scene. Back then, Mm was desperately searching for an athlete (or prince) boyfriend bc Chef Cory wasn't good enough to be the future father of her kids (clearly she didn't consider harry's low IQ). Whatever she has been trained to do in bed, it ruined Rory's golf game and yet he still went back for more the next day. Mm also documented their mtg on her social media & featured Rory on the blog something she wouldn't do for cory.

2-Fitzpatrick & Sarah Rafferty are also close. He may have known Rafferty b4 markle. He works to unite Irish celebrities & to back ($) globalists like the Clintons on behalf of Ireland. I consider him to be a lobbyist. He's rumored to be gay but perhaps like mm he's fluid. He has met Charles on multiple occasions in his "lobbyist" role and he knew charles b4 he met mm. He invited her to meet Obama at the WH. Allegedly they flew or met up with her buddy Ron Burkle (Soho House owner) whose plane she frequented as did Bill Clinton. BTW-When Clinton staffers were asked why they allowed Clinton to hang out with slimy Ron Burkle they said, "let us know when you figure it out." Check the daily mail for a pending sexual assault law suit against bill clinton filed by 3 or 4 females who were teenagers when bill was flying around with burkle on air*uck1. The law suit resurfaced about 3 or 4 years ago. Of course our American media didn't cover it. The Daily Mail helped the girls reach out to Burkle & Clinton for hush money.

3-Fitzpatrick is responsible for hillary obtaining that ridiculous "chancellor" position in Ireland after she lost the 2016 election & after the UK approved Brexit.

4-mm wasn't the 1st girl "sent" to date harry. Several years ago, the brf was warned that their participation was expected & if not, "they" could put someone in their inner circle.

Enter the Obamas. They invited Harry to Chicago & filled up his head with woke nonsense. He decided he wanted to find his own "michelle obama." He specifically was interested in a left wing, black woman.

A very brown skin black woman (who lived in Texas) was asked to date harry. We know this bc after mm popped up, the very sweet, pretty young woman revealed that she had been asked to date harry but she turned (the backers) them down. She said, "I couldn't do THAT to harry. This explains Barack Obama's hot mic-ish convo w/harry during an invictus basketball game. Instead of watching the game, Obama had made a special trip to Toronto to check-in with harry on how things were going w/mm.

This also explains the reason mm thought she could gatecrash Michelle's London book event to meet her. Mm really thinks of herself as that vip who infiltrated the brf on behalf of the world's globalists. She feels like they owe her and she's one of them. She thinks she became a first lady who deserves billions of dollars bc she slept w/harry. She's delusional.

Remember when she cleared the stands at Wimbledon? Watch the video and you'll see her friend Lindsay Roth Jordan telling her "smile. look happy." The other friend said "put your hat on." That hat is a message, a symbol to her clients & in this case those backers. Shortly after the Wimbledon fiasco Hillary Clinton went on the record to say the press was racist. You can watch both of Hillary's statements- one recorded w/Chelsea & the other for a uk radio program.

5-Allegedly mm was involved with Jean Luc Brunel's MC2 model management which was financed by JEpstein. There is an infamous photo of Mm with Epstein's Rachel "Ray" Chandler.

6-we know mm was traveling the world "modeling" bc Dorito told Joshua Silverstein those exact words. We've seen many of the hideous photographs & a few videos🤢 Remember she also knows Harvey Weinstein who labeled her hopeless as an actress but told her she should use her long legs.😂

7-there is evidence to indicate that she attended NXIVM training---the clintons (& soros) used nxivm to blackmail the majority of new york state. It's possible that mm even recruited for nxivm nyc or toronto. NXIVM was also THRIVING on Vancouver island.

Fun fact: Trump had no idea that mm had made ugly comments about him during the campaign. So why did he go on the record and say I'm not a fan of hers & Harry's gonna need a lot of luck? He said that BEFORE he was told about the things she said during the campaign.

I believe he had classified info on her. He probably also knew about her nyc reputation w/business men like those at cantor fitzgerald. And we all know she allegedly slept with Trump's former treasury secretary who attended the UK state dinner (steve Mnuchin)

8-we also know that mm is desperate for security. Harry's job was to clean up her past which included IPP status. She wants to wear blood diamonds, but she wants to be protected from the men who gave them to her. She's afraid of her past. The rumors are that Tyler Perry is her next mark. The irony is that she would have invited him to the wedding had he been white. But back then, she was too good for Madea. Now she's desperate. Perhaps she will seduce Tyler Perry into a marriage for his billions, his island & for SECURITY. He's revealed himself as a thirsty liar who can be bought. (btw-he's trying to purchase BET).

No one else cares about her. She & noprah had no idea how those manipulated headlines and the lies out of their mouths would cause even the LA paparazzi to despise her. She went from being a wanna be covergirl whose covers didn't sell magazines to a lying "royal" that the paparazzi don't want to photograph.

9-no one seems to know what issue the Queen was told (or Charles) "they" (the world's globalists) or rather threatened over. I think it was Brexit but it also could have been global warming??? But Hillary and Obama were so bold in their UK appearances & threats over Brexit that I tend to think they wanted QE to persuade the people to go against it. Good for her letting the people decide. Too bad Charles seems to be so wishy washy.

Allegedly Mm went to Tony Blair and requested his help. She wants an ambassadorship or something similar. Why did she think Tony Blair would help her??? IMO Tony might have been the person who shared the "your participation is expected" message, meaning he's in on this mess & most likely some UK judges & church bishops as well.

10-Harry wasn't allowed to marry Meghan because of her "proximity" to Prince Andrew. It was the RACE card. Meghan did however play the Prince Andrew card during MEGXIT negotiations and we've watch her deranged squad bring up Andrew everytime there is a criticism about Meghan.

Even now, Meghan allegedly demanded HRH for the invisibles because Beatrice & Eugenie still use their dad's HRH. I've always thought that the Sussex attorneys have been using Prince Andrew as their benchmark in negotiations with the BRF.

Edit: it is important to note that mm made anti-brexit posts on her ig the same week she "officially" persuaded violet to become their public matchmaker. She also fed the writers of the lifetime movie script a racist narrative that stemmed from brexit. I dont think any of this was a coincidence.

The world is upside down. Maranatha!

[circular-bircular]

hi, have you ever read "normal dimensions of multiple personality without amnesia"? i really have no idea how to read these kinds of things but i'm super interested in them, and from my very lacking understanding of it, i thought it might be some validity for endogenic plurality? but again- i really don't understand these things so i'm probably misunderstanding. so! i was wondering if you had any thoughts on it, and perhaps could explain it in simpler terms for those of us who haven't learnt to read these things :)

Hello! Yes, I have unfortunately read that article. It is a fakeclaiming, ableist abomination, in my opinion.

A summary of my thoughts: The authors of the piece, in an attempt to "prove endogenic plurality," suggest that DID is fake, that those who have DID just "gave themselves" the trauma, and that the only pathologic part of DID is the amnesia those systems face. It uses the Fantasy Model (a version of the False Memory Model, wherein people just Fantasize their trauma) to fakeclaim a diagnosed system from a case study.

I wrote an entire debunk of the article over on my alternative blog.

I am disgusted by the researchers of this article, and I'm glad you sought out someone to explain a bit more. If you don't want to slog through that full link, I can give a bit more analysis below (rather than the liveblogging I need to do to get through articles such as that one, since I also struggle with dissecting medical literature!)

TW below for fakeclaiming of both systemhood and multiple types of trauma (sexual, physical, neglectful, etc)

The authors base their study on the idea that children experience shifting personality in adolescence, and argue that this is non-pathological. This is widely accepted! Someone shifting personality traits as they grow up is absolutely not the same as DID. The authors go on to argue that the amnesia criteria was added in the DSM-4, and go further to argue that so-labeled "high-functioning MPD systems" could actually be "totally normal people with multiple personalities with no amnesia."

(Note: "totally normal people" is a lovely touch of ableism, as if people with DID are not normal, and totally normal high-functioning systems without amnesia already have a label. OSDD.)

The methods of this study are so minimally described that I fear my 6th grade students produce better lab reports in their science classes. A survey made by the researchers wherein only one subjective personal response on their own criteria indicates dissociative identity disorder, because it 'totally correlates to the DES, trust us guys'. The sampling is even shorter and negligent to the point of feeling purposeful.

Part of the way through the article, they shift their hypothesis. In the start of the essay, they set out to prove that multiplicity without amnesia is a normal experience and that trauma is what causes amnesia. Here, they change the hypothesis to be a bit reversed; that multiplicity is normal, and in DID, amnesia is imposed upon an already functional multiple system. If your red flags have not raised yet for the fakeclaiming, they should be up now.

Especially because, yep, they go on to fakeclaim a case study, Frieda. This individual was diagnosed with DID. This article claims that most traumatized people do not dissociate (with no source for this claim, particularly because the claim is batshit), and that "fantasizers" like Frieda (you know, a woman with severe trauma) just... imagine their feelings to be fully fragmented parts!

It seems to be that they try to argue that these imagined parts are what every system experiences, and people get amnesia if they imagine they should (as seen by their accusations of Frieda's fantasizing).

BTW: Frieda was orphaned as a child, raised in orphanages where she was abused, neglected, and without proper food and shelter, and then molested by soldiers in the war she was living through. The article skips almost all of her traumatic childhood and suggests that, after being raped (while the original case study states "molested"), she gained amnesia for the event, which made her imaginary friend into a disorder.

So... yeah! There you have it folks: all systems are just made up, and DID/OSDD is caused when those systems (who are making it all up) actually experience something that causes amnesia!

[ghostiiess]

[NSB HEADCANONS] - walking outside hands in hands with Oliver

pov: titles says it all!

warnings: none that i can think of!

type: fluff

member: oliver moy

REBLOGS AND LIKES ARE VERY APPRECIATED!

Taglist! (Open! Send an ask if you’d like to be in it!) : @nsb-rkive @kentisbaby @firebenderwolf @hyuneee0 @yawnzzznnn @ghostyycat7

Bold can’t be tagged.

i always thought Oliver was the kind of person who would take his s/o on a walk date or something like that

Like, just something really simple but yet so romantic

Like even boring places would be fun if it was with him

Just because you’re with him!

He makes boring things seem so fancy and so enjoyable :((

(More under the cut!)

i feel like walking hands in hands with him would be one of his many dates ideas

“Hey baby? D’you want to go take a walk with me? It’s going to rain soon, and…. I’d like to go outside for a while before the rain start”

It wasn’t even going to rain, he just wanted to take a walk with you and hold your hand

Ofc you said yes, bc like who would say no to that?

When you were about to go outside, oli noticed that you weren’t wearing a coat

Mistake.

“Wait baby, come back here! What do you think you’re doing?”

So you’re like “I’m going outside…” and he’s like “without a coat??”

This man is the definition of a ray of sunshine

“Baby, you’ll catch a cold! Come back inside!”

“Babe, you need to protect yourself from the cold, i don’t want you to catch a cold and be sick..”

Without even letting you answer him (even though you would have answered him, he would have ignored you, sorry not sorry)…

He put HIS coat on YOU

“That way, you’ll still be able to kiss me without any problems”

He quickly put another coat (probably one of the members) and go outside, locked the door… you know the drill!

“This’ll be my first walking date with you, baby!”

“Are you excited?”

“Me? Of course, i am. I’m always excited when it comes to our dates!”

while walking, he just can’t stop smiling

“Wdym why I’m smiling? Isn’t that obvious?”

“I’m walking with my lover, holding their hands, while talking to them and watching their beautiful features of their faces… and you’re asking me why I’m smiling?”

He would be the type to caress your hands with his fingers

Oliver moy, stop what you are doing bc like you are making our hearts weak (no, don’t stop, continue)

He would tell you random facts about fall!

“Baby, did you know that autumn is the season of love?”

Then you’re like “isn’t it in winter? Like in February or something like that?”

And this man is like “no” and starts explaining why it is the season of love

(This is all true btw, credits to the hotel chocolat website. Find the article here (the link is safe and sfw!) if you’d like to read more ! It’s really interesting ngl)

“I am telling you the truth! During Autumn, sex drives in both men and women are higher than every other time of the year! Men find women the most attractive during these months due to their increased production of testosterone.”

He would be so teasy

“Bet, you didn’t know that huh?”

“You’re learning thing everyday, baby!”

He would give you his magical smile (oh god, his smile.)

“I do think it’s the season of love, baby. Do you know why?”

Cheesy alert.

“… because we started dating when autumn was just started… about one year ago now!”

Like tell me, it wouldn’t be an oliver moy thing to say

idk he just give me this kind of vibes?

Sweet and cool and caring boyfriend vibes

You guys would talk a lot

This man’s not really a talker (compared to a certain member *cough* sebastian.) so if you are, this is perfect

This man do talk (surprising isn’ it? I know 😍), but he isn’t the type who would be like “hey, did you know that…?” Or “omg, have you heard about..”

I mean, he’s a talker, but he’s a bit more in the side ‘listening’ than ‘talking’

But, with you…??

He could talk for hours with you.

Literally.

He once talked with the members for 5 hours straight, this man can easily do it another time!

And he wouldn’t even get bored!

He would be so flirty, oh my god 🥱

“Baby, i’ll be honest with you… i haven’t listened to you, i was just looking at your cute face”

“What did you say? Sorry, i was out of my mind, remembering the day that i first saw you in my clothes..”

Btw, if you let of his hand… *sigh* just know he would pout a little bit

Mostly if you’re like doing nothing with them!

Like, did you just let of of his hand to only make it lay against your leg…??

This man’s territorial (the man himself said it)

“hey, you okay?”

“Because you just let go of my hand. Usually, you LOVE holding my hand.. I’m just wondering, that’s all. Did i make you uncomfortable?”

He’s so sweet, help 🥹

He would put his hand in yours again while making excuses

“My hand’s hot and yours’ cold…”

“Let me warm your pretty hand, yeah? I don’t want you to be cold”

“Your hand’s so soft, my babe…”

“You have the world’s softest hand…”

And then if your hand is dry, you would be like “man, we both know it ain’t true” he would be like “no baby! I tell you. Your hands so soft when it is in mine… maybe it’s because we’re made for each other..”

He’s cheesy, what can i say?

He would also take pictures of you

“walking date with her. » would probably a caption he could use for a picture with you

« My baby’s so cute! Look at you, now! Your nose’s all red and all cold hahaha! »

He would put kisses on your nose

“I want to warm it up!” while saying between the kisses

He would laugh

And you know how cute his laugh is

He would also try to do photoshoot with you

« you look really cute in my coat »

“Wear my clothes more often, baby. It really suits you”

He would kiss you so delicately 🥹

Like if you were an autumn leaf

He’s scared to break you if he goes too hard on you (i promise this is not 18+)

He would 100% share his AirPods with you and put his fall playlist while walking with you

« I could write an autumn song about you, baby… »

Also, when you’d come back inside, he’s be so grateful

« argh, it was so fun to go outside and breathe some fresh air… thank you baby for taking the time to do that with me! »

He would make you hot chocolate

You don’t like hot chocolate? He’d made you any warm type of drinks you love

But if you do like it…

« Baby, do you want to have a hot chocolate with water or milk? »

I know it’s like a ‘debate’ (really not) in the hot chocolate community or whatever

Tbh, i like both. I prefer milk since it’s creamier, but i also like it with water 🤭 with water, it’s a different thing and I’m not 100% against that, you know?

Tell me which team you are, no judgment!

Walking dates with oli would be heaven

He’s just the sweetest boy alive, what can i say?

He’s the type of guy we all deserve to have in our life

Like always, i struggle on how to end the hc, but i hope you guys enjoyed this headcanon!

[jeannereames]

Do you know of any good resources on ancient Greek festivals? Festivals like Thesmophoria.

So, THE chief book on Greek religion generally remains Walter Burkert’s Greek Religion. If you’re interested in the topic, buy yourself a used copy. (Linking to Harvard UP, but you can probably find a copy out there for $5 or less if you don’t mind highlighting.)

Although published in 1987, and while sections have been superseded by more recent discussions, this is STILL the go-to book as a starting place. It’s just an astonishing, encyclopedic collection of knowledge and Burkert’s students (and their students) still dominate the field of Greek religion.

Let me also add the Oxford Classical Dictionary. Now in it’s 4th ed. (2012), this is another critical book for anyone interested in the ancient world. Check it for the individual entries on gods and festivals. It may not have the most up-to-date information, but it’s solid and, again, comprehensive. The link goes to the online version to which you can subscribe, but there’s a paper version too. It’s been out long enough that a cheaper used copy is available.

As for Demeter and especially Persephone, prominent in the Thesmophoria, Ellie Makin Roberts put out the very important Underworld Gods in Ancient Greek Religion, which was sadly out of price-range for most in hardcover. The paperback is more reasonable. I’ve linked to Routledge’s site, but you can find it cheaper elsewhere. (It’s currently on sale at Amazon as of 2/22/23.) Incidentally, she has another book coming out on the Greek goddesses later this year. It’s not academic in the same way as that listed, but much cheaper, and I expect it to be quite good.

Routledge does have a “Gods and Heroes” series, btw, which I quite like. These little books, written by specialists, are aimed at undergrad audiences and/or interested others. They’re great. BUT they don’t have Demeter or Persephone yet.

Information on specific festivals is usually best searched (on JSTOR or Google Scholar) by the name of the festival. I did a real quick search and here are three:

Sarah Iles Johnston has an article in History of Religions 52.4 (2013), 370-401: “Demeter, Myths, and the Polyvalence of Festivals.” I’ve not read it, but given who wrote it, I expect it’s an excellent discussion. (I just downloaded the PDF to save for later myself.) You’d need access to JSTOR to read it, or you can probably order a single copy.

Froma Zeitlin wrote “Cultic Models of the Female: Rites of Dionysos and Demeter,” in Arethusa, Vol. 15, No. 1-2 (1982), 129-57. Again, have not read it, but the name alone recommends it, although it may also be somewhat dated now.

Last, Chris Faraone has “Curses, Crime Detection, and Conflict Resolution at the Festival of Demeter Thesmophoros” in The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Vol. 131 (2011), pp. 25-44. Once more, the name alone is a recommendation.

So I’d suggest poking through Google Scholar to find articles. Or, again, if you’re at a uni, use your JSTOR access. Do recall that Aristophanes wrote a comedy called the Thesmophoriazusae,” so a lot of articles may address that rather than the festival. While the play does provide some useful info on the festival, the usual caveats apply when using drama, and especially comedy.

There’s some cool work being done on Persephone in S. Italy too, at Calabria and (Italian) Locris. You might be especially interested in the Persephoneion there: her sanctuary. These are part of the Magna Graecia diaspora.

[quill-n]

I think Tsu is actually the most unhinged hero. Everyone sees him as this prim and proper hero who takes his image very seriously, and he IS, but he’s also just so CHAOTIC.

Seriously the man was in full nude during a fight In vigilantes because he had to use his own hero costume. And he wasn’t even EMBARRASSED. He has absolutely no shame, and I love him for it

No fr, he's genuinely one of the strangest characters I've ever encountered because every time I learn something new about him, he gets weirder

and I ADORE him for it

I think I'll actually go insane if I don't write it all down, so that's going below the cut

All this information is canon, take that how you will

Let's start with the fighting in the nude thing since you already mentioned it— He was totally naked that scene, he used up his entire costume (which makes sense) but he still actively chose to leave the part covering his face. Not only does he have no shame, he has priorities.

His denim puns... was that something he always did, or did he come up with it to stay on brand??

The fact that he's always adjusting his hair. I would be too, if I also chose to rock that weird side sweep

This one's a little funky, but there's something about the way that he stands— Idk, it just sets off something in my brain (affectionate)

Yeah

I don't think I even need to mention his neck

His proportions in general????

He has pockets on the back of his. collar? jollar?? They're on the back of his head is my point and they're like the ass pockets of pants and just WHAT DOES HE USE THEM FOR??

(My personal headcanon is that's where he keeps his comb)

The fact that he has an S+ rank in fashion sense, but the way he canonically dresses is... yeah

He just looks so strange (affectionate)

(Ik it's not actually that out of place, but there's something about the four buttons on the pants and the suspenders/scarf (bandana??) combo and the. the bowling shoes. It just throws me off a bit. I feel like he can do better /lh)

SPEAKING OF HIS CLOTHES, we've seen at LEAST three or four different iterations of the same stupid costume. The changes are always so unnoticeable and it drives me a little bit insane

THE FACE BELT.

His taste in interior decor is... on brand

Wow I wonder what his favorite color is (sarcastic, affectionate)

(His home isn't actually that bad imo, but the office.) (There's more scenes of the office interior somewhere out there but they won't fit on this post, apologies.)

(The thread spool table. I can't tell if it's genius or insane.)

He was the president of a crafts club at a school that doesn't allow hero students to join clubs (anymore?) and now he's one of the top heroes of the country and I think that says a lot about him

He won the Best Jeanist award eight years in a row, which for a while SEVERELY confused me because did he name himself after the award, or was the award named after him? Because one of those is a little weird and the other one seems just a little unfair.

(This is how I learned that the Best Jeanist award is a REAL THING in Japan so he named himself after the award and that sent me reeling for a while)

The BJ belt buckle.

This image:

This image:

His hands are bigger than his face, which means that the fact that he's been hospitalized multiple times makes PERFECT sense

(my friend found a whole Stanford article written in the most hilarious way about the hand thing, and it's haunted me ever since) (I'd need to ask for the article again if anyone's curious but it's an... interesting read)

edit: I LIED I LIED THE ARTICLE IS SATIRE IT'S NOT REAL IT'S NOT REAL THE HAND THING (probably) ISN'T TRUE (it's still a hilarious read though so I'm still linking it)

(I'm going to pretend that it's real just because it is absolutely hysterical to me. Sir Nighteye and All Might also have hands bigger than their faces btw. For the record. Which is why I think it's awfully funny.)

Anyways

There's also this from Vigilantes, and I'm not even sure what to make of it

It talks about how he's always so serious even when the situation is........ ridiculous

He's so eccentric I love him

Also that specific image gives fish want me, women fear me vibes /j

He drives the fucking Batmobile except it can shoot out metal wires

(I've never read any DC comics; if the actual Batmobile can also shoot out metal wires, please forgive my oversight)

The fact that he JUMPED OUT OF A PLANE WITHOUT A PARACHUTE and STILL landed on his feet?? gracefully? on a cable???? With not a single hair out of place?????

ALSO the fact that he keeps on having such close encounters with death (he lost a lung, the whole Hawks and Dabi situation...) and yet he's. not dead. yet. somehow. Maybe he has multiple lives.

Is he just a cat?????

New conspiracy theory just dropped /j

Moral of the story is: Best Jeanist is, in fact, unhinged (and we love him for it)

[honorarypines]

talk shop tuesday! love your dnd character designs! wishing you good luck dming out there o7

as for a question: where did you get your inspiration for these characters and setting? what else are you excited about this one-shot?

Vry I love you so much I've been dying to talk to someone about my d&d characters for ages!! Thank u for the opportunity!!

As for the question: I get inspiration from super random little things and other characters I love. Like with my first character, Venetia, I knew I needed her to have a rapier bc L&co was always on my mind lol.

Tipper was inspired by three things: Carol Peletier from Walking Dead, a particular asmr rp I watched two weeks ago (I can link it in the comment section if someone's interested btw) and Critical Role's Pike Trickfoot, who sparked a love for smol but fierce characters in me

Marlowe on the other hand is partially based on Viv from book I'm currently reading, Legends and Lattes. I wanted to go for a gentle giant type, but less sweet and helpful, more akward and antisocial. Also, in my national language it's practically impossible to do cool accents, so I've been thinking a lot about ways to make roleplaying her more fun and the character herself more distinct, and so her stuttering came up. I'm really excited to be able to get in character this much!

I've wanted to do some pirate stuff ever since google recommended me a random article about Grace O'Malley, a pirate queen. I was super hyped for pirates ever since and I just had to go with it. Luckily, it felt like a natural progression of my party's story, since last time they interacted and eventually helped a lost triton prince. I decided to use that opportunity and make a whole one-shot set on the sea. Me becoming a dm was very random too btw. I've been obsessed with d&d for months but my og party never has time to get together these days. So I introduced my other friend group to it, but they are too incompetent to get any of the rules right lol and I at least had the basics. So I decided to walk them through it step by step, and eventually became their forever dm I guess

[acaplaya-musings]

VoicePlay Visuals - what I got wrong (and other cool BTS stuff) (part 1/3)

So for those of you who still are unaware, I'm currently a member of VoicePlay's Patreon (and Geoff's too) (just for a few months), and I've been having an absolutely great time so far, especially in now having access to Behind-The-Scenes (BTS) content of each of VoicePlay's videos!

However, as I was whizzing through the BTS stuff, I was thinking about my VoicePlay Visuals posts, and about some things I said that weren't entirely true - whether I said something I believed to be correct that wasn't, or whether I simply made a wrong guess. I wanted to share my newfound knowledge with all of you (which is fine btw, people share this sorta stuff in the comments section of reaction videos all the time), but I didn't want to go back and edit a bunch of posts or reblog a bunch of them to add addendums, so I thought I'd do a sort of "addendum compilation" instead! (In three parts, just to keep these not too long). I'll also share some stuff where my guess was right, and additional interesting things I didn't originally know/notice. And you don't have to read a bunch of my previous VoicePlay Visuals posts before reading this (and I won't be mentioning every single post/video anyway), but if you wanna find the original posts I refer to, they're linked in each title.

Part 1 below the cut!

This Is Halloween: "I don't really have anything to say about J's full transformation, but it would be unfair of me to not include him as well, and it's definitely a very impressive costume. Almost like one of those rubbery fully-covering-the-head costume mask things, but like it's his actual face?" - I was pretty close! For the "full Wolfman" look, J was wearing a special prostethic face/mask thing, specially sculpted to fit his face, with just his mouth/chin area left uncovered! - Additionally, Eli's fake chin prostethic thing actually also goes up and over his cheeks, making them look puffier and making them look puffier and "blending" it all together more effectively. - And bonus fun fact: It was apparently Earl who carved all those pumpkins, except for like one that was done by Geoff 😁

Bang!: - Found out what leopard-print article of clothing Layne was wearing! His belt is leopard-print, apparently! (Okay, I can't actually take credit for this one, someone in the comments of the BTS pointed it out and I took their word for it as I forgot to look myself, lol) - The place they filmed the video really did have all those cool backdrops, and so many more, split between two large rooms! - J was the one who got to throw the giant rubber duck at Layne 😝

Butter: "Geoff is looking at his phone, Layne is taking selfies on his phone!" - Not quite! They were both filming! (At one point in the video anyway). The footage they took got included in the BTS video, it's great 👌 - Also the reason the height difference between Layne and Eli in the group shots doesn't look quite as stark as in something like the Wicked Medley is because here Eli was standing on a short wooden box or something like that, not even kidding 😂

Halo Theme: "Those shoes are definitely cool. Who was wearing them, I wonder?" - It was Scott! - Also when that blue pulsating light thing landed on Scott's shoulder in the video (the "red team! blue team!" bit), there was actually a blue light being shone on him from the side to get the proper lighting effect. - (Also did you know that Rek Dunn (whom the video is dedicated to) used to help film some of the BTS content? I realised when I was watching the BTS for the Panic Medley that he was the one holding the camera and talking to the guys for some of the clips)

Wicked Medley: "Love the giant clock backdrop, very cool" - Yeah, turns out the whole background is one giant flat backdrop, and it took like 4 hours to full set up! Man!

"I adore Emoni and Rachel's makeup looks in this one." - The makeup looks even better in natural light! - All VoicePlay videos are filmed after the audio of the covers has been fully recorded/completed, obviously, duh. Often the vocallists will be properly singing at least some of their parts during videoshoots, but the audio all gets dubbed over for the final product. Rachel was purely lip-syncing in this video, because she had lost her voice! Thankfully/obviously it happened after she had finished recording her vocals, but she still did a great job of making it look "realistic" in the actual video.

The Dragonborn Comes: "Apparently what Cesar is wearing is like legit chainmail or something and was fairly heavy. Go big or go home I guess?" - Yep, it weighed 20 pounds apparently (approximately 9 kilograms). In between takes, Cesar would often just lie down on the floor on his back to try and rest/not have to feel so much of the weight, rip - The metal-looking gloves were real as well - they came coated in some sort of anti-rust oil that had to be wiped off prior to filming - And yeah Layne's hair really was a vibrant blue - I'm guessing Rick did it with coloured hairspray or something.

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3

[romaine2424]

Daily Blog June 26, 2023

Daughter was off work today so we went to lunch, the grocery store (Trader Joes), and then the to our local nursery to pick up some annuals...I'm a month or so late in doing so. The pickings were slim. She's now upstairs taking a nap. Ha ha ha.

What I'm reading:

Oops nothing today. This morning I was busy trying to figure out how to write myself out of a box I put myself into. I sent off the dilemma to my Alpha, @m0srael, looking for advice. If you've read her stories you know she can methodically plot!

I hope if you missed yesterday's blog that you take a look for the Drarry rec I made.

Tumblr posts of interest:

Oh this is a good one. Just came across my feed. It's a post from @givereadersahug, who I just followed. In HPRECS community on Dreamwidth they are starting a weekly post called "What have I been reading?". Take a look at the post for details and then go over to Dreamwidth and check out even more posts they want to do on a weekly basis like a self-rec day. Building a community to share love of fic and art is terrific.

Okay, this link isn't on Tumblr but it's dead useful for those posting on AO3. Its the AO3 Work Skins/Tutorial. Ever come across a fic that has a newspaper article posted in it that looks very cool, or invisible writing that has to be highlighted, stickynotes, etc... Go take a look and you can see what all is offered.

One last item of Interest. Wondering what hp fests are going on or about to go? To this day, I think Potterfests' HP Fest News Round-up on LJ is the best. Seriously, take a look at that 2nd link for last week's roundup! Amazing.

Musings or Old idea but don't know how to implement it.

When I came back to fandom, I saw a topic that is as old as posting fanfic on whatever site and that is complaining about the same authors and stories being recced. It was a common complaint 20 years ago, too. Whether it's true or not, I'm not going to get into that kerfuffle, but I will say, it's much harder to get a fic seen these days. On LJ and Dreamwidth there was and I assume still are communities that anyone could post a fic or art to and everyone that subscribed to that community would see it. For Drarry on LJ harrydraco and on Dreamwidth (okay can't find the hd community there. I'll fill in the link when I can).

On Tumblr, you are at the mercy of your tags or the fest you might have joined. Also, thankfully @drarryspecificrecsdaily helps out too. In Discord, depending on the server, there's usually a channel for self-rec. Also the fabulous reccers (a topic for another day) do help immensely.

This discussion happened on Discord 2 years ago and I proposed that somehow we have a place where every author could post a link to what they considered to be their best Drarry story already posted on AO3. I was hoping to do this on AO3 and even came up with the corny name of "My Drarry Best". I also bid in @fandomtrumpshate for @ihopeyoubothstaysafefromharm to create a banner. However, after reading what's allowed for posting on AO3, I don't think it's possible to do it there.

I still think it's a good idea for both authors (to be showcased) and readers (to find quality fics and authors they weren't aware of) but I haven't a clue how to implement it and where. Any ideas? BTW I selfishly stopped @ihopeyoubothstaysafefromharm from working on it and instead I'll be having a Christmas fic with some illustrations once I finish the final chapter. :D

That's all for today.

Have a good week! Rom

[trashlie]

hey, how are you doing? 💗 thanks for the link, that was a great read <3 and as usual, you make such great points! it does seem like yu jing's motivation is to stop yui before she harms any more people. i guess that makes sense, since that would also align (at least partly) with rand's goals. still, yu jing is not the type to sacrifice herself. she must have a way to protect herself somehow. given everything we know about the timeline of the story, we can assume the article won't take yui down completely but it WILL be impactful and yu jing will have to deal with the aftermath. and it's yui we're talking about, so i'm expecting the worst 😶 and yes nol's guilty plea changing her plans is very interesting and i have absolutely no clue why :/ there's so much we don't know about yu jing yet: her history with both the brothers, what rand did to help her, the details of her article… aah i can't wait to learn about all that.

what i also can't quite figure out yet is how alyssa plays into this. so she's exposed and her career is ruined. then what? does yui even need alyssa for something other than to control/torment nol? and helping a "problematic" (but also very talented) girl reach fame is probably the least evil thing yui has done, it happens in the entertainment industry all the time, so exposing that wouldn't do much damage to yui. i wouldn't even be surprised if yui immediately drops alyssa once she has no use for her anymore. but then… what would alyssa's role in the story be? idk it might be just me but i feel like there's still something missing here…

"her insistence on being there" that's the closest to what i had in mind, thank you! and i get what you mean. romance that is grand and untamed and consuming like a forest fire is beautiful in its own right. but for people like nolan and shinae, who have faced so much hardship and turbulence, a love that is soft and steady, that has a healing, illuminating glow feels much more monumental in a way. like a quiet, peaceful, comforting place in the middle of a raging storm. and yes i LOOOVE how they're so well-balanced in their mutual efforts and care and how they're naturally gravitate towards one another. and it's especially obvious when compared to alyssa, who only takes without giving back, or even kousuke, who so often disregards the perspective and needs of the other person. that's why i like re-reading the first half of the formal a lot, those dynamics really come to light <3

"all these little moments that could just as easily remain platonic, except they’re stirring something up" YES!!!! i'm glad we're on the same page on minhyuk and platonic gestures, yay! and btw if you ever write that post about shinae and nol, even though it would be a tangent, i'd actually be curious to know what you think dieter's role in all this is. personally i'm undecided if shinae is genuinely crushing on him because she's drawn to his peaceful, calm, drama-free lol nature and emotional maturity (and hands), or if she's only crushing on him because it's safe to explore the possibility of romance with him and he has reassured her that he genuinely likes her at a time when she was so suspicious about whether her friends even like her (she even questioned minhyuk for a moment 💔) (and the sexy hands might be some kind of projection idk). and if verbal reassurance is part of it, then well, we just had the mutual "you're special to me" confession...

RIGHT i wanted to bring up the girlfriend thing too. shinae has been so adamant about making sure things stay platonic, but now alyssa is basically out of the picture, and the lines she drew are getting blurred, so where does that leave her? tbh i'd be overwhelmed and even a little scared if i was her. everything is happening quite fast! she's been closed off for a long time, she met nol like 3 months ago, took a lot of time to warm up to him, they've established their friendship a couple of weeks ago, they've grown close so quickly, now suddenly there is all this, whatever this is? and i'm probably overanalyzing but i do find it interesting that, in the hospital room, she doesn't hug him back. she doesn't object or push him away either so she obviously doesn't mind, and this sort of inaction (?) does read to me like a physical reflection of what's going on with her internally. the feelings are sprouting, but she can't quite process what's happening, and doesn't know what to do with herself just yet. but she also doesn't dislike this so she is just kind of going with it. then again in the very last panel in 219 we can't see her other arm so maybe she IS embracing him this time. one of quim's little details to keep us wondering i guess 👀

and please i was DYING when shinae blurted out she thinks rand is hot in front of both his sons in front of NOL who is a physical carbon copy of rand except younger and orange like girl… LMAO. (and btw yes on that moment between kou and nol; there are a few rare moments where the brothers almost… get along? it's very refreshing but in a tragic way. like a glimpse into an alternate version of the story where all the toxic conditioning didn't happen 💔)

oh god this got sooo long again i apologize!! i will try to make my future asks more concise. for now, i'm leaving you with this quote i found that makes me think of nol and shinae, i'm sure you'll understand why and appreciate it as well: tumblr. com/slavicafire/714146132919500800 (can't link it properly on anon, hopefully this'll work)

alright. take care!! -lil anon 😼

Lil Anon!!!!!! <3

I was holding off on answer this for a little bit because frankly the last couple weeks were trash and I had noooo energy and didn't want to reply until I could do a good one! I'm glad I held off, though, because there's something I can respond to MUCH BETTER now! Of course, that means this has FP 222 spoilers, so hopefully you've read! (or at least you stop here if you haven't, haha!)

It's funny how a couple weeks ago, we were still trying to piece things together "it probably won't take Yui down completely" "is it worth it for Yujing to risk her career and life?" and episode 222 came in like a wrecking ball, oh my god! I said it in my commentary post, too, but I DID NOT anticipate how much this expose was covering! All along we've talked like this is about Yui and perhaps the Hiraharas in general, but it was largely centered on her. Now, we see it's so much bigger than we'd yet realized, that the nasty, gnarly roots go deeper.

I think it's also so much clearer now why Yujing is going after this story - what it means to her, and her quest for the truth. I imagine by the time she was in university, she already knew what she wanted to do, and was already pursuing that path, but I wonder how much what happened to Manli affected her future career? Or did it already exist before that? The school Sangchul attends that's mentioned in the article about the rampant sexual assault makes me wonder if it's the same school Nol attends, that Kousuke and Yujing attended. If that's the case, then Yujing probably knows of a number of girls she went to school with who were sexually assaulted and nothing came of it. Around half of the reports ended in an incident report when the victims couldn't be contacted or refused to speak about it - doesn't it sound like they were coerced into not speaking about their experiences, whether they were paid off or threatened.

So supposing Yujing went to a school with the elite uppercrust, the wealthy, the influential, the affluent, who committed these heinous acts and got away with it. She went to a school where she watched truth crumble beneath power and influence. Her friend was later in one of those same scary situations and it's very easy to assume that nothing came of it. That she, too, lives with the haunting nightmare of an experience out of control, that left her feeling unsafe. Suddenly it makes sense why Yujing is taking it on, it makes sense why she's willing to risk it all. Because now we see that the stakes are even higher than we thought before. This encompasses so much more than just Yui and the company. This is an attack on the Hiraharas and Kims, specifically, but also an attack on the affluent, those who use their privelege to prey on and hurt others for sport, those who get away with everything, because when it comes down to it, they are above the law. They control things. This is their world.

It's a much more risky expose than we'd really considered before, but it makes sense, why it's so important to her. Yujing is dedicated to digging up the the truth - the real truth, not just media play. She wants to reveal the dark and sinister underbelly of those who have money and influence. She wants to illuminate how many lives have been ruined, how many instances of depraved, deplorable behavior has gone unpunished.

I think this also gives insight into why Nol pleading guilty was such a benefit to her story. It didn't make sense at the time, but now that we are more aware of her angle, it's clearer. Nol is being charged for a crime he didn't commit, but one that Sangchul Kim did - Sangchul Kim whose own relative was removed from his role as CEO due to his own sexual misconduct allegations. She's airing the reality - that Nol was framed/charged for a crime he didn't commit. What did the investigation yield? There must have been one, right? I guess it never came to light because he pled guilty at the hearing? Either way, Nol pleading guilty can easily be seen as someone trying to minimize the damage. He knew that even if he pled innocent there was a likelihood that he'd still be charged as guilty and the sentencing would be worse. Although, maybe he wasn't even thinking of it that way. Maybe he simply just wanted to get away and jail was as good a way to do it. But even that is an angle to work with - that the Hiraharas were so unbearable, were so cruel, he was willing to plead guilty to someone else's crime to get away.

This might be where Alyssa comes into play, but I'm still a little leery of this part, and I'll try to get to that. But Shinae's story also reveals a similar scenario of a cruel act going unpunished. Alyssa walked away without any punishment and I imagine the girls who were part of that were never found out, because Shinae certainly didn't say anything and I'm sure Alyssa didn't, either. We know that I acknowledge Alyssa pushing Shinae was an accident, but the point still reasons that Shinae was being bullied and nothing came of it. Shinae got badly injured and it was just. Swept aside. Those teachers quit their jobs. And it seems very likely that Alyss'as parents paid off the school to keep quiet, to keep her out of trouble.

It's not fair, is it? Even though it was an accident, there was no closure for Shinae. Those girls went on living their lives and for all we know, they may never have even felt bad about it. And it's just yet another case of people with money or influence being able to pay people off, of never atoning for their behavior.

Yujing's story seems to be seeking out truth but also justice. She wants everyone to know how abhorrent they are. She wants to reveal the sinister inner circle of the affluent. Someone on reddit said they'd compared Yui and Gun Kim to Epstein and my god that's exactly what it is, and that's the story Yujing is risking it all for. She wants to air what they have been able to keep quiet.

But here's the thing about Alyssa and the yearbook. As far as we know, Nol has no indication that Yujing is working on this story. When he pled guilty, she mused that she was probably giving him too much credit, which sounds like she hasn't said anything to him about what she's working on. From his perspective, the interview she had with him had to do with his hearing, had to do with clearing his name, or at least offering something for the media besides trying to make him seem like a drug-touting rapist. So why did he give her that yearbook? Why did he steal it?

People suppose that maybe he saw something else in the yearbook but I don't think so? Quimchee is pretty good about how she draws the scenes and he didn't seem to really take notice or anything until he saw that math club photo with Shinae and Alyssa and pieced together their history. He didn't have a chance to go through it further because Shinae tried to take it back, so it feels like it must be about Alyssa. But I just don't get it? What does he stand to gain from taking the yearbook? Some people thought he was going to confront Alyssa but... I really don't think so. Is it possible he knows what Yujing is working on? I just... can't see how he'd know? I know he's perceptive and smart, but has he even seen anything enough to indicate it to her?

Was it more that he hoped that by giving her the yearbook she'd look through it and recognize Alyssa and look into it? Even that seems flimsy at best, so I'm still a little ??? about this. I'm sure there's something I'm missing, or just something that's yet to be revealed but I'm at a loss. Like, Shinae's story certainly plays right into what Yujing is writing about, but is that just a coincidence?

You bring up some really good points about Alyssa, too. It does feel like Yui's only use of her is to torment Nol, and that's not really working anymore now is, it it? He's only with her for their mutual benefit. At this point, if he wanted to end things for good, he could, because would he feel bad if she lost everything when she was no longer connected to him? Nol seems pretty done with her - he does not use light words when he talks about his resentment of how she acts and her admiration of Yui, and he's long-since given up on trying to sway her away. Does a part of him remember when they were really friends and he stays so she can have that? But I've also considered that maybe if he's "dating" Alyssa, she's the main target, the main one Yui tries to use against him? That feels flimsy, though, because Yui watches like a hawk and she is well aware of Shinae's affinity for Nol, and that he shares the same feelings, which is why he tried to keep that distance. But I don't know if staying with Alyssa is really protecting Shinae at all, so the questions remain.

Of course, like I said, I think Alyssa's involvement here may be more about her family, and the dirty hush money they may have paid. In that case, the hush money + Yui creating her career starts to look more questionable. But I think, and this is something that makes me feel sick if I think about too long, I worry there may be some... "sponsorship" involved. I desperately hope it's not the case, but I sometimes think about at the Kim formal when Alyssa danced with that old photographer man, because she needs to schmooze and she needs to appeal to the media. Have there been other scenarios where she's had to... rub elbows... with prominent media figures? Has she been forced into anything heinous as a "payment" for getting her name, her group out there? I REALLY hope not because no matter what Alyssa has done, that's too vile for me. But considering the material Yujing has collected, considering the number of cases of sexual misconduct that's been covered up (that's been ENABLED when you think about it), the idea of Yui taking a girl and pushing her into such disgusting situations doesn't seem at all outside the scope of what we're dealing with.

In an old curiouscat post, quimchee was asked which characters are virgins and which aren't, and for Alyssa she used the 😬 emoji. It just feels... hmmmm. Obviously at the time no one was thinking deeper about this and took it as maybe Alyssa has cheated on Nol but... I can't help but worry that this response is more because we'll see something far darker than people were thinking. I hope I'm wrong! But!

that's why i like re-reading the first half of the formal a lot, those dynamics really come to light <3

Oh my gosh, SAME!!!!! I honestly can't remember when I started feeling shippy feelings towards Nol and Shinae, but I think the formal really played a big role in at least creating that foundation. There was just something about the way Shinae found herself seeking security in him, and how he was able to anticipate her wants and needs when Kousuke was unable to, it was the hospital scene showing the way Shinae thinks of others when Alyssa puts herself first, and the way that quietly impacted Nol. It was just seeing the ways that they just suit each other and somewhere along the way it made me go "oh no" lol when I realized the shippy feelings were starting lol. I know I've said it before so it really doesn't need repeating but they just feature so much of what I enjoy in a good pairing, the way they meet those needs and compliment each other, the way Shinae learned friendship by emulating him and turns it around on him. I would love them regardless if there was never any romance, but I'm also a sucker for a pairing that grows out of friendship like this because in so many ways they are what the other one wants and needs.

But we all know what a sucker I am for parallels, so it was only natural I would start to feel so strongly about them lol, that I would delight in them getting these cute little moments together. You are so right that they both have just been through SO much they deserve so much soft, so much warmth. They've had enough stress and excitement lol they just deserve something healing. Clearly we are nowhere near that unfortunately, but I really hope that in time we'll get to see Shinae - and Dieter and Soushi! - become some kind of safe spaces for Nol. Romance is well and good, but more than anything I want to see Nol accept that they are a safe space for him. I just. I LIKE SEEING THEM HAPPY! I WANT TO SEE THEM COMFORTABLE! I know safe is a long way away for them, but god I want to see pockets of safe space, moments of safe space. I want to see them taking refuge in each other I want to see them becoming that pillar of support to each other! This is so far off tangent lol but I've just been thinking and talking about them so much today, and the development of their relationship, the roadbumps they still face, and I just! Want! Them to find safety and comfort in each other ;~; ROARS

i'd actually be curious to know what you think dieter's role in all this is.

GOD I do think about this a LOT and wonder about it. Like, it's impossible to like two different people at once, so I don't want to discount that it's very possible for her to be attracted to both in different ways, but it's also worth exploring because this is so very new to Shinae. She doesn't really seem to have had any experience with this and while it's easy for her to admit when she finds someone hot - like Rand LMAO - that doesn't mean you LIKE someone, you're ATTRACTED to them.

I think Dieter IS a safe space for her, both because he's such an unproblematic person who is very respectful of her boundaries and because he already likes her. This is something I struggled with a LOT when I was younger - how do you know when you like someone vs when you like that they like you? Shinae is very weak to Dieter's affection for her. The "date" at the amusement park revealed this, with the whole don't look at me like that lol. But I do think Shinae's crush has to do with safety, and why I think they could have been SUCH a wonderful pairing (and look if they date I do look forward to it! I may be a Stalkyoo shipper but I acknowledge the ways that Dieter could be a good relationship for her if that was what she wanted). A funny thing about Dieter and Nol is that both of them make her feel special in different ways, it's just that Dieter is actually more open about it. I think she seeks that comfort and safety because her own life has been so tumultuous and they last thing she wants is a tumultuous relationship. And right, he's been this stable pillar for her when she needs it. Everything about them is so fluffy and cute and warm! That's why I have no issue shipping them as well!

I do wonder where he fits into all of this because LMAO FIRST OFF my poor cinnamon roll is RIGHT THERE LMAO Would he ever have had the guts to dance with her like that? He's so aware of his "inadequacies" when compared to Nol (or rather, Yeonggi) who came off so personable and charming and has this easy chemistry with her, and we know he isn't blind, he's observant as hell and he sees it. Is he sleeping? Or is he awake confirming something he was aware of all along? I used to think that Shinae and Dieter would date first, and that maybe he'd go to school back home in Germany (because he's always homesick it just feels to me like he might do that) but I also didn't expect to see Shinae and Nol dancing around their feelings so soon so I have to rethink everything I thought lol. I thought Shinae might run away from her growing feelings towards Nol, especially because he has a girlfriend, but now she knows a. that relationship isn't really one and b. she is doing the exact opposite she has cleaved on to him.

And right, like you said, the I care about her confession is already out there. I was musing to.... someone... somewhere.... lol I've been talking about this a lot lately, aaahhhh! Here it is! That as much as Shinae is obviously more drawn to Nol now that he's not putting on his Yeonggi front, with all those sharp edges, the Nol he has presented to her unsoftened, I wonder how much of it also stems from what he said to Lil Buddy. Is it that his admission that she means just as much to him as he does to her has stirred something in her? Part of what she was struggling so much with was that lack of closure, and now she knows what was eating her up inside - is that part of why she reacts so shyly to his gaze? Because she knows, because they have shared something so vulnerable with each other, she has literally shared her scar with him!

And in that manner, how does this compare to or differ from how she reacts to Dieter's feelings? I think she is more drawn to Nol, but that could just because of the circumstances. I think, if given a choice, she'd want to pick something safe, but that doesn't mean it's where her heart would lean, right? I don't think Shinae is ready to process what she feels towards Nol, but if Dieter is awake, would there even be an opportunity for that? I've wondered if he would do something dumb, like date her even knowing her unprocessed feelings, but that feels rather dramatic for who he is, doesn't it? That feels like a very typical second lead cliche and I don't think that's the sort of thing quimchee would want to write.

Man, I really SHOULD write that post because I clearly have more to say about it than I thought lmao.

the feelings are sprouting, but she can't quite process what's happening, and doesn't know what to do with herself just yet.

Even before getting 222, I was already thinking that Shinae definitely didn't know how to respond at first. I think... like yes there's a lot of unprocessed feelings happening and this is the closest she's ever been with Nol, physically. I wonder if she'd still be like this if she didn't know that he doesn't have feelings for Alyssa, if she'd still be very caught up in all of this, because I don't think she's acknowledging the feelings at this point. If anything, I think there's more surprise about this, because he's always respected that line she drew. She was the one who tried holding his hands that time. When she tried to feel if he had a fever he batted her hand away. Now, suddenly, he's literally leaning on her. I think, too, it's the circumstances. He was the one who made her get up for the dance, but suddenly he's burying his head against her shoulder - she knows something is wrong, but she can only assume it's a result of his injury. Maybe she's already wondering if he was hiding something, like his pain (because I don't think she realized yet that it was his feelings he's hiding).

But yeah I think it's very much that they're in uncharted territory, it's all so new to her. I would lol really love to be in her head later, whenever she does find herself thinking about this. What IS running through her head? What does she think of her inability to hold his gaze, of the way she's flushing and getting so flustered? Is she going to chalk it up to the intensity? Is she going be able to face it? alfjkakfjkafjaf

I wonder lmao if she'll figure out the resemblance to Rand or not. Like, Idk that scene is eternally funny to me, Rand's carbon copy just there in front of her, spewing his drink all over her alfjkafkjafjkafj LMAO I... I wish we had more scenes between Nol and Kousuke like that but. Kousuke :/ never really allowed them huh lol. I get so sad thinking about what they could have been, had Kousuke not been manipulated, had he not been driven to compete for love and affection. :(

Tumblr did NOT want to show me that link btw and I am SAD! TUMBLR PLS LET PEOPLE SEND ME LINKS PROPERLY EVEN ON ANON I WANT TO SEEEEE ;A; But also haha as always no need to apologize for long messages! I... clearly... am not good at reigning myself in either LMAO but that's fine because I love these discussions!!!! Thank you for always giving me something interesting to think or talk about! <3

Edit to add that @amuraas was able to paste the link for me and ;~; Listen I am not kidding when I say this made me cry. It is so perfect, you are right! That absolutely sums up my own feelings about love lol but especially the love between Nol and Shinae. That he could see in her what she was unable to see herself, and just the same, she stays at his side even in this darkest of times to reflect back to him what he's unable to see past. It's absolutely beautiful! One of the things I talk about a lot re: Stalkyoo is the mirroring, and how they can see in each other what they're unable to see in themselves and god this quote just GETS THAT SO WELL. Love is someone who brings out the best in you, but it's also someone who can see the best when you're unable to and god I want to howl about this foreverrrrrrrr. Thank you for finding and sharing that! And thank you again to @amuraas for tracking it down for me when tumblr refused to!