#literally keep finding new relevance for this one line

[edge-oftheworld]

'shallow hearts for shallow minds that ache to be alive' the chokehold you have on me

[so-i-did-this-thing]

How do I stop being anxious all the time in relation to being trans? I have an appointment to go on T in 2 weeks. I'm anxious about coming out. I'm anxious about someone figuring it out before I come out. Ahhhh. I have a therapist for anxiety but I don't think it's helping.

Hoping I don't make you even more anxious, but the bottom line is some folks *will* find out and you just gotta learn to roll with it.

What has helped me:

Getting good at identifying red and green flags in cis people

It's become a habit of mine to scope out people when I join a new community. I look at profiles, what people post, etc. It's a little tiring, but I try to find the allies and other trans asap in a new fandom or whatever.

Planning for the worst

To be trans is to always have a plan to Get Out of Dodge.

A lot of times, The Worst is really only temporary embarassment. I deal with this by keeping my head held high and leaning into the more "don't fuck with me, I am tired" part of my personality.

Fake it 'til you make it -- I used to have a paralyzing fear of public mortification, and over time have ripped that apart. Sticking to my boundaries helps a lot, and I am not afraid to say, "I will not answer that question."

Here's the thing, though -- people tend to be impressed when you weather the Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known, and you'll likely find yourself as someone to be looked up to. Cis folks routinely ask for my advice about their own Big Life Changes, because they have been impressed to see me go through mine. I've also helped crack a few eggs.

Sometimes The Worst is truly bad, and you should always be vigilant here. Again, I know it is exhausting, but always plan for your personal, emotional, and financial safety. Build an emergency cash fund. Cultivate friends who have your back. Always be looking for new job opportunities. Lots of stuff you can workshop with people.

Cultivating a very matter-of-fact relationship with Coming Out.

I focus on any relevant logistics and keep out my emotional backstory. Most people do not need to know how much of a mess I used to be. And I firmly state what I am doing with my future, rather than ask for permission.

My last HRT-related Coming Out email (to one of my orchestras, which is a very gendered biz) was essentially: "FYI, I am medically and legally transitioning from female to male. Just a heads up, as I'll look and sound a bit different at rehearsal -- I have a tux already for the concert. See you Friday!"

That's it. At a company, you can work with HR on your announcement, assuming one will even be necessary in your case based on your transition timeline.

When I changed my name years later, I was also direct:

"I am legally changing my name to Nicholas. It may take a while to update all my clients, so you're welcome to tell them, "Oh, [deadname] goes by Nicholas now. Thanks!"

And when I came out to my spouse in tumblr chat before our first date, it was literally: "Hey, jsyk, I am 35 and a trans man, in case that changes anything."

It takes a lot of practice to get to this point, and is something you can roleplay with your therapist.

Don't be afraid of your past

I am at a place where I will sometimes casually out myself to make a point ("No one ever needs to change the gender field for this form? I recently needed to.") or a stupid joke ("Ever since I was a little girl, I always wanted to be...").

There is a lot of value in the trans experience. You can decide how much of it you want to casually share, but it does get easier each time.

I hope this helps. Being trans means you will be coming out for the rest of your life (obviously, there are times where stealth = safety), so cultivating a no-nonsense, and even humorous, approach will go a long way for your mental health.

[hostilemuppet]

Coming from your most recent post, l'd really like to hear your interpretations of the PPG X RRB's dynamics!

I'm not personally a shipper of them myself, but I'd love to hear something related to that outside of the typical tropes of good girl/bad boy type stuff

before i start, i made this post about how i see the boys in general which may provide greater context for some of the things i say here but might not be necessary since i dont really get into brick or blossom specifically, just generally what i think the boys Deals are

so to start with, my ideal blossick isnt actually blossick. as in, theyre not actually together. the MIGHT get together in the future, maybe, but a loooooot would have to change. specifically with brick. 90% of this is centred on brick, and how fucked up he is, because my favourite blossick is brick having a one sided obsession with her while she barely remembers he exists when hes not around to make his existence her problem

for context about how i see brick (ill try to mostly talk about the show itself since thats like... the main thing, but im also influenced by extracanonical and official-but-noncanon material since there is so little for the boys in the show), i dont see him being that stoic, effortlessly cool bad boy hes usually portrayed as. i think that is not only boring, but against how the show implies that he is very insecure and very loud about hiding it.

when the girls tease them for their new hair, butch doesnt care and boomer takes it as a compliment, while brick is so upset by it hes twitching because how DARE those stupid whimpy lame-o girls make fun of him???

and... well i think its relevant that when the girls were knocking the boys back down to size, brick got the worst of it. butch biting his tongue? i dont even know how that could be considered emasculating or humiliating in any way, thats just painful. boomer having his makeup done? yeah a young boy in his "girls are gross" phase would definitely find that humiliating but hed get over it. brick getting his trousers and underwear pulled down and having people laugh at him? bro id kill myself. HES FIVE. THATLL BE A FORMATIVE MEMORY. HES GONNA LIVE WITH THIS THE REST OF HIS LIFE! 😭

and outside of the show (which i recognise has much less (or even ZERO in multiversus' case) baring on canon, but considering most fanon seems to be based on more than human which is a literal fanfiction i think you can cut me some slack here) heres some that i think are good at showing off how i see his personality

he lashes out at boomer, showing how he can dish it out but not take it, because he is top dog (...puppy dog tail...) and he wont let anyone make a fool out of him

multiversus voice lines are harder to show off but some that i think are relevant are:

"(near tears) stupid powerless batman is gonna stupid powerless pay for that!" "names brick. im the brains here. and the brawn. ...and the looks 😏" "what can i say? ive just got a lot of anger in me with nowhere to go! its a gift!" every line he has where he idolises the joker since. well i dont think i have to explain the stereotypes associated with men who idolise the joker. especially since ppg98 implies that batman is a real person who exists in universe so the joker probably does too which would make brick the equivalent of an andrew tate fanboy who watches sigma male grindcore edits on tiktok

so, my take on brick isnt that hes stoic, or even that hes secretly hotheaded but keeps a lid on it for his image, its that hes LOUD and ANGRY and he wants nothing more than for people to think hes cool but he keeps failing and hes MAD ABOUT IT. he needs to be better than those sissies but hes not, so he feels small and pathetic and he takes it out on others like schoolyard bullies are wont to do. theres something there about how hes the most upset when mojo yells at them while the other two dont gaf but i dont have anything concrete there yet, other than he probably gets the brunt of HIMs verbal abuse since hes the leader/the "oldest" and thatd fuck up a little boy, even if that little boy was a little freak of nature who likes to beat people up for fun

now, onto the actual point of this, his relationship with blossom. i mentioned before how the boys were made literally to kill the girls, and that would definitely mess all of them up. thats the only reason theyre here! they have no greater purpose! how are they supposed to deal with that? while boomer already shows signs of going straight (not liking his brothers all that much and having to be reminded to break the law) and butch just seems happy to be here, brick is already pretty insecure in himself on a good day and thatll be made 100% worse when he really starts to think on "im not actually a person, im just a weapon", and who is he gonna blame for it? the girl he was created to kill, obviously. it was all her fault. he spends every waking minute thinking of how much he hates her, how much he cant wait to watch the life drain from her eyes, other creepy shit that he doesnt vocalise bc itd mean admitting hes not unflappable (everyone knows hes pretty goddamn flappable but he still thinks hes cool and in control). then he gets a bit older, and he grows out of that little boy "EW girls are GROSS!!!" phase, and things get. weird

he still hates her, because hes always hated her and he was made to hate her. he thinks the way he gets all sweaty and starts feeling sick whenever he sees her is because he hates her sooooooo much that he feels physically ill. when boomer stops fucking with the rowdyruff lifestyle and starts hanging out with bubbles, brick thinks the only reason hes mad about it is because his brother betrayed them, but butch doesnt care that much either. when blossom starts dating, brick assumes the reason he tastes blood in his throat and hes struggling to breathe is because he hates her so much that he doesnt want her to be happy, thats the only reason, obviously. he would never admit otherwise, not even after he finds out boomer might have the smallest itty bittiest crush on bubbles and brick realises FUCK he likes blossom. he likes her but he hates her, hes disgusted with himself even more than he ever was with her because what is WRONG with him? she literally killed him! she sent him to hell, and he was there for months until HIM saved them under the condition they get revenge on the girls. but shes pretty and smart and cool and shes the only loser around here who can hold her own against him in a fight. he sits alone in his room and he stares at an Officially Licensed Blossom Action Figure (doll) he stole, hoping shed be there to stop him but she had bigger threats to worry about. he cuddles it to sleep and he hates it because it doesnt smell as good as the real thing. he wants to snap its head off, melt it down with his eye lasers. he does not.

meanwhile, if blossom knows that brick has a thing for her, she doesnt care. why would she? some random street criminal she had a rivalry with when they were in kindergarten? she has to fight monsters while studying for her gcses and trying to maintain some semblance of a social life. shes busy! she doesnt give brick the time of day, even if he were to enrol in the same school (yknow... to keep his enemies close and all that) shed only pay attention to him if he were doing something dangerous, and without his brothers backing him up (they would not) he wouldnt stand a chance against the girls, because they have been training and studying and strategising and he has not, hes the same hes always been. pure brute strength can only get you so far

blossom looks down on brick, even more than she looks down on most people (shes the smart one, shes the pretty one, shes the perfect one, she knows shes hot shit and wont let you forget it) and it kills brick inside. he wants to kill her, but a part of him knows he wont get to see her anymore, so he just sulks and waits for her to tell him that shes always loved him, theyre destined for each other, he was made for her! and then he realises what hes thinking and he throws up out the window of mojos observatory. he thinks about throwing a dart at the photo of her he hung up on his Officially Licensed Powerpuff Novelty Dart Board. its still in pristine condition. he does not.

as far as blossom is concerned, brick is no different than the gangreen gang, or fuzzy lumpkins, or the amoeba boys on a bad day. hes easy to defeat because the second she grabs hold of his shirt his throat closes up and he cant breathe because shes touching him, and then butch or mojo are dragging him out of the remains of the prison walls and brick insists she just got lucky. again.

so for me, blossick isnt one of those "i want them to get together and go on cute little dates and kiss and cuddle and live happily ever after :)" ships. its about the drama and seeing a fucked up little boyman become worse. and above all its about being FUNNY

a lot would have to change for blossick to actually happen. like, brick would have to go through some sort of multi year long self improvement journey. probably a loooooooong way away from townsville. because otherwise... blossom wouldnt want anything to do with him. even for a casual fling as adults, shed be pretty and famous, she could have any guy or gal she wanted, and lbr brick probably isnt actually the looks. if brick asked her out shed laugh at him, like shed lean back and point and laugh, and brick would for real kill himself, and then HIM would revive him again and itd be this whole thing...

its way more likely that brick would pine after her forever and ever and shed get married to some other superhero who wasnt born in a prison toilet while brick ends up alone. or maybe he ends up with berserk, which would be a way worse fate for him than ending up alone but it might be funnier so who knows. for now all hes got is his creepy blossom shrine which he better hope to GOD no one finds

[kangals]

ok so here's what we found out from kepler's embark results! buckle up, it's a novel:

to start, i did what i've done for the past 2 embark tests i've sent in, in that when activating the kit i said that my dog was a mixed breed of unknown type, and i opted to not upload a photo beforehand. and like the last 2 times, embark correctly deduced that kep was a purebred collie. so while there's some dna tests out there that definitely suck, i can at least confirm that in my own blind trial, embark got it right 3/3 times. they're great. anyway:

also keeping very in line with being a purebred collie, kep's COI came back at 42% - very high for a typical dog, but dead-on average for a collie. he shares 60% DNA with stellina (despite being on paper second cousins, which should be around 1-2% shared. woe to the collie genepool). he's got a bunch of the same relatives that show up for stellina, which is, again, not surprising. dogs from windcrest, overland, and thistlebrae pop up a lot - if you're familiar with US collie lines, you probably know them.

color traits! kep is confirmed as white-factored, which i was almost certain of based on the pattern of his white markings - you can find more info on it here (referred to as "flashy irish" white) but essentially collies that are white-factored carry the gene for "extreme white" or color-headed white. white is an "incomplete dominant" gene, meaning that one copy affects the dog a little, and two copies affects the dog a lot (remember this term!) two copies of the gene makes the dog almost entirely white (an accepted color in the US, but not the UK/europe i believe), whereas one copy of the gene makes the regular "irish white" markings (the classic white neck ruff and white socks) extend a little further than usual - you'll notice that on kep, his white extends over his shoulders and up to his knees. whereas on stellina (who does not carry the white gene), her white is restricted to her neck, front stockings, and back paws. one of kep's brothers is white, so we knew he likely carried the gene too.

he is confirmed as not a secret merle, though he technically could have been a cryptic/phantom merle - didn't think so, but worth a check.

so all of this is very expected - the health testing is where things get interesting!

embark tests for 265 different genetic health conditions, 4 of which are considered "breed-relevant" for collies: collie eye anomaly (CEA), mdr1 drug sensitivity, degenerative myleopathy (DM), and some immune thing with a long name.

immune thing - clear

DM - clear (not particularly common in collies, but it does show up sometimes and it is a nasty disease)

MDR1 - double copies! this is a recessive gene and kep is mutant/mutant, aka he carries both copies which makes him clinically affected. this is common in collies, as about 60-70% of collies have at least one copy. the good news is this just means we have to avoid/take smaller doses of certain medications and he otherwise shouldn't be impacted by it at all. also his breeder already tested him for this so i already was aware.

CEA - single copy! this is also a recessive gene, which means that kep is not affected/normal-eyed, which is actually pretty uncommon! it's estimated that between 70-85% of collies are affected by CEA (yes, the gene literally called collie eye is common in collies. wow.). i also was already aware of this since he was already tested (worth mentioning that if you buy a collie puppy in the US, a screening by an ophthalmologist to check for CEA is required by the breed club).

and then the plot twist:

embark tells me "oh hey, btw, there's two other genes you should know about"

"your dog has one copy of the gene for accumulating copper toxicosis"

fucking what

so yeah, after a lot of reading into this: there's a gene called ATP7B that's almost exclusively found in labradors, goldens, and dobermans which affects a dog's ability to filter out copper. excessive amounts of copper start to build up in the liver, and if it gets to be too much it can cause liver disease, failure, and neurological problems. remember when we talked about white and white-factored dogs, several thousands words ago? ATP7B is also an incomplete dominant gene - one copy affects the dog a little, two copies affects a lot. kep has one copy, which in theory means he is at no risk, mild risk, or moderate risk of developing copper storage disease in his life. not devastating, but not ideal.

the plot thickens!

kep also tested positive for the gene called ATP7A, which as far as i can tell is like the exact opposite of ATP7B (i know, the names suck). see, ATP7B causes copper to accumulate. but ATP7A has been shown to cause a copper deficiency. it's also incompletely dominant, so one copy impacts a little, and two copies (should) impact a lot - and kep has both copies of ATP7A.

so: kep has one of the "too much copper" genes... but he has also two of the "too few copper" genes. and studies seem to suggest that the two genes have a neutralizing effect on each other if they're both present in one dog - basically, they cancel each other out.

there's a handful of studies looking at the effects of these genes on dogs, but they basically exclusively focus on labradors and dobermans - one UC davis study even suggested that these genes might not even have an effect on other breeds. i could find absolutely no literature about these genes in collies, or even in herding breeds in general. embark helpfully added that they don't have enough data on this gene in other breeds to claim if they had any effect. the genes also appear to be sex-linked, and affect females moreso than males. one study on labradors suggested that although many dogs tested were carriers of ATP7B, few dogs were clinically affected, which would say that perhaps its not uncommon for dogs with only one copy to not be impacted.

(i'm also wondering if perhaps this could be the case for kep - given that he has 2 copies of ATP7A, he had to inherit one from each parent. given that these genes aren't regularly tested for in collies, is it possible that some lines carry them and are just clinically unaffected? it may be entirely incidental.)

so essentially, he does have one gene that may be nothing, or may cause mild-moderate issues as an older adult/senior. he also has two copies of that gene's natural neutralizer, and is male, and comes from clinically unaffected dogs. so... i think in retrospect, it's something to note on his chart and keep an eye on, but the odds seem to be very stacked in the favor of him either not being affected, or having only mild affects later down the line. could be a nothingburger, might be a little-somethingburger, unlikely to be a seriousburger.

that being said: i am VERY glad i decided to do this test! obviously i knew what breed he was, and his breeder had already tested him for the most collie-relevant conditions, so this was done on more of a whim, but it turned up this potentially important result that i now know to investigate. you'll hear a lot about how breeders who just do embark, or pawprints, or etc aren't doing complete genetic testing, because so many of the diseases these tests screen for aren't breed-relevant and lots of other conditions aren't testable. which is true. 265 genes and only 4 are considered for collies! but once in a blue moon, one of those random other genes will indeed flag, as is the case here.

so yeah: very interesting results! breed, COI, relatives, color, and most of the health is exactly as expected. but boy that one little health bit really threw me for a loop.

[zhuoyichenpretty]

Ep 22-23 Commentary

Ha...I was inexplicably nervous for eps 22-23 and it looks like I was right to be (-: What a rollercoaster. Spoilers below!

I've just come out of ep 23 and uh????? holy shit????? ZYC????

Ok ok but to backtrack, let's do my comments semi-chronologically:

Ep 22:

A carry-over from ep 21 that I have to mention—heck yeah PSJ give WZY hell. She doesn't have all that many lines but she sure knows how to make them count. Also seeing PSJ and WX get screen time just the two of them makes my brain go "yay <3"

Back to ep 22, loved the fake-out sundial ayeee that was a nice Chekhov's gun that also brings the real sundial back into relevance for later. Also me eating up the PSJ and ZYC crumb of an interaction has brought to my attention how starved I am of their screen time together.

This whole ep was a great lament towards the feared inevitable. Every sad downcast look from ZYC, every complicated glance WX gives him. A wonderful, terrible crossroads for these characters. I love that for ZYC especially, it's such an incredible mess of emotion coming to a head. Bad enough that he's come to care about the demon who killed his family and ruined his life, bad enough that he's sworn a blood oath he regrets and tied himself to punishing someone he no longer finds culpable, bad enough that ZYZ's life or death depends solely on his choice and ZYZ is constantly practically begging for death when ZYC wants him to live. How much immensely worse it makes the whole situation that WX is literally ZYZ's soulmate. And obviously the whole team has only grown more and more attached to ZYZ, too. ZYC's personal turmoil aside, how heavy must that responsibility and guilt be? For the finishing blow that only he can deliver to also deeply threaten every other person he cares about? Everyone understands in the abstract what must happen and why, but just like seeing ZYZ lose control firsthand, the gulf between understanding and experiencing is so unimaginably wide. If he kills ZYZ, can there really be no resentment from his friends? From WX?

Also it seems ZYC only wears cloaks so that he can give them to other people lmao

Ah fuck, the farewell drinks. I didn't even factor in how ZYC might not survive the encounter (''': The drama truly was like hm can we possibly give ZYC a worse day than that night his whole fam died? Maybe give him a bunch of new family members and also the blade and the fate and the sole responsibility to potentially irrevocably scar said family members with? And he might die in the process too? (-: haha maybe? (((-:

Oh. Oh. Addendum. I forgot this til I saw it mentioned in another post—ZYC recounting his oath as he watched WX smile when they discussed reviving the tree...I could feel him weighing those words against his own life, against ZYZ's life, against WX's happiness. One way out of this impossible situation is indeed to doom himself. I'm in pieces.

Damn if WX isn't dedicated heart and soul, going into the sundial like that. I'm sad no one could keep her company for those 300 years but also I guess that's kind of an impossible ask (and maybe not survivable for the other non-goddess mortals? I'm admittedly very unclear on sundial time loophole logistics). It would have been nice to see someone offer though, even just to be turned down.

Ooh I like the soul needle fake-out, given this show's penchant for retroactive "actually we had a plan all along" moments. A good subversion of the narrative's own style.

Also I saved this for the end because it doesn't really fit the linearity of my comments but what the fuuuuuuuck oh my god I absolutely flipped out at this scene:

I am at once rabidly intrigued and at the same time not sure if I'll be satisfied with whatever payoff will come for this so I don't want to overindulge in theorizing and setting my own expectations too high. Maybe this is just a fevered hallucination, maybe it means nothing (I hope it means something). But damn!!! What a gorgeous man crazy scene.

In conclusion, ep 22 had some good stuff for me. Plot development and reflection and tension enough that I may have been satisfied with just that one episode. But they gave us two, so onward to ep 23 comments!

Ep 23:

I like how many solid reasons the team has to suspect ZYC being possessed. Even though I withheld judgment during my watch given how quickly the show usually confirms that kind of stuff with a possession mark, just simply casting that doubt made the whole build up that much more intense.

ZYC slowly walking down the corridor with the whole grounds lit a somber and haunting gold—*chef's kiss*

ZYC's monologue to a catatonic ZYZ is so important to me. The closest we'll get to his internal monologue about this whole situation. The kinds of things said when we think there's no conscious listener.

Okay so, having finished this episode and looking back, Li Lun's hands coming up from behind ZYC was not to denote possession (at least in this episode), potentially is a visual from ZYZ's POV, and seems related to the above screencap. I am so, so curious. Once again, I'm stopping myself from further speculation because I want to be surprised but ahhhhhhhhh

PSJ shooting at Ao Yin is so gorgeous. Her action scenes seriously never disappoint—the creativity of her fight choreos!! Also very cool that the whole team is getting to take part in the action, not just the two male leads.

Bai Jiu possession was not on my bingo card but I sure do love that we literally saw the possession take place and I still didn't connect the dots. Good shitttt. Also oh no ): ZYC was telling the truth about the soul needle, he was just tricked ):

Seriously from the Ao Yin case to getting PSJ released to reviving the Divine Wood to getting tricked by possessed!Bai Jiu to making pear soup to fighting ZYZ to fighting Li Lun—when will ZYC get a single goddamn vacation day holy shit.

Also when will WX tear up that contract so ZYZ can stop having a mild heart attack every time he wants to kiss her ): &I love that they saved the 300-year montage for this moment. While their ship doesn't give me brainrot personally, who could be unmoved by that incredible and undisclosed sacrifice? That's soulmatism.

Okay, I'd seen clips of them filming the ZYC and Li Lun fight but damn I did not expect it'd be happening right now!! Right after already taking damage from ZYZ? And my god is Li Lun brutal. The two actors did such an impressive job on this entire fight, what with Li Lun's ease and ZYC's suffering. I really appreciated the extensive hand-to-hand combat after Li Lun literally obliterated ZYC's sword. (Also though, given the origin of that sword, I kept hoping for a flashback to ZYC's brother once it broke, but alas, no dice.) Anyway, the show does not play around about ZYC whump it seems. I was very very shook by that throat punch; that shit legitimately looked like it hurt.

Honestly, I had a hard time with the extended ZYZ and Li Lun conversation at the very end because oh my god someone please heal ZYC lmao. But of course, that's the end of the episode~~

Y'all...check on your local ZYC stans because I was not okay after all that (': I need a heaping dose of comfort after all that hurt, but as always I'm cautious of hoping for much from canon itself. So yeah! Ep 23 was solid, but I would probably be in better shape if today's release just ended on ep 22 ((':

Time to go wait for the cast's Hi6 episode to drop so I can heal my battered heart ;-;

[8figurehustler]

Why Influencers Won’t Make A Lasting Fortune | 💰💰💰

Let’s be honest—being an influencer looks like the dream. Free stuff, brand deals, followers hyping you up, and money just for posting a cute pic or trendy video. But here’s the thing that nobody talks about enough: influencing isn’t built to last.

Don’t get me wrong—some influencers are making big money right now. But if we’re talking about long-term, generational wealth? I have a strong belief that most of them won’t get there. Here’s why

1. Trends Fade. Fast.

The internet moves at lightning speed. What’s trending this week? Forgotten next week. Whether it’s dance challenges, aesthetics, or audio clips, things go viral and die out just as quick. That’s the whole point in a trend, it’s momentarily.

If your whole income depends on staying relevant and trendy, then you’re basically building your future on shaky ground. The second your content stops hitting, the money slows down too. You’d have to constantly chase trends which sometimes can result in you having to change your aesthetic or niche, which then results in having to bring in a whole new audience.

2. They Don’t Own Anything

Let’s not forget—Instagram, TikTok, YouTube… none of these platforms belong to the influencer. One algorithm switch, one random suspension, and boom—your visibility and income are gone. Just like that.

It’s risky to build your entire career on a platform you don’t own or control. You’re literally playing by someone else’s rules. Remember when TikTok shut down for a day and all the influencers had a meltdown, some of them moved to instagram or blue or X, they had to find a new platform to continue working but think about it, what if there was no other alternative…then what happens?

3. Brand Deals Are Short-Term

Sure, brand deals pay well. But they’re not guaranteed. They come and go based on your numbers, engagement, and how “hot” you are in the moment.

That means your income isn’t steady—it’s based on how many brands want to work with you right now. And let’s be real, brands move on fast when you’re not the current It Girl.

4. It Doesn’t Scale

Influencing ties your income to you. Your time. Your energy. Your appearance. Your ability to keep showing up and performing online.

There’s only so much of you to go around, and there’s only so long you’ll be able (or willing) to keep up the grind. If you stop posting, you stop earning.

5. No Real Assets

Unless an influencer turns their platform into a business—think products, services, investments, or digital assets—they’re not building anything that can survive without them.

Attention fades. And when it does? If there’s nothing solid behind all the hype, there’s nothing left to profit from.

So What’s The Move?

If influencers want to really build wealth, they have to stop treating influence like the end goal. It’s just a springboard. Use the attention to launch something bigger—like a brand, an online business, a product line, a faceless digital asset—something that can outlive the trends.

For example, a few influencers who utilised their fame instead of surviving off it. Look at Huda Kattan: she didn’t rely on clout, she built Huda Beauty, which she fully owns. Emma Chamberlain used her online fame to push Chamberlain Coffee and her podcast, barely even posting anymore unless it’s to market her businesses. Charli D’Amelio branched into TV, she appeared on Dancing With The Stars; Addison Rae moved into acting, music, and film; Jackie Aina started her own luxury candle line.

You’ll notice a lot of viral names start to fade from your feed—but that doesn’t mean they’ve fallen off. It means they took their attention and turned it into something real. They’re building wealth off-screen, and that’s the real flex. Because pretty posts and paid ads are cute for now, but real wealth? That’s about ownership, strategy, and building something that lasts after the spotlight fades.

Read Why I Would Choose Faceless Digital Marketing Over Becoming An Influencer

Start monetising your pinterest, through paid ad, affiliates and more : click here

Grow your pinterest account to a million monthly views in less than 6 months and get it ready for digital marketing : click here

[twohappyboys]

i don’t think i’ve fully gone into depth on how hard Oldies station hits

as someone who didn’t plan to live past 13, hearing and seeing Oldies station live has been a roller coaster for me.

heres some examples of how to song pertains to me

tw: slight mention on SH and general struggle of mental health. Please be safe

Starting of on the first damn verse

“Only consistency in your periphery is fear and the bridge of your nose”

“and as you move about, you learn to tune them out but they say they continue to grow”

the way i’ve interpreted these first two lines is knowing the issues and fears you hold but learning to ignore the irrationality and live through life.

During middle school i was majorly depressed and filled with anxiety, but through out the years i have learned and found ways to control(not sure if that’s the word i want) my anxiety. I now know what makes me anxious and i know how to avoid those situations, and (vaguely)what to do during episodes. Finding Twenty One Pilots and hearing/seeing others were going through and feeling what i was feeling was so refreshing, and definitely helped me get here.

“Make and oath, and make mistakes start a streak you’re bound to break

when darkness rolls on you, push on through”

this feels very reminiscent of getting sober(in any way shape and form) making the decision to get clean, relapsing and starting again even when you know you’ll only relapse again but you should keep going.

I was a SHer, (nearly a year and a half clean) that’s something i cannot hide. it’s a big part of who i am now. and even though i’ve relapsed more times than i could count, i kept going. the longer i was able to keep myself clean the better i felt. there where many times that i’ve wanted to SH but i’ve pushed through.

“Then before you know, you lose some people close

Forcing you to manage you pace”

I think this could mean many things and can be applied to many situations but for me, it means there will be people who leave. there will be people who do not want to be there through your hardships, but you will find the people who do.

i’ve had many friends, many who have left during the hardest times in my life but the ones who truly love me unconditionally have stayed. i’m still friends with those friends today. and for them i am grateful, i wouldn’t be here without them.

“You don’t quite mind how long red lights are taking

your favorite song was on the oldies station”

in a metaphorical sense: you are taking the time to enjoy life, the things that used to occupy your mind are no longer a forefront. there’s something new to occupy you.

in a more literal sense: you’ve grown up, the things you used to love and hold dear are old. no longer relevant to the newer generation, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less valuable.

I’m young, don’t get me wrong. but i do still experience the things i once loved becoming “old”. most of those things are barely a decade old, but in the sense of pop culture they’re old. seeing the toys i used to love in a vintage shop or hearing the songs i used to listen to all the time on throwback stations only remind me that i am getting older.

“you have it down, that old fight for survival

you’re in the crowd at her first dance recital”

and yet again, you’ve grown up. you now know kinda how to handle life, maybe not perfectly but you know how to survive.

like stated before, i never planned to live past 13. i’m 19(soon to be 20) and i’ve experienced and seen so many things i never thought id be able to. I’ve graduated high school, soon ill be moving into my own apartment, i’ve seen my favorite band live, i’ve gone on road trips with my friends, i have a pet, i’m living life. everything may not be perfect and i do still struggle with things, but i know im not alone. i have support, in my friends, the music i love, and my family.

in conclusion, Oldies station has become the song that shows growth and strength. You are never alone, there is always someone or something that can help you keep going. and Twenty One Pilots may just be that thing.

[sparklypepper]

@hungarianmudkip69 recently asked @vaspider about the spread of HIV. The excellent discussion there focused largely on qualitative aspects, notably what was going on socially in the 1970s and 80s, HIV's subtlety and long incubation periods, and exponential growth (along with a great refutation of accidental needle sticks as a dominant vector).

I've got a math and physics background - I have some extremely relevant intuition, but I still prefer being able to find real-world numbers to confirm that I haven't misapplied it. I encourage checking out all the links in this post; there's a lot of great information!

We can't literally go back in time and test everyone for HIV, but it is possible to model and estimate, e.g. this 2021 report from the CDC (US-only).

The second graph of figure #2 is very close to what we discussed:

(MMSC is male-to-male sexual contact and IDU is injection drug use; see the article for other details.)

Again, these are estimates, so we can't take the exact numbers as fact, but let's look at the big picture. HIV likely first arrived in the US around 1970; it first gained public attention in 1981, when the CDC reported cases of what we now call AIDS. At that point, the estimate is an order of magnitude of tens of thousands of HIV infections.

The original asker was interested in the behavior of a "patient zero" (see also "Debunking the Myth of Patient Zero", an excellent video linked in that thread). These numbers help us see how little effect one hypothetical person's behavior could have had on the end result. As long as the virus was transmitted at all, it was going to reach the highest-risk populations eventually, and spread once there, whether it took one hop or ten. It was also essentially impossible to notice the pattern and infer the existence of HIV/AIDS in the US until multiple people in the same community developed AIDS and contracted unusual infections - which most likely means that it's reached that high-risk population, and ten years have passed.

Tens of thousands of infections is simply the result of exponential growth during those ten years; stopping it from becoming an epidemic would've required everyone's behavior to have changed. Different behavior, different transmission, different number of hops early on would more likely have changed how long it took to spread widely enough to become noticeable, not whether it did. (An unfortunately familiar concept, in the year 2023.)

The authors also mention that "trend data comparing subpopulations is likely to be robust for each period examined", so let's look back at those individual lines. Injection drug use (IDU) actually was a fairly significant means of transmission by the 1980s, and by the mid-80s, the spread among gay/bi men (MMSC) was beginning to decline. At the end of the decade, IDU may even have passed MMSC. Simultaneously, transmission was still rising among straight people. It shouldn't be too surprising that straight sex became significant; there are rather a lot of straight people!

The CDC also has us covered for a more current picture, as of 2017-2021 in the US:

This does vary greatly by country. Notably, as of 2022 in England, 49% of new diagnoses were among heterosexuals, compared to 45% among gay/bi men. (Do keep in mind that there are far more straight people, so still, a far higher fraction of gay/bi men were diagnosed.)

I personally find that I get the best understanding when I'm able to combine some direct evidence/data with an understanding of the history and social forces; hopefully this piece helps at least one person out in that way!

[Finally, as a footnote: trans women also exist (hi I'm one) and have historically been at high risk. I am unsure to what extent trans women are omitted versus misgendered in the above data. I wanted to focus on historical estimates over time here, and unfortunately wasn't able to find that for trans women, but this review article links to and summarizes some data from two meta-analyses.]

[total-drama-brainrot]

Hello! About the fake dating!au, I was wondering how the episode Niagara brawls would play out if Alenoaheather was happening. Would Alejandro and heather still be paired up or would one of them be paired up with Noah?

Well, to be entirely honest, I haven't really thought too much on it yet. Mostly because it's still kind of up-in-the-air as to when Noah's elimination would take place in this AU. I think we've sort of settled on post-merge, so he would be present in the Niagara Falls challenges, but the timeline's still really vague so I personally haven't really invested any time in figuring out the semantics of how each episode would play out.

But since you asked, I might as well toss my hat into the ring! I'll just type out my thoughts as they come, so please excuse this response if it's a little all-over-the-place or formatted weirdly.

Off the bat, it's been fairly well established that the canon final four remains unchanged, so at the very least both Sierra and Cody are still present in this challenge; this is important, since in canon the only reason Heather ends up partnered with Alejandro is because Sierra is the one who rejects him as a husband first. I don't really see a reason to change the canonical play of events here, unless a brainstorming session later on down the line necessitates Noah being paired with either Heather or Alejandro for whatever reason. Mostly just because keeping as many "pre-written" plot points as possible lessens the workload on our shoulders (us, of course, being me and @perpetualexistence, and occasionally @ur-local-brown-multifandomist).

But that does leave the question of who Noah would be paired with.

And again, this would be super dependant on who's left in the competition at this point; since Noah's made it to the merge, we know someone has to have taken his place in the London elimination- just that small change could have potential consequences on all of the subsequent eliminations afterwards, so the merge cast might look almost completely different to World Tour's "official" line-up.

And this is also super dependant on whether or not it's Blaineley who wins the Aftermayhem challenge- I'm not sure if any of the others intend to swap her out for a more interesting/plot relevant contestant (which, as much as I do love Blaineley, she's just find of there with no real relevance to the story) like perhaps Lindsay, Leshawna or maybe even Beth- I assume it'd have to be a girl, since the show itself works to even out it's gender ratios, but it could hypothetically be anyone.

So Noah's partner could be... literally anyone, save for the Final Four (Alejandro, Heather, Sierra and Cody).

...Unless?

Now, don't judge me here, but I do kind of like the idea of Noah ending up with Heather as his partner. Maybe it's the vast potential of how their (entirely self-constructed, and self-indulgent) character dynamic could play out in this scenario, or maybe I just want the opportunity to write Noah trying and failing to pick up Heather, eventually leading to her being the one to carry him across the Falls tightrope like a pathetic, soggy kitten. Or maybe I'm just getting my Noaheather on- who knows?

All I'm saying is, they'd be giving a lot of Connecticut Clark and Malfina vibes and I'm so here for it.

And maybe I just want to see something new; there's so many explorations of how an Alenoah Niagara Brawls challenge would play out (and they're all wonderful, don't get me wrong!) so it's time to give some other pairings the spotlight!

Plus, this particular scenario would not only allow the contestants to see Heather and Noah acting like the "fake" couple they're supposed to be, but Alejandro could also play it as either a double-breach of his trust (since he's also supposed to be "fake" dating Noah, at least, and he has his whole romantic rivalry with Heather) or take advantage of his position and try to charm whoever he's partnered up with and either secure a valuable ally for later on down the road, or beguile his next elimination target into a false sense of security- since a huge part of Alejandro's character is his conniving flirtatiousness, and I don't want to completely negate that.

Now that I'm thinking about it, Alejandro's flirty nature could be a conflict point between himself and his partners. That's a thought for another time, though.

But, again, it's still very up-in-the-air and I don't really think I can give a definitive answer until a proper elimination order has been established- or, at the very least, the elimination order pre-merge. So, uh, sorry for the lack of a definitive answer!

[thenameisgul]

The thing with Castiel is that he had a lot of storylines that had potential to develop, but were cut short for whatever reason I don't understand: like Godtiel, humancas. For example, with humancas, an entire season could be devoted to exploiting that, it could be a separate storyline unrelated to Sam or Dean, he could meet other angels and have to solve problems himself. etc. But no, they abandoned it after a few episodes, for what? to make Dean not look like an asshole for abandoning Cas when he was most vulnerable, so as not to divert the audience's attention away from two brothers? I have a feeling the writers kept Cas/Misha around because of his popularity with fans, but never gave him the status he deserved for a character with so much potential and importance to the story line. I'm only in ss10 and heard that Cas is treated even worse in the later seasons, I don't know if I should continue watching or not.

if there's one thing I realized pretty early on when I was finally watching season 7 after a decade long break, was that in the Supernatural universe, there was no other character that was as interesting and multifaceted as Castiel.

The second thing I realized was that it was not a very good thing for the showrunners to have a supporting character be like that when your entire show revolves around two brothers.

The reason they killed off Castiel in early season 7 was because they wanted the show to go back to being about Sam and Dean and with Apocalypse over, they didn't know what to do with Castiel. But clearly, he was too popular and they brought him back because the network itself told them to bring him back.

Now, a good writer would've been able to find a balance to keep Cas' story relevant and entangled with the Winchesters, as they did in season 6 but with Kripke leaving the show and new management in the writer's room, that didn't happen.

I almost, almost get it? Like, you have your story, you have your lead characters and people love them but suddenly you bring a supporting character who becomes an instant fan favorite, who's, debatably, a lot more interesting because of the history you gave him but never intended to explore and now he's sticking around so you just don't know what to do to make him not take over the narrative? You make him weak.

Cas couldn't have stayed the badass, powerful angel who's lived for a millennia because then that'll require the show to have villians even more powerful than that to be any competition and that leaves the Winchesters irrelevant.

So they tamed him down alot, which in itself wouldn't have been such a bad thing, especially if they went with the human!cas arc for longer like you said but to do that would've meant they couldn't use Cas as an easy way out of all winchester's problems and they needed that too so 🤷‍♀️

My main problem with all of that, mostly comes from the fact that, and I may be wrong here, but it seemed like the writers actively resented misha/castiel for being popular. Like he was, in misha's words "a foil to the boys" and while the writers couldn't let him go because the show would lose ratings, they actively diminished him. The random demeaning comments about Castiel from other characters, especially, from dean seemed a little too pointed. Not to mention how the producers actually publicly said 'misha wasnt a good actor' when he's literally one of the best actors on the show!

So yeah, if supernatural had better writers, or atleast if they kept hold of the good ones (because there were some good ones) they could've given Cas and the show a better story.

I hate to say it but they did it to Sam too. Sam was such an complex character but they just stopped trying after a while with his character. So I guess it was a theme with these writers.

And as a Castiel fan, its frustrating, I gotta say that. But you know what the best part is? that no matter what they did, how dumb the storyline they gave him he still came out as the most interesting character every time. So there you go.

So I'd say watch the show, its really good when it gets good or maybe just open Misha's page on Supernatural wiki and only watch his episodes if that's your thing because tbh, you wouldn't miss much if you left the rest. lol

[itsclydebitches]

Continuing my perhaps delusional argument/hope that Ted permanently returning to Kansas is just a red herring, I was thinking about our references and callbacks this episode. Specifically, how they don't paint Kansas in a positive or unique light.

The Wizard of Oz pinball game is definitely the most on-the-nose nod to his return, yet in the scene itself Ted is literally refusing to play.

When we get a closeup on the machine we're shown Dorothy's house spinning out of control. That is, a moment when she leaves Kansas for the bright world of Oz, not the ruby slippers of her return.

Similarly, Beard loses his game before Ted walks over. The ending of the Wicked Witch is one wherein Dorothy (Ted) does not go back home.

(I'm not entirely sure what to do with this one yet, but having Mae quote "This Be the Verse" is certainly A Choice. Though I think the overall message -- people, specifically parents, will inevitably hurt their kids -- is an uplifting and very relevant argument within Ted Lasso's heartfelt context -- ergo we should acknowledge that we'll never be perfect while still striving to improve -- but that last line? Oof. "Get out early as you can / And don't have kids yourself"? That's not the proposed solution I'd expect for an episode that was sending Ted back to his son for good. Obviously Ted already has Henry, but it may be significant that Mae eschews a generic 'You can do it!' argument for a far more nuanced and harder to swallow conclusion, perhaps one that heralds Ted's controversial decision to stay separated from Henry for at least part of the year.)

(Also let's toss in the fact that Dottie uses a football metaphor -- not American football -- to describe how Ted needs to parent: sometimes you lose, sometimes you win, mostly you just tie, and all you can do it keep playing.)

Finally, we've got references to both BBQ sauce and sunflowers via Ted's WiFi password and the bread Dottie bakes him, Ted's "favorite."

Half a season ago these would have been straightforward references to Kansas, positive ones at that. However, post-S3E6 (literally titled "Sunflowers") Ted has both of these beloved objects tied to the UK instead. He enjoys the beauty of Van Gogh's Sunflowers in the Amsterdam museum and finds a BBQ sauce so good that it inspires him to (hopefully!) win it all in his English sport.

It might just be me reading into things because I'm looking for my preferred ending to the series... but also I don't think I am because it's weird that Kansas is continually framed as a negative this season. Ted is still super awkward with Michelle. Her new boyfriend is kinda awful and likewise makes him incredibly uncomfortable (understandably). The Wizard of Oz references aren't targeting the happy aspects of the story, or even the parts about going home. The symbolic references to Ted's beloved state (sunflowers, BBQ sauce, the little green army men) have all been integrated into his life here. We get a whole episode about how once Ted learns to focus on Henry instead of Michelle, Henry has a fantastic time living in London. Hell, this episode opens with Ted enthusiastically greeting everyone he passes on his walk, a beloved member of the community, a staple of this town... and then his mood turns sour when he hits his Kansas-sprung mom.

Obviously Ted is undergoing some last-minute growth when it comes to being a father to Henry (and healing the rift with Dottie), but I think Ted's in-universe improvement is misleading, implying that because he may think he needs to return to Kansas, that's actually how the story is going to end. If that were the end-goal though, I would expect the subtext to have a more hopeful, optimistic feel to it; something that not just implies Ted's return, but argues why he would want to outside of Henry.

If none of that is relevant... that's going to be even worse for me than Ted just going back to Kansas. A Kansas ending framed as a positive is far from my preference, but it's (arguably) a strong conclusion to Ted's journey. A Kansas ending after all these implied negatives both isn't my preference and feels like more objectively bad writing.

[canonmisogynyvictimstournament]

PROPAGANDA

FLORA REINHOLD (PROFESSOR LAYTON)

1.) I MEAN WHERE DOES ONE START!

Okay so in the first game (curious village) she’s locked in a tower, cut off from civalisation because her dad died and he wants her to find a worthy suitor. Not a suitor her age, a suitor who’s nice just a suitor who can solve lots of puzzles. Flora is so ill equipped for the real world because of her father. AND her dad definately set up this marrage trap when she was under 10. I mean it’s a woman who’s left in a tower for a worthy suitor. She’s not even trusted to go into town alone! The town is full of clockwork people! No one is even real!

Then in the next game she’s left behind because mystery solving is just to much for her dainty self! So she sneaks on after them, claiming she doesnt, “want to be left all alone again”. In the same game she’s kidnapped, has her identity stolen and no one notices because her only characterisation is she likes pretty things and then when they finally do notice and find out she was abandoned in a barn no one cares! SHE’S IMMEDIATELY LEFT ALL ALONE AGAIN. :(

In the third game Professor Layton lies to her to give her the slip. He has never lied in the entire series but he lies to her because she couldnt take going on this latest adventure. She’s the only character to faint during time travel (which doesnt even make sense) and KEEPS GETTING LEFT ALONE. She’s even left in a cage with her kidnapper who’s apparently only helping them for Flora. I mean she’s deeply uncomfortable when she’s caged with him, no one gave her a heads up that she would be caged with him.

She’s the only female character with the professor in the main trillogy who isnt a housekeep or secutary and her only characterisation ever is she likes pretty things and cant cook.

Thw writers then go on to make Katrielle’s game. A game about the Professor’s daughter. Not Flora the person he took into his care this entirely new character. My argument on why she’s a victim of mysogony there is they wrote her in outdated form and upon reciving critisism decided to sweep her under the rug and replace her with other characters. >:(

2.) Shafted SO hard because the writer’s immediately didn’t have any more ideas about what to do with her. She was set up as a mysterious character in her first appearance, and actually had plot relevance and a lot of potential moving forward. (Light PL spoilers)

However! In the next game, the main character just immediately leaves her at home to ‘keep her safe’, despite bringing a boy younger than her with him. She follows them, gets to join their investigation for all of about maybe an hour of gameplay, and then is promptly kidnapped unceremoniously, and literally locked in a barn for the rest og the game. When the other characters realise she is missing, they do literally nothing and don’t go to collect her until the next day DURING THE GAME’S CREDITS.

In the next game, and the final one of the trilogy she appears in, the main character and his apprentice (once again, a boy younger than her) literally run away from her whilst she’s making them sandwiches. Just so they don’t have to bring her along. She’s also kidnapped AGAIN, and does absolutely nothing about it (doesn’t even attempt to struggle) so that the main character can come in and save her. :|

Additionally, she’s never put in any side material set in the right time frame for her to be there, including not even being MENTIONED in the spin-off sequel (although that game is weird about what references it makes anyway), except for the movie, where she’s in it to once again be told to stay behind, and she gets a single word long line.

A lot of people come out of these games complaining that Flora has no personality, because the writer’s were apparently so determined to keep her off-screen that it was easy for people to question what kind of a character she even is. (She has one, they just don’t show it often enough.)

3.) She is constantly left behind and treated like a little girl even though she’s older than Luke, while he is respected as Layton’s apprentice. They don’t even eat her sandwiches :( They also have a running joke of her being really bad at cooking, but that’s literally the only thing they let her do! She also gets kidnapped TWICE (that is, every game she’s in but the first one) and the first time she gets impersonated by the bad guy and NO ONE NOTICES for most of the game.

Also in the Japanese version she’s “of marriageable age” and apparently really wants to marry Layton when she’s older… and that’s one of her key character traits in that version. She has a really cool backstory but after the first game she’s reduced to “girl whining about how they leave her behind all the time”. It’s like they wanted to fridge her but realized they couldn’t do that to a little girl.

DEANNA TROI (STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION)

1.) Apparently, Deanna was originally intended to be TNG’s Spock replacement, a highly intelligent and rational character. Unfortunately, because she was a pretty woman, the decision was made to put her in a skin tight jumpsuit, at which point all that went out the window. Her actress has complained about this and is the source for her being originally intended to be similar to Spock but being written differently after the costume decision. She’s constantly being put through godawful plots where she’s victimized in ways that male characters - and even the other women who aren’t treated as sexy props - are not, she’s constantly being badgered to get married, she’s constantly being given love interests who there’s no reason whatsoever for her to be interested in.There was one scene where she had to eat ice cream and she kept having to spit it out off screen because the outfit they put her in was so tight she couldn’t eat. She’s an interesting character who is frequently relegated to sexy lamp status even though when she IS written well she is very competent and has skills no one else on the crew has. She literally gets teleported out of her clothes in one episode. Justice for Deanna

2.) She is an underused and underdeveloped character compared to her male counterparts. She is the only character who wears a deep-cleavage suit instead of a standard Starfleet uniform (thankfuly she does wear an uniform in latest seasons). Whenever she gets more screentime it’s only to have her body or mind violated. She is a psychologist with empathy powers, but it feels like writers didn’t really know what a counselor is for in a futuristic spaceship full of men who don’t go to therapy, so she barely has anything to do except having her powers conveniently blocked, weakened or taken away by alien of the week.

I love her because she was such a sweet, caring and intelligent character, but the writers clearly wanted her to be a hot babe of the show.

Saving grace: she really does improve in the laters seasons.

3.) She is mostly relegated to being a potted plant or a sexy lamp. She is supposed to be an empath, but mostly she gets to go “captain, i think he might be lying” about characters who everyone can see are definitely lying. AND everyone else in the show gets to wear a uniform and she doesnt for NO REASON untill the second to last season of the show (and even then it isnt Her Choice, but a man makes her do it) (and the female uniform is a catsuit for no reason, the male uniform is. a shirt and pants at this point). OH and maybe 75% or her plotlines are either men assaulting her in some way or another

[girderednerve]

look starting a new job is stressful okay

i'm still thinking about the gay priests show! sorry!

i want there to be more weird fanfiction porn about people doing something which is clearly & obviously sexual but is Not Sex. many of the stories that do this are like, help-a-buddy-out BDSM stories & those usually end with the characters having sex, with the understanding that that's what they wanted to be doing all along. i think this forecloses interesting options. in my opinion. as a weirdo who has a complicated (if boring) relationship to its body

this is relevant because i think there is a lot of interesting stuff going on in the idea of clerical chastity, why people make that vow & how they understand keeping it [not touching the cruel & twisted ways that some people have interpreted the limitations of this promise for purposes of this post]. i'm not insisting that our characters must keep their clerical vows (marcus at least has been defrocked, so his vows have been broken for him from the other side) but i do think that there is probably some spiritual weight to making a promise to god & keeping it which they might find useful in their line of work

even if we ultimately want them to deconstruct this way of relating to god, i am not especially interested in just having them come out the other side as anglicans. we already have anglicans. we do not need to reinvent anglicans. what does it mean to be a catholic priest, whose faith is continually tested in the crucible of the devil is literally real & he's calling you names, who knowingly & repeatedly breaks a vow?

i'm justifying my insistence that we can have them do weird not-sex instead, at least as a way of thinking through this problem, but i do insist. here are some ideas i thought of that they could do instead

erotically charged foot washing. um hello? this one is basically canon already? plus we are all in a big rush to have both of them be jealous of the other for their relationship to god (marcus envies tomas' purity, his kindness, his bloodless hands; tomas envis marcus' clarity of purpose). either way you run it one of them is in imitatio christi; here you are, humbly tending to your beloved companion's dirtiness, & also hey nice ankles. or, alternatively, there you are, emotionally flattened by your beloved companion's attentiveness to your body, torn between how nice it feels & how holy you think he is. it's crispy that's all i'm saying

bootblacking related plus it's fun for me

bondage practice. multiple directions to go here but they spend a lot of time tying up possessed people for their safety & the safety of the possessed person. they're always doing chain & manacle situations, which you cannot buy in a random hardware store, so presumably marcus is just like. toting around manacles. okay well. let's break them out! here's how you do it without hurting the person you're trying to save or letting them hurt you. like sorry to be a basic bitch here i guess

alternatively they probably do need to know how to improvise restraints that are effective & not dangerous, time to break out that hojojutsu manual that you totally bought for professional reasons, marcus, let's go. i'm not saying you need to do the vulgar fanfiction instant subspace thing, but i think it would be emotionally disarming to be tied up by your older mentor, whom you envy & love & sometimes fear; it also might be satisfying to tie him up, especially since he left you once when you needed him. i didn't claim to be deep okay. marcus putting on tomas' collar in s1 rocked let's do it more

i already said sexy confession & i pretty much meant that but they might not want to do it because of: it's a sacrament. i'm not interested in having them sit in a confessional booth, though, i want a mutual practice of hearing one another out & offering repair & reassurance, which slides into personal intimacy

uh. piss. or really anything that involves some aspect of control, humiliation, & bodily release that is Not Sex. i think both of them would be squeamish for different reasons about inflicting pain, which takes a bunch of obvious stuff of the table, & i have no idea how people manage e.g. sneezing kink. but there's a controlling aspect here that i think could work

related line but proxy sex. marcus isn't bound by his vows anymore; he could have sex & tell tomas about it in detail, and tomas could become more involved in marcus' choice of sexual partners. i like this idea even more if tomas is aware of his prurient interest & frank about it with marcus, and they decide what to do about it together

when i say humiliation i do not mean internalized homophobia the ao3 tag. i just do not think that is interesting to read about in this context, for me personally. i think both tomas & marcus are both pretty clearly on the liberal end of things as far as catholicism goes, which means that acting on homosexual desire for them should be no more of a crime than acting on any other sexual desire. don't theologize me i'm sticking to my story here

also btw i am not interested in policing the boundaries of what is & isn't sex i am just thinking up stuff that these guys could do together that lets them marinate for a long time in that suspended moment between an explicitly sexual & romantic relationship and a platonic partnership, because i like the precariousness & deliberateness of it. they're sisterwives for god <3

[rachthepoet]

Satellite Analysis

There's always one song from an artist's release that their following chooses to adopt as their own, and Satellite quickly became the said embraced, and it's not hard to puzzle together why that is. Musically, it's atmospheric and pleasing to the ears, and the shifts in intensity offer stompin' dance breaks. It's impossible to not shimmy your shoulders when listening — believe me, I've tried. Distinct from the danceability, though, is a tenderness so dear that it flies under the radar. And maybe not so separated, as the production and music even aid it when listened closely.

As a song, it delves into the complexities of a relationship where communication and connection seem to be drifting apart. Painting a picture of someone trying to reach out to another, for they're no longer in each others' lives. It's a longing for dialogue and reconnection as the emotional distance is ever highlighted through extended metaphor. It takes the simplistic human desire and nature for companionship and dips it into an intoxicating otherworldly basis.

Here's a deep dive into Harry Styles' Satellite, from a poet.

Satellite, A Metaphor 🛰️

Felt like Augustus Waters typing that just now. Anywho. The song orbits around an extended metaphor, with a symbol strong enough to stand alone at the heart. The Satellite. And understanding it all thoroughly is the key to understanding this piece in all its wonder.

First, let's talk about the symbol itself. A satellite is, by dictionary definition, an artificial body placed in orbit around the earth, moon, or another planet to collect information or for communication. In this scenario, the satellite is an extension of the speaker as the speaker has become much like the satellite itself. Got it? And I feel like it's relevant to mention how the relationship between a satellite and the object it is orbiting is often a give-and-take dynamic. The satellite will send signals to the object and the object keeps the satellite connected. And, when there's a disconnection — a break in the two's casual communication — there's a need for recalibration — seeking that connection with the other person again.

Now, time for the grandiose metaphor at play. The feeling being portrayed is one of being stuck in perpetual orbit — close yet distant, constantly revolving around the person they care about without being able to connect. A distinct emotional distance carries on through the whole song, and there's not a clear resolution — which is something I actually prefer, for that's not how things truly are. Sometimes one is just stuck in perpetual orbit. He utilizes the celestial to explore themes of longing, unrequited dynamics, and the struggle to maintain connection when life pulls people in different directions. But, even in this melancholia, there's a balance with an added sense of hopefulness, for he remains present and waiting.

Lyric Pull Apart

[VERSE 1] You got a new life Am I bothering you? Do you wanna talk? We share the last line Then we drink the wall 'til we wanna talk

In the very first line, You got a new life, which straight away addresses that a significant shift has taken place. The receiver's day-to-day schedule differs from what it used to be, and, as I find he likes to do within his writing, this can be taken literally and metaphorically. In the literal sense, they are busier, have more activities or responsibilities than previously, etcetera. Yet, metaphorically, the receiver's perspective on things has changed significantly since the last time the two were close (emotionally, physically, or both).

Then, from the second line onward, he's already tip-toeing around the desire to start a conversation, spark a connection, and initiate this recalibration. Yet, due to his insecurities, there's an underlying fear of being a bother to them — unsure if they share the same desire for rectification — but still asks if they can speak.

Issues in communication are present consistently in his catalog of pieces, whether in relationship to the self or within relationships. I find this essential to explore, the patterns in someone's work and the evolution. Each time it has been referenced in the past, the representation surfaced in two ways: (i) a general resistance to communicate/refusing to take the blame for issues sprawled in front of him; (ii) waiting for a conversation to begin without doing anything himself to initiate it. But, things are different now. And this is a common theme across the "Harry's House" album, where lots of his old themes are present but have evolved to something more reflective and mature. Now, he's initiating, inviting the person to connect with him after time estranged. Stepping over that fear and continuing to try. Do you wanna talk? Because I really want to! I do!

The last two lines, We share the last line / Then we drink the wall 'til we wanna talk, are where, admittedly, I got a bit muddled at first. I concluded that we're in the midst of another literal and metaphorical situation, where it can be taken both ways with upheld substance, much like the nature of the first line. Literally, also known as prominent drug/alcohol references, it would make sense. There's this pre-determined need to not be sober when reopening communication, perhaps to be more honest and open to the more difficult things that could come. They need to remove some of the tension built up. In this case, drinking the wall leads to a wine rack. The other option is spinning yourself into the more abstract, with Then we drink the wall 'til we wanna talk being another variation on breaking down the walls. Walls and tension have been built up, and they need to evaporate it sip by sip.

Also, an additional sentiment is that We share the last line could be referring to the line preceding inside this very song. The line that comes before that ending couplet is: Am I bothering you? Do you wanna talk? And I love the idea of referencing a song inside said song. Feels like a lite version of a matryoshka doll. Anyway. Since "we" is used here, there can be an assumed sense of mutuality where both wish to communicate (another difference and progression from themes in previous albums, interesting to note). So, they share the last line, Do you wanna talk?, as that's the initiation for said communication.

[PRE-CHORUS] I go 'round and 'round Satellite

This is where that grandiose metaphor comes in. The speaker compares himself to a satellite going around and around a planet, which in turn is someone he considers his world or a big center of gravity to his life, even after their connection has broken. The purpose of the artificial satellite is communication, but it's kept at a perfect distance from the body around which it orbits — the receiver needs their space, so he's quite literally giving them space. Even in the metaphors residing in space, you have to smile at wordplay.

Additionally, the phrasing I go 'round and 'round represents the satellite's orbit pattern, but I theorize there's a second connotation alluding to repetitiveness. He spins 'round and 'round over and over, letting himself be known, but the other person won't open the door. And it wouldn't be the first time in "Harry's House" that there was a cyclical ideation, soon to be seen in the song Boyfriends that follows directly after.

[CHORUS] Spinnin' out, waitin' for ya to pull me in I can see you're lonely down there Don't you know that I am right here? Spinnin' out, waitin' for ya to pull me in I can see you're lonely down there Don't you know that I am right here?

He's spinning out in orbit and waits, Waitin' for ya to pull me in, and that's all he can do. All that can be done is to circle around the person and quietly observe them. And one of these observations that he makes is that the person is lonely, I can see you're lonely down there. There are many conclusions one can come to to fathom the reasoning behind this, but, to remain within the context of the song -- he believes they're lonely in terms of them being left alone to think about their thoughts, thoughts they previously shared with him in moments of emotional intimacy. The said emotional intimacy he's orbiting around, trying to recalibrate and bring back connection. He desperately wants to be a part of these conversations again. Even deeper, the isolated down there phrasing could be a play on the common saying of someone feeling down, which can contribute to an emotional shutout, which then, further, contributes to the disconnection.

Don't you know that I am right here? is the core question of the piece. The speaker has made it clear that this orbiting is done with his own will, but there's also frustration, wondering how long he can go on in this cyclical desperation to reconnect. There's melancholy and desperation as he observes the other meticulously, and sees they're lonely. But he's always been there, and they either don't realize or refuse to. Therefore, it leads him to a moment of pondering, wondering: Don't you know that I'm here for you? To communicate and help you through? I can see you're lonely down there, but I'm here with open arms, so you don't have to be anymore. I'm waiting for your green light to eliminate this tense space between us.

And that leads perfectly to the double meaning of Spinnin' out: the more colloquial meaning is another way to express that someone is panicking, which could be an emotion surfaced because of this distance and space between. Then, if one wants to dive deeper, you bring in the following Waitin' for ya to pull me in, which can have an accompanying meaning of gravity to tie in with the celestial theme — he's waiting for them to take him by the hand, both metaphorically and literally, and show reciprocation in the desire for reconnection.

[VERSE 2] I'm in a L.A. mood I don't wanna talk to you She said, "Give me a day or two"

The second verse and the first are opposites, and that's interesting. And, in my guesses, there are two separate readings possible, and depends on perspective. Whether you read it from the speaker's mouth or the receiver's.

Starting with the latter, this second verse is a response. And it shouldn't be lost how the length is shorter and more brief. When considering this being from the receiver to the speaker, it comes off as dismissive. A shutdown of the hand of the speaker's reaching out, as the receiver quickly asks for more space and time, Give me a day or two, with a brief explanation, I'm in a L.A. mood, while sneaking in the real intention in this stalling, I don't wanna talk to you. Though he's constantly open to reconnection, the other is not.

Now, if there's no perspective change, the speaker's reverting back to old habits in reaction to frustration. A prime example of the reaction to the action, or in this case nonaction, is how he regresses back to his struggle with communication and says in the most obvious manner: I don't wanna talk to you. It's a bit jarring after the song thus far shows a desire, almost desperation, for communication. But there's some more reasoning, and it lies in the line before, I'm in a L.A. mood. He's using the phrase to embody the professional and work mood and mindset, and how one usually compartmentalizes work and private life. I'm shoving it into the back of my mind for now, which could also provoke a bad mood as well. Followed then with She said, "Give me a day or two", maybe either bringing in the other perspective briefly or just an encouragement to keep himself focused for another day or two. A bit of a sloppy interpretation, but one nonetheless, and I hope it all made sense as I tried to verbalize it.

[PRE-CHORUS AND CHORUS REPETITION]

[BRIDGE] Right here, right here Spinnin' out, waitin' for ya I'm here, right here Wishin' I could be there for ya Be there for ya Be there for ya, for ya For ya Be there for ya

The beloved bridge, and very much well-loved by myself, as well. What began as an easy, swaying, otherworldly melody has now built up to an explosion of emotions expressed. The frustration amplifies, as he keeps being turned away again and again. As the speaker waits for them to see him and listen, the receiver doesn't seem to be able to reciprocate. Though his care for them remains genuine and prominent, the impatience courses vigorously. All his frustration builds up from the first verse and progresses through the piece, leading up to right now, the bridge we all love, as he lets it all out. He yells. He cries louder. He's right there.

This is the visual I get in my hand. A ghostly figure of the speaker in front of the receiver, with his hand on their shoulders, but they're unable to feel his touch. But he's trying to shake them, and trying to make them see again and again that he's right here. I'm here, right here sounds comforting, like he's trying to give solace to his other. I'm here. You're not alone, you don't need to be lonely. Then, he continues on to say Wishin' I could be there for ya which illustrates the emotional distance and physical distance simultaneously, as he cries out that extra mile about how he just wishes so deeply he could be there for them.

Satellite is grounding your partner while floating in their gravity, waiting for them to pull you in and let you be there for them. It makes me think of long nights, at the end of summer, when you lay outside on a picnic blanket and finally bear your soul out to someone under the stars to the soundtracks of the season. The music makes you feel like you’re floating into another place and time. It’s like a cacophony, the musicality of the song reflecting Harry’s exasperation. Whirring guitars, sun-dappled synths, and even cymbals bloom all over the song, and it all sticks with you for a long time.

dedicated to this anon and this anon <3

Thank you for reading, you’re absolutely incredible! If there are any songs you’d like me to make an analysis of, please send your request to my inbox! along with any questions or insights you might have yourself!

[rocketkid300]

(for the wip game)

lucky i am bursting at the seams these all sound DELIGHTFUL but i am dying to know more about the One Last Stop AU and the Costco my lord & savior au

HI ANSLEY!!! Omg prepare for a YAP session on the OLS AU:

The OLS AU is based off of the romcom novel One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston. So we’ve got Megumi as the MC (August Landry) who’s a total cynic, just moved to New York for college and to get away from his family, recover from his sister’s death, and figure out what he wants to do with his life ect. He’s not having a good time at all with his weird new roommates (Nobara and Maki who are dating, Yuuta who is 100% not haunted). Until he has a crazy run-in with this stranger on the subway, Yuuji (starring as Jane Sui) who is literally Meg’s ideal type. Megumi keeps running into Yuuji on the train, and seeing him becomes the highlight of his day. Until he starts to realize that Yuuji is like kinda… not from this time. As in… he was supposed to get off his stop a while ago, and for some reason, is still here and missing his memories. TIME ANOMALY. So Megumi has to figure out why Yuuji’s tethered to the line, and how to get him unstuck and back to his own time. Problem is, Megumi’s really starting to fall for Yuuji, so he’s got this impossible decision between finding a way to send Yuuji back to where he belongs, or letting himself fall in love with someone who was never meant to stay :)

I  really want to write this story because a) I  REALLY liked the novel it was a huge inspiration for me. b) Cool opportunity to have a bunch of plotlines running at once with the side characters and the mystery aspect. c) I  get to write about NYC!! I ‘ve been there a bunch and I  have a hate/love relationship with the place, there’s really nowhere else quite like it! The city’s like it’s own character it’s got so much personality. d) Can write a lot about queer/immigration history and cultural diaspora from the 1970’s onwards, both of which are very relevant topics to me. And ofc itafushi works as this dynamic SO well, they’re all about finding new ways to say each other, Megumi choosing to help Yuuji even though he knows he’s gonna get his heart broken in the end plays right into the abandonment issues, and Yuuji as this amazingly kind person who’s stuck in like a universe-breaking impossible situation UGH it’s so good. 

Problem is, I ‘d have to do SO much research. NYC through the past five decades, NYC subway system, Japan-US diaspora, US highways, immigration laws, queer subculture+music, figuring out all the distances, dates and time oh lord I ‘d need to MLA format everything otherwise I ‘d hate myself

As for the Costco AU: It’s a lot more simple! I  love Costco, but it’s really only cost effective to have a membership if you’re feeding a family/a group of people. I  saw this tiktok once of a college friend group splitting a membership together so they could break even on the prices and IT HIT ME. Yuuji needs someone to share a Costco membership with, and Megumi agrees to do it because he wants cheap groceries. So they go grocery shopping together every week, and they have to act like they’re together (because Costco got rid of membership sharing and they definitely don’t look related). And it’s just them being really domestic and buys food together and then Yuuji starts inviting Megumi over to eat what he made with the stuff they bought OOOOOo it’d be so good I ‘d love to write it at some point!

[dailycharacteroption]

Malice Binder (Investigator Archetype)

(art by raynnerGIL on DeviantArt)

When one thinks of “witch hunter” in relation to Pathfinder, one typically thinks of some variant of the inquisitor class. I mean, it does have at least 3 anti-mage themed archetypes, among other things.

However, inquisitors, with all the baggage that comes with the concept, are not the only ones who may have beef with malicious practitioners of the arcane arts (or any, depending on their disposition). Indeed, some folk steeped in ancient traditions but with a keen mind, such as those living in rural communities, may learn enough of the old ways to fight back against those that would use them against them.

These so-called “Malice Binders” utilize old folk magic and the power of sympathetic magic as a weapon against magically-inclined foes, and if that sounds familiar, you’ve probably read about the 2E thaumaturge class, which sort of grew out of the inquisitor and occultist classes while managing to have magical folk power without ever casting a spell.

This archetype taps into two related concepts of the expert who deals with evil witches and mages, but also the “inquisition’s pet witch”, which can range in relationship from one of respect to one of abuse, these mage hunters (or perhaps a true mage in their company) being treated little better than a reviled but useful animal. Again, it really depends on the disposition of those involved.

Regardless, however, these hedge mages have what it takes to recognize the signs of magecraft and hitting mages where it hurts, so let’s take a look, shall we?

Rather than focus purely on knowledges, these investigators can apply their inspiration for free on skills associated with witch hunting, from recognizing magic and spells, tracking, and, most relevant to their skillset, the ability to steal from others with ease.

Indeed, the core ability of these hunters lies in their ability to acquire and recognize trinkets from their mark. Locks of hair, small baubles, scraps of cloth, and the like. Whether they steal it directly or find them in places where their prey has been, they can use these tokens in their own form of sympathetic magic.

Such effects include using an opposing holy symbol to instill dread, placing it between coins in the mouth to ward against the mage, soot to deafen or silence, rotten meat to repel them, literal salt in the wound to ward against further attacks, shackles to restrain, incense to fascinate, a compass to locate them, and an iron nail to inflict pain, all of which they must choose as they grow in skill.

Eventually, their skill at stealing such tokens from their marks becomes faster and easier, often leaving them shocked when they are missing even important items.

Alternatively, rather than learn a new fetter, these investigators can learn more traditional mundane or magical traps to help them literally ensnare their prey, not just ensorcell them.

This archetype is a clever idea for how to do a relatively nonmagical anti-mage, though the fact that these abilities don’t work on non-casters can be sometimes limiting, which is why the traps are a good alternate option. The fetters offer good defensive and offensive options for bringing down mages, and if you plan on taking traps too, I’d recommend those that deal continuous damage or inflict distracting conditions to help prevent spellcasting whenever possible. Beyond that, I recommend options to help disrupt in combat as well as better observe their environment.

I mentioned it earlier, but this archetype does remind me a bit of some things I’ve seen in fantasy fiction which toe the line between dark and even erotic, which might be inappropriate for some tables, so be careful where you draw inspiration from here. I imagine most characters will be simple witch hunters seeking to stop evil magic wherever they can, but even still, keep that in mind.

By inflaming anti-mage sentiment, the renegade chapter of the Sun God’s Faith known as the Unforgiving Eye has been gaining a lot of power and influence in recent years, and now they’re seeking to recruit malice binders from the hag-haunted lands of Ligos. However, there are plenty in Ligos that recognize the difference between good and evil practitioners, leading to something of a polarization among the populace.

Her family slain and her soul marked by a div cult, Vikari began learning all she could about the various weaknesses of magic and witchcraft so that she could destroy it wherever she found it. The young kasatha never expected, however, that she would find love among those she swore to destroy, however.

War is horror, and perhaps no war is more horrible than those where mages choose sides, leading to terrible destruction and survivors bearing curses worse than death. Seeking an edge, the party is sent to escort a malice binder seeking whatever scraps they can to cripple the enemy’s magical regiments… However, while scouring the battlefield, the party runs afoul a memitim psychopomp, who mistakes the occult arts of the binder as necromancy.