#might post on specific times depending on the countries I do

[tlbodine]

So, Things Are Terrible and You Want to DO SOMETHING

The election is over and, ah...did not go well. While a lot of folks are doing a post mortem of the campaigns and trying to understand what happened with the vote and fighting over who shoulders the blame, we've gotta turn an eye toward the future and figure out, okay fam, where the fuck do we go from here.

I don't have all the answers on this, and I'm not an authority by any means, I'm just a horror author with a blog. But I've been thinking a lot about it and I wanted to share my thought process with others who might want to DO SOMETHING but feel they're spinning their wheels.

Buckle in. This will be a long one.

Step One: Understand the actual risks and stakes.

I think it is very easy to start panicking now about the worst possible case scenario -- jackbooted military busting into the door to disappear everyone who ever said something mean about Trump or bought a banned book or something -- and let fear turn into inaction.

I'm not saying things can't get that bad, and I'm not saying that it won't be absolutely terrifying right out the gate for some particularly at-risk groups -- but the distance between "now" and "V for Vendetta" is long and filled with a lot of intermediary steps. There will be so many opportunities to prevent the worst case scenario.

I say this because, if your mental image of "Bad Things Happening" is The Purge, it will be easy to wake up on inauguration day, look outside to see that the world is not on fire, think, hey, maybe things will be okay after all, and then completely disengage. Alternatively, you might feel so frozen with terror at the possibility of persecution that you do nothing. This is why people are saying: don't obey in advance.

It is essential for those of us with more privilege to use it to take care of those who are more vulnerable.

So. Who is most vulnerable? What does that vulnerability actually mean? What are the most likely risks of Trump's presidency? Here's a Guardian article that I think does a good job of summarizing some of the main issues. Go read that, then come back here.

Step Two: Take steps to protect yourself

You've gotta put your oxygen mask on first, right? So before you start getting involved in other causes, figure out what risks YOU are at, immediately, and do as much as you can to secure yourself. Some potential action steps depending on your circumstance may include:

Renewing your passport (helpful for leaving the country, but also for gender/name change purposes)

Getting vaccines / boosters

Securing birth control

Ensuring your necessary papers (birth certificates etc.) are where you have access to them.

Drawing up legal paperwork for spouses/partners (always a good idea, a helpful safety measure in case you lose marriage rights)

Bolstering your data privacy and online security. Here's a step-by-step guide I found that could help with that.

The specific steps you need to take here depend on what risks you, personally, face. You'll want to do some more research into this for your particular scenario.

No matter who you are, though, it's probably a good idea to start saving money and being a little more conservative with your spending and/or pay down debts to free up some cash. You don't know what kind of emergency may befall you, and having spare money for an emergency is never a bad idea.

There is a possibility that the cost of many things you rely on might go up, if Trump goes through with his tariffs plan. You will want to plan for that.

Food costs may also rise due to tariffs (we import a lot of food from Mexico and Latin America for example) as well as a loss of immigrant labor. There is also a possibility that food safety standards could fall due to overturning regulations. Now would be a good time to look into local food resources like farm share/CSA, community farms, etc., and to stock up on a few key staples like rice and beans.

Okay. Now that YOU are reasonably safe...what can you do to protect your community?

Step Three: Get Involved

Here is your mission: You need to stay engaged enough to know what's going on, without burning yourself out or exhausting yourself, and to take actual decisive actions instead of wasting your energy arguing on the internet.

Got that? Okay. Good. Here are some action steps:

Support independent journalism. Subscribe to local papers, donate to and watch public broadcast programming. I signed up for news from ProPublica, for example, as well as the news-roundup service What The Fuck Just Happened Today. The goal is to stay informed without falling down an endless rabbit hole of upsetting information.

Share news and resources with others in your circle. This can be a good use of social media. It's what I am doing right now!

If it is safe for you to do so, challenge and educate your friends/family members/neighbors/coworkers. Only if it is safe for you to do so. Do not put yourself at risk doing this. And do not waste your time arguing with people who are unlikely to change. But if you have well-meaning people in your life who you think could be won over, look for opportunities to do this - the right way. I've had some success with this, I will probably write a guide about it in the future. In the meantime, here's a good article that can help.

Join local grassroots activism groups. You'll have to do some work to decide what groups to join and which causes you want to support, because you cannot do everything. But there are tons of organizations taking direct action in all kinds of causes. Search "grassroots [cause] activists in [where you live]" to start finding things. Once you get involved in one group, you might meet people who can introduce you to other groups and causes. Yes, this means you will have to go outside and meet people. I'm sorry.

Join direct action groups. Same concept as above. You'll have to search in your area but once you know people it'll be easier to find more opportunities. Some of these groups may overlap. You might find direct action opportunities by engaging politically and vice versa. GO OUTSIDE AND TALK TO PEOPLE WHO ARE DOING THINGS TO HELP.

Get involved in local politics. Here are some quick tips. A lot of things are affected at the city level - stuff like book bans and bathroom bills are often battled first at local libraries and schools, and you can be part of those conversations! Sheriffs are elected and can have a big influence on local policing. Local elections affect how tax dollars are spent, how homeless populations are treated, and lots more. Don't snooze on local elections. Get involved and stay involved.

Look up your representatives. Get in the habit of calling, emailing, and writing letters. Figure out what legislature is being passed and then call your reps and harangue them about it - both to support bills you approve of and shoot down ones you don't. Sign petitions. Join email campaigns. Here's one you can go sign right now from the ACLU. See? Not that scary.

I think a lot of people figure that getting involved in politics doesn't matter or that it's all small potatoes but...man. The president is not god, no matter what he thinks. The sitting administration is not the sole power in the universe. There is an entire machine of government we can lean upon and act upon.

Finally, some general safety notes:

Some forms of direct action are not legal. Take steps to be safe if you choose to partake. Follow the lead of more seasoned activists for what forms of communication to use and so forth.

If you're not willing or able to put yourself at legal risk to act, you can help others by donating to bail funds and legal defense funds.

We've already seen this in some areas, and it will only get uglier - some bad actors are feeling emboldened by the change in regime and will misbehave. It's a good idea to learn some self-defense skills, in whatever way is comfortable to you, and brush up on some tenets of victimology that can help you stay safe. I'll write more about that in the future.

All right. That's all for now. It's by no means comprehensive...but should hopefully help you get started taking the next step. Stay safe out there.

[theabigailthorn]

Hey I made a post a few days ago and someone referred me to you so I’m here to ask for advice and guidance because I’ve been in acting for years and it’s my life passion (stage acting specifically) but I’ve realized this year that I am a trans woman and I don’t know what to do about it because I feel like there are next to no opportunities for me in the community if I transition, especially when it comes to musicals and really anything during early transition. I’ve just started college and feel like now is the time to start pushing for hormones and whatnot if I’m going to transition but I don’t know if I should because I feel like there won’t be a place for me in the career I want anymore. I’m at a point where I could change career paths but I don’t really have anything else I want to do I’ve always just loved acting. So anyways I don’t know what to do and I’m kind of asking anyone for help who might listen or have valuable insights if you read this thank you for your time<3

Mm, this is a tricky one. Are you in Britain? If so then I agree that opportunities are thin on the ground, even more so than for cis people in the industry. I also don't think that's likely to improve quickly. Apart from a dearth of jobs, it helps to be realistic about the risks. I've had people in Britain tell me they straight up won't work with trans people, which is illegal but there's nothing you can do about it. I've had chats with other trans actors who feel there's a hard ceiling in Britain on what you're allowed to achieve, and it's a lot lower for us than it is for cis actors.

The British acting industry also has a chaser problem. One of the consequences of the widespread dehumanisation of trans people in this country is sexual abusers find we make good targets - we're already systemically vulnerable and many people don't care what happens to us. I've seen talented trans actors drop out or contemplate dropping out because they were sexually assaulted by a writer or director. A lot of cishet people still find it unspeakable that straight men prey on trans girls. As a purely hypothetical example, let's say there was a man with a history of being very creepy to women, especially young actresses, who went around sleeping with trans women in exchange for empty promises of work, and who also assaulted trans women at auditions for his big project, who everyone in the British entertainment trans community knows is a creep, who then went on to win a major award - wouldn't THAT just make you want to scromit?! 🙃 Purely hypothetical of course. This elite consensus that trans people are 'violable' also extends to less horrific but still awful things like cis people stealing our work, which isn't hypothetical and did in fact happen directly to me.

If you're in the USA then I think there's cause for optimism, depending a bit on what happens in November.

On the other hand, something they told me at drama school is "In order to have a career you must be two things: 1) Unique, and 2) Good to work with." So perhaps your transness will be your unique selling point! There's really no way to know until you try. And it wouldn't restrict you from making your own work either: look at people like Piss Carnation, who are doing well in fringe theatre! I remember having the same feelings about my own transition: I thought it would be the end of my career. So far the opposite has proven true, which is lovely! There's a lot of luck and privilege involved in that outcome though.

For me, acting is a calling - it's the closest thing I have to spirituality - I couldn't not do it.

[heck-theo]

ROTTMNT Pride Flag Icons

The response to my last post about these was very encouraging so I finished them! Here are some examples using popular headcanons and/or headcanons that I like (so hard to pick cause there are so many great ones).

Below these examples are some rules for use and then below that are the blanks with the green flags for you!

Rules: First I wanna acknowledge that there's nothing I can really do to stop people using these however they want, and while I would disapprove, I'm not going to get mad and fight you about it. I won't give you the attention.

If you have any good faith/genuine questions or criticisms about these rules please let me know.

TLDR:Keep it respectful and PG.

Who can use these? I don't mind anyone using these if it follows the rules. Please credit me in some way if you use (even if it's just a text post), and don't claim that they are your own. If you would like to use it in a way that isn't specified here or with a flag not mentioned, feel free to ask.

Editing? I don't mind if you want to add small details, adjust colours etc, but I'd rather you didn't make large adjustments that could really change the overall picture.

How do I use these? I actually have no clue how to mask over a colour in a flat image, these are all clipped over the flag colour layer. If you do know please feel free to leave a comment. If you would like to request a specific flag go ahead and ask. If I only get a few requests I probably won't mind doing them for you. This is not a guarantee though, and it just depends on what I have going on and how I feel at the time.

What flags can I use? This is intended for flags that represent or support LGBTQIA identities. To be clear this does NOT include anything like TERF, MAP or Zoo flags. Also please don't use any flags representing kink and stuff.

Country flags? That is not the intended use and I'd really rather you didn't, however in the end as long as the flag isn't being used in a way that supports war, genocide or bigotry I'm not toooo fussed.

I really hope I'm being paranoid and this won't be an issue but I feel the need to say it cause I've been on the internet long enough to know it's full of trolls, grifters and creeps. If you see anyone being problematic, bigoted or disrespectful with these feel free to let me know. Free block list.

One last thing: There is a more "fem" leaning/alt version and a more "masc" presenting version. I tried not to get too carried away with changing their designs in the alt version. Also I'm still trying to figure out this style so it's not perfect but I was flattered that you guys were interested so I wanted to finish them off. Also they were designed to read well on a small scale so a lot of choices were made specifically to try and increase readability when they're itty bitty and some things might look slightly odd on full scale? Anyway.

Ok without further ado here are the blanks (I hope you can get some use out of them and enjoy ^^):

[mindfulstudyquest]

❥﹒♡﹒☕﹒ 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗺𝘂𝘀 pros and cons

a girl asked me to talk about my erasmus experience in the questions box and she inspired me to make this post. if you have posts to request don't be shy! unfortunately i don't have all the time i would like to uptade but i will try to keep up.

erasmus is a student mobility program of the european union that allows a european student to attend a school in another EU country for a period of time legally recognized by their home institution.

it is a temporary experience with many benefits, enabling students to engage with different cultures and customs. due to its non-permanent nature, i believe it is one of the most beautiful opportunities for a student to feel completely free to explore and understand themselves, to figure out what they want and do not want from their life and educational path.

but let’s start by discussing its downsides. unfortunately, not everything is perfect.

𝟭. paperwork ( 📄 )

hey, i know, guys, i'm not the first or the only one to say this, but the paperwork for erasmus is a pain in the ass. it's not only extremely complicated, but universities (mine for sure, but i know it's a common experience) provide zero help in filling out the documentation. especially if you're not familiar with bureaucracy (and at 20 it’s normal not to be familiar with these things), it can seem like an insurmountable mountain. but if i, someone who doesn’t understand anything about this stuff, managed to get through it, you can do it too. typically, the documentation includes:

various information like ID, health card, and the IBAN of an account in your name (or joint name) where they will deposit the scholarship.

learning agreement, another plague sent from hell because you usually have to deal with two professors, one from your university and one from the host university, who clearly would prefer to mop the sea than help you fill out your learning agreement.

financial agreement for the scholarship, which has specific deadlines by which you need to submit documents (usually IBAN, learning agreement, and acceptance letter from the host university). fun fact: i almost missed this and didn’t receive the scholarship because these deadlines were buried deep in my university’s website (don’t be like me, make sure to be informed well about the financial agreement or you risk being left without money).

the best advice i can give you is to find someone from your university who has already done the erasmus where you’re supposed to go and ask them for some information. they, having gone through it, know what mistakes to avoid and what’s best to do. the offices often assume too many things and give you insufficient and hasty information.

𝟮. finding an accomodation ( 🏡 )

this too, another pain in the ass. it depends on the city, but here in madrid, finding a place to live has been a nightmare (and indeed, i've significantly overshot the budget i had set for rent). you have various options for accommodation:

student dormitories these solutions may seem the best at first glance, but they aren’t always. here in madrid, the fees for the dormitories at my campus cost more than my current rent, plus having only one kitchen for an entire floor is not exactly optimal comfort, especially if, like me, you cook a lot.

apartment studio/flat this is definitely the most comfortable option, but also the most expensive. a studio outside the center in big cities can cost up to €1000 a month. however, if you can afford it and prefer privacy, then go for it. at first, living alone might not be easy, especially if it’s your first time away from family, but you’ll get through it quickly.

room in an apartment this can be the best or the worst option depending on your luck because having flatmates means cohabitation, which is not always pleasant. if you're going in erasmus with someone you know, it might be optimal to share an apartment or take two rooms in a larger flat. personally, i rented a room in an apartment with three other people (two bathrooms and a kitchen), and i couldn’t be happier; i love my flatmates, and we quickly became friends. we cook together, go out together, spend entire evenings chatting and joking and they helped me a lot overcoming the first crisis. i realize, though, that i am an exception, so choose your accommodation carefully.

in short, consider your choice based on 3 factors:

proximity to the university/public transport links i study outside of madrid, almost an hour by bus from my place, but i live practically across from the bus stop, so it’s not a problem at all.

centrality/connection to the city center you're in erasmus to experience the city!

comfort of the place such as private bathroom (very hard to find but not impossible), utensils, AC, appliances (we have a dishwasher at home, and i assure you it saves our lives everytime).

𝟯. homesickness ( 🤧 )

yes, everyone feels homesick, even the most stoic. but guarantee you, you'll get through it. first of all erasmus, fortunately or unfortunately, isn’t forever. it’s a 6 month/1 year experience that is incredibly valuable for your personal growth, at the end of this period of time, you'll be back home. secondly, you can always stay in touch with friends and family in the age of technology. those who truly love you will support you in this project and do everything they can to make you feel less lonely. lastly, during erasmus, you’ll make many amazing friendships and connections that you otherwise would never have the chance to make.

𝟰. language barrier ( 🦜 )

i can’t say much about this, i've never studied spanish in my life, but, since i'm italian, i have no trouble following the lessons and understanding people when they speak, even though i'm still not able to express myself well in this new language. however, by living in another country, you’ll learn the language much faster and more effectively than with any academic course. in just a month, i already feel much more comfortable with spanish, and everyday i learn new things.

and of course, i could talk for hours about the benefits of erasmus, but i might save my praises for a post i'll write later, towards the end of this experience.

i can tell you that in just a month here, a whole new world has opened up for me. not only is the thrill of being in another city, in another country, an electrifying flow of continuous energy, but i’ve also realized things about myself that i might have ignored before.

i have much more confidence in myself; i feel freer, less afraid of making mistakes. it’s true, i’m far from my family and friends, but this also means i’m far from all those eyes under which i always try to appear perfect.

i crave to see and learn, i'm eager to discover new things, and this drives me to do things i probably wouldn’t do in my home country, to appreciate their flavor and indulge in the uncertainty of "maybe i’ll like this".

for the first time, i’m experiencing a new country without the rose-tinted filter of a short vacation. i’ve never felt as rich and full of gratitude as i do now, and i hope this is a feeling every student can experience.

so, erasmus, yes or no? absolutely yes.

i’d love to keep updating you on my experience abroad. what do you think? would you like that? let me know in the comments! star kisses ⭐

[simplydnp]

Do you think the recording of TIT (bc it has to be getting recorded at some point tbh) will be a dvd release or a youtube upload this time around? I forget if Dan said any specific reason why WAD ended up being free on YT, but I feel like after setting that precedent, there's almost no going back. Ofc, there is the precedent of the two actual dnp tours being dvd or YT Red/Premium releases, but do you have any thoughts?

oh anon i'm so happy you asked. bc i did so much research for this about WAD before we knew what would happen with it.

so. the problem with dvds is storage capacity. with TIT being 2 hours, that is a lot of footage to put on a singular dvd at the resolution that they'd currently want to. dvds come in 2 sizes: 4.7 gb and 8.5 gb. you can fit a 2 hr movie onto a single layer (4.7) but any longer, and you need the double layer (8.5). thus, TIT would have to be on a double layer, unless they don't plan on including anything else except the 2 hr recording. a dvd can't play high resolution footage, only standard definition (480p). so there'd be a picture quality difference.

this is where blu-rays come in. they can store and play 1080p footage. they also hold significantly more space (a single layer blu-ray can hold 25 gb, a double 50 gb). part of the trade-off here though is that higher resolution footage takes up more space. a single layer can store 2.25 hr of HD video; a double 3 hrs. they could get away with a single layer, and that includes room for 2 hours of standard definition BTS video.

problem is, not everyone has a blu-ray player (not like everyone has dvd players either). but the main issue is that DVD players won't play blu-rays--and this includes disc drives for laptops and PC's. you need a special external driver to do it.

we'd be wading into contracts and companies being interested in selling physical copies, and given how discs in general are sort of becoming obsolete, i would be surprised if they put it on disc.

our next option would be streaming. i don't really see them wanting to attach it to any larger corporation--especially given they're physical media guys. the thought of just losing something simply because a streaming service doesn't want it anymore, or the company goes under, would be enough to keep them away from that.

people pitched the idea of nebula or dropout, but i don't see them posting a single video on nebula and then nothing else. and since i don't see them as patreon guys, i don't think they'd want to do incentives for subscription style stuff. dropout would be more of a possibility, but they'd probably want to do more with dropout in terms of guest starring before entirely handing their baby over, y'know? like hank did a whole d20 season before he did his special there.

i do think they might just upload it to dapg. genuinely. because of what happened with WAD--both rights wise and precedent wise. but also, could be extremely good for them if they can actually monetize it. their longer videos on dapg do very well, and since WAD happened before TIT was fully ironed out, i bet they've included the prospect of doing so into their scripting, so it has the ability to be monetized on their channel. plus, the desire to make it accessible for everyone (even though they are trying to tour in more countries). depending on how that goes, it may be delayed in being released online.

a lot of technical talk but i am so glad you asked anon, i love logistics discussion!

[absolutebl]

Hi ABL! I was wondering if you have recs for bl couples where a younger seme/top aggressively pursues an older, initially-unwilling uke/bottom?

I realized this trope was my absolute JAM when I fell hard and fast for Wei Zhiyuan x Wei Qian, Sun Boxiang x Lu Zhigang, and Yongjie x Xingsi. Bonus points for age gap, stepbrothers trope or the older uke being endlessly indulgent?

I mainly watch China and Taiwan bls, so I’ll love anything from there. I’ll take recs from other countries too, they might become my first foray into non-mandarin bls

I know this is a somewhat specific request so thank you sm if you manage to come up with anything! I really appreciate all the work you put into this blog ☺️💜

Oooo MY FAVORITE!!!

Hyung Romances! (wrap-up post)

I call these hyung romances because that's like noona romances but gay.

Specifically you said:

younger seme aggressively pursues an older initially-unwilling uke

I am utter TRASH for this! YES PLEASE!

Minato’s Laundromat

Japan 2022 GaGa 

AKA Minato Coin Laundry AKA Wash My Heart! AKA Minato Shouji Koin Randorii AKA Minato Shouji Coin Laundry

Younger seme older uke, very clearly yaoi derived dynamic, 10 year age gap. I love this show so much. This is by far the best long running example that really dwells on this trope, Shin is very much the aggressor also very much still a high school kid. Minato is very much NOT. 

Old Fashion Cupcake 

Japan 2022 Viki & GaGa 

Also from Japan, another 10 year gap, and a flipping genius version. This time both parties are older, so there’s less of a stigma around the age gap, but there is stigma about the one being the other’s boss. 

This show had me from the moment they broke the egg yolk with the chopsticks in the opening credits for episode one. It’s about a younger man with a long cherished crush on his boss (ten years older and going through a mid life crisis) who decides to save and seduce said man with pancakes. It’s wholesome, comforting, sexy, and a very necessary narrative about still having hope, interests, and openness to affection at any age. It’s coming of age/queerness packaged in a subtle critique of expectations around masculinity and love and loneliness... and it’s beautiful. Full review. 

Lovely Writer

Thailand 2021 YouTube 

Sib is quite a bit younger than Gene and defines aggressive pursuer. Gene is out of university and established in his career, Sib is still in college.

Thailand criticizes itself and the BL industry while simultaneously giving us classic seme/uke with great chemistry in a one-two punch of “we love it, but are we supposed to? and must we think this hard, yet enjoy it SO MUCH?” This show won’t appeal or make sense to those who don’t already have at least some Thai BL watching experience. What Lovely Writer does, at heart, is reexamine Thai BL has done to queerness, but in a very gentle way that has more to do with Thai BL growing up than any actual queer authenticity. It’s not parody or pastiche, but it is self reflective and trying to correct for some chronic mistakes. Whether it is ultimately successful in this matter is going to depend on the watcher’s relationship to BL and queer identity. But that’s what makes this show beautiful, interesting, and thought provoking. And I, for one, applaud the effort even if I didn’t personally connect to the characters.

Oxygen

Thailand 2020 YouTube 

Thailand’s first real stab at this dynamic as a main couple and it so worked for me. There are many who find this BL too slow and wooden, but I loved it. 

I think of this as a paragon of Thailand’s softer BL style, since Oxygen uses every BL trope in the playbook for one of the gentlest lowest angst BLs ever made. This one showcases how far Thailand is moving BL from its yaoi roots, and is a prime example of the sweet “new BL” model for which Thailand is the main advocate (Korea is liking it a lot these days too, tho). My first watch along. 

SOTUS

Thailand 2016 YouTube 

Guess who started this trope in Thailand? Yeah, sometimes I forget too. But they are not just classic sunshine/tsunder but classic younger/older. Just not by much.

This is the BL that launched a hundred BLs. No literally, it was SOTUS’s international success that pretty much built the Thai BL industry into the juggernaut it is today. People have baggage around SOTUS, I have nostalgia. Trigger warning on bully hazing. Review here. 

En of Love: Tossera 

Thailand 2020 YouTube 

Younger boy wants to court older boy and does and… that’s it. No really that’s the WHOLE STORY. There is actually no angst, drama, or, indeed plot. But are they the softest bois ever to BL as a main couple? Yes they are.

*pulp warning*

Private Lessons

Korea 2020 GaGa 

A BL short from Strongberry that I love, it's age gap and teacher/student (catnip por moi). The chemistry is slightly off though, but stil I do love this one for the dynamic. Certainly worth watching especially if this is your trope since it's like 8 minutes long and very stylish.

MingKit MarkKit

2 Moons (VERY side dish) YouTube 2 Moons 2 YouTube (major side dish) Gen Y (leads) Gen Y 2 (sides again in LTR) 

Thailand’s premier version of this dynamic I just lumped them all into one category. Only in 2 Moons 2 are they played by different actors, otherwise it is all KimCop, and who can complain about that? If you want to watch specifically for this dynamic than go for Gen Y. Trash watch here. 

SIDE DISH CORNER

Not Me (DanYok)

DanYok is an age gap, but it isn’t really the point or the plot of their romantic arc

Don’t Say No (LeonPob) 

Leon and Pob qualify. That’s all I have to say about that. 

HIStory 3: the BL that shall not be named (BoXiang & ZhiGang)

Also appear in HIStory 4: Close to You

The side characters in H3:MODC (and cameos in H4) BoXiang & ZhiGang have a huge age gap, 12 years, and it is a big deal for their relationship. When they start out BoXiang is a desperate himbo high school kid and ZhiGang is a small business owner. BoXiang’s friends tease him more for his lust over such a much older man than for being gay. 

Bonus on this one, there is some very high (and it's Taiwan so) very well done heat. That said, the main couple will, in fact, wreck your psyche for life. Proceed with caution.

THE THAI PULPS

You’re My Sky (SanAei)

Side could (and only good part of this show) SanAei are a classic uni age gap pairing. San is a bit of a spoiled rich kid jock who identifies the older nerd character as HIS and is just like, MINE. That’s MY elder gay. 

Brothers (KhunKaow) 

This is not a good show, but side couple Khun & Kaow are great in it. Khun is in university and Kaow has a small baking business.

Top Secret Together and Love By Chance both have sub plots of high school boys pursuing college ones, but the one didn’t go anywhere and the other went very very bad, so yeah… no. Although I would personally LOVE to see this done well. 

BONUS POINTS ROUND

Stepbrothers trope

HIStory 4: Close to You (sides)

YongJie is quite a bit younger than XingSi, not sure on the specifics but he’s in middle school when XingSi is in high school and still in college when XingSi has his own business.

Addicted has the stepbrothers trope but not the age gap.

Older uke being endlessly indulgent

Future

Thailand 2023 YouTube 

Based on a y-novel by Faddest (En of Love) about an engineering student and a dentist (shocker). This is just a soft sweet cotton candy fluff piece about a younger boy who pursues an older boy and then manufactures silly gay drama. Nothing wrong with that. But I don’t think this style of BL really appeals to a very large market share. Will I rewatch it? Sure. Will anyone else? Nope.

If you want your endlessly indulgent older gay, this is the you crack, they made if for you.

*pulp warning*

Manner of Death

Thailand 2021 WeTV

It’s not really relevant to the story, but Tan is younger. Not only that, he’s Bun’s friends younger brother. Bun is very indulgent, but in a grown up way.

I like MoD a lot but I’m conflicted over it being actual BL. It’s a great gay romantic suspense, although the mystery element is its weakness. MaxTul, the Kings of chemistry, are, of course, perfect and perfectly cast, but their romance thread is more a distraction than an addition. Still, I could watch them make-out the phonebook. Watch along here. 

Seven Days

Japan 2015 grey 

AKA Seven Days: Monday-Thursday AND Seven Days: Friday-Sunday Japan

Seryou kinda counts as the pursuer, but the dynamic is very very weak in this one. Still the way he asks to use Yuzuru’s first name (so CHEEKY) and the way he says “senpai” in SUCH a cute way makes me so happy. And Yuzuru is NOTHING is not indulgent, it kinda defines his character. I mean he just LETS him call him by his FIRST name... right away.

Never doubt my ability to recommend this show. One of the best live action yaois ever made, with perfectly structured angst, fantastic characters and acting, and no problematic tropes (rare in Japanese BL). The leads have excellent chemistry although it’s low heat there’s still some really cute mutual kisses. 

Just Taiwan

HIStory 2: Crossing the Line

2018 Viki 

Seme uke is VERY weak with this one but the younger character is certainly the pursuer. It’s SO GOOD. 

Lin Pei Yu directs this is a sports romance (volleyball) with a good boy/bad boy pairing, and mu favorite of the HIStory franchise. There is no clear seme/uke. Ostensibly it's high school set but Taiwan doesn't care about age appropriate actors. It's a very soft sweet romance with some ridiculously easily overcome conflict. There's great kisses but it's medium heat. The side dishes are the stepbrother trope but they’re very tame, and there’s no other triggers. It's not just my favorite of the franchise, it’s one of my favorite BLs with a perfect happy ending.

Kiseki: Dear to Me

2023 Gaga

The mains are a major age gap, but I always forget because they def don't look it. Also, Taiwan, so very weak seme/uke. Still there is age gap, he's in high school and our gangster is out of college and in the workplace.

The plot is totally ridiculous and slightly unhinged, but that’s normal for Taiwan. It involves all the tropes under a very casual framework of gay mafia gangs + food = love. Absolutely every character is queer. There’s a gum-ball machine of cameos, elder gay rep, great chemistry from all pairs, and a KILLER side couple. As a result Kiseki is a poster child for Taiwanese BL, and I happen to love Taiwanese BL. Bonus? They also managed to END IT WELL, which we cannot expect from Taiwan.

(Triggers for knife play, child abuse, lingering trauma.)

Unknown

2024 YouTube

Unknown is a wonderful BL with a pitch perfect portrayal of long term pining, age gap, and the stepbrothers trope. The acting and chemistry are ON POINT (especially from the leads) which made the resulting characters very believable. When it dwells in intimate family drama, it's stunning. It's slightly less successful when it leaves the home and goes gritty. Still, those are mere quibbles. This is an excellent show, one of Taiwan' s best.

As you see above I mostly had to take you to Japan and Thailand for this one. Considering your preferences try Japan first, it's closer in DNA to Taiwanese stuff, but it won't go as high heat. If you want the heat, you'll need to try the Thai stuff (or the ones from Taiwan you haven't seen). I would start with Lovely Writer.

Okay I think I have given you enough and, unless I miss my guess, I may have tempted you to try some Japanese BL.

Comes to the weirder (and weird hair) side. We have pancakes.

Yeah I think you should watch Old Fashion Cupcake.

EVERYONE SHOULD WATCH OLD FASHION CUPCAKE!!!

(source)

This post dated May 2024, not responsible for hyungs that sling after that date.

[yamujiburo]

This may be a bit out of your area of expertise, but you're the only person on this website I really know of who could know anything about this, and after your storyboard artist post was so informative, I decided I may as well toss my hat into the ring. I am passionate about character design. Would you know anything about whether this a role that's worth pursuing?

I used to want to be an animator, but heard too many horror stories about the field and decided not to pursue it; a smart choice in retrospect, since as it turns out I simply CANNOT do art in an academic setting. Now I'm trying to go through to be a teacher as a "safe" option, since it's ethical, stable, and comes with good pay and great benefits in my country. However, I'm starting to realize I don't want to be in the school system for the rest of my life, and may be choosing safety over fulfillment. I want to design characters, but I've never been able to see a way to make a living off of that. Now I'm realizing the perfect role for me may have been in front of me all along?

I'm starting to think I may want to start looking into character design. Do you know anything about this job?

I think it's worth pursuing anything that you're passionate about~

I'm mainly a storyboard artist/episodic director but I've done a lot of visdev character design~ It's a tough job to get into full time just because there's not as many character design jobs and a highly competitive position. I'm unsure of what kind of knowledge you're looking for. Might help to ask a more specific question? It's just such a big job that varies from production to production, there's different types of character design, the responsibilities you have depend on what kind of media you're character designing for etc.

But to go back to the meat of what you were saying, I'd say it's worth it. But if you don't want to give up the stability of a teaching job, you can do both (depending on how demanding teaching is). Part time freelance is always an option, which is my go to. I usually take on about 5-10 hours a week of freelance if I'm offered a character design opportunity. But for freelance it is important that you market yourself and get your name out there so you can get those opportunities (which honestly might be the harder part of that job)

Hope this kind of helps and answers your question!

[ladyiristheenchantress]

Morals and Ethics

Hello Friends!! to preface: This post is not here to police anyone on what is the 'correct' way to practice. My aim on this post is to be culturally and magically informed, so this isnt going to be a take down of any belief or path line. Instead this post is offered up as a way to not only build your own moral frame work, but get you thinking about where you stand magically and enhance how you practice! Our moral frameworks are all unique, something that would be a faux pas in your practice might be something thats culturally common in others, so lets throw on our thinking caps and get started!

What is building an ethical and moral framework?

Building an ethical background in witchcraft involves establishing a set of principles, values, and guidelines that guide your magical and spiritual practices! In essence It helps ensure that your actions align with your moral compass (Wherever it may lie). This background can help you make informed decisions, cultivate energy, and maintain a respectful and balanced relationship with both you and your magic.

Some religions and paths have their own moral and ethical framework, for example lyma is this idea of "something to be washed away" and is a big deal when practicing within Hellenic Spaces! It would be immoral to approach an altar without washing your hands if they were dirty, but on the flip side some cultures actively encourage dirty hands like people who worship earth within their gardens. Depending on your path you might have a specific framework.

Another aspect is moral frameworks change and that is ok!! Its important we aren't stagnate and its ok to change your mind and feel like you want to change things up. That is totally reasonable and people do it all the time like with politics, religious affiliations, jobs, and more! Ethical and Moral compasses can change just like we do.

How to build an ethical framework

Self-Reflection: Start by exploring your own values, beliefs, and moral code. Reflect on what is important to you, what you stand for, and how these values relate to your magical practices. Also now would be the time to decolonize your beliefs and explore your biases. Its ok to acknowledge your bias, as long as you are working through it. If you dont know what decolonizing your beliefs is I left a helpful video above, just click 'decolonize your beliefs'

Research and Study: Deep dive into different ethical systems and philosophies. Familiarize yourself with various witchcraft traditions, such as New age spirituality, Pagan magical systems, and country/area specific + their associated ethical guidelines. Read books and articles about ethics in witchcraft whether you agree or disagree. During this time you are simply collecting as many perspectives as possible and comparing them to how you feel, don't feel pressured to follow something if you don't feel it applies to you.

Connect with a Mentor or Community: If possible, seek guidance from an experienced witch or spiritual space who can share their ethical insights and offer advice on building your own ethical framework. The best part is, different spaces will produce their own ethical codes of conduct. For example some spaces don't allow love spell discussion for example, which is an ethical guideline.

Create Your Own Code: Based on your self-reflection, research, and guidance, create your own personal code of ethics. This code should reflect your values and guide your magical practices. It might include principles like harm none, respect nature, work for the greater good, or take no shit. Wherever you feel you sit, walk with it. Whatever comes natural to you explore it. Write down what you believe as a symbol, but do so in pencil so you can change it as needed!

Regularly Reevaluate: As you gain experience and your understanding of ethics evolves, revisit and update your ethical code. It's important to grow as your spiritual journey progresses like I mentioned above. You are not a static person, allow yourself to experience your moral compass and how to bends. Allow yourself to be fluid and honest. Not everyone is 'love and light' or 'fuck authority' your allowed to be who you need to be!

Different Types of Ethics in Witchcraft:

Note: This is not every type of ethics, but rather a couple examples of the ethics you may see in your research and which group it belongs too. This area is not meant to endorse or critique an ethical guideline but instead showcase the many that do exist.

The Wiccan Rede: "An it harm none, do what ye will." This is a central ethical guideline in Wicca, emphasizing the avoidance of harm to others as a core principle. Another one is The Threefold Law, this law suggests that the energy you send out, whether positive or negative, will return to you threefold (three times what you sent out). This encourages practitioners to be mindful of their actions.

Green Witch Ethics: Green witches emphasize their connection to nature and the importance of nurturing and protecting the environment. Their ethical background often centers around conservation, sustainability, and working with the Earth's energies respectfully.

Personal Responsibility: Some witches adhere to a more individualistic code of ethics, focusing on personal responsibility and accountability for their actions.

Balancing Left hand and Right hand: For some, ethical considerations involve finding a balance between Right and Left hand magic, and acknowledging the potential consequences of working with both, one, or neither. The right and left hand path are types of magical systems that involve different attitudes towards magic, the right hand emphasizing healing and selflessness, and the left hand emphasizing individuality and shadow aspects.

Respect for Spirits and Deities: Many witches emphasize the importance of showing respect and gratitude to the spirits, deities, and entities they work with, recognizing their agency and autonomy.

Are there any absolutes that I should be aware of?

Absolutes are ethical things that you do need to make sure you are integrating! These are really important things to note when you are learning, because if you do choose to disregard these you could contribute to some really bad concepts that intrinsically cause harm to real people

Respect - Cultural awareness, avoiding appropriation, and looking out for other people can be important. Its important that you fully evaluate a moral system before indulging in it. For example: In the love spell discussion and lot of cultural practioners voices are left out of the discussion, same with baneful discussions. Its important to listen to many groups of people and take stances that dont turn peoples cultures into a monolith, demonize them, or silence them.

Hate groups and cults - Its important that you check where a belief comes from and see if it matches with any hate groups or cult rhetoric. These groups create really flashy and easy to digest claims to try and push an agenda kind of like a salesmen. Their whole job is to try and push you into their group so they can get money, power, fame, and in some cases carry out atrocities. This corresponds with that decolonization conversation from earlier, because it can help keep you and other witchy friends safe!

Nuance - Its important to keep nuance in the conversation. Don't take extremely black and white stances if you aren't knowledgeable on the subject. I think even advanced practioners need to remember to keep nuance in their opinions and keep an open mind when presented with new information or moral ideals. Keep an open dialogue when you are having conversations, and remember to keep asking yourself why you believe the things you do.

Remember that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to building an ethical background in witchcraft. Your ethical code should be a reflection of your personal beliefs and values. It's essential to be true to yourself and to strive for a harmonious practice that aligns with your own spiritual journey! Enjoy the ride :)

Tip Jar

[vikinglanguage]

9 number things you might not know as a foreign speaker of Danish

This is a mishmash of both cultural things and linguistic things. The idea for this post appeared in my head at 3 am so bear with me. As for the lack of links, I am adding them in a reblog to try to avoid tumblr nerfing my post.

1) Quarters – how to measure time In Denmark, we love measuring time in quarters of an hour. We love it so much we don't care about specifying the kind of quarter, it's just kvarter (itk.). Generally, we tend to use kvarter mostly just when speaking about 15 or 45 minutes, but it does go further than that. So here's a quick guide on how to tell time other than just doing as you would in English:

15 minutes – et kvarter 30 minutes – en halv time 45 minutes – tre kvarter 75 minutes/1h 15m – en time og et kvarter · fem kvarter 90 minutes/1h 30m – halvanden time (see 2) 105 minutes/1h 45m – en time og tre kvarter

and so forth, if you care to. Using fem kvarter is uncommon but acceptable, but never go further than that using just quarters of an hour. I would say that once you pass 2 hrs, I most commonly hear people starting to just count hours and minutes as you would in English.

2) Halvanden – half second An archaic way of saying 'one and a half' that just stuck for some reason. This is the preferred way to say 'one and a half ' for most people. No, this is not a joke.

Halvanden, 'half second' means halfway between one and two. Until quite recently (we're talking less than a century) halvtredje (2.5), halvfjerde (3.5), etc. were also in common use, but they have disappeared so rapidly that most current speakers will have absolutely no idea what the hell you're talking about. However, the ghosts of this way of counting live on in the numbers halvtreds (50), halvfjerds (70), and halvfems (90). You can read more about that in my old post about Danish numbers (see reblogs).

3) Week 42 We use week numbers! Week 1 is the first week in the new year to contain a Thursday, as we count weeks as Monday through Sunday. You don't necessarily need to know what week it is all the time, but a lot of adults use weeks in place of specific dates. I am forever thankful to ugenr.dk (you just type in a date and it tells you what week it is in or vice versa).

Important weeks are:

Week 7/8 – winter break for kids in primary and secondary school (not to be confused with Christmas break). It varies depending on municipality whether it's week 7 or 8. Lots of people go skiing these weeks.

Week 26 through 31 – summer break is usually during these weeks. All students in primary and secondary school, as well as university students and students doing professional bachelor's degrees and the like have these weeks off from school.

Week 42 – arguably the most important week. All students mentioned above have this week off from school. It's autumn break and it's ALWAYS week 42 and JUST week 42. Originally, it was to allow students in rural areas help their parents harvest potatoes (a nickname for autumn break is kartoffelferien 'the potato break'), and we just kept it.

4) DD-MM-(YY)YY If you write dates as MM-DD people will think you're a lunatic. Don't, unless you're specifically talking about 9/11, colloquially referred to as just 9/11 (nine-eleven, as you would say it in English).

5) 00:00 Denmark, like a lot of other European countries, uses 24hr clocks. Obviously, analogue clocks and watches are common, and it's perfectly ok to say stuff like klokken fire om eftermiddagen 'four o'clock in the afternoon' or klokken otte om aftenen 'eight o'clock in the evening', but you are expected to just know that 21:00 is the same as 9 PM. You can also say klokken toogtyve 'twenty-two o'clock', and it's quite normal to ask for clarification of whether people are talking AM or PM by saying stuff like klokken elleve eller klokken treogtyve? 'eleven o'clock or twenty-three o'clock?'. You cannot use AM and PM when speaking or writing Danish. The day begins at midnight; 00:00.

Don't worry yourself too much over this. Everyone occasionally forgets that 19:00 is in fact 7 o'clock and not 9 o'clock.

6) Halv to – half one When you're measuring half hours in Danish, you're always measuring towards the next whole number. It's never half past, it's always half to. As such, half (past) one is halv to 'half two' in Danish.

7) Grades (years) This is an ultra quick rundown of the Danish school system. School is mandatory for 10 years and homeschooling is allowed. This covers primary and lower secondary school.

Most people start school the year they turn 6. My birthday is in April, so I was 6 when I stated school, my sister's birthday is in September, so she was 5.

The mandatory grades are as follows. The ages are all possibly ages of a child attending that grade (not accounting for starting school early or late):

Indskolingen, grades 0-3 0. klasse/børnehaveklasse - 5-7 yo 1. klasse – 6-8 yo 2. klasse – 7-9 yo 3. klasse – 8-10 yo

Mellemtrinnet, grades 4-6 4. klasse – 9-11 yo 5. klasse – 10-12 yo 6. klasse – 11-13 yo

Overbygningen/udskolingen, grades 7-9 7. klasse – 12-14 yo 8. klasse - 13-15 yo 9. klasse - 14-16 yo

Some may choose to do 10. klasse, if they feel like they need more schooling or maybe if they're attending an efterskole.

Once they've finished their mandatory schooling, a lot of Danes choose to attend upper secondary school. You can do it in 3 years (stx, hhx, htx, and eux) or 2 years (hf, 2-årigt studenterkursus). Special circumstances like being an elite level athlete or attending MGK (preparation for attending a music conservatoire) may lead to people spending 4 years in upper secondary. Hf often sees a lot of adult students.

Gymnasium/HF, the grades are said as [ordinal number, letter(s)] 1.g (15-17 yo)/1.hf 2.g (16-18 yo)/2.hf 3.g (17-19 yo)

8) Grades (performance)

Danish schools have a 7-grade system. It's called 7-trinskalaen, and each grade corresponds to an ECTS grade (in fact, it's specifically designed for compatibility, and a lot of people above the age of 30 miss the old scale). Generally, students don't get grades until 7th grade. The grades are:

12 – A 10 – B 7 – C 4 – D 02 – E 00 – Fx -3 – F

If you are not familiar with the ECTS system, E, Danish 02, is the lowest passing grade. The intention behind the 0's in 02 and 00 is to make it impossible for the students to "change" their grade by just adding 1 in front of the grade, but the 0's are in fact also said out loud.

9) Ordinal numbers

Ordinal numbers are written as a number followed by a full stop. You do not capitalise the first letter of any word following the full stop (see 7) even though MS Word will try to convince you it's the right thing to do.

You can read a lot more about numbers on the Danish numbers post (again, in a reblog), but the basics that might not be covered by formal learning materials are:

nulte zeroth. This literally only exists for 0. klasse and for numbers to the zeroth power. fyrretyvende/fyrrende* – fortieth halvtredsindstyvende/halvtredsende* – fiftieth tresindstyvende/tressende* – sixtieth halvfjerdsindstyvende/halvfjerdsende* – seventieth firsindstyvende/firsende* – eightieth halvfemsindstyvende/halvfemsende* – ninetieth

The forms marked with an asterisk are largely informal spoken language to the degree that they are even considered wrong by some. Generally, they are accepted as the standard forms among the younger generations, but be careful when talking to people above the age of ~45.

[johnlennonirl]

hey!!! Sorry to bother you, but I just saw your post about fibromyalgia and I wanted to ask - how did you get diagnosed? As someone who is suffering from chronic pain and nearly all symptoms match with fibro, I have had an unsuccessful journey to getting diagnosed. Anything your doctors/yourself found that pointed it out?

thank you so much!!!

(btw - your art is AMAZING!)

Hiii AND THANK YEEWW ^_^

I've answered this a few times already but I think it always depends on the doctors you're seeing and what not.. sadly, doctors being knowledged or who know about fibromyalgia is also hard to find; My doctor was a rheumatologist and also knows that Fibro is a psychosomatic disorder. Meaning, if you're under chronic stress or emotional distress, symptoms r far more likely to flair up. Or cause a flair up-

I've been to lots of doctors, lots of neurologist and went to MRI's and got tests done but none of them found anything since my inflammation marks were always never there so they didn't indicate anything autoimmune or arthritis. The doctor I then visited actually had Fibromyalgia as a specialized thing he treats and diagnosis- but I myself sort of like.. "self diagnosed" while finding help as the symptoms seemed to match with my issues. And I went to that doctor who knew about it, explained my symptoms (without mentioning I suspected fibro) and he did tests w me and then diagnosed me at my first appointment since I already had done so many prior tests for other diseases.

I just would recommend trying to find a doctor who already takes fibro "seriously" and who has a field in that disorder, maybe ask diagnosed fibro members in your country/state who have gotten diagnosed at specific doctors and who possibly even treat it since you can in fact take meds for your fibro. Maybe ask doctors or clinics if they know a doctor. My doctor was luckily within reach, but sometimes you might have to travel a bit to get somewhere. Doing that rn with my chronic fatigue/possible narcolepsy...

Good luck! :3

[bethanydelleman]

do you have any book recommendations beyond classic lit + Jane Austen? Love your blog by the way!

Thanks! I read/have read a ton of books. My favourite genre as a child was fantasy, but I read almost everything except true crime*, thrillers, murder mysteries, self-help, and biography. But I do sometimes read those, my favourite thriller is Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney. I'm going to start with children's books because honestly, I find so much imagination in that genre.

Children's/YA Books: Gail Carson Levine, specifically The Princess Tales 1 & 2, and Ella Enchanted, among others Jean Little/Kit Pearson - these authors have the same vibe to me. Willow and Twig is a favourite from the first one, The Guests of War trilogy and Awake and Dreaming from the other. They both write coming of age novels for girls, both Canadian. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs - I loved the whole trilogy (haven't watched the movie). The story being based around real antique trick photos is my favourite part The Echorium Sequence by Katherine Roberts - a trilogy of books about magical singers with blue hair and their interactions with half-human magical creatures Margaret Peterson Haddix, specifically Running Out of Time, the Shadow Children series, and Double Identity. Margaret Buffie, who writes stories about teenage girls and ghosts. Also Canadian, which I guess isn't that surprising. The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. Re-read it last summer and it's as good as I remembered. Roald Dahl, I really loved Matilda as a child, it's been fun to read some of these novels with my kids. Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar - and it's sequels. Amazingly quirky and funny stories about a class of students in a weird school

Fantasy: Mercedes Lackey, specifically the Five Hundred Kingdoms series and The Obsidian universe. I also loved the Elvenbane series, but due to the death of Andre Norton it may never be finished. I would advise caution if sexual assault is triggering for you, the ones I like are mostly free of it but that can come up in her other works. Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien - obviously. Also loved The Hobbit, have not read further The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin - the book opens with the triggering of an apocalypse. The world contains people who can control earthquakes A Baroque Fable by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro - this book is so hilarious but I don't know if anyone has heard about it Once Upon a Winter's Night by Dennis L. McKiernan - and it's sequels. This is a romance retold fairy tale series

Science Fiction: Michael Crichton - who spans a bunch of genres but I'll put him here. I've read everything he's written and I recommend most of it. State of Fear has not aged well. His books are very fast-paced and Timeline has one of the best enemies to lovers. Orson Scott Card - I am aware, but Ender's Game is a masterpiece. He also has this single novel called Magic Street that is a sequel to A Midsummer Night's Dream. I also loved Memories of Earth but it's been a while since I read it. I, Robot by Issac Asimov - short stories about artificial intelligence and how it might go weird

Graphic novels: Astro City by Kurt Busiek - superhero, but more focused on how living in that world would affect normal people Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra - every male on earth dies, except for one, and his monkey Fables by Bill Willlingham - after being attacked by an army of wooden soldiers, fairy tale characters and creatures seek refuge in a non-magical world (ours) Nimona by ND Stevenson - a villain gains a shape-shifting sidekick, but she is not what she seems Scurry by Mac Smith - post-apocalyptic earth, the main characters are all surviving mice. Best artwork I've ever seen in a graphic novel American Vampire by Scott Snyder- vampires have different traits depending on their home country, this is about the new, American species. Asterix and Obelix by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo - a small group of powerful Gauls defend themselves against the Romans using a magical potion

Non Fiction: Stephan Pinker, I've read both of his trilogies on language and the brain. Trying to get through his huge book about violence The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks - writen by a neurologist, fascinating book Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick by Maya Dusenbery - what it says on the tin

Toddler/Young Child Books: The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone - I give you a 100% guarantee that if you read this book aloud, the kids will be fascinated. It is literally always a hit Robert Munsch - most of his books are amazing, but if you don't want to cry, DO NOT read the backstory of Love You Forever. The Paper Bag Princess was one of my favourites as a child. Little Critter - only the older ones, the new ones are religious for some reason. Just for You and I Was So Mad were favourites for my kids. Early lesson in unreliable narrators. Phoebe Gilman - Something From Nothing, the Jillian Jiggs series, The Balloon Tree... so many good ones! Really good illustrations too Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal - a book about a pea who hates eating candy. This book is fun to read and my kids loved it (I have the box set) The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak - kids love when adults have to do weird things I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen - perfect opportunity to do a lot of funny voices The Mitten by Jan Brett - a whole bunch of animals squeeze into a mitten. That's the whole thing. It's great. The Very Cranky Bear by Nick Bland - and the rest of the series. These are fun to read because they rhyme. Jonathan Stutzman - my kids LOVE Tiny T. Rex and the Llama series. We haven't read the others An Elephant & Piggie by Mo Willems - we have this entire series, they are a delight. An elephant and pig are very silly friends. Good drawings Dr. Seuss - be careful with him though, his books are quite long and can be hard to read, so I recommend waiting until your kids are a bit older. But The Lorax slaps and my personal favourite as a kid was The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins

Other: Still Alice by Lisa Genova - or any of her books really. She is a neuroscientist and her books are really interesting explorations of different disorders. Book is better than the movie Warm Bodies by Issac Marion - zombie Romeo and Juliet Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder - a novel that is also an intro to philosophy course Calvin and Hobbes - I own all of them, so excited for when my kids can understand them. I also love The Far Side, Zits, and the earlier Dilbert comics The Women in Black by Madeleine St. John - this book is absolutely charming. I saw the Netflix movie and then bought it right away.

*I avoid true crime because I have heard that the genre causes harassment to victim's families

General Note: I am aware that some of these authors are now considered controversial, some for more serious reasons than others. Sometimes flawed people make really good art. I mean, flawed people make all art because nobody on earth is perfect.

[perpetualexistence]

The Alley Cats: A fun little Team CIRRRRH AU

(I could have tried to go for consistency with either all vectors or no vectors, but I feel like the inconsistency is more appropriate for this AU.)

So, time to share the AU I alluded to in my last post with Team CIRRRRH being gremlins to José!

It's a high school AU where each member of Team CIRRRRH have been made into social outcasts in their own unique and special ways. Plus Eva. I just couldn't bring myself to separate Team E-scope.

No one else would have them, so they started hanging out in an alley one of them found behind the school to avoid the bullying and the glares.

From the outside it looks like utter garbage. But if you go through the garbage and past the corner, you get to their little cove with a beat up couch, a stolen vending machine, a punching bag, and other little personalized touches they've added to make their place more cozy.

Alejandro's the newest addition and their self-appointed leader. He does not like his new status on the bottom of the totem pole in school. So, he leads the others towards schemes that will get them (him) back into the good graces of everyone else. Or to get revenge on those who made them into outcasts. It really depends on how well Alejandro can manage to herd these cats on a particular day.

There's only one main rule in the alley (aside from the ones Alejandro tries to impose). If someone finds their way into this alley all on their own, they're automatically an Alley Cat.

After all, if you're that desperate to get away from everybody, you probably need a group of friends more than anything else right now.

(More details about the AU under the read more, I just wanted to separate it from the basic premise.)

I'm still coming up with ideas for this AU! It's definitely a more casual one filled with wacky shenanigans. I'm retconning two of my previous posts into this au as party of the wacky shenanigans. Because they, along with the idea itself, were all inspired by a very specific animatic that you'll see in the second post. I just want to add links to them both here so they're consolidated in the same place:

Alley Cats vs. José Pt 1

Alley Cats vs. José Pt 2

Most of what I have now is trying to nail down exactly how each of these little goobers became an Alley Cat. Some of them I have a more clear idea that'll get their own posts soon enough, others are just a thought. So far, I have this:

Alejandro - Used to be a popular kid that DID a good amount of the bullying towards the Alley Cats. Thought he was leaving the country and decided to let loose. Turns out his father changed his mind. Oops. Actions, meet consequences.

Noah - Has personal beef with Justin he refuses to explain. Tried to make Justin into an outcast. It backfired horribly.

Izzy - Pulled one too many wacky hijinks that resulted in other people getting injured. The final straw was when she exploded something that ruined a good thing for everyone.

Eva - She issued her anger towards one of the sweetest people in the school to the point where she hospitalized them. She might have avoided juvie, but it sure doesn't feel like it.

Owen - Outcasted by association. He started hanging out with at least one member of the Alley Cats (still trying to figure out if it's just Noah or a combination of Noah, Izzy, and Eva) because he really didn't think anyone deserved to be outcasted. Refused to turn his back on them to save his own reputation.

Tyler - Fumbled the winning point during the big game (still trying to figure out which sport he plays when I don't do sports). Made worse by the fact that this would have finally put the school on the map towards being taken seriously. Combined with bitterness towards favoritism that allows him to stay on the team despite him being a bad player, he got socially kicked out of the team even though he's still physically on it.

And a later addition:

Duncan - Pretty much did the whole cheating thing with Gwen as in canon. Doesn't get why he's here. Essentially becomes New Alejandro once Alejandro starts getting that sweet sweet character development.

If you have any questions about this AU, please feel free to ask away! It helps me come up with things.

[conceptsformyowner]

Am I Doing Bad Or Am I Just Not Posting That Much?

i want to give an important update, since I think the psrt of myself that I've been putting into words in this blog has become a very specific fragment of my being

I am currently the happiest and most fulfilled I've been in my whole life

I have become a kinky queer community organizer and I help organize several local events every month. I walk people through their first steps into the BDSM world and into the local scene. I am writing guides about BDSM, consent, and queerness in spanish for my local community, where not everyone can understand english. I run a website where we upload lots of kinky educational material, host a list of kinky queer friendly businesses and professionals, display a calendar of the communities local events, and maintain an ever-growing glossary of terms about BDSM, queerness, sexuality and non-monogamy. I'm a part of a polycule of wonderful amazing people where we're all supporting each other constantly, which is very necessary because my country is going through a very very bad time. I am living on my own for the first time, I have a programming job which lets me do all these other things without having to take a cent from anyone. I have the healthiest relationships I've ever had and don't feel controlled or conflicted or co-dependent. I have a committee of partners and friends who help me stay in line with my self-collaring dynamic. I am my community's captive toy. I have partners who can't stand being in my presence and not making sure that I am constantly securely restrained.

I've never felt this fulfilled. I have a plan for my life for the first time in many years. I have stability.

I still struggle with executive dysfunction and a myriad other things, and sometimes feel unfulfilled kink-wise. That's usually when I come and write here. That's why it might seem like I'm not doing ok, because that's what I've been coming here for, because all my energy has been going towards spanish-speaking education.

I still want to come back and write actual concepts, because I don't want this to be a """negative""" blog, but thank you all for being with me when I'm not feeling great, when even in my best time I still ofc have bad or really bad moments.

thank you ✨

[planefood]

What is one lore bit about your characters that you've ALWAYS wanted to share, but no one ever "asked the right question" for you to say it?

Oh gosh I would've been able to answer this a few months back but now I can't remember what I've been itching to share. But I do want to share more about the world behind my robot guys outside of just the robots and how they work. If I've spoken about this topic before in an ask uhh this new ask is retconning anything I said previously

I'm gonna talk about the history of robots here and how the affected the technology of this specific universe. When I say "robot" I mean sentient robots unless I specify otherwise.

Robots first started being created in the mid-late 19th century in the form of complicated automatons and talking telegraph machines, these were... creepy at best but also very expensive. Only maybe 1 or 2 existed at any given time in the world. None of these first robots made it to the modern day but there's probably the shell of a few in some museum somewhere.

up until the 1950s the creation of robots was sparse, often just used for factories or as attractions. But right around the midcentury the idea that robots could exist beside these new fancy computers was something that was highly considered.

While the US was focusing most of it's efforts on things like the computers, it was the UK that started the "robot age" in the late 60s in the form of robots like Freddy and Able Mabel, who was just a concept until someone created a working version about a decade later. (These are actual robots/robot concepts btw their history is interesting)

the UKs focus on robotics was an extreme success, robots regularly out preformed what was expected of them. Even the most simple ones created at the Universities seemed to be able to interact with humans in a more complex way. People started asking questions when the robots seemed a little more, intelligent and emotional than they should be. As if they had working sentient minds.

Then the 80s hit, the decade of the personal computer and the decade of the robot. Creating robots became cheaper and so companies hired people to build robots for them to do the tedious work that people didn't want to do. These robots could socialize like humans, walk like humans, plan like humans and seemingly feel emotions like humans. While personal computers were hitting the market, robots could seemingly do things that computers couldn't and faster. So their demand for them rose and robots started popping up all over the world. You'd now see robots on public transport, at your local supermarket and at pubs. But this was also the decade where robot rights were called into question

At this stage robots were seen as unfeeling, any emotion they conveyed was just programmed into them and not something they actually felt. It wasn't until the creators of these robots stood up for them alongside the robots themselves that laws were passed to prevent the cruel mistreatment of robots.

Not all countries have the same laws or had them pass at the same time so different robots can be treated differently/built differently depending on that. Which I might get deeper into in a different post :-)

[fishyizm]

getting nuis and nesos from japan

from a guy that looks at listings as a hobby and owns a few nuis

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this post is mostly about project sekai since i see alot about how people don't really know much about merch from japan and looking at this stuff is kinda my hobby lol

getting stuff from japan is pretty good since its wayy cheaper, especially right now since yen to usd is really low rn (unsure about other countries currency sorry) usually prsk stuff is scalped to the point where its better to get it from japan even with the proxy fee lmao (the price for wanting merch for something popular)

getting merch from japan is actually really easy through proxy services, which will order things for you in japan and then ship them to you in the country you reside. i use mercari (a secondhand market) through buyee but there are other proxy services too, you should probably do some digging to find out which ones best for shipping to your country and area. i like buyee but it only takes foreign paypals so that can be a downside

if you want to find merch for a specific character i reccomend looking up how the chracters name is spelled in kanji/however its spelled in game (the spellings are usually on the wiki in the character info panel, you can also get them in game but its easier to copy paste) you can look it up in english but you might get prices aimed at american audiences and machine translation is famously terrible with names. if youre looking for merch from a less popular thing then you can look up the thing's name but thingsll usually be listed under character names

once you have the name you can put ぬい (nui, plush) or ねそべり(nesoberi, those laying down ones.) there are probably other kinds but these are the ones i look into lol

if you want fast results you can go to the recommended tab in the top right but if you have the time i reccomend sorting by lowest price and digging through untill you find what you want, whichll probably give you the best price

for project sekai specifically if you want cheap plushes be a fan of leoni, momojan, or anhane lol popular character merch is anywhere from 1.5x to 3x more expensive than unpopular characters. even so itll be less expensive than english ebay lol. under the cut i have the usual pricing ive seen for prsk plushes but it all depends since mercari is basically japanese ebay, so this is only for old merch and crane game prizes. if you want more recent merch im sure theres people who buy lots and resell, i dont have any reccomendations for project sekai but i know @/enstarsgoods on twitter does this for enstars

(rant i did on this post's tags about nui pricing) [the chibi eye nuis r anywhere from 600¥ ($4) to 2000¥ ($14) depending on if its a guy/niigo or not (lmao) and nesos get up to 7000¥ ($45) (for guys) (i saw some of the girl ones listed around 4000¥ [$26]) and nesos arent listed (as) often. idk anything about the dot eye nuis and nuigarumis since i dont like how they look (lol)

keep in mind that these r resales so theyre a bit more expensive than if u just ordered one when they were in stock like nesos r originally only ¥2750 ($18) but r scalped to hell especially on english ebay]

on top of the price for the goods youll buy you also have to pay japan shipping (usually this is included but sometimes it isnt, it is on every listing if this is the case or not as well as the price) as well as a conversion fee per item which isnt much (i got away with 900¥ ($6) in total for 5 items) and shipping from japan to your country (for me it was ¥2300 [15] but i live in a very easy place to ship to so it may cost more for you) this is about the same as ebay shipping cost wise (for me at least)

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i dont really know what people do with their project sekai nuis (except blend?? burn?? milk copypasta irl..) but with enstars people usually put cute clips in their hair and blush them which is super cute. people also make nui costumes that you can buy. you can search ぬい服 (nui clothes) and usually put the type of nui you have's origin/size (since they can be different demensions) people don't make them for project sekai nuis but im sure there are outfits available in that size/patterns around somewhere

[bigalockwood]

August and Rousseau

I’ve outed myself as the #resident horse expert (thanks @youngroyalsconfession for the title I’m genuinely elated bc I’ve never gotten my own online moniker lmao) and I think it’s time that I contributed some more unasked for and useless horse knowledge to the YR discussion. This has been sitting in my drafts for ages and since I don’t see myself finding any time to research this further in the next few weeks, I thought I might as well post it before season 3 drops. Plenty of posts have been made about how the August-Rousseau situation could play out, and I don’t want to talk about those theories today, because I have anything to add right now.

As has been pointed out many times, horses are expensive, at least in western, industrialized countries. They used to be a necessity for most people, because they were a mode of transport, used to harvest food etc. This is still true in many parts of the world, but not Western and Northern Europe. There, horses have become a luxury, and are usually notoriously expensive, especially if you can’t keep them on your own grounds and produce your own hay. And even then- vet bills are painful to look at, and there are plenty of other costs, too. So, August most definitely won’t be able to pay for the monthly expenses that come with having a horse, at least not if he gets no financial aid by the court or doesn’t sell some of his assets. And even then, I’m not sure what they would say when they learn that they are financing a horse of all things (especially since August has zero interest in or knowledge of horses). In the following you can find a rough overview of just how expensive owning a horse is. Keep in mind, these numbers are generalized. I’m not from Sweden, but another European country, and even if I were, prices fluctuate a lot depending on the success of harvest, proximity to large cities, services offered by the stable, etc.… But maybe it can give those of you less familiar with horses a better idea of just how fucked August actually is.

Stable: this variable is already very hard to judge. You can find fairly cheap barns, but you usually have to do at least part of the work yourself, too (just imagine August mucking out Rousseau’s stall lmao). Feed is often included in the price, doesn’t cover any special needs, though (hay is included, but anything else you have to buy yourself). However, Hillerska is a prestigious school. They have a groom (our beloved Marcus) to take care of everything the owners don’t want to do (mucking out, feeding, taking horses out to the pastures and then back inside). You can find yourself with anywhere between 200- 600 Euros per month, depending on the services offered. Knowing what we do about Hillerska, you can expect the cost to be at the higher end.

The farrier should come every six to eight weeks and, again, costs depend on what work needs to be done. It can be anywhere between 50 Euro (bare hoof, only need to be trimmed) to close to 200 Euro (horse shoes for all four hooves). As long as Rousseau isn’t being exercised he’ll most likely only need a trim. 

Insurance depends greatly on your horse and its value (it’s hinted that he is valuable in the show) but generally costs between 50 to 150 Euro per month where I’m from.

Vet costs (assuming your horse is healthy and you only need to get the recommended vaccinations and check-up’s as well as anthelmintics) will usually be around 400 Euros a year and can go way up, depending on whether your horse has any special needs. Rousseau seems to be healthy, so we’ll assume he only needs the bare minimum.

Based on what he definitely needs to buy/pay for, the annual cost would be somewhere between 3400 and 12.400 Euro. Which is a super rough estimate and doesn’t even cover any extra expenses (Rousseau most certainly doesn’t only eat hay but also other feed specifically for sport horses). A horse can easily cost up to 21.400 Euro per year. August saves some money because he doesn’t take any training sessions and thus doesn’t need to pay for a trainer. He could also lend Rousseau to the school and let other students ride him; a deal like that would reduce how much he needs to pay for the monthly care of Rousseau.

But either way: August has to pay between 295 and 1800 Euro per month. If he wasn’t struggling financially, he probably wouldn’t even notice such a “small” expense. As it is, he can’t even pay his own tuition. There’s no way he’ll be able to pay for a horse.

(Would also like to, again, state that this is extremely generalized; I just wanted to highlight how much a horse usually costs).