#my favorite quote is 'regression to the mean'

[scarletlilyy]

Topic of Today: Pretentious feminism online and the slow development into internalized misogyny.

Popular terms/ideologies in Girl world I feel contributes to this!

1. Girl dinner

2. “I'm just a girl”

3. Girl Math

4. Pick me

5. Girls Girl

1. Girl Dinner: As defined by urban dictionary GIRL DINNER is a tik tok trend where girls eat random food which is comforting and or is a childhood food. Basically a combo of some random foods. Like every other trend it started off pretty innocent until it was repackaged as a means of promoting eating disorders. Extremely low cal food that lacks every bit of nutrition is romanticized with a cute pink bow.

2. "I'm just a girl": The phrase “I'm just a girl” was kind of a spin to “let boys be boys”, something we've all commonly heard in the past when a young man does something stupid but is still excused for it. I watched this video essay by Alisha not Alisha and in the comments someone quotes "You're not "healing your inner child" - you're regressing into ignorance.” and that's exactly how I feel about this trend.

"I'm just a girl" should be a fun quote to piss off men who hate traditionally feminine things, not a hoax to justify your shitty behaviour.

3. Girl Math: The third one has to be my least favorite, especially as someone who loves math. It just reinforces the whole dumb blonde ideology, infantilizes women and justifies bad financial decisions/overconsumption. The whole overconsumption issue is probably one of women's bigger issues. Like I saw multiple videos of where girls tried to use girl math to justify the ridiculous amounts they spend MONTHLY on clothes.

Yeah, let's not....

Trends like these easily turn into a marketing ploy for brands and we just end up spending money on useless shit cus the caught ur short ass attention span lmao.

4. Pick me: I feel like the term pick me became popular around the pandemic (I might just be too young lmao), so I'm just gonna start around there. At first it was to actually call out women who were in fact pick mes. A pick me is a girl who brings down other girls for male validation btw.

It's as simple as that.

It's not a girl who has different interests from other girls and a lot of people have failed to understand that. The entire point is not that pick me's have different interests from other girls, it's that they weaponize their "different" interests to gain attention from the opposite gender. So no, a girl who isn't so feminine or doesn't practice stereotypical feminine things isn't a pick me, neither is she trying to be "different".

The word has been really thrown around and 60% of the time it's just cus the accuser doesn't like the accused.

5. Girls Girl: A girls girl is the opposite of a pick me, a girl who supports other girls. But guess what my support is very much conditional!

Girls are humans.

Humans suck, they are capable of being bad ppl and making bad decisions. Aside from the basic support like providing menstrual products when In need or defending each other from misogyny, my support is conditional. That was originally the intention of the whole girls girl thing, understanding female struggles and supporting each other in those aspects.

Not dick riding each other and giving our unconditional love to people who don't deserve it. It has turned into a thing where women are immune to criticism from other women. And anytime a woman calls out another woman for something genuinely bad they aren't a “girls girl” or they are “hating like a man” .

Women, just like men aren't immune to criticism.

Overall, all these trends always start with the innocent intentions of enabling women to enjoy themselves. They slowly develop into toxic trends that do absolutely nothing for the feminists movement and allow for internalized misogyny. Trends like this will forever pop up, let us be careful with the media we consume. I'm talking about it because I've seen it in real life and it affects how women and especially young girls coexist with one another.

That's it,

Au Revoir.

[derangedanomaly]

OVERCOPY - ASKS

THE SERIES OFFICIAL MASTERLIST

Songs I listen to while drawing them

The truth about the boys

The Boys' voice claims

The Boys' sexualities

Strange hobbies?

The growth of my characters (yapping season)

Incorrect quotes

ASKS:

CHAOS

Motorcyclist Chaos part 2

Meeting genocide player

Reaction to his partner wearing something revealing

Lovesick

Hugging Chaos (dad version lol)

Calling Chaos "Daddy"

The cupcake :3

The reaction to the smut fic

A microwave joke

Poem for Chaos

A bra?

Desperate

Freckled kisses :3

NIGHTMARE

Killing for him?

Down bad 🤨

Coffee or Tea?

Flirting with him again??

Fashionista

Feeding off on your nightmare

MTT

Aces theories ^^

Blade angst

Aces fav song from CAS

Hugging Blade :3

Papyrus just there to watch the show ☕️

Love tap for Blade

Aces favorite cartoon

Aces sleep schedule

Soulmates

The bracelet

Troublemaker

Running away after kissing Blade lol

Gifting Blade a mask!

Cheating on Ace? 🤨

Cheating on Ace 2

Unfiltered Blade

Ace and scars

A trap...

Attractive?

Ted's uncertainty

Ted's uncertainty 2

Arson with Blade

THE BEEF

Letter

Blade's thoughts on B.A.

The ongoing beef

Wearing Blade's jacket?

The outfit

Being a yandere for him??

Feral for kisses from Blade (suggestive)

Comfort from Blade??

Losing HP....

Doing the job

THE BOYS

Reaction to age-regression

DREAM

His personality

ERROR

Me acting like a simp-

A gift

EATING HIM?! 😨

Reaction to Kitoto (an oc by @kitoto-the-babybones )

Thoughts about Ink

INK

His personality

SWAP

His personality

Lipstick stains

THE DIVINE

The pointing meme

some meme dump lol

Kissing Blake :3

ART:

Doodles 1

Chaos :D

Slasher Blade?

Chaos meeting his past self (CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!)

Mine.. (TW: EYESTRAIN)

POV: Chaos is not around

POV: CHAOS IS NOT AROUND 2

Unfiltered Blade

Unfiltered Blade 2

Unfiltered Blade x reader imagine!

Diet Mountain Dew

Unfiltered Ace

Unfiltered Ace 2

If Chaos was mean

Kinda unfiltered Nightmare

Chaos using you for weightlifting

Good boy Ace

Bf (animation)

Good girl...

Good boy...

Motorcyclist Chaos (redraw)

The cards

Unfiltered Ted 1

Chaos' favorite

FANART:

Amazing FANART based by my designs!

Awesome Chaos fanart

Blade fanart by @miilkycloud

[deathsbestgirl]

so i recently rewatched all things, what are your thoughts on that episode?

OOF. i love everything about all things.

i've written about it a few times, i think mostly in relation to other episodes, if you go through my all things tag, you'll find them along with a few from other people.

mostly, i love that this episode is as much about faith as so many others. but scully branches out -- i know some others take issue with this for whatever reasons, but i think it's a testament to scully's open mind and her view & respect for religion/faith. in my mind, it's like in the alchemist by paulo coelho (sorry i am so annoying about this book lol) where the main character views other religions as fake and by the end, god & allah are one in the same. i think that's a journey or belief that makes complete sense for scully.

so i put all things on just for this after annoying my wife & roomie all day with season two and three lol (hence one breath & paper clip mentions)

opening voiceover:

Time passes in moments ... moments which, rushing past define the path of a life just as surely as they lead towards its end. How rarely do we stop to examine that path, to see the reasons why all things happen, to consider whether the path we take in life is our own making or simply one into which we drift with eyes closed.

But what if we could stop, pause to take stock of each precious moment before it passes? Might we then see the endless forks in the road that have shaped a life? And, seeing those choices, choose another path?

i love fate vs choice in this show. i just watched paper clip where mulder tells scully "i don't think this about justice...i think it's about fate" -- about these terrible losses they've suffered and where it's going to lead them. these things that have been done to them, happened to them against their will. it's something they consistently struggle with. in christmas carol, scully dreams a memory with melissa where scully tells her "i don't believe in fate. i believe we make our own path." so much of this conversation is echoed back in this episode. scully has every word spoken by her favorite people running through her mind, waiting to understand and pull them out to share with mulder. she does it with ahab, mulder and melissa. like in paper hearts, scully quotes mulder himself back to him about dreams. here, she's contemplating fate & choices. the paths she may have walked if she chose differently, and what her choices mean. it isn't the life her parents would have chosen for her, and in some ways, it is not the life she wanted, but they were always the choices she was going to make.

as much i love the whole episode, the first and last scenes are the most impactful to me, at least character and relationship wise. everything between is how she finally got there, how she finally embraced the lesson melissa tried to instill her. (it also reminds me of the blessing way, when melissa urges scullys to try regression therapy. scully goes, but she flees and doesn't go back until patient x/the red and the black. when mulder is struggling with his own path, and she can't move forward with him without her memories. after cancer, after emily. scully learns this lesson, but from both melissa & mulder. i love that it's when mulder is backtracking. it's this balance game they play because their roles are necessary, and they are two sides of the same coin. yin and yang.)

there's also something to do every time the words "all things" are used. it's in scully's opening voice over, and caollenn says it to scully when she goes to pick up the files for mulder.

There is a greater intelligence in all things. Accidents-- or near accidents-- often remind us that we need to keep our mind open to the lessons it gives.

colleen feels like someone melissa sent to scully. the blonde woman guiding scully, to colleen, to mulder, to an open mind & other faiths.

scully is initially dismissive of colleen's work, but something about colleen's words stuck with her and she goes back. colleen talks about choices and being true to yourself and "the signs along the way."

what i love is i believe scully actually did this, and this episode is kind of about realizing that? she went to med school because it felt right, and when it started to feel wrong, she joined the fbi because that's what her entire being was telling her. it may have looked & seemed & felt wrong to others, but as melissa tells her, it isn't their life. scully is the one who has to live the path she chose. struggling with our choices is a normal part of life and scully's have had some big consequences for her and her loved ones. but what other choice could she make? they were right for her, and she can't control everything. she couldn't have stopped anything because it was never her fault. something both her & mulder grapple with.

i love when she tells daniel he needs to deal with his choices. she didn't make him do anything, in fact she left because it's what she believed was right. he decided to blow up his family and couldn't deal with the ways he hurt them (familiar, isn't it? i think a running theme in this show).

scully has her vision in a buddhist temple, as mulder puts it, she talks to god and it leads her down an alternative path to help daniel, thanks to her conversation with colleen. and colleen actually helps connect with her someone. i absolutely adore this scene because it mirrors melissa & mulder meeting in one breath. mulder struggled with melissa's beliefs, even as they're similar in some ways. the same as scully struggles with them, similar to the ways scully & mulder struggle with each other's beliefs (or maybe, more accurately, when they step out of their skeptic/believer roles).

it's interesting to me, how daniel seems to belittle anything that isn't medicine in helping someone heal. it doesn't seem to reflect scully's beliefs as a doctor. "imagine a miracle and you're halfway there." something about a commitment to quality of life and honoring the person, not just extending life. it's a gift she gives to daniel, this understanding of life and people. something he wasn't able to extend to her. respect for choice. something mulder & scully always honor for the other. always validating, always helping in any way they can. always supportive even if they don't agree. always listening despite disagreement or disbelief. always taking the other seriously as no one else has ever done for them.

ultimately, mulder comes looking for scully and they go back to his place to drink some tea and talk about her revelations. to philosophize about choice and fate, and how maybe it's kind of the same thing. they had choice, but there was always only one choice.

[roostercrowned]

Realm of the Elderlings Ask Meme Thing

tagged by @tragediegh! \o/ Favorite RotE book: I'm also gonna have to say Fool's Fate though Ass Quest is a close second Why: Listen I will never forget the shrimp emotions I experienced in that tent or during the resurrection, and the reveal/healing of Fitz's forging re-contextualizing all his previous choices. This book pulls no punches. I don't think I would have survived it if I had read it back in 2003 with no guarantee of Beloved surviving. And the ending was devastating but honestly, upon reflection I accept it--not as a "happy" ending but as Fitz maladaptively retreating to his past and being unable to follow through on the character growth that was happening for him up to that point. It is NOT a happy ending for Molly. Top three favorite characters: Amber, Lord Golden, and the Fool. Haha ok no, favorite supporting characters: Patience, Paragon, and Chade, with honorable mention to Jek and Rapskal Top Three Least Favorite Characters: uhhh Tats "Friendzone" Last Name, and Lant--he had me at "poor terrorized kid," lost me at "mean to Bee," started winning me back a little, then lost me again at "dating the 14 year old (implicitly as part of her casting off her gender nonconformity)." Everyone else I was pretty much cool with Favorite Ship (of the floating kind): I already said Paragon so it's gonna have to be Ophelia, she was such a bawdy aunt and she got to slap some bad guys (I don't even remember who it was now but the slapping was important) Top Three Favorite Ships (of the people kind): I'm not really into shipping as like a recreational activity, I feel like Robin Hobb already put in all the work for me on the one I care about. That said: PATIENCE AND LACEY. ...Actually I also really love that one text post about how Chade and Jek definitely hooked up and were total bros about it. I'll try to find it after I post this Would you rather be Witted or Skilled? Witted 100% If you were Witted, what animal would you bond with? A cormorant, and I would regress into full Gollum mode just eating raw fish and wallowing in the sea as god intended Would you rather live in the Outislands, the Mountain Kingdom, the Six Duchies, Bingtown, The Rain Wilds, Kelsingra, Jamaillia, The Pirate Isles, or the Fool's Homeland? Hard not to choose the one of these locations that's presented only as an idealized memory. With NO WINTERS (I grew up in California). Mountain Kingdom might be nice but they need to work on their ableism How were you introduced to the books? A friend with good taste mentioned finishing Farseer and being obsessed with it, and I was like "Hey I like vintage fantasy, would like to get back into reading more, and am laid up with a fucked up shoulder that's keeping me from drawing." and now here we are Share a quote you love: there are so many beautiful profound quotes about changing the world and unconditional love but @tragediegh had those covered so I am gonna go with the only balm for my soul in the aftermath of Fitz eavesdropping on Jek and Amber:

get his ass my mind blanks when it's time to tag people but uhhh @everywaythatmatters and @cicide76536 if you haven't been tagged yet!

[alfietalksaboutcomics]

The End Of Krakoa

So Krakoa is ending for sure, and I want to share some thoughts about it. All we know for sure at the moment is that the books are relaunching sometime in July 2024 under new X editor Tom Brevoort. Right before Fall Of X started last year I wrote a little piece for Graphic Policy titled Let’s talk about the Fall Of X and the “End of Krakoa”, I think something I wrote in that piece remains pretty relevant for my feelings on this upcoming relaunch and the end of Krakoa so I'm going to quote from it here.

"I’ve seen a lot of chatter online about the Fall Of X and what it means for the Krakoa era of the X-Men line. A lot of those discussions have been pretty doom saying. A lot of fear that this means the end of the Krakoa era ushered in by Jonathan Hickman in House Of X/Powers Of X that has been ongoing since 2019, which united the Mutants on the living island nation of Krakoa. It revolutionized the franchise and breathed fresh new life into the long stagnating X-Men line. "I’m excited for the Fall Of X. One of my favorite things in comics is being able to put brackets around a run. A run is a consecutively told story usually headed by the same creative team the entire way through. One example of a run is Tini Howard’s Captain Britain comprising Excalibur, X Of Swords, Knights Of X, and Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain. Together these books tell a complete overarching story by a single writer. "The thing about the X-Men line since Hickman soft rebooted it, is the collaborative nature of the office. Story lines ebb and flow from one title to the next. It’s harder to put brackets around individual runs because they all contribute to an overarching narrative. If this is the end of the Krakoan era then I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing. Stories have endings, and this has been an exceptionally well told story. If the ending is satisfying, I’m happy to see the whole era tied together with a nice little bow."

I stand by most of what I said in that piece but I don't think it outlines the entirety of my present feelings. While I welcome the chance to put brackets on this era I think if they go back to the mansion as the default setting for the X-Men that would be a mistake and ultimately feel like a regression for the line. But on that only time will tell and speculating is mostly pointless.

I do think depending on where the line goes I'll take this as a chance to hop off the weekly releases and stick to reading on Marvel Unlimited. Keeping up with a entire line of comics for a extended period of time is costly and the chance to dismount isn't one I'm going to not consider.

My only wish is that they don't ignore Krakoa, I don't think the genie can successfully be put back into the bottle so to speak, furthermore I want Arrako to stick around, I was so happy when X-Men Red ended not to see the mutant planet and all it's characters go away, it's one of the amazing gifts of the Krakoa era that's ripe for storytelling.

Either way no matter where the line goes post Krakoa it will never erase what this era meant and still means, we'll forever have this amazing stretch of comics to go back to.

[ashotofhelena]

2023

Ruminating on my resolutions for the new year, and reflecting on the past year have subtly become two of my favorite things to do. 

If I can sum 2022 into one word, it would honestly be... regression. Reading back on my post last year, 2021 was such a productive and growth focused year. It is no wonder why I entered 2022 with such high expectations. But after all is said and done, I feel like I have not changed or grown significantly in 2022 at all. If anything, I think I have regressed with some bad habits and intrusive thoughts returning.

It is a bit sobering to realize I am leaving 2022 in mostly the same state I was when I entered it - I am at the same job, same apartment, same relationship status, same everything really. Whenever I caught up with friends in 2022, I had no updates to give. I think I really bought into the ~vibes~ culture this year, which led to being a bit apathetic and a tad too carefree, which led to a year of stagnation.

To be fair, 2022 was not all bad - I traveled internationally twice since 2019; I achieved my running and reading goals; I got promoted at work; I am working on some really cool products at work; I saw friends near and far; I developed stronger relationships with new and old friends. There were definitely moments of pure joy that make me smile when I reminisce on them.

I understand that not every year will be one giant step forward, but I do believe in consistent growth and betterment. Going into 2023, I am determined to pick up from 2021. 2023 will be the year of change - it does not have to be a giant step forward, but it will have to at least a baby step forward.

To continue to protect my own needs versus being a people pleaser. This is one resolution I really worked on in 2022 and I do think it has paid dividends. I have become so much better at saying no, and protecting my time, which I need in order to be my best self when I do say yes. It is a practice I want to continue in 2023.

Run 500 miles if I do not get into the Brooklyn Half Marathon; run 750 miles if I do get in. I hit my 750-mile goal this year but barely... I love running and sometimes do wonder if these goals get in the way, so hoping by decreasing it (if I do not get into the half), it will give me more leeway to run for pleasure.

Make up some of those lost miles with other type of exercise - I want to lift weights in 2023! I also want to do more yoga, pilates, and other strength training classes.

Read 25 books. Again, same goal as 2022 and I thought it was a good one. Continue to try to alternate between fiction and non-fiction for each.

On a related note, I want to consume more media (books, movies, music, etc.) from BIPOC and underrepresented groups. I recently was looking at my Spotify Wrapped and realized how white and Western my taste was. Similarly, I was looking into non-fiction books written by POC and really struggled. I want to prioritize this consumption diversity in 2023.

Put myself out there. I did try to put myself out there early in 2022, going on dates and seeing what is out there. But, I was still really passive in the process, and even when meeting someone I liked, I would withdraw instead of be active in showing my interest. This goes against my every instinct, but I want to be more risk taking with my personal life, whether it be romantic, friendships, or familial.

Better investments. I started to invest more in 2022, but I want to do more in 2023. Starting off with investing the payout I got from Elon for Twitter stock in an index fund.

Start journaling. I spent $60 on a Hobonichi journal which means I need to use it to its maximum potential. I want to start documenting more of my day and little things / quotes that I experience.

Live by myself for the first time! Slightly out of my control, but I will be looking for an apartment by myself for the first time next year. I have become more and more comfortable by myself the past two years, so I am very much looking forward to it, but also very nervous about it.

Start budgeting. Given the higher rent that comes with living by yourself, I will need to start budgeting me. This will probably mean more intentional travel, nights out, and other materialistic things I used to spend on free willy nilly.

Learn something new. This is one from 2021′s post that I did not do in 2022. I want to either 1) learn or relearn a language 2) learn how to DJ / produce music or 3) experiment more with cooking / baking.

Other misc. resolutions: alcohol-free January, cut down on alcohol in general, sugar-free January, be a better communicator, continue to eat less meat / processed food, stay off my phone more, document passing moments more, be more intentional about my media consumption.

If you know me IRL, you know I have a personal theory that my odd years are better than my even years. So with that, I have a really good feeling about 2023... here’s to the new year!

[homestarretrospective]

#76 - Marzipan's Answering Machine - Version 5.0

Date: October 13, 2001

Thankfully, just because we've started a new long-running series doesn't mean we need to leave behind the old one!

This is another solid Answering Machine, even if Strong Bad's humor has apparently regressed since the previous one (his prank calls eventually get better, I promise).

Obviously, the highlight of this one is Coach Z & Bubs' calls, featuring them both under the influence of a few Cold Ones. Their ramblings are pretty funny, with my favorite part easily being Bubs babbling in the background about bananas or whatever, and Coach Z's later apology is also pretty good.

We also get our second appearance of Homsar, with this being pretty much the last time we ever hear a coherent sentence out of the guy. Or, at least until 2008.

Homestar and Strong Sad's bits are pretty good too, although Homestar eventually does a much funnier version of his appearance in this in an email that comes way later.

Speaking of which, back to emails!

Quote: Hey, Coach! Tell her I said, "Hey!" No, no, just—Tell her I said, "Bananas!" Tell her I said, "A bluh-buncha bananas."

[a-moth-to-the-light]

i hope for a comfortable night at the end of your day (jan 07, 2022)

According to the Tumblr Year in Review thingie, I posted 236 times in 2022--and I didn't even make my account until March-ish! I should either celebrate or go touch grass. Joke's on you, though, because I pet plants all the time when I age-regress. Don't ask about the cactus experiences, please! /lh

OMGOMG LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT

My recent music obsession has been "La Loto" by Tini, Becky G, and Anitta! I can always trust Tini to come out with weirdly replayable songs, (ex: "Fantasi" and "22") and this is no exception. Becky G, especially, sounds great--her flow is a last-minute energy boost, full of unexpected vitriol, that makes me want to go back and see what she's been doing since "Shower" (which was THE middle school song btw). The beat squeaks under the pressure of their dominating presences, and I just feel so good about myself while listening to this one (and maybe, just maybe, pretending I could perform this track the way these three do).

Ily:1, my rookies of the year for 2022, just had a comeback! I did not know it was going to happen, but Spotify let me know the day of. Right now, "Secret Recipe" is taking up most of my attention--I don't mind their hyper-cutesy affectations here, because the chorus is just so precious. I'm sure I'll get around to listening to the title track, "Twinkle, Twinkle," again at some point, though!

I'm only two songs into the Moonbin & Sanha album (I KEEP TELLING Y'ALL I'M SLOW AND THIS IS WHAT I MEAN), but they're both fantastic, sleek and midnight-black in tone. The prechorus of "Madness" inexplicably reminds me of that one song, "Timber," that used to play at every middle school party, and, even more inexplicably, that makes "Madness" quite appealing to me. (Better than "Timber," anyway. That song could use a whole lot less Pitbull.)

Okay, I'll be done with talking about music for now--I'm mostly just catching up on 2021 songs right now, anyway! My brother got me to watch the recent Coffeezilla videos about Jake Paul, which were my introduction to the channel, so my recent YouTube life has mostly been a spiral into the depths of Coffeezilla's videography--I'm learning more than I ever wanted to know about manipulative sales tactics (the "Save the Kids" series, in particular, is fascinating)!

I'm also in the middle of Taejiu's "HIT is the best song you forgot about," only because I was reminded of "Miroh" by Stray Kids while watching and stopped to go listen to that and then couldn't stop listening to "Miroh" and then forgot to come back to finish the video. (Stray Kids does that to a guy!) As someone who has been trying to get into Seventeen for forever, this video is an exciting place to start--maybe I'll be able to check off the "get into astro and/or svt" bingo square only a few days into the new year!

Will I Do Anything Interesting Tomorrow?

I'm taking my youngest sibling out for ice cream--there's a place in our neighborhood that we used to visit all the time back when I lived at home, so I wanted to take them once before I leave the state again for college! Otherwise, I'll just be resting (hoping to get a nap in, since I missed out on naps for both Friday & today) from all the social events I've had in the past few days. I'm so happy to be able to see my friends from home after months of only texts and calls, but it's a lot of pressure for my already-not-great physical state :( I'll plan to spend most of the day curled up in bed, listening to audiobooks, to make up for all the energy expended!

Quote of the Day

Are you sure they're speaking German? Because I could have sworn I just heard them say "hamburger."

-- me

BUT UPDATE HAMBURGER IS ACTUALLY A WORD IN GERMAN

BUT ALSO THAT PERSON WAS JUST SPEAKING GIBBERISH IT WAS NOT ACTUALLY GERMAN

AND ALSO HAMBURGER IN GERMAN DOESN'T MEAN THE SAME THING AS HAMBURGER IN ENGLISH

SO

IDK THAT'S IT

photo journal excerpts

First, we have a pink sky through my car window! Pink is my favorite color :) Second is my cat in his little nest of toys, and third is a snake ring my family bought for me!

[asklittlepip]

DS9 was an absolute masterpiece, it is and ever will be the best Star Trek series ever made, even better than TNG or even the Original Series. My absolute favorite episode, "In The Pale Moonlight" there is a quote from Garak that made me realize this, the quote is too long for a Tumblr ask, but it was one of the most dramatic scenes that didn't feel forced or hammy.

I mean, that entire episode was just incredible, and yet, if Gene Roddenberry had still been alive, it would never have happened.

While I absolutely, wholeheartedly hope for an Earth much like that of Star Trek's, I'm also not ignorant enough to think that all humanity will get along even if we ever solve all of our problems. Gene literally refused to allow even basic interpersonal conflicts on The Next Generation, and they had to use ideas like those mind control bugs as an excuse for Starfleet to be anything other than perfect. And despite being mostly progressive, let's just say the man was regressive and severely flawed in other ways and leave it at that.

While I will always feel that Kevin Conroy's Batman is best, and that the Internet has overused it at this point; Alfred's speech from the Nolan trilogy is still the most apt. Some men just want to watch the world burn, and such individuals won't be happy even if they have literally no reason to be unhappy...

Perfection is unattainable, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't strive for it. And while we need to be careful we don't abandon our principles or "greater good" things away in pursuit of that brighter future, some must also be willing to live with certain sacrifices to save everyone else. It isn't easy, but nothing worth having ever is.

[kyarbrougharts245-02]

To Design A Poster

Being a Graphic Designer offers multiple job opportunities, and the publishing industry is recognized as a significant employer for Graphic designers, according to the book, “Becoming a Graphic and Digital Designer.” While such opportunities include packages, merchandise, and other products, book design is one of the more well-recognized aspects of the job.

When designing a book, whether the book’s text or the jacket, the intention is to have the text readable and aesthetically pleasing. If a book’s design isn’t appealing, there is a high chance the book will remain disregarded on a shelf, which is considered a regression in design as the overall goal is “to move a product off the shelves”. 

For our third project in Design Technology and Concepts, we were tasked with designing a poster that reflected prior advertisements of the non-partisan era, specifically on topics of voting. The poster would be an 11x17 frame with our design based on one of the given quotes listed in the instructions. I chose the quote by Martin Luther King Jr:

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

Topics such as voting are not typically my forte. I found myself struggling to latch onto any of the given quotes however MLK’s quote was the one I considered to be easiest to work with and I began sketching out ideas. Our professor wanted 15 sketches as part of the project’s requirement. I stuck with small thumbnails as he suggested since I get easily engrossed with details in bigger spaces. 

I went through many ideas for my sketches, starting with a book having its pages torn out, a faceless person holding an empty voting box, a picture of a person with a mix of grayscale and glitch effects that would be a blurred background to the actual quote, a picture of a sun collapsing (or dying), an isolated city that had a dark gradient stemming from the building’s bottom, a mirror resting in a dark, isolated plane of space, etc.

My favorite designs included the last three images on the first row, the first and last image on the second row, and the first image on the third row. Respectively, the images represented an old-timey, early 2000s chatroom profile with information such as the name and details being obscured with the person visibly shown as not having posted in a while to represent their “silence”; a VHS TV with the power cutting off (you’d see the black screen with the white streak in the center as a representation of ending or dying); a paper cut out of people with one character being cut off from the rest (this sketch would’ve included scissors featuring skull designs in the finger rings); a heart monitor flatlining; a dog with a muzzle or slab of tape wrapped around its muzzle, and a crow with the tongue of a human from its beak.

I found myself a little hesitant to pursue the crow and the dog images as I found both to be a little graphic, pushing a bit too hard on that uncomfortable feeling. When I shared my designs with the class, I got insightful feedback. 

At the time, I had reanalyzed my sketches and narrowed down my top designs to the flatline and the VHS TV. I presented these sketches in addition to the ones prior, explaining how I favored both designs and was stuck on determining which iteration of the designs to go with. A classmate suggested a combination of the two, using a heart monitor as a potential option to include both aspects of a flatline and the VHS shape; they even suggested using the buttons of the actual monitor as a means to add the words of my chosen quote.

I was receptive to the idea and even though I decided to go with their route, another classmate made an interesting suggestion in regard to my crow sketch—they said that if I were to go with the design, I should change the crow to an eagle. After I explained the initial reasoning for having a crow feature in the design (that being that crows signify death), they explained that the symbolism was not well known by most people and that it seemed more feasible to make it an eagle. 

It was an interesting idea, I was tempted to go with it but I liked the prior idea far greater. With a rough idea in mind, I flipped a page and outlined a bigger sketch of a heart monitor. While not the most polished outlining, I did like the direction the sketch was going therefore I imported the image into my ipad to make it a digital design.

Our professor gave us free rein when it came to making the design and where we designed it. We had the option of Adobe apps, Canvas, Procreate, or a traditional means of illustration (painting or drawing). I chose Procreate.

This process was the most challenging as I couldn’t get the lines as clean as I wanted them to be. The lines would be uneven and messy, even when I increased the pen’s stabilization. I got frustrated and jumped to the app, Curve, which is a design program similar to Illustrator. I hadn’t used it before but since I had prior experience in Illustrator, I believed the choice to be an adequate option for cleaner lines.

I ran into trouble when I realized my problems wouldn’t be so easily solved. Curve had many familiar features but overall the program was its own thing. There were tools missing that I assumed Curve would have. What I really wanted was the round corner tool which is present in Illustrator but I couldn’t find it on Curve. Since I didn’t have the time to fully get to know Curve, I returned to Procreate and was back at square one.

After a good hour, I found my footing, the lines were smooth and even on both sides for the most part. Adding extra lines to emphasize shadows and smaller details helped bring the outline together. For the color of my design, I primarily stuck with a vintage palette called “On The Telly” (found on Looka.com) in order to somewhat maintain that classic style. The gouache brush and watercolor brush were used to shade the monitor with additional purchased brushes from Lucas Peinador used to add finer details such as the cross-hatching and comic-book dots seen in the design.

With the way I designed the heart monitor, I chose to keep the quote on the screen of the monitor as opposed to implementing them on the buttons. Since the intention was to keep the design as faithful to a heart monitor as possible, I decided to arrange the quote in a way that resembled the information typically displayed on an actual monitor screen. 

However, I thought it would be more engaging to have the quote repeat off the screen and down the frame, cycling much like the rhythmic beeping of the monitor (which I conveyed by highlighting “silent” in a different color). The outcome gave an eerie feel that I believed fit the intended severity of MLK’s tone. To emphasize this feeling, I added a screen effect to darken the design and give the frame a layer of static. 

Overall, I am satisfied with the design. I think it displays both aspects of readability and pleasant graphics to look at. While posters aren’t exactly the same as book covers, the same principles apply as do all concepts and practices of Graphic design. Choice in the font is just as important here as it is to the title of a book. Similar to how word placement is just as important as the color of a design and the tone it conveys. Everything must be intentional to get a good result.

[bearseungmin]

Hi 😊 pebbles here. These last few weeks have been a lot and I must step away for my well-being. But I just wanted to send love! I hope finishing the ricochet effect goes well (I don't think you've finished??? Correct me if I'm wrong), and I hope whatever other writing you do goes smoothly too ♡♡. I look forward to reading everything when I get back.. Please take care of yourself! Drink lots of water and do something for yourself every once and a while 💙💙

~ pebbles

I'm sorry I'm just now seeing this pebbles!! tumblr stopped notifying me of asks :(((

please take care of yourself love! it's important that you remind yourself that you're doing your best, btw 💕 it helps!

i finished writing my ricochet series a little bit ago, but thank you love 🥺 i needed that. also yes i am drinking water!

[gritsandbrits]

Cleo de Nile is one of the original ghouls of MH released back in 2010. She quickly became a fan favorite for her wicked sense of style - and wickedly entertaining personality. One of the most compelling aspects about her was her arc, developing from a mean girl who often played tricks on the main trio to keep herself in the spotlight, to a kinder compassionate person. Also her relationship with Deuce Gorgon was surprisingly healthy. Coupled with some complex family drama, Cleo proved to be a fully-fledged person beyond the mean rich girl stereotype.

Not even a day ago I was fooling around on the happiest place on Earth when I saw a peculiar tweet about Cleo. Her Haunt Couture doll released last Friday and it came with a diary, as common for MH. So naturally leaks were abound for the curious hungry crowd to consume. Including myself, who is a Cleo fan since getting into MH a little more than a year ago.

However when I read the entry, it didn't satisfy my appetite. Instead it left me with an empty feeling.

An empty feeling that quickly filled with anger.

The damning quote:

"If this was the old country, Clawdeen Wolf would be scrubbing the pyramids by hand for her insolence."

I was amazed that something like that would come out of Cleo's mind. Even at her nastiest she never said anything about enslaving classmates. To see her seemingly regress and even being worse that what she originally had been was extremely disappointing Even more disturbing is that she talks about Clawdeen in that way.

Clawdeen is one of the few confirmed black/coded characters in the MH brand. She and Cleo were rivals, but by that time of the diary they became more amicable. Putting America's history in mind, it comes off as VERY unfortunate implications. When you consider the Old Country (Ancient Egypt) also had slaves, something that was never touched upon in MH, it makes Cleo's wording even worse.

Luckily a lot of people shared the same sentiment. Cleo would never say that! What were the writer(s) thinking? How could Mattel approve something like that? Those questions and more only fueled the confusing fire set off by this one journal.

This isn't the only thing that's been wrong with Cleo. All the way back when MH was announced to return, it was leaked that she and Deuce broke up. The diary also revealed that the reason for said break up was because of Cleo's sister Nefera. Sounds familiar? It's rehashing the subplot from Boo York, Boo York. Cleo looks rather dumb because she knew better than to trust Nefera's words on anything. So that was another lackluster bit of regressing. Let's not even talk about the life action film because I rather not give it attention. Only time will tell with G3!Cleo when that animated series come out.

Overall this diary and how Mattel is setting up Cleo makes me wonder if there's anyone working there that has a weird grudge against her. Am I reaching too far? Maybe. But I'm curious to understand why Cleo would say something so harsh and what compelled the author to make her say such things.

[chainofclovers]

Ted Lasso 2x10 thoughts

GOOD GOD.

“No Weddings and a Funeral” is like being hungover but also coming out of a hangover. Having a terrible cold but also feeling better and appreciating every breath that comes through your nose. Embarking on an organizational project and accidentally falling into a photo album and crying about the pictures and organizing almost nothing tangible but making a few things more clear in your brain.

So much of this episode is about the AWFUL POINTLESSNESS OF DECORUM. How loud is too loud when you’re drinking stolen wine and shrieking about sex in a church right before your father’s funeral? How should you feel--thirty years later, as an accommodating, anger-averse person--about having been too angry to attend the funeral for your father who killed himself? What expression should you make when you show up really late to a different funeral? Why must you wear uncomfortable shoes just because someone died? What happens in your mind between standing up to give a eulogy for a man you’re still angry with and choosing to Rick Roll your mom and everyone else as an act of complicated love, humiliatingly incomplete until someone else starts to sing? Should you worry about your therapist seeing your normally tidy flat in a full-on state of depression mess? Is it okay to be offended that your boyfriend is so uncomfortable about death that he can’t stop making morbid jokes? Should you care about other people caring that you’re crunching an apple in church or squealing with joy to be reunited with a friend you’ve not seen in awhile? Are you obligated to explain your behavior if your kid doesn’t understand how you could stay with someone unfaithful? How far behind the counter should you sink when your [undefined relationship person]’s mother has just let you know she can see your dick through your underwear? Is a funeral reception an okay place to find a hookup? Is a funeral reception a decent spot for a break-up? Is a funeral reception a good time for a love confession when you know the person you’re confessing to is happy with someone else? And who do you make eye contact with when you can’t look directly at the person asking you if you’re okay when there’s so, so much about you she doesn’t know yet? Even if--for this tiny little moment within a vast swath of many okay and not-okay moments--you’re honest when you tell her that you are?

I fucking adored this episode because it answers all these questions very simply: Show up. Show up for yourself. Show up for your friends. Try not to harm yourself. Try not to harm your friends.

I love that this episode is about the messiness of adulthood and the things we bring with us from childhood and that it takes place partially in Rebecca’s childhood bedroom, and in Ted’s childhood memories. Dwelling in those places (whether physically or mentally) isn’t an automatic recipe for regression, but it does get everyone closer to the things that made them who they are, to the unresolved and half-buried parts of them that still make them tick today.

Forever obsessed with every single detail about Rebecca’s childhood bedroom.

Forever obsessed with Deborah’s decision to Rick Roll herself every single morning of her life.

Forever obsessed with Rebecca’s decision to Rick Roll her father’s funeral as a way to not have to make up a single word about her father and to do something very vulnerable and kind for herself and her mother and everyone.

Forever obsessed with Ted’s decision to Rick Roll Rebecca Rick Rolling her father’s funeral.

Forever obsessed with an entire found family backing it up.

I love that it is Isaac’s leadership that ensures every single member of the team attends the service for Paul.

I am very, very interested in Jamie’s love confession to Keeley because I do think it will spark some reflection in Keeley but I do not think it’ll go the cliched love triangle route.

Each scene with Rebecca and Sam struck (for me, a human being sharing a subjective perspective on the internet) the tender-awkward-beautiful-stressful chord I was hoping it would. I think it’s wonderful that Sam is honest with Rebecca about how difficult it is to keep their relationship a secret, and I love that Rebecca has a million mostly-unarticulated reasons for why she’d much prefer the secret to continue. I like that Sassy, Keeley, and Nora respond to the revelation as friends; they might be tempering their judgments in part because they’ve all gathered to bury Rebecca’s dad, but I don’t think their reactions would’ve been that different even on a happier occasion.

While there are a million and one different reasons why a continued relationship between Rebecca and Sam could cause serious ethical problems, I really love that when people share big news on this show, the people who care about them generally react by trying to see why the person is doing what they’re doing. Doesn’t mean they shouldn’t also hold each other accountable, but in my book it’s OK that Keeley’s first reaction was to feel happy that her friend is having some fun.

Also everyone has been making weird judgment calls this season, and this episode felt like a moment of real breakthroughs in terms of people telling the truth about things that happened to them and leaving themselves open to honest responses from others.

September 13, 1991. It’s so tenderly, beautifully, overwhelmingly meaningful that there’s still so much Ted and Rebecca don’t know about the things they have in common in these parallel lives they’re leading. The scene between Sarah Niles and Jason Sudeikis is so beautifully acted, and so is the scene between Hannah Waddingham and Harriet Walter. The way they intertwine to communicate that Ted and Rebecca basically lost the ability to trust their fathers simultaneously, from an ocean away? In the hands of lesser storytellers, it would feel too perfect a mirroring, but here it feels heartbreakingly imperfect. All the things they still don’t know. All the questions they try to ask each other. All the things they don’t dare ask yet. And then the storytellers are holding a candle up to all of it and letting the audience bask in the glow of this connection even if Ted and Rebecca can’t fully understand it yet.

I am so proud that Rebecca and Deborah were able to embark on the beginnings of a conversation about the ways Deborah and Paul’s relationship might have resembled or not resembled Rebecca and Rupert’s. It feels possible that they could get to a point where Rebecca truly internalizes her mother’s pride that she broke a cycle by leaving Rupert, and could maybe even understand why her mother made the choices she made. I love that in the final scene, they’re still relying on their old mother-daughter conversational patterns—the frustrations, the snippy shorthand, the passive-aggression. Mothers and daughters!

I am also proud that Ted—albeit via a joke about Sharon charging him for the house call—indicates that he understands the value of Sharon’s work. He’s changed a lot, all in realistic ways for someone who loves learning and really does want to meet people where they are and appreciate them. I’m very moved that instead of putting himself in a real harmful situation by showing up to the funeral on time at any cost, he did what he needed to do to take care of himself and accept care from someone else. And then Sharon’s suggestion that he think about things he loved about his father? And the way he’s able to share a positive memory of Rebecca’s own father at a time when she really needed it? Gosh.

Awkward, undecorous transition from 1991 to present-day incoming...but SASSY! She’s just, like, a whirling dervish of loyal friendship and not giving a fuck and penis size discussions and being casually, delightfully cruel to Rupert, who so deserves it. Rebecca was going on a real face journey when Sassy goes off with Ted at the end, and I’m sort of *eyes emoji* about all of that, but I continue to feel like Sassy is the most imperfectly wonderful friend-from-the-past kind of person and I love everything she and Nora get to do in this episode.

Keeley saying “That baby is whack” might be my favorite line in the episode? Maybe the whole show? Not really but really.

FUCK YOU, RUPERT. Bex and Diane, y’all are fine. And I truly feel for Nate...whatever scheme he’s getting suckered into. Whatever insecurity Rupert is preying on. I want Nate to go to therapy, too.

I feel like it was an unpopular opinion at the time, but I loved Rebecca’s 2x1 revelation about vulnerability and fear of getting hurt and needing to let someone love her. Sassy doesn’t always word things in the most nuanced way, but I think there’s a real possibility that she did ask Rebecca to really consider what it means to feel either safe or unsafe with a person but to know that in either circumstance, that person could end up causing her pain. Standing in that closet with Sam, managing to make it clear that she’s not asking for a break because she knows he will hurt her but because she has to figure out how to be with a wonderful person who could cause her pain...the growth, man. Makes me emotional.

I emerged from this episode feeling, of course, stunned by all the amazing parallels and revelations and beautiful acting and Rick Rolls and just, everything. I also emerged feeling sad/raw/tender because messiness and decorum and growth and coping mechanisms and death and dramatic irony and not knowing things about people and not knowing what you don’t know...it’s a sad, raw, tender place to be.

To quote a guy who got a whole sitcom (lol) named after him, life is real hard.

[deepfriedseagullfeet]

my chase! lore under the cut: 

33-37, cis male (he him), gay (important to his character development), 6’1”

ah yes, chase. the community’s favorite quote-unquote sad dad. the protagonist of the canon jacksepticeye ego lore. and here he is, last but not least on my list. chase is probably the most complex out of all my versions of the egos. theres…a lot to this guy. i wont talk too extensively about him, but still, hang in there with me yall. major tw’s for like, abuse, suicide, addiction, age regression and trauma responses

so lets start off with backstory. its very upsetting, lets just say that, and im just straight up gonna say his life before the egos fucking sucks. he had a miserable, abusive childhood, he dropped out of school and ran away to live with his sister who then died of a drug overdose, he met stacy in college and just when he thought he had stability in his life, all the stuff he went through seemed to come crashing down on him and he became an alcoholic, depressed disaster. stacy couldnt take care of him anymore as he got worse and worse, refusing to see anyone for his issues, which led to a messy divorce and chase’s 5th suicide attempt. which is where we leave off when chase is brought into the world by jack.

now when an ego is created, they dont automatically have all their memories, and barely know who they are. so it takes a few weeks to get acclimated and “remember” their past life, if they had one. chase, well, he kept getting hit with traumatic memory after memory, especially at night, waking up the other egos with his literally terrified sobbing. even as the memories of his hard life kept seeping in, he was going back to old habits, getting blackout drunk behind jackie and henrik’s backs, getting in bar fights that henrik had to bail him out of jail for. there were panic attacks and screaming at the other egos, and he did this thing where he hid under his bed for hours that jackie and henrik began to realize was involuntary age regression. chase didnt want to deal with being alive anymore, if im being honest. jack wanted nothing to do with him, and jackie was scared jack was going to get rid of him like he did marvin.

and thats where jackie really shines in chase’s story. he was, in his mind, a fuckup that nobody wanted, and he assumed jackie and henrik would give up on him like everyone else. but the thing is, they didnt. jackie, despite his own issues and his own frustrations, never gave up on chase. even when chase kept drinking, even when he screamed in jackie’s face that he hated him, jackie stayed with chase, loving on him even in his worst moments. and really, it sounds cheesey, but all chase needed was someone to love him unconditionally. someone who wouldn’t leave him like everyone else. someone who gave him actual support through his ptsd and his addiction.

and yeah, it took time, but chase put down the bottle and started getting himself back in order. he started going to therapy for his issues (we’ll discuss that in a moment) and actually started putting in effort to be better, because he didnt want to keep hurting henrik or jackie, because he loved them, really he did. he started up a twitch channel, which gave him something to do at first, but eventually gave him a source of income. and he got a dog. very important. chase got an emotional support golden retriever named sunshine. and that dog brings him so much joy every day, just having something to care for and something to get out of the house to go on walks with. he loves that dog a lot.

but with the eventual improvement in chases life theres something else. his therapist. was anti. remember how i mentioned anti was a psychiatrist? yeah that really comes into play here. now ok, in some ways, dr. angus jackson quote unquote helped him. he talked about his trauma, he learned to understand his age regression, he was able to really work through his issues. but that doesn’t mean anti was messing with his head, or getting information about the other egos because he wanted to, or even forcing chase to cry about his past or age regress for antis own amusement, which is obviously very fucked up. chase eventually saw past anti’s manipulation and was able to recognize who he was, which was a terrifying revelation. and after anti…he had a hard time trusting a new therapist.

so in general, chase doesn’t have a lot to offer for the “plot” if you want to call it that to be honest. but i think hes still important, especially to the other egos. he’s constantly battling his mental illness throughout the story, but he has lots of support. he and jackie are best friends, and he loves his dog and his job.

personality wise for chase, hes a big ole softy. he used to be super mean and nasty when he was first born, but he was able to let down his walls and let himself be soft around the other egos. hes real sweet and chill. he likes hugs and is a guy you can hang out with and talk to.

[everlastingfable]

steve for the character ask meme !!!

What I love about them: he's actually a pretty complex character. Probably one of the most complex side characters I've seen in a show. He's also voiced by Steven Yeun

What I hate about them: he's so underutilized... this is the one character that had a prominent presence in all three shows. Yet he never seemed to have a consistent character arc. Steve grew in trollhunters. Then he regressed a bit and grew a little in 3below. Then he regressed and honestly didn't really grow in wizards. Also, Steve could've been such a great character to use in rott. Like he is the glue that connects all three shows together, and all three teams

Favorite Moment/Quote: "What? We have to wait in the car?" that made me laugh so hard I don't know why. Oh and also "Hey, door dorks, open up!" "Why don't you open up?" "Maybe I will! So, I'm--I'm really scared that I won't be a good knight."

What I would like to see more focus on: so I saw a screenshot from spoon's insta story that was the interaction between coach and Steve where coach said "just because you dad's no longer in this house doesn't mean his hostility has to be" and that made me realize what if Steve's character arc wasn't just because of his friendship with Eli, but also because of the progression of his relationship with coach Lawrence? Like Steve definitely started become less hostile after that interaction, and I wish we could've gotten some more glimpses of that.

What I would like to see less focus on: him being used for comedy. I mean some of the moments were definitely funny, but I wish it just wasn't so frequent?

Favorite pairing with: idk all Steve romance is ruined now because of rott

Favorite friendship: DOUXIE! Their friendship is so good I need more of it. Like I love that you could see their friendship slowly progress throughout wizards. As much as I like Steve's friendship with Eli, it progressed to fast imo and it feels weird when you think about how badly Steve bullied Eli in the beginning

NOTP: rott staja :/

Favorite headcanon: he and Douxie slept in the same room while they were in Camelot (because Douxie was trying to avoid moppet) and they swapped stories/advice on having a non-biological dad. Like Steve would say how he's hesitant to accept Coach Lawrence as his step-father because Coach is a pretty nice guy and what if it's all just too good to be true? And Douxie would reply about how he kinda felt the same way about being taken in my the Merlin Ambrosius, greatest wizard of all time. That he was afraid at any moment Merlin might not think he's worth apprenticing anymore and throw him back out. But then Douxie would tell Steve that if you keep worrying about the what ifs, you'll miss out on the good now, plus Coach sounds like he really cares about Steve and that's rare to find.

[littlejazzy]

Hi I am new to age regression but I have a lot of problems with actually letting myself get into the headspace. I don’t have anyone to look after me and I often just bully myself into slipping out of the headspace. Any tips/advice?

Hello there! I've been a regressor for about five years by now, and I haven't had a caregiver ever! So, here's me doing my best to help!

I don't know the exact way you're bullying yourself out of headspace, but I do know some basics.

You have to remember that there's nothing wrong with regression as a way to de-stress and relax. It's not dangerous or harmful to yourself or to others. In fact, it might make you feel safe or happy, which is always a good thing!

To quote a littlespacecadets post:

Going back to your childhood, either as it was or as a way to make up for a lack of one, is perfectly normal. People play games that they had when they were younger because it makes them happy. People watch old episodes of their favorite shows because they remember how much joy it brought them. People color in coloring sheets because it was a way to block out the rest of the world and focus on a single, simple task. People own and cherish stuffed animals and toys that they have never stopped loving. While they may not go back to the extent that you do, they are still, in a way, regressing. Everyone regresses; some people only vaguely, and others, like you and me, a lot more deeply. There’s nothing wrong with this, and there’s nothing wrong with you.

Everyone gets joy from things that they may have "grown out of" at some point or another. Try not to be so hard on yourself!

And if you're bullying yourself because you can't stay in headspace? It's important to always keep in mind that several regressors don't even fully regress all the time.

Like myself!

I don't put any pressure on myself to fully regress, so in the event that it does happen, it's just a pleasant surprise.

What I like to do is watch cartoons, both in headspace and out. So, when I want to regress, I put on a cartoon for my headspace - something like Blue's Clues, Little Bear, Sesame Street, or even Bluey! The important part of these shows is that I like them whether I'm little or big. That means even if I don't happen to regress, I still have a nice time!

Another thing I do is listen to children's music on Spotify! I have a playlist filled with nursery ryhmes, another filled with songs from tv shows and movies, and a couple that has songs that aren't technically specifically for kids but bring me good ~ Little Space Vibes ~. The first two are good for when I'm already in headspace and want to stay there, while the others are particularly good at easing myself closer to headspace.

I just like to listen to music when I color, draw, make regression outfits, and when I play with my toys :)

This littlespacecadets' post is about things that help when regressing alone, all of which I think should help.

Something not listed there, however, are reading stories about regressors and littles! There are tons on AO3, and I loooooove reading them. These are a godsend for me, because while I don't have a caregiver and am perfectly content with that, it is nice to read about getting taken care of, either with a reader-insert or just something that delves into the thoughts of the little character.

I keep tabs on the Non-Sexual Age Play tag, because if someone uses that, then chances are good that the content is non-sexual (not all the time, unfortunately, but it does help narrow things down). Just read the tags and check the rating before clicking on a fic, and you should be fine.

However, it's good to also check up on Age Regression/De-Aging. That tag was intended for fics where a character is physically regressed/de-aged, but over the years it's a mix of that and good ol' classic agere. Some of the physical de-aging stuff is pretty good at helping me feel little, but I guess it can vary person to person.

(fics tagged with both tend to be Safe For Littles, but again, check the tags to make sure!!)

To get the most out of navigating, I'd suggest going through the NSAP tag first, then going through the AR/DA tag with the NSAP tag marked as "excluded" - this will prevent all the fics you just went through from showing up and filling the pages. It'll mostly be physical de-aging stuff, but there are some agere fics hiding in there!

But yeah, fics are really good at helping me personally, so hopefully they'll help you! A bunch are about the littles coming to terms with being little, with can be cathartic in a nice way :)

That's all the tips and advice I've got! Remember to not stress about being in headspace, and just try to have a nice time regardless! That's when I tend to slip down, when I'm not making a big deal about it. Hopefully something here will work for you!