#other people online are not going to make your system more healthy!!!

[lilu787788]

I’ve been thinking a lot about why some younger viewers seem to express such intense hatred for Aleksander, and even for those who love or support him. It’s something I notice more and more often — this aggressive, almost moralistic rejection of morally grey characters like Aleksander. And I don’t think it’s just about disliking him. There’s something deeper going on in how fandom spaces function today.

A large part of it, I believe, comes from the way stories are consumed online now. Platforms like TikTok or Twitter encourage fast takes, simplified narratives, and black-and-white ideas of who is “good” and who is “bad.” People aren’t always interested in nuance anymore. It’s easier to reduce someone like the Darkling to a red flag or a toxic man than to sit with the discomfort of a character who does morally questionable things, but also loves, suffers, and fights for a better life for the Grisha and all of Ravka. Grey areas are not trending. Moral certainty is.

I’ve also noticed a dominant narrative — the girlboss versus let’s say villain storyline. Those young people want Alina, Zoya, Genya to “free themselves” from him, and in doing so, they erase what was truly complex, painful, and layered between them. The romanticization of strength often forgets that real strength can come from understanding, not just rejection. And sadly, if you dare say you understand Aleksander or believe he had genuine feelings for Alina, you’re suddenly accused of romanticizing abuse. There is no space for symbolic storytelling or fictional dynamics that aren’t meant to mirror real-life healthy relationships.

Another issue is the casual misuse of psychological terminology. Words like “manipulator,” “gaslighter,” and “grooming” are thrown around without understanding their meaning. These young fans just follow the crowd and, like a frenzied inquisition, throw accusations. Aleksander is a character shaped by centuries of trauma, loneliness, and war. But instead of examining that, some people just diagnose him in fifteen seconds on TikTok and declare him irredeemable. It’s lazy, dishonest, and more importantly, it shuts down real conversation. I also think some people need to feel like they’re on the “right side.” If they hate the Darkling, they can prove they’re morally superior. In my opinion, that points to low self-esteem. It makes liking him feel like a flaw, or worse, a crime. In some fandom spaces, it turns into a ridiculous purity contest.

And if your interpretation doesn’t fit the mainstream narrative, suddenly you become a bad person. It’s such a toxic dynamic, especially when fiction is meant to give us a space to explore difficult things.

Honestly, I think many misunderstandings around Aleksander come from people who’ve never had to think deeply about war, power, or survival. People don’t relate to the Darkling just because he’s charming or a tragic figure. A A lot of us understand him because we know what it means to live in a world shaped by conflict — to watch systems collapse, to see the innocent suffer while leaders look the other way. And even if not, basic human empathy and emotional maturity, combined with historical knowledge, allow us to see more and, most of all, to avoid jumping to judgment. We don’t behave like an angry mob with pitchforks ready to burn someone at the stake. On a side note, I’ve been thinking about doing a post that points out how some parts of the fandom — especially certain Crows, Zoya, Nikolai, Genya, and Malina fans — act a lot like the Drüskelle.

Aleksander is not a villain. He is someone forged in blood and fire, who made impossible choices in a world that gave him none. People who have studied or lived close to the realities of war know that moral clarity is a luxury. He also fought for people who were hunted, tortured, erased. He refused to stand by while Grisha were murdered, burned at the stake, dissected like lab animals, or sold into slavery. And even though his methods became brutal, his cause was never about selfish gain. It was about protecting people like him in a world that never would.

Loving the Darkling is about recognizing the complexity of someone who stood between oppression and survival. It’s about understanding that some stories aren’t clean, and some leaders don’t have the luxury of kindness. Aleksander’s tragedy is that he knew he had to become a monster to stop the world from killing his people. And whether you agree with him or not, that kind of narrative deserves respect, not shallow rejection.

Fiction should be a place where we can explore those hard truths. Not everything is meant to make us feel safe. Some characters exist to make us think, not just to give us flashy action scenes or quick thrills. Let people explore stories the way they need to. Let them love the characters who challenge them. You don’t have to agree. Sometimes it’s just fiction and sometimes it’s the way we try to understand our own shadows.

[thestarseersystem]

SIGH.

You do not always have to do "source separation" with your introjects in order to have a healthy system.

Only do it if alters *want* to. If they don't want to, you're only forcing them to be someone they're not and that's cruel.

We have only a few alters who've done it. OF THEIR OWN ACCORD. We've never pushed for that.

Besides, we have like a bagillion introject fragments. Why in gods name would we do something so inconvenient?

Like. Before considering what's healthy and what's not, consider what your other system members want. That's how you get a healthy system, by respecting each other's wishes and feelings.

[basingstokemercury]

anyway to completely digress from all-nighter fuelled semi-poetic character analysis

personal life is rapidly approaching the point of impossibility

yes thank you i know i need a job to get anywhere and it's unfair to expect parents to completely support me when i'm perfectly healthy and the things i need to go into serious theatre aren't exactly cheap

so uh

still waiting to find one single job outside the creative arts that can be performed while being:

lazy, selfish, socially nonfunctioning, irresponsible, unable to maintain focus on boring/repetitive tasks, conflict-averse to the extent of shutting down when confronted, completely irregular sleep schedule, allergic to routine that involves more than a couple scheduled events per week, unsuited to manual labour, and oh yeah absolutely terrible at interviews

"you're such a good teacher" thank you. i've been a student. not going anywhere near a room full of kids.

"you said yourself you want to work with animals" i do. i'm also nowhere near responsible enough to be in charge of caring for little squishy things that could die if my attention wanders.

"waitress -" spent years going to restaurants with the kind of person who annoys waiters. wouldn't be one if it were the only job on earth.

"cashier -" just a less intense version of waitress. and anyway i'd never be able to sit there for hours doing the same thing over and over.

it's awfully touching that people have faith in me but i do think i know my own flaws.

okay that was rough. have a fairfax.

[llpurpleplaysll]

All Might/Yagi Toshinori Headcanon's PT 3

Last one cause yeah!

Warning for the NSFW joke at the end

When you and Toshinori had gotten together, it was painfully obvious something was going on between the two of you.

Giving each other rides to even offering to walk back home together (by coincidence, Toshinori lived only 3 houses down from yours). When he had the ability to turn into All Might, he'd randomly make an appearance in your classroom to just 'stop by and check on the students'. To which, he did this for no one else except you.

When the special treatment started, the faculty of the building took notice first. You'd specially prepare Toshi a healthy meal, one that his body could handle due to the lack of a properly working digestive system. The only reason people noticed was because you were the only teacher in the building that had purple bento boxes and just by coincidence a certain pro hero had started carrying them around.

"Hey isn't that the English teacher's bento box?" "What? No! These are mine from home! You must be seeing things Present Mic." "All Might, your bento boxes aren't purple there All Might branded." "..Has anyone told you that you open your mouth a little too much?"

While you didn't exactly care too much about the faculty finding out, you were terrified of the students finding out (which unfortunately your worst fear came to light).

While sitting in the teachers lounge grading some papers, Izuku opened the door and walked towards Toshinori and you shaking out of his boots practically. Not even greeting you both he just blurted out the question.

"ARE YOU TWO DATING?"

Toshinori spat blood out his mouth.

Toshinori is now currently drowning on his own blood.

You had to step in and help.

"What? No! Where did you even get that assumption from?" "Well..after the All for one battle and I went to meet up with him at the beach..I saw you give him a big kiss.."

All you and Toshi could do was stare in silent shock, you'd been caught red handed.

After assisting Toshi and making sure he wasn't going to die from his own blood, you both confirmed the theories (the sounds of teenagers cheering abruptly came from the hallway as soon as you said 'Yes me and All Might are dating').

And of course both you and Toshi went out there to find the entirety of Class 1-A and 1-B eavesdropping (in which you reprimanded them for listening in on the private conversation and for sending Izuku in as a spy)

Sending them on they're way, you and Toshi laughed hard afterwards.

"Teenagers are a handful. Thank goodness we're never having kids." "Hey, never say never, I think I still got a few live ones in the sack." "...who taught you to say that?" "No one..I saw it online.." "Do me a favor and never repeat those words m'kay?"

Since that day forward, Izuku now uses you as a way to get more information about All Might's personal life (A funny question you will forever remember the boy asked was: "So does All Might go to bed strictly at 9pm or is it a myth?"

[sysmedsaresexist]

what are your thoughts on the community theory that autism may cause more fictives?

I come to you, anon, a broken man. I am in shambles. My life has been ripped apart.

I just spent a straight hour writing a response. It was a beautiful response, with sources, and pretty colors, and oh, about 2k words.

And it's all gone.

BUT!!! I, Quill, am not one to be discouraged. I'm going to redo this. FROM THE TOP!!!! (and now saving draft every 5 seconds istg-)

TL;DR: I really genuinely love the theory and think it has a lot of merit. However, I also really disagree with how some parts of the community handle this theory, and the stereotypes of autistic systems that come from it.

Alright. Mod Quill here, yes, I am an autistic system, currently a bit itchy inside because I should've been almost done this post and nearly into my latest fixation (don't starve together), and instead I'm rewriting this all and delaying my gratification. I am being so strong and brave right now.

[EDIT, before I actually get started, now that I'm done my ramble: in the following essay, I discuss introjection as a whole, rather than just fictives. I personally only have fictional introjects, but we all absolutely despise the term fictive being used on our system, so we avoided the term.]

Let's start with the fact that introjection is incredibly normal. My GOAT, Piaget, discusses at length how schema develops, and that's based a lot in introjection. Introjection, as a concept, is the idea that we, as people, unconsciously take on the beliefs, personality traits, sometimes even emotions of those around us. This can be for a lot of reasons.

Introjection (Defense Mechanism) was an interesting article I found discussing this idea, especially as it discusses introjection VS internalization, identification, and incorporation. Basically, when y'all try to find good articles online about introjection, those other words are usually fair game as well. This article is largely setting out to define various types of introjection. It describes normal introjection (bringing up Piaget, love that guy, he's my main man as a teacher) and brings up how introjects (i.e. the emotions/traits/beliefs/etc) can be distorted via fantasy. When that happens, it's considered secondary identification, and (she cites Freud here but I am not going digging more for MORE research atm), "Such secondary identification aims to reduce feelings of separation and hostility, and increase feelings of closeness, between the self and the external object, and thus it is regarded as a defense mechanism." So, in basic terms, introjection as a coping mechanism is often meant to reduce separation and increase closeness between an individual and the object of their introjection.

This can be seen very readily in CDDs. For instance, a hypothetical child is seeking more secure attachment with an abusive parental figure; they then form a dissociative part that is literally that abusive parental figure, making that person a part of them. This is a highly pathological defense mechanism.

So where does autism come in? Well... It's a disorder featuring:

A constant feeling of loneliness or ostracization for many individuals (discussed here)

A feeling of requirement for masking or mimicry of others in order to fit in (discussed here)

Diagnostic criteria that clearly show an inability to connect with others, rigid thinking patterns (akin to a fixed-mindset, just musing here), and an inability to maintain healthy relationships.

So... autistic CDD systems would then be individuals with a dissociative disorder, who (due to their autism) often report feeling more disconnected with themselves than their peers, who already rely on imitation as a conscious form of survival in an attempt to achieve closeness...

So you mean to say, Autistic CDD Systems Introject More???? HUH.

It's spelled out right there. It's fairly blatantly obvious. And genuinely, I don't think anyone was really doubting this. I don't think anyone is really out here saying that autistic people don't experience significant dissociation/introjection.

However, there's a lot of people recently shouting to the hilltops that there's no proof that autistic systems experience higher amounts of introject alters. And...

Duh? Obviously? There's already a significant lack of research into introjects in CDD systems. Why on earth would they then skip forward to research into introjects in autistic CDD systems? The medical world isn't going to skip around like that -- particularly, well... because why would they even research this to begin with?

Genuinely, I think that's my frustration with the recent discourse about this topic. There really is no reason, in my eyes, why the medical world should focus on this topic. What benefit would it have for patients? Introjects are simply another form of alter, same as any other. I suppose, potentially, it could lead to more ideas on how to help autistic CDD systems with their introjects in particular, but... is it that much different than just treating autistic CDD systems as a whole?

There's really no reason to be so up in arms about this idea. You're not going to be getting proof that this theorized correlation is actually scientifically valid; that's just not going to be happening anytime soon, unless someone has a really invested interest in autistic CDD introjects.

However...

HOWEVER!!!!!

That also does not mean I necessarily agree that every autistic system is like this. Because, for instance, I am not like this.

If you don't know, hi, I'm Quill, a mixed-origin CDD system featuring 15 parts. The origins aren't really important to this conversation, but we like to use accurate labels. We have 4 introjects, all of whom are fictional in nature. One is very close to source, one is so separated we forget she's an introject, and the other two are somewhere in the middle. And, despite what most people would assume, as I am a level 2 autistic individual as well as a system...

Only one of those introjects is from a hyperfixation of ours -- one that was brief, lasting only about 2 days, and that has never caught me up again -- and she's the one who immediately source separated.

Now, I am someone who struggles with hyperfixations. I scream internally while I autistically click the next 5 hour FNAF marathon when I'm supposed to be grading. I know so much lore. But yet, despite the sheer number -- undertale, MLP, FNAF, Petscop, most recently DST -- I haven't split introjects from any of those fixations.

And, well, that makes sense. Because introjection isn't just about attachment to an object. It's about taking something you need from that object. And it's unconscious in most cases.

(Semantically, I suppose that means that introject isn't really the best term for created parts who are fictional in nature, but I do not care about semantics all that much when it comes to people's self-identified labels in a minority group).

So, in the cases of my introjects:

At a time when we felt incapable, angry, and confused, we split a confident, strong, and (healthily) angry part.

At a time when we felt we were at risk of losing everyone and everything because we couldn't keep them happy, we split a character who found her lost loved ones and kept everyone happy.

At a time when we felt we needed distance from our conflicting emotions, we split someone who canonically has never been conflicted.

At a time when we were in desperate need of love, we split someone we knew would seek that love out without fail.

It wasn't based on our hyperfixations; it was based on our needs.

I think that large swaths of the system community online forgets that CDDs are borne of childhood trauma. Splits in CDD systems are caused by trauma-responses* -- you're stressed out, so your brain puts what you need to handle that stress (such as the memory of the event, the feelings you need to handle it, the personality traits that would be helpful) into a new part. In the case of introjection, a CDD brain is still doing that -- it just relies on a blueprint provided by the world around them. In the cause of autistic systems, I think they find it especially easy to rely on those blueprints.

I mean, autism comes with its own difficulties with personhood, dissociation, and lack of feeling like oneself. There's evidence to indicate that, rather than an autobiographical sense of self based on seamless memories, autistic individuals lean toward a patchwork sense of self. Extend that to CDD systemhood, an inherently dissociative, traumatic experience that comes with memory problems that further prevent autobiographical self memory, and you've got a compelling reason why introjecting whole characters (with themes and narratives that fit the experiences trying to be integrated) might be more common in autistic systems.

And... all of that -- all of the nuance, all of the discussion of trauma and the inherent struggles of being autistic -- somehow has been boiled down repeatedly, on both sides of the argument, to "Autistic systems split more introjects because they hyperfixate."

This idea led to me feeling completely isolated in system communities. I found myself in groups with the following (incredibly limited) views on autism and systemhood:

Introjects are not more common with autism at all, and anyone saying so is spreading misinformation.

Introjects only split due to traumatic experiences, and autistic people experience more trauma than others, so they split more introjects.

Introjects split more frequently in autistic systems due to hyperfixations, so if you're really autistic, you have more introjects.

And... none of these are right. All of them lack nuance, and all of them patently ignore the facts about trauma and how it impacts the brain in CDDs.

Based on the community experiences I've seen, there is a blatant correlation between autism and introjects. To ignore that correlation is to be blind to the community entirely. However, to say the correlation is only due to hyperfixation is to ignore many, many other possible reasons why autistic systems split more introjects -- of which my post only addressed some potential reasons -- and, in doing so, isolates many systems. It also stereotypes autism to hyperfixation, which is only one of the thousands of potential sprinkles on someones autism sundae, and leaves some individuals (such as myself) feeling even further isolated.

(And to suggest that it is because autistic people experience "more trauma" than others is to begin the 2025 Trauma Olypmics, and I refuse to entertain a torch bearer for those particular games.)

I understand where many individuals are coming from when they express frustration over the theory; I've been in that exact position myself, demanding proof of the correlation due to my own isolation from the community. And, with a disorder that already, inherently, feels so isolating already, on top of another disorder with its own share of isolating feelings...

I just desperately hope that people can be open to others experiences. I think it's entirely possible that someone attaches so firmly to a hyperfixation that they split a new part from it. I also think the theory I presented here -- that autistic individuals introject more readily due to a propensity for introjection in part borne of trauma -- is also entirely possible. I think there's thousands of possible explanations, and I think there's thousands of "right answers."

And I also think that none of this matters beyond a simple intellectual curiosity, and coming to understand myself more. I wrote all of this up due to my passion for the subject. I am autistic, and I want to be seen, and heard, and I want people to understand it more. I want people to broaden their perspectives and maybe see someone else's shoes, even if they aren't comfortable wearing them yet.

If another system is like mine, yay! If another system is unlike mine, yay! Regardless, every system is unique -- just like how every representation of autism is unique. And I think we should find beauty in the theories that present themselves, and enjoy the ideas more than the outcomes.

Fun additional reading that came up in the process of my buzzing about this for multiple hours:

Experiencing Self and Others: Contributions From Studies of Autism to The Psychoanalytic Theory of Social Development -> According to a friend (paraphrasing a tiny bit), "the abstract, in my reading, is basically saying that comparing autistic and non-autistic kids can help us understand more about how theory of mind and mental modeling of others can develop, particularly in relevancy to concepts of internalization/introjection." They did read through the whole article (while also warning me to never use scihub) and indicated for me that this really doesn't discuss autism in correlation to introjection, and even seems to suggest that autistic people can't introject (in the non-pathological sense) due to their inability to connect to others. (I genuinely think this is in direct opposition to the first study I mentioned, about how introjection is a defense mechanism, especially as autistic people experience significant amounts of trauma due to their disorder anyways.)

Making the thought thinkable: On introjection and projection -> Can only access the first page, which discusses a bit about echlalia and inner worlds. However, the title makes me curious about what this could offer in terms of the Autistic System Introjects Debate(tm). I want to go digging a bit more to see if I can get around the paywalls on this. This is a complete wild card to me.

Whose memories are they and where do they go? Problems surrounding internalization in children on the autistic spectrum -> A very interesting article that came up while my friend was reading the Experiencing Self article. Again, I cannot access anything but the abstract myself (fucking pAYWALLS) but it's promising. Here's a quote: "The author suggests that, instead of internalizing shared experiences leading to growth, children with autism can feel that they add to themselves by taking over the qualities of others through the ‘annexation’ of physical properties that leads to a damaged object and can trigger a particular sort of negative therapeutic reaction." (Emphasis mine) Friend suggests full article is a goldmine. I'll leave that for you all to go digging for, if you'd like to know more.

(*Footnote: I mean splitting in the most basic, CDD medical understanding of the disorder way possible. Obviously, as a mixed-origin system, I understand there's more than one way to split a part than simply through traumatic/stressful experiences.)

[catboybiologist]

Wanted to ask about this for a while but you had asks off, you mentioned having experienced hetero(ish) relationships from "both sides", so like, do you have any interesting observations or perspectives you think most people don't know about?

Ah yes, the bisexual transgender eye. There's lots to say here, and I don't think much of it hasn't been said before. I don't think my observations are limited to what I'm rambling about here, but here's some surface level ones.

Btw, this is probably going to be my post with the most weirdly gendered thing of anything I've posted here. I hope its abundantly clear that I don't think any of this intrinsic or morally good, its just my observation on how heterosexuals act towards each other while dating. This isn't about the boxes men and women should be in, its about the boxes that society has put them in.

I think that dating apps are intensifying stereotypical "masculine" and "feminine" dating roles in heterosexual relationships. Eg, encouraging men to "take the intitiative", oftentimes enabling harassing behavior in the process. This, in turn, forces women to screen and shut down men extremely harshly. Except, because of the entire dynamic that's being set up now, this makes a lot of men think women are "playing the game", and again, enables harassment from them.

I recently deleted all my dating apps, but even before then, I had them set to women and enbies/other only for a long time. Her was my primary app, but it has a very small userbase where I live.

Irl, men absolutely take the initiative more than women, but less aggressively than online. There's a huge added element of fear because of the in person aspect, however, and when meeting up, men can be extremely pushy.

The "toxic girlboss" angle of this is that this is often fun to play with. If you're clearly communicating in a serious context, and have established systems of consent that extend to communication as well as the bedroom, playing with "the chase" is... intoxicating. Having a man wrapped around your finger is really fucking fun. It has to feel safe and fun for both parties involved, though. You need to be able to "break character" at any point and have direct conversations, either about boundaries or directly communicating a want or need.

Obviously I haven't publicly been a woman for very long, so my experience isn't vast and limitless or anything. But I've had a few wonderful romantic entanglements with men already. Luckily for me, one of these is ongoing 😘

As for some of the people I've talked to, but never gotten far with.... cishet men are really stupid. I'm sorry but like. Y'all are. There's a lot to be said about how society normalizes male incompetence in heterosexual relationships (eg, the dopey husband stereotype) but I think this also extends to the early stages of a relationship. Men very frequently bitch and moan about "games" while not realizing that they play just as many "games" themselves. Oftentimes, those games involve being overly pushy with everything, and then not communicating their own limits and what they want out of a situation, expecting women to figure it all out for them. Eg, they want to bring forward unlimited energy and pushiness, but expect women to be the ones that whittle them down to what they actually want. This applies both romantically and sexually. Men have a lot of emotional needs, of course, and yes its a problem that they're often not met. But a huge part of that is society discouraging them from openly communicating what they want.

I guess to summarize all of this, I feel like so much of modern dating is essentially a process of elimination, where men are constantly encouraged to push and say yes, and women are constantly encouraged to shut them down for their own safety, and if they're lucky, they eventually reach a healthy dynamic by sheer process of elimination. Which... really isn't fun, and leaves a lot of room open for frustration.

Queer relationships and flirting provide a lot of open communication that hetero dynamics don't. I've had the most luck in "heterosexual" dynamics with queer or queer adjacent people, and literally everyone I've ever gotten past the initial stages of "talking" with has been at least a little bi, by their own admission. It's not that straight men aren't interested in me, or that straight women weren't interested in me before, its just that these are the people who will understand my existence as a queer woman the best and communicate with me the most openly.

I probably could say more, but that's a summary, I guess. I know its weird and stereotypical, but unfortunately, heterosexual dating is pretty much the most gendered possible environment you could be in. I feel like Jane Goodall in there sometimes, but hey. Ya gotta do what you gotta do.

[proshippers-against-censorship]

P-A-C DISCORD:

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Just a little bit of housekeeping. Bear with me.

You may call me Jackal. I'm an adult and literally do not give a hoot about what pronouns you use for me. I do not claim to be a good person. If I was a good person, this account would not exist. I am a civil and polite person, though, and I expect you all to be the same. I am a mechatronics major and previously a psychology major. The majority of the information I share here comes from some of the greatest minds to exist on this planet. Perhaps consider heeding it, especially if you have no formal education on the topic.

I do not write nor read most lolicon, incest, or bestiality content. I do not support pedophilia, incest, rape, or bestiality in real life. I do read lolicon of adult women with more youthful bodies, because that content helps me grow confidence in my own body, as I'm constantly mistaken to be a child despite being above the age of 18. I do hope all child-touchers, animal-fuckers, rapists, racists, and anybody else who harms a living thing out of ill will get the psychological help that they desperately need. To reiterate, this account is strictly ANTI-CONTACT. You can't control paraphilias but you can control the harm they cause.

I do support the protection of all things fictional, because if we make the things a few people find morally wrong to be illegal, we've then already lost when the folks on top go after fiction supporting LGBT, non-christian religions, etc.

I also support the protection of vent pieces, even if that vent centers around things like pedophilia, rape, etc. I am proud of you for taking yet another step towards healing from abuse you suffered in the past and/or from the harmful paraphilias that you struggle with currently.

This account is built on the notion that any interaction will be productive and good-natured regardless of the involved parties. You are free to give your stance on why proship is bad...so long as you accept the fact that people are then welcome to debate back on why proship isn't bad. Any debates that turn hairy will be ended, however, healthy debate and challenging your beliefs is a wonderful way to continuously educate yourself.

Despite my account, I do not intend on forcing a belief on you. In fact, I greatly support that you look at both anti-proship and proship content, and make the effort to educate yourself as well as possible and determine what belief you truly belong to. There is no good in trapping yourself in an echo chamber.

You are free to submit any points as asks or submissions. So long as they are productive and good-natured, I will post them, regardless of what side they take. If they are not productive or good-natured, they will either be deleted, or I will post them to both clown on you for being an asshole and educate you the best I can on why anti-proship is a rather harmful belief system.

Feel free to draw my attention to any posts I haven't reblogged yet that would fit in to this blog. I'll look them over and reblog them.

Most posts will be reblogs, asks, and submissions. However, I may occasionally post my own thoughts. These will often be tagged with #jackal barks, but sometimes I will forget. Any hate comments will be simply tagged as #hatemail

Please just block this blog if uncomfortable with the content. It's very glitchy on my phone, so most of the time, tags are incredibly minimal. I will not hold anything against you for blocking the blog. The whole point is that you are the one responsible for curating your online existence. If you dislike incest ships, block em. Dislike noncon content, block it. Dislike the contents of this blog, block me. You control what you see, just as others control what they see. Curate your feed, don't curate others.

Thank you all for reading this, and remember, if you let them destroy the fiction you find morally despicable, then when they come for what you enjoy and support, you've already lost.

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Ask/submission tagging system!

#pro stance - proshipper asks

#anti stance - antishipper asks

#no stance - asks of indeterminate standing

#birthday wishes - B O R T H

#hate mail - death threats and the like

#jackal barks - I'm Talkin Here!

#jackal pets - my fur babies!

#jackal rpf - rpf of me

#jackal ships - ships of me

#tot 2024 - askbox trick or treat for Oct 2024

#pac creature - my art / mentions of The Creature

#pac fanart - art of The Creature

#translation - transcriptions of images

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If you actually scrolled down this far, have a fun, exciting, and inconclusive list of beings I would be down to smash:

•Stain (MHA)

•Overhaul (MHA)

•EVA-01 (NGE)

•EVA-02 (NGE)

•Xue Yang (MDZS)

•Dark Schneider (Bastard!!)

•Kurloz Makara (Homestuck)

•Mothman

•Bigfoot

•u1146 (Cells At Work)

•The S.Q.U.i.P. (Be More Chill)

•Moder (The Ritual)

•Michael Myers (Halloween, especially RZ's version)

•Demon Drop (Intamin Freefall, 1st gen)

[laughtalelogs]

modern aus - strawhats✧₊⁺

I have a lot of little ideas that are too small of details to write an entire fic about, so here are some of my ideas! I'll keep updating this list over time with more strawhats!

Luffy

okay, I agree slightly with Oda

Luffy being a firefighter would make absolute sense

I don't think much about his family and home life would change

but, I think it would change after suddenly going viral, from a video Usopp took of him and posted online.

He'd become an internet sensation overnight

He'd be like Snoop Dogg, Markiplier, or Steve Irwin

just always everywhere that you least expect him and always incredibly wholesome

headlines constantly are like, is Luffy crashing the met gala? Luffy finds woman missing for 17 years! Luffy opens an animal sanctuary in Madagscar. Luffy cancellation ongoing after saying "For sure, I'd hit a woman," sources say. Luffy found in Antarctica, "It really is cold here!" Details inside.

Sometimes people will ask does he actually ever firefight or-? 

loves streaming horror games with Usopp, Chopper, Zoro, Sanji, Law, and Ace. sometimes the others join, but it's mainly them.

is a food reviewer on the side, but he'll always give it a good rating like Guy Fieri

either you love him, or you hate him, he's still a household name and there's no escaping his influence.

but he doesn't really care about all that stuff, anyway. 

Nami 

Main professions: travel influencer, and amateur meteorologist.

Side professions: Luffy’s financial advisor and lesbian icon

probably has one of those million follower Instagram pages where she posts mainly candid shots of her and Vivi and their travels shot with a digital camera

specifically, those aesthetic pics where her hair is covering her face, with a healthy amount of tasteful side boob

Sells Luffy's merch, takes 50% of the profit. 

Definitely sells those thousand dollar workshops on how to be a better a girl-boss and how to awaken your divine femininity

 but makes up for the scam since she donates it to children education programs.

During any severe weather storm, she can be found alerting people before any weather channel through social media and donates funds to relief programs

is working on an international weather alert system with Vivi.

has an account on the RealReal

Robin

I don't think she'd be an archeologist 

she'd be a doctor in anthropologist with a focus in revolution and social change that she completed as a child

went back to school for linguistics in her teens, and gained her first masters at 18.

polyglot

Teaches anthropology courses at her alma mater

Adopted Chopper and takes him with her to uni every day for his research study

has a lengthy criminal record

Met Luffy at a protest he thought was a parade and decided to join, have been friends ever since

Met Franky during her undergrad for linguistics while he was studying engineering.

they bonded over both being youngest in their departments, just two delinquents that were too smart for their own good

I just know she loves her a good purple velvet couch, a nice dark red, TJ Maxx, and classic horror

Her Goodreads and Letterbox’d is god tier too

Is the one who coordinates hang out times in the group chat

Pulitzer prize winner

collects sonny angels

[kamimarroco]

A story where Ren suddenly starts chatting with you because he apparently cares about you staying up late at night. Not reviewed, may undergo corrections in the future.

Words: 1100+

“are you still awake?”

The vibration of your phone and the appearance of a notification startled you, almost making you drop the device. You looked closely at the top left corner of the screen and saw the time.

It is currently 2:35 in the morning.

People at this time are usually sleeping, and those who aren't are probably sorting out work issues or are insomniacs.

You didn't fit into either of them, since your irregularity was due to the fact that you were too stubborn.

A shame, really.

You didn't stand on ceremony and immediately clicked on the notification, being taken to the chat with an unknown person.

Well, not really an unknown person... Looking more carefully, your sleepy mind managed to rationalize and recognize who you were talking to.

Oh, it's Ren.

“yea but dw, i'll go to sleep soon”

You immediately saw him start writing after receiving your message.

“are you sure? that doesn't sound honest to me. you've been online a lot lately”

How long exactly has he been watching you to say that? Sure, it's possible to see when your profile is online because of the app's settings, but it makes you wonder if he's been watching you all this time.

“have you been watching me online?”, you ask without hesitation.

You feel him give a slight chuckle from the other side of the screen.

“haha maybe. but don't get me wrong, you really do spend a lot of time awake at night, and that makes me a lil worried”

You're torn between finding his statement strange or acknowledging your not-so-healthy habit. It's true, you're weird, anyone would find it at least slightly worrying that you spend so much time online in the early hours of the morning.

“and what about you? you are also online right now at this very moment”, you retort back, anxiety consuming you as you wait for his response.

He would be considered a hypocrite for finding your habit troubling if he does the exact same thing.

“i have a very valid reason for that. my routine makes me stay awake at night and sleep in the morning or afternoon”

Now you feel an arrow hitting right in the middle of your heart. Sure, of course he would have a good reason to be awake at this hour.

You are the only odd one out in this situation.

“i'm sorry about that, i felt defensive about my habit being called out”, you apologized, worried that your words had come across as rude to him.

“that's alright. it's 2:42 am, no hard feelings”

You felt relieved that he didn't resent your words, despite knowing that they did not convey the same intonation as in real life.

you're thinking too much (or too little), your emotions are starting to eat you up.

“but i still think you should sleep”, he sent a second message.

You felt like a child being scolded by your father, being called out for your unhealthy behavior. You felt your cheeks flush and shame enter your system.

“i already told you, i'll sleep soon”, even if he doesn't notice, you felt like a sullen child trying to explain yourself.

“wheeen?”

“by the holy of god Ren, i'm not some kind of child”, you felt the need to say his nickname (name?) for the first time, trying to emphasize your slight irritation.

This time it took him a while to answer you, seeming to process the fact that you called him by his name. You felt judged in some way for this, thinking that maybe you weren't close enough to call him that.

when did you get so soft? is it sleep that's making you think too much?

Just as you were about to text him an apology, he interrupted you.

“i know that, i just worry about you”, his message warmed your heart in a way you couldn't imagine.

That's… sweet of him. Worrying about you even though you two are just strangers on the internet who bump into each other every now and then.

Are you falling in love?

“i appreciate ur concern, but i know what i'm doing”

No, you don't.

He sent you a picture of a fox with one eyebrow raised, appearing to doubt your certainty.

That brought out a genuine laugh you didn't know you were holding back.

you're leaving yourself vulnerable around him.

“aaaw what a cutie fox!! <3”, you said, referring to the image received.

“it really is! do you like foxes?”

“yea i like them! they are cute and fluffy and i honestly feel like hugging them”

For a while, Ren seemed to forget the fact that you were awake and kept talking to you about random, unrelated topics. Neither of them really had any connection with the other, but one thing led to another.

You noticed how easy it is to talk to him. He has a fluid oratory and is always making associations with other things he knows.

You found yourself incredibly interested and captivated in the conversation you suddenly began having with this stranger.

is this a red flag? shouldn't you be more concerned about a sudden approach?

When you looked at the time on your phone, you realized it was already 3:56 am, almost four in the morning.

Jesus, did you really spend that much time talking to him?

Feeling the tiredness consume you completely, you (finally) felt it was time to let your body have some much-needed rest.

“hey i know we're still talking, but it's almost four in the morning…”, you began delicately, not wanting to give him the wrong idea that you didn't want to talk anymore.

why are you so concerned about what he thinks, in the first place?

“i don't want to let our conversation end here, so i thought we could continue it another time”

Nonono, stop this, you're falling into his trap

“i'm sorry about this, my body is really screaming for sleep”

You idiot.

Ren analyzed your messages a bit before giving a proper response.

“awe that's alright! i really wanted u to sleep in the first place, and i feel kind of guilty that i did a bad job xd”

“keeping u awake and everything”

You felt guilty for him feeling guilty because it wasn't his fault in the first place! You were the idiot who decided to stay up at night, so the damage was already done.

“nonono u didn't! i was the dumb one for staying awake until now”

“i really enjoyed our conversation tbh”

You sent it and already felt your eyelashes getting heavy.

“hehe me too! i look forward to our next conversations”

“but now u really need to sleep, so pls don't stay up too long <3”

Silly little guy. He really gets you, doesn't he?

You felt happy that you had at least met someone during your time awake at night.

[mouseratz]

in light of the new American report, to reiterate:

- ROGD is not a thing. it is a lot of parents of trans kids essentially going "my trans kid has friends online that are also trans and therefore it is their fault" being made into a Thing, and supports the concept of transness as a "contagion" (as well as a flimsy trend). it sucks.

- many of these treatments are not new. the Nazis burned German records of transgender healthcare, for example. also a bunch of them are routinely, regularly used for cis children and adults safely*.

(*intersex people are often not given a choice in the matter and can have a lot of bad experiences with some of these treatments, though, so, not universally, but that's often more an issue of consent & forcing a child to conform to one sex even if they'd be safe and healthy as they were.)

but generally, we know what gender-affirming treatments do unless there's a complication with another physical condition.

- on that note, I'm pretty damn sure being trans and getting gender affirming care does not cause any psychiatric conditions. there is certainly a correlation....but is that causation? or is it, perhaps, that certain groups of people face extra stress? hm.

-'adverse cognitive impacts' this is a nothingburger. it could make you feel bad, I guess?

-the bone density thing can happen....BUT as a result of not having enough of either t or e in your system (for example, if your body has an issue naturally producing either of these hormones, you will have to take at least one of them for the rest of your life or your bones will have problems).

- many of the other side effects are like, technically....? risks, but typically if improperly done, or again, interacting with another specific medical condition.....and usually the risk is not much different from that of cis people from the shit I've seen, but I'm not a doctor. there are reasons doctors usually take your bloodwork before starting any of these medications, for proper dosing & to check for certain big problems (and they STILL can fuck it up, because they are often undereducated on how to treat trans patients even though the knowledge on how to do so already exists.) But that's true of anything, really.

-infertility does happen sometimes. it's like an actual problem you might have. but some people have that happen either way (and some trans people can still have bio kids/impregnate/get pregnant, for the record. I just don't think infertility is as scary a possibility as certain people make it out to be.)

-regret is also true of anything you do ever. and the data we do have....keeps those numbers pretty low. because many of the gender affirming surgeries are prohibitively expensive and hard to access, too, so like, restricting them further isn't really gonna help except make the people who need them worse off.

-anyway. the whole thing is that they don't believe the data we currently have on any of this stuff and it doesn't matter if your kid needs any of these treatments, they just don't know what's good for them. and also conversion therapy is good actually but it's also mean that you would call it that :(

this is transparently cruel and will be used to enable further abuse of trans kids. so great stuff here

[urfavoritesecretadmirer]

Stuff that would get us fake claimed bc this trend is so amazing in my eyes

(And no I'm not asking to get fake claimed bc apparently I'm not allowed to make jokes)

High alter count

We don’t have an exact number, but our overall estimation is pretty high (not in the thousands but yk 100-150).

Not being able to control switches

We can’t control when we switch but it’s usually in stressful/negative situations. We also can’t control who takes front.

Alter variety

Istg, people are weird when it comes to alter variety. It’s always “oh your alters are all similar? Fake!!” Or “oh your alters are all very different? Fake!!” Our system has a lot of variety.

Has a TikTok account

“Omg, a system with social media?! Fake!!” Believe it or not, we only started our TikTok in late June of last year. We’ve known we are a system since way before that. So yes, systems can have TikTok accounts. Because I guarantee there are thousands of systems on TikTok who are not open to being a system that you will never know about.

Posts about system stuff

Damn, I didn’t know it was illegal for systems to be open about being a system. I didn’t know my literal existence, labels I choose to use, etc were taking away from the “real systems”. My apologies, Mr/ms high and mighty ceo of Reddit moderation as your 9-5.

Has simply plural

“Omg an app for systems?! And you’re using it?! As a system?! Fake!!” I’m not allowed to use one of the few useful apps that can log switches, keep track of members, send messages, help you meet other systems, make polls, make your layout look pretty if you want, etc without getting fakeclaimed. It’s almost like it’s an app for systems, and systems use it. Shocker.

Uses pluralkit

“A system using a meaningful way of communication and another good way to keep track of members?! Fake!!” Apparently redditors think that pluralkit worsens amnesia barriers and derealization. Is this true?? If so tell me, but it doesn’t happen for us. Because obviously, I’m not fronting all the time. How am I supposed to feel derealization if I’m not there?? Also it’s not like our main account profile is by default the host. Our user has <3 and our systag in the name for christs sake.

Goes to school

I know, shocker, I have a life. I’m not physically incapable of having an education as a system. And believe it or not, I have decent grades too. Systems are traumatized, not stupid (directed at that one boy at my old school).

Doesn’t want final fusion

Excuse you, but this system has been here for me and has been around since I was five (I think). I’ve only now fully accepted the fact I’m a system. I think it’d be a bit rude to just say “alr you can go now” like I don’t wanna be alone tf.

Introjects

We ain’t Introject heavy, but ig even having two introjects makes you fake. This may be a shocker, but it’s more common to have other disorders alongside DID/OSDD than to not. This, and again, this may be a shocker, but it includes ADHD and autism.

In sys relationships

Me, the host, has personally never been in an in-sys relationship. But I think in our system there’s like, two? And then there’s a lot of ‘it’s complicated’ or ‘situationship’.

Decent communication

Obviously, it could be better, but we overall have decent and healthy ways of communicating with each other. Usually it’s talking out loud or leaving little notes.

Alter intros

Because apparently it’s a crime against being neurodivergent to share about your alters. We obviously can’t share everything for obvious reasons but we want yall to get to know us.

DNI alters

This may be a hard pill to swallow, but DNI doesn’t always mean the alter is some dangerous monster. It can mean that alter is too little to be online, it could mean that alter is a social anxiety symptom holder, it could mean that alter just doesn’t like talking to people outside the system/at all. These are just a few examples. Or maybe, that alter just doesn’t wanna be fuckin interacted with. But these alters should still be acknowledged. Why? Because healing is a thing. Locking them away isn’t healthy. Maybe they want people to know not to interact with them. But noooo, all DNI alters are awful people apparently.

Other mental health disorders

We have anxiety and depression (diagnosed and genetic), medically recognized ADHD, and tics. And yes, all of our alters have tics because it's caused by your brain and we share the same brain.

[damnfandomproblems]

779762619764604928

Hi, I'm one of the anons. Definitely going to bury the hatchet now. Once the "YOU ABLEIST FUCK" rhetoric starts coming out, there's really no hope of a constructive dialogue, and the people (person?) trying to argue with me isn't even sharing anything worthwhile, besides name calling, and outlandish anecdotes that aren't proof of anything in the first place (three people in a "group" who claim to have DID? Sure), so yolo.

Posting as a response to a previous ask.

On that note I'm going to round up the remaining replies to problem 8196 below because we're getting a lot of them now. As always I encourage people to use the comment replies when possible.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anon: (replying to this ask)

hey man take a chill pill, it's not that deep

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anon: (replying to this ask)

I'm so sorry to belabor the topic, but I am dying for this grass deprived individual to share three- just three- documented instances, in history, of a person with confirmed DID who has 100 alters. I see one. Kim Noble. Find two more. Can't do it? Thought so. Let me know how hundreds of 17-year olds online should be believed about their own hundreds of ~alters~, that range from Moondrop to Alastor to Stardew Valley characters no less.

Anon:

Listen I don't have a horse in the DID race because I have a job and like scrolling this blog on the bus home but I will say there's nothing more annoying in fandom than a system who acts like people are portraying their fictives when they do fanart or fanfic and give unsolicited advice on design or writing (often dogshit but i digress. Being a character irl doesn't say much about your media literacy i guess). Systems not respecting other people's boundaries or social conventions and demanding to not be called attention to their disruptive behavior because of their plurality are also really common. Talk about self-absorbed, pun intended. I don't doubt systems when they say their experiences are real but they are some of the most annoying motherfuckers I've ever met

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anon:

I'm just saying that healthy people don't fake disorders, so even if the vast majority of these people are faking, they're probably not healthy people otherwise. Maybe they mis-self diagnosed, maybe they want attention, who can say? You don't know these people personally and so you don't know them well enough to make that call. Also attacking these people won't make them stop faking. All it's going to do is make them double down more. If you want people to stop faking, you need to give them a safe space to realize they were wrong, because it can be like losing a part of you in a way to find out that you aren't the thing you believed you were for so long. It can be crushing. All in all, I guess what I want to say is: be kind. If you can't, then block them.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anon:

Can I just say: all these people clamoring and squealing about ableism, because people are just using their brains and not buying people who wrongly claim to have DID, whether they know it or not, is THE reason I can't stomach the thought of giving Marc Spector DID in my fics any more. I had to stop. I just can't do it. I can't stand the thought of attracting these people to my fics. I can't stand the thought of accidentally researching and adding faker lingo into my fics (which I fucking did by accident last year). And I just don't? Want? The reminder? Of these people? Where DID goes, whether it exists or not, it's a neat way to add more flavor and interest to a character and I like how Marc Spector has it. It makes things more interesting, like adding that last bit of cumin and turmeric to a spicy dish. What I don't like is those unfortunate associations I have with it now. I can't do it. Congrats, you belligerent jerks who are incapable of self-reflection, you've screamed and "ABLEIST!!"ed the seasoning right out of the soup.

[prince-of-petrichor]

i've experienced this same type of thing with other conditions of mine, but for some reason this one hurt a lot. and i wanted to share for anyone else that is going through the same thing.

lately i've been trying to work on coping with OCD symptoms that have been becoming more debilitating due to some current life stressors, and i've actually been managing really well. but, when you have multiple illnesses (mental or physical), and you put a lot of focus on one of them, symptoms of something else can start to crop up.

and so i noticed that my AvPD was starting to get worse. im isolating, and feeling like everything i do will be seen as stupid, selfish, or attention seeking. but i've found that opposite action helps the most in these situations, and that in truth i probably do actually need some attention right now, as i haven't been socializing very much. which yes, even us with SzPD/AvPD, are social creatures who need some level of human interaction.

and so i took to the trusty internet for advice on healthy ways to ask for attention. but sadly, whether i focused the search to AvPD or to just avoidant/shy behavior in general, i couldn't manage to find any tips or resources for those of us that *are* avoidant, only for how to deal with us.

so here are a few tips for anyone else that's struggling with avoidant behavior/AvPD*:

Take deep breaths before asking for help/attention (this helps activate our parasympathetic nervous system so we can feel safer while we do this)

Tell the people that you trust exactly what's going on and how they can help (for example, today I went to my mom and said "I am really struggling today with wanting to isolate because I don't feel like anything I do is right. I am feeling really irritable because of this, please spend some time with me today, but understand that I may be short/grumpy to start." this type of dialogue can be really difficult when you have alexithmyia, but i promise with practice it gets easier)

Take a break from social media (when you're already struggling with poor self image, it's really hard to not make twisted comparisons to those we see online, give yourself some time away from screens to recenter and remind yourself of your value)

Opposite action (I mentioned this earlier but it can look like many different things. For example: doing things you know will be beneficial to your mental health despite feelings of anhedonia like playing video games/making art, asking for help despite the anxiety that tells you not too, or spending time with friends despite wanting to isolate more)

*note that these tips come from my personal lived experience, and I am not a medical professional.

[visiblenostalgia]

Pluto in Aquarius Resource Pack:

I don't know who needs to hear these, but I think it's best to have these things as of late when concerning the transition into Pluto in Aqua. If AI is increasingly running the show, we must go back to our human ways in order for us to keep ourselves sane. These are but some of the tools I have in stock to help us through it, and I thought I might share. They may become very useful down the line if the internet becomes far more decentralized and local.

(EDIT AS OF 12/12/2024 (gasp! angel number day!)) My request: reshare this and link it to whoever needs it most or is inspired by it most. I think this may help to soothe some stresses and woes. My viewers and those that come across this post are my most important people. Thank you for also seeing my stuff as per usual and give me a follow for more if you're interested (even if I may repost some gravity falls stuff so if you're also keen on that, keep a looskie out for it). I'm so happy I'm making a reach with my stuff and I want to continue. Pluto in Aqua has lit a fire under my ass for content related to it and I hope to be a sort of 'lax-messenger about it to my peeps on the web. Y'all are amazing and thank you for the support!

more under the cut

Literature...

Some books to help you gradually ease into this collective shake up:

Cal Newport's Digital Minimalism (and Slow Productivity) Might I suggest using these texts to help you navigate this digital dark time. One to use for digital regression and one for staying sane in your WFH space.

The Transcendent Brain: Spirituality in The Age of Science by Alan Lightman This one was a quick pick that I channeled while at work. Haven't read it yet, but it poses a good disposition to the Pluto in Aqua transit for some odd intuitive reason.

Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino It's an anthology that describes to us what the algorithmic design of social media does to its people -- and women namely. If you want a book to capture your attention and also somewhat be part of a send-off to Neptune in Pisces next year, this will be a perfect book to look at.

7 Habits Collection (Of highly effective people and highly effective teens -- Sean & Stephen R. Covey) If you're looking to game up your humanity skills, whether younger or older (both are good refresh books), take a good gander at each for reference. May help you out more than good due to the Saturnian nature of Aquarius.

Originals: How Non-Conformists Move The World by Adam Grant If you're stuck on your capability to innovate, or have art block like a motherfucker, this is a book for those in need of a motivational boost for this Pluto Transit. Highly recommend!

Liberalism And It's Discontents by Francis Fukuyama Knowing that political systems have started to fall apart (communism, capitalism and many others), then this is a good place to start giving yourself ideas on what to support or what parties to make (if you're a political science major, PLEASE read Fukuyama's work I beg you). The systems that we've seen historically do not work anymore. We have to innovate whether we like it or not. Save the nostalgia for culture and at-home indulgences. Involving it with politics kills a system.

Robert Greene's 'The Daily Laws': 366 Meditations on Power, Seduction, Mastery, Strategy, and Human Nature There's an entry a day within this book. The author recommends to read it EVERY DAY. Introspection is also healthy under this Pluto in Aqua transit. You must do so from a detached perspective in order to be successful. If you missed at least 3 days or however many, read however many you've missed. A good challenge for every year. Easy new year's resolution goal or just a good routine add on that shouldn't take you more than 10 minutes to do.

Websites...

Some places online to get you in those smaller, private networks

When it comes to spacehey, you'll find things you'd never be able to on that site. I mainly use mine for blogging books I've read and cooking stuff. I'm in a mom-blogging era put it this way (I'm an auntie of two, a niece and a new half-great-nephew. I love my position in life right now).

P.O.I. (points of interest) concerning Neocities:

In searching by tag: searchengine, japanese, 90s, 2000s, comic, (insert big city name here)

There is a bunch. If y'all want me to make a monthly newsletter on neocities websites and what I've found, i guess i can make another blog for it so I can post my findings there. Keep a look out!

use in tandem with what you've learned from Cal Newport's Slow Productivity

Entertainment...

For those going the economic route:

ROKU's & any true 'FREE Tv Streaming service' available. Good to have these in economically strife-d times.

Ofc YouTube being close second. (not yt. premium)

(START WATCHING LONG FORM CONTENT YALL)

Not to also mention: If you have a video game system that still takes discs for content (like the PS4 and Xbox 360/ONE), you can convert them into a DVD streaming platform. If not that, it's already enabled, start collecting/owning some content of your own. Go to the thrift shops. Go to the supermarket and look for the analog option. Shop eBay. Go on Etsy. ANALOG FTW

If you're going for anything news based, consider also going for newspapers -- make going for a newspaper cool again! Even better if it's local or independent!

SHOPPING:

ofc go for reuseable bags. use the coupon deals at the stores. read the coupons that the cashier gives you and see what you can do with them. tax exemptions don't count sadly enough. get a Costco membership and shop in bulk (still, remember the economic options of going for those deals)

side topic: FOOD & COOKING:

opt for making your own cookbooks and write them somewhere that can be looked back on when you get the chance. It's always useful to have something like that on hand. That way you and neither your family forget the recipes that brought you together.

In a sense:

Stick it to the big man and go for the cheaper, less expensive option (and stick to them)

Learn skills on your own terms

Read, Read, Read, Learn, Learn, Learn

Turn off your phone and laptop, keep them in the office (unless your phone IS the alarm) and opt for the Television or a piece of paper.

Connect with gaming in a communal or skill-based sense. Go for card games. Daily newspaper games too. Think northernlion when he does various trivia games online.

Pluto in Aqua may yet have more in store for us, but in current times, this seems to be (to what I think) is best for us.

Rely on your community, rely on yourself. The world is an infinitely chaotic place, but so as long as we have one another, we'll make it through.

[mynameismckenziemae]

What the fuck is happening? I scroll down your blog and see anon hate shit.

Good god.

For some people, social media is about the only thing left to bring some joy. I completely understand not wanting to talk politics on SM. We currently have elections here and trust me, all everyone talks about here is politics and the future of the country. Sometimes, social media is the only escape left. Meaning, just because people don’t talk politics here, doesn’t mean they don’t do so in real life.

And I gotta add, social media is not a good place to get news, get educated about politics etc. That’s what libraries, schools, and newspapers/sites are for. Should you learn more about the political system in your country. Yes. But I’m not gonna be upset if you don’t know. In fact, I’d rather you tell me “I don’t know enough about this subject to have an opinion or add to the conversation” than make up shit as you go.

So for the anon who said you sound uneducated, instead of judging people for not knowing and making yourself sound like a complete jackass, maybe share an article, a book title, a website where someone can start to learn. I’m assuming it was the same anon who sent all the other stuff. You preach “help your community”. Then help your online community! You seem to have the time.

Which leads me to the next thing. I can’t stand this guilt tripping shit some anons do. As if it’s a competition. “You struggle and you’re exhausted. Well I struggle and am exhausted too and still manage to do all the one million other things for the movements I’m involved in.”

Oh, so you admit that getting involved in a bunch of stuff outside your regular obligations is exhausting? You want others to suffer like you? It’s not a god damn honor badge. It’s not a competition. People have the right to protect their mental, physical, and emotional well being. People have a right to prioritize their family’s needs. If this means not being actively involved in community events (political or not), then so be it. And how do we know people aren’t doing their part? Not everyone boasts about their accomplishments, the way they help, etc. online. Some people prefer helping quietly.

Also, to suggest to spend lunch breaks on anything other than actually eating lunch and giving your brain a break is god damn evil. Constantly reading, hearing, watching news is not god damn healthy. This mentality of “if you’re not on 24 hours a day and involved with everything that happens around the world and helping all these causes, you’re a bad person” needs to stop. Healthcare workers and most service workers don’t get breaks long enough to eat, let alone call their local reps or whatever else was suggested.

Like some of this shit is so worrying. Some of these anons act like taking a break is a sin. Or someone not talking about politics means they don’t care. Like damn. As if one person spending thirty minutes on Tumblr would bring upon the apocalypse. Not to mention, anon/s, you’re on here, too. Maybe delete the app and do as you preach. Instead of being on here, get on the phone and call your rep.

Anyways,

I hope @mynameismckenziemae is having a good day. 💖

Luv you, girl.

Oh Vonny, this made me cry.

I just woke up and can’t think of anything other to say than thank you ❤️

You are the absolute sweetest friend. Luv ya too.

[rainyfestivalsweets]

2/9/25

Regain fear, and community standards.

My weight loss has been stalled for quite awhile and I am trying to figure out what happened.

The shock of being invisible for 20 years and then suddenly being visible was shocking and awful.

People online are very...something so I have basically dropped off. I have 1 nice picture from around my birthday, wearing a dress. I look good.

Around that same time, I had an old dude follow me around a grocery store around my birthday and it seemed to HALT my progress. There have been extra snacks, missed workouts, and yes some binges. But thank God I managed to quit my CBD gummy habit.

So I joined Jiu Jitsu, because f everyone who makes me feel unsafe.

But the sudden switch from invisibility to visibility is very weird and shocking to the system. Having people treat me like a person is weird.

And alot of people act like this is over, when it is not.

I have been going over some of the diet sabotage things in my past and it is rough. My ex used to bring home Sam's bags of chips and salsa every time I mentioned I was going on a diet. It was my kryptonite. Suddenly we would be going out to eat and dessert would be encouraged. My other ex was covert, but in some ways way worse. She was constantly bringing home BS and "forgetting" about it. I work from home so I was around all that shit all the time.

My gf is morbidly obese. I cannot follow her behavior and maintain this weight and/or lose and more. I still have about 50 pounds, I think. I am currently 192. I want to see what I look and feel like at 176, 169, etc before deciding.

My sister has regained. I cannot follow her model without regaining. It breaks my break that she spent so much money and has had trouble with a regain.

Here's the thing- it happens. Biologically, when you get heavier, your body release more ghrelin to make you hungrier. But when you lose weight, it takes a long time for it to go back down. And your brain is stuck in the pre-1900s where people could literally starve to death so it send neurotransmitters to encourage eating every time you see food. Yep. Every food commercial, every time you drive by a restaurant, every food smell, every time food is placed in front of you.

It's alot to combat. People often succumb to what the people in their community do, which is sometimes why things like weight watchers and beachbody work- their community is doing similar things.

Why is it so hard to find healthy food/weight role models? [Outside of the MLM industry]

I hate that I have stalled but I am trying to flip that to- I haven't been gaining. I have found some ways to maintain my weight within about 5-10 pounds.

Ok, let's go from here.

LET'S GO!! LET'S GO!