#she can genuinely do good things when she researches properly something

[kaleido-write]

Me: hey I wanted to understand your work better , also here's some compliments about stuff I like !

Terfs for some reason: you dumb idiot can't understand shit and I hate you , you traitor of feminity she/her pronouns stop bullying me i hate all of you TRAS !!!!!!!

[kibbles-bits]

During Heaven's Best AU how Valentino and Velvette what kind territory or business? Without Vox in their life!? Remain same with VEES tower or probably smaller or etc!?

Valentino and Velvette are the newest officially recognized Overlords.

And the weakest, though most civilians of Hell don't know that.

Valentino's had the power/souls/territory to be recognized as an Overlord on and off for decades, but Carmilla had never invited him to their board meetings. She saw his hold over his assets as too unstable. In her opinion he was just another violent pimp, one that managed to stick around longer than the others. He wasn't taken seriously by anyone except Zeezi and, strangely, Zestial, but that still wasn't enough for Carmilla to invite him.

He didn't care to be invited anyway, though recognition would have been nice… whatever… Fuck them.

Velvette is an Influencer and Fashion Designer like in canon and she got a boost into Overlord status by hiring Valentino's souls to model and work for her. In exchange, she helped Valentino with his public image. Promoting his clubs, employees, and developing Love Potion.

With Velvette's promotions and recommendation, Val is able to rent out his souls to different studios covering different forms of entertainment and media, so he's become something like an agent. He's not personally involved in movie production.

When they met, Valentino had recently lost a lot of territory and souls and was working on getting it back. He meets Velvette who was snatching up all the 'scraps' that were left behind. His intention was to get rid of her for the audacity but her attitude charms him enough that he holds off on it until he sees she can be useful, then he wants to keep her. Velvette saw Valentino as a way to quickly gain status and then bail on him the next time he loses his hold on power. She did her research, she knows its going to happen again and he'll have bigger problems than trying to track her down and by then she'll be untouchable.

Buuut then the two end up bonding because they have a lot in common. Velvette just had no idea since Valentino's been in only high stress situations since he came down here. And Valentino LISTENS to her??? He sometimes has a pissbaby attitude but he takes her advice and critiques seriously. He like. Respects her. Meanwhile, Valentino didn't think anyone as capable as Velvette would ever want anything to do with him, professionally, like he's a person. And learning she likes him? He didn't think it was possible for him to be tolerated by anyone he didn't own. They make their partnership official and eventually genuinely learn to trust one another and help each other out without really expecting anything in return. You know, like friends!

Together, they're able to shove their fingers in every pie in the Entertainment District. Val owns the talent so you need to get through him to have anyone good starring in your media. Velvette's promotions and designs are too valuable to not beg for. They work very well together and make it so that everyone else needs them.

The only thing they lack is territory. What they own is small, but solid. They have a building that is mostly Velvette's studio with an apartment on the top floor that Val calls his house (though they live together) and Val owns some of the surrounding streets and clubs. They have enough muscle to defend their territory but not enough to fight for more. Their business, while successful, is limited and its hard to steal the souls of other demons that they can't make use of or manage properly. They're both limited to only swiping up the desirable or desperate before anyone else.

(A third person would be soooo useful to them…)

Read the Heaven's Best AU HERE

[crimeronan]

It feels unlikely given the way you structure the series but it would be SO funny to me if Willow properly stumbled into their not too long before the dying basilisk situation and for whatever reason happened to Be There.

Like imagine you're a bitter anarchist young adult who's been reluctantly drawn into the web of the entirely too kind Empress and you still really don't trust her or her overly aggressive bodyguard, and then you all stumble into a dying basilisk, a creature that you narrowly avoided being killed by at school that one time and then the Emperor's Coven carted them away and they were clearly terrified.

And then you react first, of course you do, why would the Empress and her stooge care about a member of what your research since you dropped out suggests is an extinct species (and you figure the Empire probably is the reason they aren't and not for anything good). Of course, what you don't know so that the Empress is only slower to react because of her extremely pertinent to this bizarre situation PTSD, and it's a moot point because she does arrive at your side a moment later.

Having presumably never gotten a coven mark, you know some healing magic, but not enough for a situation like this, and it's all you can do to buy the basilisk a minute at a time—and then the Empress calls her mom??? The human one????? And you write her off as useless right now because what help is human going to be here but then the human offers VERY specific guidance that helps you save the basilisk's life.

So now you know that 1. The Empress knows her human mom, 2. The Empress' mom knows exactly how to save a basilisk's life, 3. The Empress is genuinely as compassionate as she seems and oh now that you're able to think about it that complete loss of composure seems REALLY out of character for her; did this strike some sort of personal note?

Now for all her cleverness, I don't think Willow is the sort to be able to extrapolate anything beyond that given her limited knowledge of Luz's life compared to someone like Raine, but! I think it's possible Luz in her panic could let things slip about the Grimwalkers still.

On the one hand, Willow is an unknown who Luz doesn't trust yet and normally Luz is good at secrets.

On the other hand, Grimwalkers are possibly the only thing where Luz is LESS likely to tell Hunter than she would a whole lot of other people she knows, AND we've seen with Eda that Luz gets a lot worse at compartmentalizing information when she's Doing Rough which. Damn she sure is doing rough here, isn't she?

SHE SURE IS DOING ROUGH HERE.

i love all of this. LOVE the concept of willow as a bystander like "well, this is some out-of-touch rich people nonsense. can i actually do something useful here or"

willow, arriving at the correct conclusion pretty much immediately: ....your human mom knows a basilisk already??

camila, who probably isn't even here yet but has materialized out of thin air for the bit: AHAHAHAHAH NOOOOOO. I'M JUST. A MAGICAL CREATURE.... ALL BY MYSELF.....

[my-castles-crumbling]

Anon Advice Asks - February 12

lips (💋) anon (new), stage anon (new), dog (🐩) anon (new), family dynamics anon, usaid anon

lips anon

Hey so this is really new for me but I just need to ask someone or tell someone who's unbiased? This is my first time being on here because I'm usually scared but here we go.

So I'm having some issues at home. My father recently started acting nicer (He's financially and Emotionally abusive) and I kept waiting for the other boot to drop. Well I slipped up and told him my mom was excited to finally see her family for the first time in years and now he's not letting her go. I know it's because I accidentally let him know she was extremely excited and if I hadn't said anything she'd be going. I know I shouldn't have trusted him like I always do it just hurts I guess? I don't know what to do and I'm only 15 so I can't even leave. I also don't know if he'll let me leave when I turn 18 because he's controlling. I don't have any money saved up or anything I genuinely feel like a fool in this situation and don't know what to do.

Do you have any sort of advice for anything?

Sorry this took a while to answer, your ask disappeared and then reappeared!

Okay first of all, I need you to understand that you have NOTHING to feel guilty for. Your dads shit actions are his own, and you can't blame yourself for that.

Honestly, my advice is to start coming up with a plan now for when you turn 18. Get a job if you can to start saving up, figure out the best course of actions so you're able to leave when you become an adult. it'll be good to focus on something positive and have a goal, and if you don't end up having to use your plan that's okay too. But if you get educated on your rights, the best way to be independent, etc, then you'll be prepared as soon as you're able to make that happen. Also then the next few years won't feel as hopeless, because you're focused on that.

I'm sending you so much love <3

____________

Stage Anon

hi cas,

i've been wanting to ask for advice for a while but i've been so scared to actually write out want i'm feeling but oh well here we are

for quite a few years now i've been feeling like i might like girls. not just girls, but it's always been something at the back of my mind since i was about 11 or 12

in the last few months i started to do more research into sexuality stuff and i'm 99% sure i'm bi, like even the word rlly feels so comforting to me

i've come out to my bf and one of my close friends, they were both rlly supportive and said they'd kinda guessed for a long time

the issue is that my school friends are not the kind of people that would accept me, they genuinely are not bad people but they aren't the type to understand or to fully accept me as me

i love them all dearly, but i've realised they only know a very small part of me that i show them in school

next year, i'm moving into a new stage of school and i would love to be able to have told them by then so that i can start trying to properly be myself around them

but yeah i really don't know how they would react and i don't want to lose them

what do you think i should do?

(ps. you're really cool and your jegulus microfics are the only thing getting me through this school year)

Hi <3 I'm so glad your bf and close friend were supportive! I would probably start by talking about queer stuff in general around your other friends. Like bring up queer celebrities, queer media, queer issues, etc, and see how they react. That way you can figure out their vibes and maybe help them with any biases or anythign they're ignorant about before you make it personal by coming out, you know?

Good luck! <3

__________________

Dog anon

I have a crush on my brothers bestfriend.... kind of always had it. Idk if he's really nice with me or if he's flirting. It annoys me to think he's not interested in me. I mean ... we have a nice time hanging out, we don't have much in common though but like I don't know if I should try and flirt more with him, or like leave it as it is.... a part of me does want to flirt but then I did see him send a hills picture to my brother last year, and he's the type to date to marry and since he's not married her maybe he's single? Because it was just a picture with no caption. Never asked my brother about it... maybe I should just ask him directly right... are you signle... or soooo what about your love life... idk I seem to be very lost because he's not my type at all. Maybe I just wantbto have fun ??? Am I wrong for wanting something?

Sorry for the rant 😭😭😭

Hi!

I don't think you're wrong at all for these feelings. I think it's pretty common and natural for this to happen. But honestly I think my advice really depends on what your ages are. Could you maybe send me another inbox back with that info? But based on what you're saying...idk, you're saying you don't have a lot in common, he's not your type...could it be that you think he's cute but you don't actually want to date him? I think it might be a good idea to take some time to figure out how you feel before you do anything, you know?

_________________

Family Dynamics Anon

Family dynamics anon

I'm actually going to throw myself off a building I got 20 out of 40 in my arabic test TWENTY now I'm not good in arabic at all I ignored the grammar since it's too difficult and just focused on poetry literature and the story cuz they are much easier then grammar I also got the full mark on one of the mouthy tests and got 9 in the other every test is from 15

40% of the grade is for the class notebook to get the full 40% you have write notes for every lesson and do the hw I did just that but my teacher still didn't give me my full 40% cuz I was didn't go to school a lot cuz I was sick I literally gave the school doctors notes for my absence I at least was supposed to get 30% she didn't give at all she even did the same thing with half the girls in the class for stupid reasons too

Since it's a mid term grade it won't affect me at all but I'm just really fucking pissed at this teacher it's like the second she had actual big control over students grades she immediately started going at it like I've never gotten a grade this bad since 7th grade

Hi <3 This all sounds so frustrating, I'm sorry! At least it sounds like you have time to turn it around? I'm sending you all the academic success vibes!

_______________

USAID anon

Hey cas its usaid anon. Most of what we know is rumors but my mom had a meeting about the whole situation. Basically people who work for the state department are actually sane so i think they're letting people stay until the end of the school year. Idk much tho its really hard to get correct information right now even though im within the embassy sphere.

The emails my parents have been getting are crazy tho. The main 2 that we always talk about is one that basically told everyone in the embassy that quitting is an option and they would get administrative paid leave until like september or something if they quit now so they would have time to figure things out. The other one was pretty expected but it was telling i think every federal worker not just state to take their pronouns out of their emails.

Ugh i hate this so much.

Hi <3 God, this is so crazy and I can't imagine how stressful this is for you. Like....this feels like something out of a movie. I just...yeah if you ever need to vent, I'm here <3

[languageshead]

Special interests are not always good

My goal on this website is not to say that autism is all bad or the worst thing in the world. My goal is to: 

1. Share my experiences and listen to people with higher support needs because we are mostly left out and unheard;

2. Spread awareness. A lot of autism traits are human traits, but in order to be diagnosed with autism your traits must cause you impairment. If they don’t, it’s not autism. 

Now, I have already made a post about one of my special interests (Katy Perry) and how it affects me:

https://www.tumblr.com/languageshead/713712598521118720/about-my-last-post-and-the-severity-of-my-autism?source=share

But I want to get a little bit more into that subject. 

A special interest for me is the only way I can connect with the world. I feel like I live on another planet and the only thing that connects me with the rest of the world are special interests. 

But a special interest isn’t always good. I can only and will only speak about my special interest in conversations. I cannot have a conversation with someone who does not understand Linguistics or Katy Perry. I simply don’t know what to say, don’t know how to contribute to the conversation and will not be interested enough to pay attention to it. Often times I am not interested in learning about any other things that is not related to Linguistics and Katy Perry and some other subjects I enjoy. 

Often times, I am unable to have relationships with people that don’t want to hear about my special interest or with people who know nothing about it. Because 90% of my conversations are about my SIs, if you cannot teach me anything about it, I will often lose interest in having any kind of relationship with you. I am genuinely not interested in you if you cannot give me any more information about my SI. That is one of the reasons why I can have better relationships with adults/professors/teachers than with people my age. I like it when people tell me more about my SI. 

When I engage in talking about my SI, I get so excited that I will spend my whole energy talking about it. It comes to a point where I am so excited that my heart is racing and my palms are sweating and I can barely breathe because I am so excited. It drives me to absolute exhaustion and if someone doesn’t stop me, it’s likely that I go into shutdown because of it. This also happens when I am researching or watching videos, I get so excited that I need to stop whatever I am doing to regulate myself from all the emotions I am feelings. Autistics can get overwhelmed by good and bad emotions, which means that even happy feelings can drive me into a meltdown because I feel things so strongly that I can’t control or properly regulate my emotions. 

As some of you might know, I am in Uni in a special program for people with disabilities and sometimes I really need to focus about something I am learning but I can’t. This has gotten me taken out of class because I get so excited I start stimming, breathing hard so I bother other students. A lot of times I need to stop studying for my classes because I get so excited that I simply cannot stay still and continue learning. This really affects my performance as I need to regulate my emotions before going back to my projects and assignments. 

Besides that, specially when special interests occur in people or fictional characters this can cause a lot of suffering to the person. When I was on my early teens, I was obsessed with Lexa from the tv show The 100 and as most of you know she dies. When she died, I had a full blown meltdown in the middle of the night because the show in my country streamed at around 1AM. I mourned the death of a character as if she were a member of my family and I’ve had members of my family die that I definitely did not mourn anywhere near as I mourned for that character. 

As I have already mentioned before, Katy Perry has been my strongest and longest special interest along with Linguistics. And if you read my other post you might understand this better, but I absolutely cannot comprehend Katy Perry is a famous person that simply can’t text me back. My therapist believes this inability has to do with both my autism and language impairment. I am 21 years old now, I understand this better, but not really. When I was on my teens my mom would have to explain to me multiple times a week that Katy wasn’t ignoring me or our letters. She was just famous. This causes suffering to me. This is hard. It’s like trying to make your brain understand a foreign language.

I know there are many other bad experiences about special interest, specially because some people might engage in stalking, difficulties with boundaries and unhealthy behaviors. But I can’t talk about this because this is not my experience. 

I also know there are many good sides to special interests. The joy we feel is really important to me. Small things can make me really happy, like being able to make a small correct sentence in Hebrew. But I am tired of hearing about this because this is always talked about. There is another side to having a SI that people don’t talk about. This is the side I want to show. 

EDIT: forgot to add that not every interest is a special interest. Special interest is usually something that lasts for a long time that helps you cope and understand the world. Autistics can have interests that are not special interests.

[royallygray]

incoherent as shit rant below, proceed with caution:

in the past 30 minutes I've become really fucking unhinged and like I'm releasing the darkness inside slightly more because I'm making statistically more jokes about techno dying which was and is a very traumatic thing for me and its definitely something when you literally do not properly express to other people that you are grieving so hard that your soul desperately hurts because you have one (1) person who is nearly as obsessed with dsmp as you were and you weren't close to them and it'd be weird to absolutely sob together because oh my god like

y'all this was supposed to be a post explaining why I should eat because I'm having more unhinged thoughts but genuinely we should also at some point address how Techno's death absolutely destroyed people

like

There are so many layers to it. Firstly, it's a content creator that you don't know in real life, so there's the weird parasocial thing going on there that isn't *that* socially acceptable but whatever.

Secondly, it was 2022 and we were like. *just* getting out of Covid restrictions

Thirdly, it was during the summer, where I had little to no contact with friends because I just fucking forgot they existed

and like I had friends that USED to be into dsmp but like. no one that had fallen so fucking hard. I feel so fucking hard. and the only one that had fallen half as hard as me I wasn't close with.

Also recently they've told me that they go by they/them which is the least surprising thing ever

honest to God it was surprising when they told me that their pronouns were she/her

Anyways.

holy shit okay I can't think anymore genuinely

this is

I don't expect anyone to see this other than Mysterious and Peri and honestly yeah

Um

like I have more to say about the god awful effects of Techno's death on me especially as someone who was a minor when it happened like ong it's so bad

just holy shit

but my brain gets more ADHD the more I like try to focus

it's like those movies or something where you try to focus on something but it turns into a bunch of puzzle pieces and then those puzzle pieces aren't actually a part of the puzzle but instead an association that are actually a whole NEW puzzle and you can attaxj that puzzle

I should delete this post

it's okay

is it

is it really

I'm fucking crazy holy hell I need food

okay. so

mission: get off bed

I had the thought this morning of doing a grwm but like on Tumblr through text right

and it was just "pants. where the fuck are pants. where the fucking hell are pants. ooh new pants. there's a tag. where the fuck is scissors. where are scissors. where are scissors" bro I spent about five minutes that I did Not have looking for those scissors

and then I was like "where bra. where the fuck is my bra- no not that one I want the other one because it's BETTER"

id be such a good grwm artist person

like

what do you mean you wouldn't watch that

I should be a comedian

Jesus christ

I actually sound high

not like I've ever--

actually I have

I have been around someone who was high

Jesus christ

also I'm gay as shit

I'm a chicken

bawk bawk

anyways I had to fucking tell this person that "no, edibles are not just gummies, they're literally cannabis. they're literally hard drugs"

in her defense she was getting over a bad breakup but eh like Jesus how did you

girly do your research

like I didn't know that edibles were made of cannabis but I knew they were literal drugs

anyways good on her for stopping when I told her

she was literally terrifying I was terrified for her she was not ducking okay like oh my god

anyways I gotta like. stop. doing whatever this is

so I'm gonna end this post

hi to anyone who made it to the end of this

say chicken waffles in the commentsif you made it this far

[arromantica-lucha]

i got a lot of thoughts about loveless by alice oseman and if this post seems very one sided well thats just how it read to me. my opinion isnt the end-all and i value how everyone interpreted and was affected by this book. this isnt a closed topic lets talk about it

gripes with loveless by alice oseman

took a while to actually explain that ace and aro are two separate identities and still not that well. it makes aro seem like a subset of ace which is entirely false. its cool there was an aroallo character involved but still

the book title 'loveless' is a real term and identity and the entirety of the book kinda shits on it by enforcing the ideal that its still okay to be aspec cause platonic love can be experienced and any type of love is required or at least better than "not feeling anything and being alone forever"

it was weird for her friends to forgive her over gestures that had nothing to do with apologizing before georgia actually apologized and explained but that may just be more of a personal thing that i didnt like. likewise the story being about platonic love it kinda sucks her deepest connection is with her roommate and not the people shes known for years and wronged

kinda sex negative. i mean rooney says she doesnt dislike casual sex but then that whole thing becomes the reason she hates herself and a reason to cope with being "unloveable" and its kinda lame. you can tell that story without making it seem like casual sex is just a means of devaluing yourself. and you can be sex repulsed and still not do that. it just feels unfair to aroallo people especially who are told they are monsters for enjoying and only wanting casual sex when this book is supposed to be about aromanticism too

(can we also be done with harry potter references??? lets stop hurting trans and jewish people thanks)

basically particular identities' stories shouldnt come at the expense of others and other ways of life. its great and important to write different experiences because no one is gonna relate to them all but no one has to replace romantic love with ANY type of love to feel good about themselves and be human. loveless and aplatonic people shouldnt have to read something that uses rhetoric against their identities within a book about aspec people

things i like about loveless

i didnt relate to it personally but the experiences felt very genuine. internalized aphobia, being hounded by aphobic comments, finding it hard to portray love even in a fictional or artistic sense, etc.

I appreciate the references to race and intersectionality that come with being queer even if they were minimal. so few times is it actually acknowledged that there is privilege when it comes to being understood, coming out, being accepted, etc. the references to that were nice to see because too often intersectionality being brought up is brushed off and blatantly ignored or people pretend like they understand

it was written by someone who is aroace even if there are some things that can be less isolating within the aspec community with the language being used. someone being open about their identities and how they choose to define them in the mainstream world is how we get more peoples voices in there

it has helped people discover their own identity though id still recommend further research on the actual identities being named and ones not named. these stories are the first introduction of aspec identities in mainstream and that hopefully means itll start to expand to other identities within that community that have not yet had representation

this should be the start of developing more rep. the first takes are not gonna represent everyone and its a good thing it exists to tell a few peoples story. but that doesnt mean it should be free from any criticism because thats how we make them continuously better. i hope to see an aroallo character soon. i want the term loveless to be properly used in media and expressed for what it is. i want to stop pretending like ace is the umbrella term for all aspec identities. i want amatonormativity explained as the sociological term it is that harms all life not just aromantic and polyamorous people. i want a polyam aspec character and polyam characters in general. i want disabled and ethnic aspec characters where the intersectionality is just as important to the narrative. i want a whole lot more and to stop prentending like any of that should be unreasonable

[microknifeyuri]

Now do, pray tell, share with us what you would've changed to II?

Oh alright- sure!

- The way Test Tube and Fan acted upon Cabby's files. I really don't like them in S3 other than what they had with Bot (but mostly just because I like Bot). It really felt so awful considering that those are her disability aids and meanwhile it is, somewhat in character for them to act like that (Fan acts before he thinks as shown in s2 when he ran back to the game, and Test Tube has a big sense of justice as shown in S2, considering how she treated Mic since she thought she was the one that made a whole mess), they're supposed to be more mature than before at least by how they act in S3. I think that Fan getting that Cabby needs those files and that she genuinely means good but stuggles would have been a great thing- heck! Fan ACTUALLY listening to Cabby and asking her why she wrote those things, and understanding her! And maybe Test Tube ACTUALLY apologizing to Cabby after Cabby rejoins, because she realizes she was fucking awful to her? Instead of making her feel bad about herself? I think that would make things less shitty on the context of Cabby and understanding her.

- Tissues's condition being treated as a joke is something that I really don't like. Meanwhile yes, I get that S2 characters ARE stereotypes, just more polished and given some more development (the best case of this is Microphone), and that AE was still just some teenagers back then (if I'm not wrong), Tissues was literally the first guy that got voted off and that sucked, and his main personality was his condition. And his condition is somehow even worse in the Fan short? At least on symptomps (I do not know how to write the word), making stuff somewhat more difficult, but he at least somehow got better in the end? He's showing that he's getting back his strenght, but I think that treating his condition on a more serious look and still giving him a personality would have been great. Showing that he is slowly getting better (meaning that he is getting a treatment of sorts) is good. But they can do better.

- Bot's & Cabby's scenes in Ep 14.

Meanwhile I did got the intention of "Bot is still struggling with their identity and Cabby is still struggling in general, which isn't a great combo considering that Cabby does need her disability aids and Bot still doesn't know about themselves at all, not wanting to be written down the same way they were written down by Test Tube and Fan", I would have liked to see Bot ACTUALLY communicating properly with Cabby in the episode and telling her about it directly, instead of making Cabby feel so lost and lying to he4. And the 'Bow' File getting destroyed scene would have been different I think? Instead of that happening, Bot helps Cabby getting to the top, and in the end, the only thing that changes is the color of Bot's file and the info probably.

- "Evil"... Paper & Paper.

Now this is one of the most problematic stuffs with the II writing, the bad representation of DID itself and demonizing mental health. It would be fairly easy to write, with research done and such. I would rename Evil Paper to Looseleaf instead. I would also really not just make him... like that? Paper went through such trauma and it affected him a lot. Looseleaf being more of a self defensive guy yet not violent/murderous one at all would be good, wanting to make sure they're safe and okay. I do not know much about DID myself but, let them be headmmates and actually talk about stuff.

- This is more of a general thing but I personally just really like the scrapped idea of Bot being built by Cobs? Heck! Cobs is supposed to BE the main villain! And all we got was Springy! And that guy isn't even confirmed to be built by Cobs! They're not doing many stuff with Cobs and he's such an interesting character.

- Fans VS Favorites. I do like III as a concept, but most of the S2 characters already had their arcs closed and such and I think it would have been better if they used the underveloped characters instead. To give them more personality and growth instead of just silly little comics and such. I would have liked to see Trophy, Tissues, Cheesy AND Soap getting development other than their main stereotypes!

- Soap's Character.

She is... a very boring character to me, personally. I know that AE has said that they were starting to care about Soap and such but it didn't really felt, like she was getting anywhere? Other than her whole thing being a germaphobe? And her addiction with cleaning? She shows to have a strong character when angry! I would have liked to write her on the chiller end and genuinely have more of a story than whatever she has going on now.

- Nickel's and Suitcase relationship.

I know, I know. This isn't meant to say that what Nickel did to Suitcase wasn't bad. But I think that it would have made more sense if the whole relationship didn't feel so... one sided. In friendship terms. Nickel thinks of Suitcase rather fondly despite her "betrayal", and they were friends in a way. But that's the thing. They don't really feel like friends at all- mostly because meanwhile Nickel does care to an degree for her, he still sucks ass at it, and Suitcase was really only hanging out because of Baseball in a way, and their whole thing is SO complicated that I can even make a long analysis on it.

I would have liked to make them actually like eachother. For them to ACTUALLY be good friends before the inevitable downfall. Nickel being there for Suitcase and (terribly) trying to comfort her. Suitcase actually liking Nickel's company and not feeling scared of him. To make Nickel, someone who's emotionally stupid as shit, be at least more sympathetic, but still having his hatred for Balloon take the best of him. To make them actually hang around without needing Baseball to be around.

Nickel is a complicated character and I do think that AE didn't have him figured it out 'till S3. So that's what I would change about him if I could- make him a bit more balanced. Make his yearning for the good old days make more sense. And maybe having him showing regret earlier on.

- Adding an small post-scene ep 14 s2 in which Microphone actually says hi to Pickle. Not a bad thing rewrite but I think it would have done things end on more of an bittersweet note.

There's more stuff I would have changed that's for sure but those are the main points I can think of!

[starsofthestorm]

hii time for a bearded dragon / rolly ramble :3

i do not believe that bearded dragons can only experience basic emotions (fear, pleasure, aggression is what i typically see listed or varying synonyms and similar emotions)

i genuinely cannot believe that at all.

yesterday i was crying and shaking after just a lot of stress and emotions built up and i kinda just broke, it happens every now and then and im all good now (its a bad habit that comes with me bottling up emotions and not knowing how to express them properly, so all it takes sometimes is something small to happen and i just snap)

and while i was sitting in my room crying i heard rolly readjust on her basking rock so i went over to sit by her tank, i like watching her and it gave me something positive to focus on

after a minute of me sitting there sobbing, she jumped off her rock and ran up to the wall of her tank closest to me and started kind of moving back and forth like she does when she sees me getting worms, only towards me instead of the wall of her tank thats closest to the worms. i figured she was hungry but she kept doing it even when i showed i had nothing and when i put my hand in the tank, she ran up and put her front feet on my hand which is what she does when she wants to be picked up.

she just cuddled with me. i sat on the floor against the wall and she couldve moved if she wanted but she didnt. she didnt move an inch until i calmed down, and even then she only readjusted. she didnt want to explore. she didnt want to run around. she didnt want food. she just wanted to snuggle.

she has never done that before. the only time shes ever ran into my hand like that is either one time when she pooped and wanted out and then sometimes in the bath when shes done and wants out. i checked, her tank was completely clean.

she wanted to comfort me i think. i dont even think thats me giving her too many human traits or qualities or anthropomorphizing her (i think thats the term for that? when you treat an animal like what its doing are human traits and qualities, like being motherly and needing to be comforted after things, ect) but i think that was genuinely her wanting to comfort me. after she laid her eggs and she got a soak she refused to go back in her tank and just wanted to cuddle. i think she needed that comfort too.

despite everything with science and research into beardies saying they have a very underdeveloped emotions part of the brain and thats why they cant experience complex emotions, i just. cant believe thats true at all.

COUNTLESS stories and videos of bearded dragons doing what rolly did when i was crying. of beardies having full black beards and stress marks until their owner calmed down. of becoming depressed when their owner is on a trip or gone for a while and refuses to eat or barely will at all until they come back, and they perk up immediately.

running to greet their owners, refusing to explore unless that specific person is there, trusting them more than others. comforting them and going to them for comfort.

when we went to the vet because we only had a small cardboard box with no lid i had to just carry rolly in, and despite a big dog barking and growling at her, she wasnt bothered at all and just stayed on my shirt. during the vet appointment when the vet was done checking her heart rate and such, she practically jumped out of his hands and ran right onto my shirt and just stayed there.

today i learned that rolly knows how to wipe food off of her face- she got some mango and before she went to lay on her logs (which she does after every single meal, its right below her uv light which does spread to her whole tank but the logs are right below it) she stuck her face into the gap between them and kept moving her head around until the mango stuck to her chin was wiped off and then she immediately went all the way up and laid down.

i dont see how they possibly cant be smart, at least for a reptile, or how they cant experience complex emotions or feel empathy.

as i said, i dont even think this is me giving human traits to her actions, i think that is genuinely what she is doing. i dont think im seeing this the wrong way becaue there really isnt any other reason for her to do what she did when i was crying- it was very close to the time her lights turn off and she knows that and never wants out that whole like hour before theyre turned off but she wanted to just lay on me so bad. and i saw those stress marks but they faded as i calmed down and collected myself.

i have never calmed down so quickly when that happens. when my emotions explode like that and i just cant comprehend anything i have never calmed down so quickly but it only took a few minutes. she was warm from basking, she didnt want to move at all, and she just laid there while i pet her. having that warmth on me and the texture from her scales let me focus on the positives, same with having her with me in general because oh my fucking stars i love this lizard.

im glad shes still pretty young. shes five, six this year i assume, and the youngest you ever really see a beardie die of age is eight so i likely have no less than three years with her. she has a good diet and is taken care of well so im honestly expecting her to make it much longer, shes very healthy, very active, she eats well and has good uvb, good temperatures, her tank is deep cleaned weekly and the accessories in it are cleaned whenever they need to be as well as with the rest of her tank.

bearded dragons are incredible. i want to get another one when she eventually passes, although i hope i have a very, very long time until that happens. rolly is teaching me so, so much about reptile care and how to handle them probably, both in terms of. actually handling them like picking them up and also just how to understand them.

id love to get a juvenile or baby beardie someday, they sound like a really good learning experience- difficult to adjust to im sure but also a very good learning experience.

anyways yeah. i absolutely cannot understand how bearded dragons could possibly NOT have complex emotions or feel affection and empathy and love. rolly is absolutely incredible and i love her to the moon and back and also please lmk if youd be willing to draw her in an art trade pleaseee <333

beardies are so so very smart, way smarter than we give them credit for (my favorite kind of creature- so, so smart but also literally so stupid i love animals like that), i want to study them when im older, and i do NOT believe they dont experience some kind of complex emotions and some kind of empathy

ramble over <3

[bloomdigital]

Since your first game came out 10 years ago when the scope of LGBT media for youth was much worse, what do you think has changed between now and then and what sets Longstory 2 apart from new media which has come out since?

CW: Discussions of homophobia/transphobia in media, mention of conversion therapy law, tropes

This a great question, let's take a look. To put this in a wider context on LGBT rights in general...

Picture it: Sicily... I mean... Toronto, 2014!

While global human rights don't revolve around Canada, (ed note: Although historically Canada has led the way in developing policy based around enshrining human right into law) that's where we're based. Canada was only 10 years out from same-sex marriage being recognized across the country--the States, in comparison, only received the court ruling that would make it legal in June 2015. Sadly, Canada wouldn't make a conversion therapy illegal under the law for another seven years. It'd be another 2 years for "gender identity and expression" to be added as protected under the Canadian Human Rights Act, not like that explicitly protects trans folks, but it's something. So that's an overview of where we were at on the ground, at least.

In the world of games, things were..... Not like that. A couple of big inspirations for LongStory were Life is Strange, which was released throughout 2015, and The Last of Us, especially the "Left Behind" DLC, which was released in 2014. Keep in mind that all of these inspirations, however beautifully written, were penned by straight guys--and that both games either do or can kill off at least one of their queer characters, see: bury your gays trope.

That was the name of the game (in games) at the time: Players occasionally could enjoy decently written LGBT characters, but they were often killed off, for punishment or pathos.

Maybe that heady mix of a country that was rabidly expanding it's understanding of what human conditions and experiences were protected rights, juxtaposed against a games industry that was (and remains) reluctant to expand the definition of who plays games and can be represented in games is what led us to care so deeply about LongStory. The fact is at the time of it's creation many of us were experiencing the joy of seeing our own lives changed by shifting tides of acceptance in families, at school and at work.

Since then, there's been a massive shift in media across the board, including games, turning toward "own voices" stories; creators can tell stories outside their own experiences, but if they do it should be well researched and hopefully include a (properly paid and credited) cultural consultant and/or sensitivity readers. Or admit when you got it wrong, at the very least.

LongStory came onto the scene as we began to see this shift. That and we responded to our players' needs. The game was originally supposed to be about a girl, the original feminine-presenting avatar, but when early players asked if they could be a boy, it was an obvious decision to make a masculine-presenting avatar an option. One of our claims to fame is that we were one of the earlier adopters of pronoun selection as well, including gender neutral pronouns, which also isn't attached to gender presentation (ie. feminine presentation = she/her, masculine = he/him). Now a lot of games (but certainly not all) have gotten better at different iterations of gender presentation instead of just a binary of GIRL/BOY.

The upside to this shift is that now young people are kind of "spoiled for choice", which is a very good thing. Games, movies, TV, books, comics, in media of all kinds for all ages it's often odd when there's not a queer or gender diverse character. Funny how diverse real life is, huh? Our media should reflect that.

We're finally seeing the cracks in the monolithic presumed straight, white, cisgender man audience. It is our genuine hope that the success of LongStory, which honestly comes down to folks continuing to care about the game and ask us these great questions, has had an impact on the growth of the industry and it's increasing inclusion and representation, however imperfect that may sometimes be.

Speaking of imperfection. I was just having a conversation yesterday about the toxic individualist (and, I think, deeply capitalist) idea that when someone else receives, I lose. Now when bigots, fascists and creepy evangelicals see diversity in the media, be it LGBTQ and/or BIPOC representation and/or disabled or non-neurotypical representation it gets labeled as "woke", which is bad because: ?????? I think that comes from a place of believing that when one person wins somebody else has to be losing out. That's not how life works--but it is how capitalism works! Capitalism has made us all so afraid that there is not enough to around, not enough love, or stories, or hero narratives. When the opposite is true, people have an abundance of love and creativity to share, but again, capitalism is sort of based on this idea of scarcity... yeah, it's how to keep people isolated.

All this to say, there is a new generation of people, afraid of the beautiful exuberance and diversity of life wriggling their way into positions of power, or lobbying and manipulating the systems and people in them to get anti-trans laws on the books, or look for ways to roll back protections on hard fought basic human rights it's taken generations of LGBTQ folks to achieve. More often than not it's just a shameless power grab scapegoating historically marginalized communities. Lots of that. So we're still here, still working on our games, still saying the same things with renewed enthusiasm.

LongStory starts from a place of empathy, which is something that's unfortunately needed now more than ever. We want everyone, but especially young people, to look at a world as it should be, which is diverse and open to exploration, where they can make mistakes but still be surrounded by love and compassion. I think that's what sets LongStory apart from a lot of media and makes it really special.

-MJ (and Miriam)

[scarletgangs]

hermione granger & autism ! 

she has a strong sense of right vs wrong. she cannot and will not budge on her black-and-white morality. some examples include:

her whole general approach to umbridge. whilst, yes, everyone hated unbridge deeply, hermione was still the only one to guide her to forbidden forest as "punishment". 

the self-righteousness over the half-blood prince potions textbook. she just couldn't let it go - because harry was succeeding unjustly. 

reporting the mysterious firebolt parcel to mcgonagall, even though she knew how pissed harry and ron would be, because she suspected something was wrong. 

her harsh punishment of marietta edgecombe, where there was no space for making mistakes, but instead one must be deathly loyal to dumbledore's army or be branded a snake harshly. 

in the half-blood prince, when harry and malfoy duel, hermione knows how upset and shocked harry is for using sectumsempra, but she still felt the need to dig that point in, to the point ginny even has to step in.

the entire concept of spew.

she gets overwhelmingly emotional. there are many instances where she breaks down crying, as well as many instances where she's reactive in anger.

prone to outbursts like when she set those birds on ron for kissing lavender in the half-blood prince. 

she hyper-focuses a lot, mainly to do with studying. all instances of exam periods can be used as examples. she also spends obsessive time researching things - like nicholas flannel in philosopher's stone, or magical creatures law for buckbeak in prisoner of azkaban. this links heavily to her need for perfectionism.

she has demonstrated lack of social cues multiples times. some examples include: 

never having any close friends apart from harry & ron.

generally perceived as annoying, both in class (correcting people, overeager to participate) and also just in general life conversations.

constantly at odds with "girly" / traditionally feminine characters like fleur and lavender.

whilst she and ginny are friendly and interact a lot, hermione's not shown as particularly close to ginny outside of circumstance - they get along fairly well, though show to be at odds on the occasion of discussing morality (harry's duel with malfoy in the halfblood prince). one would assume that ginny is the closest female friend hermione has, but it is still a far cry from her relationships with harry & ron - and this is most likely due to the fact that ginny is socially apt and has no trouble at all in social situations, so thrives perfectly fine socially at hogwarts, whereas hermione sticks to her two best friends.

she seems to show an inability to understand humans a lot of the time, whilst still holding a deep sense of appreciation and love for humanity. for example, she gets frustrated quickly and warily when people cannot relate to her or understand her - ron's emotional range is a good example of this. luna lovegood as a character is also a prime example, as hermione needs tangible evidence of things existing and is unable to connect with luna properly on that basis. whilst a lot of people find luna odd and don't believe what she says, hermione is shown to be genuinely frustrated with luna's beliefs, being unable to understand it.

[personalisedtrophystore]

The Psychology of Appreciation: How Can Having Intricate and Considered Welcome Plaques Improve Employee Morale?

When did you last get some form of appreciation for a well-done job? Happiness, satisfaction, the prick of success rising in your throat. This is because absolute acknowledgement responds to one of the basic psychological needs among people: the need to feel wanted. To employees, this validation is essential; it energises and motivates the workers, increases morale and results in increased workplace productivity. But what is one good way to raise awareness of this value? More than just a plaques. Here, we'll look at why a sincere, individualised and properly executed award ceremony can only be good for the morale of any company.

Learning About the Usefulness of Appreciation and Recognition

According to the theory of workplace recognition, employees who are recognised in their workplace are motivated, loyal and productive. 

Research has established that recognition stimulates the brain's reward area in the form of dopamine, which is a natural mood enhancer that helps create positive correlations with the workplace. 

But any recognition is going to make little difference. Receiving a thank you email or call is good but lacks the personal touch of a token of appreciation. This is why we have plaques, and carefully executed award presentations.

Why Plaques? Understanding the Significance of Tangible Recognition

Recognitions through plaques appear to have a specific authority in the field. Compared to the moments of recognition where a manager or supervisor verbally commends a person or sends them an email congratulating them, a plaque is tangible and represents a specific achievement. People who are given plaques often recall the good things associated with them.

Creating a Meaningful Award Ceremony: Do Not Just Hand It Over

Set the Scene: Select a time and demonstrate the critical occasion. The wonderful thing about organising a team meeting or a corporate event is that the actual environment has to have energy.

Personalise the Message: Do not use phrases like 'you are a hard-working employee', or 'you are a valuable employee'. It is better to focus on specific achievements. For instance, explain how Sarah used good strategies to attract a big client or how Mark motivated the team in testing conditions.

Encourage Peer Recognition: Ask each other to say something positive to their neighbour. This brings the layer of social proof. It turns into a genuine thank you, which makes the recipient proud and a community member.

Crafting Messages That Resonate: An additional ten minutes spent on the message focusing on specific achievements of the employee will double the appreciation effect. 

Be Specific: Focus on the most important and specific aspect of the employee's performance or particular skills or values at which she/he is successful. 

Express Genuine Gratitude: Non-scripted messages such as; 'Thank you for the positive impact you have made' or 'Your commitment inspires us' are much more potent than clichéd statements.

The Long-Term Impact: How the Practice of Acknowledging Others Builds Organisational Culture

Appreciation such as plaques and ceremonies are not just morale boosters; they are taken to be one of the cores of the company culture. In today's aggressive work setting, seeing a small amount spent on good appreciation as a worthy investment is not wrong. It doesn't take a considerable reward, simply a welcoming message engraved on a plaque, a simple 'thank you', and creating a proper ceremony that can make an employee's day special. And indeed, as any textbook on the psychology of appreciation will testify, these motions are not forgotten as soon as the clapping dies down.

[elliepassmore]

Recursion review

5/5 stars Recommended if you like: sci-fi, time travel, time loops, speculative fiction

I will say, the beginning of this book didn't impress me, but once the time stuff really got going I was hooked. It starts out with a cop who has lunch with his ex-wife and then gets called to a woman's suicide attempt. Not really my style. Even the introduction of False Memory Syndrome (FMS) didn't really get me, it's only when time and reality start getting messed with for Barry do I begin to get interested.

FMS was a phenomena that I tried to get my head wrapped around as the story was unfolding. Are the new memories false or the old ones? How would you know? This is something that immediately got Barry's attention too, and I'm glad that he decided to track down Anne's story because it gives us some more puzzle pieces (and, obviously jumpstarts the story). I thought the way FMS was handled was super interesting and I liked seeing the ripple effects of it expanding to a larger scale than just a handful of people. The time loop stuff that feeds into this is interesting as well and it's one of those catch-22s that genuinely seems like it has no solution (I will note though that if everyone had listened to the woman, none of this would've happened).

I am curious though as to why so many people killed themselves over FMS in the beginning. Later on it makes sense, but the beginning? People like Anne I understand, but the thing with the Big Bend building? Why did that have people jumping out of buildings? False memories and the Mandela effect are real things, who cares if some of your memories are a little off? My friend and I once, separately, had an identical untrue memory of where she parked her car and spent 15min looking for it, thought it was stolen and almost called the cops, before she remembered the true memory. It was distressing in the moment but we laugh about it now. Fake memories like that aren't something to die over.

I think time loops and time travel can be very difficult to express properly in a written format, but I think Crouch did a really good job with Barry's and Helena's jumps. While we relive a handful of moments, by and large we begin the next timeline at the point when their memories return, which allows us to immediately get into the action and problem solving. It also allows for a montage scene that quickly flips between the lives, which I think is a difficult to achieve in writing vs. film, and I really liked that aspect.

Barry starts the book as your everyday cop who ends up stumbling into something much bigger than himself. I really liked seeing how Barry dealt with things and liked seeing his 'second chance.' I also thought it was interesting to see how he reacted to the time travel news in each life and the different tactics he used to try and figure out what was going on and how to stop the loop. Barry very easily could've been an unlikable character, but Crouch did a good job making him not only sympathetic but likable and someone you can root for.

Helena starts the book as an expert in memory and Alzheimer's research. When she stumbles upon the time travel stuff, she very quickly recognizes the dangers of such a tool and accurately predicts that it's going to go bad. Honestly, this is definitely a case where everything could've been avoided if people had just listened to the woman. I do feel bad for Helena since all she wanted to do was help people and she inadvertently gets used to create time loops. Likewise, it all ends up on her shoulders to fix, so she's often the one left remembering while everyone else gets a 'do over.'

Overall I enjoyed this book and think it's a nice mind-bending time travel book. I think some of the stuff that happens in this novel is kind of predictable but overall there are some good twists in there. I definitely wasn't expecting the stuff in the last third of the novel.

[sapphicspotlight]

introduction post

about me

hello! this is an account i'd like to keep very separate from my personal and other content creating accounts, so i'm going to come out right now and say that the name i'm about to give you is fake, and i have a lot more pronouns than the ones i use in my bio. everything else on here is my genuine opinions and research, and truths that i personally believe. or truths that are just plain true. i will give credit where credit is due. if any information i post is inaccurate, morally wrong or not credited properly, please feel free to dm me or submit something telling me so. my name is rye, and you can use she/her or he/him when referring to me. i am a genderfluid ace-spec lesbian and i have a large passion for lgbtq+ identities and issues, and i would love to educate the internet on them if given the chance. i also want to give sapphics (especially lesbians) a safe space to feel seen and heard, and to learn more about themselves and feel more comfortable within their bodies and identities. additionally onto my own identity, i have adhd, autism, and bpd. i would love to delve into how these disabilities can affect your lgbtq+ experience. i look forward to educating, and being educated, on the lgbtq+ community and identities.

content

as mentioned above and in my bio, this is an interactive lgbtq+ blog. however, i will mostly be focusing on sapphic, trans, and asexual identities since i know the most about these and identify with those myself. extreme emphasis on sapphic, since i would like this to be a sapphic safe space. of course, everyone can follow and interact. just understand that your identity may not be posted about as often. i will also be posting about femininity and womanhood, since i still feel a strong connection to both those things despite being genderfluid, and also because both of those things have a part in being sapphic.

as for more specifics to what exactly i'll be posting, i have plans on addressing fictional sapphic characters' sexualities (coded, implied or canon), good and bad representation of sapphics, sapphic celebrities, sapphic history, guides to exploring your sexuality and gender, reccomendations and reviews of sapphic media, education upon sexualities and misconceptions, reblogging cute sapphic art, and much, much more.

please feel free to ask me any questions or submit anything having to do with the topics above, as make requests for things i could talk about or post.

byf

• i support almost all lgbtq+ identities, including neopronouns and xenogenders.

• i believe self-diagnosis is valid under proper research.

• some of my posts may mention sex (it will have a warning)

thank you for reading~

[mayuripng]

Hello, good night! I was the anonymous asker. Thank you very much for all of this information, this genuinely made my day, and I shall check this text for the next experiments. (Also, sorry if my English is bad, my main language is Portuguese.)

You probably noticed that I'm still a beginner in this whole 'microbiology' thing (even if I am absolutely fascinated by microscopy and love studying about it, this is still my first time actually putting my knowledge to the test). I plan on getting better and better with time and practice!

I appreciate the encouragement too! I will most definitely make the most of my new acquisition.

Thank you for the tips related to resting! I have noticed that, often more than not, my eyes get... tingly (?) when I spend too much time looking at the same slide. I often look at pre-made samples on the microscope and then research the structures I see. Then, I write about them in my notebook. This usually takes a bit of time, and resting never crosses my mind (as I'm usually waaay too focused and interested on what I'm doing to suddenly stop). But I will keep close attention now, and will try to make sure to rest often!

Concerning equipment, I will most definitely do research on prices and shipping. My currency is neither dollars nor euros, so things tend to get pricey. About that, what should be found in a quality dissection kit, and what should I look out for when buying them? My mother is a dentist, so she has access to scalpel blades at the very least. Might ask her about it too, but I wouldn't mind a second opinion.

About the stains, WOW, that is relatively new to me as I never really delved into it before, but your description and explanation only made me so much more excited to research about it!!! I cannot wait to have more free time to do so!!! I have studied about Gram staining before, but never the others! You have no idea about how happy I am right now. I might be able to ask for money to invest in better storage places, such as a little metal cabinet, but I'm still unsure, as my birthday is coming soon, but I'm unsure.

I asked my biology teacher about staining (although very briefly), and she talked to me about two components that, according to her, are harmless and okay to store in my room. But, I'll be honest: since the names are in Portuguese, and the ones you gave me are in English (and also because I get way too nervous around her, eye contact scares me and she keeps trying to look at me in the eyes, but that is unrelated), I have no idea if they are the same as the ones you told me about. I might have to ask her again, just to make sure. Still, thank you for worrying about my safety.

And I will absolutely try the experiment you told me about, the next time I have free time on my hands! Of course, I will be careful, and will properly sterilize equipment and myself afterwards. If I do get infected by something/hurt while messing with an experiment, my mother might get cautious and not let me experiment without constant supervision. Honestly, I don't want that to happen.

About the samples that came in my starter kit, they are very diverse! I didn't buy this microscope, nor the starter kit as I don't have the money (they were given to me by one of my mom's friends - they are rich, were moving out of their apartment, and getting rid of things they didn't use, including the microscope and the kit that came with it). These are the slides that came with it:

Truthfully, I have no real reason to be making my own slides, due to the amount of already made ones at my disposal. But, I like the thrill of it. I like messing with stuff, discovering new information and learning. Of course, I can learn more than enough from the slides I already have (and I couldn't be more grateful and happy to have them, don't get me wrong)... but it gets boring. I want to make my own stuff, I want to dare. I am curious. Does this make sense?

(Edit: will tag you in this because I think the probability of you seeing my response with all the notifications you must get in a day is minimal, lol. @consult-sherlockholmes )

Hello, Mr. Holmes! How are you?

So, long story short, I ended up with an optical microscope in my room more or less 4 months ago, with 200 previously made slides (secured in a proper box), and lots of new ones too, for me to prepare myself. I love microbiology (it's one of my hyperfixations, curse my neurodivergency) and now I love it even more (my mother has had to drag me away from the microscope - I named it Wesley - in the middle of the night multiple times now).

After much conversation, I finally convinced my mom to buy me the proper equipment to prepare the slides!

So, I'm sending this ask to you, as I know you also have a microscope and that you use it a lot: what kind of equipment do you recommend me buying (gloves, scalpel blades, tints, etc), while still remembering that all of the stuff needs to stay in my room (properly taken cared of by me, of course)?

For example, I'm unsure if different dyes are used for different smears and specimens due to it's affinity (I've noticed that on 'organic matter' slides, images are usually tinted purple or pink, while on plant-based slides, images are usually tinted green and blue, with a few red structures.) Considering that I don't have access to a mortuary, I will mostly make plant slides. There must be a difference in the dyes then, right?

Sorry for the long text! Hope this isn't too much of a bother.

- a 17-year-old :)

Congratulations on your new light microscope. I do hope you get the best out of it. I am overjoyed that someone else appreciates the art of microscopy and microbiology.

However, you need to be careful to not strain your eyes. It is recommended to take breaks every 15 minutes to close your eyes or focus on something in the distance to reaccommodate your eyes. And get up every 40 minutes, stretch and correct your posture. And it is recommended to not use a microscope more than 5 hours per day. John has to chase me away from my microscope sometimes to take a break when I sit there for hours, my posture like a Caridea.

Concerning equipment, you will obviously need a scalpel or other sharp blade to make very thin slices of your specimen, as thin as possible. And forceps to move your samples (best just get a whole dissection kit it has everything). Obviously slides and coverslips, pipettes for the stains or water, maybe some tubes. A pen to label your slides. In many staining procedures ethanol or acetone is also used. A waste jar to safely dispose of any chemicals, but be careful what you mix. A rack for staining and containers. I would recommend nitrile gloves, some people are sensitive to latex.

The dyes you use depend on the specimen. For example in histological slides of tissues hematoxylin and eosin are most commonly used (short HE-stain). That's what you most likely saw on your slides, it's blue, purple and pink. Hematoxylin is a basic compound extracted and oxidised from the logwood tree (Haematoxylum campechianum), and it stains acidic compounds in the cells (or basophilic because they have an affinity for basic substances). For example nucleic acids like DNA or RNA get stained by hematoxylin because they are basophillic. And where are lots of nucleic acids? In the nucleus and ribosomes, that is why they appear blue to purple in the staining because they bind hematoxylin. Eosin is an acidic compound, and stains basic or acidophilic compounds red or pinkish, like proteins, collagen, cytoplasm, extracellular matrix.

(Ductus epididymidis with HE-stain)

(Tongue HE-stain, pointer marking a ganglion; that is my picture)

Of course there are more specific stains for specific tissues like Golgi's silver staining for neurons.

For plants toluidine blue is often used, high affinity for acidic tissues, and can stain blue to green to purple. It is often combined with safranin, a basic azine, which is probably the red stain you saw. It stains polysaccharides and lignin, woody parts of the plant. Safranin and astrablue is also often combined, astrablue stains non-lignified parts of the plant.

(Ulex europaeus stem; not my pictures I don't have any samples currently, source Atlas of plant and animal histology)

Safranin is also used in bacteriology, in the famous Gram staining. In Gram staining you use crystal violet (blue/purple), Lugol's iodine solution, then wash it with ethanol and add safranin (red) as a counter stain. Bacteria is gram-positive if the crystal violet stays in their thick murein cell wall, can't be washed out with the ethanol and the bacteria stays blue. Gram-negative appear red because of the counterstain.

(Staphyloccocus aureus (violet, gram positive) & Escherichia coli (red, gram negative); not my picture, source Wikipedia)

However, I am not sure whether you have access to any of those substances, if they are too expensive for you or if they are too hazardous if used in your own room for a prolongued time. Of course those substances need to be stored properly, and your own room is probably not a good place, especially for ethanol or acetone. The fumes. I would recommend to ask your biology or chemistry teacher whether they can recommend anything further and where to buy said solutions in your area, and if they can't they are idiots. There are also many useful resources and tutorials on Youtube.

Another fascinating experiment for your microscope, that you can perform without buying any chemicals, is a hay infusion. You put hay into a container filled with water, and let it sit undisturbed for a week in a sunny area but not in direct harsh sunlight. During that time the microorganisms in the hay are reproducing in the solution, feeding on the polysaccharides of the hay. Protozoans also flourish in the hay infusion and eat the bacteria. It might get cloudy and a bit foul smelling (best not do it in your own room if you don't want to sleep next to a rotting smell). When you put a drop of the solution onto a slide and look at it in the microscope, you should see a variety of microorganisms like bacteria (like Bacillus subtilis), amoeba, ciliates, heliozoa, algae et cetera. At different depths of the liquid you should find different kinds of organisms, because of differing oxygen content. However, pathogens can also occur in the hay infusion so handle it carefully and work sterile, wash your hands properly.

And even if you don't work at a morgue you can still get tissue samples to experiment on, after all meat is sold in supermarkets, basically the same as a human body. And at the butchers they even sell organs like chicken hearts, pig kidney, liver, blood et cetera. Or observe your own hair under the microscope.

Which kind of samples and slides were included in your starter kit? Be careful to not leave them lying around in the sunlight, or the stain might fade. Always store them in the proper box.

[guqin-and-flute]

Yaoli kid hcs?

I've been a little cagey about revealing info about The Child™ Yanli is pregnant with in All the Things You Have to Lose because I wanted to introduce her properly in a fic BUT...since it's gonna be a while until she shows up because there's a lot between here and there that I wanna get squared away in the timeline first, I'll just do a lil' intro now :)

Yanli and JGY's first (and potentially only, I haven't quite decided yet, pending a few things) child is a girl named 依心 Yīxīn! Which, as far as I know, via my research means 'to listen to/comply with/depend on the heart/center/intention'. She's the first baby-baby Lotus Pier has, and so she is universally adored and doted on as soon as she is born. The birth was difficult but not especially dangerous. A-Yuan immediately adopts the role of big brother without any sort of resentment--I mean, he has a whole hoarde of adults that will still dote on him, he's not that worried about losing attention and he's pleased to have someone younger around.

When she gets older, she's a bit on the shy, quiet side but gets along well with others (ie. A-Yuan, disciples/servants kids, ChengQing's kid(s), whoever they turn out to be, I'm still workshopping them). Not terribly adventurous, she's cautious, courteous, and well spoken for her age and can carry a conversation with adults as well as kids. A-Yuan and her get along especially well and she likes to trail him around Lotus Pier as soon as she can walk--and he's very patient and makes sure she can keep up.

When she's old enough, she likes to help Yanli cook in the kitchen and play in her father's office while he works--which he allows because she can amuse herself quietly just fine without interrupting. While she loves them both, she has a special bond with her father and loves to help him out with little chores, like delivering things to people nearby or bringing him something from across Lotus Pier or food from the kitchen. She likes being read to, swimming, and traveling, doesn't particularly enjoy getting dirty or playing rough. She's a fairly sensitive kid, so scolding reduces her to tears easily, but overall she's really quite obedient and helpful, so there's really never much need. Sometimes, she imitates how Yanli talks to her brothers and say 'Da-jiu, be good' in a gently admonishing tone when Wuxian is being ridiculous/teasing about something and it makes him laugh.

Both Yanli and JGY are incredibly fond of her, just immensely tender. JGY likes to call her Xiao-Xin, which means 'little heart'. He gets a little bit better about managing his time and running himself into the ground when she starts to be old enough to ask for him so he can spend time with her. Yanli loves that they have similar interests so they can snuggle and hang out, even when she doesn't feel well. They all genuinely enjoy each other's company.