#so either people in those organizations feels like they are doing good and don't think themselves as evil

[alexanderwales]

I've been trying to get a good overview of communist art, and it's difficult, partly because of the language barrier, but also partly because I think what I want isn't the art itself, it's a comparison of how the landscape of art-making shifts.

Movie-making, in particular, is a massive undertaking that requires a fair amount of time and money if you want to do it right. You need someone to write it, someone to direct it, someone to act in it, a cinematographer, some lighting, sound and music ... under a communist model, none of this would actually change. You would still need to acquire the personnel and make sure they were housed and fed. You would still need sets to be built and artists to devote their time and energy.

So one of the common criticisms of capitalism is that it produces Bad Art, that everyone is just trying to make a buck and they don't care about the product unless it finds consumers who will pay out cash. Everything is geared for the lowest common denominator. This gets worse as you involve more and more capital.

But I've always wondered: is this not also true under communism?

I don't mean in practice, that question is simple, all you have to do is read up on the film production processes from a number of different communist and formerly communist countries, whose source materials are often not accessible in English, mired in propaganda and disputes, and cover many decades. Easy peasy. I did what I think is a surface skim, but the common threads were that film studios were state-owned, scripts were approved by party officials, there were regular reviews during production, and a final review before release. You usually have to promote socialist values, or at least not criticize the current regime, and you have reviews for "ideological content". In spite of all this, some good movies got made, some bad movies got made, and some movies were banned for lack of ideological conformity or "frivolity". There are different eras to filmmaking in every country, times when the industry was thriving and times that it crashed to the ground in spectacular fashion as the government involved itself. A lot depended on who was in power and what the then-current ideology was. I think it's tempting to say that the widely agreed upon "great films" got made in spite of having ideological overview, but it's hard for me to evaluate that claim, and if someone said "the great American films were made in spite of capitalism" I think that also would be a difficult claim to evaluate, even though I've actually seen a pretty substantial amount of the canon and speak the language most often used in analysis of production processes.

No, what I mean is that in theory there's someone that has to be running the numbers. The film studio is state-run, sure, everyone is in state housing or whatever, they're getting food somehow ... but someone, somewhere, is authorizing all this. You don't make a film without a plan, so those plans have to be submitted to someone, or a committee, and that committee has to decide which films will get made and which will remain a dream. And if they're doing that, then they're either trying to make the film that they think benefits the country the most, or they're applying their own taste and judgment, but probably both.

And if you're under some kind of model where no one runs the numbers, where film-making is entirely volunteer work, then you still have problems, because you need this large volunteer organization, and you need to bring them in on your vision, and if they can just walk away, you need to maintain that energy and vision through the whole process.

I guess what I'm saying is that yes, capitalism presents problems when it comes to this specific artform, but I feel like as soon as you're out from under the yoke of the dollar, you're immediately under some other yoke. And I do wish that when people saw a bad film and said "the problem is capitalism" they would take a moment to consider that maybe there is always necessarily going to be oversight and compromise, just because of the nature of the enterprise.

This does not apply nearly so much to other forms of art, like those that can be done by a single person sitting in a room all alone.

[garbage--account]

IE villains's motivations through the games/seasons :

Franck Wintersea : "I am just a coward who fear for his life. I didn't wanted to be involved into those soccer shits in the first place"

Ray Dark : "soccer brought shame on my father and me by proxy. I grew bitter about it, and now i am evil"

Astram Schiller : "I'm blinded by the sadness of loss of my son, killed by someone unknown that wasn't punished for this therefore. The world must suffer for this injustice"

Wyles : "I am an opportunist. I saw I could become powerful while my boss was falling, I didn't hesitate seizing it"

Zoolan Rice : "your misery increases my money"

5th sector : "our goal is to establish communism into middleschool soccer, so that every child can taste success at least once"

Protocol Omega : "by erasing soccer through History, we prevent the existence of the most powerful terrorist organization in our time"

Nugen : "we didn't chose to be mutants with superpower, the adults chose to treat us like monsters"

Ixal Fleet : "Faram Orbius destroyed our planet. We want reperation"

Scale of Ares guy (i forgot his name) : "i plan to make some gifted children the ultimate supersoldiers at my command"

Orion Foundation : "we are a philanthropic organization that only longs to make the world a better place. But in the process, some evil will be necessary"

[kira-akira]

What I Want You To Know About Long COVID

Well lads, I've been suffering from Long COVID for over a year now. My life is at a complete standstill. I'm 25 years old and I'm too sick to go back to school, I can't work, I had to move back in with my parents and I'm still stuck here.

Here are just a few things I wish people knew about Long COVID, including things I didn't know myself until I got it.

COVID destroys your immune system. Yes, even if you don't have Long COVID. Are you getting sick more often now? When you get sick, does it last longer? There are many studies showing that COVID causes t cell depletion, even in mild COVID cases! T cells are how your body remembers how to fight off infections you've had before so losing those cells? Bad news.

Your initial infection can be mild and you can still get Long COVID. Right from Yale Medicine, "Most people with Long COVID had mild acute COVID." (This is also a good link for a basic Long COVID overview).

There can be a gap of time between when you "get better" from the initial COVID infection to the onset of Long COVID symptoms. Some people get sick with an initial COVID infection and never get better. Some get better and then weeks or months later start developing Long COVID symptoms. Long COVID symptoms can even fluctuate over time, can go away for months and then suddenly come back.

So many people have Long COVID and don't realize it. Do you feel more tired lately but no matter how much you sleep, nothing helps? Is it harder to concentrate at work or school? Can you just not think like you used to? You could have Long COVID and not even know it. Even mild post-COVID symptoms are still Long COVID.

COVID can do anything to your body. Long COVID has over 200 recognized symptoms and can affect basically any part or system of your body. There is no one mechanism or cause of Long COVID which unfortunately also means there's no one cure either.

The effects of COVID are cumulative. Each COVID reinfection increases your chances of developing Long COVID. COVID is also affecting your body in other ways, yes, even if you're otherwise young and healthy! "Repeat COVID-19 infections increase risk of organ failure, death".

Once you have Long COVID, repeat COVID infections will make your symptoms worse. "80% [of Long COVID patients] saw their symptoms worsen [from reinfection]. In 60% of people who were in recovery or remission from Long COVID, reinfection caused a recurrence of Long COVID."

There is a lot more I want to say about Long COVID but I want to keep this post at least somewhat manageable to read. Like how when COVID is contracted during pregnancy, those COVID-exposed fetuses have a 6.3-fold increased risk of motor developmental delays, or that another study found 50% of babies exposed to COVID in utero had developmental delays.

You need to keep caring about COVID, for others around you and also for yourself even if you're "healthy". Everyone is at risk. And don't forget 40-60% of COVID infections are asymptomatic, which is why masking even if you feel fine is crucial. The only way right now to not get Long COVID is to not get COVID in the first place. It's not too late, if you've stopped masking it's never too late to start again! I know it's easy to get distracted by things in your life that seem more real than the possibility of getting sick some time in the future, and the peer pressure to not mask can be intense. But it only feels less real or less important until your entire life is having Long COVID. Trust me.

I know this is a complicated issue, many people can't afford to stay home when sick even if they want to because of their jobs, there are disgusting policies trying to ban wearing masks, but please if you can. Keep masking. Masking works, masking saves lives.

This post got a bit longer than I wanted so below the cut is a non-exhaustive list of my Long COVID symptoms and some of my experiences as one of the "healthy young people" who got "unlucky". cw brief mention of suicidal ideation.

Welcome to the Thunderdome that is my body with Long COVID. Keep in mind these are just my experiences and symptoms, Long COVID can cause any range of symptoms at varying severities.

Dysautonomia: Exercise intolerance, Post-Exertional Malaise (PEM), fatigue, and heat intolerance. What do those things mean? Here's some specific examples. Absolutely terrible circulation I am so cold all the time but also, if I get a little too warm I will pass out. Eating hot food makes my heart rate spike, I sweat, my body feels heavy. Blood pooling and pins and needles in my feet when I walk. Don't even think about exercising past walking, it's impossible. I used to work out an hour a day 4 times a week and now walking up one flight of stairs makes my heart pound and I can't breathe. Can't take even just warm showers anymore or I will pass out. Heat rashes from being in the sun for 10 minutes.

Digestive issues: Honestly too many to name but: constant bloating, extreme nausea, constipation, slow motility, lack of appetite, just so much cramping and pain. I lost 18 pounds from Long COVID, as someone who was already considered underweight their entire life, and almost had to get a shunt put into my chest to deliver nutrients because I was nearly completely unable to eat. For the first 6 months of Long COVID, if I could manage 600 calories a day, that was a good day.

Histamine intolerance: Oh boy. My worst symptoms, I don't even know where to start with it. If you know Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) it's very similar. I can only eat 19 foods. If i eat a single bite of something not on that list, it's 48 hours of absolute hell. Coughing, migraines, itchy eyes, such extreme nausea I cannot even describe it, panic/feeling of doom, racing heart rate, derealization, rash, uncontrollable muscle tremors. I only learned about histamine intolerance 5 months into having Long COVID so before that, I was experiencing these symptoms nearly every single day. Terrifying isn't even a strong enough word to describe how it felt to experience all this and have no idea what it was, how to stop it, or if it would ever stop. Really dark times.

Neurological issues: More of that derealization. Inability to concentrate. Anxiety. OCD-like symptoms such as thoughts getting "stuck" in my head, repeating 24/7 completely unable to stop them, genuinely felt like my brain had cracked open and I had lost my mind. Constant dizziness like I'm on a boat.

Sleep issues: I sleep like garbage. I have insomnia, I wake up dozens of times every night and every single time I sleep I have intensely vivid dreams. I can't sleep longer than 7 hours total no matter how exhausted I am. It is exhausting. I'm exhausted, I'm so so tired.

And finally. Just. Really intense suicidal ideation. My body, my health, my entire life has been stolen from me because someone else decided my life was worth less to them than wearing a mask or staying home if they feel sick. Before I got Long COVID, I was preparing to go to South Korea to teach English, then on to a PhD in neurolinguistics, I was supposed to meet my long distance partner and had already booked plane tickets when I got sick. All of that has been destroyed.

Most of us with Long COVID are stuck in a cycle of being extremely sick, then if you're lucky you'll slowly get better over months, just to get reinfected and go right back where you started or worse. Honestly, I'm not scared of dying from COVID. I'm scared of living for a long time, suffering from Long COVID the entire time. This isn't living.

I don't know how to end this now. I'm still fighting, I'm trying experimental treatments, I'm not giving up yet. I hope everyone reading this stays healthy and well.

[loveemagicpeace]

🍹The difference between the Sun and Rising Sign✨

Leo Sun will always be more expressive and have more ego than Leo rising. Because sun is the ruler of leo and someone who has leo sun will always be able to express pride, self-respect, ego, attentiveness and know how to show attention, no matter what. These people will always stand up for themselves. They know how to be closer to sun energy. They are also more childlike and always have an inner child with them. They will always support the people they love. They are also inherently more fixers in decisions and things. But they are also very dramatic and when there is drama they will be the first ones there. They know how to make a big drama without feeling bad about it. Leos have a way of making others feel beautiful and special, which is why they tend to be social butterflies. Their charisma feels authentic. Since Leo is a fixed sign, they tend to hew closely to their foundation — whether those are family bonds or values. It can take them a hot minute to change their minds. Always honest, this sign won’t want to back down from a stance once it's been taken.

Leo Rising, however, can sometimes get lost in wanting to serve others or be available to them. They often don't know how to show pride and be sure of themselves. Many people with this position have self-esteem issues. They don't like that much drama and they don't like to be in the spotlight. They will be subjected to many more romantic affairs in life. They are acutely aware of others, and how they come across. Usually, they choose clothing and hairstyles that are youthful. They often possess regal, well-defined features, and a captivating presence. when faced with life challenges or crises, Leo risings maintain a sunny disposition and won’t let it show publicly. They are much more private people than leo suns.

Capricorn Sun will not glow as brightly and will not have such a capricorn characteristics as capricorn rising. Capricorns Sun are more practical and organized and can be more or less driven to work. Sometimes they are more prone to think that life is cruel. At the same time, they will often forget about the fun. It is difficult for these people to find fun and inner child. They think much more about their career and are more obsessed with being able to have a certain title or become something.

Capricorn Rising come off with strength and power. They emit a very strong energy just by entering the room. They achieve what they set out to do because the 1st house is the house of Mars and it is comfortable here for Capricorn. They never give up until they achieve what they want. They respect themselves -they have huge respect for themselves and will never lower their standards for the sake of other people. They always stay on the surface here where they are. They confidently show people who they are and what their limits are. They have no mercy and once you hurt them they won't let you back. They also set a lot of rules for themselves which can be sometimes hard for them but this is mostly cuz of saturn. Another thing with them is that they always receive good karma.

Libra Sun shows more of their side of enjoying relationships, but they are not so subject to having a partner and they are not necessarily so romantic either. However, their beauty is always beautifully expressed. And that they will be popular in society and among people, and that people will always find them attractive, and many times they will easily gain people's attention. Since the sun gives visibility and fame, they can have many fans and admirers. They have a bigger ego in the relationship and give what they have received.

Libra Rising, however, are much more prone to looking for a relationship and not wanting to be alone. And they are often more interested in fashion and clothes. Many of them work with fashion or clothing. They also have a greater passion for clothing and style. I would say that this is also the only placement that is really more subject to the fact that a person is really passionate when it comes to clothes and they will work with clothes at least once in their life. There are also people who flirt a lot and are always friendly. They care much more about how they look and how they look when they go somewhere. They will almost never look messy. And they can have problems with their appearance (looking for faults in themselves). Also could be more dreamy or delusional.

Scorpio Sun is private, secretive and really brings out that side of his dark nature. They won't trust people right away and will always be suspicious of new things (always check if things are really as they seem). They have a need for control and not to share their sex life with others. I notice that they never talk about it very openly. But they are open about it with their partner. They don't like too much scary stuff and darkness. But they can be extremely private, even secretive, about subjects they consider near and dear to their hearts and being intensely sexual. Scorpios are driven but locked into their belief systems. On the flip side, you’ll never know anyone more devoted, reliable, faithful and generous when you’re welcomed into their hearts. Scorpios know what they want, and that also applies to love and relationships. Expect the Scorpio to pursue their lover endlessly and intensely, chasing the one they desire to the ends of the earth.

Scorpio Rising is more open to sex and discussions about it. They are not embarrassed to talk about it and find the topic interesting. They like deep debates. They come forward much darker and sometimes as an emo type of people. They are not so quick to suspect and do not make immediate assumptions. But they are more vindictive and spend more time taking revenge on someone. They don't like to be rejected and they like to have power. They like people to notice their strength and energy. They expose themselves much more.

Aries Sun is more extroverted and fun. The more they show their ego outwardly, the faster they will put their needs first and choose themselves over others. They are more sexually active and more spontaneous. They don't take risks so quickly and often think more about whether to do something or not. They don't like dangerous things so much, they prefer their comfort zone. But they will always express their needs regardless of how others will react to it. They may not be as committed in relationships.

Aries Rising, however, is more brave, daring and likes dangerous things. They will quickly embark on a dangerous adventure without a second thought. But they are more reserved when you get to know them, they will not immediately express their energy. Aries rising is confident, direct, enthusiastic, and impulsive. In a relationship, an Aries rising is passionate, romantic, and loyal. At work, an Aries rising is competent, hard-working, and successful. They can be more introverted and self-centered.

Taurus Sun is much more stubborn and persistent, especially when it comes to their comfort and entertainment. They live a more stable life and do not like to change things around them and are also more frugal. They will not waste money on unnecessary things. And they will always reconsider how much they will invest in something. They are also down to earth, loyal and generous. They'll put in effort as long as they can see the reward on the other side of the finish line. This gives them the motivation to keep going. Taurus values ​​consistency, stability, and kindness.

Taurus Rising are not so stubborn, they have their own limits and values, but usually they are not limited by stubbornness. They are more lenient and relaxed. They don't care so much about money and finances, but they are more interested in pleasure and fun. They like food, music, movies and also like to spend time alone. They don't spend as much on clothes and tend to be more casually dressed. They can also isolate themselves from people more quickly.

Gemini Suns are often more duplicitous and tend to be dominated by two sides. They know how to play things better and they can trick someone faster. They like intellectual things and are more prone to read and write a lot, and they are also more motivated for school. They like to compete in school and like to look smart in front of people.

Gemini Rising are more friendly and establish contact with people faster, they quickly start communication with others and are not so interested in what people think about them. But they have a very unbalanced nature, they often start something and don't finish it, and they often promise something and maybe don't keep their promise. They can also be more rebellious at school and often don't pay much attention to school. Many of them decide to finish school late.

Virgo Sun is more practical, in most cases more judgmental. They often spend their free time cleaning and love cleanliness. They don't like to waste time on crazy things, and they also know how to focus on work more than on other people. When looking for a partner, they can be very picky and want it to fit their lifestyle. They often give more harsh advice. Virgo fosters a sense of contentment when you have planned your days in a detailed way, and the absence will make you start nagging and complaining.

Virgo Rising, however, are much more moody and their mood often changes. Their insecure side is more noticeable and they care more about what people think of them. They can change partners quickly if they are not really in love with them. They act more inaccessible and often angry. They have a strong sense of duty and are highly reliable and responsible. Virgo risings are known for their organized appearance, even if their home or life might be a hot mess behind closed doors.

Cancer Sun is less emotional and more independent. They show their emotions more openly and have no problem with appearing weak. Vbisvtu want people to know how they feel and will somehow always look for emotional attention and sometimes drama. After all, the sun is a dramatic and hot planet and cancer is emotional and sensitive. Although people who have this position are not so sensitive. Cancers are also protective of their loved ones. They have the ability to observe and see life from a different viewpoint than others, due to their sideways march. However, their intuition is not always so good. And although I would expect this from Cancers, Cancers Sun are not so focused on family and family life. But they usually have a friendly relationship with their mother.

Cancer Rising they are much more sensitive, you can quickly get on their nerves and you can hurt them very quickly. They take many things to heart. They often come across more moody and not so approachable, although they can be quite extroverted, regardless of the circumstances, they can quickly fit into society. Many people find comfort with them and many strangers open up to them quickly. But they can be very focused on their needs, which means that they can be very complex and demanding partners. They want their partner to meet their needs. They are usually attracted to people who are caring, motherly/fatherly type of people. And they like people who have a focus on family. They themselves are more focused on the family.

Sagittarius Sun is focused on the inspirational side of life. They will always look for the positive in life and want to experience the best out of it. They can be good mentors to other people. These natives understand the difference between living and existing. They are freedom-loving individuals with a love for the outdoors. Often times, these natives are fond of a sport or two. Their physique also contributes to the royal radiance that their personality has. They are of a supportive nature, like to lend a helping hand to their relatives and friends.

Sagittarius Rising is more prone to impulsiveness and than strict opinions. They often have dark humor and are especially humorous people, you can always laugh with them. It is noticeable that they are more jealous and react to things faster. Sagittarius risings are honest, creative, and intellectual. They’re always seeking their next big adventure or learning new things. They are also good teachers. Very honest and direct people.

Aquarius Sun- their freedom is more pronounced and they want to live as freely as possible and have some space for themselves. They also find it harder to settle down and have problems finding the right person for themselves. They are unpredictable and you never know when they will make a new move and what it will look like. They are people who randomly appeared somewhere. They love their friends and give them a lot of attention. They are the ones who will think of their friends first, so the relationship would be better if it was friendly in the beginning. They are humanitarian and stand up much more for society and the people around them and also much more rebellious. They will be the first to rebel if something is not right for them. Aquarius is known to break free from conventions in favor of finding a lifestyle that makes sense for them.

Aquarius Rising is more lonely and withdrawn from society. Their energy often works better when they are alone. Their style is more expressed in terms of how different they are from the rest. They are more settled in a relationship and often more prone to looking for someone for themselves. They give more compliments. Aquarius risings are often seen as unconventional and may have a rebellious streak, always willing to push the boundaries of tradition and explore new ideas. Aquarius risings are known to be super intelligent and very quick. Aquarius risings seem like aliens walking among us. They immediately strike others as being sort of otherworldly—it just feels like they follow a different set of rules.

The Pisces sun in their eyes often radiates a warm and compassionate energy. They are dreamy people and more inclined to seek their way to the sun. Although they do not necessarily have to be spiritual, they are in most cases. They can be confused but more down to earth because they are not so inclined to Neptune. Pisces are known to wear their hearts on their sleeves when it comes to love and relationships. However, they find it difficult to open up to other people and many people find them misunderstood. But they are prone to daydreaming. Pisces are imaginative and creative lovers who blend fantasy with reality in the way they love. Pisces suns are more stable and stick to the ground, they won't just give in to addictions. And many times they come forward more seriously. They are not that naive and won't let people get too close to them that quickly. They look much more for energy and vibes in people.

Pisces Rising have a light aura and carry a pocket full of magic dust in their back pocket. These folks have lived a life that requires extensive thought, and often they face experiences that are more than meets the eye. They tend to become addicted much faster (drugs, alcohol or others). They can quickly become addicted to one thing. Their personality is more dreamy. Much sooner they will surrender to the flow of love, a person or a thing. They will react more quickly emotionally to their surroundings.

🎸For personal readings u can sign up here: https://snipfeed.co/bekylibra 🎸

-Rebekah🍓🍸🍀

[qqueenofhades]

I think the Aaron Sorkin fic people are writing about the convention to be extremely silly. It's going to be Biden. And if Biden's health takes a downturn and he feels the need to step down its going tk be Harris. This fantasy where we skip over her to whip up two random white guys(or like maaaybe Witmer) and somehow cruise to victory instead of fragmenting the party months before the election is simply not going to happen.

Look, I'm just saying, I got an email from the Biden campaign this morning where they seemed pretty darn happy with the actual (i.e. not-bloviating media) results of the debate: $38 million raised in 4 days ($30 million from individual small-dollar donors), 10K new volunteers in a week, 3x surge in campaign volunteers for battleground states, essentially no change or even a modest boost in the polls. So I think at this point, we can cautiously conclude the following things:

The debate looked bad for Biden, perhaps, but doesn't seem to have hurt him nearly as much the incredibly bad-faith BIDEN NEEDS TO STEP DOWN NOW takes being pumped out by the NYT and its other compatriots would suggest. Especially when these same media outlets have been gleefully sabotaging Biden at every turn for years already and whose fake-sanctimonious hand-wringing "for the good of the nation" pieces honestly should get them dropped into Superhell for Bad Journalists;

Biden went to Raleigh NC right after the debate and gave a fiery rally speech that was very well received. Now, I don't know why we didn't have that Biden at the debate, but it was the same night and there clearly was not any "cOgnItiVe dEcLinE" happening there (also Biden has a stutter and has for literally his entire life, and had a cold on debate night, so it was just an unfortunate confluence of factors)

There are very few actually undecided voters in this election (once again: HOW???) and those who tuned into the debate were largely already convinced of which candidate they were voting for and this didn't do much to change their minds. Just like, you know, pretty much every other debate in the history of presidential elections.

Ordinary voters, and not mainstream media outlets with BIDEN IZ BAD goggles clamped over their eyes, were able to see Trump's insane Gish gallops, lies, and full-blown dementia; this isn't going to get any better for him when he's already lost 20%-25% of GOP voters in every state primary and still is going to be sentenced in his criminal trial;

The D.C. political elite screaming about how Biden should step down (FOUR MONTHS BEFORE THE ELECTION) and leave the Democrats to start from scratch with some Star Chamber-selected candidate with no money and no incumbency record and no organization apparatus and a divided party are either fucking weapons grade morons or working secretly for Trump, because that IS in fact the best way to lose the election;

Such speculation seems to fall chiefly on Gavin Newsom, who (to his credit) has shut down any and all suggestion that he should try to step in and take the place of an incumbent who has won every state primary with 90% or more, because he's remotely sane and understands that this year is too important to fuck around with;

I've somehow never seen any suggestion that Biden should step aside for the duly elected (brown, female) Vice President, because everyone seems to think some Young Miraculous White Guy is coming and/or should step in;

All this while SCOTUS is clearly so confident of Trump getting back in that it's willing to grant him Absolute God King status pre- and post-emptively;

Yes, Biden needs to up his game before the next debate (though that's on Fox News iirc, blargh), but I think it's far enough post-debate that we can say it was bad but did not sink him, and if anything, reinforced the fact to many ordinary, non-brainwormed voters that Biden is old (which has been the number one chief theme of news coverage for four years and is no surprise to anyone) but is a decent and principled man doing a good job, while Trump is an absolute gibbering insane orange shitmonger fascist. I don't think he did himself any favors in that regard.

....anyway. The point is, do not be fucking insane people, Biden is not going to step down and frankly shouldn't, don't read the NYT (as noted, they've openly admitted to sabotaging him for personal ego reasons so I don't know why the hell anyone would listen to what they have to say about him), this is still an eminently winnable election, and let's go get those motherfucking fascists. I want Trump in jail and all of SCOTUS and the MAGAGOP fucking crying over it because they fucking suck. Let's go.

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

would you like to tell us about your research on virginity?

but also...wdym STIs aren't as scary as we think??? I was told most of them are incurable? I know you can make aids untrasmittable and that they've even succeded in curing it a couple times but that's about it. I would love to be educated about this

yeah, the basic idea with the virginity project was that the whole concept of virginity is pretty bullshit in the context in which it was initially significant, namely cisgender women being penetrated by cisgender men, so as soon as you take it outside of that context by introducing gay and trans sexuality it totally falls apart. I mean, hell, it stops working if you even look at two cishet people doing literally anything OTHER than penis-in-vagina sex. I tripped up so many people initially when I started asking questions like "okay, so you don't think a woman loses her virginity from a man going down on her. so what if it's two women? what's the difference?" and just really getting people to face down their very penis-centered view of the sex, to the result of several people telling me that it kind of made them reevaluate what they actually think of as the first time they had sex. it's also fascinating to either read other people's accounts or discuss firsthand how queer people have either tried to make themselves fit into the binary of virginity - queer man disagreeing over whether or not you have to have penetrative anal sex to lose your virginity or oral sex is sufficient, a fascinating case of a lesbian who felt that have sex with other cis women didn't "count" and asked a cis male friend to have sex with her just so she could feel satisfied that she'd lost her virginity - or abandon it entirely. Hanne Blank's book Virgin was a formative starting point, and it really exploded for me from there.

as for the STIs - hey, bad news! you fell victim to the scare tactics used to make people afraid of sex! almost all sexually transmitted infections are very easy to treat and cure with the right medicine, which is why it's important to get tested regularly and check in with your healthcare provider at the first sign of something amiss. pubic lice, scabies, trichomoniasis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis - all of those are pretty easy to get rid of with some help from your doctor and a run to the pharmacy!

the major exceptions are the 4 H's: herpes, HIV, HPV, and hepatitis B.

herpes is with you forever but is an incredibly mild companion to share your body with, considering most people never experience any notable symptoms and those who do can curb the severity with medicine.

it's also worth noting that herpes is so common as to be virtually ubiquitous; the World Health Organization consistently estimates that somewhere around 80% of the world's adult population is carrying herpes simplex virus 1 or herpes simplex virus 2. a great deal of those people don't even get it from having sex, but rather by catching HSV-1 from a parent or other people they come is close contact with as a child.

you're actually thinking of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) when you mention AIDS becoming untransmittable, but that's still a very good thing! the care available for people with HIV has come incredibly far since AIDS first became known and claimed so many lives, and today it's more than possible for people infected with HIV to live long, healthy lives by taking the proper medication to manage their viral load.

with management, people with HIV will not develop AIDS (which happens when the immune system is sufficiently depleted by HIV) and by consistently taking their medication people with HIV can become undetectable (the viral load in their body is too small to be detected or measured in tests), at which point they are unable to transmit the virus to other people.

HPV (human paillomavirus) comes in many different strains, most of which are absolutely harmless and go away on their own after a couple of months or years of freeloading in your body. I cannot emphasize this enough: HPV is so common that virtually everyone who has sex has, will have, or has had it in their lives, and the vast, VAST majority of those people will never be troubled by it literally at all.

the trouble comes from a few strains of HPV that can cause genital warts, and a few others that can cause cancers in the throat, anus, cervix, vulva, vagina, and penis. while HPV can't be treated, you can reduce your risk of developing cancer by getting the HPV vaccine if you haven't already and, if you have a cervix, getting regular Pap smears to catch early warning signs of cancerous developments.

hepatitis B is a viral infection that targets the liver. in rare cases it can cause chronic health problems that can be very dangerous, but I have to emphasize that's not common. in most adults who get hep B, there will be no symptoms and it will resolve itself in a matter of weeks. the infection is riskiest in children, but at least in America most people have received vaccines against hepatitis B as babies since the 90s.

in conclusion: get your shots, take your medicine, use protection, get tested, and talk to your doctor, but know that if there's one thing humans are good at it's figuring out how to manage STIs. we've been doing it for a long time - most sexually transmitted infections and parasites have been with us since before we we became modern humans - so we're really good at it!

[quicklikelight]

Saw a post just now that was like, how do you work full time and still have time for hobbies? And I think that's a great question to ask, as people navigating a world where increasingly our labor is entirely for the benefit of some faceless (or worse, incredibly public) billionaire and no one else.

I'm a person who takes my labor seriously, and I have had the pleasure and privilege of only working for non-profit or not-for-profit organizations throughout my adult career. I worked part-time for a regular corporation once for six months before I quit out of disgust, and I've worked for a couple of family-owned small businesses during college, but the overwhelming majority of my 12+ year career so far has been in a profit void, which does help.

Even still, I have colleagues at my big shiny non-profit who say, "Anne you have so many hobbies! How on earth do you have time for them?" And the key is,

If I don't make time for my personal passions, I'll die.

I'm not being dramatic. It isn't a joke. An intrinsic and necessary part of me -- the part that labors for love, that labors for the desire of it, for the enjoyment -- will die if I do not create time and space to do that labor. And without that love, that passionate hobby investment, the part of me that is left will not then decide, hey I should labor more for money! It will not decide, hey I should invest in my relationships! It will not decide, hey I should invest in myself as a human being! In my environment! In my community! In the world!

It will decide, if there is no time for joy in the world, I will not be in the world. I will doomscroll endlessly on my phone. I will watch re-runs of a beloved sitcom for 3 hours, exhausted on my sofa, and go to bed. I will show up to work still groggy from the day before, and I will be angry in meetings, and I will be exhausted from customer interactions, and I will either want to cry or I will have zero feelings at all as I enter yet another figure into another cell of the universal spreadsheet. I will not be my best self anywhere, for any reason, because my best self is dead.

People say things like, "I don't dream of labor," and I respect that. But a lot of labor is very good. It's work, to knit a sweater. It's work, to write a book. It's work, to raise a garden, or a goat, or a child. It's work to bake bread, and to sew pants, and to rebuild small engines. It's work to create, and that is--in my humble opinion--what we're here for. To spend all day idly eating grapes would drive a lot of us to the brink. The problem isn't labor--it's capital.

To make time for your hobbies means working intentionally to identify those passion projects as a necessary part of your reason for being on the earth. My job on this earth is not to assign training. My job on this earth is to create beauty, and write stories, and make clothes, and connect from my heart. When that truth is accepted, and you put in the effort to rebirth the part of you that died to capitalism, then it becomes very obvious that the relevant question isn't "how do I make time for hobbies."

The question is, "How do I ensure that my job does not take up all the mental and physical energy I have so that I can re-invest that energy into myself?"

A good place to start is to plan your days / weeks / months with an understanding of your mental/physical boundaries and just do that. There are ways to do this most effectively (collective bargaining, creating a schedule that honors the need for focus vs collaboration, bringing your hobbies to work and being open about how they make your work better) but the most important thing, in my opinion, is for you to understand that your full time job isn't you. It's not what makes you special or important in this world, and it's not what people will remember about you when you're gone, and it's not going to feed you if you stop showing up. So give it as little as you can comfortably get by with, preserve that precious energy, and put it into something that sets your soul alight.

When you invest in the labor that loves you back, that provides for you, that keeps you alive... you'll stop accepting a world in which you cannot dream of labor for fear of losing yourself.

And maybe, at the end, you'll have a sweater. :)

[a-very-tired-jew]

I'm convinced that Ireland's recent petition to the ICJ to expand and change the definition of "genocide" was either pre-planned or waiting for something like the Amnesty International report that recently came out. However, the report is problematic. It buries the lede in its executive summary, the first and maybe only part that many people read, that they disagree with the accepted standard for genocide and are expanding it.

This disagreement with the accepted definition and their intention to change it is on pages 101 and 102. A little over 100 pages later they admit to this action, which makes up the basis for their entire argument. There are four whole sections before this, two of which are their scope and methodology section and their background and context section. When making an argument for changing a well defined and established term and expanding its accepted definition you have to introduce the argument early on and work to establish it throughout your document.

Especially if its the crux of your entire position.

By pushing off this admittance until pages 101/102 and not even mentioning it in the executive summary it comes across as Amnesty International knew exactly that their argument was poor.

Surely when they get to it they provide a good argument backed up with sources and citations that they expand upon and explain and support them, right?

Nope.

One court case that they don't even go into in the section. Also, this is it. This is their entire section admitting that they disagree with the accepted definition and legal standard of genocide, that they are expanding it to encapsulate their standards, don't explain what those standards are, and cite one case that maybe supports their position.

One citation to support changing the definition and the legal framework surrounding it 101/102 pages into an almost 300 page document.

Any lawyer could easily get this argument thrown out. Any professor would toss out your paper for this. Journals, editors, publishers...you'd receive scathing critical feedback for this alone.

One citation to support your position to change the accepted definition and standards of a highly impactful and devastating act because you "feel" that it is happening and the standard is too "narrow".

In fact, the report alludes to other experts and literature that supposedly supports their position, but it is not included in this section that stands at the core of their argument. It's almost like finding people who also feel the same way are not actually evidence in the eyes of accepted standards, precedence, and evidence based practices and policy.

It'd be like someone in entomology saying they think spiders are actually insects because they feel that the definition of insects is too narrow, providing one citation, not explaining why that citation supports their position, and ignoring the whole body of literature that states otherwise.

And that's been my problem with the position of a lot of anti-Israel groups and individuals. It has been a subjective position based upon them feeling like this conflict is the worst thing ever and thus must constitute a genocide. There's a reason even the ICJ deemed it not a genocide but a conflict that could potentially become one.

Creating a report that is predicated on changing the definition of "genocide", burying the lede on the intention of doing so, and then (likely) having another country petition to change the definition based upon your report is shady behavior. We would all call it out if it was some Right Wing organization in the USA doing it towards another country, organization, or what have you. But again, Israel and, by extension and affiliation, Jews are held to a different standard than anyone else. That is what makes so many of these organizations and their actions antisemitic. None of this effort to goalpost and change the rules and definitions happens for any other country or people.

Only Israel, Israelis, and Jews.

And we know what happens when that occurs.

[deeply-unserious-fellow]

I've seen a lot of people comparing Huskerdust to a healthy version of Stolitz and it's kinda got me thinking... Staticmoth as the evil fucked up version of Fizzmodeus.

THINK ABOUT IT!!!!! The parallels between Val and Ozzie are obvious. Like that man wants to be Ozzie so bad it's insane, from the way he dresses to the way he decorates to straight up OWNING A ROBO FIZZ, Val clearly wishes he was the embodiment of Lust. But are there parallels between Vox and Fizz? Actually, surprisingly yeah. They're both showmen, like aggressively so. They're very public figures, with their face all over every product in Hell(albeit Vox is doing it a lot more purposefully then Fizz). Fizz's antagonism towards Blitzø is actually pretty reminiscent of Vox's towards Alastor(except Fizz and Blitzø have a lot more baggage lmao), and they even share some aesthetic similarities! Specifically the colors of Fizz's robotic limbs matching Vox's overall color scheme. Which speaking of robots, that's probably their biggest similarity overall: they're both partially made of technology. I hesitate to say cyborg because Idk how much that applies to Vox, since object heads aren't typically classified as cyborgs as far as I know, and we don't actually know how much of Vox is organic(also cyborg is just one of those words I have an inexplicable dislike of Idk-), but like. Think cyborg I guess. Like Vox is a LOT more of a dick and probably doesn't have a very tragic backstory? Maybe? Unclear. But the similarities are undeniable.

Okay, now that individual parallels are out of the way, how could their relationship to eachother parallel Fizzmodeus? Starting with baseline aesthetics: they got the height difference. It's not as dramatic as Fizz and Ozzie's but TO BE FAIR, Huskerdust are the same way(their height difference is obvious, but not as massive as Blitzø and Stolas'). Staticmoth is also very buisness-partners-with-benefits and some hints at deeper feelings, which is how we were introduced to Fizzmodeus. I don't think Val and Vox feel the need to hide their romantic feelings? But tbh it could go either way we haven't seen much of their dynamic yet. That's kinda where the similarities I could spot find because see previous sentence, so let's move onto the differences!

I think a good way to breakdown what makes Staticmoth toxic Fizzmodeus is actually by bringing Alastor and Blitzø back in to compare and contrast how Val handles Vox's rivalry with how Ozzie handles Fizz's. In Radio Killed the Video Star, the only reason Val tells Vox that Alastor is at the hotel is to piss him off. He clearly enjoys Vox's reaction, and keeps egging him on. Teasing him about it. Which like, friendly teasing between partners is well and good, but Val is clearly just doing it cause he wants to see a fight and doesn't care about how distressed Vox is about this. Vox goes off on his own and sings a fuckin banger, gets publically humiliated, causes a massive blackout. Val doesn't really do shit to help him out, just kinda sits there and. Idk watches? Unclear what the other Vees are actually doing because most of Stayed Gone takes place in funny TV land where Vox is capable of bending reality to his whim for the sake of visual interest. But what Val is actively doing during the musical number isn't important so who cares. What's important is that he egged Vox on, convinced him that confronting Alastor right then was a good idea, and then just sat back as Vox got so pissed off he had a meltdown. Which I SWEAR I'm not trying to dramatize this scene it just sounds really fucking bad when you write it all down from this perspective. I think it's also worth noting that all of this is DIRECTLY AFTER Vox did the exact opposite for Val, calming him down so he doesn't make a fool of himself in public.

Meanwhile compare that to how Ozzie handles Fizz and Blitzø's relationship. During House of Asmodeus, once Fizz realizes Blitzø is there, he starts publically roasting him about how shitty his love life is. Ozzie encourages him, and even gives him a little congratualtions in the background when Verosika joins in for changing the subject, but the difference here is that House of Asmodeus takes place in a much more controlled environment, so it's less likely either of them will have to face consequences for being assholes. There's also how Ozzie's encouragement is just a lot more genuine. Like "yeah babe, go insult that guy who traumatized and abandoned you whoo!" rather then "hey hey look there's that guy you hate. You should go fight with him lmao show him who's boss." Then there's the ending. At the end of both Stayed Gone and House of Asmodeus, Vox and Fizz eat shit and die. Don't worry they're both fine like immediately after, but while in House of Asmodeus Ozzie immediately rushes over to Fizz to make sure okay, we uh. Do not see Vox interact with anybody but Alastor in the direct aftermath of his eating shit and dying, which is fair because he's in his weird little gamer cave. Then we skip straight to the Vees having a meeting to decide what they're gonna do about Alastor, and we don't really know what any of them were doing in the interim between the end of Stayed Gone and the meeting, so uh this part of the comparison kinda falls flat. But again something worth noting is that Val just straight up. Does not care about Alastor during the meeting scene. He's sitting there bedazzling his fucking gun BY HAND with school glue and rhinestones, not even paying attention to the meeting, despite being the one to get Vox all riled up about Alastor IN THE FIRST PLACE.

In short: Val encourages Vox to fight Alastor without thinking it through, doesn't bother to help out during the actual fight, and then immediately stops caring the moment the fights over. Meanwhile Ozzie, while encouraging Fizz to pick on Blitzø, backs him up the whole time, and while still supportive of his boyfriend, doesn't actively encourage Fizz to do things that would get him hurt. Ozzie also supports Fizz by refusing to let Blitzø have an Asmodean crystal because he knows Fizz wouldn't like it! Which is the exact opposite of pissing your partner off on purpose so you can watch a fight!!! And if that isn't enough evidence for you, then uh. I guess you could compare how Val treats... just everybody around him, really, with how Ozzie does(but that's more individual character analysis than relationship analysis). Or you could talk about how fed up with Val's shit Vox clearly is in comparison to the mutual support of Fizzmodeus. Or how. Val throws a glass at Vox. And breaks his phone. And then Vox has to scream in his face to get him to listen-

Idk how to end this so uh. DEMON ATTACK RAH!!! 👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹

[save-the-villainous-cat]

So what about a genius hero x street smart villain, maybe hero is a little awkward from being in the lab all the time but villain makes up for it by being able to pick up on hero’s body language? Kinda alone the lines of “they didn’t correct you to insult you, they were trying to be helpful”?

"Can you walk?"

"Y-yes, of course," the hero answered. But the villain wasn't fooled that easily. Obviously, they noticed the white-knuckled grip and the pale face. They noticed the unsteady gaze and the shaking hand. The five coffee mugs.

"I didn't bring you here to work yourself to death," the villain said. they crossed their arms in front of their chest, attempting to sound soothing.

It could be quite challenging to guess the hero's feelings. Kidnapping someone to work for them wasn't exactly...a promise for good cooperation. It wasn't ideal either but the villain barely knew what an Erlenmeyer flask was and they really needed the hero to research the disease.

"Being careless could cost you your life. This is pretty dangerous. If this virus can kill people with superpowers, I don't want to know what it can do to us."

"The average human immune system can destroy the virus, don't worry," the hero said. They closed their eyes and took in a deep breath. "People with superpowers are flawed, though. Their bodies need to come up with a lot of energy to conjure superpowers. Specialized cells create a nearly independent system on their own. But, you know, some parts of the body - of the vessel - don't get as much energy as they need. Organs are important, so...immune system it is. That's why a bunch of kids with superpowers die. There is barely any information on it yet, though."

"Do you need more...specimen?"

"No. No, I..." The hero pressed a palm against their temple. They looked angry, they looked frustrated. The villain supposed not getting proper sleep for days was an explanation for that.

"Okay, that's enough, I think."

"I am fine," the hero insisted.

"You are not fine." The villain took a step towards them. "I know you are working on this so you can find a way to kill supervillains, not superheroes. But right now the only person you are close to killing is yourself."

"What would you know about my work? I am fine, I am doing amazing."

The villain reached out to touch the hero's shoulder but the hero slapped their hand away weakly.

They knew the hero wasn't...particularly good with other people. Especially, when it came to work. For the most part, the villain understood why but they could barely understand why they insisted on working hard enough to forget basic self-care. It seemed like brilliance demanded stubborness.

"You're right. I don't know much about your work, but I do know a lot about behaviour. And your behaviour is unacceptable."

"Unacceptable? How dare-"

The villain grabbed their chin, shutting up the hero. They took a step forward, forcing the hero to press their lower back into the table.

The proximity surprised even the villain - they hadn't realised the hero was this close to the table.

And this close to the villain.

"Alright, listen," the villain said. Their voice was dangerously low. "Right now, I am your boss and you will do as I say. If I tell you to rest, you will rest. If I tell you to eat, you will eat. I don't care if you want to work 20 hours a day or if you want to finish one more test. I decide how much you work, got it?"

The villain's fingers dug into the hero's cheeks softly and they smiled when the hero frowned at that.

"You don't want me to start threatening you, do you?"

The hero rolled their eyes and then they just stared at the villain. Stared with those curious and tired eyes, as if the villain was another experiment they were interested in.

"You're actually quite adorable," the villain said. They squeezed the hero's cheeks again for good measure. "You can have my bed."

The villain let go of them and the hero blinked a few times. A soft blush decorated their face. And for some strange reason, the villain felt really warm and...satisfied inside.

"What about you?" the hero asked.

"I will take the couch."

"Absolutely not. Do you know how many bacteria colonies are on a couch?" They turned away from the villain and slowly started cleaning their workplace with shaky hands.

"Believe me, I will survive."

"Fine." The hero shrugged. "Your funeral."

"You're making this up, aren't ya?" The hero turned towards the villain again and even their ears had turned red.

"Do I look like I would lie about that sort of stuff?" they asked but they didn't meet the villain's eyes. It was quite funny but the villain didn't know if it was supposed to be a joke.

Usually, the hero only acted sassy when someone criticised their work, when they got annoyed or when they got embarrassed.

The villain guessed the latter was happening.

But whatever was the catalyst, it seemed like the hero was willing to rest and that was all the villain truly wanted.

"Ah, screw it." The villain waved with their hand, still smiling. "My bed is big enough for two, anyway."

"It, uh, better be."

[copperbadge]

Hi Sam, could you please recommend any resources/websites to learn about ADHD medication? Until reading your post about second-line meds I thought Adderal was the only one

I can definitely talk about it a little! Always bearing in mind that I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice, etc. etc.

So, I've had many friends with ADHD in my life before I got my diagnosis and I picked up some stuff from them even before getting diagnosed; I also spoke with my prescribing psychiatrist about options when we met. If you think your psychiatrist might be resistant to discussing options, or you don't have one, doing your own research is good, but it's not really a substitute for a specialist in medication management. So it's also important to know what your needs are -- ie, "I want help with my executive function but I need something that's nonaddictive" or "I want something nonsedative" or "I don't think the treatment I'm on is working, what is available outside of this kind of medication?"

The problems you run into with researching medication for ADHD are threefold:

Most well-informed sources aren't actually geared towards non-doctor adults who just want to know what their options are -- they're usually either doctors who don't know how to talk about medication to non-doctors, or doctors (and parents) talking to parents about pediatric options.

A huge number of sites when you google are either AI-generated, covert ads for stimulant addiction rehab, or both.

Reliable sites with easy-to-understand information are not updated super often.

So you just kind of have to be really alert and read the "page" itself for context clues -- is it a science journal, is it an organization that helps people with ADHD, is it a doctor, is it a rehab clinic, is it a drug advertiser, is it a random site with a weird URL that's probably AI generated, etc.

So for example, ADDitude Magazine, which is kind of the pre-eminent clearinghouse for non-scholarly information on ADHD, is a great place to start, but when the research is clearly outlined it sometimes isn't up-to-date, and when it's up-to-date it's often a little impenetrable. They have an extensive library of podcast/webinars, and I started this particular research with this one, but his slides aren't super well-organized, he flips back and forth between chemical and brand name, and he doesn't always designate which is which. However, he does have a couple of slides that list off a bunch of medications, so I just put those into a spreadsheet, gleaned what I could from him, and then searched each medication. I did find a pretty good chart at WebMD that at least gives you the types and brand names fairly visibly. (Fwiw with the webinar, I definitely spent more time skimming the transcript than listening to him, auto transcription isn't GOOD but it is helpful in speeding through stuff like that.)

I think, functionally, there are four types of meds for ADHD, and the more popular ones often have several variations. Sometimes this is just for dosage purposes -- like, if you have trouble swallowing pills there are some meds that come in liquids or patches, so it's useful to learn the chemical name rather than the brand name, because then you can identify several "brands" that all use the same chemical and start to differentiate between them.

Top of the list you have your methylphenidate and your amphetamine, those are the two types of stimulant medications; the most well known brand names for these are Ritalin (methylphenidate) and Adderall (amphetamine).

Then there's the nonstimulant medications, SNRIs (Strattera, for example) and Alpha-2 Agonists (guanfacine and clonidine, brand names Kapvay and Intuniv; I'm looking at these for a second-line medication). There's some crossover between these and the next category:

Antidepressants are sometimes helpful with ADHD symptoms as well as being helpful for depression; I haven't looked at these much because for me they feel like the nuclear option, but it's Dopamine reuptake inhibitors like Wellbutrin and tricyclics like Tofranil. If you're researching these you don't need to look at like, every antidepressant ever, just look for ones that are specifically mentioned in context with ADHD.

Lastly there are what I call the Offlabels -- medications that we understand to have an impact on ADHD for some people, but which aren't generally prescribed very often, and sometimes aren't approved for use. I don't know much about these, either, because they tend to be for complex cases that don't respond to the usual scrips and are particularly difficult to research. The one I have in my notes is memantine (brand name Namenda) which is primarily a dementia medication that has shown to be particularly helpful for social cognition in people with combined Autism/ADHD.

So yeah -- hopefully that's a start for you, but as with everything online, don't take my word for it -- I'm also a lay person and may get stuff wrong, so this is just what I've found and kept in my notes. Your best bet truly is to find a psychiatrist specializing in ADHD medication management and discuss your options with them. Good luck!

[thewirewitch]

My Over-Analysis of The Daycare Attendant (FNaF)

ALRIGHT so this is going to just be a big ramble about all the things I've noticed (or have learned from others' posts/videos) about the DCA as well as some headcanons (hopefully I remember to add those lol) about them. These guys are currently rotting my brain and I need an outlet to express the absolute mess that is my current train of thought.

So uh, if you wish to proceed, good luck! I have NO IDEA how long this is going to end up, and I may also add-on to it (probably in reblogs) either because I realized something new or new material comes out (looking at you, Escape From the Pizzaplex). I also cannot guarantee any form of organization so...whoops ^^;

ALRIGHT so the first thing I wanna start off with is something I just kind of thought of/noticed pretty recently. Carousel.

This minigame in HW2 HAS GOT TO BE a confirmation that Sun and Moon are older animatronics. I thought that since I started to brainrot over them (a bit after SB first came out). They look old. They sound old (talking about their joints/movement noises). Even their designs seem a bit old. And Carousel gives me even more evidence towards this.

The carousel is called the "Fazbear antique carousel" which means it is definitely a bit on the older side. And who's voice is used as the pre-recorded message for technicians when it breaks down? Sun's. Also, Moon seems VERY comfortable maneuvering around on a (somewhat) functional carousel. Seems like he's got a familiarity with it.

The carousel also seems to be linked with Fallfest in some way (the background and the fall-time theme), and we know Fallfest happened a WHILE ago.

Also, just something I've thought about, the carrages/carts/booths/whatever that the Fazerblast minigame takes place at? There's a sun and a moon carved into the wood on them. Fazerblast also seems to take place during Fallfest.

Also Jack-O-Moon's just Moon wearing make-up/painted over. There's some chips in the paint that shows his normal colors underneath. Maybe that's why he's a little spooky gremlin man lol

Adding onto this: I've pondered if the reason Sun burnt out being a daycare worker/being the one in control most often, while Moon is so desperate to stay in control could be because Moon used to be the one who was primarily out. There's like, 0 evidence for this, it's just a thought I had. If it's true though, I can see why they'd be ill-suited for their current rolls lol

-

Something else I've thought about related to this is how Glamrock Freddy addresses the Daycare Attendant. He called them "it." Makes me wonder if the fact they're old either lead to either 1. Him not realizing they're also sentient (older model = less advanced) or 2. There's some programming/system that all the Glamrocks have that lets them recognize eachother as other people, but the Daycare Attendant isn't part of it.

Could also just be that they don't interact enough for Freddy to really know them as a person and not just something that exists. Or they also use it/its pronouns ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

-

Something else HW2 implies is that...the DCA got damaged when Sun was the one in control, not Moon. Makes me wonder what exactly happened to them to cause that...

I also do wonder what happened first: The daycare was destroyed, or all the lights (except the emergency ones) went out. If the lights in the daycare were on when the place was wrecked, maybe, just maybe Sun had a hand in disassembling those endos that wondered in. (I think about those endos in Ruin a LOT. They got messed up, man. Claw marks and severed robot hands in the play structures.)

Edit while still in drafts: Idk what my brain was thinking in this moment lol. Still kinda curious which one messed up the endos though.

-

If you're wondering why I think Sun could possibly have torn apart a few endos, it's because of the disassembled STAFF bots in the loft. I feel like if Sun was against tearing apart other robots, then he probably would have gotten rid of the pieces of STAFF bot left in their room. Maybe him and Moon both have a mutual dislike of those guys.

Another edit: Apparently there's some STAFF bot-like bots in Secret of the Mimic, and the Mimic seems to really not like the DCA in particular, so maybe they had some past beef with each other.

-

Also, on the topic of Ruin for this one: I have a few different reasons for why I think Moon decided not to chase Cassie.

1 - He's not under Vanny's control anymore and lost some of his aggression. He still has some aggression in the very first interaction he has with Cassie, but he's also...prooobably not in a good state of mind tbh. The sound of his laughing is a lot more bitter/forced sounding. (He might also be kind of desperate to do his job since he finally has control???)

And even when you do just stroll up to him without turning on any generators, the death animation is kind...weird. When viewing it from a 3rd-person perspective, he seems to pick Cassie up off the ground while using his wire. Cassie does try to fight back, but what kills her? Might have been a fall. It seems like Moon may have dropped her. Whether it be on purpose or by accident? No idea.

(Also, gonna touch-up on the 2nd jumpscare: Moon is in active pain during it and seems MUCH more aggravated. Makes sense as to why he goes for the jugular in that one.)

2 - This one's my silly reason as to why Moon doesn't chase you: Their missing foot.

Compared to Sun and Eclipse, who we see walking with their busted leg, the only time we see Moon put any weight on it, aside from just standing, is the initial encounter with him. He uses it for some balance, having it on the bar of a lower part of the play structure while his undamaged foot is pushing off the "wall," but it doesn't seem like it's the most optimal for balancing (he does fall backwards lol). Even when he spins around when the 2nd generator is turned on, he puts more weight on his undamaged leg.

Makes me think that, without his hee-hoo gremlin way of walking/dancing around, a chase isn't really worth it to him. Either that or he's a bit cautious about his damage.

3 - Which is most likely the reason why he doesn't: Steel Wool wanted to make the daycare segment easier than it was in SB. A LOT of people got stuck in the daycare for a while before the colored glow was added to the generator wires lol.

Either that or the daycare was a bit of an afterthought/rushed.

-

BONUS: I think Cassie was banned from the Daycare. Why? When she had the VANNI mask on, the word "BANNED" is written in distortion over the Moondrop ads on TVs in certain areas. This wouldn't make sense unless she had been banned before since the AR world seems to get a bit personal at times (and even if she knew Gregory got banned, it probably wouldn't do that).

I also find it really interesting that it's over a Moondrop ad. Makes me wonder what happened...

...

Cassie also doesn't talk to Moon like she does Chica, Roxy, Sun, Freddy, and even Monty...

I literally just connected these dots while writing this. Help.

-

Another Ruin thing I've been pondering is: Why don't Sun and Moon have a puzzle when they're being rebooted? They are THE only thing (if I remember correctly) that a Fazwrench is used on that doesn't have a puzzle. I know the Mimic says that Roxy is one of the last security nodes, but, is that even true??? It could have easily been lying to Cassie about that.

But anyway. My best guess is so that there'd be an unbroken cutscene with Eclipse, but I'm imagining how cool it would have been if they added one of those little Flow Free puzzle things where you had to connect a Moon icon to a Sun one and then boom Eclipse happens.

THEY HAD AN OPPORTUNITY AND SQUANDERED IT!

-

ANOTHER THING I find interesting is how any character with a speaking roll in SB and Ruin just call Sun and Moon "The Daycare Attendant" (aside from themselves). Glamrock Freddy and The Mimic both address them as such, even though in both instances the one they're talking about is Moon.

And what I also find interesting is that while Sun addresses Moon as either "him" or "the other me" as well as including him in "us," Moon actually calls Sun by his name in Ruin. This makes Moon the only one so far to call either of them by their name and not their title or just the use of a pronoun.

In Ruin, Moon also flip-flops between plural ("us" and "we") as well as singular ("my") after the 2nd generator is turned on in the daycare.

Honestly, I just really think these guys' speech mannerisms are interesting.

-

SPEAKING OF SPEECH MANNERISMS something someone else pointed out is that Sun and Moon both repeat words/phrases when they're distressed/agitated.

REMEMBER TO ADD-ON TO ABOVE FUTURE ME THERE'S GOOD STUFF HERE

^I'm leaving this here because I think it was funny to leave off my draft here lol.

ANYWAY as I was saying. Some instances of this that I can think of at the moment for Sun is when he says "Keep the lights on. On. On..." since even just the thought of the lights going out absolutely terrifies him. There's also when the lights do go out. "No! NO! Why would you do that??? Light's on! Light's on! I warned you! I warned you!!!" That is THREE repetitions going on. Once the lights come back on? "Rulebreaker! Rulebreaker!" Dude's ticked, and once again repeating words.

Gonna go to Ruin now. "New friend? New friend!" and "Reboot! Reboot!" are both said when Sun's desperate. We also get another "Light's on! Light's on..." from him. Then, if you go up to him with one generator on, he repeats "no" a lot before telling Cassie it isn't safe yet. Dude knows the danger Moon could be towards her in this state, and he's also really close to his current goal (getting rebooted), so he definitely would have a lot to worry about in that moment.

Help. Wanted. 2. Oh boy lol. I don't remember a lot of Sun's lines from this since he got SIX. WHOLE. MINUTES. of new voicelines. Anyway, the one I remember most is when he gets mad at you and yells "Bad kid! Bad kid! I'm putting you in time out!" I am genuinely blanking on if there's any other instances of him repeating something in HW2 but oh well I've got enough examples from him lol

Makes me wonder about him saying, "Hey, hey! Are you having fun yet? Are ya? Are ya???" Seems like he might be nervous that he's not doing his job right. Poor guy...

Anyway, as a transition between Sun and Moon, let's take a look at a line they both share!

"Clean up, clean up!"

Both of them have different emotions behind this line, Sun sounding anxious and Moon sounding mildly aggressively annoyed (lol).

On to Moon! I'm going to skip right to Ruin since this is the one he talks the most in. The one line this is most prevalent in is, "Naughty! Naughty! The light makes us hurt! Grind, grind, grinding gears inside my head! We can't move. Error! Error!!!" after the second generator is turned on. That is, once again, another three repetitions in a single line. Dude is Going Through It™.

But anyway, there was something else I found interesting about Moon's voicelines. He...has always had a lot of repetition in them. "Naughty boy. Naughty boy. It's past your bedtime. You must be punished, Nighty-night." "Naughty, naughty." "Knock, knock." "Hidey-hide. Hide away..." as well as "Bad children must be punished" + "Bad children must be found."

This brings up the question: Has Moon always been kinda agitated about something? (Honestly, could just be that he hates being locked away in his own body most of the time.)

-

Just gonna plot this here and say I feel like Eclipse is kinda a Steven Universe gem-fusion between Sun and Moon. Sun saying that they "need to be whole" and Kellen Goff saying that Eclipse is like the perfect balance between Sun and Moon (saying something along the lines of Sun's Yin to Moon's Yang) in Dawko's "The FNaF Show" interview (season three episode). Also, since Sun was able to say "thank you" to Cassie, I feel like he and Moon are both still fully aware and present, but just in a much more peaceful state where they can actually cooperate.

-

SPEAKING OF ECLIPSE- I. I just think I realized something HEAR ME OUT-

Okay, so, since Kellen described Eclipse as being "reborn" in his Tweet about them (if I remember correctly), and Eclipse's first line being "Happy Birthday!" AS WELL as the Balloon Boy arcade easter egg, is makes me think Eclipse used to be around, but ended up getting deactivated/"split" at some point.

"But 'Happy Birthday' is a reference to Frosty the Snowman when he was made." YES BUT! Frosty also says that when he gets resurrected!

Sun knowing that there is a possible way for him and Moon to "be whole" also seems to show that they may have been that way at some point in the past. My guess as to what happened? Well uuuuuuh

Alright, so, this has to do with the books. In Tales from the Pizzaplex, I believe it's Bobbiedots Part 1, the main character (Abe) tells the guy he's training that at one point, that Sun and Moon, after no longer being used as stage animatronics, had been reprogrammed (the light trigger was something they has also tried to remove). My guess is, if Eclipse used to be a normal thing for them, and if the books are accurate in this case, then THAT is when they were split.

-

I know I've mentioned her a lot, but I find the comments Cassie makes about the Sun and Moon AR merch very interesting.

"I used to have so much fun in the daycare." and "I never slept better than I did in the daycare." could be either taken as genuine, which would mean Sun and Moon used to be good at their jobs as daycare attendants (or Cassie was just weird lol), or could also be a little sarcastic. I doubt they're sarcastic, since they'd probably have some kind of drawn-out vowels in them if they were. Also, I find the description of the masks ("FUN FUN FUN!" for the Sun one and "Sleep." for the Moon one) to be pretty funny.

Also, the "Weird. it looks just like the other one." for the golden Moon plush is very interesting to me. For he golden Sun one it's "Funny. It looks just like the other one." which, yeah, Sun's usual colors could easily be replaced with gold and he'd look very similar. But Moon? Nah. Makes me wonder if Eclipse was around back then, or Cassie had seen them at one point, even if they weren't around anymore (maybe promo material or something idk).

-

Sooo that is all I have for now! I will inevitably remember something I forgot to put here like, right after I post this or something. I'll definitely add any additional stuff I think about in a reblog.

It is 1:07 am. I meant to go to bed like, and hour ago.

G'niiiiiight~!

[scarfacemarston]

Cullen Rutherford Fluff Alphabet

Note: I sometimes say “you” because it’s shorter than typing inquisitor constantly. This is also Gender Neutral. Please think about reblogging or at least leaving a like! This sort of thing takes time to create. Feel free to request more Cullen!

A - Affection (how do they show affection to their s/o)

Cullen is new to love. Outside of his crush on Amell/Surana, he did not have any romantic feelings towards anyone. Love was terrifying but exhilarating at the same time. It was something entirely new and engaging and something that he would put his all into. He is very physically affectionate and primarily shows his love through embraces, kisses, and cuddling. However, he also allows the Inquisitor to vent or cry as much as they need to. He will also insist on shouldering whatever burdens they are struggling with, whether that's completing extra paperwork, scaring off those who want to bother them, or leaving behind little treats to cheer them up; he can do it all.

B - Best Friend (what are they like as a best friend?)

Cullen doesn't really consider himself to have many friends until Inquisition. In fact, the last time he had friends was Kinloch Hold before it went to hell. (However, this was only with his fellow templars.) Inquisition is when he meets Cassandra, Leliana, Josephine, and the rest of the crew. It took time for him to see them more than colleagues, but they found a devoted, loyal, encouraging friend in the former templar who continued on even when he was at his worst. As time passed, he began displaying a more relaxed side to him and joined in game nights and his time with people like Dorian. 

C - Cuddling (do they like to cuddle? And how would they do it?)

Oh, he loves to cuddle.  His family was very physically affectionate, but that quit once he joined the Templars. He didn't know how touch starved he was until he brushed hands with the Inquisitor and even more so when he held them for the first time. He hadn't allowed anyone near him since the fall of Kinloch Hold. Now, he can't sleep properly without holding the Inquisitor. Even if he can't sleep, his mind and body feel at peace in a way they never could before. 

D - Domestic (do they want to settle down? How good are they at cooking and cleaning)

His childhood dream was to be a templar. He never thought of any sort of domesticity. Templars rarely settled down. He never viewed himself as settling down during Inquisition, either, until he fell in love with the Inquisitor and only then did he dare to dream. After seeing what Mia has, he couldn't help but want the same. He wants a spouse, kids (or to be a busy uncle), and, of course, as many malbari as he can manage.

Cullen is not an amazing cook, but he's functional. Can he make basics like stew? Sure. Could he grill something? Sure. It's straightforward. Porridge isn't difficult either, but he's more likely to live off of rations. During Inquisition Inquisition, Cassandra made sure he ate at least twice a day. He is very tidy, but he has been known to be a disorganized type of organized, too.

E - Ending (if they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

We've actually seen this in the game! He tries to maintain an air of professionalism and keep it with a bit of distance. He will still try to maintain his professionalism if you break his heart, but the hurt might bleed out. He tries to use logic and put some distance between the two of you.  However, it also depends on the circumstances. He can be very gentle about it and very apologetic. 

F - Fiancé (how do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

Again, Cullen didn't have any ideas of romantic commitment until they met the Inquisitor. We know he's incredibly devoted to the templars and the Inquisition, so he has no issue with commitment. However, once he fell in love, he fell in love hard. I don't think it took that long for him to start fantasizing about marriage, even if he was so sure it would never happen. Cullen would wait for the right moment, but it doesn't necessarily need to be planned, just that it feels right like we see in the game. 

G - Gentle (how gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

We've seen that Cullen can be incredibly tender and gentle. He especially appreciates having the ability and the safety to do so, emotionally and physically. He isn't ashamed of showing his gentle side - he cares for you more than anyone or anything else - but that doesn't mean he won't glare someone like Jim down if he tries to interrupt. The more comfortable he gets with you, the more likely you will see him become even more gentle. He is far more soft-spoken and sometimes even delicate in the way he touches you. 

H: Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

His hugs are bone-crushing but one of the safest feelings in the world. Some of his hugs can be quite gentle and tender like he's afraid he'll hurt you, but usually, they are more solid, as if he wants to cement you there.

I: I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

Cullen feels it quickly, but that doesn't mean he'll say it. When he falls, he falls hard. He doesn't mean to, it's only happened once before and went horribly wrong. He'll try to deny it to himself, also going through self-doubt, thinking he isn't good or deserving enough to have that happiness, but he will sometimes pine for the Inquisitor. Once the Inquisitor is in a relationship with him, he is anxious about when to reveal his feelings, but he will do so in a quiet moment, like cuddling together in bed. However, he'd much prefer his partner be the one to say it first. 

J: Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they're jealous?)

As alluded to before, he has a lot of self-doubt and self-loathing as he questions whether he deserves love after everything he has done. Early in the relationship, it would hurt, but he would tell himself that you are making the right decision…but that doesn't mean he'll give up entirely. As he becomes more secure in the relationship, he is more likely to get jealous despite that security because he knows what the two of you have built. He is more likely to step in verbally or give some light PDA.

K: Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you?)

He kisses many ways, but they tend to be either tender or passionate. There's not quite an in-between. Expect a lot of stolen kisses, especially if the two of you have or are busy. He loves kissing on the hand, wrist, neck, and behind the ear, anywhere he can.

L: Little Ones (How are they with kids?)

Cullen feels very awkward around children. He's never disliked them, and he was a good brother to his siblings. Some of the younger templars looked up to him during training. However, after becoming a templar, he sort of "lost" his ability to relate to children. He's kind but stiff around them. Sometimes, he could briefly imagine having a child or two of his own, but that was always a fleeting thought. It wasn't until meeting the Inquisitor and reconnecting with Mia that he truly wondered about having a child. He wants it, whether through birth or adoption, but he would never force the Inquisitor into anything. 

M: Mornings (How are mornings spent with them?)

Cullen gets up early. He usually has his armour polished and on, training completed, and reports from the night before reviewed by 7:00 am. He often forgets to eat breakfast or munches on rations or jerky. Cassandra, Leliana, Josephine, and now the Inquisitor all make sure he eats breakfast.

You're a "bad" influence in that he wants to sleep in or stay in bed and cuddle longer. His new time to complete his routine is a whopping…..8:00 am. Since leaving the Inquisition together, he sleeps a bit later but still prefers to wake up early. 

N: Night (How are nights spent with them?)

That man does not sleep. He just doesn't. It's like it's a foreign concept to him. However, it is not all workaholic tendencies. Sometimes, it's to avoid the nightmares he's had for well over a decade. Other times, the lyrium keeps him awake. Even when you pursue a romance with him, he struggles to stay in bed only because he can't shut his mind off, but a nice massage, cuddles, and or sex tends to quiet those thoughts. Otherwise, he's content watching over the Inquisitor.

O: Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

Cullen is extremely private about himself. He reveals things incredibly slowly, but sometimes, his most personal moments come out at the most inopportune times when he doesn't have a choice but to reveal them, as seen with his lyrium addiction or his nightmares. These moments are incredibly frustrating to him, and he detests them when they happen. That's why, despite his discomfort, he is telling himself that he must be far more open and communicative so he has power over what to share, what not to share, and when to do so.

P: Patience (How easily angered are they?)

Believe it or not, Cullen can be irritable and angry. Most of it is the lrium, but he holds everything inside of him until eventually, it comes out whether he wants it to not. Usually, it's a whole series of events that cause him to eventually snap, but it is possible for something triggering to cause him to explode or shut down.

However, he is incredibly patient in most situations, but he is not perfect. He will not tolerate many things, as seen with some of the more annoying chantry members in DAI. 

Q: Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every detail in passing, or do they kind of forget? )

Cullen sometimes struggles with his memory due in part to the lyrium but more so because he has so much on his mind. However, he will make you a priority above all else. Unfortunately, he punishes himself if he forgets or gets something wrong. Overall, he commits everything he can to memory, and as his lyrium cravings subside, he is more clearly able to remember things. He wants to know everything you're willing to share, whether it's your birthday, favorite color, favorite food, best battle tactics, or favorite ways to turn you on.

R: Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

It's a difficult memory for him, but the relief he felt when the Inquisitor revealed they still cared for him despite his lyrium addiction and his trauma. It's not the most romantic memory, but it is a meaningful one. More positively, he loves how he surprised you with that first kiss on the battlements… until Jim interrupted. The morning after he and the Inquisitor slept together was also dear to him. 

S: Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

We know and have seen how protective Cullen is. He is ready to give up his life at a moment's notice if needed, especially if it's for the Inquisitor. He was willing to leave the Inquisition because he felt he was a liability to it and the inquisitor. He is incredibly selfless and self-sacrificing. He's also not afraid to voice his opinion in defense of his partner. As for him, he doesn't really expect anything in return. However, he already thinks you protect him by looking out for his well-being, whether it's the lyrium, his anxiety, eating, sleeping, etc. He also greatly appreciates it if you speak up in defense of him for whatever reason, but he never expects it.

T: Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, and gifts?)

After much worrying, he would fret about it and might turn to someone like Josephine for help or even Varric, Dorian, or Leliana. However, he is capable of giving gifts on his own, planning outings, as seen with the lake and giving his lucky coin to the Inquisitor. He definitely tries, but he's always worried he'll fuck it up somehow.

U: Ugly (What would be a bad habit of theirs?)

He does have a temper and when hurt, he can lash out. We've seen this when he threw his lyrium kit against the wall, nearly hitting the Inquisitor. However, he works very hard to keep control of it. His anxiety and self-doubt can also be a problem, but again, he tries to hide these feelings as best as he can.

As for an actual habit, his pacing and constant movement can be anxiety-inducing to some. His office has a pacing track on it. 

V: Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

He knows he's handsome. He sees the way people look at him and treat him. He's not stupid. We know he styles his hair, but I think PART of that is due to some insecurity about his curls. Other than that, he focuses on the upkeep of his armor, but that is habit and perfectionism. Besides his hair, he doesn't spend much time on his appearance.

W: Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

He would convince himself that he would. He never expected you to return his feelings, but he knows he would be crushed if you ever left him. He would respect your decision but doubt that he'd ever feel whole again as he'd be unlikely to trust himself with another partner.

X: Xtra (A random headcanon for them)

Cullen secretly has a sweet tooth, but he doesn't want anyone to know that. Still, he wouldn't mind being given sticky buns or a pastry. (He's lying. He will devour them.)

Z: Zzz (What is a sleep habit of theirs?)

We know he mumbles, tosses and turns, and has nightmares and insomnia. The poor guy has it all. However, he also sweats and overheats easily. This all improves as the lyrium addiction subsides. However, one thing that does not change is that he overheats easily…………………………….but still wants to cuddle. Once he has his arms around the Inquisitor, good luck getting up.

[thechekhov]

Chekhov Reads Dungeon Meshi: CH47

I would like to thank Ryoko Kui for this.

I really love how, despite being antagonistic with Chilchuck, Izutsumi seems to like Marcille and him the best out of all the rest.

You know they're Japanese pancakes with that amount of air padding them out.... 😂

You know, it's interesting because if I remember correctly, taste is the oldest sense we have. Basic organisms surviving in water needed to be able to taste the environment in order to allow it to move away from acidic water, or dangerous environments. So it's curious that their taste is no longer working while their other senses remain.

....sounds like it was maybe less of the...power.... and maybe more of the fact that his old childhood friend was growing old?

....... y'know. Just suggesting...

To fight a trainer with a powerful pokemon, you must first capture a powerful pokemon yourself.

AIEEEEE~

I was JUST about to say "man, this kid seems to be a genuinely good leader! His people don't fear him and he has a good head on his shoulders. I sure hope nothing bad happens to him!"

And here we are.

Oooooh a forest? Or one of those water places.

Update: One of those water places. A cistern.

Her charm wore off! And now she can experience unspeakable horrors of being known in a vulnerable state.

Someone get this poor man some google maps.

Laios, why do you look.... less than thrilled with this information?

Oh, his Fixation Sense is tingling, that's why.

Oh? Rare Senshi moment of stubbornness?

Mayhaps even.... A BACKSTORY?

When the party is in Analysis Paralysis and the DM says 'roll initiative'

Marcille is taking this Crazy Future Girlfriend thing to all new highs.

Is he afraid of birds? Or lions? Or both? What is happening here? It makes no sense. It would be delicious! Senshi, stop that's like 60 kg of chicken wings, easy!

BONUS:

Here's the thing. They aren't like, twins necessarily. But I do think that Falin, while she's just as weird as Laios is, makes herself approachable to people. She cares about ghosts as beings, instead of seeing them only as a scientific anomaly.

But other than that.... honestly I feel like Toshi wouldn't fall in love with a female Laios either.

Marcille and Falin being MORE likely to go out to the dungeon as women makes sense somehow. Though I am amused at how femme-leaning all elves are naturally.

I think these gender twists are all pretty surface level but given that it's a conversation the party has in real time... I get it.

[gothamite-rambler]

If Odysseus was luckily bestowed demigod status after he died

And knowing he could easily take on Poseidon, Odysseus took the time to mess with him even more. After all, he was related to Hermes, the god of mischief. No one stopped Odysseus because he was kind of warranted this after the insanity he went through to get home.

Poseidon, Hades, Ares, Odysseus, Zeus, and Hera were having brunch together. Hera brought over another stack of pancakes for the group.

Hera: Ody, enjoy the brunch, but is Penelope not joining us today?

Odysseus: She's exhausted from last night, but she does love your cooking.

Hera: And I love her and you because you're a good man who doesn’t cheat on his wife.

Hera glared at Zeus before sitting down next to him.

Poseidon (scoffing): You act like he’s a hero.

Zeus: Not this again.

Odysseus: Let him whine again; he's still hurt that I wounded him with his own weapon.

Odysseus smirked, relishing the chaos he was stirring.

Poseidon (frustrated): At night, I can still feel the trident in my chest, puncturing my organs.

Odysseus (mocking tone): Oh boo freaking hoo. I made more use of it than you ever did, fucking idiot.

Poseidon (defensive): Hey, I’ve done serious damage to mortals, taken down fleets, made men fear me, and used the water as my body to do all of that! I am tough as steel! One human man was never an issue to me!

Odysseus (smirking): All I remember is you begging me to stop while I stabbed you with your own weapon. Then you thought you won our battle by making me a monster like you. I wanted to get home, you got upset because I didn't kill the son that from my new knowledge you never visited. Whatever makes you happy though.

Poseidon: You've heard legends about my strength and power!

Odysseus (after finishing his tea): Then I saw that you are powerful and have small penis energy and had to one up a human man. You know, like bitches do.

Poseidon (angry): I could dropkick your ass right now, I don't care if other people are here! I don't give a fuck!

Odysseus (grinning): I can definitely beat your ass now as well. Want to test that theory?

Ares (intervening, amused): Uncle Poseidon, stop before he uses someone else's godly weapon on you.

Odysseus (snickering): You think he'd cry this time?

Poseidon (shouting): Okay, why is he here?!

Ares (nonchalant): Hey, leave my great-nephew alone. I invited him over for brunch.

Poseidon (exasperated): He’s not welcome here! I want him out of this brunch now!

Ares took a quick sip from his tea cup then placed it back down on the saucer. He was a God of War, but not lacking in good taste when it came to tea.

Ares (maintaining his composure): Those who want him to stay, raise your hands.

Ares, Hades, Zeus, and even Hera raised their hands causing Poseidon to shake with rage as the tides outside matched his enraged energy.

Ares (with a satisfied grin): You've been out voted, unc. Sit down and eat your pancakes. You can fight him afterwards.

Odysseus chuckled, snatching a pancake off Poseidon's plate. The God of the Tides stood up and stomped out of the room in frustration.

Poseidon: I will be waiting outside!

With that, he left in a huff, the rage causing the tides outside to churn wildly for a few moments.

Odysseus (chuckling, mischievous): I'm glad that you welcomed me and my family to Olympus. This has been a fun time so far.

Zeus (pleased): Yeah, we all enjoy your company, and it's only been a year so far.

Hades (with a bemused expression): Honestly, anyone who makes either of my brothers this mad is always hilarious to me. Poseidon has a serious grudge against you, and it's been a long time since that last happened.

Zeus (shaking his head, incredulous): I can't imagine being that petty and holding a grudge for so long.

Ares (rolling his eyes): Dad, even I know that's a lie.

[qqueenofhades]

I don't know why I thought it was a good idea to argue with people about the worthlessness of voting third party. They just keep insisting that the influence is worth it, and that I was a coward for daring to suggest that we don't HAVE any other options than Democratic. I even cited how voting third party likely played a part in Al Gore losing ffs.

There's no "likely" about it, Ralph Nader DID directly cost Gore the election. He ran explicitly on the same "both parties are the same, so leftists/liberals should vote for me instead" rhetoric that we are still seeing among the Online Left, and it was successful: he got, for example, over 97,000 votes in Florida. Bush won Florida (and thus the presidency) by a miniscule 537 votes, after the fuckery of Bush v. Gore and SCOTUS ordering the recount stopped in Bush's favor. If the tiniest percentage of those Nader voters had gone for Gore, we would have had a president who was arguing in favor of tackling climate change in the year 2000. We would have been incredibly ahead of the curve. We would, in all likelihood, have a president who took the CIA's warnings of an impending al-Qaeda attack in the US seriously. We would not have had the disastrous Afghanistan and Iraq invasions and the "War on Terror," the rampant Islamophobia, "No Child Left Behind," the 2008 economic crash, and everything else that Dubya and his band of bloodthirsty neocons inflicted on us in the early aughties. Look, I try not to look back too much, but having Gore instead of Bush as president would have reshaped the entire timeline we're living in to such an unfathomably better degree that every moron thinking of voting third party For The Protest should be sat down and forced to learn this history intimately. Of course, they already saw it happen in real time in 2016, but they didn't care about that either.

The good news is: there are plenty of persuadable voters out there, and you can do work to reach them and convince them to vote for Democrats! They're just not online, because all the Online Leftists are terminally brain-poisoned against voting anyway and trying to argue with them is generally a waste of time. Instead, what you should do is take a gander at the following links:

This is the one-stop shop page for volunteering to get Democrats elected. You can do in-person and remote work, there are tons of different ways to get involved (i.e. you don't have to go directly out and knock doors if that's not something you're comfortable with), and your local Democratic party will welcome the volunteer help. There is also a page for finding your state party website:

I went there, clicked on my state, opened the webpage, and there was a "Volunteer" link right in the header, with an easy and quick form to fill out to register your interest and explain the kinds of work you would be interested in doing. You can canvass directly, you can manage data on the back end, you can phone bank, you can send texts and postcards to voters who may need an extra nudge, you can otherwise work with your state party in lots of ways, and it will be so much more productive and make you feel so much better than arguing with online idiots who will never, ever change their minds. What you can do is reach out to voters in your own community, in your own state, and have conversations with people who actually ARE willing to listen, but might need a little more educating on the facts, what's at stake, the truth about this election, and the danger that Trump poses. All of this will convert into critically important Democratic votes, and you can actually put your desire to make a difference into action. So yeah. I would 100% suggest you do it this way instead. Good luck.