#that just changes the whole dynamic of the trials themselves

[forlibcrty]

gamers how are we feeling about the leaked hexe details.

[kitsunekat9]

PJO Show Casting

Okay so before I start THIS IS NOT A COMPLAINT ABOUT ANNABETH. Any of you racists who wanna complain about her being black, leave. That ain’t what this post is about.

Spoiler warning for Episode 8 of PJO

The actor for Zeus is black. And that’s a horrible decision made by the casting director. Looking at the power dynamic and hierarchy, Zeus is the god with the most power, whom everyone must bow down to. In the show’s own words, he’s “the one everyone fears and MUST obey” or something along those lines. Zeus is basically the epitome of white patriarchy. So in casting a black man to play his role, the PJO show loses that subtext of oppressed children fighting against a patriarchal system that abuses them. And yeah, maybe in the books Zeus isn’t ever really held accountable, but it was heading that way in Trials of Apollo. If you wanna argue that the show shouldn’t bring politics or whatever into a kids’ show, I’d argue they’d already did that by making the change with Medusa, and portraying her in a sympathetic light. We got to see Medusa as a victim of the gods, and the whole narrative of the entire show is that the gods are not the omnipotent, infallible beings they claim to be. It makes more sense for Zeus to be white because white men hold the most power in society. Making Zeus black in the show just falls straight into the Angry Black Man stereotype, and it also looks worse considering Hades and Poseidon are both clearly white. The show has made Zeus a power hungry, greedy, egotistical aggressor (which his character is, I’m definitely not arguing against that), but casting a black actor to play his role cheapens the allegory and subtly worsens people’s perceptions of black men. Yeah, you could argue it’s not that deep. However, it just doesn’t sit right with me that the show is (rightfully) making Zeus somewhat of an antagonist while also making him black.

It’s cool that Hades is kinda gay-coded and very clearly not evil, as the books intended. Hades is fair and it’s a correct portrayal, but making him the innocent (sorta gay) white man against Mean Dickhead Zeus is not a good choice.

Furthermore, I’m conflicted on their choice of actor for Percy. Don’t get me wrong, Walker Scobell is incredibly talented and he was able to pull off a lot of good emotional scenes. I’m just… torn about the decision to make him blond instead of dark-haired because we lose the ability to imagine Percy as a marginalized kid fighting against oppression and standing up for what he believes is right. In the books, it’s obvious that Percy and his mother are poor, don’t live in a great area, and don’t trust authorities like the police to help them. These are all experiences shared by people of color, and a lot of fans imagined Percy with darker skin, thinking he could be black, other POC, or mixed race, which makes Percy a great symbolic underdog that POC fans can project themselves onto. In the show, Percy is very, very obviously white. With dark hair, people could have at least pretended Percy was mixed race and white passing, strengthening the narrative about not fitting in and being of two worlds. He’s blond, and pale skinned, so that’s no longer possible. PJO loses that nuanced angle of a boy from a minority community rising up to become a hero by making Percy just white.

Annabeth’s casting, I have no problem with. It’s important for little black girls to see themselves in her role, because she’s the daughter of the wisdom goddess, which is not a trait stereotypically associated with black girls. Annabeth being black shows that yes, black girls ARE smart, and brave, and can be heroines too. Would’ve been cool to make her blond, since blond black girls are often seen as dumb and that would be a great subversion, but I’m not too fussed with it.

Anyways these are just some thoughts I have on representation in PJO. I have plenty of other thoughts about other subjects on the show, so feel free to drop by my inbox or just chat with me about PJO. :)

[dustyratt]

Hey I hope you’re doing okay! Ive been stalking your page for a while! I’m in the same process of making a visual novel! I was wondering how you do the AI+Sims 4 without it looking you know jacked up! Would love to know your progress!

Hold your hats everyone, i'll be explaining in details...

I was quite sceptical about AI previously. It felt like I'm being replaced with something monstrous, artificial - the imitation of life that's superior me on every single parameter. The sudden sting of a guilt for years of seemingly vain trials and tribulations. Was it all just for nothing? I believe everyone of us came to that question sooner or later. But here I stand telling you how to make a machine fulfill your demands.

First thing. The machine loves precise. From my personal experience, a better formed human wish grants a better machinery result. A less formed wish gives it a choice. Think beforehand, seek the patterns (keywords) that may help you sustain the artstyle throughout the workflow.

Tell the AI what it needs to do. Give it a reference image and explain how you want it to be changed. For example, I want this alien dude becoming a:

"A visually ominous face of an eyeless humanoid creature. This divine image, resembling a digitally rendered painting, showcases the ancient Egyptian god of chaos in detail: sharp chin and cheekbones, dark gray and beige skin, shimmering with pulsating rainbow hues, blood is visibly circulating under his translucent, cadaverous skin. His mouth with tightened teeth grins menacingly. The overall composition is dynamic and captivating, evoking a sense of fear, malevolent power and impending chaos". That will be my prompt. If you're lacking skills then put your hands on other's results, copy their prompts and reshape according to your needs.

Oh. Not so eyeless. Let's give it less of a free will shall we?

Better now! Sadly the eyes are in place, as you can see it is not perfect even with precise input. Now let's make about 5-10 generations with same settings. It may take time to pass a cooldown after you'll run out of tokens, so be patient. If you have absolutely no spare money to buy a decent amount of generations (or if the transactions themselves are banned in your country 👍) and your enthusiasm is on pathetically vigorous level join me on free trial option almost any of the AI sites provide. That is fair exchange - money or your time.

You get what I mean? It could be anything shaped into another anything. Put here your sim, order a nice shot - here you go! Make something out of nothing with the power of words. Make a human being... some kind of.

Hooray! Not only we have the result we craved for but a whole bunch of reusable high-quality textures of various nature.

Our next step: we go in a deep dark lair of creator's mind. Hm-m, I'd correct here and there, erased that part and attached that one... Now we play "compile your Frankenstein out of everything that is not in its place". Of course a machine is not yet on the level where there wouldn't be a possibility to distinct its presence. So to hide these little (big, actually) inconsistencies we use a power of photo editing. Grab your software. With the power given to you by the sense of vision eliminate the overgrowing fingers and fight back mutilated teeth clumps.

Meet my favourite one hundred percent AI generated method. Generate a simple low quality image free and effortlessly (I use Craiyon, the perfect weapon)

Let another AI add the details for you. Catches the concept just great. Though it does not mean no handiwork after.

You can stylize it even further. Here you can see AI generated monster dudes crispy pixelated after a luxurious tour into pixelart AI. Good thing for a pixel indie gamestyle.

So, that's it. The secret is basically in your own hands. Acknowledge the style of your game, follow it while generating contents and patch up the AI mistakes.

+ zero investments

+ compensation for a lack of skills / hardware

+ easy to use

- even more work than if you would do all the same without AI

- straight dependence on sites / chat-bots, etc.

- time consuming

- many limitations (forget this if you're not on a free subscription... wait a second that abolish the first plus too!)

Hope it was helpful!

[ninjagirlstar5]

Dude did you know/read -2+2 before i started interacting with your posts here or did you heard of it from seing me ramble about it? Also PLEASE get your work done first! This chapter is enormous and i wouldn't want it to ruin someone's schedule.

Also I'd love to hear your thoughts on it, not necessarily just the trial it could be of the story in general, if you feel like rambling that is ^^'

Don't worry, I spent my entire morning finishing my textbook chapter and completing a video question that I could finish in like, five minutes tops. I even shut off Discord to focus. It took four hours of my day to complete cause that's college for ya, haha. :']

Yeah, I read -2+2 before we ever interacted on Tumblr! Ngl, I didn't realize the author was you until I scrolled through your Kizuna tag on your blog and went, "hey, wait a minute, I read this fic-!" As for my thoughts on it so far, I loooove it! I love how Kizuna is forced to face the consequences of her actions while Ayame is grappling with the fact that she was this close to choosing to kill someone to save another and that her motivations weren't as pure and good that everyone makes it out to be for saving Kizuna. I love seeing how different the group dynamics have become thanks to how everyone is split up: the majority of the students sticking together, Yuki being forced out of that group due to his secret note but ultimately forming a little trio with Akane and Ayame (and I think Kizuna and Kanata, too, but they're more focused on each other atm when it comes to her recovery), and the lone wolves of Rei, Tsurugi, and Kinji. It really shows how fractured the group has become and that everyone's opinions are pretty complex and different from each other's, even when they stick to one side. I have yet to read the trial as of writing this, but Kanata's death hurts to witness, especially with how...simple it was. I believe she didn't even struggle, she was just sleeping and now, she can never wake up because someone (Kinji) took advantage of that vulnerability and killed her. I'm thinking that Kakeru, at some point, seemed to have walked in and saw what happened, whether it's his attack on Kizuna or Kanata, and tried to attack Kinji or stop him or something but I'm not sure. But her death definitely hits harder due to how simple it is and we can focus on the tragedy that Kizuna will never be able to fulfill the promises she gave to Kanata, her first friend. And how her grief quickly transforms into anger...ooooough, that's so good and in character for her, especially with how hard she's trying to improve herself now. Also, can I just say, I love how socially smart Kizuna is with her words and how she was able to bypass the third motive just by being clever with how she says things. There are many different ways for being intelligence, so seeing that play out with a character that is trying to redeem themselves is great. Ayame is also just...doing her best while grappling with herself and the thought of almost actually murdering someone, but is trying to be supportive of the others. At least being able to confide in Akane allows her to keep going, and she gets to befriend Yuki! It's so sweet...until you remember the twists with these two, haha, gotta love that dramatic irony. Oh, if (or when) we actually get there, that angst is going to huuurt. </3

Anyways, I do love rambling. And I love this fic! (Totally off-topic, but I hope my boy Teruya is gonna be okay from the whole near death experience of guns and stuff. He's gonna be okay, right? Right? I hope he's okay. I don't want anything bad to happen to him even though I know that's gonna be impossible in a killing game genre although I know his survival is pretty much guaranteed since you mentioned that you don't plan to change the death order. Doesn't mean I don't worry for his mental health though.)

[themirokai]

For my new followers: I’ve been watching Person of Interest really slowly and posting reactions to each episode with gifs. Check out the tag #miro does poi if you’d like to see more. Or, ya know, blacklist it.

POI 03x23: Deus Ex Machina

I thought some parts of this episode worked and some did not. Gonna do some big overarching thoughts, then call out some specific moments.

I generally liked Collier as a villain. Some of that is an affinity for Leslie Odom Jr., but as I said in a prior post I also really like villains who have a point but take it too far. And I thought Odom played him really really well. The guy is crazy charismatic and brought every ounce of that to bear in this role.

So I felt a bit let down by the trial as culmination of his arc. It’s just… kind of dumb? Like did they actually believe that doing this show trial at gun point - of two political operatives and three people no one knew - was going to … what? Convince people to rise up against the government and demand greater privacy rights? Or was it to make themselves feel better about killing the people responsible for Northern Lights? It just seems pretty half-baked for a character who I felt had been previously set up to be intelligent and driven.

And I didn’t really like the reveal that Greer had been pulling the strings the whole time. It made sense for the broader Samaritan plot but it undermined everything about Collier. I think I would have preferred if they just had Decima influence how the trial went rather than have them be responsible for the entire Vigilance movement.

The trial did create the set up for Harold to be self-sacrificing. Again. Still. Some more.

So much of Harold’s actions throughout the series seem to be motivated by guilt. Actually, remorse is probably more accurate. He only thinks he’s important in terms of what he can do for others. BRB my heart is breaking.

Another thing that got my wheels turning was this part with Control where she gives her experience on 9/11 as her motivation for undertaking the surveillance program, and I’m interested in how that reads to younger people and people who aren’t American.

I was 17 on 9/11 and it isn’t much of an exaggeration to say that you could feel the country change in real time. Control’s story of having the rest of her life motivated by that day isn’t at all rare. I know several people who signed up for the military on 9/12 or shortly thereafter.

Probably most of the people using this site weren’t even born on 9/11 and I wonder if Control’s story comes off as contrived or manipulative to you. I know that for me, I do feel the remove of 22 years. I know that 9/11 jokes and memes are pretty common now. But I don’t think that was the case when this aired. I think we were still too close to it then, and Control probably came off as sympathetic or at least doing the wrong thing for the right reason. I’m not sure this part of the show has aged well. But also Camryn Manheim’s performance is fantastic.

I find it super interesting that when I try to use gif search, the majority of gifs that come up, and the first ones, are ALL Shoot. I’m not sure if that’s because there’s just more of them or if Shoot fans tag their stuff differently or what. I didn’t embed any here because this was getting lengthy, but this scene was great, they have excellent chemistry, and I generally love how their dynamic is developing.

Fusco’s arrival was fantastic because I’m always happy when he shows up but also Root … apparently sent a message on??? with??? Bear? We’re not going to interrogate the mechanics of how Root got Bear out of the library while she was going after Samaritan but I was very glad Bear was there too.

Also! Fusco still doesn’t know about the Machine!!! 🤦🏻‍♀️

Oh look, Hersh ends up being great and I’m kind of attached to him now. Of course he’s dead at the end.

Let’s talk about the Rinchiness. As always, we have John’s single-minded determination to get Harold back for the majority of the episode.

But then there is this oh so gentle and affectionate scene that I suspect lives in every Rincher’s heart.

Sigh.

And the ending. Goddamn the ending was gutting. RIP Library.

That’s a wrap on season 3! Thanks for sticking with me, y’all. Reminder that my ask box is open if you want to share your thoughts!

[goshdangronpa]

for the headcanons thing, how about mikan?

You mean Mikan, one of my absolute favorites and a character I post/reblog about all the time? Eh, if you want, I guess

MIKAN TSUMIKI

Sexuality Headcanon: Pansexual and panromantic. She can love any kind of person except herself :( (don't be sad, she'll learn)

Gender Headcanon: *projects nonbinary/genderqueer all over my fave chars*

A ship I have with said character: (Sparta Remix voice) TSU-MI-O-DA. I'm so fond of bandaid for honestly too many reasons to list in one paragraph. I actually had a whole thing written out for this ... but I'm saving that for something more ambitious. Suffice to say for now that they were high school besties in a group with another wlw couple, they'd support each other and give so much of themselves without asking or being asked, and they just seem real cute together. As for the whole "one killed the other" thing, well, that's the kind of spicy drama that turns regular ships into epic romance. Again, saving my thoughts for later.

A BROTP I have with said character: I'm surprised at how little exploration I've seen of Mikan’s relationship with Mukuro Ikusaba. None were closer, more enthralled with, and more completely under the thumb of Junko Enoshima than her twin and her girlfriend. None know her more intimately, and none were more directly abused. Imagine Mikan treating Mukuro for wounds sustained while carrying out Junko's orders, the two growing closer over time, Mukuro standing up for Mikan after Junko takes things too far, the two realizing how much the other suffers and in turn realizing how toxic this whole thing is for themselves, and changing their canon fates by escaping together ... Damn, are there any fanfics like this? (This is also an awesome romantic ship, obvi)

A NOTP I have with said character: There's plenty of merit to Mikan/Nagito (Florence Nightingale syndrome, anyone?), but I'm too amused by the idea of them as "worsties" to consider any other relationship. Nagito has a bitchy side waiting to be unleashed against an embodiment of pure despair, and Mikan will go for the fucking jugular if confronted with a total asshole who's also a socially acceptable punching bag. Cut them loose and let them fight!!

A random headcanon: someone on Reddit once asked, in a context I can't begin to recall, whether Mikan would prefer AVGN or Nostalgia Critic. I said the latter would trigger her because Doug Walker always stares straight at the viewer and often addresses his insults to movies and their makers in second-person. Mikan would not like a man yelling "FUCK YOU FUCK YOU" right into her face. James Rolfe's comparably dynamic cinematography and directed critiques would be more to her liking. So if I just ignore how unlikely a Japanese teen might be (or might not be?) to watch English-speaking American content creators, sure, headcanon

General Opinion over said character: SDR2 Chapter 3 was so hard because I lost both my fave chars from the game. I loved Mikan right from the jump. Maybe because I have a tendency to apologize more than I oughta, and I'm familiar with the feeling (thankfully less frequent now) that no one in a given room wants me around. That aside, she's interesting, funny, sympathetic, capable of great courage that saves the day (piping up about puncture wounds in the first trial), so troubled but not beyond saving ... well, until, ya know. But even then, she wasn't herself, and that's what makes it so much more tragic.

[kyogre-blue]

For totally smart and legitimate reasons, I have started a second Genshin account. 

This one is on Asia server, also for totally legitimate reasons. The ping fluctuates between about 140 and 200, though this hasn’t affected the gameplay experience much so far. 

To keep it within manageable scope and the spice things up, I have come up with a premise: tall men only. Lumine has decided to live it up while the cat her brother is away and is gathering herself a harem. Being a woman in her centuries (millennia?), she has no interest in little boys, whether they’re really teenagers, baby faced, or fake jailbait that’s actually immortal. Thus: tall men only. 

(To keep things simple, I’m also using Lumine herself, which covers the gaps in elements, and any trial characters. Since they invite themselves along, might as well put them to work. If things get annoying enough, I will “invite” some local party members out for a day to help with exploration too, but this is for the future. One additional note is that I’m only going to use the men after meeting them in the story, though this isn’t a particularly notable restriction.) 

Anyway, jokes aside, it’s very interesting seeing early Genshin again. 

It feels... really different, more than I had expected. 

In terms of exploration, Mond has a lot of chests just tucked away in corners, without any puzzle or red-ring enemy killing requirement. There’s definitely more expectation that you’ll go poking around every inch of the map, without any particularly obvious indications where to look. Compared to that, the recent maps are much denser in things to do, but they’re also kind of dumbed down? Most chests are highlighted by something glowing, or a seelie will lead you around, or something. It makes exploration quicker, but it also kind of makes it feel more... artificial? 

The bigger difference though is in terms of story. Because Mond story is subtly but really noticeably different on basically every level. I heard that rumor about a bunch of the writing staff leaving before Inazuma and now I really do feel like there might be credence to it. 

It’s hard to explain the differences precisely because it’s more in terms of style and tone. The style is much more willing to poke fun at itself (especially where Venti is concerned) and much snappier in general. The characters chat among themselves a lot more too and have very noticeable dynamics in a way that’s lacking in Inazuma and Sumeru. Both the archon quest and the story quests are much more character-focused. 

I do want to say that my first playthrough impression wasn’t wrong though. The snappier pacing also means that the story can feel rushed or truncated at times. This is more forgivable in the prologue, and I would like to think they would have gotten better at it if they’re continued with the same style but... yeah. 

It’s going to be very interesting to do Liyue next (I’m just going to do Xiangling’s quest before heading over) because I think it was also a big change from Mond in its focus and style, but I don’t recall it particularly well anymore. I’ll have to pay attention to it. 

One additional side note is how different it feels to play when you more or less take out the gacha. Without a particular need to grind for primos, there’s no reason to rush exploration or catch up on story. Yeah, I’ll miss Itto’s event, but so what? Yeah, I’m leaving behind a bunch of chests, but eh. It’s much more relaxed and feels like a pretty different experience on the whole. 

[haasegawa]

In pursuit of Olympic dreams by ladyzeia [M, 44 chapters, 588,5k]

Rin returns to Japan with one goal in mind: Rio. He's got it all planned out—kill it at the Olympic Trials, make the National Team, and—in Rio—show the world. Falling in love, though? That isn't supposed to happen…

+ Artwork by Yohao88

I swear I'm gonna try to make sense here but nothing I say will actually make justice to this beautiful story, so bear with me.

I couldn't start talking about this fic without praising the amout of energy and research the author clearly put into this, it's just stunning! It's an alternate universe that centers around 2016 Rio Olympics and the whole journey until we actually get there with Rin and Haru it's absolutely amazing. I'm not going to get into details so I don't ruin the story for anyone but as a brazilian person, the moment in which they get to Brazil and not only make effort to communicate in portuguese but also explore the tourist locations, visit a Rio favela and connect with local people... it's breathtaking, I tell you.

And for the story itself and Rin and Haru's relationship, it's just beautiful. The author couldn't have captured their personalities (and development) better, in my humble opinion. We see them growing together and changing and being afraid and being absolutely in love without actually losing themselves or turning into completely different people. No, they're still Rin and Haru. And the way she connects all of it with the places they get to know together, I have no words, but this snippet here pulled heartstrings I didn't even know I had and I think it sums up what I'm trying to say:

More and more, Rin found his eyes drifting to Haru during the performance, watching the spark in blue eyes and the rapt attention.  It filled him with pleasure that Haru was enjoying this.  I know you could’ve been happy, never leaving Iwatobi.  He knew the cost; how hard it was at times for Haru to be here with him, away from friends, family, and everything familiar.  Rin cherished the moment—one in a series of many now, glimpses of the wider world that Haru actually liked. “Rin.”  Haru pulled him close without taking his eyes off the dancers.  “Do you think they have samba lessons in Japan?”

Again, trying not to talk too much and give away spoilers, so I'm just gonna say that their relationship dynamics was mesmerizing. The way Haru is so silently confident and certain of what they have but still have moments that we just stop and think "ok he's a person too, he has his vulnerabilities just like anyone else" and how Rin learns to accept difficulties and change the way he sees his life and future plans inbetween his insecurities, I fell in love all over again with their relationship because of how this is so in character.

Also, if you want to read it but you're not really into M rated fics, there's a T rated version on ff net. But I have to say that, particularly, I think the mature scenes are also fundamental for their story. They're not really descriptive and the focus is always on Rin and Haru's trust and feelings for each other, so they're mostly very sensual and intimate and emotional, you should definitely give it a try if you're not completely uncomfortable with sex scenes, but I'm sure the T version is just as beautiful.

This is already too long and it doesn't express half of what I felt, but I'll leave anyone who wants to read it to feel for yourselves now, it was worth every minute.

Bonus: the artwork at the end is just as incredible as the story, I spent whole twenty minutes freaking out over them.

[eclipsecrowned]

🗒 — what is/are your favorite genre(s)/theme(s) to write? //@griefbringers

One of the things I genuinely compensate for as a writer is that I rely very heavily on tropes. Not played straight, mind you, but I have recurring character concepts/themes/threads that I revisit over and over again, whether pigeonholing them, subverting them, or amplifying them. I have to keep diversifying those that I rely on so I don't become a one trick pony, while still satisfying the itch in my brain that has me coming back to these themes.

That said...

Let's start with genres. I'll list my top three.

I keep returning to a lot of urban fantasy/fantastical themes in my work, something probably apparent in the fandoms I venture into on this blog. Even my fandomless muses are pretty stacked towards historical-to-modern fantasy, from Roman immortals to early 20th century werewolves.

I'm also into a good spy/modern conflict setting. I have a real love for spy fiction, and love the actual methodical, cunning tradecraft, not the big guns blazing spectacle of film. It gives me and my partners a lot of opportunity to explore problem solving IC and build layered narratives, I feel. It probably helps I wrote a spy character for over five years in the past, across a variety of espionage-based fandoms.

No matter what genre I write in, I'm a big fan of horror elements. If there's fridge horror to be found in a setting, I will suss it out and bring it to supertext. It might be a bit edgy of me, but a good horror genre or flavoring will get me obsessed like nothing else -- especially if there's untapped potential for me to delve in fleshing it out.

A few favorite themes are as follows. Top Ten.

Themes of morality. There are acts that are unequivocally good. There are acts that are unequivocally evil. And any character I write lives between the two poles, some dancing closer to one end than the other, but always able to change -- for better or for worse. With the right character development, a victim can become a villain, and a monster can claw his way into Heaven. I like exploring what makes characters do what they do, what built their world view, and how they express it. We're built by our experiences and our perceptions. Our behavior is as much innate as it is learned. What makes someone balk at their base instincts? What makes someone forego being the better person? I love finding that out, and how to find the good in a devil and the evil in a saint.

Build Your Own Family. And I don't mean in the way 'found family' has been co-opted to foster traditional nuclear family dynamics among those who do not share blood or upbringing. I mean the traditional queer lens of 'family is what you make it.' Friends, companions, those who survived trial by fire, those who are just trying to survive a shit situation, anything goes for me. I love seeing bonds develop naturally and fiercely independently of traditional definition and without being devalued by the idea all important bonds must be romantic or those of blood.

By that card, I'm also a fool for an adoption/blood isn't the end all be all of family narrative. Most of my mother's family is pieced together from odd kids out who got taken into families that were made whole for their inclusion, and so it's a subject that is very dear to me. A lot of my muses are either adopted, have or are step-parents, or have sibling bonds that are built on love and responsibility rather than shared bloodline.

Othering, outsiders, the child who is not embraced by the village. Many of my muses fit this mold, but no two react the same to their isolation and rejection. Some are made villainous by it, some rise above it, some lashed out and are now trying to make amends, and try to convince themselves they are happier in what they know. This is probably a theme where I project heavily and turn it over and over trying to g lean some insight about myself.

I have a tendency towards examining ships that... IDK? The best way I can sum it up is 'we met in a difficult place as mutual outsiders and fell in love despite our shared struggle, but the journey ended, and I followed you home, and now I'm the stranger in a strange land while you are the newly returned and revered prodigal child, and now I'm not sure about any of this without calamity and commonality overhead.' I don't consciously go in saying 'that's how this is going to go,' but it's recurred with enough frequency in my writing that I must be fond of it for some reason.

Horror, especially the gothic or psychological. I'm a big enby. I can admit it. I was raised on 19th century literature and more cerebral horror movies, and that's not just a statement to build credibility. I said before if such a thread does not exist outright in a narrative, I will find the first place I can shove it in. Several OCs are really thinly veiled attempts to explore fridge or glossed over horrific implications in a canon -- and what characters do when confronted with these truths.

Parental relationships. How parents shape their children, how no one ever really leaves their childhood home behind no matter how far they are from it. Did muses have good parents? Did they have bad parents? Is their parents touch mere fingerprints on pristine glass, or the hole left where a bomb detonated? What sort of parents do my muses who are so inclined become? Were they loved? Did it save them? Did it matter in the end? Did it make it worse if they were? Again, not something I mean to insert into my ouevre, but it keeps happening.

Doomed love. There was love. There is also grief. Is it easier if they die, or is the real burden knowing they are out there without you? Or are you still there, two splintering pieces of wood holding up the shell of what was once a beautiful home? Was it inevitable, or was it circumstantial? Did they think they could change? Were they too soft, or too rough? Is there closure, or is it the wound that will not heal? Did you love them more in the moment, or in their absence? What's the aftershock of it on those around you?

Duty and tradition as a chain used to beat everyone. I play several rulers or nobles who would rather be anywhere else, but who due to pride, loyalty, or being so broken by the system, are unable to move on. Characters of any class who would be a thousand times happier as anything other than what their society tells them to be. Those hurt by the system and those who enforce it into pure villainy. Those who fight the system and those who manipulate it to their own aims. It really revs my engines.

Prophecy and predestination as bullshit. Your choices are your own, so long as you have the autonomy to make them. Like duty and tradition, prophecy is a flawed system that destroys everyone involved. Your choices are your own. The future does not absolve your present. It's an excuse to do worse in pursuit of a tomorrow you might not even see.

[the1northlanderprincess]

Review of va’s first 4 episodes

I watched the first four episodes of Vampire academy, and I can tell I’m going to have a love/hate relationship with it. Be warned: I’m a book purist. I’m going to rip on some stuff hard.

Love: 

The main four actors. Everyone here has really captured the personification of their respective characters. Sisi is perfectly playing an outgoing, reckless, headstrong Rose. Daniela IS Lissa to a tee; sweet, a little naïve, and very loyal. Andre is a terrific Christian and does a good job of portraying a slightly annoyed outcast. I’m hoping we see more of his mischievous side. then there’s Keiron. I LOVE his Dimitri. He captures Dimitri’s stern, no-nonsense side superbly, as well as seeing his playful side. It’s rare in the books, but still there.

The relationships. First of all, Christian and Lissa are really cute. The chemistry is there, for sure. That’s all I’m going to say on that, because I don’t actively ship them that hard, not even reading the books. Now, to the important stuff: Romitri. OH MY GOSH. What has been portrayed so far with their relationship is exactly the dynamic I’d been missing from the movie. They don’t exactly get off on the right foot, and isn’t warm right away. He thinks she’s reckless, and he to her is just another strict disciplinarian and a killjoy. It felt like that too in the first episode (it didn’t feel like there were a bunch of sparks; felt off a little). When we get to the second episode, the chemistry becomes more apparent, and we then begin to see Dimitri appearing troubled over Rose, which I LOVE. We also have Rose softening toward him, seeing him more as a person, respecting his position, and gaining that initial attraction. By the time of their last interaction in episode 4, the “Rosa” feels earned (though I think it’s a bit early to hear it). Everything on that front is what I’ve been hoping for. However, I’d really like to see them verbally get into it, because that’s who they both are: passionate, stubborn people.

Don’t love:

Umm, everything else...? Where do I begin?

Character changes/mash-ups: Oof. First of all, The Moroi ruler. Yeah, not a fan. She’s so aloof, and I’m not impressed with her acting. Why can’t we just have a 30 something Tatiana if they wanted a younger ruler at the start? Speaking of, why in the world did they change her family name? What is the purpose? I can’t think of one. Next are Mia and Sonya. Sigh. Yeah. Okay. Big issues here. The personification of Mia is spot on, but at the same time, the actress sounds tired and flat, like she’s slurring her words. Sonya, now...not feeling her. The fact that we’re seeing what Lissa was going through in the first book with Sonya is just wrong. That is what Lissa’s storyline focus should be right now. Her plot of doing the research right away, a book 2-3 thing, just feels weird and wrong. Whatever it is, I just can’t get invested into it or her relationship with Mikhail. Oh, that love scene in the greenhouse, with reviving the bird? Not cheesy, but a special kind of cringe.

Plots and Pacing. This is a big issue for me. Too many things going on in this season for its own good. I can see plots from 5 out of 6 books so far. There’s the whole battle for the crown, the guardian age restriction, a big massacre at a different location, Rose’s conflict with her mother, the novices going through trials...those are the major things I’ve noticed. It is making time go incredibly fast in-universe. I get that the first book wasn’t totally exciting and action-packed, but come on. I am concerned that if this gets more seasons, they’re going to write themselves into a corner, and there are 6 flipping books to draw from. It should be one book per season. it shouldn’t be a GOT situation. 

The location. I’m not too disappointed about everything taking place in Europe, but it appears that Court is in the same vicinity of the school. It makes it a little less special and exclusive on both ends, if that makes sense.

CGI. Uh, where did this show’s budget go? Filming in Spain? Well, it was most likely the magic. But still, the psyhounds? Pathetic. I get that this isn’t exactly HBO or Prime, but even WB/CW shows in the 2000s had better CGi animals than this. 

Lesser issues

People will probably call me out for this, but they’re rushing Romitri’s romantic relationship, specifically with the Shadow Kiss fight scene, and the nickname, which I would have liked more in episode 7 or 8. Don’t get me wrong, both scenes were HOT, but one thing I have always loved is the slow burn of the first book. Rose besting Dimitri, and its effect on both of them, comes at a point where they know what they feel for one another. Discreetly, they don’t bother hiding it. It’s only been like, what, a week or two since they’ve met? Maybe more?  Oh, then we have the Mason issue. My main problem here is him noticing the attraction. It’s so trivial. NOBODY, except for Victor and Adrian (because of who they are), knew about them. 

Dimitri’s accent. This one I could probably live with, because in the book it describes his Russian accent as “faint”. Hopefully Keiron slips it in from time to time like he did in episode four.

Lissa’s compulsion. Her ability should not be able to be seen. It’s not how compulsion works. Plus, the effect looks dumb. It would be better for it to be the eyes glowing or something. Oh, also, Lissa is as royal as it gets in the Moroi world. She should be called princess no matter what.

Rose’s sixth sense. There has been no indication that Rose has been pulling darkness from Lissa, nor has she killed a Strigoi, 

Strigois may not have souls, but they’re not mindless creatures. They’re just narcissists with no inhibitions, and very, very hangry. What we see in Frostbite and Blood Promise are very smart and calculated creatures.

So, yeah, I have a crap ton of problems with this show, and one might wonder why I’m bothering to watch. But darn it if I’m not already invested in this version of Romitri. The movie didn’t provide a whole lot of romitri footage for me, and now we have this. I’ll take it in any form I get. Like I’ve said above, the personalities and dynamic between Sisi and Keiron have already met my expectations and I hope it continues.

[generation1point5]

There is an implicit dichotomy instilled in almost all narrative storytelling as a result of neoliberal, capitalist system that runs the global economy and society. The moral of so many stories today is that the only reliable means of change comes from individual development and our external circumstances cannot be depended upon, or even altered.

Perhaps part of that dichotomy is also psychological at heart; it is terrifying to face a reality where there is a class of people and their descendants who have spent years accumulating power and insulating its loss to any other, who have spent decades, even centuries, legitimizing their own tyranny; to fight against it would feel like facing a force of nature, like fighting gods.

When a government beholden to capital interests can drop a missile on someone and their whole family's house thousands of miles away on a whim, that is not far from the truth. To resist this imperialism by any means available to them, including violence, is only natural, but also ultimately doomed. Hope for justice in this is bleak. What has risen in its place is a feckless neoliberal order, beholden to the interests of capital.

Liberalism and the Kingdom of Conscience is small and individualized by necessity; it is the only room in the world we can carve for ourselves from the scraps left to the majority by the powerful who have come before. We are the crabs in the bucket, consigned to our castles of sand. Likewise, it soothes the conscience of the powerful, that by individual, inconsistent, and ultimately meaningless acts of charity, they can ease the conscience of the brutality of the system from which they have benefitted.

What Disco Elysium proposed was so revolutionary that I feel much of its player base did not understand the truths that it highlighted, the importance of historical materialism and the dynamics of power that so greatly affects all our lives, and the trials and tribulations of the human condition stuck somewhere between, universal to all but affecting others differently by degrees of how their government supports them.

Acknowledging the universality of human suffering is a given; but our actions to mitigate these things should not be examined solely through our own hands, our own decisions. Liberalism and its thought are intuitive in this respect; we cannot reliably influence the will and decision of others, but we can control what we ourselves do with whatever means are available to us. That is true, but the solutions to our problems should nevertheless be examined also through the lens of power: namely, who has it, and what they do with it. It is necessary that these considerations be taken into account, that in response to the broad powerlessness of many there is organization among them. There must be a creation of a counterforce by the many to offset the powerful few. 

Any organization with strong leadership is hierarchal, and by that nature also at risk of corruption, but it is no less necessary for that shortcoming; the tent that leftists try to create is necessarily bigger than that of the conservative minority, and must satisfy the greater collective interest of its constituents, lest it become no different than the oppressors themselves. Moreover, the material benefits of being elected leader within a union are lesser than that of the owning class; if self-interest and the accumulation of wealth is the goal, then success would not lie in grifting for progressive values. Arguments from cynicism become just that; it fails to distinguish the meaningful, consequential, material differences that follow when pursuing values diametrically opposed to the current order. Socialism is not a poverty cult; it is the creation of a new system of providence entirely. Its ends are strived for by an entire revolution of means, not by individual acts to reverse the unequal results of the existing system.

Revolutions by violence or efforts at incremental process are resisted in equal and overwhelming measure; the former by a greater capacity for violence by the wealthy, and the latter by capitalism’s uncanny ability to absorb anything, even its critiques, into a consumer product. If history has taught us anything, it is that the chances for success, at least in our lifetimes, are incredibly low.

But if we truly believe what we are working for is right and good, then it is persisted upon for the sheer virtue in the act, and the hope that we are planting the seeds of trees in whose shade we will not live to enjoy. It is a call to live beyond oneself, and beyond making the choice to pursue it, that call is fundamentally an anti-liberal act. 

I want to write and read stories with such sentiments. Whether the end is happy or not is immaterial; there is virtue, even necessity, in the struggle itself. It is a message I feel like is badly needed in this day and age.

[aspoonofsugar]

on jaunes inspiration being the maiden of orleans ( and how she was called the holy maiden or la pucelle ( the maiden ) a theory I have often seen and believe is that the crwby originally planned for jaune to be the next ozpin (but due to effectively gotten threats from fanbase to miles (the attacks on him ) they created oscar ( I mean the maiden powers came from ozpin and the wizard of oz in the books was a fraud who pretended to be a wizard and got into a leadership position which is like how jaune forged his transcripts and got into a position of leader both the wizard and jaune got trained by an active practicioner ( glynda trained oz in magic pyrrha trained jaune in combat ( though oz's best asset was still his head) plus the whole salem wanting to see ozpin burn ( jaunes inspiration being put to the fire for witchcraft ( among other things ) and salem witch trials being associated with witch burnings not to mention the ozark mountain range which includes the salem plateau. ( and

And I thought of the word Ozark, as in the Ozark Mountains/Plateau in the central/southern US, and I know that both Ozpin and Salem are (to a degree) named after places already

So I looked it up on Wikipedia, and it turns out that it’s split into subdivisions, including one called the Salem Plateau

Which made me think maybe I’m on to something here, speaking crackpottily

So then I looked at the etymology of Ozark(s), and learned that it might be a corruption of the French phrase meaning “of the arches,” (It is even suggested aux arcs is an abbreviation of aux arcs-en-ciel, French for “toward the rainbows) aux arcs

aux arcs

Ozark

Oz Arc

arc en ciel means rainbow

( jaunes family symbol on the shield is the rainbow ( and the only color jaune doesnt currently have in his design from the rainbow is the color green the one color missing from the rainbow)

Hi!

Mmmm I am sorry, but I am generally not interested in these kinds of theories...

When you start a series, you are gonna brainstorm for ideas... so obviously you are gonna come up with tons of plot-points you are not gonna use... I am only interested in what is in the final story... not because alternative ideas are bad or uninteresting, but simply because they were not written, so... there is really nothing to comment

In general, I don't like people deciding writers change things because threathened by the fandom... Unless it is stated by the writers themselves (like... for example Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes), I am not gonna get interested in such behind the scenes theories. Moreover, I think there is this idea going on in the fandom that Jaune has been somehow "downgraded" from MC and is now a secondary character. Well, imo this is simply wrong, he is a MC/deuteragonist and his importance is not less than the beginning. It is just this is an ensembled cast, so he has to share focus. His arc and story is still one of the most important in the series.

Oscar's introduction and story work for several reasons and I think he was always meant to be put in the narrative. His existence is foreshadowed since ep 2/3 when Blake speaks about a man with 2 souls. His story strongly parallels Ruby and they comment each other's arcs. I think the writers stated that since Jaune was growing they wanted a new newby that could give a fresh perspective on the other characters and the conflicts they were going through. Finally, his own allusion sets him up to be introduced later on. Princess Ozma/Tip is a key character in the Oz series, but she doesn't appear in the very first book. So, it makes sense for Oscar to appear after the first arc as the 8th true MCs after Pyrrha's death.

In short, I think the idea of having Oz reincarnate in Jaune is interesting and would bring a very complex dynamic and different plot-points and arcs for the characters. However, this is clearly not what the story wanted to do. Jaune and Oscar's arcs are similar, but different and both are important for the story... Having Oz reincarnate into Jaune would simply be a completely different series :) I also think it is totally fine for people to speculate and headcanon, though!

Thank you for the ask!

[chihirolovebot]

hi!! I just read the new chapter of sleep awake and I'm just like, photosynthesizing?? Because it was so good and it kept me on edge the whole time?? /pos

like I'm in love with how you write the reader because they're so unique and the way they've grown is just incredible. You see them go from not living for themselves *to* finally living for themselves, if that makes sense. It was just so obvious that the reader just needed a certain "push" so that they can grow into their own person and so many people has helped them do that and it's just so sweet to see the reader like make friends with everyone and start living for themselves y'know. I love the reader's friendships with everyone and most importantly Kokichi and the reader's relationship. I love how everyone around them just kinda like sees that something is going on between them especially that one scene where Shuichi finds the reader in the library after the whole korekiyo trial. (sorry just tryna make this spoiler free as best as I can-) I just adore this book sm. The lastest chapter was so nerve racking because I was just like "oh god what if kokichi comes back and sees reader-" but Luckily that didn't happen- I love that the reader also came up with a plan on their own because that's just so girlboss of them. I will admit though that I am very scared about the upcoming trials especially with chapter 4, 5, and 6 because there's just gonna be so much happening and I'm excited to see how the reader is gonna react to it all, especially chapter 4 but man let me tell you how pumped I am for chapter 5 for obvious reasons. I don't know if you plan on changing that trial up but it doesn't matter because it's gonna be so fucking good and like I said before, seeing the reader react to it all is always gonna be on my mind and I can't wait to see how it all ends. I always remember you saying you were gonna change up chapter 6 which is also gonna be in my mind too because that's something that's obviously gonna make me on the edge of my seat. Oh and I can't forget about the aftermath of the game too, that's gonna be fucking exciting to see as well. Anyways this book has made me love Kokichi even more than I already do and now I'm kinda starting to like Kaito more too. Oh and I can't help but think about how Kokichi is feeling as well, especially after korekiyo's trial, we all know Kokichi hates killing but since *Spoilers* the reader did it in self defense you can't exactly blame them, and im sure Kokichi knows that. If the reader didn't fight back they would've been killed and I'm sure that Kokichi wouldn't want that either, which is why his feelings are probably all like "jsjsjfjsjdjcndb" if that makes sense- and the reader is to conflicted about their feelings, not only for Kokichi but also for their whole plan and stuff. My theory is that if everything stays the same in chapter 5, they're gonna finally realize their feelings for Kokichi. (which is ansgty but yolo-) because in the story they get asked if they like Kokichi but you don't see the reader really giving a yes or no answer, which is why I think they're confused, and they also mentioned that they never liked anyone in that way before which is also gonna make you confused once you actually do start catching feelings for a person. I just can't get over how amazingly written they're dynamic is and I can't wait to see more of them together. And writing this while listening to "I won't say I'm in love" is giving me a bit of kokichi x reader vibes-

Anwyays again I'm sorry for ranting again, I'm the one who asked if kokichi was the love interest in the story and that was also the night I spent reading it all which was a very fun way to spend my night. I don't really feel comfortable with turning off anonymous so I was wondering if you do things like *insert emoji* anon like I've seen other blogs do-? I'm still a bit new to Tumblr-

oh wow, thank u so so much. i just. wow. this comment is os long n in depth im gna try to respond to everything u have said!!

the reader in this story is like. unspeakably important to me because in a lot of ways they represent myself and the kind of journey i wish that i could realistically go through. i dont wanna get too deep into it or make it angsty but i will say that a lot of the stuff they struggle w reflects my own state of mind a lot of the time n i justttt. find it very comforting n overwhelming that their struggle resonates with u too. im very glad their journey seemed somewhat poignant to you, because i rly did put a lot of work into make it realistic and cathartic. 

im super super excited for the second half of this story!! i have a fuckton of ideas bouncing around that i really need to nail down and start making a plan that isn't just a skeleton plot but im mainly focused on chapter four for now? i will definitely say that the end of chapter four will be a major turning point for the story, in terms of the reader and their relationships with everybody. and without spoiling anything the end of chapter four and chapter five has the potential to be the darkest the story has ever gone imo? idk if i'm decided on what EXACTLY is going to happen but yeah, it'll be pretty messed up im sure. 

you're pretty spot on with kokichi's feelings for the reader regarding after korekiyo's trial. he's basically in the midst of a major conflict and i guess undergoing the kind of ephiphany he never really had to face in the game? we know that he detests killing and sees it pretty unanimously as indefensible, which IS a fairly naive mindset in the grand scheme of things (which is why i love kaito calling kokichi naive in chapter two and kokichi just being. fucking flabbergasted. because as much as he is smart and perceptive he IS kind of naive in the sense of moral compass). it's also theorised that kokichi let himself die in chapter 5 because he couldn't rly cope with the guilt of what he did to gonta and miu which is maybe something i'm going to touch on a little? idk, some of the brilliance of his character relies on the ambiguity of it. so we will see. 

but pretty much, there was nobody kokichi truly trusted in the real game. shuichi was the closest but even then it couldn't have been worth much, kokichi never went to him for help or told him any of his real plan, his ultimate hamartia and cause of his downfall. BUT of course the reader has become that for him, they are probably the closest he has gotten to trusting anybody in this game and he's shown his hand to them a lot and grown to genuinely care for them, and now they have in his eyes done the worst thing imaginable. so he's in a place of trying to reconcile that i think. i know he's been fairly absent for a couple of chapters but this storyline of how he's feeling will get a lot of clarity pretty soon, i pinky promise! 

obviously i will not comment on chapter five in the interest of spoilers but i can also confirm that reader is also super confused about their own feelings. personally a symptom (???) of my own autism is conflating platonic and romantic feelings. on top of that, it's probably the furthest thing from their mind, plus with how much kokichi puzzles them, PLUS the fact that they have nothing to really compare it to having never liked anybody romantically? yeah it's not looking good brev. 

PLEASE don't apologise for rambling!! i rly thoroughly enjoyed reading this n i've been thinking abt it a lot for the past few days trying to write up an answer to do it justice. i rly hope ur seeing this and that ur having a lovely lovely day!! and also yeah i do emoji anons, the only taken ones I THINK are 🦋 and 🐇 so u can pick anything u like my lovely <33 i hope to see u in my inbox again sometime soon!!

[phawareglobal]

Alvin Rocha, MSN RN CPN PHN - phaware® interview 473

Alvin Rocha is a nurse care manager and pulmonary hypertension coordinator at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. He manages PH patients from birth to early adulthood. His main goal is to prepare these patients for the transition into the adult world. He is excited about the advancements in therapies and clinical trials and looks forward to attending the World PH Symposium to learn more ways to help the patients and families he cares for.  My name's Alvin Rocha. I am the nurse care manager or the pulmonary hypertension coordinator at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. I've been doing this for about six or seven years now. I manage the pulmonary hypertension patients that range from birth to 21, 22 old. I manage their symptoms, help them with medication authorizations, and just kind of guide them through their journey with PH and childhood and going through junior high and high school. My ultimate goal is to prepare them to transition into the adult world. It's a process. It's not something we do last minute. When you transition, you look at the patient as a whole. What is their family dynamic like? What is their learning ability, their developmental stage? I try to start transitioning patients or teaching about transition when kids are able to understand what's going on. So as soon as they're able to understand their diagnosis, their disease, and their medications, I start preparing them for when that day comes and they are old enough to transition to an adult hospital. What that entails is education that is tailored to where they are in life. If there's a patient that's in junior high or early high school, I start with the basics, what their meds are, when they should take, what their disease is and what it's going to look like in the future, what they can expect. Then, when they go to high school or end of high school into college, I talk about what they're going to experience, what kind of influences they're going to have, how certain things can affect their medications and how they feel. I just kind of have to go with the flow until they're 21, 22 years old and almost treat the visits as if they are adults and let them take the lead in asking questions and telling us about what's going on, how they're feeling. It's a process that takes sometimes a few years. It's almost like building their confidence for them to go to adult appointments on their own without feeling insecure about how they communicate with healthcare workers or healthcare providers. It's definitely a process. We see the patients until they have at least their first meeting with their new PH team once they transition to adult centers. We'll see those patients one more time, almost have a little graduation ceremony, and then hand them off to the next team that will take care of them. I let the parents know what I'm trying to do, what the process is. As the patient's mature, if the patient is very talkative and open, I will ask the parents if it's okay if I speak to the patient or Dr. Jackie and I speak to the patient without the parents in the room. Even if it has nothing to do with PH, nothing to do with their medication, it just gives the patients confidence to speak up for themselves and ask questions without feeling intimidated or nervous. Parents are usually open to that, which is nice. I think when I make it a regular part of our visit, they kind of get used to it. As long as everybody knows what the plan is or what I'm trying to accomplish, it goes really well. I haven't really had any issues with that. The patients and the parents are usually very involved in their care. They're involved with decision making together because it's so complex. Little decisions can change what their life is like at home. It's usually a team effort already right off the bat when you have a new diagnosis. School is a big thing. When we have patients that were either athletes or in clubs or playing instruments when they're diagnosed with PH, we have to really think about their quality of life and what's going to make these patients happy, what's going to keep them compliant with their meds. We really work with the schools to come up with a plan to make their life as best as they can at school. We do that by meeting with the patients and the family. What are their expectations? What can they handle? What can the patient tolerate? How much activity can they tolerate? We write a letter to the school with very specific guidelines to help with planning out what the child's day is like or what the patient's day is like. We really advocate for keeping the quality of life, but also keeping the patient safe. If we need to ask for extra assistance, kids are entitled to have an aide or a nursing aide at the school with eyes on them at all times, if that's something we request. We usually try to give the patient as much independence as possible, but also keep them safe by having someone keep an eye on them. Over time, patients that need oxygen or are on Remodulin or Tyvaso, they come up with a routine, they figure out how they're going to go through their day, and they'll let us know like, "Oh, I don't think I need my aid anymore. I think we're good without having someone follow me the whole day at school." Things are always changing as the patients mature and as they kind of go through life with PH and their meds. We have done a lot of combination therapies that we didn't do when I first started. The Remunity subcutaneous pump, that's new for kids. The treatments are changing pretty rapidly, in the pediatric world at least. We're constantly trying to figure out how to navigate training patients and families, but also training schools on a new pump, for example. With the SubQ pump, the Remunity pump is really new because it has a remote, and it's a lot smaller, which is great for the patient, because you can't really tell they're on a pump, but it's also brand new to everyone. So, we're troubleshooting problems both at home and at school. So that's a learning process in its own, and we're still learning new things about it. Kids with this new pump, there's a little more freedom with activities they can do. It's water resistant. They have a little more freedom with it. With telehealth, we're able to follow up more closely and see the patient. A lot of times, the way the patient looks and how they feel. Their color is really important for us to assess. Just being able to assess virtually is great because they don't have to find a way to get to LA if they don't live nearby. We can do things a lot quicker by assessing virtually. Over the last seven years, it's changed lot. Technology has really improved quality of life for a lot of patients. Communication has just been really key in growing and growth. PH is a scary diagnosis right off the bat. I've learned over time that helping the parents cope with it first has helped the most just because they know the patient best. They know how to navigate their emotions the best. If I can get the parents' emotions under control, help them understand what's going on, what we're trying to plan, what kind of meds we're going to use, I find that the patients do better. It's almost like the parents are taking the lead in their care, even if it's managed by a doctor and a nurse. I also find that when I answer questions and when I do teaching, right off the bat, I go into a lot of detail. Over a few weeks, I go over all the meds. Every med we could possibly start, I talk about, just so the patient and the parents are able to make decisions, knowing a little bit of information beforehand. We might not start all the medications, but knowing that it is a possibility just helps in general. I've also learned that when I talk to the patients and let them ask questions, that also helps with mental health just because their questions are completely different from parent questions. I can talk for an hour straight with parents and a patient. All the patient wants to know is, "Can I ride a roller coaster? Can I go swimming? Can I do this?" They just want to play. They just want to live their life. I just have to understand, again, where they are developmentally, where they are in terms of learning, because I find that the more they know what can happen, what is happening, the easier it is for them to cope. I also tell them that what they can read on the internet is very scary, but it's also very unique in pediatrics to have PH. Every child has a different experience. I tell them not to compare themselves to what they see on the internet, just because there's a lot of adults and a lot of older patients that aren't necessarily in the same place that kids are in. It does look very different. So, that also helps. I also found that if we have a chance to have patients meet with similar situations, let's say two younger school age patients with a Remodulin pump, if they're able to meet and just see that the other patient's okay and they look normal and they are able to play and do things, it makes things a little easier. And parents, when they're able to meet, parents from different patients, that also can help with just sharing experiences. Again, in pediatrics at least, I have to really read the family where they're at, how they cope, how much information they can handle at a time, and just kind of go from there. Just knowing more right off the bat can help with coping in the long run. I've been in this role now for going on seven years, and I'm just amazed at how much has changed over these seven years. We've seen a lot of change with medication and therapies for pediatrics. I know there's other things in the works with clinical trials in adults, so I'm excited to see how patients do with those medications. I'm attending the World Symposium on PH in June, which I'm really excited about in Spain. I look forward to seeing what the rest of the world has been doing and what they've been seeing with different therapies and different combination therapies. Then, I look forward to seeing what will soon become available for kids. We're usually the last group of patients to get therapies just as they do trials with adults, so I'm excited to see the results from those studies. I'm just excited to share with families what I learned, just because it gives them hope, it gives them motivation to stick with the therapies we have now. We don't always have the most convenient therapies. Some therapies are multiple times throughout the day. So hopefully, in the future, there are just therapies that are easier for kids to manage and easier for families to manage and just to have better outcomes with these therapies. I pretty much have decided that the rest of my career is going to be in PH. I've been a nurse for 12 years and I just don't see myself going anywhere else. The PH community is so strong, the doctors, all the scientists that are working on these therapies. Things just keep getting better for PH patients. It is a very close knit community, people that really care, people that are excited about the future of PH and how we treat it. I just kind of hold onto that while I do my everyday job. My name is Alvin Rocha, and I am aware that my patients are rare. Learn more about pulmonary hypertension trials at www.phaware.global/clinicaltrials. Follow us on social @phaware Engage for a cure: www.phaware.global/donate #phaware Share your story: info@phaware.com

Listen and View more on the official phaware™ podcast site

[justsellinghomes]

🤔 Hey everyone! Let's explore a concept: "Facts are context dependent." 🌟🤔 Dr. Ellen Langer

It's a mind twister.....thinking outside of the box......

You know those math classes where the teacher confidently proclaims, "1 + 1 always equals 2"? Seems pretty straightforward, doesn't it? But hold onto your calculators because here's the twist: in some corners of math, like computer coding or modular arithmetic, that equation might lead you down a different path. Ever heard of binary code? Well, in that world, 1 + 1 equals 10! Yep, you read that right! Mind-boggling, huh? Context is important. 🤯💥

FOLLOW #EXP613

But wait, let's switch gears and enter the courtroom drama! Picture this: a crucial piece of evidence is presented during a trial, and everyone's nodding like, "Yep, that's solid!" But what if I told you that in a different legal scenario, that same evidence might not hold any weight at all? It's like the legal version of "one man's trash is another man's treasure," isn't it? 🕵️‍♂️⚖️

Science enthusiasts, this one's for you! Picture the lab, where scientists are like modern-day Sherlock Holmes, unraveling the mysteries of the universe. But here's the plot twist: those so-called "facts" they uncover? They can change faster than you can say "Eureka!" One day, a chemical behaves one way under certain conditions, and the next day, under different conditions, it's like it's a whole new chemical! It's like science fiction come to life! 🔬🌡️

Now, let's zoom into the realm of social dynamics. Ever cracked a joke among friends that had everyone rolling on the floor laughing, only to try the same joke with a different group and met with awkward silence? Yep, that's the power of context, my friends! What's hilarious in one setting might totally flop in another. It's like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole! 😂🗣️

And history buffs, get ready for a plot twist of your own! History isn't just a series of dates and dusty old facts. It's a living, breathing narrative that evolves with each new discovery and perspective shift. What was once carved in stone might get a fresh coat of paint with each passing era. It's like a history lesson with a side of mystery! 📚🕰️

So, here's the bottom line, folks: Facts aren't carved in stone; they're more like chameleons, changing colors depending on the context they find themselves in. Pretty wild, huh? 🦎💭

Now, I want to hear from YOU! What's a fact that totally blew your mind once you saw it in a different light? Share, like, and drop a comment below! Let's get this conversation going! 👇💬

#FactsAreContextDependent #MindBlown #ChameleonFacts

[theskyexists]

Another episode of longsuffering older sibling having to deal with annoying younger siblings messing up all their shit. These writers must be completely traumatised by the experience of having younger siblings. But at least these ones aren't like Polly and actually express some remorse for destroying shit. Apparently making sure that your younger siblings don't steal your extremely dangerous magic book to do some sort of plastic surgery on themselves is your responsibility as an older sister. That makes sense . But it's NOT your responsibility to entertain them to keep them from idiotic behaviour. Imo. But I guess that just goes to show I'm a younger sibling.

The funny thing is that I would be Marcy in this scenario but somehow she's my least favourite. She's alright. But she's not getting treated right by the narrative

So first temple is brain. And wisdom (Marcy)

Second temple is heart. I.e. selflessness (Anne)

Disobedient, foolish, impulsive

See? ANNE gets a whole temple episode dedicated to JUST her positive and negative qualities

Selfishness

Pronounced sense of justice

Incredible athletic ability

Lying, thieving

Learning from mistakes

Sacrificing for friends, strangers AND enemies

Empathy AND responsibility

Intelligence AND wisdom

I wonder what Sasha's will be

Ahh. Impulsive Anne retained some of her power by not fully charging the stone.

Huh...Sasha gives jester toad an out... uncharacteristic....ah she goes back on her word

Sashas positive quality is sheer willpower.

Her vices are always prioritising what she wants and her plans over other people's wellbeing

Willpower AND consideration...

Lift to enter brah LOL. I guess Sasha just proved that she could do that on sheer power of will. Now I need an amv to that classic for amphibia

How are they gonna charge the damn stone without Sasha. Really sad Sasha isn't gonna get her trials...

It's funny....I got it wrong apparently? Sashas first attribute is strength? Nah no way. The temple is just built to goad somebody like her

SASHA!!!!! SHES SO COOL!!! She went to look for Marcy and Anne ofc when she heard they were hanging out without her. Lol. While Marcy doesn't ever give a fuck about that and Anne is upset about the breakup

They're lying and leaving out the rebellion

Ok so apparently they switched tacks from season 1 and Sasha is now the strong one

So strength and teamwork?

Man... What the fuck. Sasha was NOT the physically strong one in season 1. They messed up the themes...

SASHA WAS WEARING SUPER HEAVY ARMOUR ALL ALONG AHHAHAHAHAHA

Strength and resistance... Ok...

'ill get this friendship back under control' what does that MEAN sasha. She probably doesn't really know that herself

The way they handle this reconciliation is crazy lol. The conclusion is that Sasha needs to recognise that Anne's changed? I don't know if that follows from this episode dude. I mean...Sasha is concerned about being left out and being unimportant to Anne. Anne is concerned about her killing people she loves and her being controlling and bossy

Ok actually this battle of the bands episode is much more clear about the dynamic. Sasha always wanting it her way. Anne not wanting that anymore.

Too bad they never realised that King Andreas is evil.

Honestly like Sasha a lot and what she did wasn't particularly bad but also understand Anne's fury

'redesign the political system so this sort of uprising never happens again'? She only realises that now. I wonder whether Marcy is thinking of Democracy.

At least Sasha and Grime know he's evil now. Too bad they're breaking him out now

Hmmm Anne did Sasha's move from season 1. It has no significance

'we were so focused on each other we couldn't see what was right in front of us'

Actually, you should have listened to Sasha. That was the real lesson. Or 'on ourselves' is the right term

ANNE GOES BACK HOME WITH HER PLANTER FAMILY??? WHAT??????

And Marcy died. And Sasha is still in Amphibia. Probably gonna lead a resistance. Oh my god.

Anne was willing to let Sasha stay in Amphibia forever tbh. Damn.

THEY ACTUALLY 'KILLED' MARCY. INCREDIBLE

YESSSS MARCYS GONNA BE AN ANGSTY VAT EXPERIMENT