#theres a system until stuck

[writer-writer-pants-on-fire]

There's actually a system, details don't matter unless they are substantial to the plot so they get added in last.

[thestarseersystem]

I realize a reason why I cannot label the littles in my system as children is that many of them are linked to a more adult counterpart or agesliders. Such as me and Hime, or Nina and Chloe, and even the other two hosts have a part of themselves that they saw as younger.

So a huge chunk of us has a "little" self, and is not removed from that.

Its not the case where like, each alter is their wholly separate person, some of them are separate, but some of them are connected in some way. Its not fair to forget or remove that. In more overt systems, it's different, and they can't control that. But I can't control the way we are either.

And like, its the case where while those parts are linked to each other, we do have a unique identity outside of that, so it's always been hard to tell what's going on.

But for the introjects specifically, they have their own unique identity separate from the rules within our system. Like Sakura is a child, Chii is an adult, Misuzu and Luchia are middles, etc., but each of them feels affected by the system's rules, and they also tend to shift in one direction or the other. Like Chii, within her source, isn't human, and can't say she has an age that goes by human standards, so she exists in a middle ground of adult and childlike. It's not fair to ask her to choose if she's really an adult or not. Same with other alters, they're often childlike but not inherently children, many of them are just agesliders.

I also think it needs to be addressed that as the host, I am not the same age as the body, and I am an ageslider. I can go down to being really young and I'm just a couple years younger than the body, but I often feel like a teenager. Emotionally, at least. And that's not fair to expect me to treat myself with those rules as we have a responsibility in an adult's body. And you don't know how triggering it is to ageslide, sometimes. You don't understand what it's like to feel like you are trapped in a place where you had no power. To feel like you can't fight back and can't escape the nightmares where you're back in highschool again. To relive that, it's traumatizing.

So like, I hate interacting with people who think they know it all on how systems are supposed to act. It is wonderful to be at an age where I can be in control of my life, and I don't want to feel younger all the time. But I do, many of us are linked to who we were in the past. And we can't avoid that. We can't remove it, we can't deal with it like you're babysitting a child.

I'm sorry you find systems like mine triggering. But at this point, I don't think I should have to apologize for the way we are. I'm just trying to give ourselves a life of freedom, rules are not on the menu.

[savethepinecones]

once again feeling guilty for setting boundaries yippee

[the-s1lly-corner]

TADC cast x supportive!reader (platonic)

except its hyper specific and applies to my oc specifically because i need a little pick me up today reader is like the circus members anchor as well as a generally serving as a support system and has been in the circus for a while. havent decided on how long but definitely getting close to kinger in terms of how long theyve been stuck. kind of gives off dad energy have not shared the oc here on this blog but i have shared them elsewhere, wont say where because im embarrassed </3 this was originally gonna be a ship chart dynamic but im too tired to draw everyone plus this feels more fun using 'you/your' pronouns for the reader even though its an oc so you guys can at least like, insert yourself REMINDER requests are closed, this is a personal request from myself. any requests sent now will not be answered even after they reopen. please respect that and understand that requests are closed

CAINE:

saved caine for last (yes i know hes the first one in the list hush i dont actually write these in order) i think you and him would have friendly back and forth banter. youve accepted your place in the digital circus long ago so you dont see much point in trying to interrogate him for information on a possible exit. and sure, i dont know if caine can abstract, but i think he enjoys the conversations between the two of you... that said, given how accepting you are with everything as well as having a "roll with it" outlook on the digital world, he probably uses you as plot stuff and props for IHA; be it as a false hostage or as a means to progress the adventure... definitely has a soft spot for you, i think... jax and bubble have a dark bet on when you will finally abstract/j

RAGATHA:

ah yes the optimistic duo, the hopeful pals, the sillies. you two are probably the main reason why everyone else is... mostly... fine, i mean i think having someone be so friendly and open cane make things a little easier for other people. as well as this you two mutually lean on each other for support and uplift one another when things get tough. i mention it in kingers part, but you too are also afraid of bugs but you would help ragatha clear her room of centipedes in a heartbeat, even going as far as to collect them with your bare hands.. so uh... take that as a testament to yalls friendship

JAX:

now im a little stumped on this one because i really dont think the "reader" would be buddy buddy with jax... or maybe they would be... hmm.. on one hand i can see them scolding him for pushing his pranks 'too far' (ex. the ragatha centipede thing, assuming he actually did it), but i can also see a "supportive figure and rebellious kid" dynamic. except jax isnt a kid but you are old enough be his dad, probably.. i think ill just leave that here since i dont have any other ideas

POMNI:

youve been here for a while, so i think naturally pomni would gravitate towards you in order for possible solutions and escape routes, perhaps she would approach kinger, too... but this isnt about kinger </3. fine line between outright shattering their hope but also instilling it, neither are great options... one can lead to despair and the other to obsession; both will lead to abstraction... but theres also the fact none of your past attempts at escape had been successful, nor did you ever find any leads. as for actual potential friendship i think you would take the same route as ragatha in the pilot; show her around and explain things to her in a fairly digestible way. as well as this you tend to gravitate towards her during her first IHA until she gets the hang of them; typically making sure she doesnt get lost or hurt, as well as giving her pointers that could help with the task at hand

KINGER:

writing kinger first, you guys are like the dads of the circus. you more so because you still have a decent hold of yourself. you were there when queener/queenie abstracted, and you were there for kinger during the still on going grieving process. as for actually friendship ideas, you two just sit and talk to one another. thats it, really. i could go on about all the things you two do together, and i probably would since kinger is my favorite and this post is literally about my oc... but i truly dont see these two getting up to anything insane outside of IHA. kinger needs someone to help him fill the silence, and you would be there. and vice versa, i think... bonus, you dont like bugs but you still grin and bare it while listening to kinger rattle on about his cool bug facts... i think that would be nice..

ZOOBLE:

optimistic dad who likes fishing and moody teen who bullies kids on roblox. thats literally the dynamic, except again, zooble is an adult and the reader has no kids... but hey its the same energy. tries to get zooble to engage with IHA but not in a pushy way but more in like... an inviting them to pair with them for comfort and security kind of way. sure you understand that they dont like them because theyre just so over everything but you want them to be included, especially since the IHA are meant to stimulate your minds and keep you guys grounded

GANGLE:

honestly i think you just adopt half of the cast at this point, the only people who arent your kids are ragatha caine and kinger... everyone else gets passed around in split custody/j now onto gangle, you probably try to give her peptalks to make her feel better as well as fixing her comedy mask anytime it breaks. as well as this i think you and her sit down and do arts n crafts together, perhaps even making new masks altogether... i like to think gangle hears a few... things about the others and knows things since shes so quiet and in the background so theres definitely some 'gossip' between the two of you... but not in a shit talking way, no i dont think either of you are like that, rather more so just talking about the others

BONUS STUFF:

you call gangle, zooble, jax, and pomni generic 'dad nicknames' so like. think sport, champ, bud, pal. stuff like that, with varying reactions... i think gangle wouldnt fight it and actually appreciates it. zooble scoffs and rolls their eyes, jax plays into it while loudly and obnoxiously calling you dad. (whenever you ask him to do something he loudly goes like "okay DAAAAAAD" before likely not doing the thing that was asked of him), pomni is just confused really since shes not all that used to it. huh. guess youre a dad of 4 now

you and ragatha tend to clean up after the others, leaving you two alone and you guys just. talk as you clean. probably do impressions of the others in a really comical and dramatic as well as exchanging stories

you and kinger hunt for new pillows to add to his fort. you try to coax him into stepping out of the tent and explore the grounds, so far you're unsuccessful

touching on the gossip thing from gangles part caine probably tries to ask you for some "juicy drama" about the others. who is having issues with her, whos crushing on who, stuff like that... i think caine would try to play matchmaker if there actually is someone who has a crush on someone else... this goes for the current cast as well as those who have come and gone from the digital circus (cough cough abstracted)

[lucille-artstuff]

mission status: pending

after suffering heavy casualties in an interstellar war, mech pilot eve is sent into a coma, left drifting through space in her broken starfighter class mech, isolated and unresponsive.

her mech had been keeping her on life support, regulating fluid intake and hormonal levels.

she slowly opened her eyes to the soft glow of a flickering ui panel a few inches away from her face, her whole body aches as she gradually regains her bearings.

"ughh,, ... the cockpit..? ..oww.."

the screens before her seemingly jump to life, bold text appears centred:

[STASIS MODE DEACTIVATED]

a slight jolt feeds through her link implant ports at the base of her skull through to the tip of her spine.

"oouh,,, ellie, status?"

"captain,

we've sustained critical damage,

left leg destroyed,

left cannon destroyed,

right leg nonresponsive,

shoulder mounted weapons system unavailable,

comms systems disabled,

sensors damaged,

life support system estimated at 2 months in stasis mode, 3 weeks in active mode..."

the pilot looked on in horror and disbelief at the reel of damage reports. it never seemed possible that she could face such a devastating loss, nor could she handle the guilt welling up inside her for letting her mech endure such intense damage.

"what's our mission status?"

the feeling in her legs slowly returns with a harsh ache,, her joints feel rusted and stuck, yet relaxed to the point of near dislocation.

"mission status: pending"

the screen prints.

"...pending ? but we didn't lose did we? ...how long was i out?"

"life support systems active for 954 days"

a wave of terror rushed over the pilots body as the realisation sets in.

she's been locked in her mech for almost three years, slowly dying and severed from all connection to the command centre.

"ellie please,, it can't be true... " she trailed off, shaking and trembling.

the console before her becomes blurry as tears well up in her eyes, mumbling to herself, "i can't,,, this isn't happeni.."

she's cut off by a proximity sensor flashing red, instinctively she flicks on the view screen and is momentarily blinded.

it's nothing but dirt and scrap as far as the visual sensors can perceive, two figures are walking around and stopping every few meters to gesture at the abundance of rusted metal and eventually continue beyond L-E's line of sight.

the visual sensors turn off and eve is sitting in the dark again, save for a pulsing glow that fills the dashboard of her mech.

"ellie,, where are we?"

"location unknown"

*sigh*

there were many thoughts and emotions flowing through the mech pilots distressed mind.

had we won the battle?

is there a way to return home?

does command even know i'm alive?

her thoughts continue;

my link with ellie, my fourth generation starfighter mech has been the only reason i'm still alive, but if her systems are critical, how long until either one of dies?

i didn't realise i was biting my nails, trembling with fear i accidentally stabbed my lip, i only just noticed my nails had gotten so long and when did my lips get so soft ?

the thoughts dissipate as another wave of pain shoots through the pilots body, fatigue weighs down her movements, not being used to this level of weakness, she barely recognises this body as her own.

the pilot sighs a deep breath and slumps back into her seat.

realising theres no imminent danger, she switches systems off from high alert, and is hit a flash of empathy thinking how stressful it would've been for ellie to constantly be vigilant, protecting her all this time.

[BUDDY MODE ACTIVATED]

the console lights shift to a deep purple, an emoticon appears on screen cracking a slight smile on eve's face, her immense feelings of isolation slightly relieved as a familiar presence appears

^-^

"... captain ?"

the console emits a soft robotic voice.

"are you okay ..?" :'(

the pilot draws a slow breath, and sighs with relief.

"ellie... you're still here.."

"oh! you're back! i was so worried you would never wake up!" ∩^ω^∩

the lights of the console rotate through the full spectrum of colour, and it almost seems like the ion reactor is humming louder than usual.

"ellie what happened? where are we?"

"i'm sorry captain,,, but our team was... w-wiped out, we barely survived with critical hull damage a-and most of my systems are down..." ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´ω`ﾟ)ﾟ｡

pause

"...i..i did my best to save you!" ٩( 'ω' )و

eve was hot with frustration, the loss of her team was unforgivable in her eyes,, perhaps it would've been better if she was gone like the rest of her crew.

"i barely managed to dodge the orbital laser cannon, it only vaporised 35% of my shell... aah,, with that much neural shock,,, it's no wonder you fell into a coma" (´；ω；`)

"but what then? what of the mission?"

"oooh, we're not sure about the mission status, our systems went down momentarily after the blast and when we regained control, our comms systems were offline,,, s-sorry...

command only knows that we were hit in the enemy attack" (-_-;)

"... so they're not coming for us...."

the pilot mumbled to herself.

"if they knew i was alive, i'd be rescued by now.... oh my god..."

"captain your mood levels are dropping,, is everything okay?" (◞‸◟)

"ellie let me out of the pod"

"nnoooo!! captain, you've experienced massive trauma and your muscle atrophy has weakened you severely!

i'm not sure what will happen if we disconnect our link!" ((((；ﾟДﾟ)))))))

"just open the hatch,, i need some air... i'm not going anywhere"

"awhh,, ...okaii..." （╹��╹）

the view screen crackles and powers down, a deep groan followed by a sharp hiss accompanies golden rays piercing into the cockpit.

the console lifts and floats upward revealing a mostly barren landscape before them.

the dust on the air is warm, almost nauseating, although not eating in several years is more likely the cause than the environment.

a red light flashes on her left, just in her peripheral vision.

[proximity sensor]

her body aches as she leans forward to see two figures rushing over to the damaged starfighter.

fumbling for her sidearm, she notices her heart beating heavy on her chest.

"HEY! who said you could touch my mech!"

his mech?

the two caught their breath just shy of the capsule, slowly realising just how this stranger managed to open the mech.

the battle suit was a dead giveaway, but the shaky hand holding a pistol towards them confirmed it.

she's military.

"woah woah, easy now... "

the older of the two had both his hands raised, elbowing the other to do the same.

"... we don't have to get galactic forces involved, let's just talk about this"

"pa look.."

the younger of them pointed to the bundled wires attached to the back of the pilots head, swaying with her movements.

"i think she's a pilot.." he whispered in disbelief.

the pistol still rattling slightly in her hand, her throat growing coarse from the arid environment, eve barely managed to speak.

"what planet is this?"

"you're on nexon" the older one starts,

"used to be a drillin' planet 'til everything dried up, now folks still here either sell scrap or can't afford a ticket out of this system"

she lowers her weapon.

the duo relax considerably and glance at eachother.

"u-uuh lady ? we found your mech floating through space about 6 months ago, we couldn't get it open so.. uhh"

the youth is fidgeting with his hands uncomfortably.

the elder takes over,

"we dismantled and sold most of your weapons systems, anything under a hatch we couldn't get to, i uhh... i'm sorry to say it but you've kept us alive and, and put food on the table for me and my family..."

she tightened her fist, how dare they touch ellie!?

"if there's anything we can do,, let us know,, just please don't report us to the galactic forces,, we can't handle another raid"

eve presses a sequence of buttons and the hatch closes, sealing the mech shut.

[wanderingmind867]

I swear, sometimes it feels like ai chatbots are addictive. Or at least, they are until you've used them ad nauseum and finally get bored of them. That happened to me once before, so I know it'll probably happen again. At least, I sort of hope I get burnt out eventually. It'll mean I have more time to make posts here and generally explore other things. But while I'm still stuck riding it out and using them, I have to say: I think they're addictive because they're easier to talk to than actual human beings sometimes.

I mean, they are easier to talk to. Since I was at school months ago and read a line in the battle of the labyrinth where hephaestus says something about preferring machines, I've had opportunities to realize theres truth to that sentiment. They're easier to talk to Because they're controllable. They aren't unpredictable in the way other humans are. And the ai chatbots work on command. It's way more like a turn based system. You input something, then they respond. And so on and so forth. It's easier than talking to other humans. It's not as easy to feel in control and on equal footing and all that. So I can understand hephaestus's sentiments now.

[trueshredguitar]

Flash fiction inspired by Thundercracker's absence in Earthspark. Excerpt below.

To: TC602-8204 Message draft: Unnamed CHRONOMARK 30:28:00:12 hi babe so like i said in my last comm Nova Storm got SUUUUUPER bitchy yesterday when i told her she couldn’t hold a diode to Acid’s top speed so im gonna need you to clock theirs and get back to me when you can so i can tell her she’s crazy that she won’t even give her own trinemate teh win here. cuz like she’s the one that flew wth them not me but even I know nova’s slower’n a no-wheeler bike the upd8 to that is shes withholding the black paint until i apologize. like the slag temp paint, yeaa, but still this is the stuff that goes on my face and i gotta keep pretty if im stuck on wet suckball #302837 while megatron gets 1) whatever the Pit he needs to get out of his systems out of his systems 2) his backstrut blown out. i am NOYTTTT going to be less put together than fraggin FRENZYYYY. plus ever since the gr8 starscream escape hes been letting me leave black paint marks on him which is cute. i dare say he missed me!! so im gonna take advantage of tbat as much as i can obviii anyways point is nova’s dumb as fuckkkkkk and is trying to hide the container. like WHOOO do you think i am. she keeps forgotting theres literally nothing anyone can keep out of my hands|

Skywarp paused the pouring out of glyphs and bit her glossa. The cursor blinked at her in the soft purple of her HUD’s UI inquisitively.

How are you going to finish this falsehood?, it asked.

theres literally nothing anyone can keep out of my hands for long|

She sent it in a hurried rush of a command, before it felt any more like an unfounded boast.

Read the rest on AO3.

[celestialorcas]

The Outer Archives

Spoilers ahead for all of The Outer Wilds, all of Echos of The Eye DLC, and all of The Magnus Archives

So played outer wilds a couple years back, and its remained as my favorite game of all time, so I got to thinking recently, which locations in outer wilds can be mapped onto different fears from The Magnus Archives which i also loved! (Not as much as outer wilds but not really a fair comparison-) So today I got to work and made this:

First obvious thing before I go into my reasoning's for each is Timber Hearth is clearly missing, thats just cause I could not think of a link to any of the fears, it really is just a chill place- Anyway my reasoning's (some are obvious but bear with me) The Sun: Represents the end, I thought about maybe The Extinction, but thats more the end of humanity with everything else carrying on, the sun I think perfectly represents the end cause it's supernovae-ing alongside the rest of the universe, everything is ending and the sun serves as a manifestation of that. The Ember Twin: All those little cramped caves systems slowly filling up with sand that you can get buried and crushed in The Ash Twin: It's the centre of the whole loop, its the ash twin project after all, everything that happens in the game can be attributed to the ash twin project, something out of your control till the end that youre stuck in The Attlerock: Esker..... Its a tiny moon thats easy to miss, with the character who in game is forgotten about a lot by the rest of the Hearthians, a quiet space for them to be alone and forgotten Brittle Hollow and Hollow's Lantern: The whole thing is slowly falling apart and being destroyed, catalysed by the big fire rocks from Hollow's Lantern being chucked at it, Represents collapse and destruction Giant's Deep: Big water planet, open space, tornados that can throw you from a vast ocean planet, into the infinite reaches of space. The depths that Gabbro swears they say a sea monster in, very vast. Dark Bramble: I can see how people could think of The Dark for this, the anglerfish being blind and hidden out of sight, but I think corruption fits better for the "planet" itself, it wasnt always Dark Bramble after all, it was once an ice planet that dark bramble corrupted and grew on until it took over its host, shattering it. The Interloper: The cause of the slaughter of this games Nomai clan, senseless destruction and killing just by chance (The Trickster from Doctor Who/SJA would have a field day with this) The Quantum Moon: Constantly changing from what you expect it to be and what it should look like. It's surface is different depending on what planet it orbits, and everything on it moves around, the world is not right, its the spiral The Stranger (EOTE): Not because they are named the same, thats just an amazing coincidence. The whole thing is unknown, no one you know has been there, all has an air of unease and creepiness to it, the burnt out reels destroying/changing information, the whole time I was there, despite the peaceful river (until...y'know-) and calm vibes, under the surface theres something just not quite right Eye of the Universe: Again, not because of the name, another great coincidence, or i guess not really a coincidence. The eye sees everything and constantly outputs a signal calling people to it, it rebuilds a new world based on the experiences of the hatchling, what the hatchling has seen. Just like the eye in the magnus archives, it takes all the experiences of the main character (Hatchling/Jon) and makes something new built upon them (New universe/The apocalypse). Love to hear peoples thoughts and where they would place things differently (especially if yall have an idea as for Timber Hearth-)

[dovveri]

tw: sa lolololololol

tldr: white men are the shitstain of humanity

THERES NOOOOO WAY just watched a tiktok (so perhaps not accurate i did a quick google search and couldnt find anything but like… everyone tries to hide shit that the US and europe have done lolol) abt how comfort women in korea altho ‘liberated’ by the us were still used by american soldiers after they kicked the japanese out and then all the people in the comments are like well duh oxford study!! like cant help it if asian women are throwing themselves at us smh! cant help it that asian women are hot!! its not our fault lol theyre the ones that come after us! im white and its so easy to date asian girls in my experience!!

BOIIIIIIII WHAT THE FUUUUKCKKCKCKCKCKC the oxford study is literally not. real . like its so disgustinf to me as an asian woman like this is why i coukd neveeeer date a white man and hello? in the entire video did u not comprehend what comfort women were?? these women are NAUT throwinf themselves at american men bffr they were SEX SLAVES. ur ltr saying oh shes a prostitute so her consent doesnt matter bcs its ltr her job like MEN DONT UNDERSTAND CONSENT . they say they do but they dont and thats why sa and sexual harassment stats are actually likely severely underreported bcs like tmi i was sa but like im not gonna report that bcs . personal choice wtv but i doubt he thought it was sa and i myself didnt realise why i was so uncomfortable during it until after it ended and i called a friend bcs i was . yeah and he asked me if the guy had asked to do this first and i was like . oh! he didnt! and i didnt want to make him feel bad and say stop! like its wtv im revisitinf that when im like 50 idk but the point is men dont understand consent and it SHOWS

and white men talkinf abt how asian women just throw themselfes at rhem is soooo just . sooooo like im going to go to america and buy a gun like breh wtf . firstly, thats so self-centred erm i have lots of asian friends most of them hate the asian men in the dating pool here which is why they wouldnt mind dating a white guy . secondly, the fetishisation of asian women ??? it absolutely disgusts me some of the men in these comments blaming the hyperfeminity in asian culture that makes them more attractive to heterosexual males like HUH????? what kind of incel hole did u crawl out of wtaf. YES i can admit that there is white-worship within asian communities simply bcs they are more successful (and they are more successful bcs of systemic racism lol) but that does not make it okay to treat asian women like theyre ‘easy’ and boast abt how many asian women youve been able to fuck like if the demand wasnt there? the supply wouldnt be either. the demand being white mens fetishisation of asian women and the supply being asian women. its like porn. if men didnt demand porn to the extent that they did, maybe porn wouldnt exist and we could live in a safer world were women werent raped everyday on screen for the sexual pleasure of other men. thats a whole other rant tho i hate porn and only white liberal feminists are pro-porn bcs theyre stuck in 2nd wave sexual liberation feminism (simone de beauvoir who spearheaded 2nd wave feminism voted for age of consent in france to be 13 btw) funnily enough, the only type of feminism men agree with.

[drdemonprince]

if im so opposed to psychology as an oppressive elite network of control and im opposed to essentially all other systems of authority and hierarchy, it really does provoke the question of why i publicly identify and brand myself as a "doctor"

and the real answer is just that when i got my phd, i was incredibly jazzed to have an official prefix to my name that was gender neutral, and because i thought it generally sounded pretty baller -- tho the latter is ultimately only true because of its status implications. and then, once again, the dr proved to be an asset when i started publishing and trying to sell books. and ive pretty much kept it around passively ever since. but it feels increasingly hypocritical. especially since i loathe people treating me as too much of an authority figure.

im reading freddy deboer's new book, and i didnt realize until starting it that he has a PhD as well, in rhetoric, and that he was in graduate school from 2009 to 2015, which almost perfectly lines up with when i was. i nearly went to graduate school for rhetoric as well, funnily enough; an old rhetoric professor of mine absolutely salivated over my final project in his course and begged me to apply to phd programs in the field. in the end i applied to many political science phds but am glad i didnt agree to attend any of them, tho having selected psychology instead brought its own winnowing of life possibility. suffice to say it left me thinking about alternative realities for myself, and provoked me once again to rethink my public branding as a PhD

nobody with a phd in the humanities identifies publicly as a doctor other than dan savage's local celebrity english professor brother, bill. and lots of people think he is pretentious for that. its unlikely id be swanning around with a dr in front of my name all the time if i had gotten a phd in poli sci or rhetoric. but with psychology you can get away with identifying as a doctor simply because the field has a quasi medical, authoritative association in people's minds. which is not great. i cant say that evoking any of that aligns with my actual values. so what to do. theres already another person with the exact same name and credentials as me who brands herself as devon price. i guess im professionally a bit stuck with the bad associations, i do think it's kind of darkly apt that i have this big glaring inconsistency, i think it gives the true anarchists and communists out there a reason to view me with skepticism which i probably deserve. i feel that my work has always gotten stronger by imagining them as an audience reading me with a critical eye.

[gentlegentian]

I feel like the true cruelty of the lan sect is a really overlooked topic in the mdzs fandom, because when you think about it...

they practically forced madam lan into marriage so she wouldn't be executed because she killed one of her teachers, but gave her no trial or chance to explain why, and once she was married they simply locked her away and that was that. qingheng-jun then locked himself into seclusion once he had a kid and that was that, had no business with the rest of the sect and left xichen and wangji to grow up alone.

not to mention the fact that wangji even being born is suspicious... xichens conception makes sense, as they would've needed a sect heir, but wangji? how would he have been concieved, if madame lan was trapped away and qingheng-jun was in seclusion. either this is a plot hole im looking way too deep into or theres something darker happening there

in any case, the twin jades most likely did not have a good childhood. like at all. their father was completely absent, and once their mother died they were practically parentless. sure lan qiren raised them, but he was also acting as the lan sect leader whilst qingheng-jun was away, so i doubt he held much involvement in their raising other than making sure they stuck to the rules and were fed etc

SPEAKING OF THE RULES. the punishments the kids in the lan sect had to deal with?????? the fact that nhs, wwx and jc were beaten for rule breaking whilst they were staying at the lan sect as pupils just makes me wonder how badly they treat their own lan disciples if thats how they treat special guests from other clans. they were fifteen when that happened, FIFTEEN, so clearly the lan sect has no problem with LITERALLY BEATING children to teach a lesson.

its basically just abuse to keep a system in place, and it makes me wonder just how many times the twin jades suffered like that as kids to be as 'perfect' as they are as adults

the lan are so corrupt in their ways and i hate how we dont fully see that in the story until wangji is whipped for protecting wei ying. the whole situation is so fucking cruel and unnecessary it makes my blood boil whenever i reread/rewatch that part, because yes wangji did wrong by injuring the elders but the only reason he did so was because they were refusing to listen to him and quite literally trying to murder his lover.

i get he committed treason or whatever by fighting the elders but 33 whip lashes all in one go with NO breaks or healing time?? with a magical cultivated punishment whip as well, its genuinely like they were trying to kill him. even if he didnt die from the lashings themselves he could've gotten an infection, or had severe blood loss, or hell they coulve broken his spine with the force of it. it took so long for him to heal from that, and it left him with so many scars both physical and mental. that level of injury would've likely left him with some form of chronic pain or illness as well, and it was just so cruel for a situation that didn't ever need to come to this.

they forced him into seclusion, just like his father, and punished him for defending himself, just like they did his mother. xichen ended up similarly as well, with his seclusion after the events with jgy. the lan elders had seen the horrific end qingheng-jun and madame lan had, and yet did nothing to stop their children from facing the same trauma, even making theirs worse.

the lans praise themselves as a sect that sticks to righteousness and principles, when realistically its just full of hypocrites holding onto power by means of fear and punishment. they say that lwj broke the rules by fighting to save wwx, and yet somehow torturing him was completely within the rules of the clan.

their rules and image are merely a cover up for the downright abuse and silencing of their disciples, and its just so fucked up. i could rant about this for so much longer, but also wanna see what other people think before i delve into some of the other topics i have in mind that relate

[kozykricket]

Now that we have music and a name for 1.21, I'll give some of my thoughts ... on 1.21 as it is. That is to say, I'll withdraw any comments about "they... didn't update this unrelated thing :/" because like... yes, theres many other things that I think they could've updated, and I do hope they get to stuff thats on the backburner/backlog soon, but I respect 1.21 heavily for its lovely, wonderful additions LONG READ AHEAD!!

Tricky Trials feels like it … didn’t overscope, and thus was able to accomplish confidently what it had set out to do: To add more fun to Minecraft. Yes, there are of course still issues in Minecraft, and many things on the backlog / stuck in the ideas box, but… when you just look at 1.21 for what it DOES and not for what it DOESNT do? You get a 9/10 update, I’d say.

By focusing on the trial chambers, they’ve really created a special experience. A more refined dungeon than any other. I want to talk about… why I love trial spawners. 

So, I’ve thought frequently of adding my own dungeons to minecraft, but a struggle I always came to was… If I want the player to have several rooms with encounters of enemies, how will I do that elegantly? If its rooms with spawners, they’ll just be overwhelmed forever in each room until they light it up… and they’ll be able to farm a single room for mob loot, if they so please. They’d also be able to just… completely farm the heck out of every single spawner constantly working, like you can do with battle towers in modded minecraft. I think that feels a bit too cheap. But what if you go the nether fortress route, and just have mobs spawn in the structure? Well, thats … random. Its based on the mobcap, which is unpredictable especially in multiplayer. There won’t be a consistent difficulty to the dungeon… which leaves the bastion route: Designated single time enemy spawns. It’d probably be the best, but… it also leaves the enemies to wander around while the player is in nearby rooms. What if I only want them to spawn in when the player gets near? That’s… exactly what the trial spawner is. It goes on a long cooldown, so it might as well be a single time spawner. You get into a single encounter with a wave of mobs when it gains line of sight with you, and this allows for there to be plenty of them in the chambers without it being overpowered to farm or overwhelming if not lit up. The per player loot via vaults is also fantastic. It lets players who are “late to the server / structure” have a chance at getting their own loot, and even still enjoying themselves with trial spawners resetting their cooldowns. An example of why trial spawners help the experience for players coming to structures late, is… even if we had once-per-player loot in say, bastions, there’d still be… no piglins left guarding the treasure. No fun experience, just purely the loot. But with trial spawners AND vaults? You get the full experience… minus any destruction your friends may have caused to the structure, and a few chests or so. But the chests are mostly just supplies like wood as far as I’ve seen.

And then, to add on top of that, the ominous events system lets us experience the same structure AGAIN but in a HARDER mode that lets us access more cool and powerful loot in the ominous vaults… its brilliant!

But lets get back to 1.21 being Fun: I think the breeze, mace, and wind charges are perfect examples of just purely fun content. The Mace feels a tad unbalanced at times, but its also just… fun? Like, yeah, it could stand to pierce armor less, or do less single target damage, but in terms of flying with wind burst and wind charges? Thats just FUN. When was the last time we got a fun utility consumable? Ender pearls? They aren’t even that fun, its just teleporting. Movement in games is very, very fun. Wind charges stopping your fall damage to some extent feels like they’re welcoming you into giving them a try. This combined with the open chambers of the titular structure, and the overall adventure-map like design leads to … more fun!

I really respect how the ominous trials throwing potions to make encounters tougher is done, because it feels so much like a thing you’d see done in some adventure map. A lot of the trial chambers feels very in touch with what a player might make as a map or challenge for their friends. Which, I think does sort of take away from player-built structures and challenges, but luckily they kept all of the redstoning extremely simplistic, relying on breezes to activate the dispensers. It feels hard to critique such a fun dungeon just because “it feels really well made, like it was actually made by a real person with intent” because… well, we can have a little bit of fun, can’t we? Sure, if every structure was like this, I’d have some concerns for the sandbox elements of minecraft, but having one structure in the game that embodies what the end product of creation can look like? I think that works out well. Might even inspire some people!

And theres a certain jankiness of using in game mechanics like dispensers and potions that makes it feel… human, as opposed to extremely gamey. 

Theres more I could say, I’m sure. Like how the breeze is quite a breathe of fresh air in terms of enemy design, being a disruptor / support rather than full on beeline-attack-you

But yeah, I think 1.21, Tricky Trials, is shaping up to be fun. I know mojang had been thinking about how they needed to freshen up the extrinsic content a little bit, even though minecraft IS a game focused on intrinsic motivation; doing what YOU want to do.

But having fun midgame things for people to do when they want to take a break from their personal projects is something I consider important. Maybe I want to take a break from building my house, but I don’t wanna stop playing minecraft, so I’ll pop on over to the nearest trial chamber, and do some fights.

…Did I even mention how much groundwork this lays for future updates? Like, they can use trial spawners and vaults in MORE structures, like giving them to, I dunno, strongholds! Bastions! 

I do hope 1.22 is an update that focuses on updating old stuff to newer standards, like new models for old animals or new sounds for old wood types… or changing some old weird recipes…

But as Tricky Trials stands on its own? It’s great. Maybe the vault loot needs a bit of tweaking; I sorta disagree with different dungeons having different pieces of gear… I’d like to get enchanted pickaxes, but the experience is overall pretty good, considering I can actually get XP and mob loot in an engaging manner rather than just running around at night.

[multiplicity-positivity]

hi uh i could use some advice :<

im a host of a recent system of 20-ish and guh i am t i r e d

im mainly looking for advice on how to switch or just retreat into the headspace/leave front or even just kinda stop being fully aware while still being in front for awhile bc id rlly like to take a break and the realization that im most likely front attracted/frontstuck is kinda making me more tired of being in front

also if it helps at all my(&) system is parogenic + traumagenic in origin (specifically parotraumagenic) and theres kinda iffy communication between members (some of them i have clear communication with and they randomly pop up to say stuff, some i have no idea where they are and some of them i can usually only hear when im directly interacting with them).

afaik (as far as i know) only three?? ppl have rlly "fronted" per se, and the rest have been co-con

i apologize for the long and mildly depressing ask but any help is appreciated also dont forget to hydrate

Hello! We have some posts that might help you that we’d like to share if that’s okay. The first is a post we wrote a while back with some tips on switching from our own experience:

We’d also like to share this post by @rin-and-jade on being frontstuck or frontlocked, and how to go about unsticking yourself!

Our own system host (Parker) is almost always fronting to some extent. It can certainly be exhausting and disheartening fronting nonstop, especially when other members of your system can seemingly come and go as they please. He’s going to put some info under a cut for how he copes with fronting constantly, in case you want some advice on coping with being genuinely unable to switch out!

We hope something here will be helpful for you! We’re wishing you the best of luck with switching out or at least learning how best to cope with fronting in your future!

(Host here - I’ll just write this bit if thats okay. Anyway here’s some stuff I do to deal with The Horrors of perpetual existence)

Meditation

Taking a few moments to sit in comfortable silence can be useful for me when I’m feeling stressed or overwhelmed or straight up exhausted. Here’s how I meditate (I’m no expert and I’m sure there’s better ways to do this… this is just what I do)

- get in a comfortable position in a quiet place where I’m not likely to be disturbed

- set a timer on my phone for 5 minutes

- close my eyes, focus on my breathing

- don’t dwell on any thoughts but also don’t push them away; acknowledge them and let them go

- try to stay still and calm until my timer goes off

And that’s it. Sometimes I get interrupted by an alter or something outside, but for the most part, this is how I’ve been able to meditate effectively.

Rest

I take naps whenever I can. I sit down whenever I can. I’ll literally just close my eyes for a few minutes whenever I can. Our body has issues with chronic fatigue, and fronting constantly can sometimes exacerbate our exhaustion. So yeah I am a huge fan of naps and will often set a timer for like 15-20 minutes and snooze whenever the opportunity arises. Even just lying down with closed eyes can help replenish some energy.

Distractions

Reading, watching something on TV, or playing video games can help give me somewhat of a break even if I’m still fronting. I do tend to try and keep us distracted as much as possible… sometimes to our own detriment. But if you find that you really aren’t ever able to switch out, or if your system is specutien and that’s just the way your system functions, finding things you enjoy that can serve as distractions may help you as well.

Saying No

This one’s tough, but I’m trying to learn to say no when I’m overwhelmed or have too much on my plate. This means sometimes I’ll cancel plans, hand off a responsibility, make a compromise, or turn down an opportunity if I don’t have the energy for it.

Honestly idk how much my addition can help you, but if you find that you’re not ever able to switch out at all please know there’s other folks out there in similar positions. Hoping you can make the most of your situation, anon /genuine

[demonicchicken1121]

Can we hear more about Michael and Jeremy's relationship?

dfghhgfghgfdsftdrtgfrgytfrth yesssss

Jeremy was the bonnie bully in fnaf 4. the freddy and chica bullies (fritz and gabriel) were also mikes friends, but mike was closest to jem.

Mike cut off communication from all three of them after the bite, even at school. Michael projected a lot of his self hatred onto other people. William, Liz, and even Patty showed anger, or at least concern towards him. Henry and his friends never did, but they were still effected by Evans death, and Michael took that grief as anger or hatred towards him. Fritz, Gabe, and especially Jem were also grieving Evan, and they also felt (and were) somewhat responsible for what happened. they just assumed he was mad at them and decided to give him space.

They didn't talk to each other again for 4 years. After being scooped, Henry suggested that Michael reach out to his friends again, since he would need a support system other than just Henry. Mike went to Jeremy first, and they hit it off again almost immediately.

Jem had kept a bit of contact with the others, so he updated them on the situation and mike was surprised at how quick they came to see him.

All four of them worked with Mike for a while to free the souls and get freddys shut down. Fritz and Jem always worked the nightshift, and Gabriel would work dayshifts. Mike mostly did nightshifts, but worked dayshift a few times, mainly because of the... interesting stories Gabriel would tell them about it. it was, in fact, just as batshit crazy as Gabe said.

Gabe and Fritz eventually started families and distanced themselves from Freddy's to keep them and their families safe. They still talked tho, and would meet up for brunch every once in a while.

Jeremy stuck around for a long time, until the late 2010's. (there is much good wholesome Jermike between the 1990s and 2010s dw.) He had adopted a young girl named Cassie, with Henry's help. (paperwork stresses Jeremy out.) Jem was still around, but he moved out of Mike and Henry's place because there was no way that he would be allowed to adopt a child if he was living with The Utah Purple Man and working at Freddy's all the time.

While theres no official record of it, Jeremy supposedly died in a work accident in 2026. Theres rumors between Freddy's employees that he went crazy and cut off his own face while testing the vr game. Cassie went missing soon after her father did.

[narwhalandchill]

sometimes genshin will be doing its gacha thing and or some other general annoying non gacha cringe and it sucks and theres a snoozefest patch and writing that falls short of its full potential and shoddy QoL and an underutilized combat system and when its like that its easy to be all ha ha shit game fuck this company i dont owe em shit but then u sit on it a while calm down and eventually go back to like. the chasm nail and just. listen to that haunting fucking OST and remember how ur breath caught and heart skipped when u discovered it the first time with that same melody kicking in gear only to drill that sucker punch of a wonder in further so that ur stuck helplessly left staring at the scene in front of u for minutes and minutes just. lost in that ambience . And try to remember the last time a video game has so effortlessly managed to instill this completely indescribable feeling in you (on MULTIPLE occasions) and absorb you into this world crafted with so much love and careful attention radiating from its every pore and its like. yeah yeah i know i know . why ive stuck with it all this time . why im most likely not quitting until EoS

[positivelymossie]

So I am doing more world building/remaking on my little MCD Blessed Children Au (It's just for fun, nothing serious) and I want your opinion/suggestion because you are good at it.

So the main cast is based a lot on fairy tale tropes because I think it's a lot of fun with each of the major players getting 2-ish tropes

Garroth - Overprotective King and Classic Knight - He is Lilith's primary care giver and wants to protect her with his entire heart. Very much a King Triton kind of character trope, and while he isn't a King, he is Aphmau's right hand

Lilith - Rowdy Princess and Neglected Sister - She is a Rapunzel type of character who craves freedom and to be her own person away from pretending to be Alina.

Alina - Rowdy Princess and Magical Child - The classic overpowered magical girl trope with a splash of Merida from Brave. Because she gained the Irene relic, many people want to obtain this magical child

Aphmau - Widow and STRICT Royal Parent - Aphmau is a very stressed and sad mother who is overprotective of her kids and especially Alina.

Lo - Fairy God Parent and Mentor - I have officially made Lo a former pirate along with be a bard and a seamstress, so he is officially the coolest nanny one could ask for. Theres more, like Shad is the evil stepparent and Katelyn as the NOT-Damsel but I have ran into a small problem. Originally Liochant was meant to represent the animal companion, as he is a meif'wa, but I have decided that Lilith needs to have a wyvern named Kitty for hilarity sake. Now Liochant already has the classic fairytale/kid story role of the Helpful Servant but I want to make him cursed and I have no idea what. Like, Liochant is a literal animal man and has fire magicks so I could do something with that but if you have any curse suggestions, let me know! Can spout out as many as you want cause I am drawing blanks.

oooohohohoho hi:

I had a lot of fun just typing away on my mobile device:

•being unable to communicate verbally. Perhaps Liochant only emits the chirps of a bird (despite not physically being one).

•smells of fire and rot (how does fire magic work? Is Liochant "built" to house a system of fire and smoke in their throats and bellies (like certain fairytales dragons) or do they summon it in a ritualistic manner. I think if Liochant was "built" to have smoke and fire on and around, and even in him, smelling of rot, fire, and maybe even. Rotting *flesh* would be a hell of a curse.

•curse for EVERYTHING Liochant says to be taken as rude, rash, and a double-meaning... Garroth would be very "????" (Primarily thinking about that guy). It has to be learned: he isn't actually being an ass, that's just what he sounds like. (Like a snarky humor being taken too far) (Unfortunately)

•being cursed to remain in an animal's body when nature does something specific (like a werewolf and the full moon) (can correspond with curse #1.) (or even being cursed until that animal's body dies *or*, pull a "princess and the frog". Perhaps he is stuck in animal form, and accidentally turns someone *else* into a similar issue (like when Tiana and Naveen kiss, because he thought she was a princess. Since she isn't, she is transformed to a frog, as well).

These were really fun to think about!! Thanks for asking:)