#things arent handled great in areas

[thetimelordbatgirl]

All I'm gonna say on Cosmic Fury right now as someone whose only seen spoilers but has yet to binge the episodes: ....not a great way to end a 30 year old franchise.

[krisp-xyz]

Was experimenting with halftone effects after watching this video and it almost has spiderverse vibes honestly. I actually learned some neat things about why printers use CMYK instead of just CMY so I thought I'd share !!

So in our optimal little computer space, Cyan (0,255,255), Magenta (255,0,255) and Yellow (255,255,0) all multiplied together gives us a perfect black (0,0,0) Awesome! The issue is that ink colors irl arent exactly perfect like this, and color is a bit more complicated irl compared to how computers represent it, so they aren't the greatest at combining into black if they aren't those perfect CMY values:

Left: CMY

Right: CMYK

(thats not even black, its a dark blue in the original image but dark colors just look so much richer)

An important step to make sure you arent doubling up on the black values though is to divide the image by it's own "value" (the max of all 3 color channels) that way the value is equal to 1 everywhere, and you're letting the black ink take care of the value on its own.

Left: CMY (normalized value)

Middle: K (black)

Right: Combined

Now obviously the grids of dots cant be aligned perfectly with each other because you'd just get a bunch of black dots in unwanted areas, but if the grids are misaligned, then some dots become more prominent than others which tints the whole image. This was an issue because older printing methods didn't have great accuracy and these grids were often misaligned.

The solution was to rotate these grids such that they can move around freely while getting rid of that tint effect if they aren't perfectly aligned :D

(I have no idea how they came up with these angles but that might be something to look into in the future who knows)

SPEAKING OF MISALIGNMENT

I wanted to implement that in my own filter to get some cool effects, and I discovered another reason CMYK is better than CMY for lots of stuff !!

With CMY, you're relying on the combination of 3 color channels to make the color black. This means if you have thin lines or just details in general, misalignment can make those details very fuzzy. Since CMYK uses a single color of ink to handle value, it reduces color fringing and improves clarity a lot even if you have the exact same misalignment as CMY!

Left: CMY

Right: You guessed it! CMYK

(yes these comparisons have the exact same color misalignment, the only difference is using a fourth ink color for black)

ANYWAY I just thought there was a lot of cool information in this tiny little day project, I also just think it looks really neat and wanted to share what I learned :3c

EDITING BECAUSE THERE'S ONE MORE THING I WANTED TO ADD

So, I talked about how to get K in addition to CMY instead of just CMY, but how exactly do you separate CMY from an image in the first place?

Well, CMY is a subtractive color space, meaning the "absence of color" is white, compared to RGB where it's black. This makes sense because ofc ink is printed on white paper. You can use dot product to get the "similarity" between two vectors, and this can be used to separate RGB actually! Using the dot product of a color and red (255,0,0) will give you just the red values of the image. This is cool though because if we get the dot product of our image and the color cyan (0,255,255), we can get the cyan values from our image too! If we first divide our colors by their value to separate the value from them, then separate CMY using those dot product values, and using K for our final black color value, our individual color passes end up looking like this:

While it's called a "subtractive" color space, I find it more intuitive to treat white as the absence of color here, and then multiply all these passes together. It makes it much easier to understand how the colors are combined imo. Notice how cyan is the opposite of red: (255,0,0) vs (0,255,255) and magenta and yellow are the opposites of green and blue respectively! This means you can actually kinda get away with separating the RGB values and just inverting some stuff to optimize this, but this example is much more intuitive and readable so I won't go too deep into that. THANKS FOR READING I know it's a very long post but I hope people find it interesting! I try my best to explain things in a clear and concise way :3

oh thank you I realized I should probably add an eyestrain tag

[solar-sunnyside-up]

hey! sorry to bother you, but is there anything a teen without transportation in a rural area can do on their own? im pretty isolated, and theres barely anything around me.

Hey ya sprout 🌱

**A disclaimer Punk comes with some risk socially. Particularly if your in a rural area this risk goes up bc people Know You and also typically these spaces have a different vibe to alt ppl in general. Some activities are more or less risky and I'll try and do my best to give you a range of stuff from the whole spectrum! Of course this is a generalization of rural areas. Some palaces will be more cool then others depending in so many factors I couldn't go into here**

Rural solarpunk

Your gunna been to pick a topic, sorry babe. In order to not burn yourself out and in order to feel like you have an impact your gunna have to pick a cause to chip away at but I'll give you ideas! And remember just bc your focusing on one thing doesn't mean your ignoring or not helping others. Everything is interconnected and any help, helps all!

So let's give you some ideas to focus on:

Libraries- as a teen in particular you'll have access to a library at school, but depending on how big your town is you might have a public one as well. Become their biggest supporter! They are a great safe space, even conservative ones are still a good place to go for archiving/loitering purposes. They give you spaces to print stuff, to build clubs and community.

Archiving- if you cannot leave your house due to access you can always do stuff online and hear me out, i know when we do stuff online it feels like half points. Like we arent doing anything. I feel that with this blog, it feels so passive no matter how hard you work youll feel lesser. But Archiving is vital to humans! Think of the anthropologists wholl thank you down the road! Plus it does actually give you a way to have a physical representative of work your doing. Dvds, pirating media and archiving them to drives, collecting vinyls/tapes/cds!

DIY- To fight against fast fashion (although that barely exists in the towns I've been in tbh) and to stick out** you could make your own patches, battlejackets, gloves, etc.. They are statement pieces you can wear whenever your in town/at school/social spaces that ppl know what you stand for and who you are. Depending on who/where you are this might be risky so take what you can bare ok? You don't have to wear these items too you can just make them for later on!

Little libraries/little pantries- in a rural space you have more Gruella tactics you can take if you do them in random abandoned spaces. You could build a waterproof little pantry and stock it and leave info somewhere about it for ppl to drop off/pick up items. Stock it with mittens! With canned goods! With books! You might be able to do a space like this at school/library depending in how cool your town is too!

Zines- You could look into making a zine and even if it's digital you could have the QR code for download in places (stickers on lamp posts, flyers in school bathrooms, hidden in a churches pamphlet stacks >.>) making a zine is a cool task that is time consuming and informative and fun!

Vandalism- like I said you can often print off stuff at Libraries, or usually you can find a place to print stuff off near or at post offices depending on how modern your rural space is. if you have your own printer this will reduce your risk by quite a bit though! Create/find stickers or posters you want to toss across town or even school. I'd recommend starting off with some stickers and see how their handled, dipping your toes is important with these kinda things. If your really feeling it, and you know some abandoned places Moss Graffiti is also a good option! I've know ppl who have converted old abandoned stored to skate parks (I honestly have no idea how they built the ramps out of concrete but damn!! Good job guys!)

Also I'll leave you with 2 book recommendations as well-

Moxie - a RIOT GRRRL story about a girl who gets so fed up with her conservative town she makes a feminist zine and distributes it via girl bathrooms (even having a basically me too stickers and encouraging ppl to put it on boys lockers who have assaulted them). I know there's a movie, didn't seem to capture the same vibe tho so book!

Braiding Sweetgrass - this focuses a lot on reconnecting and adding story to nature around us and having science along side spirituality

[therulerofallpotatos]

Be like me. Dream up an increfibly vague apocalypse bones of what was a suburban area. Be traveling w your brothers when you find a whole line of kids going... somewhere. Casually join the line until u feel like leaving. Youre now one of like 4 adults and oops u got Attached.

U find like...a building? a community center maybe to crash for the night.

Get attached to the one boy your age because you are so tired youre about to fall asleep and his shoulder just happened to be a great pillow. Cannot stress enough how the romantic subplot entirely based on using him like a pillow once while a Lot of elementary and middle school aged kids were scattered and in the process of falling asleep on the couches/floor. Dreams can really phone it in sometimes but whatever. we'll accept this narrative.

we need more food. a kid asks me for AA Batteries. i somehow became the Adult to ask these things for.again, just showed up on the side of the road yesterday.

realize your grandparents' house is "nearby" (long walk through v dangerous area but pre-end times a v short drive). maybe itll have batteries to loot still.

you never make it to that house.

people show up in this deserted abandoned area out of nowhere. we were all hiding in our shelters and building and the lie because there's Danger. a few other survivors arent your business. The gang of guys w metal baseball bats and chainsaws being violent tho? Shit.

Gets seen. immediately closes door again. holds it shut but he's strong

feel a sharp pain in your side. its the motherfucking chainsaw cutting through the door handle your pushing your whole body weight into. back tf up because chainsaw in your side

everyone spills out into the open to run. you, by way of knowing this is a dream and deciding to be more hands on w shaping the narrative, decide you have certain powers so you can win this fight.

spontaneously grow wings, steal a bat, and give out Many concussions. be annoyed dreamland is softening your blows so there isnt brain goop flying everywhere. what is this dream? rated E for everyone? i didnt ask for that and im the only real person here.

the gang runs off. the kids are safe.

Pillow man, who btw was supposed to be on the og looting scout mission w you and did nothing for the whole fight, comes out of his hiding space

be so relieved he isnt dead that you dont notice he's a coward until you wake up. Wonder why on earth your stock romanceable side quest character THAT YOU MADE UP FROM SCRATCH was so pathetic

like subconscious, cmon, we have better taste than that. At least have him hiding w one of the other kids to protect them.

Also definitely find time to fight w your brothers over eating the leftovers you were looking forward to in the fridge. it is a universal

[master-of-47-dudes]

i don’t remember the game too terribly well, so forgive me if this is wrong, but is there any reason to assume the Ing are actually self-aware? i know the game repeatedly states the Ing are intelligent and vicious, but those don’t necessarily indicate if they’re truly sapient. animals can certainly be intelligent, and organized into castes/hierarchies, and very hostile to interlopers on their territory, but they arent as mentally aware as we are. could it be that, for as dangerous and powerful as the Ing are, they’re not much more than advanced animals? (its kind of like Peter Watt’s Blindsight novel, where the aliens are much more advanced than humans, and are extremely hostile, but dont have self-awareness like us, its a really good book and its free, check it out its awesome) what im trying to get at is, perhaps we dont see the Ing’s perspective, not just to keep them mysterious and frightening, but because they dont have a perspective to see?

So you make an interesting point: ARE the Ing self-aware? I haven't read Blindsight, so I will take your recommendation to read it, but I can’t put that bit of perspective into play here.

As the Ing give us no information on their perspective, it's impossible to definitively say one way or another if Ing as a whole are sapient. As our only sources of insight into their behaviors come from Luminoth lore as well as what our scans of the Ing and the Darklings tell us, there's a few things we can extrapolate:

- The lowest Ing on the totem pole are Bladepods, Ingworm Caches, and Ingsphere Caches. These guys act as storage units, meaning the Ing understand the importance of useful items, resources, and equipment, as well as keeping them protected in strategic locations for later retrieval.

(What constitutes a useful resource for the Ing is unknown, as Samus's suit converts things into forms that it can absorb when destroying them.)

Regardless, I hope these Ing aren't self-aware because their existence is a sad one.

- The caste of a given Ing seems to be assigned at birth or at some point afterwards based on the current needs of the Horde; the word assigned is specifically used in the scan for the Ingworm Cache, and the various other scans of Ing forms do not seem to contradict this (Inglets being workers, for example). This isn't dissimilar to hive insects, though.

- Darklings, however, are where things get interesting. The Ing are extremely choosy about which Ing can handle what. Certain creatures, such as an Alpha Splinter, are prioritized by the Ing as targets for possession. War Wasps are specifically used by young, inexperienced Ing to gain experience and prove themselves before they're allowed stronger creatures. Pirate Commandos are ONLY allowed to be possessed by Hunter Ing. Certain creatures, like the Shredder, are targeted for use in specific areas where their adaptations make them particularly useful. It's clear that choosing a target to possess is something that an Ing has to put a great deal of consideration into, both in terms of their experience as well as what will be useful in the environment they find themselves in.

- Ing are demonstrated to possess known sapient creatures. The Luminoth lores indicate that Luminoth were possessed, and we see it happen to both (dead) humans as well as (live) Space Pirates. While the humans are not fully possessed by the time Samus encounters them (them being corpses probably hinders the Ing some), the Dark Pirate Troopers and Dark Pirate Commandos ARE fully possessed and display no loss in intelligence or tactical capacity as a result of their possession. Ing minds have thusly interacted with sapient minds and taken control of them without issue; if they did not have conscious thought before, they may have learned it from this exposure given their penchant for learning from the creatures they possess.

- Speaking of learning, the Ing discovered their penchant for integrating themselves into technology and technology into themselves through possession of Luminoth technology and Space Pirates in general. Given that the Ing do not seem interested in or capable of engineering anything themselves, any knowledge they gained regarding utilizing stolen technology must have been learned either through experimentation or through directly stealing knowledge from the Luminoth and Space Pirates they possessed. Regardless of how they learn, they DO learn and can spread the knowledge they gain to other members of the Horde. As a result of discovering Space Pirates, the Ing began actively hunting for technology to utilize- the Ing were aware enough that when they discovered a shortcoming in their abilities, they immediately began to use what they learned to patch that.

- The fact that the Ing were repeatedly able to outmaneuver the technologically superior Luminoth at every turn is an indicator that the Ing are tactically intelligent. Sure, a large part of the Ing's advantage was through zerg rushing the weakened Luminoth after the phazon meteor struck Aether, but they also were noted to possess Luminoth to disrupt the Luminoth's ability to organize and fight back, as well as stealing just about every single weapon and tool the Luminoth developed to use against them. Weapons they couldn’t use themselves, like the Light Beam, were instead locked away where the Luminoth couldn’t retrieve them. Others, like the Annihilator Beam or the Dark Suit, were integrated into their most powerful Darklings to guard the energy they stole. And going after the Energy Controllers in a bid to stabilize Dark Aether is an indication of complex understanding and thought; it's hard to imagine an animal intelligence grasping a concept such as planetary stability or energy instead of simply colonizing Light Aether as an expansion of territory.

Overall, I think that the Ing are definitely capable of complex thought. The intelligence they possess is much more than animal, and there's indicators that they do put a great deal of consideration into their actions, they understand tactics and complex subjects, and they are capable of quickly learning to utilize unfamiliar tools and integrate them into their bodies and their Horde. I would peg them as almost certainly being sapient in terms of cognitive ability and awareness.

As for whether they're specifically self-aware? That's a different, weirder question. Given their similarity to hive insects as well as their sheer, bizarre scale of organization, and the speed at which new information seems to propagate through the Horde? They might be operating through a hivemind to achieve that, and individual Ing may not be particularly aware of themselves outside the whole.

ANYWAY, nothing I've listed explicitly proves one way or the other that the Ing are of human-like intelligence or awareness. It's my interpretation of the limited information on them given, and you’re free to have a different one.

[explorer-of-art]

none of the named canon students have familiars. i once thought about if any of my student ocs had familiars, rufus would have a pigeon like those homing pigeons back then who delivered messages. (varius would've had a raccoon familiar like varian did but i made it a plushie instead. i couldn't give the raccoon familiar a personality and raccoons arent native to europe)

now to spitball about the pigeon because some things i found funny: if i decide that rufus does get a pigeon for a familiar, the pigeon is from rufus' area. despite the language barrier, the pigeon is smart enough to find ways to communicate. never underestimate the importance of BODY LANGUAGE, ha! if the pigeon got a translation or human voiceclaim, the voice would be a deep voice meant for a really tough guy. the pigeon is likely descended from a former homing pigeon (the pigeon that delivers messages) and chose rufus as his human because he looks polite. the pigeon doesn't live under the same roof as rufus, it insists on living outside because it is a strong pigeon.

the entire reason the pigeon is rufus' familiar? rufus left for nrc one day and said pigeon was wondering where he ran off to. then winter break happens. rufus returns home, the pigeon is relieved- totally not worried about the human, he's a big boy he can handle himself. then comes the time for rufus to return which is when the pigeon starts acting up. the pigeon starts flying up to him and annoying him. "hey where are you going? are you leaving again? are you leaving forever?" which isn't usual behavior. rufus has to go and the pigeon starts insisting on going with him, so now rufus gets a familiar. he's going to have to look up how to care for a pigeon, buy food for it, maybe go to a vet. the pigeon better be well-behaved or else there's going to be a problem.

the pigeon insists on being by rufus' side, even accompanying him to many classes for supervision. when it can't be in the classroom, it can be seen watching through the windows or waiting in the courtyard. it doesn't like most nrc students. rufus' friends are okay, silver is okay, ortho is okay. fuck the crowman though. you mess with rufus, you mess with the pigeon! it's surprisingly well-behaved when with rufus.

how does rufus feel about all this? stressed. he never signed up for this. he has school to deal with and now he has to take care of a pigeon that wouldn't leave him alone! this is a whole responsibility he never got to prepare for! rufus now has a spot in the botanical garden where he grows fruits and vegetables meant for feeding the pigeon. the pigeon insists on teaching rufus pigeon language but it's not a good teacher and rufus won't be anywhere near proficient for a while.

where's the funny part? the funny part is that i think the pigeon would interact with the flamingos and teach them about unions because i think unionizing for rule of funny is great. this causes problems with the heartslabyul students and riddle gets the time of his life. nobody tell azul about this. nobody finds out that the flamingos learned to unionize from the pigeon, not even rufus. nobody asked and the flamingos won't tell.

i don't have a name for the pigeon yet. for comedy, it's probably something like tony, antonio, anything that sounds like a tough guy name, except the pigeon names itself that and rufus doesn't have any good names. the pigeon even rejects everyone's suggestions. what kind of name is work email?

[emberlynnrayne]

Fiendish Friendships

Tumblr. Tumblr, Im in a real spot. Not a big life changing thing, just one of those significant things that socially awkward and socially anxious people like me are not equiped to deal with. Let me start from the beginning. 3 years ago, Ive moved to a new area to live with my love. I know no one around and have no friends closer than an hours drive away. Alex has a friend at work in a long term relationship with a lady Alex thinks I’d get along with. We all hang out, and hit it off great. We’re all fast friends, hanging out all the time and everything is great. Till the honeymoon phase of friendship wears off. Alex doesnt like her anymore. Shes a pathological liar, drama queen, bandwagon girl, selfish, self centered, irresponsible and ‘a bad influence’. For a long, long time, I argued with him. “People arent perfect, she’s still a good person and friend, I dont want it to hurt your friendship with her husband,” and so on. I was trying to find that line of whats forgivable when youre friends with someone. For a long time, she was worth it. Then she started getting worse. Steadily increasing all the things I struggled to accept in her, and canceling our plans with lame excuses and lies. She became a bad friend. So finally one night, when one of her lies put me in a bad spot with our roommate, I had had enough.

I was not kind, Tumblr. I keep a fierce hold on my temper because I know how I can be when I don’t. I know the reprocussions of losing your temper, and I know I get extreme when I do. But even with that in mind, I meant everything I said. I called her out on her lies, her manipulations, her everything. I told her what I really thought and how I really felt. I know I didnt handle it like I should have. I was not adult or responsible about it, and I was far from kind.

By promising to do and be better, she convinced me to try to be friends, with the condition that I do call her out on her lies and misbehavior. Long story short, shes now a completely absent part of my life. I tried for a while to still talk and see her, but it was obvious that she had no intent on following through, so I quit. Fast forward again, and Alex and I never really talked about what happened, but he brings it up one night after seeing her husband. 'It has changed our friendship, and Im really upset. I think you were wrong and I wish you hadnt stopped seeing her.’ It broke my heart. I have a really hard tome communicating verbally at all, much less when I’m upset. Long story short again, he knows my side and how much it upsets me, but I feel like we’re still not on the same page about it. END DRAFT

My thoughts now, something like 9 years later- Alex had this habit of bait and switching me. I can see it now. He had been pushing me to stop being friends with her, and when I finally quit, he was mad because it affected his friendship with her husband. I know that the way I went about things couldve been done better, but now I know he just wanted me to play nice when he wanted nice. To pretend everything was fine, but just stop hanging out with her or having a real friendship without the reality of the breakdown of that friendship. Maybe he thought that disconnecting softly wouldve led to a different outcome, and maybe it wouldve, but I didnt know what he expected of me, and my relationship with this woman was my own.  I ended things with less decorum than I shouldve. I lost my temper because again, someone I loved was actively hurting me. 

How does that depth of love and hurt end calmly? Maybe when I have more peace within myself I’ll know the answer to that. 

[3liza]

im sure someone already told the tiktok user but i didnt see anyone else write about pigeon rescue yet, but if anyone else is curious (tldr: yes its ok to pick up a pigeon from the ground, but there are caveats):

feral city pigeons are not wild birds anywhere in the world, they are tame, domesticated livestock, like a cat, dog, or a chicken. they are just feral after being lost or released into human areas many years ago, where they are able to survive by scavenging. they can be made into pets after being rescued just like feral dogs and cats

you can just pick a pigeon up off the ground and keep it. it is, ethically, totally ok. pigeons' lives in cities are nasty, brutish and short, a pigeon will almost always be happier and suffer less as a pet than a feral. pigeons do pair bond so you may be leaving a pigeon spouse somewhere out there in the world but pigeons can form new pairbonds just like people.

lots of people have pet pigeons, they enjoy being pets, and they do great with people. please do lots of research with pigeon fanciers (fanciers are people who keep pigeons) about how best to provide for your pigeon. there are considerations like vet care, nutrition, and cage size and type, and possibly needing another pigeon to be with

there are some zoonotic illnesses in feral pigeons that are transmissable to humans. they are mostly pretty safe to pick up and touch, unless you are immunocompromised or pregnant. but even if you are healthy, dont put the pigeon in your mouth and wash your hands before and after handling. its possible for people to be allergic to pigeon dander or to get infections from infected pigeon dust. i personally do not think a pigeon is on average dirtier or more infectious than a dog or cat, just use basic hygiene and vet care and your chances of getting sick from pigeon handling is almost nil.

the main way to keep small rescue animals alive is WARMTH (the second most important thing is hydration). this is so true that even people doctors have a saying, and that is: theyre not dead until theyre warm and dead. you can bring all kinds of hopeless cases back from the brink of death with a hot water bottle. just make sure that the animal can get away from the heat source too, hyperthermia can kill them just as quickly. put the heating pad, heat bulb, or hot water bottle in one corner of the enclosure and make sure the animal can walk away from it to a cool area by themselves, to regulate their own temperature.

many many feral pigeons have parasites, both internal and external. humans arent in danger from most of these parasites. if you pick up a sad pigeon from outside he may have bugs on or in him, including mites and ticks. sometimes bugs can get on you if you are handling birds who have been living outside. dont freak out, just be aware of it. there are treatments for these but it's one of many reasons to:

keep any rescue animal away from your current pets and in a nice dark soft space (the cat carrier in the video is perfect) that can be cleaned easily. keep cat and dog-contaminated items away from birds, carnivores carry deadly bacteria that can kill birds quickly.

take the pigeon to an avian vet or at the very least to a rehabber or pigeon keeper asap and get an examination and advice. pigeons are not wildlife and are not of concern to wildlife agencies but they might be able to recommend somewhere to get instructions from.

it is really sadly true that pigeons who are so sick that theyre trying to get indoors or arent afraid of people are often already in such bad shape that they will not recover, or may get better for a few days and then die suddenly (this is every small animals' favorite joker's trick and its just something you get used to after youve rescued a lot of animals). but if the pigeon had a warm nest and clean food and water for a few days before it died thats ok too. you can give a small rescue animal its best shot at survival by keeping stress and handling to a minimum until it has some time to adjust. tiny animals love to just have a heart attack and die and if that happens to an animal you tried to help, its really not your fault. just be aware going in.

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZTd7qaqgV/

[space-helen]

Console

Words: 733

Pairing: Jim Kirk x Reader

A/N: I think this one is super sweet!

Request:  How would TOS Kirk react to you flirting with him? (Bonus if they arent together yet) - Anon

______________________

Jim wandered through the halls of Engineering, it was quiet, eerily quiet. But he supposed the majority of the crew were doing some of the non essential repairs while the Enterprise was relatively quiet.

It'd been a couple of days of just flying through space leisurely to your next destination. Everyone on this ship welcomed this time, no immediate worries or threats. You were able to live a somewhat normal life for a couple of days. 

The engineering team had spent the first day doing the essential and emergency repairs that had been scheduled, as well as anything majorly wrong that was reported. The second day Scotty had split everyone into teams, essential repairs, emergency repairs and non essential repairs.

Here you were, on the non essential repair team, currently lying on your back under a console trying to replace the wiring. A job that should have been done long ago but was never seen as a pressing enough matter when other things had been going wrong.

Usually this job would have been a walk in the park but this console in particular had heavy weaves of wiring and complicated patching. Readjusting yourself you unclipped another tie and tried to catch the wires before they fell on you.

Jim walked casually through the room and caught the sight of two legs poking out from beneath a console "and who do we have here" crossing his arms he leant on another nearby console.

You knew that voice instantly, your crush, the Captain, it was a silly thing really but the two if you got on well and there was clearly something there but neither of you had acted upon it or even flirted with one another.

"Just me." You pushed yourself out from beneath and gave him a smile. "Is there anything I can do for you Captain?"

The let a smirk tug at his lips as he adjusted himself "nothing, I was just having a look around. Seeing how everyone's doing."

"Ever the kind and charming Captain." You gave him a wink and he thought he felt his heart leap.

He let out a small cough "just doing my duty." He uncrossed his arms "Is there anything I can help you with while I'm here?"

You looked at the wiring and then back at the man then quickly assessed the space under the console. "Yeah actually. Could you help me with this? Put those great arms of yours to use."

His eyes widened before he composed himself "I'm not sure they're great."

"I've seen you in combat. You can handle yourself, and definitely can handle this."

Moving under the console you tapped the floor beside you, a wordless instruction that he should come under. Within a few seconds he was also on his back next to you.

"Put your hands here and here" you pointed to two different areas "and make sure the wires don't fall down and hit me in the face."

He placed his hands where you'd asked, practically leaning over you "like this?"

You shifted "I do need to be able to work" taking his wrist gently you re-positioned his hand so you could get a clear view and working space. "There we go."

You quickly worked on cutting the ties holding the wiring up and replacing the key wires, the two of you found a good working pattern quickly and the replacement was done swiftly. 

Jim was the first to get up, brushing off his uniform he looked down at you and offered you a hand. Happily taking it you were soon standing up next to him, shouldering your toolkit. 

"Thank you for the help Captain."

"It was my pleasure Y/N and please, call me Jim. We did just spend some time in a very small space together after all."

You smiled "and I looked forward to you helping me out more Jim." The sentence itself was innocent enough but you knew Jim would understand what you meant by the way you said it.

He smiled to himself, God you were good. He'd admired you for a while but he didn't realise you were this smooth, it actually made him giddy in a way.

"I'll help you out anytime with anything." He gave you a wink.

"How about we grab food together later?" 

He shook his head and laughed "You took the words right out of my mouth."

[cynettic]

Stay with Me pt.3

Summary - You manage to escape from Scaramouche, if only for a moment before you realize there’s no escape. It only takes until you’re sitting back in your regular spot that you know what you need to do.

Pairings - Kitsune!Reader x Yan!Scaramouche

Warnings - Suggestive content, mentions of death, swearing, slight gore / blood 

A/N - Its really hard to make this depressing while I’m vibing to Rasputin. Like no joke- I have it on one of the 1 hour playlists :D

Here you’ll find -  pt.1 and pt.2

He’d left a key.

Scaramouche didnt make mistakes, not while he had you captive in the vicinity of his bedroom. He didnt have room for mistakes, not when you were watching his every movement while he was in your line of sight. 

Sure, he mightve killed a person or two in front of you, but those were necessary mistakes. There was a sign on the door, it specified not to enter. You’d understand that, right?

Thats what he thought at least, lulling himself into belief after belief that you’d be there waiting for him every time. That you’d welcome him with open arms, even if there were chains ensnaring your wrists. That you’d accept your fate at his hands and submit yourself to him.

The Balladeer was a fool.

He’d kept you there for too long, and while you searched for an easy way to escape, time sent your head spinning. Into a spiral that begged only for the wind against your face, back laying on dirt with the familiar chirping up birds waking you up in the morning.

You wanted to go outside.

And when push comes to shove, you had to risk a little more to make it happen. Lure him into bed with kisses while your hands unbuttoned his vest. But what he believed to be alluring contacts was just your way of finding the keys hidden in the back pocket of his shorts.

It wasnt hard to find the one to your cuffs while he was asleep, cuddled in your chest with both arms around your waist as if to get you to stay put. You took the key, hiding them back in his clothing and hoping he didnt notice.

He didnt say anything the next day.

You werent going to wait any longer.

“Oh for fucks sake, why won't the goddamn door open?”

The room was left in tatters behind you, a little gift for Scaramouche once he got back. Turns out a pair of chains can smash up a lot of things, and rage can be used as a great source of strength when contained for such a long time.

But you’d done more than throw the blankets around, cut up the drawers and smash open the windows. Because your fists had bled red when you punched through the glass, puncturing your skin. Your knuckles were an ugly red, bruising already.

Ah, Scaramouche deserved a much better gift.

Gruesome as it was, you rubbed your knuckles against the pale walls. Till the blood stopped coming, till there was a nice little message for the boy which you held so dearly to your heart.

‘Balladeer.’

The first time you’d found out about him being a harbinger he’d told you not to call him by that name. You weren’t someone he associated with by work, you were a treasure to him. That’s why you continued to call him as he pleased, although the temptation always arose.

You were no longer his.

Shoving the door with your hand again, palm fiddling with the handle and groaning when it hardly budged. “Stupid,” you grumbled when the knob began to loosen. Backing up, you charged with your shoulder to the door, full force as the momentum broke the hinges. The door fell down with you along with it.

It was expected, you’d been stuck in the room for a long time, and thats considering you’d sat on the ground for decades. Your body was slight numb, muscles sore and unused for so long. 

“You a-arent supposed to leave your room!”

A young man stood in the hallway along with a woman who looked relatively the same age. The two were wearing uniforms, flinching when you stood up from the debris and off the door. “Excuse me?” You asked, voice unnecessarily icy and stern. But you couldnt care less, you were going to get out of this house, damn anyone who stood in your way.

They both continued to shake when you walked towards them, staggering from side to side. The woman stepped up in front of the man, presenting a brave face. “If you leave the mansion, the harbinger will kill us all!”

“Well then I expect you should be on your way then. Actually…” you gestured to the maze of hallways. “You can lead the way.”

“What…?”

Your hand went limp to your side, an exasperated looking momentarily crossing your face before you sighed. “Im not staying trapped in that room, I’m sorry if that ruins your life, but frankly you're not the one stuck in there are you?” You took an extra step just to intimidate them, eyes wide to make the appearance of crazy. “It would be a great help if you showed me where he hid my vision too.”

“We can show you to the door…” The man began, “But the whereabouts of your vision are unknown, he wouldnt tell us something like that.”

A gift bestowed from the gods, a piece to help me thrive with my ambitions and pursue my goals.

Gone.

You really wished you’d taken to clawing out Scaramouche’s face instead, but you’d take what you got. Right now your main priority was getting out of this place, even if it meant leaving a piece of you behind.

“Door.” Your voice was raspy and there was a terrible feeling that crawled up to your throat, but you didnt have time to be emotional. “Show me where the door is… please.”

The conflict in their eyes dissipates by the time they lead you along, mumbling words between themselves. You didnt bother to try eavesdropping, you were so, so tired. You wanted to go home.

Anywhere. Anywhere but here.

It took a few minutes until you were standing in front of a grand door, almost twice the size of you and just as wide. You then began to notice the decorational plants and furniture that filled the empty space, there wasn't an inch of dust. Even though you could tell none of it was used.

“Hurry,” the man warned when you paused. “I dont know when our master is coming back, but if its soon, we’ll all be screwed.”

You couldnt feel your head as you numbly nodded, hand clenching the knob and flinging the set of doors open. “Thank you,” you merely mumbled, taking your first step out of the house in what felt like forever.

The days after that were a blur, the area around Scaramouche’s house were nothing but void. Empty and filled with forests and vast plains. You knew he didnt like people or socializing in general, but to this extent?

Your only option was to run.

Let your feet take you somewhere, anywhere. It was a constant pattern of running and taking breaks, leaning on a tree and gasping in a few breaths before you were again scurrying through the forest. 

And yet you felt better than you’d felt in past months that you’d been stuck with Scaramouche.

Food became any boar you came across, the claws you’d spent so long hiding with Scaramouche coming to unleash a wrath beyond your comprehension. Till the animal was cut to shreds and no meat was left even to eat. You’d slaughtered it, without intention to eat or benefit for it, you’d killed it just to kill.

“I’m sorry,” you’d sobbed into the ground where you’d buried the harmless animal. Forehead pressed into the dirt as you pleaded for forgiveness to whatever archons would accept it. You couldn't even remember what archons you were supposed to pray to. “Forgive me- forgive me…”

But eventually you found your way around to somewhere you knew. Territory of Inazuma where you could find your way back, back home.

Where was home?

You’d been on the run from the vision hunt decree, abandoning your post for the Kitsune Saiguu for such a thing. Even now that you could return without a vision and as no threat under the decree…

You’d sacrificed everything for your vision.

Where were you to go now…?

Rain patted down, the trees providing only a slight cover as stray drops fell into your matted dirty hair. You didnt mind, it hid the tears that slid down your lifeless face, feet taking you into the far meadows of your hometown. Till you plopped down underneath a tree, knees curled to your chest and arms hugging them close. You were crying.

You were home.

____________________

“Awh,” a ginger haired murmured, elbow resting on the cool wood of the tabletop. “Is little Mouchie sad? I heard your kitty cat escaped~”

A death wish, even fatui that idly minded themselves around the bar knew it. Sipping cold drinks and swirling their cups, the soft chatter was nothing but a distraction from the main course of events. That being the smaller Harbinger who sat sulking in his seat, hunched over with a drink in hand. He’d drank far more than what was on the counter, but everytime he finished a glass, he’d smash it on the ground, watching the fragile glass shatter into pieces.

“I dont have a cat,'' was his only response, tone daring Childe to pursue further. To give him a reason to start throwing the glass in his face instead.

And Childe was an idiot when it came to challenging someone.

“No cat?” The rest of the drink in the taller harbinger’s glass was gone when he threw his head back. “Hmmm, I cant think of what else could’ve had you so enraptured in returning home then~!”

Scaramouche didnt respond, uneven bangs shadowing the bags under his eyes. “Stronger,” he said instead, elbow on the counter and hand outstretched for something. When there was no movement from the man managing the wine, the harbinger looked up. “I need something stronger to drink,” he repeated, voice seething.

“Of c-course!”

The glass was nestled in Scaramouche’s palm in no time, fingers curling around the circular form to down it in seconds. The drink merely slid down his throat in one movement, alcohol burning his senses. It didn’t matter, he was numbed by the growing rage inside of him.

Finally, he turned to the ginger haired boy, eyes hazily dancing along the counter till it reached his fingertips. Up his hand and along his arm, till Scaramouche was staring right into Childe’s eyes. “They escaped,” he admitted softly. “But it’s alright, because I sent something that’ll bring them back.”

Childe paused, raising his drink up away from his lips to pose a question. Hesitation danced along his features before he brought the glass back, he’d rather not provoke the shorter male any further. Wasn’t like he could interfere anyway.

____________________

“That… that…” 

It was preposterous, having returned to that same spot for a day or two and heading back to the hometown you’d once lived in. The one Scaramouche had lived in. There shouldn’t have been an issue, you were solely gathering supplies for the sake of it, ambition driving you to travel far far away.

Out of Inazuma.

It was your new beginning, convincing yourself that you didn't need a vision. Finding some sort of purpose before Scaramouche shattered the vision and your life along with it. You’d seen how people had reacted when it had been ingrained in the statue, neutralized and broken. They lost hope, purpose and aspirations for anything new.

It’s not like the Raiden Shogun took my vision.

But you’d taken that fact for granted, expecting some sort of new start without Scaramouche. A victory, getting away from him just for a split second and getting out of Inazuma altogether, you’d never see him again.

Until you got his message.

“How the hell…” You crushed the note until it was just crumbled paper in your hand, slowly leaning on the stone wall. “Piece of shit… what kind of person even…” 

Not only did he manage to find you, but without making his presence known, he’d tugged at your one weakness with an ease that had you down on your knees.

You threw the paper to the ground, deliberate as you stared past the alleyway. Pensive as you considered your options. Damn, what options did you even have? You’d been an idiot to underestimate Scaramouche, he wasn’t a child, you knew that… but archons he seemed like one when he was with you. Shown you a vulnerability he wanted only you to see. But maybe that had been part of his plan all along, until all you believed was his soft demeanor.

He may act like a child, but he’s a harbinger.

You stared down at the crumbled piece of paper in disgust.

Not only that, but he has no regard for human life.

Either way, you’d lived decades more than him. You could face him, you would present yourself to him just as he expected you to. Even when everything in you rejected the idea, sobbed at the thought of returning to that house, those chains. Being locked up and confined only for the purpose of coddling a small boy, a selfish boy, a cruel boy. 

Deep breath in, deep breath out.

You’d figure out a way, and this time you wouldn’t rule out the option of his death.

———————

Oh darling Y/n, how have you been?

I hope this letter reaches you rather soon, we both have much to discuss, no? About me, about you, and much more. You see, I’ve taken up quite a distaste to your little friends. Stone statues in Inazuma as small as Kitsunes truly hold no purpose, what will they do, come back to life? Haha, I should think not. I’ve already arranged to have them demolished, who knows what kind of material they might possess. Ah, and of course I’d show you the finishing product, unless you’re willing to come and have a chat with me once more? Under the Sakura tree like we used to, you’ve waited years, I believe you can wait for me?

I hope this letter reaches you in best interests. I’m always looking out for you after all.

Sincerely, your Balladeer

——————

It was raining.

Beautiful weather as you lay sitting there, feet crossed and tucked in the same you’d often do. After all, there was no need to fear the vision hunt decree or the Raiden Shogun. Let them come, let them take care of you before Scaramouche did.

You werent cold, not when the cold drops dampened your clothing, slipping down the length of your spine and drenching your face. Despite having lived in a luxury residency for such a long time, this was where you were most comfortable, enduring whatever the weather had for you, taking it with a smile. Because you were waiting…

The Kitsune Saiguu was a distant memory.

You were waiting for Scaramouche, the young boy that often bound into the field in lengthy strides, childlike wonder in his eyes. The one who’d cried when the other kids pushed him away, the one that just wanted to be praised. You’d held him in your arms, and now, even knowing the results, you wouldnt have done differently.

He was just a boy.

Just a boy when he joined the fatui, looking for praise that he was given. He created chaos and bellowed orders with a cruelty that was highly looked upon. Told that he was doing well, so he continued to do so.

He’s just a boy.

You wished you’d held him in your arms, if not only for a tad longer. Shield him away from the wrongness of the world, if only for one last time.

Banishing away your hatred for him was hard.

But you found it under the tree, rain soon dimming down to a clouded cold breeze that swept through the meadow. You’d hated him while stuck in the mansion, but you could now see it from a larger point of view. What he did was wrong of course, but you could remember him so vividly now. His small form giggling, tiny arms around your neck. 

“Play with me!”

Was it your fault?

For not holding him tighter? For trying to rectify his bad doings and teach him what was wrong and right? Maybe if your grip was firmer, if you’d spoken to him about the warmth he’d given you that day when playing cards...

“Lazy ass.”

Burying down that pile of worry and insecurities, you took a deep breath in to relax. The edge of your lip perked up, only slightly. “Still terrible with your social skills arent you?”

Slowly securing a dry space under the three with you, Scaramouche sat down. His features were the same ones you’d grown accustomed to at his mansion. Rich clothes, sharp eyes, and the baby face that refused to go away. His movements were soft as he pulled out a deck of cards. The two of you didnt speak as he distributed them between you both. It was tense… no, it felt too much like the warmth form long ago to be tense. You only wished the situation to be different.

“I love you.”

But you could only offer a bitter smile to his words. “I love my vision,” you replied. “I love the Kitsune Saiguu, and I love my friends.”

His touch was gentle when his fingers came to gently cradle your cheek. Holding your face dearly as he peered into your eyes, his were soft. Different from the cruelty he held within, the hatred that burned and destruction that seeked to explode.

You saw a little boy.

Your hand came to press his hand further against your cheek, till you slid his palm to your lips. He appeared so calm when you pressed the first kiss, lips tracing the lines along his palm with all the care in the world.

But you needed to change your view, see him as the man he now was. As the man he had become.

“I love you,” he repeated, and you let go of his hand. It fell limp by his side, cards all but forgotten. There was a much more pressing matter at hand, because you truly needed to see him as he was.

It was necessary if you planned to kill him.

[mobtism]

waht is friendlocke. tell me abt it

thank you SO much for this ask, anon!!

friendlocke is a pokemon series created by streamer/youtuber saltydkdan and a group of his friends!

each season of his friendlocke is a playthrough of a different pokemon game (season 1 being pokemon emerald, season 2 being pokemon black), which are both played as a nuzlocke! season 2, however, is also a randomizer!

with randomizer settings, it means that every catchable pokemon encounter is randomized, as well as every item found.

the nuzlocke challenge has a few rules, specifically that you can only catch the first pokemon you encounter in each area, and if any of your pokemon faint, you have to release them from your game permanently (like a perma-death).

the difference between the friendlocke and a normal randomizer nuzlocke is this:

every pokemon that salty catches in the game will be roleplayed by one of his friends on stream.

salty/derek is the main player of the game, as he takes the role of the player character/trainer, while each of his friends are gradually assigned one pokemon to play as during each season.

while derek plays as his trainer character, as well as voicing all other npcs, his friends will each voice and act as the one pokemon that they were assigned.

everything that is said and done is completely unscripted, and completely improvisational! except for the prewritten npc dialogue already in the game, of course

theres quite a bit of lore to the series, too!! its not all just for goofs and laughs (but dont worry, theres still plenty of goofs and laughs as well !!)

for the mechanics of how the series works:

when theyre in a battle, the friend who is fighting has the choice of which of their moves to use, as well as whether they want to stay in battle or be switched out.

if a pokemon dies in battle, the friend who plays that pokemon has to leave the call, and their pokemon has to be released - they will (in most cases) not return for the rest of the season.

only 6 friends (plus derek) will be talking on stream at once, however, since there are only 6 pokemon allowed in a party - the rest wait in the pc, until they are switched out.

speaking of the others being in the pc! for season 2, there is a separate stream that airs at the same time as the main one, and it’s called the friendlocke box !

the friendlocke box stream focuses on all of the people who are not in the party during the main stream! they goof off, have their own conversations out of character, and very often also react to the things going on in the main stream. a lot of fun to watch, and also generally a lot more chill. friendlocke box my beloved <3

the series is SO much fun, and everyone who takes part in it is absolutely incredible!!! i find so much joy in this series; its funny! its endearing!! its very entertaining!! its lighthearted and easy to watch, you dont have to think hard to enjoy it! and its even a little heartwrenching at times!!

the friendlocke series is goofy as all hell, in a good way, and theres just so much heart put into the series, its hard not to find something to love. amazing work all around, and i could not appreciate the team any more than i already do, for bringing such a great series to life!

if youre at all interested in getting into the series, i’m here to help!

the full streams tend to be very long (around 5 hours per stream), however! after each season ends, the vods are cut down into shorter, easier to focus on videos.

to see if the series interests you, i suggest starting with this playlist, which contains the cut episodes of season one!

or, if you feel like you can handle the length of the streams, and you dont want to miss out on any moment, you can also find a playlist of the season one vods here!

theres also a marathon video that has all of the season 1 cut episodes compiled together into one, if thats better for you!

season 2 is absolutely fantastic so far, however! it is not finished at the time of writing this; only the vods are available to watch! you can find them in this playlist here.

and lastly, i do have to ask,

my god, arent the limited 3d graphics in this season just so charming? :-)

[cruelsister-moved2]

(vent, im a lesbian) you know, since I've been living with my bestfriend (she's hetero) I can see up close things happening in direct time you know what I mean, like it's not like we now have to meet up to catch up. So, I've seen her recovering from her break up with her ex and moving on. She's now seeing a guy, nothing serious. Anyways all this explanation just to tell you that I've been feeling really sad and jealous. Idk it's just i wish I could have the same ease as her and other fellow heterosexuals to navigate dating (I know they have their own complications too) and seeing her in the span of 4 months since her break up and this new guy my feelings of loneliness have been eating me up, because I'm just thinking "I wish"... I just need to put me out there too if I want to meet people so l who am I to talk ya know? Conclusion, I know it's been said a lot that when we least expect it (love) it will happen, so im holding onto those words. Sorry for the troubles.

im so sorry to hear you feel like that! lesbian loneliness is very real and I completely understand. it's really normal to feel behind your straight friends in this stuff because unless you live in certain specific areas it's almost impossible to sustain the level of ur average heterosexual serial monogamist. even the lesbians I know who are more outgoing and connected, it's so normal to go multiple years without dating anyone.

do you have any lesbian friends irl? i find that is the best cure for lesbian loneliness, honestly i was lonelier when i was in a relationship and didnt know any lesbians than when i was single and had other lesbians to talk to 😭 having both is great, but I feel like a lot of the real root of the sadness is feeling like the world is passing you by and everyone is having connections you can't have, rather than just that ur desperate to have someone to sleep in bed with at night. in my experience the platonic relationships you can have with other lesbians (and lgbts in general) are stronger and more valuable than any heterosexual romance.

also like. I don't want to sound smug or like I'm putting down ur friend. but lesbian love is genuinely like... unparalleled. when you find the right person it's going to feel worth more than all the boyfriends your friend has ever had put together. i completely empathise with your perspective from my teenage years but from my current perspective the idea of looking at any heterosexual relationship with envy is literally laughable to me😭 you don't want that, I promise you don't want that, it's just hard to know that right now when you dont have anything else to compare to.

this is gonna make me sound like an asshole, but honestly I think the best way to feel better is to notice the things about your friend's relationship that you don't want. if youre living together then thats an even better opportunity to notice the downsides and not just the upsides. you'll feel a lot better if you can find it in your heart to be a little judgemental and find reasons you're grateful not to be in that relationship!!

and with love, I think the thing is that you can't force someone to be the right person when they're not. you can't do anything but wait for the right person. maybe you can try meeting more people in the hopes of finding them sooner, but that's really the only control you have. the main difference in people who seem to be prolific daters is that either they're trying to force it with people who arent right, or they're just happy to be casually involved with other people while they wait.

personally I'm not interested in that, so I would remind myself that while yes I want to be in love, I'm not actually envious of other people who are also not in love and handling it differently. if you are interested in casual dating though I wish you luck with that as well and in that case it really is just about putting yourself out there!!💜

[ouyangzizhensdad]

I love ur takes but I'm kind still impressed by ur persistent hate for cql. The novel is the base but all the medias adapted from it take a single aspect of the story and make it their own. Look at the manhwa, audio drama, donghua or the drama. I still dont know what ur issue with the drama is coz for a low budget drama with censorship they did everything they could for the novel fans (yes they recorded straight bit so if they had issues they will go straight but they are a drama)... yes they added a few things for the show to telecast it for the chinese consumption (they dont really need white validation unlike kdrama which has more ifandom). Both cql or winter begonia were handled very well and the dramas were overnight hits coz of the scriptwriters and directors keeping the novel story alive.

I think it's also coz u and most white fans of the novel or cql haven't seen anime and its live actions so u dont know that the live actions made in different periods of time change the story according to the area they're being released in... Itazura na Kiss has 3 live action dramas and all three are from different countries and different time periods so the way all three are adapted are alot different eventhough the base story is the same. If u want to follow the novel read that but if u want to enjoy the story cql, donghua, audio drama of MDZS and the manhwa are very nicely done. I hope just coz white cql fans have issues with the novel u dont spread hate for the drama that has made it possible for a relationship to be shown between two men. The asians arent as thick to think they're best friends, everyone who watches the drama knows that it's a gay love story

Hi anon, 

There’s a lot in there and honestly I don’t think I can address all of your points. But I’ll try my best.

I have said many times that I do not hate CQL and that I enjoyed watching most of it. It was a fun little idol drama that wasn’t a very serious watch. At the beginning I even enjoyed the fandom for a little while. Now, yes, I do post a lot of content that is negative toward CQL and/or its fandom. But you may have noticed a few things though. My criticisms (or my moments of incomprehension) are always related to:

Specific issues I have with the choices it made as an adaptation

People trying to pass CQL, a cheaply-made idol drama, as a masterpiece. This is nothing personal against CQL: it has more to do with how it puzzles me that people don’t see to know what competent and good tv looks like. I have nothing against people praising the show, but they don’t have to act as it doesn’t have a lot of basic, technical issues. 

the CQL fandom cross-posting everything, or bringing CQL canon and fanon into novel-specific discussions. People can mix and match the canons, of course, but it’d be a nice courtesy to be at least open about it so that people who want to stick to one canon may be able to do so. And it is frustrating because people like me have literally just given up on trying to read fics because authors are not forthcoming about which canon they are drawing from. That’s frustrating and a source of bitterness!

arguments that CQL is a stronger/more complex work of fiction than MDZS. Again, it’s nothing personal about CQL, it’s just mind-boggling having to explain something so fucking transparent. 

arguments that CQL is better “queer rep” than MDZS.

absolutely whack takes from the CQL western fandom.

You feel that the screenwriter and director kept the story alive, and hey, that’s great for you. Yes, I’m aware that adaptations will change things. Analysing adaptations is actually partly how I developed a lot of my media analysis skills. However, I personally believe that the story that CQL tells and how it chooses to tell it fundamentally changes so much about the narrative, the characters or even the genre of the story that it does not keep the truly interesting and engaging elements of the novel. It might be flippant to say, but even if the production team were truly doing their best (and I do believe they did), it doesn’t mean they achieved what they set out to do--and some of it may just come down to a question of skills, as story-tellers. 

Although I am white, I may not fit into the narrative you present since I have watched many live actions and animated series adapting a manga/manhua/novel. I watched my first jdrama 15 years ago, and to be illustrative, this first jdrama was Hana Yori Dango. In the past I’ve also watched many dramas that were originally japanese/taiwanese/chinese/korean and their adaptations. Hell, sometimes even adaptations that crossed to the western market. I assure you that I am familiar with a property being adapted at different times and in different countries and through different mediums. I’ve also interacted with the other adaptations of MDZS. The thing is, what this has showed me is simply that doing something differently doesn’t translate necessarily in doing as good of a job. Adaptations can fail, either by virtue of what they fail to do as their own work of fiction, or as adaptations of an existing property. 

I’m not trying to shit on to what CQL may mean for chinese audiences or diasporic chinese audiences as well. When I point out the fact that Wangxian is just subtext in CQL, it’s not because I think “asian audiences are dumb” but because the reason why subtext may be acceptable under censorship is that it keeps a level of plausible deniability. Some people will of course recognise it for what it is, but some will simply not pick up on it or refuse that reading. I also do take pains to remind people how the flow of capital that allows for these adaptations to exist may have to do with how far the portrayal of the subtext is being pushed over any concerns for the original story or nebulous gay rights. I do find it interesting though that CQL is often presented in fandom discussions as this unprecedented occurrence in Chinese media, since there was very heavy subtext in earlier live action adaptations like Guardians or the side couple in Love H2O, just to think of quick examples. 

But obviously anon, my more salty or bitter posts about cql seem to bring up frustrations, so if it is an impediment to your fandom experience it might be best to simply unfollow me. If you wish to stay for the novel meta and avoid these posts, I do tag them with either “brine corner” or “cql negativity” or “cql vs mdzs”.

[shyrose57]

Brothers anon and I actually was skipping through the official City of Mizu episode and realized I missed Skeppy as a idol. So if you follow Skeppy you get to learn about different kinds of gems and what they can be used for, get trained on proper safety when mining, what to look for and avoid when mining, and they also get to go on supply runs that specifically require mining, though not many people follow Skeppy because mining is dangerous. Also I missed Charles personality a good bit so ima change it to where he's still quite, reserved and anxious, but is adventurous, curious, dedicated to his interests, and when given the chance or talking about his interests he gets very excited and talks a lot. Like a excited puppy. 

1: People can get kicked out of a idol following for many reasons, like disrespecting the idol and their peers, claiming some of the history their learning is fake, attacking anyone in the city (like stabbing, they just get chastised for fist fights), and breaking multiple rules of the city. And some people don't choose a idol, though its highly unlikely as those who don't know what idol to pick tend to pick Tommy or Tubbo. Those who choose not to choose a idol, tend to only work in farming, as its a easy job to learn. Its for these people that the idol-less council member was added, the council member also represent other cities and kingdoms that do still acknowledge and trade with Mizu. Most houses are actually built out of the side, like how we saw the idol rooms in the official episode, and their kind of scattered about, theres some halls filled with homes, but some halls have no homes. The halls with the homes tend to be the biggest/widest halls of the city, as to allow for room for the families living there, and also because theres sometimes stores in this area. Some halls also have multiple levels to allow for more room, these specific halls are referred to as Residential Complex, and only house homes in their multiple levels. While halls that hold only a few homes arent called anything special. Because outside affairs are very complex, most kingdoms and cities ignore Mizu, treating them with disgust and some times, people who have done supply runs that go into cities have reported having higher prices on what they want to buy, and disrespect from all citizens and police. But some kingdoms and cities respect them and trade with them without any tricks. The councils main agurement in this situation is that, the nice city is very far away, a weeks travel, but the mean city is close, only a 2 day walk away. They agure about what to do and what city to travel too for all supply runs. And another agurement that the council often has is what to do with visitors, they had visitors in the past that had destroyed and stole items in Mizu while causing disruptions, but some also brought their own culture and items and happily exchanged said culture and items. So their conflicted on if visitors should be welcomed or turned away. 

3: He went through what Ranbob did, being held to high standards that he just couldn't meet. But unlike Ranbob, he spoke up about his problems and managed to get held to lesser standards and allowed time to recover. When he moved out he originally lived on his own in a forest, and because he was vulnerable to monsters he didn't know how to handle, he had to make many fast paced despite when cornered by monsters or when trying to save crops or his house. And since he was also the oldest child of a 6 child family, he had to constantly look after his siblings, giving him his father-like attitude and knowing how to help people in basically almost any situation. His siblings are (current ages) Nick-17, calm, information nerd, introverted and Benjamins favorite brother. Rock-10, a tiny gremlin that loved to mess with people, he often broke bones or broke items when playing due to his rough play style and broke rules, Benjamin was the only one who could calm him. Ion-16, a teen that is very adventurous and always wandering off, she always talked about traveling the world, the hardest one for Benjamin to keep track of. Stellar-13, in love with space, but other than that is a normal child, but she also has a fascination with monsters like enderman, often wondering where they come from, Benjamin doesnt have any strong opinions on her.  And finally, Juka-15, they are very invested in redstone, often experimenting on it and trying to make different things with it, often the stuff they make blows up, Benjamin admires Juka's persistence and love for redstone but also wishes they'd stop blowing up the damn kitchen. 

8: Totems do exist, their just so rare its not believed Techno managed to have and use one. So that part of the story got lost and left out over time. Pandoras vault has fallen, mostly because of a break out by Dream that destroyed most of it, and because it had fallen into disrepair. And they do have such advanced technology to make such a prison now, but they doubted the SMP had such technology and availability to do it in their time. And there is also a great lack of evidence (expect for the actual building, but even then people agure it was used for something else) supporting the existence of Pandoras Vault. 

Ran and Ranbob used to feel confused and hurt, not understanding why the world hated their home and why the world was so mean to them. Over time they learned why they where shunned, but still didn't completely understand. Eventually they grew used to it, and learned to avoid saying where they lived, unless they wanted to partake in a fight. They very very rarely say that they came from Mizu, as they had learned long ago from both classes and personal experience. But a few times it was revealed they lived in Mizu, they had to just endure it and move along, even though Ran really wanted to punch a fucker. They became friends when Charles went to him during the trip to the flower field, asking to join in on a game he was playing. Its a miracle the two didn't get a heart attack tbh.

10: He was not! Ranbob was too weak for Dream to access all of his powers. And Dreams constant hold of control and withholding food and all the essentials from him, made him even weaker. No one is aware of it, not even Ranbob. A mix of pissed, a weird sort of pride, and determination. The pride and determination is there because knowing Dream thinks that way of them, confirms that they're enough of a threat that Dream actually acknowledges them. And helps them believe that they could truly beat Dream if they tried. Though it also means Dream will try his damned best to kill them. 

13: Yeah he comes out on top, he still has some advantages over the others even without tatics, like his speed and he knows how to sneak around and use the area to his advantage pretty well. 

14: He seemed more finicky, more nervous and anxious. Constantly trying to seperate himself from the group when he tends to stay very close by. And more on edge/quick to snap at others.

 Ayy! Starting off with Skeppy and Charles, what a wonderful way to begin. How did Skeppy’s few followers mine? Were there mines under the sea floor? Did they travel out of Mizu to go find mines in the earth? 

1: Hm, interesting. The idol-less leader seems to have quite a bit on their shoulders, if they deal with all outside affairs. Were they specifically selected to learn their position? Since you said most of them farm, but all those politics and stuff seem kind of different from it. Does Ranbob remember any of the nice cities? Did either boy ever meet a former visitor that recognized them from back then?

3: Benjamin’s family sounds really cool. Does the gang ever get to meet them? If so, how do they get along with them?

8: Huh. Well, how about Woodland Mansions? What happened to those, to make totems so rare? So Pandora still stands today? Cool. Does the gang ever come across it? Where would it be located-or well, what areas would be around it? Is it used for anything else nowadays?

And that sucks. If this happens while the brothers are at odds with each other, do they still help each other out with it, since they’re being mocked about their home, or do they just ignore it, and such. How do their respective groups feel both about them being from Mizu, and how they’re treated for it, both before and after the two hauntings started to merge? Did it effect how they thought of them in anyway?

And that sounds cute. What game was it, and who won? 

10: Hmm. Was Dream aware he was causing Ranbob to become weaker, or was he that out of touch with human needs? Also, I think I remember way back then, you mentioned this part of Dream was the evil bits that survived his death.

What do you think would happen if they somehow managed to end up seeing the good parts, maybe with a similar artifact that Ranbob found in your supposed fluff?

13: Nice.

14: Oh, no. That’s not good.

[dahniwitchoflight]

Struggle and Growth Patterns of the Classes in Homestuck

This came from person asking me what I considered to be the personal struggle of growth for Mages and Seers, since compared to the other classes, their function, Understanding, is non physical in nature compared to the other classes

And the struggles I have for them right now are more environmental rather than internal like the others. That’s very true, and also I haven't really re-looked at those classes in quite a while, more than a few years in fact.

It’s also not incorrect to say Seer/Mage are kind of a blindspot for me, being a Change class, it would be the thing I inherently understand the least, so I should put a bit more thought into it than the others and really hash it out

So! I decided to see if I could find an overall pattern between the supposed struggles of each class (Just the Main 12 tho, not Lord/Muse, didn't wanna over muddle differing factors yet) and I'm actually pretty pleased with what I got:

SO:

Actives in general, don’t struggle with using the flashy powers themselves, they struggle with situations where their power isn't the solution to their current problem OR finding out where their power is actually meant to be used.

Princes aren’t bad at destruction, they’re bad at not getting caught up in their own destruction/bad at reeling it in/directing its flow exactly where its needed, bad at being too destructive even or too heavy handed/scorched earth policy

Witches aren’t bad at change, they struggle with knowing when and where and why something should change at all, it's a very on the nose direct moral struggle

Knights aren’t bad at applying their powers, they’re very skilled, they’re just bad at recognizing when their skill isn’t the solution for their current problem (so they frantically keep trying the same thing over n over again and question why they haven’t found the solution yet)

Thieves arent bad at stealing, but they do struggle with situations where they need to give instead of take, sharing is caring

Maids arent bad at creating, but they do struggle with the internal decision of what they want to create/what kind of person to shape themselves into and perhaps struggle to take that first step at all

So in general, Actives have all the skills and tools at their disposal, their direct struggles in the exact things they want to do with their chosen skillsets and why and when and where etc

All of the Talent, none of the Motivation.

THEN:

Passives in general, DO struggle with the powers themselves at first and the ability to use them, and their growth is about perfecting that chosen skillset and about finding confidence in that skillset to use it to the greatest ability.

Bards struggle in avoidance of their power, their aspect overwhelms them at first, until they’ve ridden the wave, got a handle on things, and now they can destroy with a skilled and subtle confident finesse

Heirs struggle with change, they're comfortable, complacent, they like things to stay where they are, and they need to learn how to move on and not get stuck in a rut, to deal with change, and again, learn to ride the wave and be comfortable and use it, and then their skill with it grows.

Pages I don’t think i even need to say it, do I? They start out at point 0 completely inept in their powers, but through stubborn determination and constant practice they become masters of their craft

Rogues aren’t confident in their powers, or their ability to BE confident and take something by the horns, so they end up passing the buck over to someone they believe is more capable, (even if they’re not) So their journey is about becoming confident, that they are capable enough to handle what lemons life gives them

Sylphs also can struggle with their skills of creation, even though they tend to be very scrutinous of their chosen aspects. They're outwardly confident in their chosen aspects, will talk at length about their ideas as if it were gospel, and do have a tinge of thinking they’re clearly the person for the job when it comes to creative endeavors, but that confidence can blind them to where their skills actually fail or aren’t up to par. Aranea is the great example there. But also Kanaya wasn’t immune to overlooking concerns and failing in areas as well. But once they have been proven wrong, or, if they make sure to keep an eye out for their own failings and work on them, thats when their skills are truly honed.

So in general, Passives know exactly what they want to do with their chosen skills, and might even firmly believe they’re already at the necessary skill level to achieve their goals, but lack the actual level of skill necessary to achieve those goals

All of the Motivation, None of the Talent.

FINALLY:

What does the above imply for Mage and Seer?

Well, going by the pattern:

Active Knowledge Classes aren’t bad at knowing things, in fact, they’re really frigging good at it. So their challenge is figuring out where their knowledge... isn’t actually useful. So instead they struggle with recognizing when they DON’T actually have the answer. When an unknown catches them off guard or when their idea doesn’t work how they think it should. Their struggle is to admit when they might be wrong, when they’re not an expert on everything, and then to pass the buck to someone who DOES actually know.

case in point, Sollux was great and seemed to have all of the answers... up into the point where they finally reached their Doomed point that he predicted, after that, he struggled with knowing whats to come next and kinda gave up on trying to know at all. Since the answer just wasn’t immediately obvious to him. 

Meulin would similarly be at a loss if someone were have a different personality than the one she assumes that they have. And this explains why she is so trusting of Kurloz, despite what he does to her, because she completely cant imagine him being like that, that info is something entirely off her radar. she isn’t wary of who Kurloz is because she KNOWS who Kurloz is, she’s so intimate and close to him, also, she knows who everyone is, duh (in her own mind)

Mages: Good at being Correct, Bad at being Incorrect.

Passive Knowledge Classes then struggle to understand, to learn, to know, but they are motivated by an endless curiosity. They WANT to know, or.. at least come off as if they DO know. A point 0 Seer might actually not be all that knowledgeable about something (!), but they struggle hard with admitting that they’re actually ignorant. So, they bluff. They use Pseudo-Knowledge like objects of divination, or secretly ask questions of authority figures for the answer, or even just straight up bluff and lie their way through things they don’t know to supplement this lack of real solid knowledge, like crutches, and may be at a loss if those crutches are taken away. So their struggle is to become knowledgeable in their own right, which involves removing those crutches, to stop bluffing, stop secretly relying on something else and admit when they need to really learn it instead.

case in point: Rose and Terezi are EXTREMELY good bluffers. Kankri is also that (and just straight up an idiot about a lot of stuff). And all three are way too proud to admit when they don’t actually know something (at least in the beginning). They have the poker faces of a champ. And were extremely good at using what they knew of their aspect powers, to supplement knowledge that they didn’t know themselves. This has actually become much clearer now that we see Rose kinda removed from her main crutches, no more authority like doc scratch or skaia or horrorterrors to ask she is the adult now, no more light aspect seeing the most fortunate path for her. Now shes gotta know stuff on her own by herself, and figure things out on her own and shes doing really good! Terezi’s also struggled immensely with really knowing if she made the right choices at times, and you could consider her coin flip habit both a bluff and a crutch that she was very good at using

Because, if you split the timeline so that every possible answer to your question occurs, one of them has to be the right one, doesn’t it? And shes also doing much better nowadays too. Kankri did not unfortunately lol

Seers: Good at being Incorrect, Bad at being Correct.

TL;DR The thing with Mages and Seers is that your actually just a bunch of dumbdumbs and you don’t know it

(I kid, you guys are smart at smart things, but your dumb at dumb things too lol)

[domesticangel]

I'm sorry if this ask makes you uncomfortable, I'm not sure, if it's something to discuss with strangers. But do you think there's a concrete way to tell your sexuality?

I've considered myself straight, since I've never felt romantic feelings towards women, but I had sexual fantasies about them even before I had them about men. Your Yugioh post made me remember hoping my barbies would turn alive to do horny things with them... And now, when I'm lucid dreaming (so it's conscious), I go for whoever there is, no matter the gender.

My confusion stems from being an extremely visually stimulated person, so even fashion Items or makeup can make me h word. So I'm really not sure if I'm bi-sexual, or just find women pretty and trying to be spicy straight.

Sorry again if it's inappropriate, I'm not sure who to even talk about this. And I'm not really in a place to find out through trial anytime soon lol

NAH YOURE FINE but its the kind of ask i could see making maybe someone else uncomfortable, so in the future you might wanna ask someone before sending something like this! but it doesnt bother me personally, so ill go ahead and answer ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

cramming under a cut since it got kinda long LOL

sooo i dont think for everyone sexuality is going to be a “concrete” thing. for some people it very much is, which is great, but for some people it can be very fluid and changing. i dont think either way is better than the other; they just Are. i only mention this bc i have also very much been where you are so i know it can be pretty stressful and frustrating, feeling like you cant even really tell what your own sexuality is, especially since my brain has never been the best at handling grey areas. i identified as bi for the vast majority of my life before realizing i was actually a lesbian. and i dont say that to equate bisexuality with confusion, but rather to illustrate just how long of a process really understanding the nuances of your own sexuality can be, and how truly normal and okay it is to explore different identities

i would suggest considering why you dont think youve ever had romantic feelings towards a woman or never could; this can actually be a very common thing for wlw bc of compulsive heterosexuality--women live their entire lives in a world that for the most part tells them that love between two women could never be “real” or romantic. its kinda like that whole messy stereotype that biphobes and homophobes like to propagate about bi people being confused, and that bi women are just confused straight women and bi men are just confused gay men. it centers around men. so when women’s sexualities have always been defined by their relationship to men, it can be really hard to figure out how you feel about people who ARENT men, and can def lead to the kind of confusion it sounds like youre having. mainstream Love as a concept is really so eaten up with heterosexual archetypes that they can muddy up your own feelings on what it means for you specifically to love someone regardless of their gender if that makes sense

re: visual stimulation: i think that can differ for everyone, and may or may not play a part in their sexuality. for example, you might become aroused because you associate fashion and makeup with women you find attractive/youre attracted to femininity, OR you might find them stimulating because of a certain mood or vibe they evoke for you, like feeling sexy, the idea of dolling yourself up for someone, etc. or it could very well be both!!!

just from what i can gather from this ask, it sounds to me like youre sexually attracted to women but struggling with figuring out the romantic side of things. ill make this clear first and foremost; i dont believe in the split attraction model, so im not positing youre “bisexual but heteroromantic” or anything like that. HOWEVER sometimes certain aspects of attraction as a whole are easier to parse than others. i know for sure that way before i ever considered IDing as a lesbian i was wildly physically attracted to women but really only gave credence to the crushes i got on men  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

tbh i wouldnt worry too much about it. and i dont mean that in a brushing off kind of way; more in a you absolutely have time to figure this out and explore your options type way. let yourself feel the way you feel about people, try to think about it without OVER thinking, and just be open to things. treat it like a journey at your own pace rather than a timed exam. if you dont want to figure things out by trial as you said right now or for a long time? thats fine. that option will always be waiting for you when youre ready for it. and remember, if bisexuality is something youre considering may be a proper fit, it doesnt have to be 50/50. you could be 90% attracted to people of different/dissimilar gender and 10% attracted to people of same/similar gender and you would still be 100% bi, not a “fake,” not spicy straight. try calling yourself bi. try calling yourself straight. see how it feels and if it fits. dont be afraid of thinking youre one thing and turning out to be the other. this isnt something you can get “wrong.” sexuality can be totally messy and confusing for a lot of people, even after you think youve gotten it all figured out; one of the best things about being alive is how you feel about and interact with other people, but thats such a vast and varied experience that its totally normal imo for it to be nonlinear and not always clear cut. either way your sexuality is yours to explore no matter where you end up