#though their 'true' ages vary wildly

[gamebunny-advance]

Random Question Time (Side A)

Note: This question is more about "feeling" than the strict and literal definitions of their relationship. It's clear that they're all based on the same model of robot and are manufactured by the same machine, and are thus all related by that. This question is asking how you think their relationship functions in human terms.

See the sister poll to vote on Neon J.'s relationship with 1010.

[marzipanandminutiae]

Hey Marzi could that black silk afternoon gown from 1875 that you reblogged be considered a mourning dress? I’m still trying to figure out how mourning attire worked

This one?

Could be, yeah! In a certain context only, though.

So, the way Victorian mourning often seems to have worked in practice was kind of like...having a black cocktail dress that you could wear to your aunt's funeral but also out for drinks with friends. It's very dependent on context and accessories, because black was a popular color for women's clothing in general (just like it is now).

Really, despite what listicles often want to say, there are a VERY small number of extant gowns that could only ever have been For Mourning SpecificallyTM. The rules varied, but it tended along the lines of "in the first, deepest phase of mourning, you wear only black with no other accent colors and nothing shiny or sparkly, including shiny silk-satin." People often forget the No Shiny rule in rushing to label all black dresses Mourning. Then later on, you could start adding back in shine and accent colors, generally white, purple, mauve, and sometimes red depending on where and when you lived.

Except those were also popular accent colors for non-mourning black clothing. And non-shiny black dresses existed in other contexts, too.

Yeah. You can see where this gets confusing for modern researchers.

Accessories played a big role in showing mourning- important, because the whole point of formalized mourning was to convey "be gentle; I'm going through something hard." Matte black jewelry, as from bog oak, jet, or sometimes hardened rubber later on in the 19th century, especially with certain symbols. Anything with a willow and urn motif. A hand holding a wreath. A piece of jewelry marked with someone's name and their age/the year when they died. Sometimes, but not always, jewelry with skulls and skeletons (sometimes that's just because they thought those motifs looked cool). Wearing a veil was also a great way to show mourning, in context with everything else- it's now often associated with especially widows in the mid-19th century.

(It was even harder for men at times, since black suits were wildly popular. Sometimes a black armband would be worn, or strictest matte black in all jewelry like collar and cuff studs. But I've actually read etiquette manuals that are like "it's really hard for men to show that they're in mourning; oops.")

I feel like the idea of formalized mourning is so foreign to us now that we've gotten a little bit overexcited and forgotten that, if it doesn't make sense to us to buy a whole new wardrobe when someone dies, that was probably true back then as well- and if we like black clothing in non-mourning contexts, they probably did, too. You can find advertisements for retailers selling mourning clothes, so people definitely did buy new things for the occasion at times- but they also made good use of what they already had, just like we do now. And wore those same outfits with different contextualizing accessories when mourning was over.

Oh, and the notion that there was a strict, specific term of time you HAD to mourn for different losses in your life, and everyone knew the term and was keeping score? Not as much a thing either. I've read a few books that do proscribe a specific term for different relatives or loved ones who've died, but most also specify that mourning is highly personal and the length that one might mourn varies from person to person. Also, no, widowers were not only required to mourn for a year while widows mourned for two: I found that in a couple of books, but far more that advised the same minimum length of mourning for both losses. There might be judgmental people who thought you Hadn't Mourned For Long Enough, but that's not quite the same as a strict, universally-accepted rule.

And there were all sorts of exceptions- a bride was generally advised to cast off mourning for her wedding day (although one could get married in a black dress, so I guess that just means accessorizing in a more normal way), keeping children in mourning for too long- or sometimes at all! -was believed to be too hard on their little minds during a time of stress...it was all a lot more malleable than we often think nowadays.

Hope this helps!

[wilcze-kudly]

I really want to see your post about how Katara is forcefully matured by the fandom, please!

Ok, while I wasn't ready to make that post in earnest, and frankly never might be, here's some of my cursory thoughts on the topic. I'd gladly talk about it in detail more but also ✨️fear✨️

So, let's get the obvious out of the way. Katara is a 14 year old. A child, barely a teen. In fact, the entirety of the gaang is made up of children.

Now, I haven't been fully active in the atla fandom in quite some time, mostly lurking on the peripheries, because the fandom is a shitshow. One of the reasons being the fact that most fans cannot, for the life of them handle the Gaang's inherent childishness.

This isn't just a Katara problem. Other than her, Aang suffers the most for the egregious crime of being a 12 year old survivor of a genocide. Suki is, of course, mainly ignored. The interpretations of Toph can vary wildly, from her being horrifically matured to being dissmissed as a chaotic, rude child. Zuko and Sokka's immature moments are looked at more permissively, being an angsty boi™️ and a goofy goober respectively.

I do find it odd that Aang doesn't get the "boys will be boys" pass, but ok, we'll blame it on him being... bald? a nice boy? not concerned with his own masculinity?

As for Katara, her maturity is treated like... a given. She's the mom of the group, the proverbial love interest, the feminist icon, the badass fighter, the trailblazer filled with feminine rage. The trophy wife to Aang, the (Lore Olympus style) Persephone to Zuko's Hades.

And true, she is, or at least can be, a lot of these things.

However she is, first and foremost, a child. This fact is presented to us on a silver platter in the first episode, when her and Aang are penguin sledding.

Katara : I haven't done this since I was a kid!

Aang: You still are a kid!

Katara is a child forced to mature. Her circumstances forced her to try to fill her mother's place and to fight for those who couldn't do so themselves. The fandom brands her as a mom friend. Sees her purely as an icon of empowerment. Or worse, degrades her character to being a love interest.

(im talking about both sides of the kataang/zutara debate. I have my biases, but I'm sure there are kataangers who treat her like this as well. I simply have encountered very few of them.)

Her story, while yes, has many themes of female empowerment is in huge part, a tragedy. The tragedy of a young girl forced to grow up much too soon.

Sadly, this is rarely spoken about. It's not spoken about directly and therefore a lot of the fandom doesn't see this. (Or simply doesn't want to see it)

This is not to say that Katara's more mature aspects should be dismissed or buried. She displays a lot of maturity for her age, to the point of being able to go toe to toe both intellectually and physically with the (admittedly usually incompetent) adults of the show. Additionally, she evolves as a character through the durtation of the show.

But a huge chunk of her maturity being forced and therefore unhealthy is a key aspect of her character.

I think what upsets me the most is that while the critiquing the idea of Katara being treated as the mom of the group in fanon is becoming more and more common, the treatment of her as something akin to a YA protagonist is on the rise.

Both these interpretations are so insulting to the character of Katara, what is wrong with you people?

I'm currently rewatching atla with a focus on Katara as a character (while also trying to give zutara a chance I am doing my best guys) and her childishness is an integral part of her. It's sad to see her treated as an adult by the fandom. And honestly unsettling, especially with how much of like a child she acts.

I wanna finish my rewatch before I give my full ramble on the topic. I also wanna look more into the many different opinions people in the atla fandom have on Katara's treatment by the show. Though even trying to skim the surfce was like injecting lemon juice directly into my tear ducts. Also I really, really don't wanna get sent death threats again.

I want to give the topic of Katara my full attention. However I don't think I'll ever make this post, actually. The atla fandom is a rabid horrid pack of creatures and I'm not sure if I wanna engage with all that.The post would probably bash a lot of things considered key arguments for Zutara, since, looking at Zutara through a child's doesn't exactly scream 'romance' and do I really want that on my blog?

Katara's role as a child isn't valued as much as her role as a woman and I just don't want to deal with people calling me mean names for talking about a little girl being traumatised.

I'd be glad to have a discussion but I made this blog mainly to have fun and enjoy a piece of media I like. I met some truly amazing people whom I can have really great discussions with, even if we don't agree. I don't want to jeopardise that by being a pretentious dick on a soapbox.

Call this and the last few posts I made on Katara me testing the waters.

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

Is Harry not being able to talk/walk yet in TMWWBK a nod towards the ill effects his treatment has had on his development or you and Vinelle not considering child development?

The Man Who Would Be King by Me and @therealvinelle

Relevant excerpts from the fic:

Mrs. Potter was next to him, writing in a Muggle notebook and completely ignoring her son, who’d toddled off to the other side of the room where he unsuccessfully tried to open the drawers.

She sat down to resume her studies, while Mr. Black busied himself with a book, and Harry toddled happily towards the playpen, where he pulled out one of the toys You-Know-Who had enchanted for him.

Lily sat dejectedly in her chair and bounced Harry in her lap, helping him to calm down. “I hope you end up having friends when you’re bigger,” she told him. “I had Petunia growing up, she used to pull my hair. That wasn’t very nice of her,” she said, and smiled at Harry’s responding babble.

A factoid:

On average, they say their first words between 7–12 months of age and are constructing coherent sentences by 2–3 years of age. Language develops alongside other skills, such as those relating to movement. As a result, many babies say their first words close to when they start walking — at about 12 months.

From this source

Harry, within the fic, born in July of 1980 is about a year and a half when we start seeing him in December. He's walking about unaided (though not very fast and not with much coordination) and he is saying words for all we haven't put much/if any of them on the page from what I recall. He is not speaking in full sentences yet.

This is not bizarre; he is not two. He is one and a half. There is a difference.

Though it is true @therealvinelle and I don't focus on Harry at this age in this fic. I'll happily admit to that. He's in the scenes, he does things, but without being able to speak in coherent sentences or do much beyond wander about he's not that influential on the main plot. He can't be telling Alphard he's stupid and punching him in the face. At the current point, he's more a MacGuffin than an actual character. He's important, but not so much in what he says or does but in the fact that he exists and is in Location A or in Location B. He's not the point of the fic and isn't even what I'd call a tertiary character.

However, anon, you are free to a) write your own fic in which it's made explicitly clear at every possible moment how much Harry is walking on his own or b) insert the following paragraph mentally between every paragraph (or if that's not enough every word) of the fic

"And then Harry ran up to his mother and said, 'Look, Mummy, I can talk!' Harry then proceeded to do a handstand and five backflips. Everyone told him how amazing he is. Harry beamed and said, 'Aw shucks, you shouldn't have. Now I am terribly embarrassed."

@therealvinelle bids me add that she didn't work for a year with two-year-olds and keep their development (and how wildly varied it is, no two children are the same) in mind when writing Harry just to be called out like this

[the-bogginses-are-gay]

Hello, lovely!! This is for the nosy ask game: 6, 16, 17, 21, 27, 41, and 43!!!

Ahhh, thank you so much for asking ily bby!!!!

6 - Age I get mistaken for: I often get told wildly varying things about my appearance, but most commonly people think I'm 16 or 17, as I still have a childlike face.

16 - I'll love you if: Hmmm, this is a tricky one! I will love and appreciate anyone who takes time out of their day to ask me how I'm doing, or pays special attention enough that they realise I'm having a bad day. I also love people who put up with my incessant fandom ramblings too lol

17 - Someone I miss - I had a friend a year or two ago who started acting really bitchy to me and our group before moving away to another country. She reached out to me a few weeks ago apologising for the way she treated me. I don't know if I want to rekindle the friendship, but I miss the friendship we had.

21 - What I love most about myself - This is really difficult, I tend to be negative about myself so I'll try my best ... I really like my intelligence (that feels Iike a weird thing to say), it gives me a confidence boost around other people. I can't really think of things about myself that I really like atm sorry!!

27 - A description of the girl/boy I like - Okay, I like this question!! The boy that I like is decently tall, with skinny, pale but really strong arms. He is overall a very skinny person (my friends call him a stick figure) with long legs, big cloudy blue eyes and short light brown hair. His ears are slightly sticking out, but in a cute way. He is really smart, but clowns around sometimes and is really funny.

41 - Where I want to be right now - Honestly, I just want to be in New Zealand. I've been there before, as the place where lotr was filmed, and it felt like my true home. If I could live or just exist anywhere, I would be in New Zealand, at home in Middle Earth.

43 - Sexiest person that comes to mind immediately - Oh god, this is embarrassing, but probably the guy I like, even though he isn't that sexy, he's more of a pretty boy.

[thestalkerbunny]

St. Shrodinger, The Verminated. The First (And only) Saint of Necromancers. Often joked in higher better regarded religious groups that it was a dirty old homeless cat they dug out of the rubbish.

St. Shrodinger historically was noted was a liberated slave during the post era of some great war. Though Liberation was great-it came a few decades too late as Shrodinger was too old to do any useful work, too sick to be around other people, and unskilled in anything but domestic service-assistance for sort of stopped after being freed as he wasn't really regarded as 'useful' to society anymore.

After being found by several Neromancers living in a box, they planned to use him for study and experimentation as they assumed he was dead. But what was assumed to be a horrible case of leprosy and skin disease causing parts of his body to slough off-was actually an undead necrosis. With no magic detected in his body-he was the first recorded 'True Undead'-not Dead but not alive, both both at the same time; still a slave to bodily needs and functions but freeded from the need of rest,injury or disease. Natural occurring Undead were unheard of at the time, they regarded his existence a miracle. They regarded him with a great fondness and tended to his any need or want he had and he knew great luxury and comfort he had not ever known before. For the rest of his life, which historians estimated to be 80 extra years on TOP of his already advanced age, St. Shrodinger lived in good care and good company until his requested death. He is noted the only Saint in recorded history whose death was not natural nor as a martyr but requested as a consented euthanasia as he had 'lived long enough'.

St. Shrodinger's Feast day is often observed by Necromancers as days in which death and life must be celebrated at the same time. Depending on where you live-how that's interpreted can vary wildly from quiet observation of those who have passed to having wild procreative orgies to produce new life. Tuna is an encouraged feast food-chicken is also an acceptable substitute. He is often depicted holding a small box-which is speculated to symbolize the endless possibilities each one of us holds within.

Or it could be, being a tabaxi, he was just a big fan of boxes.

[abigailbozarthart]

So here are all of Marinos' shimmer dragons- they're a wee bit cursed to us land creatures.

Shimmer dragons are an entirely separate family of dragonkind from DnD's typical chromatic, metallic, and gem dragons. They are very loosely inspired by Chinese and Japanese dragons, some of which (the Japanese dragons iirc) metamorphize from fish as part of their life cycle. That and being heckin noodles is where the similarity ends, though.

Shimmer dragons are aquatic, able to remain above the water comfortably for only a few hours, though they can magically fly. They are hermaphrodites, able to both sire offspring and lay eggs. Shimmer dragons of any species can mate to produce eggs for both parents- they seldom form long term mating bonds of any sort and rear their own eggs alone. The young are always of the seal-jellyfish form until pupation from wyrmling to young dragon, which is jarringly rapid and reveals their species. They can be the species of either parent; it is completely random and impossible to divine in advance. Shimmer dragons seldom care if their young takes after them physically.

Their personalities vary pretty wildly, but they all tend to be very ecclectic and to have very strange and esoteric hoards.

Like other true dragons, they can shapeshift and produce offspring with other creatures, but given they mostly see All That as a way to produce young and lack much romantic instinct, and find typical bisex beings to be repugnantly alien (often a mutual feeling), this doesn't exactly happen often.

As is the case for all true dragons in Marinos, shimmer dragons carry the Bloodsong, the immuteable essence of dragonkind that grants them power and majesty that ever increases with age for as long as they live. In desperation they can sing the Bloodsong for a Wish that is even stronger than the typical uses of the spell, sacrificing dragonhood in the process and becoming a new dragonborn. Their descendants after that are shimmer dragonborn.

Shimmer dragons all have dual damage resistances, sometimes in ecclectic combinations, and matching breath weapons.

Pearlescent- poison and piercing

Aventurescent- fire and thunder

Opalescent- radiant and lightning

Schiller- necrotic and acid

Chatoyant- psychic and bludgeoning

Irridescent-slashing and cold

They also have innate spells, which they can imbue their breath weapons with to turn them into areas of effect, sometimes to bizarre effect!

[dracomort]

Really find your opinion of dracomort true in the sense that it's mainly a noncon ship true. Personally never saw tom as a sexual being, he is kind of in an asexual spectrum for me. What's your opinion on drarry, tomarry and harrymort?(on basis of canon)

Yes, I generally write Tom as some sort of acespec.

By 'basis of canon' I assume you mean their plausibility in canon?

If so, Drarry certainly has the greatest probability given that no moral event horizon crossing crimes have occurred between them. There is a great deal of freedom when it comes to writing post-war drarry. There's also a lot to build on - Harry using Draco's wand to kill Voldemort, Draco avoiding identifying Harry at Malfoy Manor, Fiendfyre, Sectumsempra, their shared cousin/godson, Harry being Sirius's heir vs Draco being the last of the Blacks, etc. In some ways theyre two sides of the same coin - children used as pawns by powerful men. In other ways, they couldn't be more different.

I've also answered asks about Tomarry vs Taco and my ideal Drarry dynamic previously, which I think are relevant here :)

Tomarry is probably a ship that varies wildly depending on how the writer has chosen to make them meet. Same Age AU or No Magic AU are VERY different propositions to a Canon-Divergent Time-Travel or Horcrux fic to me. The core reason is that well, um, Voldemort killed Harry's parents and the prophecy makes any sort of reconciliation very difficult. No matter how much he likes a person, I believe Tom's self-preservation instinct would override that.

I do think Tom and Harry could come to respect each other. Harry has a lot of traits that Tom values and vice versa. In HBP we see Harry develop a reluctant admiration for Tom's bravery and audacity when confronting his uncle. But I really have a hard time ever seeing Harry's morals bend to accommodate Tom's bigotry, nor Tom limit himself to placate Harry. Think leaning into the shades of reckless violence and anger in Harry's personality and aligning them against a common enemy is where I'd take it. Still, Harry wouldn't put up with Tom's genocidal tastes. I find it implausible enough in older Drarry fics when Harry turns a blind eye to Draco calling Hermione a Mudblood (or worse, treats it like a charming personality quirk), let alone tolerating TOM'S attitudes sdfghjk

While Diary!Tom is curious about Harry as a genuine potential threat (though ultimately decides that he's overhyped), Voldemort only views him as an obstacle—Dumbledore's puppet—as he puts it. I don't think Voldemort has any interest in Harry as a person. He just wants to dispose of him in the most theatrical fashion possible to reassert his own power and dominance after being bested by a baby. Similar to what I said on the Dracomort ask about him needing to see Draco as a separate identity from Lucius, the same is necessary for Harry from Dumbledore. My opinion on Harrymort isn't particularly different from my opinion on Dracomort. The fifty year age gap puts a strain on plausibility for me for there ever being any real love or respect, but anything else goes. Now, Voldemort and an older Harry—maybe in his 30s or 40s—could be a different conversation.

[fealtyfaggot]

1, 9, 15? For the book ask

Thanks for the ask!!

1: the book I've reread most is probably Good Omens, with my current reread count being around 12-15 rereads

9: when & where I tend to read varies wildly but if I really want to make myself sit down with a book I'll go to a local fancy café, order an aeropress coffee and a Greek pastry, and sit until I'm done reading. This has gotten me through rereading like a dozen Discworld books since September.

15: bet you're expecting me to recommend & review a Pratchett book aren't you.

SIKE it's time for Akwaeke Emezi. The book I'm recommending is their YA novel Pet, which is about true justice in a post-revolutionary utopian Black America, angels, & monsters. I absolutely adore this book, and it's up there with Best Books I've Ever Read. Its audience skews a little younger than what I tend to read, and its protagonist, a twelve-year-old named Jam, would absolutely have been a character I looked up to had I read the book at her age.

When I talk about this book I often struggle to discuss it in terms of Representation because, for one, it's better than pretty much any other YA fiction I've read at representing certain experiences: namely, its heroine is an autistic, semiverbal Black trans girl, its entire cast of characters is Black (though not entirely Black American, as there's most definitely Caribbean & African influence in the utopian town of Lucille where the story is set), and the breadth of human experience represented in a way that's suitable for people aged 12 to 120 is truly incredible.

That said, I don't want to recommend this book because its cast is so richly described or because of the marginalised identities front and centre to the story-these, integral to the story as they are, are simply part of the greater narrative point Emezi makes about justice in a society where revolutionary action has worked, pretty much perfectly, and Pet as a novel concerns itself very little with identity. Jam takes her hormones and communicates nonverbally, and this is given as much importance in her daily routine as her choice of breakfast. People no longer need to work for money and instead contribute to a constructive society as they are best equipped to do so, but, again, we see very little of this utopian society's structure, or only as little as a preteen who suddenly has an angel in her house & must confront the humanity of the monsters in her city's past is going to describe to the reader.

The primary reason, indeed, that I recommend Pet is for its views on revolution, history, & the idea of societal heroes, as well as its beautiful, readable prose style, wildly likeable protagonist, and frankly fucking incredible description of its titular angel. I'm not the best of book reviewers but I would ask you to please believe me when I say this book, and what I've read of the rest of Emezi's work (Bitter, a prequel to Pet, for young adults, and Freshwater & The Death of Vivek Oji for adults), is something extraordinary, and should be on anyone's reading list.

[kariachi]

Some bedding and bedroom stuff for my various species because why the fuck not

Perison

Typically sleep communally in separate beds

Masters of the floor mattress (look, we’ve seen the size of them, at 11 Kevin was smaller than Kwarrel’s arm, what the fuck sorta bedframe are they gonna use?) which is the most similar, on average, to what we’d recognize as a mattress

Wandering Herds typically have four to six men per wagon, depending on the size of the wagon, with small chests for daily-use personal items at the heads of beds

There’s wagons dedicated to storing non-daily use items

Teenagers typically are grouped together by when they joined the herd and so by age as a result, but as they’re free to come and go after a few years once they hit true adulthood the range of ages in a wagon can vary wildly

In Settled Herds your average household will have three or four large bedrooms- the husband’s room, the wives’ room, and the children’s room(s)- the latter of which may be divided by sex or age if there’s a second room at all

Wealthier families may have more rooms and be able to split by generation as well

Babies and toddlers typically bunk with their mothers, moving into the children’s room at about 4/5

Married men are the only group that can generally expect to have a private room long term (assuming, of course, they aren’t sharing with a father/son-in-law)

Traditionally and in more rural areas still married men’s rooms are at the center of the home and open onto a private courtyard that’s only accessible through their rooms, in urban areas this has translated to top floor rooms and the sole key to the roof and control of the gardens there

Married men also tend to have their own bathroom (in the modern age it is not unusual for them to send their still-wandering friends and relatives pictures and a ‘there’s benefits to marriage’)

Bedding, blankets, and the like generally is made from plant-based fibers and/or wool- the latter being very common for things like baby clothes and wives’ beds because are less likely to try to eat it- and while synthetics became far more common for a while there they’ve fallen out of favor and are now fairly rare, mostly restricted to poorer families and herds who can’t afford to replace them

Osmosians

Sort’ve a cross between communal and individual sleepers, though still with separate beds

It all depends on the person, how old they are, and whether they’re living with kin

An adult living outside of their clan dens may den alone, may den with any romantic partners, or with members or children of their Nesting if they’re part of one

Private dens, outside of clan dens, typically consist of a more public sitting space onto which is attached a smaller den large enough for 2-3 individuals to sleep or up to three 1-person dens

An adult living within their clan dens may also den alone or in those small groupings, but it’s less common- while you will find some of the more private style of den, most are just sleeping spaces large enough to house anywhere from four to eight people each, depending on the clan

Dens, in this context, consist of a dug out space just large enough for a number of beds equal to the presumed number of occupants, with one or more spaces dug into the walls to hold chests containing personal belongings (though areas with bed frames often seen things stored under them as well)

Whether or not bed frames are used varies by area, and as with most things made by Ossys when they do exist they’re made of stone or metal more often than not

Bedding, for most on Osmos V, consists of piles of hide layered together to make a comfortable cushion, with items made from plant-based fibers being more common nearer to major water sources, and those with ties to off-world trade having more ready access to imports like furs and synthetic materials

Of course things are different for the little children

Osmosian nests are scrapes formed from stone and metal and chicks stay in them with their dam for about their first half year Ossy time (so, about 15 months Earth time)

At that point they get moved into the creche proper, where they’re sleeping on larger, less easily stuck in one’s mouth, stones until they get passed their first birthday, when they graduate to sleeping on hide

At 3 (~7-8 Earth time) they move from the creche and begin sleeping in the same dens as their parents

At 6-7 (~15-18 Earth time) they move into dens with a few cousins or siblings if available, if not they continue to share dens with their parents until they’ve reached at least 8 (~20 Earth time) and can begin living as adults, and if they do move in with siblings or cousins then it’s entirely possible and common for them to continue to live like that as adults for at least a few more years

Erinaens

I don’t think the words ‘separate beds’ have been spoken on Eri other than by Osmosians in hushed whispers, fuckers are the most communal of sleepers

An Erinaen household typically only has one bedroom, two is a big house, and three is just showing off

The entire family sleeps in that room, though yes Erinaen buildings tend to have something similar to a mezzanine (only the one per room, however), it’s still a space the size of your average Ossy sleeping den with typically at least another half dozen people in it, these bastards cram and pile

Take a second for that, a space that fits three Osmosians in separate beds will fit over a dozen Erinaens in a sprawling mass of fur and quills

In areas that get truly cold households may come together into one space for the winter- often either 1) groups of siblings and cousins who leave near each other and don’t yet have families of their own, 2) intermarried groups with no or only a handful of free-range children between them, 3) elderly groups of friends and family with no more children between them- allowing them to accumulate body heat to stave off the winter

Body heat is the major source of home heating amongst Erinaens

Bedrooms, like all rooms, tend to have shelves carved into the walls to house personal and family items

Bedding is... have you ever looked inside a packrat midden? It’s that.

Start again- traditional bedding amongst Erinaens consists of a thick layer of leaves, fur, and feathers covering the whole of the floor, with colder regions also often having furs and lengths of cloth used to supplement the household’s body heat

On Eri at least, while they’ve heard of mattresses, they really don’t see the benefit- yes it keeps things from getting stuck in your quills, but it’s another thing to clean in comparison to just being able to haul everything out and toss it when it starts to smell or get insects or spring comes back around because like fuck you went and re-bedded the bedroom during winter

Lenopan (yes! they get to be on the list for the first time! clap for them!)

Not traditionally communal sleepers as adults

Dams will share a room in the children’s house with their latest clutch until they’re about 4-5 years old, then move back into their main house with said children

Children typically share a room with their clutchmates and/or similarly aged cousins living in the same house, until their mid-to-late teens, when they start being split off to their own rooms

While you get communal nappers, they tend to prefer to properly sleep alone- likely a leftover from their solitary predator ancestors

Bedrooms are more spacious than for Ossys or Erinaens, and often serve also as personal spaces to get away from family, work on personal projects, have some damn privacy, that sort’ve thing

In drier areas, it’s not uncommon to have a small, shallow pool of water in one corner of the room, to keep the humidity up, though off the homeworld this is typically replaced with a humidifier or misting system

Bedding, as we know it, isn’t really a thing among Lenopan, typically an individual will decide on their favorite sleeping spot, not put shit there, and that’s mostly that, but to fit personal preference their equivalent is temporary inserts, often coming in pieces you can install yourself to your own ideal, in a variety of materials and textures which are put together in an individual’s preferred sleeping spot to cover the floor and walls as preferred

Your typical bedroom is made of smooth, closely laid tile, uniform and cool to the touch, though concrete is also sometimes used, especially in children’s rooms

It’s harder to do inserts for children’s rooms, but most decent families will put in the effort to try to work something out so they can all be comfortable, even if that means having to split them up early because two or more just can’t share a living space

[kanohivolitakk]

Writing a fan fic about the dark hunters. Which portrayal is your favorite? a) the dark hunters as victims b) the dark hunters as bastards c) the dark hunters as complex and morally ambiguous d) the dark hunters as dumbasses e) the dark hunters as a messed up found-family

I think my favorite portrayal/interpretation of the is a mixture of a and c with a dash of e for good measure. I don't like b or d at the very least for the group as whole.

The way I personally like to see the Dark Hunters as the "true neutral" group of Bionicle factions. The Dark Hunters are mercenaries and bounty hunters for hire, and will work with anyone, good or bad, as long as they get paid for it and it doesn't harm them or their organisation. Most of the Dark Hunters aren't necessarily evil themselves, but moreso just doing their job. Yeah, TSO is evil and power-hungry, and there are certainly members who are like that as well but that doesn't indicate of the group as whole. I feel that the morality of Dark Hunters varies very wildly, with most of the group being more "amoral" than immoral or evil because they're so focused on survival and trying to make a name for themselves. Besides even TSO knows his place in the greater Matoran Universe and uses that to his advantage to gain status and power (I mean at least before Voporaks aging makes him go all insane which is why he is like THAT in the 08 serials).

Kinda a sidenote but I don't like how a lot of supplementary material and side-story stuff implies that the Dark Hunters are among the highest factions in the MU. I do believe that they're among the higher ranking yes but the idea they're as "clearly in power" as say the Brotherhood always bothered me. I felt their power and influence was more a "hidden in plain sight of thing", them being influental because of how much their services affect the world and how other seeminlgly stronger factions use them to do their bidding rather than them being an openly powerwielding faction if that makes sense.

I also really like interpreting them as victims because it just makes so much sense to me based on what we know about them. From what we understand, a lot of the Dark Hunters are social rejects who have no place to belong to in the greater MU, so they resorted into this life out of no other options. It's also worth pointing out that in a lot of cases TSO manipulated people to join his side by convincing them that they had no place to go if not outright arranging that to be the case. Are some of them irredeemable? Yeah but like most of the cases they aren't part of the organization because they want to but moreso because they have nowhere else to go.

And I just love that fucked up found family element to them since as a group of misfits and fucked up criminals either by own volition, tragic circumstances or a mixture of both rejected by rest of the world it just..SCREAMS fucked up found family potential to me. Though is it a found family if they all were forced to live under the same group by one powerhungry mob boss? I digress I digress but thats worth pointing out.

The reason I don't like "pure bastards" interpretation that much is because I find that to be just limiting. In general I don't like the whole way Bionicle has its morality of being "x group always good y group always bad". Yeah in some cases it works (see the Brotherhood) but I feel putting every group or every character under a simple good or evil scale is boring. I find moral grayness and nuances to lend to much more interesting storytelling. That said the Dark Hunters can be bastards, not just all of them and even those who are can have other layers to them besides their nastyness.

As for the "dark hunters are dumbasses" I feel a big part of this is because I want them to be threat or at the very least taken seriously both in universe and out of it. While some of them being Team Rocket levels of harmless makes sense (looking at you Devastator and your chuuni ass showoffyness) I don't like the idea of them all being jokes. It just makes them less interesting and also makes their impact in the greater MU feel less believable as a result. That and I don't like dumb idiots that much at least in a way where you KNOW they're dumb idiots I prefer dumb idiots who present themselves as a threat only for not being such.

Sorry this took long and I hope you like this answer nwn.

[uristarrysky]

Happy Ending Romance (Rant/Review/Theory)

Plot

I am wondering what the “corruption” was that JW revealed that resulted in his exile. My initial thoughts before airing was that the man had his interns writing his work for him & taking the credit. Something along those lines with abuse of power for staff. As the man still holds power in the industry & seemingly is undisturbed power wise as a result of the reveal though still harbors intense resentment towards JW for outing him. But considering how JW is ghost writing for JH, that theory no longer applies - even if there is a more ethical route for these two, I don’t see it JW ghost writing for someone else if that was what led to his exile in the first place. So what kind of Harvey Weinstein bullshit did that guy do for his “corruption” & not get cancelled for it? I will be pissed if they don’t address what the “corruption” was because it feels like such a cop-out story wise to not include the specifics for the impetus of the plot. 

If they try to wrap this up in a tiny little bow with a “happy ending” that JW could publish under TY’s incapable failing company & they lived happily ever after as a couple - I will learn if it is possible to scream & hurl simultaneously. 

Failing Publisher

Oh boy………that startup is worthless. How long ago did they open up that business? JW’s exile & TY’s quitting Literature Square was 3 years ago. When did TY & WJ open up their business? Where did they get the funding for it? How are they surviving with food, rent & other necessities when their business literally makes NOTHING! Did they just open up in the past few months & didn’t prepare enough funds to sustain them for a while as they attempt to actually publish anything? Or has this place been open for 1-2 years & they’ve been so lazy/incompetent to actually sign anyone to publish with? WJ at least seems to be trying while TY just has tunnel vision for JW. 

TY comes across as the type that wants to boast about how they’re a CEO or business owner but has absolutely no business sense & therefore their business is one gust of wind away from falling. He should have stuck with being an editor, he does not have the work ethic, focus, or responsibility required for running a business. He is so wound up thinking about JW that a tornado could come through the office & the man would not even blink!

Ghost Writing

There are a few different scenarios I can think of for this. 

A) JW & JH decided to use JH’s name & body in order to publish JW’s work without destroying another company & actually getting to publish. They share the profits fairly.

B) JH was already an established writer with a following so using his name for ghost writing would ensure that JW’s work got published & gained notoriety. Whether this is intended to be a lifelong deal, until the senior dies (we don’t even know the age of that senior either) or until the books are so wildly popular that revealing the true author would no longer threaten either of their careers because the work is too popular to exile them. With JH’s mention of waiting things out a little longer - it feels like this method of waiting till it’s too popular to fail might have been their plan.

C) JH hit writers block for his own writing career, sees that JW has talent & has him ghost write for him - using him to gain fame & fortune. Perhaps does not share the profits beyond paying for their rent, utility & food costs - essentially making JW a live in slave.

D) JH offered ghost writing under his name to “help” JW get published but was doing this for the sake of his own fame & fortune because he envies JW’s talent. 

Did JW write ALL of JH’s books for the past three years & completely by himself? Did they write them together? Did JH used to get his own work published prior to the exile? Does JH publish some of his own work during this exile? The answers to these questions provide different situations that have varying levels of acceptability. If ALL the books are completely written by JW then naturally he should get a bigger cut of the profits as JH is only a body double & that would explain how JW could feel like he is being used. If they work on them together under JH’s name then that is probably the most ideal option for JH if they go the “too popular to fail” route as then they both could still have a career. If they both wrote their own books under JH’s name then at least JH is also writing for himself & could possibly still have a career if JW left him before the ghost writing secret is revealed. If the ghost writing is unveiled by someone else though then they’re both in the doghouse of the publishing world. JW still being blacklisted & then JH would lose his career as no publisher would ever trust it to be his work thereby assuming it is JW’s - who is in exile. Then they can both be in exile together, though more likely apart as JW would leave now that their arrangement no longer benefits him. He doesn’t seem to love JH at all, maybe he did once but now their relationship is one of convenience & codependency. 

Characters

TY: I can rant about how much this fucker annoys the absolute shit out of me. In my perspective of the series so far & not knowing the “corruption” impetus for the story - TY is the villain. He is a stalker, he has been told to leave things alone over & over by not just JH but also his partner WJ. He literally has done sasaeng behavior but because he’s bubbly - it’s okay? Fuck off with that bullshit. He quit his job because of JW - a man who didn’t even know him. He made his whole life about wanting to publish JW’s work & started a company for that purpose. He refuses to legitimately consider publishing anything that doesn’t involve JW, he HAS to make EVERYTHING about JW. 

If all of JH’s books were completely written by JW then shouldn’t his stalker be able to tell? He is only obsessed with JW & his writing under his name but can’t see that JH’s books are his writing too? People can recognize diction from their friend’s posts online but he can’t recognize JW’s diction in entire full-length books under JH’s name when he has JW’s first book to go by. He probably read that book several times over but never noticed similarities to JH’s work. 

JW: Without knowing the reason for the exile, I feel like we’re missing vital information which could impact our views on his character. Was he really a victim if the person he outed hasn’t been canceled & exiled themselves? Did he just commit slander against them or was there a legitimate case for revealing what he did? 

JH: He seems to genuinely care about protecting JW from further suffering. He saw how much it hurt for JW to be exiled, he saw how his attempt to publish under his own name resulted in the end of their friend’s publishing startup & he wants to avoid that happening again. So when bubbly insanely optimistic stalker comes poking around claiming he can publish JW’s work - JH is understandably guarded & wanting to protect JW. He offers instead to sign with the company & see if they can publish under his name first, as they have never published anything before. If they can’t last long enough to publish with his name then they wouldn’t be able to publish with JW’s. He wants to test them. WJ is all for it & keeps trying to convince TY but TY’s lizard brain only has JW in mind. 

JW & JH

Codependency is a big issue for these two. JW living with JH & using his name to publish his work. JH using JW’s work if the books are not collaborative in nature & he is not writing his own material as well.  The relationship feels one-sided, JH seems to genuinely love or at least care for JW but JW seems to use his “I’m a poor meow meow, don’t you feel bad for me” to guilt trip JH. He feels guilt for sinking his friend’s publishing startup but doesn’t care that he could sink JH’s career if the ghost writing is outed. Caring more for a friend that you haven’t talked to in years, until it was convenient for you, than the boyfriend that has been by your side the whole time - he really isn’t innocent in all this. If you want to claim that JH is manipulative then recognize that JW is too. JH may at least have good intentions whereas JW seems selfish.

JH asks JW if they should break up, asks JW if he is happy. JW says no to breaking up but as soon as he has an offer to stay elsewhere with another man that is interested in him, one that he barely knows - he leaves easily, now that he has someone else to cater to him. 

JW & TY

TY is a stalker & now JW has agreed to live in his apartment. TY claimed he would let JW write in peace & he’d sleep at the office. He does not do this. Instead he creepily watches him with an insane smile on his face. The man has NO RESPECT FOR BOUNDARIES, no respect for the fact that he is actively pursuing JW who is already in a relationship (sure not a healthy one but at least don’t try to actively break them up to have a shot with JW.) No respect for leaving JW the fuck alone to write & not watch him creepily. 

He keeps claiming that he can publish JW’s work under his own name but the man has literally NEVER published ANY author & he confidently claims he can publish an exiled author. The man has rocks banging around in his head, certainly not a brain in there. He can’t afford rent & electricity for his office - he certainly can’t afford to produce thousands of books to sell. The entire process for publishing takes months if not years to accomplish so a company that can’t afford the absolute basics to run (rent & utilities) CANNOT survive to the point of selling books. Writing a book takes time, editing it takes time, picking out the cover art & artist or model takes time. Then you have to produce thousands of copies, advertise it, see which book stores would like to sell it & then finally selling it. This entire process requires several months to over a year. 

The person who is clearly gaslighting JW is in fact TY. His bubbly & obnoxious smile doesn’t excuse the fact that he is a lying asshole. JW is unaware of the fact that TY can’t pay his bills, all he knows is that TY has a publishing startup. 

[trackertd]

There is no "Meta Era" or "Sonic Renaissance" because the Dark Age never ended. Discuss.

I agree there's no 'Meta Era', but I dunno if I'd say the Dark Age never ended. Maybe it'd be easier to say there was no true 'Dark Age' so much as there's some good Sonic games and some bad Sonic games, with a lot of bad ones concentrated around 2003 - 2006. I mean, even then during that time we had Sonic Rush which was OK, Sonic Riders which I love, so it wasn't *all* bad. Even with my own thoughts on Unleashed, it's certainly got lots of fans, moreso than I'd say for Secret Rings or Shadow - so I'd say that, Colours and Generations were at least enough to be a 'blip' in any kind of Dark Age. And then there's stuff like Mania, and... yeah.

What constitutes a 'dark age' ultimately varies from person to person though. Like I said, most would not defend Shadow, whereas I think it's passable! Sonic's just wildly inconsistent more than anything, and so are the opinions of his fans. And that's fine.

tbf though, I mostly just don't agree with a 'Meta Era' because I think the name's bloody silly lmao, the era really wasn't that 'meta' besides a Sanic shirt in Forces.

[papercherries]

A Location Scout

Yesterday I took a trip down to the southern coast of England. I was location scouting for a short film I'm currently creating. Though to be honest, only the first 2 hours of the trip were spent doing this on my 6 hour journey. (Left around 7:30am and returned at 4pm). I needed a good spot for a very specifically framed beach scene. I found it immediately but I couldn't go back just yet, I spent an hour and a half getting there. So I decided to do a bit of extra location scouting for a field scene, which I had already location scouted but no spots were favourable, they were just useable.

So, I would along the cliff coast for about 3 or so miles. I found some really nice spots for the field scene that I think I'll use. The cliffs were foreboding. It was sunny enough in the morning but you could see the wind carrying a dark cloud toward the coast. I would experience this later. Although, I've always been most comfortable in and around water. I'm always at peace or I experience a true sense of rest. I often spend long periods of the time in the shower or a bath, where my mind just wanders to a million different places. The positivity/negativity of these thoughts vary wildly but most of the time they're expelled by the time I leave the water.

Anyway, I was walking along the coast. Passed a few other souls, exercised the typical British hiking hello, had a few dogs approach me which I had missed. It never happens in London. I eventually got to the next town over from where I had started, I had exhausted all the fields next to the cliffs. I took a short break in the town, had lunch. People did look at me a bit strangely, whilst I feel I was dressed for the climate, I don't think I was dressed for the culture. Most people who do walking in these areas wear jackets with soft innards and plastic skin as to stop getting wet. Their trousers usually follow the same formula, if not just standard blue jeans. I was wearing oversized carpenters trousers, a green woollen jumper and a green button up shirt underneath. Not to mention my pride docs but they were unrecognisable as they had been covered in mud, though that may have also added to it. Most of the people in this area were much older than I, I don't think I spotted a single person my age on this journey. However, that depends on how you define my age.

At this point, I had a choice to make. Do I continue along the coast till I reached Brighton (2 hours 30 minutes of walking), or do I venture into the countryside and look for more fields, until I reached another train station (about 3 hours of walking). I chose the latter option because I had time to kill and I failed to mention earlier that there was a monstrous wind that day, so I wanted at least the hills to lessen the blow.

I started walking, I got to the edge of the town and crossed into farmers roads. Despite my disliking for farmers fields, due to my disliking of the whole meat industry (not to mention how countless ecosystems have been destroyed in the creation of farmers fields). It is more natural than the royal parks in London. I just kept walking, through plenty of mud and sheep's fields and such. The beauty of the rolling hills was humbling. It made me feel very hopeful, especially since I was traversing it. I think I could get used to a nomadic lifestyle.

Then, that foreboding cloud came to visit. I knew it was going to rain, whilst I had no cover, I don't mind getting wet. This was not rain. It was hail, about the size of pin heads, bombarding my neck and ears. It didn't help that it caught me whilst I was in the open. Right in the middle of a field. I had to just keep walking. Eventually, after following a road for a short while, I came upon a village bus stop. I took shelter there till the hail stopped. Which was about a minute after I had taken shelter. Just my luck. The only issue was, I had books in my backpack. They were mildly wet but they dried off plenty later.

Though, I have only just considered what might have happened if someone from around this area had caught me with my copy of Naked Lunch, or a day in the life of Ivan Denisovich. Most people in areas like this, are normal everyday people, if not a little posh. However, that mythical stereotypical older traditional folk (which do exist, I have witnessed it myself) would be appalled at the filth I carry. Though these worries are completely baseless as nobody in this area would ever approach me for a serious conversation, let alone bear the weather for it.

This village would be my final stop, as luckily it had a train station with 2 platforms going opposite directions. Luckily, 1 of those directions was where I needed to be. Though, the trains were hourly and I had just missed the last one, so I'd be waiting around for a little while.

At this point I tallied how much I had walked today, I kept track of where I had walked but never the distance. Time and distance aren't your friend on long walks. If you keep too close an eye on the time it'll pass with the seconds, if you don't, hours can go by with the movements of the sun. The same applies to distance (in essence, stay away from quantitative elements when you're trying to pass the time). It's also the same reason there's no clocks/windows in casinos. In all, I walked around 10 miles. Which was probably the longest I had ever walked in that time period (at least that I have measured). Don't get me wrong, I am an avid walker. I have been known to wander for hours on ends on the streets of new cities. But, the hills, the mud, the hail and the livestock made this day plenty exciting for me. I had also found some scenic spots for my film. I then went home, cleaned my clothes (docs still pending) and took a short break before starting the storyboards with my cinematographer.

All in all, a pretty productive day.

(I can only apologise for the quality of this photo, my phone camera is abysmal).

[angelochiarelli]

is that ANDREW GARFIELD? oh, no, that’s ANGELO CHIARELLI, a THIRTY-EIGHT year old WINE AMBASSADOR AT ISIDORA WINERY who uses HE/HIM pronouns. they currently live in CASA MACAIRE in CASABLANCA, and the character they identify with most is JAY GATSBY FROM THE GREAT GATSBY. hopefully they find their own little paradise here in el país de los poetas!

basics

full name: angelo 'angel' luca chiarelli nicknames: angel age: 38 date of birth: october 13th, 1985 zodiac: libra sun, leo rising, libra moon gender & pronouns: cisgender man, he/him relationship status: single sexuality: homosexual spoken languages: english, spanish, italian(native language) occupation: wine ambassador at isidora

appearance

face claim: andrew garfield height: 5'10"(117.8 cm) dominant hand: left hair color: brown eye color: brown distinguishing features: tbd tattoos: n/a

personality

positive traits: kind, understanding, intelligent, gentle, passionate negative traits: frivolous, impulsive, gullible, indulgent, envious

mentality

phobias: fear of being alone, fear of being forgotten disorders: depression allergies: n/a

background

hometown: verona, italy birthplace: verona, italy education level: bachelor's in music

headcanons

moved to chile because he wanted to get out and see the world, fell in love with the diverse culture in valaparaiso. he genuinely loves how valpo simultaneously feels just like home and nothing like home to him. it varies wildly depending on where he is and the people he's around. he observes and celebrates most jewish holidays because of his upbringing, as he comes from jewish heritage. angel makes it a point to travel back to italy every year for hannukah, it's important to him that he celebrates it with his family. growing up the significance of his culture and heritage wasn't lost on him, his family made it clear that it wasn't something to be taken lightly.

his parents own a vineyard in verona, which is part of why he chose to work at isidora. he's also just developed a taste for wine over the course of his life and enjoys educating himself and other people on it. personally, he prefers rosé over white or red, but he can appreciate all types. frequently throws extravagant parties because he enjoys being surrounded by people. it makes him feel less alone, which is a feeling he's struggled with for a lot of his life. only the closest of his friends would know that the parties he throws are his way of trying to get people to like him. when his home isn't full of intoxicated partygoers, he can be found playing piano, writing music, or writing poetry. despite what many might think, he's rather quiet in his down time. knows how to play piano and has a degree in music, but never pursued it as a career. angel considers music his true passion, it allows him to express feelings he doesn't know how to put into words. he doesn't necessarily want to perform, though he will on occasion for smaller get-togethers.

[ellielesvia]

I almost never ask anything anonymously but for this question I do not want to take the bullying by others who read it in case it’s taken wrongly.

I am a 30 yo gay woman though when I was younger (pre age 19) I considered myself bisexual.

My partners and I now use several different toys including strapless dildos and strapon dildos.

Every time I see a beautiful transgender woman I wonder if she wants to keep the parts she has… have surgery… etc.

You mentioned you like yours and it’s staying. Which takes me to my question… does it still work? How does the estrogen affect it? If it does work, do you like using it with women? Oral? Vaginal? Anal? Hands?

Please take this as someone who is as curious as I was the first time I saw, touched one way back in my single digits.

So this is a series of questions for which the answers will vary wildly from person to person, both physiologically and in terms of personal preference. I'm going to give my answers in probably more detail than you were expecting, lol, so strap in (and on?).

Let me start by addressing the comment at the top, because I think it's important to acknowledge before getting to the question itself. This might be a long post, but I promise I will get to your questions by the end.

You say you're worried about others taking your question the wrong way. Let's explore that. This type of questioning can definitely veer into invasive and/or objectifying territory, depending on how it's being asked, who's asking, why, and who's being asked. I assume based on your concern that you've seen trans women react negatively to being asked these kinds of questions. I can understand wanting to avoid any negative reactions, but I also think it's important to be open to some amount of criticism here, when the questions being asked are of a potentially very private, sensitive, vulnerable nature. I myself am very open to these types of questions, so long as they are asked in good faith, because I take it upon myself to be open to educating people on transness whenever I can. And I'm here to horny-post about my own body anyway. But not every trans person should have to do that- it's nobody's obligation to give out personal medical information about their genitals except to their doctors and their intimate partners.

That being said, and while I am open to answering such questions (even from random anonymous people), I still get irked by questions like these on occasion. It's particularly bad on dating apps, when someone you barely know wants details about your genitals so they can decide whether you're worthy of their attraction or not. While I understand that some people's attraction may hinge on these details, it's a pretty shitty feeling to be on the receiving end, getting graded on your genitals by a horny stranger who doesn't give a shit about you (and often one who could answer their own questions with a simple google search- I once literally referred someone to the wikipedia page for 'transgender' in a short-lived dating app conversation). To be clear, I am not accusing you of this, and I am completely comfortable answering these questions here, but I think it's important to address, to help you understand why there might be a stigma around asking trans people these questions, and why you might receive a negative reaction to asking them, depending on who, how, and why you're asking them.

Alright, on to my actual answers.

I like my cock just fine the way it is. This was not always true. I had dysphoria around it when I was younger, but transitioning both socially & medically have made me feel much more comfortable in it, along with a couple other factors: 1) I see a lot of people desiring women with both boobs & cocks these days (even the popularity of 'futanari' porn is kind of nice to see, since that's basically just me in hentai form), which helps with body image; 2) it's not a part of me that anyone gets to see unless I'm already comfortable with them being intimate with me, so it doesn't cause people to misgender me; 3) I actually had surgery some years ago to remove one of my testicles that had developed a cancerous tumor (and while I like my cock, I'm at best neutral about what's below it, so having only one testicle and a *much* smaller scrotum as a result is very positive for me).

My cock still works fine, but it has been changed somewhat by the estrogen. For many trans women, it will shrink and become a micropenis, which I know some people like because it feels more like a clit (and the penis and clit are essentially the same body structure anyway, just developed differently depending on what hormones were dominant in your early life and development). I'm in my third year of full hormone replacement therapy, and I think it's safe to say at this point that this is not happening to me. I am glad about this, personally. I like my cock the way it is, and I do not want it to shrink. That being said, the estrogen causes the aroused size of my penis to be much more of a range than a static number these days. Previously, my aroused length was around 5.5-6.5 inches, but these days it's more like anywhere from maybe 3.5 to 6.5. I find that my length varies a lot based on hormonal cycles and time since my last orgasm. Additionally, while the size still increases when aroused, I do not get as 'hard' as you might expect. Even at 6 inches, it's still kind of soft, which makes penetration difficult. I actually have pills that I take for this on occasion, same as someone with erectile dysfunction would, because I enjoy being able to use mine in that way.

As for what I enjoy doing with it, I absolutely use it in sexual activities with my partners (not just 'women,' mind you; I am a lesbian and have no interest in men, but I have currently & have had in the past my fair share of nonbinary partners). I have no particular interest in using it for anal sex (though if I ever have a partner who is interested in receiving anal, I'm sure we'll work something out), but I regularly use it in all the other ways you mentioned. However, the most successful way I have found to stimulate it is through vibration. My vibrator is my best friend. Ultimately, it's just a strapless, sensitive, dildo-sized & dildo-shaped clit with added organic functions, and that's how I treat it. I enjoy using it for penetration, but I generally do hand or vibration activities to actually reach orgasm with it.