#want to have friends but have no social skills

[phoenixfeathersinfall]

I was intrigued by the idea of Dr. NerdLove and his "advice column for bros" approach, so I decided to check it out and folks....This is so good. Context: In my job, I offer one-on-one coaching to adolescents and young adults who have disabilities to help them meet their goals and transition into adult life/build skills for adulthood. Most of my students right now are young college-aged men (some of whom are in school and some of whom work.) One of the big things I do with them is helping to build and maintain social networks: MAKING FRIENDS!!!! Many of my students are lonely! For some of them, the social networks very much include wanting a partner. They ask me for advice about (usually heterosexual) romantic relationships. As a queer woman who's not much older than them (which is to say, not much relationship experience) I often struggle to know how to answer their questions. I just don't know what it looks like from their point of view. So, I thought something like this might be helpful to point them to. I'm not in the demographic the column is reaching to, but I did grow up in several friend groups where I was one of the only girls, and I had friends who got onto the early stages of that Gamergate/alpha male/incel pipeline. I'm an amateur anthropologist by degree, which means I learned a lot of stuff about how cultures and societies work, how to interview people about complex social problems, and how to make things more equitable for communities that need it. I read and see the same news as the rest of you. I work as a camp counselor for middle and high schoolers in the summers. All of which leads me to reaffirm for you: Our boys are not okay. A scary high number of them are getting exposed to online communities that are misinformed at best and predatory at worst, and they lack the experience to know how to counteract that. The election results are going to be like pouring gasoline on a fire.

Enter Dr. NerdLove. Harris O'Malley tells young men things they need to know and start to internalize, and he does it in a way that is relatable to them, compassionate, and humorous. One of my favorite articles is "What Men Really Need," In it, he talks about the social isolation many men face, how they struggle to get support and connection from their male friends in emotionally fulfilling ways, and how that's devastating for everyone. He also tells them how to be a better friend and change the dynamic.

In other articles, he explains the importance of building confidence, self-care, how to overcome feeling awkward, that looks aren't everything. (again, all in terms a boy who's been lurking around on certain Reddits would understand.) He makes a point to explain what some of the risks of dating and relationships are for women (and how history informs that.)

And yes. He's saying the quiet part out loud (linked text is a news source.)

This is going to help me be better equipped to help my students with something really important to them. I think it's also going to be a protective, positive force for a lot of boys who need it.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

[sgiandubh]

He was at Three Sheets yesterday night with Ashley. Check their respective stories

Dear Three Sheets Anon,

Your information is correct. What I meant by 'nothing to do with Ashley Hearn' in my post is a bit different, though. Ashley has been in London for a while already, obviously for sales & marketing purposes. She clearly posted about it and even suggested she will be in Scotland soon. But she is not the reason he is in London these days. She already successfully toured several bar outlets by herself, using her own business contacts, in New York and elsewhere: meeting her boss while in London is absolutely normal and nothing to write home about. But not the main reason he is in London right now, I think.

So it would seem they met at the Three Sheets Bar, yesterday.

S's IG story:

[Later edit]: Ashley's IG story - too bad I interrupted myself to get a delivery and then lost this thread:

S tagged both the bar and SS's IG accounts. This is a routine business meeting, especially considering the Three Sheets also deals in business consulting:

They have two outlets in London, one in Dalston and the other in Soho. Both have excellent reviews and well, the expected price range for cocktails in London (10-20 £ ):

Your ask also gives me the opportunity to come forward with several things I have been keeping in my drawers for a while, so thank you for that. Kind of.

Remember (LOOOL and then some more for that, always) my through the grapevine info that C joined S and the team at Milady's bar in New York, on October 17 2024, after the Versace Armani event she attended with Maria McManus? I also remember the Without Pix Anon:

Well, I don't have 'pix' , but I do have the next best thing (gracias a ti, siempre ❤️):

Ashley liked what C posted on October 25, 2024. One full week after the Milady's get together - why would she, if C wasn't there at all, like all the Righteous Pundits lie to you?

She also briefly followed her on IG, but not anymore (why? I will let you draw your own conclusions), along with several OL cast members (followed all of them at the same moment, after the event): Rankin, John Bell and Skeleton. Bell and Skeleton were at that get together, too (unsure about Rankin? it's Saturday, after all and I am not the Metropolitan Police, either - please correct me if I am wrong). She still follows them on IG. Clearly they met there?

The second thing I wanted to bring along is Maximum Wobbler Bullshit's recent nonsense:

This impostor and mythomaniac I have repeatedly debunked in the past still has very scant English, negligent writing skills at best and no damn idea about what marketing means. She was completely triggered by this particular post, on November 5, 2024 (while almost everyone was looking elsewhere, for obvious reasons):

Featured in the pic is Mia Kumari, a good friend of Ashley Hearn. Maximum Wobbler Bullshit conveniently forgets to explain who Mia Kumari is:

Based in London, UK and currently mixing at the Satan's Whiskers bar in Bethnal Green (after a short spell at The Savoy, hello?), she is a well-known, up-and-coming bartender with a consistent record of awards:

The press is raving about her:

[Full article, here: https://foodism.co.uk/features/long-reads/women-london-bar-scene/]

She is also a feminist bartender, with an internationally praised agenda:

[Mia was last week in Greece, as guest speaker at the very prestigious Athens' Bar Week. Too bad I left: I would have certainly bought a ticket and gladly listened to what she had to say - https://www.athensbarshow.gr/guest-speakers/mia-kumari]

Surely a trailblazer 'in London’s dynamic and globally revered bar industry', who also is 'an advocate for equality, diversity and inclusion' does not need Sassenach Spirits to promote herself. She is doing a smashing job at it, like the pro she clearly is: on trend, progressive, sought after and more than noticed. I fail to see where the fuck the alleged cronyism is, because that would simply mean Mia Kumari is a social zero, a nobody in the UK's spirits industry, taking advantage of her friendship with Ashley Hearn in order to get more attention for her sole benefit. That is a lie and that is simply wrong: if anything, it is Sassenach Spirits that needed to prominently feature someone like Mia Kumari, in order to align itself to the values she is so actively promoting (all values C is sensitive to, hmmm). We are miles away, here, from the Cutty Sark wannabe (in)famous Labour Day boat party in Marina del Rey, featuring the BBC/Blue Bikini Chick, back in September 2023 (https://www.tumblr.com/sgiandubh/727347023165145088/its-all-fake-anyway), when all the fandom trolls were on fire. So, Sassenach Spirits needed to do exactly something along these lines, in order to promote and boost the seasonal Xmas sales of their tartan scarves, SS's most expensive merch, targeting a younger, more sophisticated urban crowd.

Clever brands constantly redefine themselves, looking for the right trends and the right crowds to promote their products to. This is a clear sign that finally adults are in the room, now, at SS's Marketing and Sales respective departments. So damn glad to see this welcome shift!

[rose-maidenn]

Pac : Let's get insights on your purpose for the next 5 months !

nov-dec-jan-feb-mar

using safe passage tarot from "Agatha all along"

Pile 1-2-3

Hey guys hope you're doing well , chose the Pile that calls to you intuitively, know that I'm not gonna sugarcoat things because I want your best . Hope you enjoy this

For more see masterlist and paid readings

Pile 1 :

You are represented by the king of wands a very charismatic person , you attract people who are looking for growth and you are someone who always wins in all fields you exactly know where to play the cards right to win . Alternatively for the other part of the group king of wands can mean someone who's nose is kind of everywhere they're at too many different things not giving one thing the change to reach the full potential.

What's missing is an ending !!! Ending to certain things relationships, people , in order to reach something new you have to let the old things go which is something you have to learn . You need stronger boundaries , more self worth and less attachment issues .

The lessons you have learnt is represented by the queen of wands it is about social settings I feel like you're someone who easily becomes friends with everyone and that's a good networking skill. You could also be someone who is very creative and starts at everything their heart calls for .

Your path ahead is represented by death , it calls for an ending ending of doubts , bad thought patters , old beliefs and relationships let shit go and see what happens .

Your Obstacles is represented by chariot I feel in this case it's about you staying in the same zone and resisting change it's like an ouroburos moving but in the wrong places and wrong circles , cut the string , your comfort zone is killing you honey

O of wands in this case is like don't wait around for anyone not even about being ready yourself just do what you need to do end the things that you need to you can't drag this anymore dear, this could also be about drug addiction or addiction in general .

Your destination is magician yay ! You know how if you just let shit go the magic happens so will it happen for you. Just let it go let people be , only work for yourself, give yourself all, heal and you will know you're powerful, you don't need a guru you're the star itself.

Thank you for reading, if you liked this and would like personal insights or a longer read to book click here .

Pile 2 :

You are represented by four of cups , you are someone who wants what they want and won't settle for anything. I sense a stern energy . Alternatively you might be someone who is extremely bored these days and just wants to lay .

What is missing is justice , you need to work hard rn for your dreams , but in the write direction I won't say you never worked hard but somehow in the wrong way , you might have a retrograde Saturn. You need to find what can do justice to yourself as you owe yourself everything and you are worth everything.

The path behind is represented by page of wands , your reading is like you were a very enthusiastic person once but now you have lost the zing for life . You have a great influx of ideas why don't you use them dear.

Path ahead is represented by the empress , clearly you are to start working on these ideas start the creative project take the leap. Focus on letting your creativity flow , your intuition knows , your soul knows.

The Obstacles is represented by eight of coins is that you need to learn dedication and working on something even if it takes time be it studying , art or relationships you are called to enjoy the journey and not just the victory.

Represented by ace of wands in this case I think you should avoid working on something new until you finish the old , you need to give one thing commitment and mastery then you will reach your destination

Represented by the king of cups. Mature and passionate about what they do . This infact represents a chance that you might become the best at what you wanna do . You might become a professor a teacher or a guide to people if you choose to follow this path .

Thank you for reading, if you liked this and would like personal insights or a longer read to book click here .

Pile 3 :

You are represented by six of coins a very beautiful earthy loving energy of gratitude and kindness , you give without thinking anything part of why you are blessed with more .

Ten of swords is what is missing in my deck it's literally a person cutting off a hand honey someone is using you , the awareness and discernment on who deserves your time money and energy is the thing that is missing .

You have learnt that people will be who they are despite giving your all so why don't you apply that in new relationships keep the knowledge but also use it . Alternatively this could be about relationship and someone leaving you in the past who was toxic.

The path ahead is represented by the fool , you're in the start of a new journey you have endless possibilities you can now leap into new and have faith that universe will do the best for you.

Your Obstacles are represented by death , you're ruminating on a past relationship too much which is making you work extra even for the bare minimum you have to work to stay in your queen energy don't do too much it's not worth it .

You must overcome the queen of wands I think this is a toxic person who was in your life you said you stupid shit that didn't align with you and now you have taken their words literally , recognize who this is maybe a family member a friend or a youtuber guru idk they have flowery energy but they're unhealed

Your destination is represented by the two of cups yay a union this can be the union of your logic and intuition. Masculine and feminine energie or a new relationship:) all in all an energy of balance and love .

Thank you for reading, if you liked this and would like personal insights or a longer read to book click here .

[ceratedfish24]

I just saw someone say that Scott has a hard time saying that he loves his teammates. I- have you watched Scott? Scott “‘We don’t need [ender]pearls, we already have the best Pearl’ right to Pearl’s face” Major? Scott “saying ‘I love you’ isn’t going to be a hard task for me cause that’s normal behavior for me” Major? Scott ‘“‘the sweetheart’ as deemed by Skizz, Impulse, and Grian” Major? Scott “‘I love you, say it back’” Major?????????? Scott the most loving person on the server other than maybe Skizz?????????????

“Scott is manipulative. He makes himself look good to protect his teammates.” “Manipulative” implies that Scott is lying. Scott stays true to his word. He’s one of the most earnest people on the server. If he isn’t going to defend someone, he tells them that he’s not going to defend them. If he says he’s going to do something for you, he’s going to get it done, which is why a lot of people value him as an ally. It might blow your mind, but Scott’s openness and honesty is what makes people trust him.

“Scott makes himself look strong.” Scott is strong. He wiped the floor with Impulse. He has escaped being chased so many times. He succeeded at a legendary and remarkably underrated bucket clutch. You think Scar’s bucket clutch was good? It was, but he was expecting to fall and onto flat land. Scott was knocked off of a tower onto a hillside. Nobody talks about that. He’s really good at PvP, and people know that. Additionally, Scott has never made himself look strong. He’s a very passive person. He doesn’t like starting fights. Bdubs is terrified of Scott, and Scott has only ever tried to be friendly to Bdubs. Bdubs just knows Scott’s reputation. Martyn is scared of Scott. Martyn has fought Scott first hand and won, and yet he did not want to make an enemy of Scott after Limited Life. Skizz picks a direct fight with a LOT of people, but he never picks a direct fight with Scott. He knows way too well how that fight’s going to go. Skizz will take on Lizzie and Scar and Tango, but he’ll never target Scott if he can avoid it. Scott knows that he’s strong. His MCC rankings are pretty solid proof. You can’t fault him for having genuine confidence in his PvP skills but not actually wanting to fight if he can avoid it. If he loses, that sucks. If he wins, he’s angered a team.

You’re calling him “manipulative” because his enemies are afraid of him and his allies trust him. That is what happens when an honest person is powerful. Most people who have had any experience with Scott know that Scott is not someone to mess with. After fighting Scott in Limited Life and being on his team in Secret Life, Impulse got WAY bolder on Scott’s team, because he trusts Scott to have his back, and Scott does have Impulse’s back. He’s constantly apologizing for Impulse and was very upset when he was asked to keep a trap secret from Impulse. Scott works so hard to be honest in a game where honesty is not always rewarded, and he does not deserve to be slandered like this, especially when nobody else is being treated like this.

Scott never makes himself out to be anything other than what he is. Lying doesn’t go well for him. He is just a guy trying to keep the fighting away from his teammates, and lying isn’t the best way to prevent that when so many people in this game are so clever or so quick to assume you’re lying anyway. Social games don’t have to be about control. Social games can be about building a reputation of integrity by having integrity.

This excludes Joel because Joel is too close to Scott in real life and will attack him because it’s funny to see your friend get irritated with you.

You know who will never say “I love you” in the life series?? Grian.

You know who was “manipulative” last session? Pearl knew there was a trap, promised not to tell her teammates, knew that Scott knew about the trap, and told him “why are we whispering? why are we crouching? there’s nothing there. you’re being paranoid”. Nobody says ANYTHING about that.

You know who likes to look strong? Bdubs, Jimmy, Ren, Impulse, and Skizz. Those are the ones who make themselves out to be bigger than they are, which is a normal strategy in a competitive situation. Bdubs loves to be LOUD and aggressive. Jimmy loves to puff his chest up and make threats, but he backs off the moment someone hits him back. Ren loves to take the lead (3rd Life, Double Life, and now Wild Life). Impulse loves to get aggressive and petty, and his confidence is often his end. Skizz LOVES to be overly aggressive once he’s allowed to kill, but he’s really bad at backing people into enough of a corner to keep them in a fight. Scott is quiet, because he doesn’t like the attention. Scott likes being distanced from the other Wild Life teams, because he likes being out of the way, but he went with the others anyway.

[gothamite-rambler]

Damian's family meets his new friend

Damian strode into the living room, accompanied by a brown-skinned girl. His father, brothers, and sister were engaged in various tasks when they turned their attention to the girl beside him.

Dick: Damian, who's the girl next to you? Did you kidnap a Girl Scout?

Carrie (laughing softly): Have you done that before?

Damian: No, I simply wanted a box of thin mints. This is my friend Carrie.

Carrie waved energetically, a bright smile on her face something the family wasn't used to seeing.

Carrie: Hi, Damian has told me so much about you all! I wasn't expecting you to look this cool.

Damian rolled his eyes, clearly not agreeing with her assessment.

Carrie: Damian, who's the cute one next to your dad?

Damian (jaw clenched): Tim. He is not cute!

Tim: Wow, that was uncalled for! I was just sitting here. Hi, Carrie!

Carrie giggled, slightly hiding her face as a blush crept in. Damian sighed heavily.

Damian: Father, can we please change the subject?

Bruce (genuinely surprised that his son made a friend): Nice to meet you, Carrie! Damian’s mentioned you quite a bit. Though, to be honest, most of us thought you were just a figment of his imagination. I didn’t, but they did.

Carrie: Oh, that’s funny! No worries, I’m his bestie. He hates that I call him that, but it’s true. Damian, did you really say I was imaginary? The shock! I'm deeply offended.

Carrie dramatically placed a hand on her heart, eliciting a smile from Damian at her playful act.

Damian: No, my siblings just think I'm too antisocial to have a real friend. But as you can see, she’s right here, standing next to me. We’ll be in the library studying until 6 when her mom picks her up.

Carrie: I thought we were going to play video games!

Damian (exasperated): After we study, remember?

Carrie gasped, then quickly nodded in agreement.

Carrie: Nice meeting you all!

With that, Damian and Carrie exited the living room.

Cass: Was she actually here, or are we all losing our minds too?

Jason: I think she's real… but is he paying her to be his friend?

Dick: No way. He's not that desperate—he's Bruce's kid. They both try very hard to avoid people not pay them to befriend them.

Bruce : Okay, that’s true, but it was uncalled for. I’m genuinely happy for him. At least she’s not related to Clark.

Jason: It'd make you happy if he was friends with an actual villain than a Kent?

Bruce chuckled and nodded in agreement.

Bruce: There’s only so much I can handle with him. Either way, I’m glad Damian is making friends. I never had that chance.

Tim (annoyed): Because your parents got shot in an alley, which made you a nihilist who hates the world. We get it! Our parents died too, you're not special!

Dick and Jason laughed, nodding in agreement.

Cass (mumbling): I wish mine were dead.

Bruce (defensive): I was just about to say it’s because I studied a lot in school. Geez! I don’t use my parents’ deaths as an excuse all the time. Sometimes, I’m just terrible with social skills.

Dick: The fact that I don’t even doubt you speaks volumes.

pt 1

[celeste444spacey]

What is this celebrity energy thing anyway? + how to actually start with channeling it

Some people are just magnetic and just seem to effortlessly get likes and attention on social media. Some people just seem to be getting more, even though you are just as, and if not more talented.

How do they do this anyway???

Well my loves, it's a little thing that we call here, Celebrity Energy.

Now the thing about celebrity energy is a lot of people mistake it for talent. And here's the thing,

Talent only gets you so far.

The immediate instinct when you don't get the same attention as some people is "oh i'm not good enough", "oh they're way more talented", "oh i probably am not talented enough for this, oh i don't have skills for this" yadda yadda yadda.

ENERGY gets you famous. NOT your talent. And this is where people get it wrong. And no, it's not even about your looks.

You have probably met certain people in your life that just have this unexplainable appeal to them. It's just something that pulls you into their orbit and keeps you hooked.

Now that energy? That magnetism? That some sort of 'there's-more-to-them' feeling you get? That's your key to fame.

Some marketing 101 (from a business student herself)

When you sell a product you focus on it's core values

For example: let's say you're selling a lip gloss, the basic features you focus on while marketing is it does the job. It makes your lips look pretty, or acts a treatment or whatever. Then you move to what differentiates this lip gloss from the other products in the market. Those are the winning attributes i.e. the features that makes people BUY it.

Honestly these core principles apply similarly to you if you want fame but this is the key difference

Your consciousness is the product.

As Whitney Uland says,

Fame is just the resource of having people's attention.

Channeling the Celebrity Energy

The first thing you have to ABSOLUTELY 1000000% get rid of is the fear of being perceived. As long as you fear being seen and people making opinions on you, you will ABSOLUTELY never get noticed.

That's because that insecurity and fear of perception can create this void like halo around you, and basically flush down all the magnetic parts of your energy down the drain.

You have to let your authenticity linger and have to make peace with the fact that not everyone might like that. The most magnetic of personalities attract two extremes of opinions, people would either kill for them or absolutely hate them. (Taylor Swift and Beyonce for example).

Celebrity Energy is a mix of confidence, charisma and absolutely unapologetic aura.

Best part? You don't even need to be famous.

Audience looks for someone they can connect to, someone that feels like their 'best friend', someone that they can see themselves in, while also seeing someone they want to be.

And that's why people say swifties are rabid. Taylor has created a very fundamental connection with them over 18 years that has brought us to this very landscape where she holds such cultural significance over two generations. It's almost an emotional significance she upholds in many people's life to the point for the fans, it feels like they know her even when they don't actually know her.

They feel like she's their best friend when she doesn't even know they exist.

And that's cause of the vulnerability she has shown to throughout her discography or her journey. She's not scared to be perceived. Same with you, you shouldn't be scared to be perceived. Because other people's perception is not something you can control. And other people's perception is not your responsibility.

Well this is it for this post, I will be making another post detailing on how to actually channel your celebrity energy, since this one already got long enough ahaha. (And super sorry for the inactivity, ya girl had her midterms and she was kinda slacking off soooooo)

[chinmin]

Robin's Sims Challenge

Try to live a Sim's life with this traumatized child soldiers.

-Have an young adult/adult rich Sim and adopt/biologically have a child.

Dick Grayson! (Blue)

-Start being names Richard. (Change it to Dick as a teen/young adult)

-Be a top notch infant.

-Have the wiggly trait as an infant; Have the wild trait as a toddler; Have the Rambunctious Scamp aspiration and active trait as a child; Have the Admired Icon aspiration and self-assured trait as a teen; Have the bodybuilder aspiration and family-oriented trait as an young adult.

-As a toddler, master the movement, communication and mental skills.

-As a child master the motor and social skills.

-Be good in school but a little rebel outside.

-As a teen, master empathy, conflict resolution and responsibility. Have a part time as a barista.

-Try to have a good relationship with all the members of the family.

-Get to level 10 on the fitness and charisma skills.

-Reach max level on the detective career.

-Move out as soon as possible.

Cassandra Cain!

-Have an unhappy infant. (Optional)

-Have the calm trait as an infant; Have the Independent trait as a toddler; Have the Mind and body aspirations and gloomy trait as a child; You can choose any aspiration as a teen (no need to complete,) and the dance machine trait; Have the Inner Peace aspiration and goofball trait.

-As a toddler, master movement and thinking skills.

-As a child, master the mental and motor skills.

-Don't have friends in school.

-As a teen, master empathy and responsibility.

-Develop one to three friendships outside of family.

-Have a good relationship with the members of the family.

-Get to level ten on the fitness and dancing skills.

-Reach max level on the Secret Agent (diamond agent branch)

Jason Todd!

-Don't have a top notch or an unhappy infant trait.

-Have the Cautious trait as an infant; Have the Fussy trait as a toddler; Have the Rambunctious aspiration or Playtime Captain and skeptical trait as a child; Have the Live Fast aspiration and the jealous trait as a teen; Have the Public Enemy aspiration and bookworm or hot-headed trait.

-As a toddler, master the movement and imagination skill.

-As a child, master the motor and creativity skills.

-Have medium grades in school, and some friends (no best friends)

-As a teen, have a bad relationship with the father and the younger children of the family (Tim and Damian), it can get better as a young adult.

-Have a bad emotional control and conflict resolution.

-Get to level ten on the fitness and Handiness skills. (Baking too if you want to be a little fanon)

-Reach max level on the Criminal career. (Boss branch)

-Move out as soon as possible.

Tim Drake!

-Have the happy infant and toddler traits.

-Have the Sensitive trait as an infant; Have the Inquisitive trait as a toddler; Have the Whiz Kid aspiration and the genius trait as a child; Have the Goal Oriented aspiration and the Nosy trait as a teen; Have the academic aspiration and overachiever trait.

-As a toddler, master the movement and thinking skills.

-As a child, master the motor and mental skill.

-Be an A student at school.

-Don't have many friends at school.

-Have a good relationship with the father of the family.

-Have a bad relationship with Damian, it can get better as a young adult.

-As a teen, break your good relationship with Dick, it can get better again as a young adult.

-Have all the character values in green. (Don't need all the traits, only to be good)

-Have a child put up to adoption.

-Get to level ten on the logic and photography skills.

-Reach max level on the Business career. (Management branch)

Damian Wayne!

-Have the top notch infant and toddler traits.

-Have the Cautious trait as an infant; Have the Independent trait as a toddler; Have the Artistic Prodigy aspiration and the Self-Assured trait as a child; (Any teen aspiration, don't need completion), have the art lover trait as a teen; Have the Painter Extraordinaire aspiration and the Animal Enthusiast trait.

-As a toddler, master the movement, thinking and communication skill.

-As a child, master the motor, mental and social skill.

-Have a cat named Alfred and a dog named Titus.

-Be a troublemaker that gets good grades.

-Have one to three friends outside of the family.

-Have a better relationship with Dick than any other member of the family.

-Have a good distant relationship with your mother.

-Have good responsibility and manners.

This was made by a non native English speaker so sorry if there's any grammar errors, feel free to adapt the challenge to match your DLC's and I hope you enjoy!! <3

@simschallenges

[thebadchoicemachine]

AU where after season five the Fears turn into children and Jon and Martin are forced to raise them while trying to temper their blossoming eldritch powers. None of the kids really have control or awareness of the true extent of their powers.

Redeeming the horrors through family? Mayhaps. Tearing it all away as love fails to counter the sheer power and size of the entities? …if I feel like it ;)

———

Eye (Gregory?) is a classic over observing, too curious for his own good kid. Huge eyes all the time, constantly l o o k i n g at everything like (👁️_👁️) Is also a little stupid.

Powers: Hyper observance, reading people’s emotions, photographic memory, Knowing general things unintentionally

Web (Arachne? Maengmum? Taylor?) is a tiny sweetheart who knows how to wrap most people around her little fingers. She teams up with Eye to turn Martin and Jon’s lives into a show for the two of them.

Powers: Minor foresight, social proficiency and calculation, high intelligence, and absurdly good manipulation skills.

Corruption (Corey? Milly for mildew? Maggie for maggots?) Nasty mud ridden child. Perpetually has a runny nose or cough. Digs in the earth for ‘friends,’ wants to pet the roadkill, and does not understand why people wouldn’t want to be touched or hugged. Is actually very loving, but don’t trust their help.

Powers: Can “communicate with” (infect and control) animals if they come into contact with any of their senses for too long. has poisonous blood. can unintentionally make people sick, especially if she doesn’t like them or is emotional.

[others I’ve thought names for but haven’t fully fleshed out:]

Buried: (Clay?)

Desolation: (Mallory)

Stranger: (Doll, Carnie?)

Spiral: (Maze, Aislinn, Reverie?)

The End: (Mort, Claeg?)

The Dark: (Blake, Sable, Tama?)

The Hunt: (Hunter)

The Slaughter: (Miles)

The Flesh: (Carnell, Belle)

The Vast: (Sky)

The Extinction: (Ragna, Israfe?) Is an actual baby.

[maxdibert]

What are your headcanons on Severus and the Malfoys? Do you think he genuinely considered them friends, or was it part of his cover? Or were they ever really friends at some point?

I have so much to say about this! I actually have two different versions of the story, and I think both of them could be canon. I can never decide between them because both seem plausible, so I’ll share my opinion on each and let everyone decide which one fits best.

Despite being a poor, scruffy, half-blood kid from a working-class background, I think Lucius took Severus under his wing because, after all, Lucius was already a 15-year-old teenager who was likely quite involved in pure-blood extremist circles and had probably heard of Voldemort by then. He was probably trying to make a good impression by recruiting as many people as possible. And despite Severus’ background, treating him with respect was a pretty shrewd move to maintain unity within Slytherin and promote that “us against the world” mentality. This would ultimately foster the cult-like environment that developed during that era. I also think that, after seeing that Severus, beyond his background, had a strong interest and talent for the Dark Arts and was a good student, Lucius probably saw that Severus’ skills could be useful, which is why he kept him under his wing. Lucius Malfoy is often portrayed as a snobbish buffoon, but besides being a shrewd man, he’s part of high society, old money. And even the classist aristocrats know how to make use of the working class and recognize talent because, historically, they’ve maintained their position by exploiting such talent.

I think Lucius and Severus maintained that mentor-pupil relationship for many years, and once Lucius graduated, he intervened to help Severus be accepted and valued within his House while also using him as a sort of personal charity project. Like Cher in Clueless (who’s based on Emma Woodhouse from Jane Austen) taking on an awkward kid from the North without wealth or pedigree and turning him into someone fit for high magical society—a kind of social experiment, if you will. I think this made Severus feel indebted to him, at least before Voldemort killed Lily. I also believe that, during Severus’ school years, his gratitude stemmed not only from this “mentorship” but also from the fact that, for the first time, someone believed in him and motivated him to pursue his ambitions. Lucius was like a father/older brother figure whom he respected and appreciated for seeing him as more than just a poor kid with nothing.

That said, my interpretation of their relationship splits into two possibilities once Severus becomes a double agent.

On one hand, there’s the idea that, after Lily’s death, feeling guilty and determined to actively work for Voldemort’s downfall, Severus emotionally distanced himself from the Malfoys as much as possible. The relationship they developed over the next 18 years would then be solely a means to an end—to gain favor with someone influential within the Ministry and among the most important dark wizards. Deep down, it was all a façade because the Malfoys also represented everything he despised and regretted being a part of, so he decided to cut off any emotional attachment to them. Basically: it was all fake.

The other version, and the one I prefer because it feels more realistic, is that Severus, as the abused and abandoned child he was, would always experience cognitive dissonance toward people who treated him well during his most vulnerable years. It’s something evident in his view of Lily, even though he was joining a group that literally wanted to kill people like her, and I can see it applying to his view of the Malfoys as well. Though they were a family actively working to end people like Lily, and Severus would ultimately have to confront them if it came to it, he’d still struggle to sever his emotional ties with the Malfoys. Just as he couldn’t understand why his friendship with Lily was ending because of his choices, I don’t think he’d be able to emotionally cut off the Malfoys, even if he knew they were terrible or knew he might eventually have to face them in battle. Much like how Lily being the first person to treat him with kindness was enough to make him risk everything to atone for his indirect role in her death and his support of Voldemort, I think Lucius “taking him in” also carved out a streak of loyalty in Severus toward his family. Severus strikes me as someone fiercely loyal to anyone who’s shown him kindness or understanding, even if that loyalty is against his own interests. And despite everything, I think he genuinely cared about the Malfoys. While he no longer admired Lucius, I think he still respected him in a certain way, like a younger brother who knows his older brother is a jerk but still sees him as his older brother.

I also think Narcissa had a kind of “older sister” vibe for him—that when she and Lucius were dating and Severus was still a kid, she saw him as this scruffy little guy, like a cute but poor puppy. And that impression probably stuck with him too. I think he always felt more comfortable with her than with Lucius, since she was associated more with the maternal than with authority. While his favoritism toward Slytherins was partly to maintain appearances and partly due to resentment toward Gryffindors, I believe he genuinely liked Draco. This affection, though, was likely another form of cognitive dissonance because Draco was far more similar to James than Harry ever was (in terms of character, classism, and using his status, family name, and influence to torment others). But just as his hatred of Harry was a reflection of his resentment toward James, his affection for Draco was probably a reflection of his relationship with Lucius and Narcissa.

[madelynhimegami]

Maguro Sasaki Guide

I can't tell if these have started to balloon out of control, or if I didn't do Ecolo and Amitie enough justice in their posts? If it's the latter, I might need to redo them...

Maguro Sasaki is a bundle of energy tightly secured in a chill package.

He may or may not be the closest anyone in the Puyo cast gets to "shitposting memelord."

When he was younger, Maguro was a frequent target of bullying. Two things changed by the time he hit middle school completely overturned that.

The first thing was that the onset of their grade's puberty led to Maguro to start becoming handsome-- and a lot of classmates noticed.

That's why Maguro has his eyes covered by his hair. His face is so beautiful that anyone who sees it uncovered falls in love. He and Ringo (who is immune by being a childhood friend) call it the "beauty beam."

It has been confirmed multiple times that the effect has no regard for gender. At most, those not attracted to guys are left unaffected (but even that's speculative).

The second thing that happened by middle school is that he decided to get better than his bullies at what they do best-- and succeeded.

Consequently, Maguro has a vast skillset. He also enjoyed developing those skills enough that he considers them hobbies.

Said skillset/hobbies include: ★ Kendama (naturally) ★ Fashion ★ Cooking/baking ★ Sports ★ Chess and tabletop games in general ★ Video games ★ Martial arts ★ Fishing ★ Dance ★ Musical instrument playing (Tuba has been mentioned) ★ Stage magic and sleight of hand ★ Lockpicking ★ PC building ★ Puyo Puyo

Basically, if you can think of a skill or hobby a middle schooler would realistically have, odds are Maguro knows how to do it and is ridiculously good at it

Despite that, he considers himself more of a generalist than an expert in any of the aforementioned.

Becoming good at so many things has led to him being confident enough to not be bothered by bullying anymore.

Not that it happens particularly often. He's actually quite popular, and his skillset makes him in high demand with several student-run organizations.

He prefers hanging out with Ringo, though.

As you can probably imagine, while he's generally unphased by rudeness directed at himself, he does not take the bullying of others lightly.

Probably comes with the territory of not only being a former bullying victim (and being best friends with someone who almost certainly got bullied and may very well still does) (like have you met middleschoolers?), but also an older brother.

Maguro's brother is apparently helpful and kind-hearted, but can be easily exploited because of that.

Being from a fishmonger family, Maguro is well versed in the physical characteristics of fish and is able to identify many different species on sight.

Maguro's greatest frustration with his life is his inability to devote all the time he wants to spend on his myriad hobbies (honestly, mood).

Compounding this is his ever-shifting focus. He often finds himself unable to stick with anything for very long.

Maguro also hates having to sit still doing nothing. He always needs something to keep himself busy.

Socially, Maguro is pretty well put together. He's very chill and good at helping others staying chill. He can get a good read of situations fairly quickly and is pretty good at knowing what to say.

He doesn't surprise easily, either. Generally he's able to roll with a lot, but doesn't handle abrupt changes or being put on the spot very well.

Maguro and Ringo vibe so in sync that they're telepathic when they Puyo battle, be it with or against each other. Literally.

He knows how to best keep Ringo from getting too stressed, and also knows how to ground her wild-running excitement. Except when he's the subject of her excitement.

Maguro's speech and behavior (in Japanese) suggest a connection to a subculture among male Japanese teenagers that started cropping up around the time that Puyo 7 was released. Short version is, it suggests that Maguro's not interested in dating or pursuing a relationship. Interpret that as you will.

As a result, he doesn't like when people assume that he and Ringo are dating.

At some point after 20th Anniversary, but before Puzzle Pop, Ecolo had become enough of a staple to physics club hangouts that Maguro no longer seems to have trouble remembering him.

Ecolo considers Maguro an enjoyable person to play Puyo against, and Maguro does know that Ecolo is a friend (with a tendency for mischief). But beyond that, as far as I know their relationship hasn't been explored all that much.

With how much Ringo vibes with Maguro and Ecolo, I'm very sure the latter two would get along quite well once they got to know each other better.

Maguro has a strong dislike of scalpers. He also says to support your local brick-and-mortar game stores.

It probably goes without saying, but Maguro is a huge nerd. His flavor of nerd tends to be a lot more media-centric than Ringo's.

If something of interest comes up, Maguro can't hold back the urge to infodump. One Quest mini-story has him interrupt multiple times, Emperor's New Groove-style, to just gush about Sonic the Hedgehog. He even admits he's not supposed to be in the story.

He'll also start infodumping when he just knows a lot about of the subject in general. (And that's how Witch ended up concluding he was stalking Ringo)

[heathersdesk]

Something About Me You Should Know

Have any of you seen that person on TikTok whose whole thing is finding people's birthdays based on nothing but their available social media presence?

I have all the necessary skills to do that. I'm a genetic genealogist. I use commercial DNA testing to help adoptees, donor conceived people, and people with unknown paternity in the United States document their biological heritage and find living family. I'm very good at what I do. I find people, whether they want to be found or not.

I have to exercise a great deal of self-control not to do this to the men who berate me in my comments all over the Internet. They're not worth it. They don't learn anything from the experience. It makes them twice as hateful as they were before because all it does is increase their fear, which is what motivates them to do what they do.

But that doesn't mean I haven't learned anything from it.

I did this to someone from DezNat who was harassing me, and to someone who has been harassing me since the election. Let me tell you what I learned from those experiences.

The DezNat individual was deeply concerned about being perceived as morally correct. They were also in Idaho, not far from me. When I threatened to come to their testimony meeting and reveal who they were and what they were doing, they got scared enough to contact me personally from another account. They wanted reassurance that I wouldn't actually do it. They pretended to be "a friend of that guy" and confirmed the suspicions I had from the very beginning: all of those accounts were being created and managed by a very small number of people. Their network included accounts pretending to be left-leaning, specifically so they could engage in arguments under false pretenses and increase the feelings of loneliness and alienation among left leaning people.

This second case is more recent. They chased and hounded me for three days about voting for Kamala Harris. I lost all of my patience and went to work on election night because I had the time. I learned an incredible amount about this guy—enough to know he was only pretending to be a leftist concerned about Palestine, and was actually a Trump supporter in rural Pennsylvania. I know his stepmother is an Asian Trump supporter, as are several of his half siblings. This is exactly how I know he's a Trump supporter. He doesn't care about what happens to them, and neither does his Trump loving father, who was dumb enough to put his zip code in his Instagram handle.

That guy also didn't learn anything from the situation, but I did. Once again, it's confirmation that people in leftist spaces harassing people the most, including those who appear to be on the left, are actually Trump supporters playing stupid games. Don't engage with them. Block them. Report them.

They want you to be angry and exhausted. They want to take your time and energy away from the work you're doing. They want to perpetuate the perception that the left is fractured and disorganized. They want to put you in the mindset where you attack other leftists because of what they say to you.

There's a reason I use my full name on the Internet and have for years now. I am exactly who I appear to be. You want to show up in my ward or at my house? Do it. Look me in my face and say the things you say online. Put yourself in actual space where I could show you exactly what I think of you. That guy from DezNat knew where I lived. I told him to come. Let me see his face. Let me see exactly who it is that pretends to be my brother at Church but is secretly a predator. Let me see you.

They won't because they're cowards. They're terrified of what they cannot understand. Everything they do is motivated by fear.

Don't waste a second being scared of them and what they can do. Peel off the mask and there's just a terrified mouse of a human being, scared that someone bigger and badder than them is going to come along and eat them. That's why they love Trump so much. He makes them feel strong because they're not. He makes them feel powerful because they're not. He vanishes all their deepest insecurities, which is something they desperately need.

That's why they're scared of you: because you don't need that. And if you ever figured that out for even half a second, you would destroy every illusion they have about themselves and the world with the truth.

You want to taunt a Trump supporter. Don't call them racists or fascists. They don't know what those words mean. Tell them "I know something you don't know." Because you do! You know all kinds of stuff about Trump that they don't know! You know all kinds of things about the world that they don't know. They live in a bubble of their own construction. Point out all the things they don't know because they live in their bubble.

If you're feeling sad and frustrated right now, that's okay. But don't be scared of these people. They're unworthy of your fear. Being unbothered by anything they say and do is the smartest thing you could do right now. Regroup and recommit to ruining their day. That's what they're afraid of, and it's what they deserve. Show them everything they're missing out on by staying in the bubble that was made for them.

Be free and happy as yourself because they are not. That's the best revenge there is: to be full of the unconditional love for yourself and compassion for others they don't have.

[monsterblogging]

#oooo!#not my oc#it sounds pretty interesting though!#does the other mechanic have a name yet?#pacific rim

Yes! His name is Garrett Osenbach, and I've had him for awhile, actually!

Garrett owns a scrapyard and he's into mini-Jaeger battling. His most favorite movie in the world is this old 1980's film about a guy who reincarnates as a monster truck (as in, a truck with big teeth that eats people) and wins back the love of his girlfriend, as a truck. (He cries when she kisses his grill at the end.)

His mini-Jaeger battling rival is this former ranger who was kind of a jerk to him. He really hates this guy, and wants to kick his ass so. so. bad.

He's kinda depressed and doesn't take the best care of himself, but his friends (like Aiden Fox and Ashley Halling - Ashley is a guy, btw) are trying to help him with that. (Aiden likes to experiment in cooking and Garrett's not real picky.)

Garrett can be pretty intimidating to some people, with his combination of high-energy behavior and his kinda poor social skills. Still, his bark is worse than his bite, and if somebody outright told him "you stop that," he'd probably stop. (Ashley and Aiden will both do this, which is like 80% of the reason they get along with him. Garrett usually doesn't mean to be an asshole, he just needs things explicitly spelled out.)

He's also working on getting better with people, though. And while Garrett's working on Not Being Intimidating, Gottlieb is working on Not Being Intimidated, and so there's a reasonable chance their social interactions will go all right. (And he would think he should ask Gottlieb for relationship advice because Gottlieb seems more Skyler-like than anyone else he knows.)

Asked myself what a Pacific Rim character played by Tom Hiddleston would be like, and one of the first things that popped into my head was "his dad would be played by Doug Jones."

[scrabbleknight]

Extreme anxiety feels like you're going to die, all the time. Your heart races for no reason, you're constantly looking at the clock and every minute that passes is just counting down to whatever. Whatever that is, it makes you feel dread.

So you pause. You pause to think. You pause to breathe, but the clock keeps ticking. Tick, tick, tick. You realise that the time you took to breathe, you did nothing. The world moves always and you once again feel that heart in a state of panic. You wasted precious minutes in an attempt to calm down but it fails. Now, you're just as fidgety as before, maybe even worse.

You hate it. You hate how it makes me feel. You can't even go to sleep in peace. Your nights filled with terror of tomorrow, telling you that "You shouldn't sleep. You're wasting precious time sleeping." but you're tired. You're very very tired, and it never stops being tiring. It's like having enough energy, enough willpower, enough everything just to function, but not enough to feel comfortable.

You're dying. You're counting the seconds. But it's not death that you're afraid. No, you're afraid of everything else before that. You're afraid of life.

[nyxofdemons]

someone else has probably articulated this better before but the reason we encourage minors to stay away from shows like helluva boss isn't because we think teenagers are incapable of handling topics like sex/violence/drugs, but because the CONTEXT that those things are depicted in is often shown in a way that people with limited experience/less-developed media analysis and critical thinking skills may have a hard time grasping the nuances of, and risk ending up taking away dangerous/harmful messages from it; e.g., people who think that the show is glorifying toxic relationships or unhealthy behaviors (like blitz's ignorance of other's boundaries or stolas' alcoholic tendencies, for example)

[thepoisonroom]

that post that's like "learning social skills helps with social anxiety" applies to dating also btw

[wormchaser]

you are complaining about complaining too much while complaining about the fact that maybe people dont like you because you complain too much while complaining about being alone. just stop complaining and do something about it. talk to people. reach out. dont just wait for someone to come to you first.

i have tried reaching out to different people in the past year or so but it never works. i understand its my own fault for letting relationships decay because of my own insecurities and issues but that doesn't mean i can just will myself to think or believe different things about myself. it's a self fulfilling prophecy ; i think people don't like me so i don't reach out so people don't like me etc . i am sure you do not want to hear me list all the things i want to say in response so i will put them in the tags.