#with no consideration of the people with specific needs who either this won't help or it'll need modifying

[loverboydotcom]

doing the reset and the self care day where i sort things out and take care of my body actually pulling me out of the mental rut i've had for the last week. who could have foreseen this

[zangtang]

I’m a big fan of your recent creation, especially the chunky chav collect. Are you using a single AI imagine create or a combination of tools? Would really like to learn more.

I'm using https://www.bing.com/images/create?FORM=GENILP (If you lose or don't save the link, it's simply the Bing search engine, choose Images, choose Create) Unlike Midjourney, it doesn't really HAVE any tools - but it's still so much more precise that it doesn't really need them. The prompts for the chavs in full was "very rotund 35 year old chav with a large round belly, tracksuit, washing a car, gold chain necklace, carpark at night" You can remove or add details as you please, just bear in mind some words are more heavily weighted against the censor than others: chav, or fat, can result in more censored work, so using slightly off-kilter words like rotund help to be safer. "Chav" can become "London man" or whatever. The moderation is very reactive, and I think it's already changed considerably since last week - "hugging" and "handsome" seem to be okay words now, but I couldn't get them to work earlier. I've got to give SO much credit to people who have helped me in very surprising ways (I won't name them though, they're free to reply to this if they want credit lol.) Many, many details have been either suggested to me or given directly as tested prompts - for example I'd been trying "man falling over another man" and someone recently simply changed it to "falling over another man, rugby field." I then added "low tackle, handsome" and voila! A world of difference!

i'm sure you're not at all curious but.... just in case you were interested, the specific prompt for these was very rotound man, 25 year old, large round heavy belly, fat rugby player, low tackle, falling over another man, rugby field, raining, italian, handsome

Switch "low tackle" to "slide tackle" for variety, change nationality, other than that, exactly the same Also, I implore you to share anything fun you find, it's how we all find better tricks and make each other better. Good luck!

[thewisecheerio]

The "Astarion is just 'I can fix him' as a character" takes are lazy, and I say this as someone who previously fell into that trap before I played through his story. Are you "fixing" a stray cat by making sure they have food and water and shelter? Or are you just providing basic needs that the cat should have had access to in the first place? First, Astarion's story is about an abuse victim. It's about someone trying to escape the cycle of abuse, and dealing with feelings of fear, lack of self worth, and shame. It's not about a psychopath that you can fix with the power of love; it's about the stray cat that is hissing at you out of fear. But even more importantly, you don't sit him down and provide special therapy to him specifically, magically solving all his problems. You provide the same thing you provide to the rest of the camp: shelter, safety, food, and companionship. These are things people are supposed to have access to *anyway*. That's not "fixing"; that's providing basic necessities that were previously denied. Even in the pivotal moment where Astarion has a choice on whether to ascend or not, the player's role is largely secondary. You either agree to his plea for help with the ritual, or you provide your viewpoint for his consideration ("Player: I know you think this will set you free, but it won't. This power will trap you, just like it trapped Cazador."). You're not providing any more guidance than a friend might provide to you if they were worried about something you were about to do. This is an extension of basic companionship, not a magical fix via the power of love. Mechanically, the advice is a roll for persuasion--he doesn't automatically acquiesce--which means that it is ultimately up to him to decide to take or leave that logic. Even if you consider non-ascending Astarion as "fixing", *you* aren't doing it; he's making that choice to either agree (should the roll succeed) or ignore you and do the ritual anyway (should the roll fail). If anyone gets to "fix" Astarion, it's himself. Putting that onto the player actually makes the story weaker. So to sum up, reducing Astarion's plotline to "I can fix him" is both reductive toward his own actions, and overestimates the contributions of the player in the pivotal moment. What the player offers is the basic necessities of shelter, safety, food, and companionship; what follows in regards to his journey toward healing is largely on Astarion himself. A final thought: if providing basic necessities sounds like "fixing" to you, maybe raise your standards, because you deserve better. Enjoy this picture of two strays enjoying each other's company:

[arileartist]

Hi 👋 👋 can I Request Asahi Rin, Ikuya and Hiyori as your senior. I freaking LOVE YOUR writing ✍ 😍. If its not too much

Oh gosh I've been busy in uni for such a long time!

Order for One steaming plate of fluff!!

Just for my cuties~<3

Rin as your Senior:

•Strict. He won't be very chatty with you but he's ready to help you wherever necessary.

•He's not very talkative, but you can tell that he cares. He's kind enough for you to be comfortable around him and feel safe, which he likes to boast about.

•With him comes a free package of having Yamazaki dad- I mean, Sousuke around so you essentially get two expert opinions.

•He'll not show you his emotional side. He believes in a the more traditional rules of senior junior relationship, however he himself finds that erasing those lines will be better after a certain point.

•Mom behaviour. After taking care of Gou, he has developed a sense of nurture. He will tell you to clean up. He will take away your phone. He will scold you for dating the wrong guys. He. Will. Get. Pissed. If. You. Don't. Do. Well. In. English. Although you'll find him giving you chocolates if you do well and will surprise you with random gifts, even if they include goofy ones like animal plushies or funky tees.

•You'll not catch him EVER wasting time. This boy likes to get his success. He lives on it. He'll read books on success, write diaries, do anything BUT waste time. He'll try to push it on those around him as well.

•There's a distance you'll need to cross before he starts being friendly with you. He's not mean, but he's not very easygoing and friendly either. Take the right steps and you might have a very motherly senior~

Hiyori as your senior:

•Brutally honest. The first time you met this guy was probably when he was judging you and you overheard him. He didn't seem too fazed about it either. It's not that he is being mean, he literally doesn't know how to speak with consideration. He only cares about his friends.

•If you do manage to get on his good side, don't expect him to pay much attention to you. Hiyori is the kind of guy who really doesn't care unless he thinks you're important to HIM.

•Yes he'll care about you and he'll give you advice wherever you want him to, but he is not going to go out of his way to ensure you're doing well. He's a sweet talker for sure, but you'd know that his words have little weight behind them.

•You'll definitely get a few glances from Ikuya, who just feels sorry for you if he ever knows that you like Hiyori.

•Hey, but on the plus side, he can definitely cheer you up with food. He's also going to be protective. You'll be receiving mixed signals. This is a true beige flag. On one hand, he'll not give you much importance in the team, however if anyone dares to look down on you in front of him, he's not staying silent either. He'll step up and give a sizzling zap of his spicy words. That's not before he tells you that you need to stand up for yourself though.

•You'll also not see him alone much. He's always going to be with Ikuya. The times you do catch him alone, he's not going to be talkative or conversational. Probably also dry on texts.

•He can't show gestures of affection so you'd get a smiley “Congratulations” and more affirmations from him. Don't expect anything more though.

•In the pool, he'll surely teach you what you need to know, but won't bother asking first. You'll need to tell him that you want to get help specifically from him. That too he'll probably reply with “why me? There are better suited people in the team aren't there~ please go and ask them, if they are busy, then maybe I'll consider it”

Yeah I don't think Hiyori would be a senior you should look up to…

Asahi as your senior:

•Dream senior of anyone tbh. He's hot, he's handsome, and he's blithe. No, it's giving Bokuto but with more brain cells. You can easily rely on him for anything you want and he'll do it for you. Happily. He doesn't care about the senior junior standards set up by the society. If something makes you happy, he'll do it. He's also dense enough to not realise that things he does might be taken in a romantic way.

•He's going to be the guy to take you out with his friends and party together. You will encounter a lot of joyous adventures with this guy. However, if you're someone who's into reading books and staying in, maybe Asahi isn't the senior you'd hangout much with. Just for you though, he's going to be texting you too~ he knows that different people need different forms of persuasion. He'll skiddadle into your texts smoothly with one of his dad joke pick-up lines.

•He WILL defend you if he sees you encountering difficulties with your mates. If anyone tries to pass off a snarky comment, he will call them out. No holds barred.

•He'll also scold you if he catches you doing something harmful. If you tell him you're going through a tough time, he'll do everything he can to support you. He may not understand you, but he will try his best to give you the confidence to face your problems head on. He'll also end up making you laugh while at it.

•He's definitely popular with your classmates and they're gonna be soooo jealous when they find out he's friends with you. You don't even have to call him “senior”.

•You can ring him up anytime and he'll answer. No matter how, no matter where. If he knows something is troubling you, he'll definitely stay up and listen, although you'll have to tell him that you're just trying to find a place to let out your thoughts. He will try to provide solutions because of the way he wants to make everyone comfortable and content.

•Please don't rely on him for educational advice though. I doubt the guy is a straight A’s student.

•You really can't get much better than this. 10/10 senior.

Ikuya as your senior:

•Quiet. In the starting, you didn't even know who he was. You just knew some “Kirishima Kun” because of the cheer squad constantly chanting his name whenever swim came up.

•When you first met him, you immediately notice the guy's standout personality. He doesn't Converse much, doesn't come out much, but mostly, whenever you try to talk to him, he's very dry.

•He WILL take time to warm up to you, but you'll see it little by little. He will try to observe you silently first, and then if you keep talking to him, he'll gradually talk to you normally. Even though his “normal” is still going to be very less.

•You would often ask Hiyori about it, but he shrugs it off saying that's just how Ikuya is.

•If you tried to take advice from him, he'll definitely give you his experience. If you express your problems, he'll pat your head and give you a reassuring look. You won't get much reactions out of him, but you can certainly tell that he cares.

•After all, Ikuya himself doesn't want anyone who's younger to him to feel the way he felt when he was thrown into his lowest.

•You'll find occasional snacks and drinks next to your bag. It's his way of telling you that you're doing well. He may not say it to your face, but he's not afraid to text you. Text is where he talks with you the most. He will send you occasional reels, but Ikuya is also the type of guy who respects the traditional “keep distance between juniors and seniors” rule. He'd be the ideal introverted senior.

•You can always find him peacefully floating in the pool or relaxing. He's always open to listen, however, don't talk to him too much or he might not like it. He values his own space and although doesn't mind being around people who show interest in him, he runs out of social battery pretty quickly.

•He'll give you the neatest notes. You'll be surprised as to how hygienic and well kept he is. Though good luck trying to convince him to lend you any of his stuff.

[commsroom]

i need to relisten to wolf359 bc it was YEARS ago so i don't remember much, but i have this specific idea about hera post-canon

i don't remember if they get her onto the escape vessel (im pretty sure they have to? she has the power of navigation being a literal slave station?) but when they get back to earth, in the chaos that ensues, jacobi makes sure to somehow... store hera? only her personality matrix, if that's possible. he could break into the high performance computing cluster of some university and store her in a little known spot, then "break her out" later.

i don't remember how much in character this is (he seemed a bit more chummy with the haephestus crew by this point), but i imagined him building either (1) a robot body (who knows how common that is on earth at this point) or (2) an eyepiece and earpiece for here's personality to exist in, so she can in SOME way go out, see the world and talk to them still once they're off the escape vessel.

i want her to still be with them even when they're not on a ship anymore.

first: you should absolutely relisten! and you should let me know your thoughts, when you relisten. especially if it's been years, i'd be really curious to know if and how your opinions have changed!

thankfully, you remember right - hera does go back with them, and the final scene and sentiment of the show definitely implies that eiffel, hera, and minkowski intend to stick together. they would fight for her to stay with them. which does get potentially complicated, from both a legal and practical standpoint.

(and i won't get into my thoughts about post-canon jacobi here, but i will say... he went to MIT and was friends with maxwell; he's more likely than eiffel or minkowski or lovelace to know people who know people who could maybe help hera. and wolf 359 loves to put characters in situations where they have to rely on people they don't particularly like. they've even done that with jacobi and hera specifically - ep 57. "sure. fine. as long as it's not jacobi doing it, it's fine." cut to jacobi doing it. of course.)

i don't think AI is actually that common in the world of wolf 359; hera is the first AI eiffel and minkowski have met, and even maxwell, working for the "best AI research lab in the country" was unaware of the existence of "full-minded" AI (however that's defined) until she was recruited by goddard in 2013. my impression is that it's, like, something people are aware of, but it's still very detached from the average person's life, and AI personhood is not even a consideration yet. having an android body would definitely make hera... visible, in some ways that she might not like.

maybe worth noting that goddard is also very into biotech, and there's some interesting... overlap with that and the dear listeners' duplicates in terms of what it asks about 'artificiality', in my opinion. wolf 359 is very much a show about humanity, and i think any post-canon extension of those themes would have to be about... learning to be a person on earth, with all that entails, and the way that applies to hera's situation is meaningful to me. all of which is just kind of a rambling way to say, yes, i'm also totally in favor of hera having a body. like, on one hand, because i think there's something to it as a discussion about disability and bodies in general, with the way it would re-contextualize her experiences on the hephaestus and the pain she's been living with - and that a lot of things she experienced without a body and felt were unique to her, she would still experience with one. but i also think it's the best option for her; i really think anything else would by design deny her autonomy and freedom of movement on earth. from a more sentimental standpoint, i just want her to be able to go to a real beach and put her hands in the ocean.

[dramawatch]

Why this

Dear Reader, IRL I begin my discussions of Asian drama with either a rebuke of American media for it's failure to meet my specific requirements (if the listener is not already a convert), or I bring out my oral manifesto on Why I Like Asian Drama. I will spare you both of these, not only because I'm a tad tired of hearing it myself, but because online such as we are a present, you can walk away very easily, and I won't even see you do it. This eases the tension quite a bit for both of us, if I'm being honest, so I'm going to give it all to you as succinctly as possible today and let the chips fall where they may, so to speak.

All media, IMHO, works within its own parameters. It may be done well, or poorly, or even done in some oxymoronic way where bad becomes good or vice versa. (There is probably jargon media experts would use right now to express this, dear Reader, and if you are one of them, I apologize for all the eye rolling you may be performing. I'm not a media expert.) However, no matter how well a particular media is executed, it is not guaranteed to suit everyone. We all have our own needs and tastes. My needs and tastes are not met by the parameters of American dramas.

You may be wondering at my use the word "parameters." Perhaps if I was someone else, who thought slightly differently, I'd be writing about originality or being forward thinking or something else in the context of media. But what I think about is parameters. Everything has parameters. Parameters help lend definition to something. Although they are literally limiting, which can seem like a negative, it is very difficult to get anything done without them. Even this blog. It's easier for me to be creative within the confines of this austere, questionably attractive blog format, than I would if I were spending energy on being slick or savvy. If I had many fancy options, I'd bouncing off them endlessly, instead of just getting down to writing this here today.

The parameters of Asian drama hit my pleasure center just right.

There is tremendous of variety amongst them, for one. The number of episodes varies drastically, from 6 episode long Japanese web dramas to 60 episode long Chinese costume dramas. It can be fantasy or historical, contemporary or futuristic, romance-centered or mystery-centered, or combinations of them all. There are many tropes and archetypes. Meme bingo cards have been made of them, they're so prevalent. But a trope or an archetype is just another kind of parameter, and I'm all for it.

I'm not anti-innovation or creativity, dear Reader. In my defense, I'm going to drag in Jane Eyre.

Jane Eyre one of the most famous Bronte novels. We've all heard of it, even if we don't know much about it, per se. It's part of our popular culture. Why is that? What makes it so great?

It's because Jane Eyre is a play on the dominant romantic paradigm at the time, the Gothic novel, where a beautiful young heroine meets a dashing, handsome, virtuous man, and is rescued from supernatural and earthly horrors by him and Live Happily Ever After. Jane Eyre is a young woman, but she is neither beautiful, nor such a paragon of virtue - she doesn't forgive just because people ask, and she is not entirely sheltered from cynicism. Edward Rochester is the main love interest, but he is also not handsome, nor particularly charming, and he has some obvious faults of character that those who have read the book know very well. In a typical Gothic novel, Rochester would have been the villain. This is what makes Jane Eyre great: Bronte turns the Gothic novel on its head, and doing so, wrote the first modern anti-hero.

I consider the anti-hero considerably when I'm consuming media. I enjoy exploring all the incarnations of archetypes and the way they can be played with or mutated. Sometimes it can be frustrating, but it can also be very satisfying. Asian dramas bring in a wider variety of archetypes and tropes than American media and are not shy about it. I can't tell you how many arrogant CEO romances I've seen, some of which wouldn't be too ashamed to put that in their title like a Harlequin Romance, and I still have room for more, because even if it's a remake, it's still not quite the same.

I'm going to end this admittedly not very succinct post with a recommendation for my favorite arrogant CEO drama:

Lost Romance. An editor (and voyeur) at a romance publisher witnesses the attempted murder of the handsome CEO through a drone and ends up falling into the novel she is editing as the female antagonist. If you want to see a lighthearted rom-com wherein a female underling can talk her way free of consequences after being caught watching her boss shower, this is for you.

[realestateppcads]

Effective Travel Advertising Strategy for 2024

When marketing travel services, you can't only rely on people's wanderlust since, although it might keep your company afloat, it won't help you stand out in the field.

In addition, people's desire to travel varies widely and might be affected by unanticipated circumstances.

This was shown in 2020 when travel was negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as evidenced by past years' data on industry spending on digital advertising. Although things are getting better, a lot depends on how well travel advertisements function.

You need to use both innovative advertising and sound planning for your vacation advertising to be genuinely successful.

Follow along as I take you through the process of creating a workable travel advertising plan, which includes determining your target market, understanding the customer journey, establishing campaign objectives, and gauging the success of your ads.

We'll also examine 16 well-known travel advertisements that will undoubtedly serve as inspiration for your upcoming advertising campaigns.

Use the summary below to go directly to the section on the advertisements if you're more interested in those than in the strategy.

Steps for The Perfect Advertising Strategy

Because advertising requires time, money, and other resources, maximizing return on investment is the ultimate goal.

Creating a strategy in advance, or a detailed plan to target the appropriate audience and convince potential customers to select your travel services over those of your rivals, is the most reliable approach to do this.

Having a strategy not only gives you a clear path of action but also acts as a guide for you to evaluate your progress along the way and adjust your plan as necessary.

The following are essential measures to ensure the development of a robust tourism advertising strategy.

1. Identify your target audience

A strong target audience is the cornerstone of any effective advertising campaign for travel. 

Consider how pointless it would be to target users who have no chance of becoming clients. By reducing the group size, you can concentrate your efforts on contacting the people who stand to gain the most from your travel services.

Additionally, by keeping a specific target market in mind, you may produce travel advertisements that also function as customized client experiences, which have been shown to increase conversion rates to sales.

Create a buyer persona, or a list of the qualities you would like to see in your ideal client, to identify your target market. These characteristics may be behavioral, psychographic, demographic, or geographic. 

Geographic: anything having to do with a customer's location, such as their nation, state, city, or postal code;

demographic: characteristics of the population based on factors like age, gender, income, education, and marital status;

Psychographic: characteristics of personality, values, interests, pastimes, and way of life;

Behavioral: online actions based on spending and buying tendencies, browsing patterns, and a host of other factors.

2. Know the traveler’s customer journey

The customer journey encapsulates every interaction a potential consumer has with a brand from their initial meeting until the transaction is finalized. 

It's generally split into three phases: conversion, consideration, and awareness.

A traveler's customer journey, however, is different from the conventional model because making a travel reservation requires careful consideration and planning; it's not an easy decision to make. 

Would you, after all, purchase airline tickets as soon as you would a chocolate bar? Not me either.

Thus, the trip experience of the client can be divided into the subsequent four to five phases:

Dreaming: here is where all aspiring travelers start, whether they are imagining themselves lounging on a Greek beach or in a gondola cruising the canals of Venice.

Planning: Even the most impulsive travelers plan their trip in some way, even if it's only as simple as choosing which hotel to stay at.

Booking: Prospects are prepared to purchase airline tickets and make hotel reservations. 

Experiencing: Vacationers are having a great time and creating lifelong memories.

Remembering: Recall that you can strengthen the bond between the traveler and your brand during this optional phase, which follows the completion of the excursion.

By being aware of this customer journey, you can schedule your travel advertising to coincide with the most advantageous times, particularly when potential customers are still in the planning and booking phases.

3. Set your travel campaign goals

Set goals or targets for your travel campaigns to help you stay focused on the importance of your job and track your success along the way.

The S.M.A.R.T. criterion should be used to create your marketing goals for the best results. The acronym represents the attributes that your goals ought to possess: they are precise, quantifiable, attainable, pertinent, and time-bound.

The following are a few typical objectives that can help your campaign succeed:

Raise brand recognition by placing your travel services in front of prospective clients.

increase website traffic or draw in new customers to the website of your business encourage thought by running campaigns to highlight various travel services.

Create leads by getting potential customers to fill out a form to learn more about an offer or by getting new newsletter subscribers.

Increase conversions to increase revenue.

4. Create travel ads with seasonality in mind

Not really, though. It cascades down the mountains and northern shore of Spain. However, the nation has unique weather, much like any other tourist destination.

Travel is heavily reliant on the weather. In the travel industry, there are generally three seasons: peak, shoulder, and off-season.

Known as the peak season or high season, summertime (mid-June through August) is when demand typically reaches its annual peak.

The shoulder season, which runs from April to mid-June and September to October, is when most people travel, albeit not as much as they do in the peak season.

During the so-called "off-season," which runs from November to March, all travel-related firms see a drop in sales.

But seasonality isn't always a bad thing for travel advertising because

But while seasonality gives you a clear picture of the upcoming months, it's not always a bad thing for travel marketing.

Try to pay attention to seasonal patterns and trends so you can determine when potential customers are interested in buying airline tickets, hotel rooms, or all-inclusive deals for particular locations. You may be able to influence consumers' decisions to buy by scheduling your creative advertisements and modifying your messaging for certain seasons.

5. Choose the right advertising platform

There are many different platforms for advertising, but the simplest approach to finding the ones that work best for your brand is to find out where your customers hang out.

For the majority of enterprises, the following three platforms are often the best options:

Google Ads: You can take advantage of Google's extensive reach and sophisticated targeting possibilities by launching search or display ads on the Google ad network to reach prospective clients at the precise moment that they are searching for travel services.

Social media advertisements: Advertising on social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok, enables you to simultaneously reach a larger audience and build brand awareness. Additionally, it lets you test out a variety of ad forms, such as picture and video adverts.

Email marketing: Email provides a direct line of connection with clients through which you may provide customized messages, promotions, and discounts. In addition, it's an inexpensive marketing strategy with readily quantifiable outcomes.

6. Measure your ads’ effectiveness

It is possible that things will not go as planned even if you have a brilliant plan in place. Even if they do, tracking the effectiveness of your trip campaign is essential to knowing how well your vacation advertisements are doing. 

If all goes according to plan, you'll know what to do differently in future campaigns, and if not, you'll learn how to make advertising more successful.

Fortunately, relevant measures known as KPIs (key performance indicators) are available for tracking the most popular campaign objectives on all advertising platforms, including Google and Facebook. You therefore know precisely what to look for.

Email marketing campaigns operate differently because campaign performance is measured through the use of third-party solutions that facilitate email automation.

Inspiring Travel Advertising Examples 

Now for the moment, everyone has been waiting for a list of 17 travel advertisements that, in one way or another, are successful in grabbing viewers' attention

Expedia: Chase new experiences

Let's start with a major player in the market: Expedia. The reason these two imaginative advertisements from the same campaign are so effective is that they highlight Moroccan experiences for visitors rather than the actual place.

When combined with stunning landscape images, the font combination is a match made in heaven, and the prose effectively communicates a message.

A group excursion devoid of drama

The challenge of organizing a trip with plenty of pals is understood in this Kayak display advertisement. No matter how close the ties are, there will inevitably be hiccups.

Although the ad's design may not be very striking, the language effectively communicates with viewers, thus I believe it merits a spot on this list of examples of travel advertisements.

Conclusion

In the travel sector, it is evident from the strategy recommendations and ad samples provided in this article that knowing and relating to customers is crucial. 

Hopefully, you've gained some new knowledge that you can use to help you plan or create advertisements for your upcoming trip campaign.

[jauneilles]

hi, headcanon prompt time. what is the progression of chloe's relationship with zoe like? specific talk points, but feel free to add on if you get brainworms:

how did she feel about learning she has a younger sister?

how did she feel about zoe coming to paris (ie. did it give her difficulties when she was trying to learn to be Better™)?

how did she feel about zoe becoming the new bee?

how did she feel about being entrusted with the bee again after zoe had been established as the new bee (and sharing the role)?

how does she feel about there being two bees going forward?

unprompted asks / always accepting !!

Chloe has a lot of complicated feelings surrounding Zoe, especially in the beginning. Finding out she even had a younger sister that she didn't know about previously meant that she had to acknowledge her mother left to start an entirely new family. Chloe has always had a very distant, strained relationship with her mother, Audrey, in trying to live up to her impossible expectations; so finding out she had a sister living in New York just kind of added another layer to her already struggling questions of whether she was a good enough daughter.

I think that when Zoe first arrived in Paris, Chloe still would have been a little unfair and certainly jealous. She wouldn't have been as cruel, but there would definitely be feelings of jealousy and comparison — again, going back to the fact that Audrey left to create this other family outside of the Bourgeois. For instance, in Zoe's introduction episode, I think a lot of Chloe's behaviour would have been relatively the same, except perhaps a touch less cruel, and that only at the end of the episode, and seeing the way Zoe was able to reach out and make friends despite trying to emulate Chloe, would have helped Chloe to realise that she, too, could still have a chance to make friends. And that, I think, would have been the start of trying to build the bridge between her and Zoe.

When Zoe became the new holder for the Bee miraculous, it definitely stung ( no pun intended ). In a lot of ways, Zoe is Chloe's foil. She has Chloe's potential for cattiness and meanness, as we see when she tries to emulate her sister, but she actively chooses — going forward — to be kind, considerate, and to not let other people dictate how she should present herself, even her family. These are all things that Chloe, herself, struggles with. She struggles to let down her guard and be kind. She struggles to live up to her parents' "perfect" image and reputation. She struggles to let people see her true self ( and it can certainly be argued that even Chloe doesn't know who her "true self" is anymore, either ). But, going back to Zoe being the new Bee holder, it kind of reinforces everything about Chloe's own struggles and why she decides to make a significant change for the better. She wants to be someone that can make and keep friends. She wants to be someone Ladybug trusts again. And yeah, admittedly, she wants to be the holder of the Bee miraculous again — she won't say she doesn't keep that thought in the back of her mind when she's trying to build trust with her peers again — but ultimately, as the story progresses and Chloe learns more about herself in relation to her peers, she comes to accept that Zoe is the rightful holder of the Bee miraculous.

Which is why, when she's presented with the opportunity to be the holder of the new, second Bee miraculous, she's initially in shock. At this point, she's made her peace that she probably wouldn't get that opportunity again, so to be presented with it and that a second Bee miraculous was even created for the purpose of Chloe taking on the role? That's a huge exercise in trust.

There is this fanart ( that, of course, I can't find when I actually need it ) and is actually one of my favourites and it perfectly illustrates how I think Chloe feels about taking on the role of Queen Bee again. It's basically her as Queen Bee standing next to Viperion and she's saying something like "I won't let Ladybug down again."

That's how Chloe feels. When she accepts the role of Queen Bee again, it's because she wants to be a team player. She wants to be someone Ladybug and the other holders can count on. I think, initially, it takes some getting used to, knowing there are two Bee holders going forward. This is Chloe, and at her core, she is always going to be a bit vain, selfish, and want the limelight. She's just learned to have more empathy and compassion for others along the way. But, at the end of the day, it's more important to Chloe that she was given this second chance as Queen Bee and she'll do everything in her power not to mess that up again.

[prahostservers]

How to Choose the Best Server Hosting Provider in Germany

Choosing a server hosting company in Germany is a difficult task. There are many options, and it can be hard to know where to start. In this article, we'll go over some of the things you should consider when choosing your next server host provider.

Choosing a Germany Hosting Provider

Choosing a server provider is more than just finding the best deal. It's also important to consider their reputation and track record, as well as customer reviews, in order to make sure you're getting what you pay for. A company with a good reputation will be able to provide services that meet or exceed your needs. They should have been around for some time, with plenty of satisfied customers who can vouch for their professionalism, reliability, and service quality.

If possible, it's best if your chosen Germany Hosting Provider has an established presence on social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter (and possibly even Google+?) where people tend to share their experiences with others who may be looking at these sites too—so make sure they're active there! And don't forget Google+. This search engine giant is becoming increasingly popular among consumers so having them listed under “reviews” could help boost traffic toward your own site when someone searches "best webhosting provider."

Selecting the Right Server Host

Choosing the right server host is key to your success. The wrong choice can lead to problems with slow performance, security vulnerabilities, or other issues that could put your business at risk.

Before choosing a new server host, it’s important to understand what you need from them:

Features such as data storage capacity (how much RAM and/or hard drives) and network speed are just two examples of features that can make or break your experience with a service provider. A good provider will offer these types of options so they can meet each customer's specific needs while keeping costs low enough for everyone involved—you!

Price point is another factor when considering which provider might be best for you; especially if you're on tight budgeting terms here in Germany like me! You want something affordable but still reliable enough for any project needs without sacrificing quality either way--this means looking into their pricing structure carefully before making any commitments whatsoever towards signing up with them permanently as opposed to being just temporary customers until then again next month later down time around Christmas when everyone else tends towards spending more money than usual due

Considerations and Added Features

You should consider the following features when evaluating different server hosting Germany:

Support for specific applications, such as PHP or MySQL. If you need to run certain software, it's important that your provider offers support for these applications.

Dedicated servers. Those who use shared web hosting with multiple customers will likely find themselves running into more problems due to overloads and slowdowns from other users on their network. For this reason, it's best if you can get dedicated server in Germany instead of shared ones (and pay more for them).

Redundant power supply and network connections are also important considerations because they can save you money in case of an outage—or even worse, if there's no power at all! Having redundant power supplies ensures that there won't be any issues with your site being down during peak hours when everyone else is trying hard not only just connect but also log into their websites/apps too (which means longer waiting times).

Web Hosting Germany

Web Hosting Germany is one of the best providers in Germany. They have a wide range of products and services, so you'll be able to find what you're looking for if you decide to go with them.

They also have excellent customer service, which means that your needs will be met whenever possible. And since they're located in Germany, there's very little chance that this company won't be able to meet them!

Web Hosting Germany is affordable too - especially compared with other web hosts like Hostinger or Namecheap (both of which are cheaper than them).

There is a lot to consider when choosing a server hosting company in Germany.

There is a lot to consider when choosing a server hosting company in Germany.

You’ll want to make sure that your provider has servers located close enough to you so that they can provide high-speed connectivity and fast response times. A good option is one that offers data centers in Germany or other European countries, but if the server location isn’t within commuting distance - or even far enough away - then it might not be possible for your site’s visitors to access it quickly enough.

Bandwidth speeds are crucial here because any slow connection could result in lag time between clicks on pages of content (such as social media feeds), which would make users abandon their visit altogether without ever seeing what was being offered at all! The best way around this problem is by using Cloudflare CDN technology which allows users' browsers to access content directly from its nearest data center instead of having them download entire files over the internet each time they visit different websites."

Conclusion

We hope this article has helped you find the best service for your needs. If you’re interested in learning more about our German hosting or want to get started with a free trial, please contact us today! We look forward to hearing from you soon!

[brokensolution0]

Things to Take into Account When Selecting a Forex Broker

The principal specific move toward your fruitful exchange is to pick a Forex specialist. Many inquiries should be addressed before you can choose mindfully. Specialists' income and accessible data won't work with this choice. Underneath you will find data on the essential issues you might experience while picking a Forex merchant and how to beat those issues.

Before you begin exchanging Forex, you want to set up a record with a dealer. A specialist is a middle person, individual, or organization that trades orders as indicated by the retailer. Merchants benefit either from charging an expense for their administrations or from the spread. Taking into account the immense number of merchants offering their administrations on the web, it's reasonable you might feel defenseless and over-burden by heaps of data you might don't have the foggiest idea how to manage. What's more, picking the right broker is difficult.

There is a large number of specialists, from the solid ones to the warped and unscrupulous attempting to cull their clients. You ought to investigate distributed references and adhere to the pieces of advice to safeguard you from refined promoting programming. The intermediary is a vital middle person between you and the market. Its primary errand is to satisfy your orders to trade money on the forex broker trading platform. Administrations, for example, the quick exchange of cash to him and back as well as a dependable stage ought to be the standard of all representatives over the normal.

While choosing a boundary, it is proper to give inclination to those that are connected with your way of exchanging (expenses, spreads, and so forth), rather than fringe ones like language support, help on what to trade, and so on. In search of a reliable forex broker solutions platform is the right place for you. We offer many features and tools to help you trade successfully. 

Remember a certain something - before you start your hunt, it is great to observe the way that terms like "best, least expensive, generally solid, and so on" look bad in the business of Forex representatives and typically, the genuine premium of merchants who utilize those terms is exclusively to allow you to exchange monetary standards as frequently as is conceivable whether or not you bring in or lose cash.

Measures for choosing a Forex merchant

There are a few standards that merit consideration before you fill in the enlistment structure with a representative. The contest among Forex dealers is colossal, which ensures a flawless opportunity for a decent decision. It pays to require the investment to pick a specialist that will best meet your requirements and you will want to involve their administrations to your advantage.

Guideline and References

The principal thing you might need to investigate while choosing a Forex representative is the issue of safety. You need to see whether the chosen agent is enlisted with any administrative power. In the US, a representative ought to be enlisted as a Fates Commission Dealer (FCM) with the Ware Future Exchanging Commission (CFTC) and ought to be an individual from the Public Prospects Affiliation (NFA). The two specialists - the CFTC and the NFA are available to safeguard people in general against extortion, control and unlawful exchanging rehearses.

[twistyprefect]

Hello! So this is an uhh specific request but like I got ran over by a golf cart yesterday (I’m all good! Just sore!) and was wondering if I could request the heartslabyul boys (+grim!) taking care of an MC who got like into an accident but is in good spirits about it, cracking jokes, regaling the story while laughing cuz like bro it’s hilarious. Romantic or platonic it’s up to you! Either fem or gender neutral please

{hullo! i'm glad you weren't seriously hurt but i hope you're less sore soon ;~; i decided to do both platonic and romantic HCs & gender neutral MC so i hope that's ok!}

Ace Trappola

Ace is a bit concerned at first, but once MC starts to crack jokes, he does the same

he might be a bit teasing or mean about them getting hit by a golf cart of all things

still offers to do stuff to help them out a bit, like getting their favorite snacks or carrying books to and from class

if MC is his S/O, he'll be a bit more involved with helping them (even if they ask him not to)

he expects payment in kisses and help studying for their next exam or quiz

Deuce Spade

Deuce goes into overprotective mode, asking if MC knows who was driving the cart

once he calms down, he's actually a bit irritated with them making jokes; they could have been seriously hurt, it's not funny! (it's funny)

asks constantly if they need help doing something and tries to 'protect' them from somehow getting hurt again

if MC is his S/O, his overprotectiveness is bumped up to ten, and he'll probably end up enlisting Jack and Ace's help in figuring out who was involved

definitely distressed when they retell the story and laugh about it, but doesn't say anything about it

Cater Diamond

Cater actually thinks it's just as hilarious as MC does, laughing along and asking to share the story

puts MC explaining the story on his Magicam story so other people can enjoy it too

he does make sure they're ok with it first, since he doesn't want them to feel like he's making fun of them

if MC is his S/O, he's still pretty jovial about it; it's not like he can rewind time, plus MC seems pretty chill about it

he'll likely do smaller things to show his care though, like making them their favorite tea or coffee

Trey Clover

Trey is pretty worried at first, even if MC jokes around or says they're perfectly fine

after the initial worry, he's probably laughing along with them because it's a pretty ridiculous scenarios (who even knew people on campus HAD golf carts?)

seriously, only MC could manage to have something like this happen, and that itself makes him relax a bit

if MC is his S/O, he has a similar reaction but is more involved in their 'recovery'

makes them small treats, carries their stuff to and from classes, pulls chairs out for them, everything

Riddle Rosehearts

Riddle initially freaks out completely, threatening to use Off With Your Head! if needed (by needed, he means if MC will let him)

once he calms down a LOT, he's concerned that MC is joking about it, even if they're mostly uninjured

he hovers around them for a few days just to make sure they're actually 100% ok and just a bit sore

if MC is his S/O, even they can't stop him from hunting down and punishing anyone involved

as soon as he's calmed down though, he spends the next week or so spoiling and doting on MC, until he's sure they're no longer sore or in pain

Grim

Grim definitely tries to be caring and considerate but he busts out laughing halfway through MC's story

he listens to the story and immediately starts laughing and making fun of them, but not too harshly

asks them to re-tell the story when they're around the other freshmen, just do everyone can enjoy the kind of hilarious misfortune

if MC is his S/O, he has basically the same reaction as before, but he laughs less and asks them if they're ok repeating the story to their friends

he also tries to get into less trouble so that MC won't have to worry about him as much as usual

[ein-liebloser-wanderer]

Yandere Headcanons - Snake Scales and Serpent Tales #1

Warnings: typical power imbalances in relationships, controlling behavior (your typical yandere with a reptilian twist)

Notes: Various ideas I had about snake people or naga folk. Specifically, the big ones like boa constrictors, anacondas, etc. In this, I call them either the Serpentine and Serpent.

There was something about the Serpentine that had both fascinated and terrified humans for a long time.

Perhaps it was their bizarre physiology. How some had tails ten times the length of their human upper body. How their snake scales seamlessly smoothened into the soft flesh of humans at their waistline. There were even accounts from warriors on patrol, temple priests, and even the very few hikers who were lucky enough to catch--and survive--a glance of these solitary beings, and their descriptions ranged from the eerily beautiful to downright horrific.

⸸ Cold-Hearted ⸸

True to their names, the Serpentine are heartless.

Not because they have been known to kill and eat without remorse, but because they seemed incapable of feeling love for anyone. Not even for their own kind.

The common serpent are afraid of their own kind, especially towards their larger, stronger counterparts.

Rightfully so, because if it ever came down to it, they wouldn't hesitate to eat one another.

For a serpent, nothing matters more than themselves. But rarely, very rarely, they would find someone they consider worthy.

⸸ A Likely Prey ⸸

It is very rare for anyone to catch their eye, simply because of how solitary these creatures are.

Humans, however, are foolish, and have senses as dull as their intuition. Most of them wouldn't even know they were staring a snake at the eye, until it strikes at them from the grass.

Most likely, they found their human pet this way. A misstep on their tail, getting themselves cornered in the worst possible situation...

Imagine an adventurer going to the jungle, believing that they are more than capable of unearthing its secrets, only to be nearly eaten by the nearest monster around. Then, just at the right time, a Serpent comes around and spares them because of the human's bravery--or stupidity.

Each serpent has their own preferences! Stupidity just happens to be one of the few character flaws they find amusing endearing

Humans were just so helpless. If they hadn't come at the right time, their pet wouldn't still be alive.

⸸ Dedication ⸸

Keeping and caring for a pet takes dedication. They know that much.

Though they may be incapable of loving, they know that they must at least put time and investment into this if they want to keep their human pet around.

This was why they insist on trying to be caring, trying to be emotionally present even though wearing a mask was too mentally taxing.

If their human were to hide themselves in the corner of their room, they simply have to understand that they are terrified. The human can't help but feel that way.

But ultimately, they are the master, and the human is still their pet. To them, the human simply needed to be trained into fearing them less. If they must spend countless hours everyday being handy and intrusive, then so be it.

⸸ A Complete Lack of Empathy ⸸

It wasn't their fault that they didn't know right away how to deal with their human. That was a part of their heritage from the snakes. It just wasn't in their nature to be nurturing, considerate, never mind kind.

And it absolutely wasn't uncommon for Serpents to assume that all they needed from their human was tolerance. After all, no one would want a pet that bites its owner. If their human could tolerate their presence, then that was good enough.

How would they achieve that? By forcing themselves on their human, of course.

Believe them when they say that they also hate having their space invaded, but this was the only way for you to finally get accustomed to their touch.

Serpents have absolutely no concept of gratitude. Unless they have a basic understanding of human minds, they won't even consider the idea that by simply being kind, maybe they'll give their pet Stockholm Syndrome they could have avoided all this hassle.

⸸ Home Sweet Hell ⸸

Once they believe their pet is familiar enough with them, the Serpent might reward them with freedom.

Of course, this would be about as much freedom as any leashed pet would have. If the human thought they would be allowed to leave, then they are downright pitiful.

Freedom is being able to wander around within their perimeter, where they can still see or smell the human.

Freedom is being allowed time alone within the den they had found or built for their pet.

Freedom is being able to come with them wherever they might want to go.

But they should never, ever assume that they are free from their master. Only they know what is best for them. Only they are the ones who could protect their pet in such a dangerous place.

Because if their pet was unfortunate enough to wound up in their grasp...then they don't stand much of a chance against everything else the world has to offer, don't they?

_________

Final Notes

That's first post on the snake people. They are my new obsession, right after mermaids, so this won't absolutely be the last post I make on them.

I'm thinking...maybe vipers or smaller snake species next? Or maybe, perhaps I should divulge some of my more saucy ideas for big noodles?

[lightrises]

"Only in allowing her to pass..." — Hornet, The Radiance, and the means by which Hallownest turned its victims against each other

A quick note: I read Hollow Knight as an anti-colonialist text. As such I'll be touching on topics related to colonialism as it's depicted in the world of the game, and said analysis will reflect both a sympathetic take on The Radiance and a critique of The Pale King that won't pull its punches. If this sounds up your alley, hello and thank you for the read! Let us be sad about these bugs together.

———

So!! A while back I realized something about pre-canon that felt rather... "curious" is one way to put it, I think. To wit: for all the effort and scheming and determination The Pale King poured into trying to get rid of The Radiance, neither of his plans involved directly killing her.

Was that his long game? Well, sure, that seems clear enough. His tack changed from luring the moths away from their god and creator to a more literal form of incarceration once the infection became a factor, but at its core the end goal never really changed—The Pale King very sincerely wished to destroy Radiance via obsolescence. The Seer lends us foreshadowing to confirm as much:

[Image descriptions: Two screenshots from Hollow Knight, showing the Seer and Ghost in the Seer's alcove at the Resting Grounds. Across both screenshots, the Seer tells Ghost the following: "None of us can live forever, and so we ask those who survive to remember us. Hold something in your mind and it lives on with you, but forget it and you seal it away forever. That is the only death that matters." End description.]

(Which, by the way and given the context, talk about an extremely unsubtle allusion to cultural genocide huh!!! Whew.)

In any case, we're left with a whole bunch of machinations which build up to... well, two very roundabout attempts at committing deicide. That's kind of weird, all things considered! Why not just do the deed in one fell swoop and get it over with?

This could be for any number of reasons. Maybe the king was devoid of the means to instantly kill another higher being. Maybe his personal sense of scruples stopped him short of signing off on MURDER murder (although, y'know, the aforementioned genocide + eternal imprisonment = still cool and copasectic apparently!). Maybe the long drawn-out cruelty was the point. Maybe the idea of playing fuckign 4D chess with the circumstances was too delicious for him to pass up—that man did love to tinker and stick his claws where they sure as hell didn't belong—or maybe it was a little bit of All The Things. Who knows!!

But interrogating The Pale King's methodology on this count isn't what I'm here for, at least not really. The main reason I raise this question at all is that in her own way, Hornet did too.

"I'd urge you to take that harder path... "

See, going by The Pale King's actions and what The White Lady explicitly says, they both foresaw two outcomes wrt the infection: it can be allowed to spread, or it can be contained. At Teacher's Archives, Quirrel acknowledges the fact that Ghost is expected to do... something about this, but he doesn't elaborate on what HE thinks that's supposed to be apart from the obvious "Gotta bust into Black Egg Temple first". Hornet is the one person who presents to us—to Ghost—what's framed as a third option: confront and destroy the infection at its source.

And she doesn't bring it up like it's just another tactic for Ghost to consider, prim and indifferent to what they would do. She nudges them towards it, actively, up to the point where she throws herself into the fray against Hollow at a juncture that's uniquely dangerous to her and her alone just to make that option feasible.

Even when she's couching it in disclaimers that this is still Ghost's decision to make (and let's be fair, she's extremely not wrong about that lol), no one can pretend Hornet is unbiased. It's obvious in that buttoned-down Hornet kind of way that she is way the hell done with the increasingly tenuous stalemate that's kept Hallownest's desiccated corpse from collapsing in on itself. Personally it's hard for me not to read some Toriel Undertale-esque "My father was too entrenched in his own foolishness to pursue any course of action that would have DEFINITIVELY ended this" shade into her stance here, regardless of whether that's strictly true in canon.

And that bit—Hornet's hopes for an end to Hallownest's stasis, moreover her grim calculation of what needs to be done to get there—that's the bit I find super interesting but likewise tragic and depressing as shit, on multiple levels. In no small part because a) canon itself gestures towards Hornet feeling conflicted about the very plan she's pushing, and moreover b) she has at least two (2) damn good reasons to feel that way.

So, what do I mean by that? Let's look here first:

[Image description: A screenshot from Hollow Knight, of Hornet and Ghost inside the Temple of the Black Egg, standing in front of the unsealed egg itself. Hornet has been struck by the Dream Nail and her dialogue is displayed as follows: "... Could it achieve that impossible thing? Should it?" End description.]

As the curtain is about to drop on things one way or another, Hornet thinks,

... Could it achieve that impossible thing? Should it?

Now, looking at that last bit it's easy to go "Oh no, Hornet's worried that Ghost won't survive killing The Radiance!" And I do think that's part of it: Hornet is, categorically, not her father. By endgame it's clear she's not content to view her Void-borne siblings as tools to be used then disposed of. She's also well aware that as a healthy autonomous Vessel amongst the countless dead, Ghost is the only person left alive who has a fighting chance against The Radiance. Knowing someone is the only qualified candidate for the job doesn't make encouraging them to embrace a probable death sentence any less of a bitter pill to swallow, though. And odds are on that this sentiment extends to Hollow too, who IS going to die no matter what happens here. To put it bluntly, it's more than reasonable to conclude that Hornet hates the absolute fuck out of this.

But I don't think that's all there is to it either. Remember what I said earlier about The Pale King's bids for genocide? Well, it's not like the man deigned to limit his efforts to just the moth tribe.

"We do not choose our mothers... "

On top of everything else—an infected Hallownest being all she's ever known, the fact that she only exists because of the infection, the list goes on—Hornet has spent her life wedged into a position that's been uncomfortable and terminally unglamorous at best: she is both a daughter of her father's kingdom and of Deepnest.

Deepnest, which like the moths and many others was here long before the wyrm and his lady wife swanned onto the scene and the God Become Bug laid claim to everything the Light touched plus a considerable amount of change. THAT Deepnest, which has fought claw and thread to retain its sovereignty against same-said settler king, and for which Herrah not only surrendered her life but also agreed to bed her worst enemy, all in hopes of securing a viable future for her people (put a pin in that last part by the way, I'll come back to it soon).

Two Worlds, One Family (Ft. An Indigenous Woman Trying Her Damndest To Work With What She's Got Versus An Imperialist Who Only Signed Up For This Because He Needed The Political Favor THAT Badly, So It's The Height Of Dysfunctional Actually). Fun times!!!!

The baggage this entails for Hornet is gnarly enough without implications made by The White Lady and the pre-canon timeline of events and even Team Cherry's dev notes that the king may well have looked at baby Hornet, gone "YOINK", then ensured she spent the lion's share of her childhood reared within the pearly auspices of his Pale Court*. That would be rather advantageous for Him Specifically after all, the potential to mold a born foe into a future ally and even have her trained in combat under the same tutelage as her doomed sibling. And far be it from him to stop a grown Hornet—his own flesh and blood too!—from making Deepnest her forever home if she so pleased. He totally wouldn't be reneging on his "fair bargain made" by doing this one simple thing until Hornet came of age, not t e c h nic c a l l y.

If that is indeed the case, there's a non-zero chance Hornet's formative years were a hot mess of cultural alienation and being a good deal more privy than most to just how much of a bastard her father could be. There's an equally non-zero chance that at some point she stood or sat within earshot as The Pale King finally, finally dropped all pretense and euphemism to name the Light for precisely what (for who) it was.

See, in conjunction with the question that started this whole dang train of thought I've been asking this one too: Does Hornet know? When she speaks of confronting "the heart of [the] infection" does she know she's talking about not just a literal person but someone very specific? The Radiance, who god though she may be shares skin in the game alongside Hornet as a native woman screwed over by the same settler king, likewise deprived of her kin and saddled with a life gone horrendously pear-shaped?

I'll assume for the sake of exploring the possibility and because I think it's a likely one anyway that yes, Hornet does know. She knows, and despite everything can't help empathizing. She might even look at Radiance and see bits and pieces both reflected and slightly inversed in her own mother: Radiance was forced to the sidelines while her people—her children, the brood she was meant to lead and care for—died out under The Pale King's rule, and it's no stretch to assume she's at least as upset about that as she has been about everything else; Herrah too took drastic measures for her people's sake, trying to head off annihilation by relegating herself to the sidelines in an act that was as much calculated risk as an attempt to find wiggle room and leverage in the face of a nasty proposition.

A calculated risk that, if things continue as they are, might well amount to nothing as the rest of Deepnest gets eaten alive by the infection. It survived The Pale King's advances for so so long, only to fall here. Herrah's sacrifice would be for naught; the other tribes—themselves the king's victims—would keep succumbing to the infection too.

And this is where things fall apart.

"... or the circumstance into which we are born."

Let's be clear: I think Hornet is wise enough to know what's what here, that all the carnage and suffering falls on her father's head for starting this slow-motion trainwreck in the first place. Hallownest wasn't always Hallownest. This domain was Radiance's home first, along with many others. It was the worm-turned-king who rolled up on the scene unsolicited and decided this was a ""'problem""" that had to be """solved""".

But the fact of the matter is that he's gone and The Radiance is here, raging, seemingly inconsolable. Above and beyond being Deepnest's rightful heir, Hornet isn't in a position to countenance more splash damage even if the grief and fury fueling it makes perfect sense. She can understand without ever bringing herself to love Radiance, and she can bend her knee to practicality even if she hates the everloving shit out of it because the fact that it "has" to end this way isn't fair.

This lends itself to one last awful conclusion: that Hornet has probably considered and (rightly or wrongly) discarded the possibility that Radiance can be saved, at least not without dragging more collateral along for the ride. If even her mother and every other enemy to the king seemed to dismiss talking Radiance down as an option way back when... well. Why should Hornet hope for any better after things have escalated so far?

Again, it's practical. A practical net good is what Hornet strives for. And again, it fucking sucks.

For extra tragedy points, this makes Hornet's extended crypticness around Ghost followed by her last minute casting about for a reason to tell them "Wait, don't; not just yet" that she never voices even more of a gut punch. She can't bring herself to burden Ghost with the context that haunts her so, least of all when it might weaken their resolve to go through with what (she thinks) needs doing.

It's the "same song, different verse" which led to the mantis tribe and Deepnest being pitted against each other: Hallownest rigged the game so that two women who could have been powerful allies—who have a mutual vested interest in driving out settler rule—wound up poised as enemies instead. And how awful is that? The king for all his being extremely fucking dead still gets the last laugh, because outside of a miracle the game never manifests Hornet can salvage what her mother started and look forward to a future where Deepnest pulls itself back from the brink if and only if The Radiance dies.

Resolution comes at the price of a completed genocide. Add two more dead siblings to the unconscionable pile thereof, while we're at it. That's what it boils down to whether or not Hornet can bear to articulate it as such, and there's no grace or even a properly bittersweet ending to wring from this clusterfuck. And that is rough.

———

* This has been better explained elsewhere, but a quick rundown: The White Lady tells Ghost that Hornet and Herrah "were permitted little time together." On its surface this can be taken to mean that Hornet was still very young when Herrah was shipped off to Eternal Dreamland—except this doesn't jive with the fact that we meet Hornet as an adult. If the stasis kicked in once the Dreamers went to their rest, which in turn halted the aging process for every living bug in Hallownest, AND before all this Hornet experienced little by the way of quality time with her birth mother... I think you can see where I'm going with this.

To top it off we've got Team Cherry weighing in ominously from their dev notes on Herrah: "As part of the agreement for her alliance and her role as a dreamer, King gave her a child (Hornet). Was she allowed to keep this child or was she taken away?" This isn't confirmation by itself of course, but given additional canon details (see above): Can I get a "yikes" in the chat fellas.

[raamitsu]

hi! i’m the anon and i’m sorry if my ask was confusing. i’m not a native english speaker either and i did type all that very fast, so the fault here is mine. regarding mikey, what i was trying to say is that he is very unwell mentally at the moment and if hanma does take the lives of all the people that were dead in the original timeline (mitsuya, chifuyu, hakkai, akkun and takemichi) as that twitter post suggests, i don’t see how him being defeated and understand that he is not invincible would help him. if that theory is correct the last arc would go down like this (i think): hanma kills four important characters, mikey confronts takemichi, takemichi obviously defeats mikey, takemichi then dies by the hands of hanma. the only dream mikey has, that we’re shown, is to have a family, made by all the people he loves. while life is cruel like that and it takes away your dreams and sometimes even the people you love, his dream was not something like going into one specific college or taking that career, that even if it does not happen, your life can readjust and you can do something else and be happy. having a family or friends or community or even-just-one-person is a basic human need. losing someone leaves you with a permanent and invisible bleeding wound and if we count all the people mikey has lost and stands to lose with that theory, we can say the boy would be flayed to the bone by the end. so i guess what i’m trying to say is that i’m not sure how a speech, that granted would change his self image, would prevent him to say to himself “fuck it, why should i pull through this hell to be alone; all the people who wanted me happy are dead, i can be happy with them in the afterlife”. having a support group is important when rehabilitating and healing, but maybe i’m just projecting myself and what i would do and think and yeah i’m not taking into consideration that there would still be left kakucho, which so far has been shown to care about mikey(i’m not considering benkei, waka and takeomi because they, to our knowledge, did not reach out after shin’s death and that was shitty of them -but maybe they had reasons idk). so i’m probably just wrong about it and don’t see the bigger picture and if wakui does take this route i’m pretty sure he will give us something that makes sense (so far i’ve always liked wakui’s choices for his story so i don’t doubt that he will deliver a satisfying ending) and it’s also been months since i last reread TR so i’m probably forgetting things and details about the story as a whole. i hope this makes sense lol and your reply was amazing, thank you.

OH HERE WE GO -

First of all, to you my dear Anon: I am deeply apologized for not responding to you sooner as I received this. Days have been busier with Eid celebration and more, but never once I forgot your ask, and of course I wanted to properly reply you with the best answers like anyone else but unfortunately these are the only "best" way I could've figured. Once again I am deeply sorry if my respond still left you with another unsatisfactory. I tried my best to understand the main point of your messages.

Alright, I'll just get to the point and make it short here: I think what you were trying to imply here was “I cannot see a point in "saving Mikey" only by the methods of kicking his ass and having people who he loves dearly remain by his side.”

Truthfully speaking, there is NONE; as in 'no decent ways to save Mikey'. I convinced majority of TR manga readers, especially the intellectual Mikey stans have always been concious enough to realize that none of those could have made Mikey changed into his old self ever again. I guess I could understand why you were wondering about this because if there IS another way to save Mikey, it won't change every damages that has been done, but as long as he can be stopped, every possible methods has to be taken as a consideration.

In the beginning of final arc where Takemichi accidentally time leaped to ten years in the past, he already had a mission beforehand, which was to to 'save Mikey' and along that period of time while he was still figuring a way to do so, he determined about 'dealing with Mikey alone' and by that, it could be a possibility that it was an early measurement he has chosen at the time, until he decided to join Brahman and had Draken to help him. The same thing was repeated when he got into hospital after being kicked out to death by Mikey in the Three Deities War. Indeed, Takemichi has chosen to fight and face Mikey again and that's when you realized he spent times considering some alternatives (If not mistaken, few days before and during the hospital rooftop watching fireworks with Hina) and finalized his choice on what he should do to achieve his goal. Can we blame him for that? A bit, perhaps. But can any decent or even more professional methods will instantly solve the current issue that Mikey is experiencing? Nah. Proffesional methods, as we know better, would've applied after stopping him from continuing his crimes. You gotta realized that if Mikey himself decided to return to the world of delinquency and chose to be critically vicious, engaged in a fight that involved illegal businesses + deaths compiled, then there is NO OTHER WAY to stop or save him.

In conclusion, you may learned that most of us wanted to believe with simple methods like 'kicking his ass' , 'let him know people love him' or even 'make him realized that he is and not going to be invicible forever' could've been the only ways to pull Mikey out of his dark path that he claimed he chose for himself. Just like how Takemichi chose to bring everyone together and fight Mikey though it was impossible to begin with, the same way we all wanted something to believe in even though we knew the chances are so small and pointless. That's all from me.

Before I leave, I'm taking this opportunity to thank @odifarts for summarizing this ask for me :)

I don't know who you are Anon but I wish you a very good day, always. Please feel free to share your thoughts and I'll try my best to respond them. Also apologies for any grammar mistakes! too lazy to double check 😅

[loki-darkprince-odinson]

King Loki, I apologize for the rant but I would like some advice.

My father always makes me feel like complete garbage. He is always putting me down, never appreciates me, and makes my depression so much worse. I'm fixing up a house to move in with my friends but I'm still stuck at the house since my parents won't help me get my license or a car, much less a job. I cook, do dishes, take care of the pets, take out the trash, get the mail, do my laundry, wash towels, and help with their laundry. I also take care of my sick mother and while I'm currently on summer break, I'm going to college to become a clinical psychologist. Even then, my father will point out other things that I don't do, and expects me to clean the entire house every day. He always talks about how he needs to do everything around the house yet all he does is sleep, play video games, and watch television. He also says he works hard yet on many occasions he says he sits on his ass all day on his tablet. He also yells so much. I get scared every day when he starts yelling because I worry he may leave us, which he has threatened before, or he may actually hit us. He never has hit either my mother or I yet, and says he never would but he slams and throws things when angry at us so it's his way of showing us how much he wants to hit us, even if he doesn't realize it. However, not only do I have many responsibilities, My depression makes it difficult for me to do much, and he makes it worse. Even when I do try to clean the house he always makes comments such as: "About time." or "How long until it gets cleaned next time?" or "This was half assed, you didn't do it right." I have tried so hard to have a connection with him but I'm so tired of fighting for a relationship that he doesn't care about. I can't address my concerns with him because he will threaten to not take me to college and pay the bills. Do you have any advice to help me deal with my father until I can escape?

Best regards, Catrina.

“Catrina,” Loki drawls, in his smooth resonate voice. “I firstly must commend your good work. For caring for your ill mother, minding the household needs, and that you get up in the morning even if your soul is weary and your bones ache for a rest; that you keep on living even if you do not know how to anymore. Secondly, you have my deepest sympathies for your grievances. I am all too familiar with what it is like to seek the approval of a parent; only for there to be none in return.” His eyes were completely unfocused, yet his pallid features bore the most intense concentration as memories flowed unbidden.

He says nothing for a moment. Then, something in the edge of his mouth—and the corner of his eyes—resembled the ghost of a sad smile.

“Those whom I knew and called my mother and father are dead. That much is beyond dispute. They were not my real parents, but they raised me as their own. I daresay they loved me. That had been in dispute, at least in my own mind for awhile. I found out very late that my identity was a lie. Not Asgardian, not a son of Odin, I was completely unmade. That was how I felt when I learned of my true parentage. I was a fraud, a monster; it explained so much. It explained why I never felt like I fit in, why I would never be my brother's equal, why I would never get what I'd been promised my whole life.” His voice was soft, hoarse. Intent.

Loki raises his left hand and rests his forefinger against his lips as a line forms between his own eyebrows in thought.

“I have lingered around Midgard long enough to come to an understanding of how your minds tick. I shall do my best to give advice where I can.

Try, if you will, to put things into perspective. The most loving parents commit murder with smiles on their faces. They force one to destroy the person they really are: a subtle kind of murder. Even the most loving parents damage their children with the best intentions—to protect them, to guide them, to better them. In most cases, it would appear they do it by imprinting their own fears and prejudices on them.

The point is, parents are mere, imperfect people.

They have flaws, struggles and impaired judgement. They have both emotional and intellectual handicaps. Regardless of their parental role, they are afflicted by personal blockages and limitations.

But most of all, they are people who make mistakes, and who are terrified of being judged by their children.

Learn to see your difficult parent as just that; human. Learn to see their emotional immaturity as a type of disability.

With that in mind, you would do well to keep your expectations of them low.

In many ways the effect a difficult parent has on ones self is fueled by their feelings of injustice and the belief that things could be different, or ought to be different.

In other words, your expectations dictate how you feel.

You need to let go of your expectations and accept your parent for who they are.

You cannot expect someone with, say, a narcissistic personality, to act with empathy and kindness. No more than you can expect a scorpion not to sting.

Difficult parents are much easier to deal with when you accept that they will not change. So do not expect of them more than they are capable of, and you will not be disappointed or hurt.

Do not fall into the illusion of guilt, Catrina.” He warns. “A difficult parent loves nothing more than to make you feel like you’ve hurt them. Or, in a different scenario, like you’re a bad person if you do not do something they ask.

Do not fall for it. If they’re setting a guilt trap, calmly tell them that you do not appreciate being emotionally manipulated, and you will not tolerate it anymore.

Manipulators, and I should know, detest being called out on their dirty tricks.

If they continue to harass you, reiterate that you cannot do what they’re asking you to do this time, and you need them to respect that.

The trick is agreeing with everything they’re saying (how can they argue when you agree with them?) and re-stating your decision over and over again.

Now this part I find to be… far more easier said than done. You must let go of the need for your father's approval, Catrina. It goes without saying that every child needs and wants their parents’ approval. It is normal to want it, and it is normal to receive it.

Yet so many have to accept the fact that this is not going to happen. For whatever reason, their parent has chosen to withhold their approval. Some difficult parents do it as a form of punishment. While others hope to influence their child in the “right” direction.

Most likely, your father loves you, but they have a very warped idea of what parental love is.

In their misguided quest to make you into a version of themselves, they missed the chance to get to know you. And so they cannot appreciate you for the wonderful being that you are.”

He shrugs elegantly. “It is their loss. When you realize this and let go of the need for their approval, you will be able to start living your life in a whole new way.

When confronting your father, be direct and calm without expecting a specific response. That is the part you cannot control. The part that is within your control is letting your thoughts and feelings known, which is empowering.

Stick to the facts and use “I” statements such as, “I feel like my words do not matter to you when you constantly interrupt me” or “I feel scared and misunderstood when you yell at me”

Remember that manipulative parents are not known for their empathy. They will try to confuse you, go on the offensive, or assume the role of a victim.

Do not allow them to bully you into submission by invoking guilt or pity. State your case in a calm and polite manner, and stay cool regardless of their response.

Your goal is to be honest about your feelings, and to make it clear that you will not tolerate certain behaviors.” He softly clears his throat.

“Last but not least, an unhappy alternative is forgoing the relationship that is too harmful. I know, a parent is not someone you can so easily cut out of your life. But if all else fails and your father continues to cause you psychological harm, then this may very well need to be taken into considerable consideration; at least for the foreseeable future. Sometimes it is the only logical recourse.

A parent that is fundamentally incapable of showing love and support, unable to see the error of their ways after numerous attempts to communicate how their behavior or words affect you, consistently dismissive, demeaning or critical, manipulative in a habitual manner, punishing and cruel whenever you disobey, are disrespectful of your boundaries and using threats and intimidation to get what they want is a destructive force that will continue to tear you down until you put a stop to it.

It is not an easy feat, my dear. The parent-child bond is hardwired into the brain, which means children get attached to even the most awful of parents.

But consider the cost of having that toxic relationship in your life—stress breeds anxiety, depression, internalized feelings of inadequacy, and failed personal relationships.

I wish you all the best, Catrina. I truly do.”

[fy-2pm]

[TRANS] 2PM's Junho 'ESQUIRE' Interview

Summer 2021, Drunk in Junho

The hot and gentle story Junho and I shared with "W by Windsor"

Q: The book "If Our Language is Whiskey" by Haruki Murakami is chosen for the shooting with "W by Windsor" (Hereinafter "W"). It's the perfect combination for a "Whiskey trip" to Scotland and Ireland with the 100% Scottish "W."

JH: This will be interesting. I like reading books. I've been reading a lot lately.

Q: What kind of book do you usually read?

JH: I don't have a favorite reading here. I try to read different kinds of genre and not just focus on a specific genre. Recently, I am into how to handle diseases and death. I read a variety of books. It feels good to know something. If I know about a certain topic, when we talk, we can share our opinions. Even while I was in the army, I don't want to miss the trend so I read more at that time.

Q: You read more during your army. Did anything change since you were discharged?

JH: It's been more than 100 days since my discharge and it's been really hectic. These were the busy days that I've missed, but I managed to adjust really quickly without any hard feelings. It feels like there is no empty space. I don't think I have changed a lot but I think my mindset has changed a bit. Comparing with the past, I want to treat everything more leisurely. I don't want to feel the rush, the struggle or under attack. I just want to do things step by step. That kind of feeling? I think the people around me can see this feeling too.

Q: That's right. 2PM members said "Junho has a hot temper"

JH: When I say I will do something, I will do it right away. I've achieved a lot because of this personality. However, as I look back to myself, there are times when I think if I should have thought about a little more.

Q: During the "Army hiatus" you received a nickname 'My House Junho'. When you find out, how did you react?

JH: It was at autumn 2019 when I just started serving. Because I really miss the stage, I've been looking up 2PM and my own videos. I could see that the number of views for "My House Junho" has increased gradually. I just thought, 'This will come to a stop soon'. It's like an event.

Q: It's a video but there are some interesting comments. It feels like a playground.

JH: It's becoming like a community. In there, it feels like you are competing with each other to see who can write something more interesting. It's amazing. One of the most memorable commend said, "I only realize what is spring after the flowers fell." It sounds sad but feels good. (Note: This is a common Korean phrase meaning I only realized something or someone is good after he/she it's gone)

Q: Spring has come again. You have come again.

JH: It means that we were like flowers. But ironically, I don't think we are gone yet.

Q: The more you think about it, the more touching this is.

JH: I think "My House" received a lot of love not because of algorithm or luch, but because fans have real interest in the song. Just by sharing the video, clicking to view and leaving comments, there are all hard work by fans. This is making it fun and we came across a situation where we can do this all over again. Thank you very much.

Q: It becomes a famous "Icon of Hard Work" and it's seeing the light.

JH: For whatever it is, my personality is to try to achieve it. At one point in time, I thought making an effort itself is difficult. After living like this for a long time, I got used to it and now, I don't think of it as making an effort anymore. I've been working hard on my exercise and die but this just become part of my daily life. But I do think about, 'How much long do I have to do this?' (Laugh).

Q: I think you're a person who will not give up. Junho played the role of Dong-Woo in the movie <Twenty>, where he gave up his dream and said, "Do you know how hard it i to give up?" Not giving up is hard but giving up is hard, too.

JH: I haven't really thought about give up. But if I do give up, I am going to give it up entirely so that I won't remember what happened. To the extreme where is either all or nothing. This is why I don't give up anymore. If you give up something, all that you have done is like nothing had happened.

Q: Even for giving up perfectionism.

JH: With this personality, it used to make me feel really tired. People around me must be tired, too. At one point in time, I feel this is just the way it is. There is nothing wrong with being perfect. But now, I think it's okay to be imperfect. I came to the realization that I cannot do everything by myself. There are also many people who are helping me.

Q: From "Best Idols" to everyone's "Adult Idols". When it comes to adult, you cannot skip the alcohol.

JH: I can't drink that often because I have to take care of my body with exercise and diet. But I do enjoy it. These days, I cannot just drink freely outside, so I will take a sip at home. Drink a little bit of Whiskey and it will make you fall asleep comfortably. I enjoy my alone time like that at home. I used to think coffee and alcohol are bitter. "Why would I drink that?" Now that I know the taste of coffee, I bought a coffee machine. I am also collecting vintage wine. I buy them and give them to people around me as gifts. Let's say you want to drink beer just as cold as coke. For Whiskey, you pour it out to enjoy the taste and aroma. I don't understand this taste before. I thought it was for just people who enjoy strong flavors.

Q: Knowing the taste of coffee and alcohol is like a symbol of adulthood. Especially for Whiskey, that's like the preservation of a mature adult. Actually, I go a little worried when I saw an article saying Junho is not good at drinking. I wonder if you will go well with "W."

JH: Right, I haven't talk much about alcohol. There were articles like "He could only take one glass of beer" or "He went home so early" for the after parties. I think the fans know that I am a weak drinker but it's not bad for them to think I am cute because of that. But I am not that crazily weak! (Laughs)

Q: There's this article where you said "I usually drink well but I refused to drink at an after party yesterday because of thinks interview". So I thought, "Being a weak drinker self-management is on another level"

JH: For sure, if you have a schedule, you have to have some self control. Even if you drink, just enough to feel good. But even if I drink and go to sleep, I feel refreshed the next day. I don't know if it's because my liver is still in good condition, but I don't usually suffer from hangovers.

Q: Many people say that you will suffer less hangovers drinking Whiskey than other alcohol. I think "W" is good for people like Junho who enjoys drinking comfortably.

JH: I think "W" is especially refreshing. It has a good aroma and it's smooth to swallow. Comparing with other alcohol, Whiskey seems to have a higher entry level but you can have "W" easily. Actually, it has a lower alcohol level than normal Whiskey. During today's filming, I can feel the aroma and I've been sipping little by little. Maybe that's why I feel good now (Laugh).

Q: What food will go well with "W"?

JH: They often have nuts and chocolate with Whiskey but i would like to recommend tteokbokki. It's not the spicy tteokbokki but the one with beef and sweet soy sauce. You may think "What do you mean by having tekkbokki with Whiskey?" Just do it. It goes well together.

Q: How do you usually drink Whiskey?

JH: It all depends on my mood or situation. I think you find your own way that suits you, so you can drink comfortably. If you want to go to sleep quickly, drink it in a small glass in one shot. If you want to watch a movie, drink it cold with ice. I've been drinking Whiskey with ice and that got me interested in big block of ice. I even looked up YouTube videos where bar mixologist carved some ice balls. I even thought about buying an ice ball maker.

Q: It's all about "equipment" (Laugh)

JH: Even for coffee, I started not knowing anything but I was curious. I bought coffee beans and did the grinding myself. But the grinding size is too big so I went to study how to make it smaller. It became more fun. The scope of Whiskey is even wider when you have experience the different between having Whiskey on its own or having it with it.

Q: In JTBC's <Knowing Bros> when talked about the reverse popularity with "My House Junho" Wooyoung said "It's all because of Junho's virtue. Junho is very careful in everything so that he won't hurt the members. He will sacrifice for the team" I wonder why he feels like this.

JH: I am working as 2PM and as an actor, so all my schedules need to go well together. There are times when drama comes, so I have to turn down 2PM activities. I think that can happen but it's normal. As an actor, it's difficult to do other things when you are involve in a drama. Even though, I can multi-task my schedules, it's still a problem I need to solve. So even when I don't have much sleep, I don't want to show I'm tired. I always want to make myself feel good.

Q: I think 2PM's charms are "bonds between members" and "consistency". Both sounds easy but it's difficult to do. How did you keep up?

JH: Consideration is the most important and you should never think selfishly. We have been together for 14 years, so one of us could have done that to another person. We weren't adults when we started, so we are always talking to each other and still is today. Our tastes, our personalities and what we want to do are all different. For sure, we compromise and we give in for others but we became more considerate. This is when you know this friend is so kind and considerate. I think this is similar to what Wooyoung said.

Q: Becoming a senior idol

JH: Over the years, we have accumulated lots of experienced and our fields were being broaden. I think we can be a good example with how we stayed together and continue to work as singers. "Bukae" is the trend these days (Note: Bukae means a second job)

Q: Do you any advice fro the juniors?

JH: Umm, let's do well? (Laugh). There's a big difference between good and bad examples. Always watch what you say. Always watch what you do. I hope we can promote happily with the juniors.

Q: There's this "daily energy". It's the energy that shape your daily life with small changes. What shapes Junho's daily life?

JH: Before the schedules start, I must get up. By doing so, it already shape my day.

Q: The process of being fully occupied and working hard is beautiful. Of course, the results are often great. "W" is also trying to maintain the brand's reputation by carefully selecting the undiluted Scotch Whiskey in Scotland. Junho, I wonder what effort you are making to keep o

JH: And I try not to sleep during my schedules unless I'm very tired. I want to do everything with a clear mind. When you wake up, you're dazing. There was a time when we had schedules at Seoul, Daejeon, Daegu and Busan in different broadcast programs. There was a time when I couldn't sleep on a bed for 2 weeks while we prepared for the end year ceremonies. I was sleeping in the moving car. It was all fun memory but at some point in time, we didn't know how it all went because it was so hectic. I really regret it because I don't want to forget as much as I can. That's why I became interested in photography and videography. I bought a camera and a camcorder to record.

Q: You've been busy since 17. I wonder if you have gone through adolescence.

JH: Of course, I did right? (Laughs). On the other hand, my parents worked in double jobs, so my realization of their importance came a little early. My dad worked as a sea navigator. I didn't see him for 6-12 months so I miss him even more. When I was in elementary school, I went to my mom's workplace and called out to her until she answered me and I cried "I miss you." Now that I think about it, I wonder how busy they were.

Q: The process of being fully occupied and working hard is beautiful. Of course, the results are often great. "W" is also trying to maintain the brand's reputation by carefully selecting the undiluted Scotch Whiskey in Scotland. Junho, I wonder what effort you are making to keep your own color.

JH: I like things that are natural and light. I want to be a person who doesn't provoke or irritate, just like a piece of paper. Sometimes, it can be hard to keep it plain because I have my hot temper and fire but having this mindset keeps me neutralized. In <I Live Alone>, I used the moktak and this is one of my effort to do so. It's relaxing and makes me calmer.

Korean to English translation @JLML718 (Twitter)