#you'd think this is super specific and no one else can relate to this

[magnetothemagnificent]

The Rebecca Rubin doll lover to transmasc Bucky Barnes kinnie pipeline

[monstersflashlight]

Commissions info

Hi there! I'm offering commissions now, too. If you have any request and want to help an autistic gal to get some money you would make me super happy. :)

You can also suscribe to my Patreon on the higher tier to get a commission (info here). I think this is the smartes choice, but each one their own.

What can I request? You can request anything similar to what I've already written, the masterlist has a bunch of examples if you are interested. I write anything relating monsters (sfw and nsfw). Please specify if you want a SFW story.

How long would it take? Between 3-7 days (if it's more I'd give you a heads up).

How long would the story be? Less than 1k words +4€, and between 1-3k words +10€, but that's open for discussion if you want a longer piece. Currently not taking longer commissions.

Where would it be posted? The commissions would be posted here on tumblr and they will have priority over all other stories. You'd be mentioned in the post (or not if you don't want to).

How much would it cost? Depends on the length, starting from 4€ or 10€ (as explained), as much as you'd like to give me for my work. 😊

Can I do more than one comission at the time? Yeah, sure. You can comission as much as you want, but I have a 5 comissions at the time limit. Once I finish one comission, a new spot will appear, and so on.

Can I comission for any monsters? Yes. Any monster and situation you want. I do allow myself to refuse if I don't feel comfortable with it, you will be given your money back.

Can I comission a story of my own OCs? Yes! As long as you give me the details of them, I'm more than happy to try bring them to life. This can be done either on x reader version or OC x OC. You can also include their names. I do not accept commissions of my OC (for example you can't comission a part of alien inspector), but I do accept following parts of stories I post here.

Could I read it before anyone else? You can get snipets of the story as I write it, or we can arrage a way for me to send you the story finished and you can have the final say in little details. The main story will not change, but I'm open for discussion if there's a few minor stuff you want to change (for example: I don't like the term slut, I prefer whore...).

How would it be? The transaction would be through ko-fi, you can find it here.

What I do NOT write? Hard non-con, rape, scat, offensive stuff (de-trans, race play, misogyny...), feederism, underage and gun-play. For anything else, you can ask me if you aren't sure.

Don't hesitate to ask me some more if you still have doubts about it or if you want specifics, as always my DMs are open and my ask box, too.

[windvexer]

Using Tarot to Identify: a Person From a Large Group [2/2]

This post is part 2 of a series. Read part 1 here.

As opposed to identifying someone in a small group of people, trying to identify someone out of a huge group makes it a heck of a lot harder to choose which meanings to discard.

Here is where you've got to let your questions and spreads do more of the work.

Try framing the identification through a series of readings, each one applying a filter over the nebulous figure until one defined person appears.

Since we have to cut through vast swaths of information, spreads can help us by providing more complex logical arguments to parse that information.

A simple 1 or 3 card spread is just defining is: the person is this way. Consider other options:

Is: This is true of them; they are like this; they are with this

Not: The person is not like this; they are inverse to this; they are without this

And: Two or more things must be true in order for any of them to be true

But: This is only true if it defies expectations in a specific way

If, Then, Else: If this is true, then something else will necessarily be true; otherwise only the third thing will be true

Someone would like to know how to identify their future husband. If you just drew a 3-card is spread, you'd end up with something that could doubtless apply to thousands of people in a 100 mile radius.

"He's responsible and take-charge at work, and very ambitious. He enjoys a comfortable home and emotional connections." A bit pointless, isn't it?

Develop spreads with specific logical arguments that define how the cards exist in relation to the truth. He's ambitious, not cutthroat. He's kind, and a pushover. He's generous, but only with emotional support. If he marries you, then he already has children; else this is not your match.

We might arrive at the following to help identify the potential spouse:

2-card and spread: He will always think he's right (King/Swords) and views his own intelligence as a heavy burden (10/Wands).

Above, if only one of these things is true of a person, then they are not the potential husband-to-be; both things must be true.

2-card but spread: He will love animals and creatures (Page/Pentacles), but only super creepy ones that give you anxiety (9/Swords).

Below, the if-then-else spread can be utilized to address specific questions. "Will he be rich?"

3-card is spread: His financial future is not set in stone (Wheel of Fortune), he has a stable career (8/Pentacles), he is closed-fisted when it comes to money (6/Pentacles Reversed). 2-card if, then, else spread: If he is rich, then it will be new money from a lucky break (9/Cups), or else he will be a bit of a miser who is always trying to get a lucky break (4/Pentacles).

Combining these two spreads together, we may perhaps surmise that this man could be self-employed or involved in contracts or speculation that could provide large windfalls.

The point is that these small spreads are not standalone, but should be stacked together to observe the commonalities between all of them, and to see how they affect and influence each other.

Linking spreads together in this fashion can make successive readings easier, as later spreads must cleave to standards already established by earlier spreads. This allows you to cut out more irrelevant meanings.

Practically speaking, your goal in identifying a person is not necessarily to paint a complete portrait of them, but rather to define a few specific circumstances or traits that makes them easily identifiable once you get there.

Our top-down view is identifying an individual out of perhaps thousands. But, in reality, your querent isn't going to be interviewing thousands of potential partners.

In reality, the pool of people your querent has to sort through is going to be limited to the people they meet. They don't have to compare their hypothetical spouse to everybody, just to other people they have met.

Hypothetically, out there around us, there could be hundreds of egotistical self-employed atheists who love snakes and spiders. But we don't need to identify only one of them as compared to the others.

We need to only identify egotistical self-employed snake atheists to, say, the single dad who volunteers at his church, the homesteader who raises donkeys, and the listless student who just wants to go backpacking for a while after college.

So when identifying people, ask yourself what kind of unique traits will be necessary to separate this person from the background noise.

Are you trying to identify one person in the entire tristate area herpetology society? Well, then we're back to the concepts of part 1 - drop meanings that apply to everyone in your target group, and focus on indicators that can only apply to some.

Stack readings to whittle down possibilities until you get to a set of unique circumstances or indicators that can only apply to a few people in that group.

[capybaraonabicycle]

How many holes does a straw have?

@i-send-you-random-asks

(asking you specifically cause i think you'd have an interesting answer)

Ohhh, yes, this is my question! Thank you, dear!

Short answer:

That depends on your definition of 'hole'. Topology says 1.

Long answer:

Since this depends on your definition of hole, I can think of 5 answers that can be rationalised and make some flavour of sense:

(@marvellouspinecone helped me with some of these a while back and might have additional info, so I am going to credit her here.)

0 holes

You can define a hole as something that makes an object broken, or at least as something you have to put into a finished object AFTER construction. This could be something like a tear in the fabric or a hole you have drilled into the 'wall' of the straw. Ergo, a functioning straw does not have any holes. It looks exactly as it was designed to be.

1 hole

This is the math answer. As said in the infamous post, a straw is 'topologically equivalent' to a torus. To be precise, it is homotopic to a torus.

First question: What is a torus?

Answer: Basically a donut. It looks like this:

[ID: image of a torus. It looks like a donut with a checkered surface. end ID]

Second question: What does 'homotopic' mean?

Answer: This is where it gets math-y technical, but in a way it means that we can continuously transform either of the objects into the other - in a nice way.

Imagine, our straw was made of super-clay: we can't rip it or glue it together at any point, but we can pull and push it together however we like, even changing its density. So we could stretch some parts to become very big and shrink others a lot. We can also bend and twist it a little.

So, we take our straw and we push it together in the direction of its length until the very long straw becomes short like a ring. And then we pull on the 'walls' to make them nice and fat and round. Tada! We have made a donut!

(We can do this in the other direction, too, pull the torus (donut) out long and then make the walls thin - then we get a straw.)

The thing about such homotopies is, they preserve the number of holes an object has. Hence, the straw has exactly as many holes as the torus (donut)!

Third question: How many holes does a torus have?

Answer: In topology, we have something called the Euler characteristic. It is a number that gets assigned to surfaces based on their properties (you can calculate it via triangulation but let's not go there.) A sphere (ball) has Euler characteristic 2. Each hole in a surface lowers the Euler characteristic by 2. The torus (is an orientable surface and) has Euler characteristic 0, so it has one hole.

(If you'd like to have the more exact explanation, it is attaching handles to a surface that reduce the Euler characteristic by 2 and add a hole. And a torus is homotopic to a sphere with one handle attached.)

Thus, a straw has one hole.

2 holes

If we define a hole as an indentation in an object that allows us (or something else) to enter a certain distance into the object, a straw has two holes. One on the top and one on the bottom.

This definition actually makes sense, since we call holes we dig into the Earth 'holes'. In the mathematic sense, they aren't, they're indentations that can (with the super clay idea) be flattened out. But with these holes we don't care about whether it will lead somewhere or just have a floor somewhere at the bottom, you can go in, so it's a hole.

If we forget about the fact that the straw leads 'one hole into the other', so like, if we were very small (or the straw very big) and we would merely walk across the outside and look into the holes, we would find two holes on the straw, one on the bottom, one on the top. If we don't enter, we wouldn't even know they were connected.

With this definition you have to be a little bit careful about when you start calling something a hole. I would reckon there needs to be a certain percentage-relation between depth of hole vs circumference of entrance to hole before you call it such. And maybe also something about size and shape and sharpness of edge - like, you wouldn't call a valley a hole, probably? But like, the straw fulfils the requirements of this hole easily, and twice.

3 holes

Okay, this one is merely for fun and play, don't get mad at me. But, say we define a hole kinda like above, as an entrance to the inside of an object. And we further define hole as any way through an object. Then we end up with something I like to call a 'hole-interval' through the straw.

So, we have one hole (rim at the top) to get into the straw, one hole (the straw, basically) to get through the straw and a third whole (rim at the bottom) to get out of the straw.

This is nonsense, obviously, but I like it, because there is a very nice mathematical feeling to it, resembling a closed interval. A closed interval [a, b] is just one object, but it has three parts that are often regarded independently of the others: the open interval (a, b) in the middle and the edge points {a} and {b}. For example, if you were to test the continuity of a function, you would often regard these three cases separately. So, in a way, there is beauty in regarding the 'three holes' of the straw as separate as well.

Infinitely many holes

This one is kinda nonsense as well, but I like the implications. If we define a hole as any instance of an object that is part of a tunnel through the object - I am using the word 'tunnel' here because actually, that tunnel would be the one hole in this case but for the sake of the definition, it can't be - then a straw is an infinite number of holes, stacked on top of each other. It is important to notice here that a hole cannot possibly have any depth in this case, just like the top and bottom holes in the last case.

This leads to two likely interpretations:

A) We have a hole at any real number (if we consider the straw as an interval along its length again). Then the straw would be made from uncountably infinitely many holes - which I think is an awesome concept.

B) We have a hole at any rational number. This would only give us a countably infinite number of holes in the straw and since Q is dense in R (don't worry about what that means), it would LOOK like the whole straw is made of holes, when in reality most of the straw would actually NOT HAVE ANY holes in it. Now isn't that the best thing you have heard all day?

And the best part : By this definition, not only would any straw be made of infinitely many holes, but any object with a hole in it would have infinitely many holes in it. Remember, for this to make sense, we needed to have holes with 0 depth. But any hole in reality has some depth. Punch a hole into a piece of paper: BAM infinitely many holes stacked on top of each other! :D

What have we learnt?

The most likely answers are 1 hole or 2 holes, depending on whether you take a more mathematical or more language-oriented approach. I think those were the two opinions most vocal in the original post as well.

But if you want to have fun, you can come up with very nice concepts and definitions to count holes by that give you a range of correct answers. Just make sure to think of the implications :)

[midnight-mourning]

1000 kudos/100 Follower Special!

wow so um, there’s a LOT of you now

👀👀👀

WHERE DID Y'ALL EVEN COME FROM LIKE?? HI!! 👋👋👋

AND ALSO

THIS???? CRAZY, incredibly appreciated <3 but also wild

anyway, I think that deserves celebrating! So, here’s a couple ideas I came up with for y’all to vote on, with the option of sharing other ideas in the comments, I’ll do the top two and save the others for the next milestone :)

If the 'other' option gets the most/second most votes, I'll do another poll with ideas that people suggested and we'll go from there. You can scroll down and click the read more if you'd like more info on each option! SO, having said all that:

Letting you guys make the call with this one! I have stuff prepped for all of it, just a matter of people voting since this is ME showing my appreciation to YOU. And again, next milestone will have the opportunity for the other choices :)

Also, this isn't just for followers/the moots either! Anyone is welcome to vote and participate if they'd like to 💙💙

Please also feel free to ask questions in the comments if that helps you with voting! Can't wait to see what you guys pick :D

I will expand on each option here for clarity in your decision making:

CS one-shot: I will write a one-shot (3,000-5,000 words prob) based in the CS universe. It will be canon to the fic but will never be mentioned/referenced in the fic itself so stand alone to read. It may be a future scene, may be based somewhere in the current timeline. Open to ideas on the POV and such (though I have some floating around that I can do ;))

Q&A/Ask the Cast: a classic, I know my ask box is open but here's also a clear chance to ask something that you've been really curious about! I won't share spoilers for the story, but everything else is on the table, including stuff about me, writing etc. Just no super personal questions is all! Additionally, you can ask the cast questions and answers will be in character, perhaps with a little doodle as well ^-^

Finished refs/busts for the cast of CS: I'll post the finished versions of the rough sketches I shared a few months ago, along with the remainder of the cast! This includes the rest of the engineering team, the division heads, the glamrocks, and the DCA! I also will include little blurbs for all the characters as well. This will probably happen eventually anyway BUT if you want them sooner rather than later this is you're chance if you're curious :)

Spooky Season one-shot: something halloween-related that again I'm open to ideas for! Would also be about 3,000-5,000 words in length, could be related to CS or not

Writing Requests: similar to the requests I did for reveal day, same rules apply (no nsfw, suggestive is fine, be specific if you want specific) but a little longer in length (500-1000 words)

Doodle requests: I provide you with a little drawing I made with tender love and care (would be lined, colored, shaded, etc.)

A peek into the drafts: I do in fact have a couple other fic ideas floating around in my brain that I simply haven't started so that I don't get bogged down/focus on CS. I would share those and a little bit of concept art

Other: explained above

[wuntrum]

do you have any tips for an artist who wants to start making one off comics? i really enjoy your artistic direction and style of story telling so i’m very interested in your thoughts on it

yes, definitely!!

-read lots of comics! and a variety of them, too--both ones in the sort of genre/style you'd like to make, but also ones in completely different genres, lengths, places of origin, traditionally/indie/digitally published, simple to experimental formatting, etc

-in relation to the last one, if a comic you read really speaks to you, take some time to study some page layouts from that comic! how do the panels vary from page to page? how much space is the text taking up? what sort of "shots" (to borrow from cinematic language lol) are they using? these shouldn't be fancy, just little thumbnails, but i find it really helps. here's a few i did from a guest in the house by emily carroll

-start smalllll. its really important to build up your stamina, just like with any new sort of skill. if you wanna make a graphic novel thats 200+ pages long, you should make some comics that are 1, 20, 50 pages long and see them through to the end before taking on a super big project.

-this is related to the last point, but i think keeping your cast of characters small at first can also help build up your comic stamina. signals was the first longer comic i made, so i specifically really wanted to focus on just jeanne (and occasionally her parents and peers when they showed up)

-character sheets are helpful, but i also think the easiest way to start getting your characters drawn consistently is through actually drawing the comic! there's also gonna be panels where they look "off" or whatever, and its literally fine, i promise

-through the smaller comics, experiment with how you go about writing your story! theres no right or wrong way to write/plan out a story so, it takes some trial and error to figure out what will work best with your work flow. for me, i've found success in making a timeline of events for the story -> loosely guessing how many pages i'll need/want per section of the story -> freewriting (trying not to edit too much, just dumping all the words out) -> thumbnailing/loose sketching/editing text (all sort of happens in the same step; i find i need the layouts in front of me to understand what i need/don't need from the text i wrote) -> tight sketching -> final . but, if that flow doesn't work for you, try something else! i know a lot of comics people find success in writing a script first, with indications of page and panel-by-panel breakdowns

-take shortcuts often and without guilt. its a lot of work to make a comic! theres just a lot of drawings involved, that most people aren't gonna look at for very long! i especially recommend for infrequent/difficult things, like buildings or crowds or cars or bookcases, using some sort of 3d asset/brush to make your life easier. if you can reuse a drawing and change the crop/expression, do it!

-use some sort of tracker to track your progress on how many pages you've sketched/inked/finished. even if you don't have an external deadline, i think it's still good to give yourself some sort of timeline to work on (i recommend setting "ideal" goals and "realistic" goals, especially if you're working/still in school/etc). for signals, i used google sheets, because you can set up columns to be attached to little circle charts, so as you check off your progress, you can really easily see how much you've done/how much you have left to do (as i type this i highkey forget how i did that before, with signals, so...you might need to do some sheets experimentation to actually do this lol. but there's probably other trackers you can use too)

-understanding comics and making comics by scott mccloud are both great books, highly recommend them (easy to get second hand/from your library/🏴‍☠️)

-lastly, haveee funnnnn

[imahinatjon]

Christmas Day with BSD

X reader

Headcannons?

Only did some characters, not all.

:D

Merry Christmas

Dazai, Osamu

• He Wakes you up early Christmas day.

• Not intentionally, he's not TRYING to wake you up. No he's actually running a bath of cold water to sink into.

• He's sort of trying to commit s in there.

• You find him and pull him out though.

• That was your morning.

• You don't open presents yet. No, first, you make breakfast

• Breakfast consists of the left over takeaway you had the night before.

• He'll take you outside if it's snowing. He heard of a new met- what? Your not letting him? Wellll, he does suppose it IS Christmas and he can go the rest of the day without another attempt.

• So, because that plan was a no, he comes up with a other one? What plan was that? Snowball fight!

• That's how most your time does, he does not know when to give up. So he just carries on and on and on until you can't feel your fingers, your noses are bright red and it's way too cold.

• Eventually you go inside though.

• You don't have Christmas Dinner, unless someone else from the ADA (probably Atsushi or even Kunikida) brings something to eat over. You just snack on whatever is in the house. Which isn't much.

• You do eventually open presents. He gets you books, all books you've expressed interest in and don't have yet.

• He also hides dried pressed flowers in the books as bookmarks - a real bouquet of flowers wouldn't last being wrapped up for god knows how long ready to give you on Christmas, so he took the time to press and dry some.

• As for what you got him? It doesn't matter really. You could get him anything and he'd be happy.

• Might make a remark, but ultimately he's just happy that you even got him something.

• The night ends rather nicely. A cup of how chocolate as you sit in bed watching cheesy Christmas films on a laptop.

Nakajima, Atsushi

• He Wakes up emotional. This is his first Christmas outside the orphanage.

• And he's waking up next to you.

• He isn't going to wake you up, he's just going to lie next to you for a while, enjoying the moment until you wake up.

• He's happy to do whatever you want to do on Christmas.

• Spoil him please, he deserves it.

• Presents are done in the morning.

• He got you Jewlery and Makeup - he consulted Naomi and Yosano on what to get.

• It's not super expensive, but don't forget he doesn't have a lot anyway. He also doesn't know a thing about brands and such.

• If it's pretty and he thinks you'd like it, he'll get it.

• As for what you get him? He's another one you can get literally anything for and he'll love it.

• He will cry.

• Don't worry about it.

• You have Christmas Dinner out. You go to a restaurant that does Christmas dinners. He made sure it was reserved weeks in advance.

• Snow! If it snows he'll get exited. Like, he wants to play in the snow, but be warn and wrapped up when he does, instead of freezing in some old thin clothes and not enjoying it.

• He's fun to play with in the snow, he just does what he feels like, which is throwing a lot of snow.

• He's happy to help build a snowman though - he's quite good at it.

• Also will make snow angels.

• If you ask, he'll turn into the tiger to play in the snow with you.

• He ends up going to sleep really early later that day, your cuddled up watching films on a phone, and he falls sleep 5 minutes in.

• He's had a busy day.

Edogawa, Ranpo

• Up really early and waking you up with him as he begs for presents. He really wants his presents.

• So thats the first thing you do.

• He's easy to buy for. You get him anything related to sweets and he's ecstatic - especially if they're really hard to come by snacks, or imported snacks from abroad.

• As for what he gets you? Remember that really expensive thing you mentioned a few months back? How you were looking to save up for this very specific collectable item?

• Well, he got it for you, you can stop saving now.

• Dinner is early. He wants to eat dinner early because then he'll have more room for snacks later.

• You comply because its Christmas.

• You cook dinner. He tries to help but gives up because he's useless in the kitchen. He just watches you cook.

• He doesn't want to play in the snow, but will if you want to. Don't expect too much enthusiasm though.

• The snow it pretty and he likes it, but it's also really cold and he's kinda lazy.

• He'd rather just sit with a cup of hotchocolate and watch the snow with you.

• You two don't watch films. Electronics are banned!

• You play bored games instead.

• You invite Fukuzawa and Yosano and play board games.

• Fukuzawa will suggest monopoly - say no.

Akutagawa, Ryuunosuke

• He's not getting up. Sorry.

• He's got the day off, like Mori has basically said - It's Christmas, don't do any work.

• Gin Wakes up early though.

• You spend the time up until Akutagawa Wakes up making breakfast with Gin.

• You exchange presents with the two siblings and its not really a momentous occasion, but rather just a small simple exchange - except you and Akutagawa banded together to get something really expensive for Gin, along with a few extra items.

• You get Akutagawa a new tea set. He won't say anything but you'll catch him using it later that evening.

• Akutagawa won't play in the snow, but he'll watch you and Gin.

• You can't convince him either.

• He looks so grumpy! Don't worry he's haply enough.

• You don't have a full Christmas Dinner, but you do have a small dinner in the evening. The rest of the day is snacks.

• In the evening everyone is doing their own thing.

• But Akutagawa will let you cuddle up to him if you want. It is Christmas afterall.

Dostoyevsky, Fyodor

• I'm sorry but your not celebrating Christmas :'(

• OK, no, but seriously. You can get Fyodor into Christmas Dinner at least.

• He's not a festive guy okay? Can't force someone to celebrate Christmas.

• If you really want to though, he'll budge a little. He's not changing his mind, and you need to understand that, but he will get you a small present and have dinner with you.

• He's not decorated.

• He's not going out in the snow either. Partly for his own health.

• The night is like any other. If you want a Christmas film on, fine, but he's going to keep reading his book, he's not interested.

Gogol, Nikolai

• He's all over Christmas.

• Decorations EVERYWHERE.

• He's got you a bunch of presents too - all last minute buys, some of it might be stolen. Who knows?!

• He's expecting something big from you, something great. Good luck finding something.

• Forgets about Christmas Dinner.

• Will drag you out into the snow and beat you at a snowball fight so severely that you'll never want to see snow again. (Not really, he needs someone to throw snowballs at next year)

• It's not that he loves Christmas or anything. It's just that it's an excuse for presents and celebrating, and if he gets even an inkling thay you like Christmas, then he's going to go overboard on the whole holiday.

Sigma

• Your probably the first person he's celebrated with

• He did a lot of research for this.

• So, the morning was an early wakeup,

• He got you a LOT of presents. Like, he had a list of things you'd mentioned over the year, and if you hadn't already brought it yourself, he went ahead and got it for you.

• It was excessive and your spoilt.

• You almost feel bad about what you for him because of it, but he assures you that you didn't need to.

• Still happy to accept your gift though, very happy.

• Dinner is actually rather simple. It's nice, quiet and it's just the two of you.

• He's taken measures to make sure Nikolai doesn't pop up and interrupt you.

• You can't play in the snow, considering your in the sky casino.

• But you do sit with him and watch from one of the many windows in a nicer part of the casino that's also private.

• It's calm and pleasant and relaxing and you'll probably fall asleep.

• He'll try and carry you back to your room, but probably won't succeed, he's too scared of accidentally waking you up.

• So he ends up falling asleep there with you.

Suehiro, Tetchou

• You'd never realise it until the day, but he's actually pretty exited for Christmas.

• He Wakes up early, and when you wake up and question it, he plays it off like he's just getting ready for the day but the expression on his face tells you hoe exited he is.

• Presents - he made you something. It's not fantastic, but he put in a lot of effort, so you appreciate it anyway.

• As for what you got him? Something he can eat, like chocolate. He'd like that i think.

• As for dinner, don't let him cook! Or at least, let him think he's helping, let him do something he can't mess up and do the rest yourself. It'll be okay. If you cook it, he'll eat it, even if the colours don't all match.

• He's not interested in the snow. At least, that's what he says. It'll take a bit to get him to admit to wanting to go out in the snow

• Or you could just say you want to go out in the snow, and he'll insist on accompanying you.

• You both build a snowman each. A snow couple!

• His kinda sucks though.

Jouno, Saigiku

• He's not bothered about Christmas, but if you are then he's going to spoil you and be mean about it.

• He Wakes up at his usual time. Of course, if you got up early, he stirred a little, but didn't get up.

• When he does wake up he doesn't say much, just a small comment or reply to your questions here or there.

• He's another one who's spoilt you.

• He had a list of things to get you that he'd remembered.

• He brought (dragged) Tetchou along to buy those gifts.

• They were all things you liked too. You haven't exactly mentioned the things he got you, but he knows you well enough to be able to come up with things you never even realised you would've wanted

• He does make fun of how exited you get, only lightly, and the smile on his face is genuine - he's happy.

• He asked you not to get him anything, wether or not you bother is up to you. It'd be nice if you did though.

• You two don't have Christmas Dinner.

• You do have A dinner, it's just something small, homely, easy to make that both of you like. No need for a big dinner.

• The night ends with cuddling. He'd quiet, holding you and simply listening to your heartbeat as it slows and you fall asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Might be a lil out of character, but oh well, it's Christmas.

Masterlist :3

[alyssasmaddworld]

there's this level of dissociation that goes hand in hand with daydreaming and i feel like it's something i wouldn't know how to begin explaining to somebody who's anti-endo.

maladaptive daydreaming is not inherently caused by trauma. it's considered something you use to cope with it. but for a LOT of people, and as confirmed in multiple studies, it is a dissociative disorder. there's even a level of plurality with it.

you have these people in your head, and you cant destroy them. a lot of them can feel like REAL people. you create worlds, plot lines, and you connect with these characters in a way where they slowly become their own being. their own person. how is this ANY different from being plural?

the answer is: it's really not. if you view plural as synonymous with systemhood then maybe i can see why you'd have a problem with the phrasing, but based off of the actual definitions of plural, maladaptive daydreaming fits the criteria.

the next issue that people tend to have with maladaptive daydreaming being considered plural is that maladaptive daydreaming isn't its own disorder. but something doesnt need to be a disorder for it to be significant in the mental health industry.

a common "rebuttle" of endogenic systems is that they "appropriate" other cultures, but what most people making this argument fail to realize is that, this is HOW culture works. western culture is actively affected by the cultures of other areas. do you genuinely believe that theres not a single Buddhist in america practicing tulpulmacy? that this is SOLELY a non-western phenomenon? then why is "traditional traumagenic" mentioned at all, and not JUST traumagenic?

but there are articles that talk about the importance of listening to the internet, and the words they've cultivated. something i've been told is irrelevant because "an endo made that word" IS BEING heard by therapists all across the globe, not just in america.

"the reader is reminded that culture is dynamic rather than static, meaning that just as our understanding of the online community is different today than it was twenty years ago, this will continue to shift and evolve into the future as well"

things CHANGE. research ADVANCES. and with that, we also know that maladaptive daydreaming is BEYOND VALID on the dissociative spectrum. it has ALWAYS been there, it just wasn't considered a disordered behavior before the 2000s.

on top of this, there's a study that further affirms it's place in the endogenic sphere specifically.

despite this, her brain scans showed "great activity in the ventral striatum, the part of the brain that lights up when an alcoholic is shown images of a martini. Frankly it was super strong"

this means she isn't just mind wandering. mind wandering is what people THINK daydreaming is.

"Mind wandering refers to the occurrence of thoughts that are not tied to the immediate environment—thoughts that are not related to a given task at hand"

mind wandering lights up the Default Mode Network side of the brain, the DMN. the DMN controls Autobiographical information, Memories of collection of events and facts about one's self, Self-reference, Referring to traits and descriptions of one's self.

maladaptive daydreaming has its own dissociative absorption, and it affects the brain differently than mind wandering. it's a proper form of dissociation.

and..would you look at that?? spiritual practices are mentioned. i wonder which endogenic system that reminds me of! (much love to sophie!). it's just further credence towards the fact that non-traumatic systems can exist. why else would maladaptive be on the spectrum, honestly?

trauma doesn't CAUSE maladaptive daydreaming. trauma doesnt cause dissociative absorption. they are ALL coping mechanisms as a way to deal with whatever trauma may be going on-- or it can literally be a choice in the sense that you can actively choose to get absorbed into a book, or how you choose to maladaptive daydream. you can let it interfere with your life and become debilitating and disordered (because sometimes people dont WANT to change) but this doesnt mean it's traumatic.

with all this being said, how is this not a valid presentation of plurality?

[tigreblvnc]

BLUE LOCK MATCHUP — @karusenka

Your match is...

— Shidou Ryusei

✦ You can't imagine the quirky joy I feel in bringing out this match right after the one I made for Rin...

✦ We all know how much those two adore each other... (not).

✦ I'm THRILLED to finally be able to match this pink clown with someone!

✦ I didn't hesitate for long.

✦ In fact, I think no other character could have matched your bio.

✦ There are too many peculiarities, too many specific details... that can only match with Shidou.

✦ "My humor is definitely not for everyone, it's mostly the humor of a 12 y/o kid which can be annoying to some people lmao (sometimes it's funny how people are annoyed by it)" My decision was made at that moment, and actually, there was another character who might have fit, but I'll explain at the end why I didn't choose them.

✦ Let's be honest, on the field, Shidou is an unpredictable character, too original to be understood by the other participants, and above all, he does things his way, with his own style. There are very few football styles more personal than his, and it shows when he's in the game—others struggle to anticipate his moves because he just goes with the flow.

✦ That's what makes him an extraordinary competitor.

✦ "Often I act like an asshole but this is just for jokes!" It's typically the same for Shidou, and I think for him, it's a way to test others to see who is worth fighting. Shidou's communication is heavily based on play, provocation, and offense. You'd better be someone who can handle his particular humor, or you'll quickly get thrown off and won't know how to deal with him.

✦ I'm not going to quote the phrase in case you don't want it to be public, but it's the paragraph where you explain that your interests are very specific and give you a certain reputation among your peers; I think that's very Shidou-coded, and not much else can match up to that. It's more or less canon, but in his football philosophy, there's something very intense and even visceral that makes his character very complex, and I find that it relates to you.

✦ I see him as someone who doesn't know how to respect boundaries and doesn't like to have any imposed on him, so I think he'd join you and even encourage your particular interests. I even want to say he shares more than half of them... I've never done NSFW headcanons publicly, but your combination would particularly lend itself to that, I think (honestly, Shidou likes dark stuff). I took a stroll through your blog, and I noticed some topics that interest you, which I think he would also really enjoy.

✦ "I also have anger issues and it's very easy to make me angry." I tend to think Shidou's temperament leans toward being hot-headed and that he can lose his temper in two seconds—that's what makes him the opposite of Rin. For Shidou, his anger would mostly be linked to the fact that others aren't good enough to push him to his limits, or that people don't understand the depth that football represents to him.

✦ "The second one is probably physical touch, but sometimes I might not be in the mood but otherwise I love hugs and kisses!" I think physical contact is one of Shidou's love languages, but probably more in a friendly and playful dimension. We see it with Charles, where they almost climb on each other to celebrate victory.

✦ On the other hand, I see Shidou as a super independent character who doesn't demand contact 24/7. So when you're not in the mood for it, he'll leave you alone.

✦ Several times in your bio, you mention your sensitivity. One might think that Shidou has none, given his general brutality, lack of tact, the fact that you have to restrain him to control him... And yet, there's something particularly refined in the way he approaches his favorite sport. We even know that art was his favorite subject in school, and to me, that says he's capable of finding beauty in things, in the way others perceive a subject. This particularity could be an interesting topic of conversation for you two, who enjoy uncommon things.

✦ "I LOVE LOVE horror and scary things, I can't imagine my life without it, it's just such an interesting genre that makes me happy and intrigued!" The first time I checked Shidou's profile on the Blue Lock Wiki, this sentence stood out to me: "His favorite movie is A Clockwork Orange." Kubrick's filmography isn't exactly horror, but it touches on very current, sometimes raw, hard, violent, and uncensored subjects. This is what made him a controversial director, even in the way he directed his teams.

✦ (and at the same time, you both like cute stuff, which kills me)

✦ The first thing you notice about Shidou when he appears is his appearance. He completely stands out in the middle of all the others with his blond and pink gradient, long lashes, and magenta pupils. He has an arrogant and atypical style; honestly, for me, there's no question that this guy has something super interesting that fits well with your peculiarities!

✦ "I dislike slow music." Shidou's favorite song is "Hide - Pink Spider," and besides showing some potentially disturbing images, it's far from slow! It's rock, it's pop, in Japanese style.

✦ So yes, I think you two probably met on a niche forum and quickly clicked. Shidou uses social media a lot—Instagram in particular—so I imagine you two must have regularly exchanged messages, sometimes until indecent hours of the night.

✦ Honestly, nothing makes him happier than meeting someone who embraces their most intimate aspects and publicly claims them while shining through them. We see a bit of this with Sae; even though they are opposites, Sae is powerful enough to work well with Shidou on the field. They have completely different philosophies, but the fact that Sae can manage Shidou because he "understands" him changes everything.

✦ I imagine Shidou bombarding you with music he finds on Spotify and regularly spamming you at all hours of the night.

✦ He also sometimes sends you photos of slightly weird and super specific things he likes, like the veins you can see in the wrist or someone’s tears after a skateboard fall. I really see him stopping in the street to take this kind of photo with his phone.

✦ Between you two, it's normal.

✦ And you can send him all the most complex and dark topics; I think he wouldn't bat an eye and would actually be super excited to dive into those discussions with you. In fact, you both feel free to discuss whatever you want, without taboos, and it feels good.

✦ I think what hooked him the most with you were the less conventional topics that interest you.

✦ I see you more as really good friends who can trauma dump at any time via messages, but I don't necessarily see you hanging out in public during the day. It's more likely to be a virtual relationship.

✦ Because I think his violence might scare you face-to-face. He's sensitive to art but not enough to spare your sensitivity, which I believe is very strong.

✦ So to me, it's mostly a relationship that's kept a bit hidden, confined to the phone, where you can say anything without fear of judgment. It's the contact you message even during family meals, under the table, because it's always fabulously stimulating to exchange with him and get his take on something spicy.

✦ I think you both have opinions that could be very controversial to the general public.

✦ I imagined him stopping by the local konbini to buy a cute but slightly creepy trinket that reminds him of his relationship with you, and then send you a picture: "Look, it's you."

✦ What makes him the happiest? When you tell him about your nightmares.

✦ I think he's the guy you might not talk to for days, then one morning you wake up, open your phone, and see "56 new messages and 13 missed calls."

✦ He comes and goes.

✦ And potentially, he stays if his interest remains piqued.

A word about your match: I also considered Charles, who is like a mini Shidou. We know how much they get along on the field and how their chemistry works, but since you preferred a character over 17, I decided to go with Shidou instead. Moreover, I think Charles wouldn't understand the depth of your personality as well as Shidou would.

© TIGREBLVNC 2024 | AUGUST '24 MATCHUPS EDITION.

[sophieinwonderland]

Have you seen Sense8?

It never really picked up steam but goddamn, I cried watching it, it was so accurate to systemhood and learning communication.

Maybe a "plurality of"? Or is that too easy?

-SAS

Not personally myself, exactly, but I know it's a great show!

Ghost watched season 1 long before I existed, but the plurality wasn't something he thought about back then for obvious reasons. (Besides me not existing, he didn't even know what plurality was.)

I have thought a lot about it and considered watching it for myself some time with fresh eyes instead of sifting through vague mostly-forgotten memories.

When writing my Hiveminds and Multiplicity post, this was actually a huge influence on it because Sense8 feels to me like the perfect Multiple Hivemind. Nothing else has even comes close to it!

I doubt I would have even made that post if that show hadn't been floating around in our heads, because yeah, it's super plural! 😁

It's probably not something I'm going to write about without a watch of the whole series, (I think my host stopped watching because of a recast in season 2) and I don't imagine myself getting around to that for a long time with other things being higher priority.

In the meantime though... why don't you take a crack at it? (Preferably not with the specific "the plurality of..." label, since I'm kind of attached to that branding. But you can put your own SASsy spin on it.) I mean, you're great with writing detailed posts, and I think you'd do pretty well at media analysis like that too, and discussing how you relate to it as a system.

You obviously don't have to if you don't want to... no pressure! I just think if you did, you'd be pretty good at it. And it might be fun for you too! 🤷‍♀️💖

On the topic of my "plurality of..." series, I've started work on my next one and am really excited for it!

It's going to take a while because it will involve taking a lot of pics of a book on my cellphone and going between that and typing the actual article on the computer, but I know where I want to go with it, at least. Now it's just a matter of the execution.

Things are going to get WEIRD!

source

[mwolf0epsilon]

Superhero AU - Palpatine's Grand Plan

The people have spoken! They want more Superhero AU! And I am willing to give the people what they want :D

So here goes! ---

Obviously things didn't go completely according to plan for old Palps. He had this whole thing set up where he was going to bestow powers upon a group of troops solely loyal to him, that he had specifically trained for the task of being his elite super-soldiers. But, of course, Emerie ended up ruining everything by accidentally unleashing the crates into the river and all that.

You'd think ending up with a group of scared and confused people (who were not only transmogrified into near-identical looking copies of what is essentially this world's Evil Superman/Boogeyman but also given extremely diverse and volatile powers) would set him back considerably in the whole 'get rid of the Jedi and dominate the world' department. Unfortunately you'd think incorrectly... Because Palpatine still seizes the opportunity and makes the best of it.

Through threats and a lot of emotional manipulation (threatening those who have family members outside of the facility they're currently trapped in, or simply pointing out the fact they have killed and hurt several innocent people because of their lack of control of their powers) he manages to dig his claws in and gain control of his new unwitting army.

And thus begins the most miserable time in everyone who's currently in this situation's lives...

The first thing that's on the list is making sure everyone learns how to control their abilities. Which is easier said than done. Not all of the trooper's powers are made equal, and some have very specific triggers.

For those like Cody, Kix and Tup who control fire, electricity and water respectively, exposure to the elements they now preside over will 'charge them' (the more they absorb the more powerful they get) and potentially lead them to crave more and go wild (if they absorb too much they will essentially be encased in a construct type body composed of the element they control).

Examples of what the elemental constructs look like, Source: Final Fantasy D20

For others like Rex, Dogma and Hardcase who's powers are tied to their emotional state (Fear and anger cause Rex to grow gigantic, fear causes Dogma to transform into his kaiju form, and any form of excitement causes Hardcase to explode) their environment and everyday stressors can trigger their abilities.

And then there's those like Jesse (super strength & resilience), Fives (super speed) and Echo (ability to create duplicates), their powers seem to be tied to muscle memory and can be accessed so easily that any kind of lack of control can prove disastrous (Jesse breaks things without meaning to, Fives runs the risk of slamming full force into things, and the more copies there are of Echo the more out of it he seems to get because his mind is being stretched thin between several Echoes)

Training is, effectively, a trial and error sort of deal to both gauge triggers, the full potential of each power, and what sort of use Palpatine might have for them. It's a very torturous experience. Especially for the first couple of months, where some of the troopers are isolated from everyone else because of just how dangerous their powers are (Dogma for example, is trapped in kaiju form for ages because he's too scared to change back, and is thus relegated to a windowless cage of a room).

In due time Palpatine has everyone's role sorted out in his mind.

There will be a group of troopers who are undoubtedly heroes. They will be the poster boys of this whole plan, gaining favour with the general public and making themselves more approachable and pro vox populi. Serving the whims of the people and being more relatable, unlike the humble Jedi who are not flashy and are still very mysterious outside of their regular people jobs (no one outside of the Jedi Order have ever seen the Monastery, and the Jedi refuse to answer questions about it or their training because there's a strict set of rules they abide to).

The other group of troopers will be the villains. A group that the common folk can scorn, hate and fear, that will elevate the heroes's reputation considerably in the eyes of the public, since they always respond to these villain's attacks before the Jedi can get to the scene (which is all part of Palp's plan to make the Jedi look inadequate).

Each group has suits designed to conceal their identities, since Palpatine also intends to have his army infiltrate the spaces the Jedi frequent. Having the same group of identical faces be too recognizable would likely make the Jedi suspicious of this whole ordeal, so Palpatine makes damn sure the suits block the Jedi from getting a read on the heroes and villain's Force signature, as well as also alter and modulate their voices appropriately (Example: the villains often have scarier/creepier voice modulation, while Tup has his voice pitched slightly lower to conceal his young age).

Here's a general idea of where each trooper gets assigned to infiltrate and slowly gain the trust of the Jedi:

Rex is enrolled in the same Uni as Anakin and becomes the rising underdog jock, that slowly but surely befriends both Anakin (who is a mechanical engineering major) and Padme (who is a political major of international relations). He feels rotten about the whole thing because he genuinely likes Anakin and doesn't want to destroy the Jedi;

Cody becomes both a substitute teacher and Obi-wan's assistant (a role he initially disliked because he couldn't stand Obi-wan, finding his flirty behavior and teasing to be mildly infuriating). In due time he starts noticing that the high school he's "working" in has a lot of issues that he starts fighting to fix, and by sheer stubbornness and genuine care for the students, he ends up becoming the new headmaster (it's after he ends up in this role that he slowly gains an appreciation for Obi-wan who serves as both a friend and trusted advisor, thus the guilt of what's truly going on sets in).

Tup and Dogma are enrolled in high school, ending up a year under Ahsoka and Barriss, and becoming new members of Cal, Caleb and Reva's class. Their role in Palpatine's plan is to try to learn as much about the Jedi as possible through gaining the trust of the younger Padawans (Dogma has always looked up to the Jedi so he is opposed to the plan and uses the numbing effects of the medication he's forced to take to keep his powers subdued as an excuse for his inactivity, while Tup is much more outgoing and compliant for fear of Palpatine having Dogma taken away again or something terrible happening to their mother).

Wolffe becomes a nightguard at the Museum that Plo Koon collaborates with. Originally he had no qualms with following the plan (since he had no real opinion of the Jedi), but after he lost an eye to a notorious artifact thief (Ventress) his tune changed considerably when Plo not only came to his aid but also paid for his eye surgery. Since then Wolffe has become fonder and fonder of the peculiar man, and really wants no part in taking down the Jedi.

Slick, CF99 are sent to infiltrate the criminal underbelly to recruit more potential assets to Palpatine's cause. They also keep tabs on the Jedi Shadows, serving as "reliable informants" for them and slowly earning their trust. While CF99 is reluctant participants because they honestly just want to be left alone, Slick is slowly becoming more willing to get rid of the Jedi because he feels like they never really did anything for him or his family (his father used to be a Jedi Shadow before he left the Order to become a part of the criminal world he used to bring to justice, and then he grew abusive and cruel which is why Slick left in the first place).

Fox and the Corries infiltrate the police force and other high security jobs to more effectively give Palpatine access to specific spaces, materials, files and other important assets he needs to keep his plan on track without attracting any suspicion. Fox, being the clever and cunning man he is, uses his position to try to anonymously fight back against Palpatine. He sabotages a lot of his plans in as subtle a manner as he can, and is working on a way to establish contact with the Jedi to try to bring the bastard's plans to light as soon as possible.

Overall the story is a massive game of tug-of-war between Palpatine and his army. And that's not even bringing to attention the fact that the trooper's families are trying to find their missing family members, or at the very least obtain some kind of answer/closure to their sudden disappearances...

But that might be a post for another day!

[inverted-typo]

In terms of Christmas HCs for DamiRae:

Raven is not built for cold weather. Like,at all. For a girl who originates from the pits of hell, the transition from constant warmth to the damp frigidity of a Gotham winter is rough.

Damian has personal beef with peppermint as a Christmas flavour, because "why not orange? Why not cinnamon? Why not marzipan? Why not literally anything else?"

He has, however, developed a fondness for spiked hot drinks. Or rather,spiked hot drinks the way Raven does it.Bailey's Irish Cream mixed with hot cocoa........high tier.

Yes,Raven has gotten talked into doing Christmas family potraits(that consists of her,Damian and Titus. No,Titus does not tolerate being dressed up,but she has managed to get a festive little hat on him for pictures).

Now,for the LOA version:

I can't see them celebrating Christmas persay, but Nanda Parbat has its own winter ceremonies and festivals that they partake in.

Raven's favourite winter festival is the winter solstice and she has her own rituals surrounding it. It represents death and rebirth, something very close to her(and Damian's) heart.

She's also quite fond of the winter markets too. Little kitschy trinkets, niche shit that she'll never find anywhere else,the food....good shit.

THIS ONE!! This is gold!

I love the idea of Raven not liking the cold at all. You'd think she'd have some tolerance due to her demon-side but nah they dipped out for that. Damian convinces her to visit Gotham for a holiday and she is MISERABLE IN THE SNOW. She likes it in terms of how pretty it is and can appreciate the beauty--but if she isn't bundled up she is not having a good time.

Pfff i love the idea of Damian hating peppermint. He thinks in another life Raven would have made an excellent high end bartender. Maybe she has quite the tolerance so she has the wiggle room to explore cocktails and ends up being quite fond of them, so she's good at making them. Damian hates to say it, but he prefers Raven's drinks over Alfred's.

I think Raven treats Christmas like a hobby hahaha. She doesn't necessarily understand it in its entirety at this point but she likes the activities and decor and traditions.

GAAHH!! And the LOA TAKE!! Yes I'm so on board with them leaning towards more winter-oriented festivals rather than Christmas-specific. Maybe it's more preparation for a New Year's ceremony? I love how generally speaking there's a lot of winter-related festivities and celebrations world wide. And putting Damian and Raven into that lense is super cute!

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

Hey, how are you doing? How was coming back to work?

If I can be curious, let me ask you this super hard (or maybe simple, it depends), question: who's your favorite character and why? Also, which one do you find the most easy to understand/write?

Have a nice day my friend, cheers 😊

@dolceaspidenera hi! I'm so happy to hear from you! ^.^

And ooh, those are good questions. I won't answer them completely, but I will give you honest answers ^.^ I apologize in advance for what turned into a character analysis mini-essay XD

I do have a favorite character of the M6, but I prefer not to write like it on this blog. I think it's awesome when fan creators focus on their favorite characters - it means that everything they make is done out of love! - and it's almost something you'd expect in a dating sim fandom when you have to choose one specific character to experience most of the story with. I initially chose not to do that just because I genuinely enjoy writing for connections with all of the M6, even if there's very few that I would want a specifically romantic connection with. Every single one of them are characters that I'd be happy to get to know, as a lover, or an honorary sibling, or a close friend.

The longer I write like that, the happier I am that I do. It means I've explored aspects of the world of the Arcana that I wouldn't have initially been invested in, but that have contributed so much to the story! It also means that I get to chat with people who have so many different perspectives on the game because of their own preferences, and I've learned a lot from them!

As to who is more or less easy to write - that changes based on the prompt. For example, prompts that reference pre-prologue Vesuvia are a lot harder to write with Portia, simply because she didn't arrive there until after Lucio's "death" and because the game doesn't really delve into the life she's had there since. And the hardest prompts for me to write in general are for MC with specific familiars, only because those are characters I haven't read about XD

There are also themes I wish I could explore more, sometimes, for all the M6, but doing so would require so much speculation that it would be hard to keep the headcanons feeling "canon." Julian's life before Vesuvia, for example - he's been knocking all around the world since his teens, and of the two or so decades that that comprises, he's only spent a few years of that in Vesuvia. He glamorizes his adventures when he talks about them, but nobody in their late teens acts as a medic on a battlefield for their apprenticeship without taking away some kind of baggage. When does he break down without dramatics or smokescreens? When does he learn to talk about a painful past without trying to redirect his hurt into drama? When does he learn the healthy kind of selfishness that lets him be completely honest?

Asra's so emotionally private it's hard to get a read on them sometimes. We know they're deeply in love with MC and that that's been a shaping influence on them for the last nine years - but what else? There's so much about him that aches to be known, which he frequently tells MC in his route, but he still treats his relationship with them like it's fragile and new. What happens when things are more settled and they know MC isn't at constant risk of falling apart? Did they ever feel betrayed by MC for not leaving Vesuvia with them? Did they ever feel resentful of MC for causing that much relational pain, or at the very least, for holding them in a full-time caregiving role for three years? When does he learn to depend on them to the point of exposing them to his own ugly thoughts and feelings?

Nadia, for all of her capacity, is still very emotionally young. She's just beginning to process her feelings regarding her own family, which stem from her childhood and were never addressed directly until they were invited to the Masquerade. She has a deep-seated lack of faith in her own strengths, which MC has had the chance to help her overcome, but that attitude has been affecting her perception of other people's opinions of her for most of her life. At what point does she learn how to interpret someone's concern for her as something other than belittlement? At what point does she learn how to recognize and apologize for her own mistakes in a relationship without experiencing it as self-rejection? At what point does she learn to recognize someone else's strength without comparing it to her own and feeling challenged if she doesn't measure up?

Muriel's especially hard to predict physically. He has a whole host of reasons to feel the way he does about his body in relation to himself and others. It could be easy to say that, as he heals in his relationship with MC, he learns to enjoy and seek out physical pleasure as he overcomes trauma (in multiple ways, like food, and comfort, and intimacy). But when it does come to physical intimacy, Muriel is so easily read as demi/asexual that his interest in that aspect of a relationship doesn't really act as a good benchmark for healing. Maybe his aversion to touch is only trauma-related, and underneath that gruffness is a pent-up, touch-starved lover. Maybe he stays consistently disinterested in that kind of physical pleasure, simply because that's the way he is - and there is nothing wrong with that. But we don't know how that progresses.

So much of Portia's life is missing. We don't know much of what her life was like before she came to Vesuvia after Lucio's "death", and we honestly don't know much of what it was like after. We know that she's friends with all the palace employees and that she has a close connection with Nadia, and that's it. It's hard to know how she fits into a post-canon community because she remains so detached from the other M5 throughout her story. Most of what we know of her life with MC afterwards is that she spends a lot of it on a ship. She's the kind of person who thrives in building and maintaining community, and yet we have so few clues about what that looks like. Does she become like family with the sailors, assuming that the ship keeps the same crew? Does her new status give her a peer-based relationship with Nadia? Does she try to keep Julian in her life, or do they drift apart again? Does she eventually create a new home base in a different country?

And, well, I've already a written a whole character analysis of Lucio. We know that he's determined to become an honest man, but we don't know how that plays out. Does he get tired? Does he find a stopping point at "morally gray"? Does he stick it out and become one of the most emotionally healthy characters? Does he ever settle down somewhere else and build a life there? Does he stay in touch, or reconnect with anyone from Vesuvia and build a new friendship with them?

Anyways, those are some of the rabbit trails I let my brain loose on sometimes, and those are a lot of the character aspects I have a harder time writing for because it's so open-ended. Maybe another creator will read this and have answers I don't yet XD

Thanks for your questions, friend, I hope you don't mind my mini-essay!

brainrot

[blockcurio]

LET'S acknowledge this, bullet-point by bullet-point.

"You want me kicked of the RPC!"

INCORRECT, we know this is not possible. The RPC is extremely broad. For every fandom, there's technically three or more communities for each. It is unrealistic to chase someone out of the RPC, let alone tumblr. When people delete their own blogs, it's of their own violation. We can't hack into your account and delete it for you, Curio. You could stay here forever and we couldn't do squat about it.

THIS blog? Is consequences. Consequences for your actions, specifically the repeated behavior of block evasion and being hostile towards callouts.

2. "Focusing entirely on my flaws and mistakes while ignoring anything that can't be used to demonize me!"

SIR. Do you want us to document every post and rp you participate in? Most of your blogs are just you bitching about people blocking you, asking your followers if they want starters, or replies. We... What do you want us to document? We don't see any apologies or anything that isn't hostile relating to these situations. What, do you want us to throw EVERY person who writes with you under the bus?

3. "Because I think communication is more important than blocking at a drop of a hat."

NO, that wasn't the case. You brush it off in this post, "Pushed too hard for it in the past" CURIO, YOU STILL BLOCK EVADE PEOPLE AS OF THIS YEAR. That was our main issue. When we talked in private, I explained that nobody owes you this.

GUESS what, people are allowed to be selfish to avoid stress and mental strain. You can disagree all you want but I rather someone block me out of the blue than have a panic attack trying to explain to me that they're unfollowing me because they don't jive with my muses anymore, or for any petty reason. Our issue was always how you demonzied people who didn't agree with your mindset.

PEOPLE do not owe you an explanation, especially as most of your victims barely interacted with you, if at all, before blocking you, where you went out of your way to pursue them like a creep. To get the last word in. You are not owed shit, buttercup.

4. "Ignore whatever they say to you and come to your own conclusions..."

CURIO, we haven't gone out of our way to go into askboxes or whatever. We're just here. Existing. As your consequences.

People are in their full right to see your public behavior documented. If you had balls you'd link to this blog to show everyone how "baseless" we are. Why else do you block blogs super fast when they reply with anything other than asskissing? So your followers can't see our URLs. We know this because people did unfollow you over followcurio. So.

HI, Patch. Hi, Curio spoonfeeding a narrative. We don't want to control the RPC, god knows how much of a mess it is with or without people like you in it.

WHICH callout was this? The one on the 15 year old made by your groomer friend, or? Because that callout was baseless, like you claim all callouts victims make are.

[rowlfthedog]

hey! wishing you all the best with your recovery.

to prevent you from dying of boredom, i thought i'd send you an ask! apologies that it's kinda generic and that it sounds like i'm a market researcher, but i figured i'd ask you because i greatly value your Muppet-based opinions. feel free to answer the question however you want, since it's broad.

i'm wondering what you'd like to see from future Muppet projects? like, would you want any projects that focus on specific characters, like how the Muppets Mayhem focuses on the Electric Mayhem? do you have any ideas for any future Muppet projects you'd want to see? or anything else you want to add.

once again wishing you all the best!

First of all- thank you!

Second of all. This is a really good question. I was a little weary about Muppets Mayhem because while I do love the band I was unsure if they’d be able to carry a whole show, and I was even more weary about the Human Talent…I was very pleased with the end result! My fears were proven to be irrational! I honestly think Mayhem is some of the best muppet content to be released in the past couple years. If a theoretical future muppet project following a specific group of characters went in a similar direction, I can see myself liking it. This is kind of controversial, but I’m super obsessed with Muppets From Space, which is basically just The Gonzo Movie. So maybe I am biased. But considering Mayhem’s reception I don’t feel I am alone…

Okay. And. Since it’s ME answering this question, I’m gonna need y’all to look at my favorite Guy now:

(The dog. Not the scruffy lookin’ human man.)

I think Rowlf could work in a gentle little miniseries for Disney Plus or something where we follow him throughout his day and dog related hijinks ensue. Rowlf waits for a package but cannot resist chasing the mailman. Rowlf goes to a Guitar Center and makes new friends while he plays the display pianos. Rowlf goes to the dentist but doesn’t have teeth. Rowlf buys Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches at Target. I dunno. I’m imagining each episode is like four minutes long. Put that dog in Situations. You know Muppet Moments and such? Where it’s just candid regular people interacting with muppet unscripted? It could even be one of those. Those are always fun. Take him out on the town.

On a more broad scale, I think this boils down to me just wanting the muppets to Have Fun spontaneously more often. It’s improved a bit since 2011 (everyone say Thank You Jason Segel) but the brand seems kind of…stilted… just a little.

[theminecraftbee]

This isn't really related to anything specifically but one of my favourite things about your writing is how you manage to incorporate the way different characters are friends with other characters and how they can tell how they feel.

In some fics it's just "these two are friends" and that's about it and thats fine but in your fics I always like how much. Thought you put into how other characters think of eachother, and that won't always align up to how they respond? The characters you write can call back on previous attempts and notice habits and really think about what's going on.

I think that's also partially it? That you give characters time to think? Even if its very dialogue heavy. And it never feels like the characters are trying to get an A* in therapy.

Idk basically I'm saying I like your writing and it's super inspiring, especially how you always tend to twist the conversation in a slightly different way than I expect.

oh, this is really sweet! yeah, i do try to go a lot for "characters who know each other well can know what they're getting at without having to spell it out for each other all the time", and also for the classic "these two guys are having a conversation about one thing but do not actually talk about that thing, they are talking about something else". sometimes because they know each other well sometimes to Avoid Talking About a Thing They Don't Wanna. and like, yeah, filler dialogue can be important, as long as you're using it for a good role! like, it doesn't all have to be extremely plot-relevant it's just gotta fit the vibes, you know?

and like, i don't know if my dialogue is always realistic. the pacing of it is normally a little intentionally what sounds good to my ear but not NECESSARILY how two people would actually talk? like, i think i've said this before, but the way people interrupt each other in my dialogue is more like a play than it is like most real conversations. however it SOUNDS nice and you can normally get the point of it, which is what i am really going for - perfectly realistic dialogue is hard, dialogue that gets my idea across is better, i think.

and like, yeah, people call back to each other's habits and body language in conversation! actually if you want to get the "give characters time to think" across i can't recommend enough 'character A notices/thinks about character B's body language' as like, a replacement for where you'd put 'beat' in a script, in order to give the dialogue a 'pause' where you need it. if that makes any sense.

anyway this is just me rambling about my dialogue thank you this means a lot to me i like my dialogue