#what does it mean to create. what does it mean to exist. what does it mean to be alone. what does it mean to reach out and connect.

[illusioncanthurtme--art]

Your need him pregnant poll comics have been giving me LIFE lately omfgggg 🤣🤣🤣 - pls accept these bits of dialogue that've been bouncing around in my head (use them if you want, but I just wrote this out purely for funsies and I am not asking for a request or anything, lol)

_

Bill: C'mon Fordsy, I'm the last of my species! Could you really live with yourself knowing you deprived me of my one chance to continue the legacy of my people?

Ford: *deadpan* Yes. Go find someone else to... procreate with.

B: Oh ho, but it's a done deal, Sixer! It has to be you. Like I said, our baby was conceived years ago. It already exists, there's no taking that back.

F: Don't care, stop talking now.

B: Oh come ON! Euclydians don't just mate with anyone you know! We're very selective.

F: Uh huh.

B: No, really! And besides that, you're... you're the only one I've ever actually...

F: Oh, what, I suppose you're gonna say I'm 'the only one you've ever loved' *rolls eyes*

B: 🥺

F: You're so full of it! I'm not gonna stand around listening to this utter nonsense any longer. Goodbye.

B: No, please! You're my one chance! My ONE CHANCE! And when you win, we can... y'know... re-create that ~magical~ night. For the 'transfer'.

F: Oh my GOD! Of course! This is all just your desperate pathetic little attempt to fuck me again, isn't it? That's all you care about! There was never a "baby," you're just an obsessive sex-crazed little creep!

B: ... Maybe so. *narrows eye* But in the end, none of this is even up to you or I. The votes are what's deciding this, Sixer, and it looks to me like you're still in the lead. A good ol' shoe-in if I've ever seen one.

F: *head in hands* *sniffs* I know...

"SO, DOES THAT MEAN YOU'RE DOWN? ORRRR...."

Maybe if he asks really nicely :'D

[tprings-hair]

what happened on tarsus iv?

this is my attempt at creating a definitive list of information on what kirk experienced on tarsus iv for fic writers and other fans who want to know wtf is up with kirk's backstory.

(I have a longer, more general post on tos kirk's backstory here.)

"Kodos the Executioner, summary. Governor of Tarsus Four twenty Earth years ago. Invoked martial law. Slaughtered fifty percent of population Earth colony, that planet. Burned body found when Earth forces arrived. No positive identification. Case closed."

let's start with this quote from spock, detailing the information he found on their ship's computer.

first of all: at its core, this episode is tos's take on the nazis who escaped capture. adolf eichmann was only found in 1960, and would certainly have been in the public memory as a high profile nazi who managed to make a new life under an assumed name. he was not the only one to have escaped capture, and I don't think I need to explain which conspiracy theory the circumstances of kodos's faked death call to mind.

this episode was an exploration of what form cruelty and authoritarianism might take in star trek's universe, with a huge amount of influence from shakespeare's work. the two together make up this central dilemma: is it kodos? might kirk be condemning an innocent man? if it is kodos, does kirk have the right to act as judge, jury, and executioner? is it possible for someone who carried out terrible acts to live a new life somewhere else, and not have the violence follow?

SPOCK: According to our library banks, it started on the Earth colony of Tarsus IV, when the food supply was attacked by an exotic fungus and largely destroyed. There were over eight thousand colonists and virtually no food. And that was when Governor Kodos seized full power and declared emergency martial law.

MCCOY: I've heard of it.

SPOCK: You may not have heard it all. Kodos began to separate the colonists. Some would live, be rationed whatever food was left. The remainder would be immediately put to death. Apparently he had his own theories of eugenics.

MCCOY: Unfortunately, he wasn't the first.

SPOCK: Perhaps not. But he was certainly among the most ruthless, to decide arbitrarily who would survive and who would not, using his own personal standards, and then to implement his decision without mercy. Children watching their parents die. Whole families destroyed. Over four thousand people. They died quickly, without pain, but they died. Relief arrived, but too late to prevent the executions. And Kodos? There never was a positive identification of his body.

the thing is, this introduces a number of inconsistencies. it could easily be chalked up to confusion between multiple drafts of the script, but if you want to look deeper and see where the information comes from, you'll notice the two survivors have very different stories than the official starfleet record.

specifically, spock says that they died quickly and painlessly, and though he is sure that karidian is kodos, he does not seem to treat him as a legitimate threat to anyone's safety. we don't know if kodos ever directly killed anyone, or if he only gave the orders. but kirk and leighton seem to agree on the violence: leighton refers to his own injury as "the bloody thing (kodos) did", and kirk recalls kodos "blasting" others out of existence. it's possible kirk was saying it to confuse kodos, so kodos might say "that's not how it happened" and give himself away. it's also possible that leighton sustained his injury at a different time than the massacre. it seems likeliest to me in any case that the information on the ship's computer is not the entire truth.

which also means you can headcanon whatever you want and nobody can tell you definitively that you're wrong. be free with your tarsus iv headcanons.

exploring the tarsus iv lore (or lack of it) has led me to this sort of consensus in the fandom that kirk was looking after a group of children. I think it's a very cool way of exploring how central it is to his character that he has to be in control, protecting people, and fighting back, and I've read and enjoyed some absolutely fantastic fics with that premise. even william shatner seems to agree. in his novel collision course (which gives kirk and spock a sort of alternate first meeting as teenagers and gives some great insights into how shatner viewed kirk's backstory), kirk ().

the ship's computer specifies the number of survivors later in the episode as nine, and lists them as

Kirk, J., Leighton, T., Moulton, E., Riley, K., Eames, D.

before kirk cuts it off. once leighton dies, the last two surviving are kirk and riley.

the novelization by james blish names a couple more characters, and in order of age: Leighton, T., Molson, E., Kirk, J., Wiegand, R., Eames, S., and Daiken, R., which was what they called the role of kevin riley initially. he is specified as being five years old at the time, and kirk is not a child or teen but a midshipman.

and collision course names still more characters. edith zaglada, an eight year old girl who kirk saw killed. donny, tay, and billy are named as other survivors. this novel doesn't get into kodos's motivations or kirk's circumstances, but it gives us two new characters, griffyn and matthew, who are teenagers employed by kodos as bounty hunters for escapees of the initial massacre. starfleet arrives just as edith is shot and griffyn is trying to convince matthew to shoot kirk. we don't really know if kirk knew any of the other survivors, but he mentions edith's name specifically a few times as a death that affected him a lot. it's heartbreaking to watch city on the edge of forever with that in mind. I also can't find a source for anyone calling him JT, but collision course does call him jimmy during the flashback chapters.

crucially, the novel isn't technically canon. so you can have your gang of children led by JT, or you can have jimmy stick with a couple of people, or you could do something totally your own. none of these are wrong! do whatever your heart desires.

if you want some practical details, there's a great post here by @spirk-trek and pt 1, pt 2, and pt 3 of a great post by @pywren. I may make my own tarsus iv headcanon post if anyone is interested, and if I do I'll link it here.

[strang3lov3]

sorry if this is extremely personal or just random, but does decent sex actually exist? 5 1/2 years into my relationship with my bf, and i’m almost convinced i’m ace bc i genuinely don’t get turned on by him

There’s so much that goes into arousal. I recommend reading Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski because she breaks it down in such an interesting way that’s easy to understand, and that might be a good starting point if you’re hoping to learn more about yourself and your own arousal ❤️

Good, pleasurable sex does exist, but it takes work. 9/10 times I have sex it’s a good time. That one time that it’s a dud is usually just a bad day or whatever, because shit does happen, and even partners with a great sexual connection will have not so great sexual encounters from time to time. It’s life.

I wasn’t always having the best sex though, and I think that can be attributed to my vaginismus which in turn became a severe fear/disinterest in sex altogether, pretty much until I started experimenting with weed + sex and also writing, which helped me learn more about what turns me on.

I had this intense fear and disinterest in PIV sex, right? I’m a stubborn person, too. It’s not a good attitude to have and I’m glad it changed, but I kinda felt like “if I’m not having PIV sex then I’m not interested in pleasure at all bc what’s the point if I’m not cumming on dick and also I don’t even want PIV sex bc it hurts so I just don’t wanna do anything.”

What changed this was forcing a shift in my attitude about what pleasure and arousal means to me. I learned that I really liked to be teased, and to have that steady build up. I loved getting high before sex too because it helped me let go of my anxiety surrounding it. I also learned to stop looking at penetrative sex ending with an orgasm for the both of us as the be all end all, and to just allow myself to lean into whatever feels good. Take the pressure off yourself, so to speak. All of my best artwork was created in sketchbooks, and the things I was unhappiest with were created on canvas. Does this make sense? Lean into the little things, take pleasure where you can get it.

I don’t know if any of this is helpful 🫂 I hope it is. Before I started taking a more proactive approach toward my pleasure, I had similar thoughts as you. Maybe I’m asexual because I’m just not fucking turned on and I don’t get it because this man is handsome and I love him and I’m safe with him but I don’t wanna jump his bones.

Wasn’t asexual. Wasn’t unattracted to my partner. Spontaneous arousal is just hard for people a lot of the time, especially women. Sex doesn’t always happen like smut you read or the movies you watch, like for me, it’s rarely like “I’m so fucking horny for this person and I need to fuck right now”. There’s more that goes into it. Do you feel safe? Are your needs met? Do you feel relaxed? Are the fucking dishes done, is there something that needs taking care of? How’s your relationship with this person rn? Do you have good feelings toward them or bad? Emily Nagoski discusses all of this and more in her book, too. I think it’s a really good resource, and should at least serve as a jumping off point into finding the answer here.

[chiming-bluebells]

SHIFTERS BURN BOOK.

LEXI aka chiming-bluebells !!

NOTES IN THE MARGINS this page in the burn book is dedicated to the girl with charcoal smudged fingers and half-a-broken sketchbook. the one who goes by lexi. i’ve followed her for about a week. here are my observations:

MONDAY: today i saw her absolutely transfixed flipping through a picture book of john bauer’s artwork. and she keeps smiling whenever she spots a dragonfly, what’s up with that ????

WEDNESDAY: she either writes too much or nothing at all. once she does start writing however, she won’t stop until she’s finished. obsessive. crazy. has she ever heard of taking breaks?

THURSDAY: she yawns alot.

SUNDAY: she keeps going on and on about her realities. one look at her account, and it’s not hard to figure out which ones are her favourites. here is what i’ve gathered so far:

THE MAZE RUNNER once upon a time — believe it or not — lexi didn’t share much about her life in her maze runner dr. it was all locked up in notion scripts and curated pinterest boards, spotify playlists and car-ride daydreams. but then, one fateful day, a curious soul on tumblr sent lexi an ask regarding her maze runner reality…. and the floodgates to hell opened all at once. she has now, if i were to guess, gained the reputation as ”that one crazy maze runner lady” on shiftblr. i mean, c’mon… she even has a masterlist.

legend has it that she was obsessed with the franchise as a freshly-turned 15 year old (this, as i’m now about to explain to you, was in her pre-shifting era,, and also deep into her wattpad phase. canon event, i fear). surprisingly, her craze for the trilogy waned right before finding out about shifting at age 16. she had another dr (now archived and covered in dust) for most of her initial shifting journey. but, years later, after she had almost given up on shifting for good: she suddenly remembered, re-watched, fell in love all over again…….and found her way back home, not only to the maze runner, but also to shifting.

when it comes to her tmr dr, lexi is soul-bonded to the crying girl from mean girls (2004); she just wants a cake made out of rainbows and smiles. the emotional attachment she has for her people has made her unable to even hear the word ”canon” being uttered. she is allergic to that word. canon doesn’t exist. it’s not real. it never happened. there’s no proof. shut up huh, what was that? must’ve been the wind……

FANTASY / TERABITIA when she was a little sprout, lexi was emotionally and spiritually destroyed one humid summers day. she had just watched ”bridge to terabithia”, and she was never the same after that. desiring a better ending, and already in love with the chronicles of narnia and the fables told in her childhood, she wanted her own fairytale kingdom… so, she created one. together with her friends she spent her time outside of school in magical play-pretend (was it pretend? or was it a prelude?). but, time goes on and people grow up. she was no longer princess of terabitia anymore. at least not consciously.

now then, she finally found her own wardrobe (reality shifting) to her fantasy kingdom. and this time she won’t grow out of it. seems like the childhood play-pretend truly was a prelude, after all.

MOUNTAIN GETWAY no matter how much she tries, lexi will never be a city girl — her heart forever belongs to nature; far away from the hustle and bustle of the cities, the towering buildings blocking out the sun, and the crowds of stressed-out people. her mountain getaway dr includes everything she loves most: her favourite people, solitude and silence, cozy cabins, mountains, pine tree forests, nearby lakes and rivers, road trips, hiking, and a soft, pressure-free life.

FISHERMAN’S DAUGHTER remember how i said her heart belongs to nature? that includes the ocean. if she could live by the seashore she would (and she will). her fisherman’s daughter dr is an ode to fjords and fishing villages, to the sea and the salt in humid, ocean air. she is, as the name of this dr suggests, the daughter to a fisherman.

MARAUDERS / HOGWARTS when she turned 11, lexi anxiously awaited her hogwarts acceptance letter. it never came, at least not in this reality, and she was horribly disappointed. at 14 she was knees-deep in the marauders trench: tumblr headcanons, fanfiction, you know the deal. now, she would be lying if she said that she had a script for this dr. she doesn’t. not even a pinterest board. that doesn’t stop her from having ideas, however:

she always knew she’d be sorted into ravenclaw. she wants to be an animagus, specifically a parrot/cockatiel one (she relates perhaps a bit too well to them) nicknamed chatty or pompon. and she definitely wants to create mischief with the marauders. perhaps it’s finally time for her to create a script, or at the very least a pin board.

[ previous page <- page ix. -> next page ]

thank you @rrezshifts for the tag!! <33 here are my (no pressure!!) tags for the shifters burn book event: @lolashifts , @salemisha & @lyraxnova !!! (and anyone else who wants to participate !!!!!!)

follow the GUIDE BOOK for help!

[yuurei20]

Unique Magic / Signature Spell Compilation: Azul Ashengrotto

Azul’s unique magic, It’s a Deal (hidden meaning: The Golden Contract) is a “taboo” magic that “sucks every power out of someone if it’s not channeled through a contract.”

Azul does not need the scrolls in order to cast his unique magic: he needs them to limit it, as it is too strong for him to wield on his own.

In Book 3 Leona explains that Azul’s unique magic “enables the caster to take one power from a target if that target signs the scroll,” but he later learns that he was wrong and that the scrolls are merely the filter than enable Azul to control himself.

Leona further explains, “in the event of a contract breach, the breacher is compelled to obey Azul’s every command to a T,” and this seems accurate, with Azul turning 225 NRC students who fail to fulfill their contracts into servants in Book 3.

When Azul takes a special talent and/or magical power for collateral, “it’s sealed inside the contract and made available for Azul to use as it suits him.” Jack accuses Azul of cheating by using powers swiped from others, but Ruggie assures him that he isn’t: “As far as signature spells go, his is crazy high-level. Guy’s gotta have some chops to pull something like that off.”

We see examples of what might be abilities that Azul has acquired from other people via his contracts, such as an impressive singing voice, the ability to speak with and understand animals and advanced potion-brewing skills.

Leona says that the contracts last as long as the special scrolls he uses in order to limit his powers exist, and Azul himself emphasizes multiple times that they are invulnerable.

When students attempt to so much as touch a contract they are electrocuted, with Azul saying, “they’re rigged to jolt anyone who touched them aside from myself.”

Leona says, “all magic’s got a loophole,” “there is no such thing as a spell that’s completely flawless” and that the idea that Azul’s contracts are unbreakable is preposterous, and he is proven correct: he is able to destroy Azul’s entire collection of contracts with his own unique magic, explaining, “it looked like they were impervious to damage only under specific conditions. Namely, either being in the VIP room, or being in your hands…the contract scrolls themselves are no stronger than any other sheet of paper.”

While Azul does not take the destruction of his contracts in Book 3 very well (it drives him to overblot), there are other examples in the game where he destroys contracts and does not seem to suffer any side effects.

Unique Magic Design: We technically see the process of Azul crafting his unique magic through sheer effort via a flashback: unlike Riddle, who seems to have worked for his UM to please his mother, and Leona and Idia, who were born with their magics, Azul seems to have been motivated by a desire to enact revenge on those who bullied him as a child.

But while Azul seems to have designed the spell himself it’s possible that he didn’t know he was creating what would become his own unique magic at the time. While unconfirmed, he may have wanted a spell–any spell–to take talent from others, and it becoming his unique magic was possibly an unintentional bonus.

Limitations: During Glorious Masquerade Jamil teases Azul with, “I doubt a certain someone could get plants to sign a contract for his signature spell." As Azul does not need the contracts in order to cast the spell, just to control it, it is possibly still unclear if he can or cannot cast his unique magic on things that cannot give their consent (maybe not without overblotting?).

In-Game Examples: Jade and Floyd describe examples of Azul’s unique magic from before they enrolled at NRC, with one mermaid losing weight in exchange for giving up their singing voice and another mermaid getting beautiful hair but losing their tailfin.

Other examples from the game include Azul contracting with the prefect in Book 3 to try and get them to acquire a photo from an elementary school trip on display at a museum in exchange for freeing his 225 student servants (including Ace, Deuce and Grim), taking Ramshackle Dorm as collateral.

He also contracts with Floyd, taking Floyd’s unique magic as collateral while granting him a deeper voice. Azul also contracts with Deuce, taking his unique magic and using it to strike Rollo in exchange.

There is a conversation in a vignette where he discusses providing Vil with moisturizer in exchange for poisonous plants from Vil, and while Vil does sign a contract there is no talk of collateral, so this may have been a normal exchange of favors between two Housewardens rather than a unique-magic-enforced arrangement?

[xuexing-lumi]

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞'𝐬 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 + 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐭 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 (𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞: 𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬) Pt.4

This isn’t your average love reading. This is about the one, the soul who already exists in your energetic field, even if they haven’t stepped into your life yet.(Spoiler: yes, but not in the way you think).

🌸 before you dive into part 4... make sure you’ve read part 1,2 and 3 so everything clicks perfectly and you don’t miss any of the details ✨

📎 read part 1 here: How Does Your Pile Contact Their Soulmate?

📎 read part 2 here: How is Your Soulmate Doing in the Physical World Right Now?

📎 read part 3 here: Is it possible to communicate with my soulmate right now ?

trust me, it sets the mood just right for what’s coming next 💌 pink skies, soft energy, and deeper truths ahead 💕

Close your eyes, take a deep breathe and pick your piles.

𝓟𝓲𝓵𝓮 1

𝓟𝓲𝓵𝓮 2

𝓟𝓲𝓵𝓮 3

🌟𝓟𝓲𝓵𝓮 1 : Mirror

Part 4: What can I do to bring my soulmate in my life ?

A mirror reflects, but it also reveals. The mirror in your pile is no longer a symbol of appearance and it’s the reminder that your soulmate is activated by your own self-alignment. These three cards tell a story of emotional preparation, belief alignment, and emerging vulnerability. You bring your soulmate in not by chasing but by becoming the very soul they’re fated to recognize.

The Hierophant: Your soulmate is tied to your values not just your personality. This card calls you to examine and reclaim what you truly believe in about love, commitment, and worthiness. The Hierophant tells you to create sacred structure around your manifestations. Speak your truth aloud. Write affirmations. Align your dating choices with your soul values and not your fears. Your soulmate is likely someone who is spiritually attuned, or someone you'll meet once you're aligned with your core belief system. This card asks are you truly ready to receive what you’ve been asking for?

Nine of Cups: The Nine of Cups is the wish fulfillment card but here, it acts as a reminder that your desires are already orbiting you. The more satisfied and emotionally whole you feel within yourself, the clearer and faster your soulmate appears in your field. This doesn’t mean perfection and it means self-trust, sensual joy, and celebrating small wins. Your soulmate will be drawn to your glow, not your ache. Make your life so joyful and full that your soulmate can’t resist joining the party. Pleasure is a portal. So is laughter, art, music, food, movement, and comfort. Stop waiting. Start living like they’re already coming.

Page of Cups: The Page of Cups invites fresh emotional energy soft starts, creative flirts, inner child healing. This is your sign to begin letting yourself be seen again. Whether it’s through journaling, daydreaming, drawing, or sending out gentle feelers romantically the page is about making your heart available without needing to control how it's received.Talk to your soulmate in writing. Doodle them into existence. Dance when you feel alone. These “silly” things open soul channels. lol

🌟 𝓟𝓲𝓵𝓮 2: Pink Lipstick

Part 4: What can I do to bring my soulmate into my life?

Lipstick is the last thing we put on before we speak,but your lipstick isn't out in the open. It’s tucked in a drawer, maybe slightly smudged, maybe unused. (that could be a sign too) There’s vulnerability here. This pile speaks to the soul that wants to love again but doesn’t know how to trust the mirror or the message. All three of your cards are reversed. That doesn’t mean “bad.” It means the magic is buried underneath pain waiting to be uncovered gently. These cards tell a story of emotional disconnection, the healing of wounded love scripts, and the tender first step toward vulnerability.

Five of Swords (Reversed): This is the card of surrender.The kind that says: “I don’t need to win. I just want to feel peace again.” In reverse, it speaks to a part of you that's tired of fighting with love, with your past, with your own self-blame. To bring your soulmate in, you must forgive the version of you who tried to survive when love was war. Drop the sword. Unclench your jaw. Let go of the need to be “right” about love always being painful. This card asks you to stop proving and start receiving. Your soulmate is not your opponent. They are your echo. And right now, they’re waiting for you to release the old scripts not because they’re wrong, but because they’re over. You’re allowed to write a new story now.

Two of Cups (Reversed): This card hurts in reverse because it shows how ready your soul is to connect, and how scared your heart still feels. There may be residue from unreciprocated love, friendships that weren’t mutual, or soul ties that left you asking, “Why didn’t they choose me?” But the answer isn’t that you were unworthy. It’s that you were under-recognized, even by yourself. To bring your soulmate in, you must choose you first not as a trend, but as a truth. You can’t magnetize a healthy, spiritually equal connection if you’re still believing you’re only lovable when you earn it. Let this reversal teach you that the real thing won't need to be chased.

Ace of Cups (Reversed): This card is a cry your heart out kind of message. In reverse, it means your emotional cup has been running on fumes, or maybe you’ve been pouring into everyone but yourself. Your soulmate can’t find you if your heart is buried under old grief, shame, or suppressed desire. This isn’t about being healed. This is about being honest. Start with small rituals of renewal.You are not too late. You are just right on time. (just in case someone needs to hear it, btw cool all reversed)

🌟 𝓟𝓲𝓵𝓮 3: Telephone

Part 4: What can I do to bring my soulmate into my life?

A telephone is a tool of connection, yes, but more than that it’s a line between two hearts separated by silence. It carries voices, sighs, laughter, confessions.This pile is for those who feel the hum of a connection, but aren’t sure how to pick up the call. Maybe you’ve heard the ringtone in your dreams. Maybe you’ve spoken into the void, unsure if anyone heard, but they did hear it and even answered,but first, you need to unmute your own heart.

Judgement: This is your awakening moment. It’s the card that asks: Are you willing to hear the call you’ve been waiting for? It doesn’t mean you’re being tested. It means you’re being remembered. Judgement is about answering to your higher self and realizing your soulmate is more than just a person. They are a reflection of everything you’ve been becoming. To bring them in, you need to accept the version of you that you’ve outgrown and let her go. You can’t meet your soulmate if you’re still living through the wounds of the person who thought love was dangerous. You have to wake up from that dream now. The call is for this version of you. The one who’s ready.Let go of old love stories that felt like voicemails you were never meant to hear.

Knight of Pentacles (Reversed): In reverse, this card says: you’ve been waiting so long, you’ve convinced yourself it might never happen. It’s not that you’re blocked and it’s that your belief in slow, steady progress has turned into stillness. Maybe your routine became a shield. Maybe you convinced yourself love only comes after you “fix everything.” but your soulmate isn’t waiting for your perfection. They’re waiting for your presence. This card is your sign to unfreeze the part of you that stopped trying.Do the thing you’ve been putting off including the new hobby, the random solo trip, the uncomfortable conversation with your reflection.

The Lovers: The Lovers card says your soulmate is ready to meet you. But are you ready to choose love when it shows up even if it feels scary, unfamiliar, or bigger than what you’ve known? To bring them in, you must choose to love like it’s safe to do so. Even now. Even before they arrive. This means building a relationship with your own desire. Accepting that you are worthy of deep, soul-level connection. Choosing not to ghost your own heart. When you trust that your soulmate is real not fantasy, not someday the universe sends the signal back. The line clears. The call connects and suddenly, you’re no longer alone. You say, “I’m here. I’m ready. Talk to me.”Your soulmate isn’t a missed connection. They’re already trying to dial in. All you have to do is believe that you deserve to pick up.

also, just in case that person needs to hear it.....a specific message for someone (might or might not resonate with everyone)- "he was not worth it."

✦ do you want a personal reading like this?

🌸 I offer:

Celebrity Tarot Reads (K-Pop, BTS, Actors) SP Manifestation Guidance Future Love + Shadow Work Spreads Moon-Coded Letter from Your Twin Flame Channeled Audio Readings + PDF Summaries ✧ First reading? Ask for a free pull!

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📩 DMs Open: @xuexing-lumi Tumblr inbox

🖤 closing words from Lumi:

We ride or die, even through the mess. 💅 — Lumi, the Moon’s Bride 🌕💋

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(ignore):

[iriscasefiles]

Hello! I hope this ask finds you well! Not really a question but I did want to express just how much this podcast means to me. I imagine it means a lot to others like me. As a trans-nonbinary person on the ace spectrum, who is also a person of color that experiences having to deal with anxiety disorders, I feel compelled to thank you. Listening to this podcast has been so helpful for me personally for a number of reasons. The amount of validation and comfort I feel from the show is astounding. I haven't really experienced many pieces of media that make me feel as seen and understood so fully quite like The Strange Case Of Starship Iris does. When I saw that season 3 was coming out, I was ecstatic. I have found myself crying out of sheer joy and relief multiple time throughout this podcast, just because I felt like I wasn't alone in my experiences and existence. I needed to share my gratitude because I think what this amazing podcast has provided for it's community has been invaluable and wondrous. Thank you to everyone who helped create and put forth this amazing podcast, you all do amazing work.

🌟🌟🌟

hi! thank you so much for this message; it means a lot to me. i think most of us write stuff in the hopes it will connect with another person, but i am still unprepared for a message like this. on behalf of the whole team, i'm so glad if the show has been able to help you at all. thank you again for these kind words and i hope you enjoy season three!

[brandinotbroke]

Hi!! I'm curious what you mean by GRM adds a bunch of unnecessary stuff the game doesn't care about that the Legacy sgr doesn't. I've peaked in both of them but the differences all go over my head so it got me curious which parts of the GRM one are unnecessary? And then would it be better to use the Legacy sgr on reddit or to tweak your own existing GRM one to take out the unnecessary things? Or tweak the original maxis one?

Okay, long post because I am going to include screenshots. Let's start with the UC.

Let's look at the VideoCards.sgr first, because that is what GRM works with. When GRM makes your game "recognize" your GPU, what it does is add your graphics card model to the VideoCards.sgr:

But as you can see, the VideoCards.sgr is literally just a list of cards and the comment at the very top says "maps vendor ID to vendor name, maps the card ID to card name". So the game now knows the name of your card and which vendor it is from, but there are no other instructions in this file. So what does the game actually do with this information?

For this, we now need to look at the GraphicsRules.sgr. Relatively at the top of the file, you will see this:

Here it says that the game is supposed to change some options around depending on the card and card vendor. We scroll down to find the specifics. There are a bunch of entries that look pretty similar, so let me just show you one example:

Here, the game checks whether your GPU is listed under the vendor NVIDIA. If this is the case, it then checks whether your graphics card's name includes the terms "NV 1" or "NV 2" or "Riva" or "TNT". If this is the case, it switches to software rasterization instead of hardware rasterization, because those cards were already outdated back in 2004. It does this with all other vendors as well.

Further down there are some more tweaks, such as:

For example, here, the game checks if you have an NVIDIA card (without even checking the specific model!!!) and then creates this workaround texture to prevent blue screens of death -- and this right here is why I said adding your GPU via GRM could even be detrimental, because these tweaks are extremely outdated. They're from 2004, for graphics cards from that era!

What EA did in the Legacy Collection is to simply take all of this out from the GraphicsRules.sgr, since all modern GPUs can handle the game just fine. From what I can see, the game does not check your GPU anymore at all, so it doesn't even matter if you add it via GRM anymore. Using the Legacy Collection version of the GraphicsRules.sgr is just the more "elegant" solution, because it's shorter and doesn't even make the game go on a wild goose hunt for your GPU model in the first place.

[g1ngan1nja]

The basic premise of the series I was referring to is that Murderbot, secunits, exist as presented in the story. You seem to have a quibble with that premise alone.

And yes. Murderbot is sentient, sapient, and conscious. The books are called The Murderbot Diaries, and are in-universe diaries written/recorded by Murderbot, who is the pov character and narrator.

Many characters in the series are initially unclear on Murderbot's sapience/sentience/consciousness. As they get to know it/become familiar with it, it is immediately obvious to them that Murderbot is a person. Just like how you might better grasp these concepts if you read the books. (You should. They are very good. But I digress.) Murderbot works through a lot in the series, including what it wants, what it should do, what others mean to it, and how to present itself to others. It isn't "human," but it is a person. So yes, Murderbot does work through big questions about who it is and what it wants to do, but its sapience/sentience/intelligence is clear to the reader from the drop.

And no. Murderbot did not "grow up." It was never any kind of child--it was created in the form that it is.

No, Murderbot is not "better because it can multitask." It is better at security because it is stronger, faster, more durable, and better equipped than any human could possibly be, and it is capable of technological interfacing that would be impossible even for highly augmented humans.

And yes. Murderbot sometimes minimizes some processes to focus more on primary tasks, but it can function with many ongoing processes simultaneously. That is literally its function.

Yes, Murderbot is affected by fear, stress, anxiety, etc. it just doesn't have the luxury of letting those emotions affect its behaviour because doing so risks it being scrapped for parts. Also it can turn off its pain sensors. Yes, its life is basically torture. Yes, despite tremendous anxiety and trauma it is really good at its job.

And yes. As noted previously, Murderbot is faster than a human.

And yes. Insurance is a big part of the hyper-capitalist hellscape of the corporation rim. You can't do things without insurance, just like in many parts of the world you can't drive without insurance. But stating that it is an insurance-driven economy is a massive oversimplification. The insurance/bond payments are relevant to the story because the company that rents out secunits is a security company. Therefore everyone to engages with them does so with the intention of purchasing security from them. So yes. That purchase means renting a secunit. Because that's what the insurance requires they do. Yes, you can go to another company. Yes, they will also charge you for secunit security. No it isnt governmentally required. No you cannot just waltz around on planetary surveys without paying a bond company to A: bring you there, B: provide all your equipment/resources, and C: purchase a security package that includes (minimum) 1 secunit. Because it is a capitalist hellscape where the people who own the rights to a planet are the same people you are paying to go there an buy security from. Don't want to? Want to go to another planet? Cool, now you need to make all the same deals and purchases with the corp that owns the rights to *that* planet. Want to try to ignore them? They will A: kill you, B: sue the shit out of you, or C: fine you an astronomical sum. It's corporate hell! They have a monopoly on power, money, and violence. That is clear at this point, yes?

I... I know that's not how humans learn tasks... "Secunits can learn how people do, OR through [education modules]." Secunits can download and use information in a way humans absolutely can not BECAUSE THEY'RE SECUNITS! And they can also learn through lessons and experience BECAUSE THEY ARE SECUNITS! That's the whole point. And this learning isn't about problem solving a computer might struggle with, it's about learning to do things like flying hoppers, using weapons, hacking hostile security systems, etc.

A lot of this would be much clearer if you, you know, read the book instead of asking questions without context. Yes, you can ask questions. No, it is not a good way to understand the characters or the story. "What happens in Harrow the Ninth?" The answers you get will not in any way enlighten you if you don't know what happens in the rest of the series. Neither will trying to understand who or what Murderbot is without reading (or perhaps watching) The (Murderbot) Diaries.

It's a fascinating dichotomy that my dash is like approximately 1/3 people justifiably complaining about generative AI and talking about how we shouldn't anthropomorphize computer systems run by evil corporate entities and then at the same time also it is 1/3 posts about how adorable and relatable Murderbot is. Like, I don't have anything against Murderbot, it doesn't really sound like it's up my alley, but it seems fun. It's just really funny to me

[dominaexmachina]

Love the passion. But let’s break this down, shall we?

1. You say “art gets prompted.”

I don’t think you understand what prompting means. Prompting isn’t “downloading someone’s work” — it’s text input. Models don’t fetch art like Google Images. They generate based on abstracted patterns, not pixel theft.

2. You mention Miyazaki.

Yes, he called one specific AI animation “an insult to life” — because it depicted a grotesque, malformed humanoid writhing in pain. His reaction was about the concept, not AI itself. He’s also famously critical of CG and even some forms of 3D. Should the entire industry stop using those too?

3. Let’s talk about how learning works.

AI learns by studying massive datasets and recognizing patterns.

Artists do the same: they absorb thousands of visual references, mimic, remix, and eventually create their own voice. The process is eerily similar. If “training” on others’ work is theft, then every artist who ever studied anatomy from a Michelangelo sketch is guilty.

4. “Some random guy downloads your animations and trains AI on it.”

This isn’t how modern datasets work. Training sets are huge, anonymized, and filtered. If you upload art to public platforms without protection, that’s a platform-level issue. Pinterest and moodboards have existed for decades. Where was the outrage then?

5. “Generative AI is not needed at all.”

Cool. Don’t use it. But you don’t get to define “need” for everyone else. Millions use it, and your comment doesn’t change the fact that 88% of respondents don’t even try, while the few who do often don’t go back. That’s what my post is about — usage patterns and experience.

And just to clarify — you wrote this post using a device powered by machine learning, on a platform governed by recommendation algorithms trained via machine learning, to talk about how generative AI is “not needed at all”?

You’re already neck-deep in AI and didn’t even notice.

Lastly, how exactly does any of this invalidate my point?

I’ll wait 😌🫖

[dragonflight203]

Is the problem the technology itself or the human element?

AI is fundamentally a new technology. Basically, as I've heard it described, advanced predictive text.

Advanced predictive text on its own is neither good or evil. It exists.

The problems arise with how how people interact it.

I think that’s a distinction that needs to be made when discussing AI – is it the technology itself that’s being discussed or the circumstances around it?

All new technological advancements are resource intensive when they're first developed. I don’t consider that unreasonable as part of research (in moderation, with proper justification provided); part of experimenting is trying different methods to see what works. Once there’s success it should be refined.

The issue is that AI was rolled out to the masses without being made more efficient.

That could be controlled with regulation. Will it be?

My guess is not in the immediate future. But that’s a human problem. If corporations were required to make AI more efficient to deploy it, they’d find it.

AI will inevitably become more efficient in the future as corporations fight for an edge; they’ll make it more efficient if only for their own cost saving. How quickly and efficiently… That’s on people.

AI also needs to be trained on a base of material.

That is not in itself a problem; public domain could be used as a source or corporations could acquire materials by properly compensating people for providing them.

That AI has been trained on material stolen by others is a human problem. It’s not inherent to AI.

There’s no reason that AI models can’t be trained ethically. That they are not is the fault of the humans that create them and the governments (failing to) regulate them.

Corporations are using AI as an opportunity to modify the law to their own benefit.

That’s again entirely a human problem. AI in itself does not create the law or change the law.

All new technological advancements create new legal questions that must be answered; revenge porn is the one that immediately comes to mind, but the internet and cell phones have certainly created others.

With AI, copyright law has been a big one. But it’s not inevitable that the results of the new legal questions should favor corporations; if they do, that will be because people chose that.

By raising copyright questions AI could be used as an opportunity to overhaul copyright law for the better.

I doubt it will be. But that’s because of humans, not AI.

And so on. At the end of the day, AI is just a tool; it’s disruptive like the printing press, textile machines, and internet were before it.

Just like with those developments, AI doesn’t need to inherently cause harm. It inevitably will and it has, but those are because of choices people made.

And while that’s incredibly frustrating, it also means that the future harm can potentially be negated. People can make different choices.

Unfortunately, it’ll be an uphill battle against corporations with a lot of money and resources on their side… But those battles have been fought before with other major technological developments and progress has been made.

AI and the circumstances around it both warrant discussion to me.

AI as a tool has potential uses. If nothing else, it will be used to develop future technologies and warrants a critical eye with that potential in mind. Even if it’s not useful now, how could it be made useful?

The circumstances around it has rightfully engendered much future. The energy usage, the stolen training materials, the laws… People are angry for many good reasons. How can these be remediated?

The circumstances are all malleable. I do think it’s theoretically possible to create an ethical AI, if highly unlikely in the future. And if there could be an ethical AI, I think discussions about it’s potential uses could be quite interesting.

The thing about debates about AI art is they're debates worth having, I think, and the answers aren't obvious but they're also not new debates.

The debate about whether you can use AI to write a story and then claim it as your story is essentially the same argument as whether you can display a factory made brick in an art gallery and call yourself the artist. Is it art? Is it your art? We've been having this debate for the last century.

The debate about AI plagiarism is similar to the debate about whether Andy Warhol should be allowed to copy comic panels made by poorly paid artists and make far more money for them as his art. Where do the limits of "inspired by" lie?

If I accept knitting, sewing and pottery as art but still buy factory made clothes and plates do I have a leg to stand on if I object to factory made stories? Does it matter if machines can reproduce art? (I like that machines can't crochet because I prefer crochet to knitting, but this does not inherently make my crochet more valuable than if I had taken up knitting.)

Also, prior to the industrial revolution there was a lot of knitting and sewing and spinning in the world that was being done not because people enjoyed it or were making an artistic statement but because it had to be done. If 50% of the world's population still had to spend huge amounts of time producing fabric, would the world be better for it? Does it really matter if we are writing our own emails?

I don't like the idea of reading a story with nobody on the other side of it, as it were, a conversation with something incapable of understanding. But how much of that is because stories are my art?