#Introduction to Derivatives

[software-bugs-b-gon]

show us your palico/palamute!!!

She sometimes calls herself 'the Zhuge Meow', since she's a map and strategy expert. Though that's a given when your Player is at MR 300+...

Also, I haven't tried Rise, so I can't comment on Palamutes yet. I'll be playing Rise after World, though!

[serpentface]

Comparing livestock color-words.

Both the Chenahyeigi and Wardi languages are derived from peoples who have been pastoralists for millennia, and both have an absolute ton of words for livestock coloration.

Both languages have had at least some mutual influence for about a thousand years (to varying extents by dialect, depending on geography/trade connection) so you'll see similar or identical words crop up here and there.

THE WORDS:

Hneya - [hne:ʝɑ] or [hne:jɑ] (whether the ʝ sound is retained in speech and to what extent varies by dialect)

Straightforwardly refers to bright reddish-orange color, but is mostly used for animals rather than other orangeish things. The word Was probably influenced by an older form of the Wardi 'reyla', and absorbed with the introduction of orange colored cattle. It may have been merged with the Chenahyeigi '(h)ne', which is the root of several red color-related terms.

Reyla - [rejlɑ]

This is a Wardi word for most reddish-orange hues in general. When applied to livestock, it refers to solid orange coats without spotting/masks/notable countershading.

Fels akhri - [fels] [ɑ:khɾi]

Translates readily as 'storm cloud' (the 'storm' here specifies thunderstorms). When applied to livestock, it describes fur that is rich dark blue-gray with white guard hairs.

Aganne - [ɑgɑ:ne]

This doesn't actually translate to 'night sea' in a straightforward manner, but as a color word it's poetically associated with dark seas, at night or in storms. When used for livestock, it describes this coloration exclusively.

Woud et lleng - [woʊd] [ɛt] [ɬeŋk]

Woud is the word for rich moist soil specifically, lleng refers to laterite and its association with iron deposits. This phrase is used to describe livestock with dark brown heads and and orange-brown bodies.

Tsipanibe - [t͡sipɑnibe]

This would be more literally translated as 'ochred'. Many Wardi words with the -ibe stem from verbs or nouns modified to indicate that the subject matter has 'received' an action or concept. (Examples of such words are long-established linguistically, you can't just add '-ibe' to any noun or verb). This one takes the root 'tsipan' (ochre) and applies it to the subject matter (cattle coloration).

Livestock with a dark brown or black head and orange-brown body are given this description, the idea being that their bodies look like they've been painted in ochre. This word is extremely rare outside of this context (you would usually just say the full 'ochre-painted' to convey this idea for other things)

Drengh yipeg - [dɾeŋg(h) yɪpɛ:g]

This is pretty straightforwardly 'little moon'. Yipeg comes from the same root as the Wardi 'hippe' for 'small', while drengh refers to the appearance of the moons in the sky (rather than the gods they embody). It's used to describe small round white blaze marks.

Ipalen hamita - [ipɑlɛn (h)ɑmitə]

Straightforwardly 'star marked', used for small round white blaze marks. Wardi actually does have a 'moon marked' (ipalen amit) to describe round white blazes that entirely cover the animal's forehead.

Brinyavir - [bɾi:nʝɑvir] (ʝ is retained for this word in most dialects)

This one is not directly translatable, 'celestial' or 'heavenly' just function closely enough. The word conceptually relates to stars but most specifically describes a layer of sky in which the afterlife rests (brinyavir is part of the phrase I translate as 'celestial fields'). The cattle there are said to have these markings. The stars in the night sky are sometimes playfully described as the spots of these cattle (though not literally, in Chenahyeigi cosmology stars are spirit-inhabited bonfires lit along pathways through the heavens).

As a color word for livestock, brinyavir refers to this rare (I Think nonexistent irl) white-spotted black coloration, due to both resembling the stars and the cattle that are moved among them.

Asi inwetadi - [ɑsi in:wetɑ:di]

This directly means 'like night sky', and is applied to this coat pattern with a similar underlying logic- it looks like a starry night sky. You will often see asi (like/akin to) retained in place or animal names like this, and it is sometimes part of names for people (the name Asinya is derived from a contracted 'like the sun').

Ogriye - Chenahyeigi: [oʊ:gɾije] Wardi: [oʊgɾi:je]

This word is (or was) a way to say 'gravel' or 'gravelly' in both Chenahyeigi and Wardi, and is pronounced very similarly in both (with the only significant difference being emphasis)

In Chenahyeigi it is a loanword from the Wardi language family, most likely received in the exchange of cattle of this coloration. It is retained in general speech as a word for gravel, more specifically the adjective 'gravelly'.

The word is mostly obsolete in contemporary Wardi, speakers do not know it used to mean 'gravel' (though it sounds close enough to assume a connection, the word is 'ogri') and exclusively use it to describe this livestock coloration (one of the more common among Wardi native cattle).

---

Also here's some cow lore.

There's some fairly tremendous diversity in Wardi cattle herds, given they have genetic influence from at least two separate aurochs domestication events (also distant and negligibly minor influence from one instance of bison domestication) and from multiple relatively isolated domestic cattle populations. Present day herds within Wardi provincial territory near-ubiquitously have at least some ancestry from the kulustaig and the Burri tepang cattle.

The ancestors of the Wardi native cow have been in the region for at Least 5,000 years. Burri cattle Possibly could have had tiny, isolated introductions between 2500-3000 years ago (this is extremely unlikely, but maize Was probably introduced by seafaring proto-Burri peoples at this time) or at more recent points since, and the tepang was certainly introduced during Imperial Burri occupation. High quality cattle are also occasionally received in diplomacy with the present-day Different Entity that is the Burri Republic. The kulustaig cattle arrived with proto-Finnic migrants starting 1500 years ago, and is the biggest external genetic influence on Wardi herds. Small populations of Yuroma native cattle arrived with migrants 540 years ago, though these have been wholly absorbed into Wardi herds, with their biggest trace being genes for naturally polled horns. Some Finn cattle were extracted in the recent two decades of Wardi occupation, though not enough to have a noteworthy genetic impact on any herds.

Most of the cattle in this post show predominantly Wardi native cattle + kulustaig ancestry (this takes place in the Ephenni riverlands, where the ancestry of herds tends to be around 2:1). The one with the blaze has a delicate sloping muzzle that suggests Burri tepang ancestry, and also likely has a wild aurochs grandparent (the white ring around the nose is a telltale sign, as it usually vanishes within a few generations of introgression).

Diversity in color and coat pattern is culturally favored for Wardi cattle herds, and selective breeding for aesthetics is usually limited to the purpose of preserving unique coats. The average herd tends to be very colorful, though the one shown here is a bit of an outlier, the universe having mysteriously put in place perfect conditions to compare the words for a variety of coat patterns.

[alchemylight]

Derivative Houses Part 1 of 13 - The Introduction

(YT Video) Derivative Houses Part 1 of 13 - The Introduction

So what does this series aim to convey?In our lives, we never meet somebody by chance. There is always a cause for the existence of lunatics, eccentrics, optimists, pessimists, opportunists, idealists, or realists in our life. Their characters have been preserved throughout time and may be found in our charts. There is no such thing as a coincidence; we meet people for a reason, just as you have…

[txttletale]

What I don't get is that other your support of AI image generation, you're SO smart and well read and concerned with ethics. I genuinely looked up to you! So, what, ethics for everyone except for artists, or what? Is animation (my industry, so maybe I care more than the average person) too juvenile and simplistic a medium for you to care about its extinction at the hands of CEOs endorsing AI? This might sound juvenile too, but I'm kinda devastated, because I genuinely thought you were cool. You're either with artists or against us imho, on an issue as large as this, when already the layoffs in the industry are insurmountable for many, despite ongoing attempts to unionize. That user called someone a fascist for pointing this out, too. I guess both of you feel that way about those of us involved in class action lawsuits against AI image generation software.

i can't speak for anyone else or the things they've said or think of anyone. that said:

1. you should not look up to people on the computer. i'm just a girl running a silly little blog.

2. i am an artist across multiple mediums. the 'no true scotsman' bit where 'artists' are people who agree with you and you can discount anyone disagrees with you as 'not an artist' and therefore fundamentally unsympathetic to artists will make it very difficult to actually engage in substantive discussion.

3. i've stated my positions on this many times but i'll do it one more: i support unionization and industrial action. i support working class artists extracting safeguards from their employers against their immiseration by the introduction of AI technology into the work flow (i just made a post about this funnily enough). i think it is Bad for studio execs or publishers or whoever to replace artists with LLMs. However,

4. this is not a unique feature of AI or a unique evil built into the technology. this is just the nature of any technological advance under capitalism, that it will be used to increase productivity, which will push people out of work and use the increased competition for jobs to leverage that precarity into lower wages and worse conditions. the solution to this is not to oppose all advances in technology forever--the solution is to change the economic system under which technologies are leveraged for profit instead of general wellbeing.

5. this all said anyone involved in a class action lawsuit over AI is an enemy of art and everything i value in the world, because these lawsuits are all founded in ridiculous copyright claims that, if legitimated in court, would be cataclysmic for all transformative art--a victory for any of these spurious boondoggles would set a precedent that the bar for '''infringement''' is met by a process that is orders of magnitude less derivative than collage, sampling, found art, cut-ups, and even simple homage and reference. whatever windmills they think they are going to defeat, these people are crusading for the biggest expansion of copyright regime since mickey mouse and anyone who cares at all about art and creativity flourishing should hope they fail.

[golearners]

A brief introduction to Derivative Calculus: Definition, History, and Rules

A brief introduction to Derivative Calculus: Definition, History, and Rules In mathematics, finding the instantaneous rate of variation in a function based on specified factors is known as the derivative procedure. In Calculus, a derivative is a fundamental concept. In simpler terms, a derivative is a contract between two parties that specifies the conditions under which payments are to be made…

[astrofaeology]

Groom in the Houses

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ᡣ𐭩 Please support me by reposting, liking, following me and commenting your placement. The asterioid groom (5129) can reveal the charteristics of your future husband and your relationship with your masculine romantic interests can be derived from the placement in your natal chart.

1st house Your future husband will likely be very visible and personal in your life, someone who impacts your identity strongly. You might meet him through activities that involve self-expression or personal development, such as sports, fitness, or events where you showcase your individuality. This partner could also come into your life through situations where first impressions count.

2nd house He may be connected to your values, finances, or possessions, often someone who provides security. Meeting could happen through work related to money or material things — like banks, real estate, or markets. He might also come through family traditions or through shared financial interests and investments.

3rd house Your future husband is likely communicative and connected to your immediate environment. You could meet him through neighbors, siblings, local events, or educational settings like classes or workshops. Travel close to home, community gatherings, or social media connections are also possible meeting points.

4th house This man might be deeply tied to home, family, or emotional roots. You could meet him through family events, childhood neighborhoods, or even while dealing with family matters or real estate. There’s a strong emotional or domestic foundation in this connection, possibly through home gatherings or ancestral ties.

5th house Romance and creativity are central with this placement. You may meet your husband through fun, playful activities — parties, dating events, artistic or performance spaces, or anything involving children or hobbies. This placement suggests a joyful, lighthearted approach to meeting your future spouse.

6th house Work, health, and daily routines are important themes here. Your husband might come into your life through your job, workplace, or volunteer activities. Health clubs, clinics, or places related to service and helping others could be where you meet. This partner is likely involved in your everyday life in practical ways.

7th house The classic house of partnership and marriage — your future husband could come directly through relationship-focused environments. Dating sites, marriage agencies, social events, or through introductions by mutual friends are common meeting places. This placement highlights the importance of conscious, committed partnerships.

8th house Deep emotional or transformational bonds mark this placement. You may meet your husband through shared finances, inheritances, or situations involving crisis or healing. This could be through legal matters, counseling, or intense life experiences that bring you closer. There’s often a mysterious or magnetic quality to this meeting.

9th house Your future husband might be connected to travel, higher learning, or philosophy. Meeting could happen abroad, at universities, religious or spiritual gatherings, or through cultural events. This partner likely broadens your horizons and shares your love of exploration and big ideas.

10th house Career and public image are highlighted here. You could meet your husband through work, professional networks, or public events. This person might be influential or well-known in their field. Meeting could also occur at conferences, awards ceremonies, or places where people gather to achieve goals.

11th house Friendship and social groups are key. Your husband might come from your circle of friends, clubs, or activist groups. You may meet him at social gatherings, online communities, or through shared causes and ideals. This placement suggests a partner who is also your friend and shares your vision for the future.

12th house This placement suggests a more hidden or spiritual connection. You could meet your future husband in secluded or behind-the-scenes places like hospitals, retreats, or spiritual centers. Sometimes the meeting is subtle or feels destined, happening through dreams, intuition, or in quiet, private moments.

DISCLAIMER: This post is a generalisation and may not resonate. I recommend you get a reading from an astrologer (me). If you want a reading from me check out my sales page.

@astrofaeology private services 2025 all rights reserved

[uyuforu]

Your Future Spouse's Appearance & Personality based on Astrology

All pictures were found on Pinterest

Other posts you could like:

જ⁀➴ Derivative Astrology Introduction

જ⁀➴ How to know where your Future Spouse was born with Astrology

જ⁀➴ How to know your Future Spouse's career with Astrology

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╰┈➤ Get your own Derivative Astrology Future Spouse Reading for 35€ ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪

݁ᛪ༙⛧ Why the 7H?

♱ The 7H in astrology represents the Future Spouse. Based on this house, we can see our Future Spouse's life based on our Natal Chart. This technique is called Derivative Astrology.

♱ The technique here is to take our 7H as our Future Spouse's 1H. So this house, since the 1H is about how we look like, will represent our FS' appearance. We can also know about who they are in general.

♱ So today we will focus on our personal 7H, in our Natal Chart. Planet from Sun to Pluto mostly. Asteroids will be additional.

݁ᛪ༙⛧ The Technique

♱ In your 7H, you will need to check the sign it is in. You will also check the degree of the house, but also the ruler, and what planets are in the 4H. We are only going to check planets! Sun to Pluto only!

♱ For the Ruler of your 7H, you will need to check where it is in your chart and under what sign.

♱ For the planets inside, it will tell us what your FS looks like. I'll give all the key words down there on the post. For the planets, we will use the ones that are the closest to your Descendant line AND in the 7H! So if you have any planets that exactly conjuncts your Descendant, it's perfect! Otherwise, just take the closest. The closest planets to take will need to be 10° apart maximum from the line of the Descendant!

Quick example: My 7H is in Aries, so I will look at Aries section. In my 7H I have Jupiter and Saturn, so I will also look in those sections. I also have those planets in Taurus, so I will also look at the Taurus section. Then, I check my degree, 19°, so Libra section too. Now, I look at the Ruler of my 7H (Mars), and check in which house it is in.

╰┈➤ Get your own Derivative Astrology Future Spouse Reading for 35€ ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪

݁ᛪ༙⛧ Keywords & Help

♱ Aries/ 1H/ 1°, 13°, 25°/ Mars

FS can have Aries rising, Aries degree on their rising, or Mars in their 1H. They can also have a Mars ruled Rising. Future Spouse can look athletic, in well shaped, they can have muscles. They can look arrogant, or very masculine. They can look hot to you, they can look build or thick, they can have nice, thick eyebrows, they can have sharp eyes, they can have a strong or loud voice, they can also have an interest in their body, or somehow have a prominent body. When they walk in a room, people often can notice their body. People can also thirst over them. Your FS can be impulsive, they can seem aggressive, or too confident, they can see like they have temperament issues. You can also have a feeling that FS is quite direct in their moves or how they act with you. You can feel like FS is very protective and jealous too. FS can be smart and talk a lot too. They can also often cut people when they speak. The dominant type.

♱ Taurus/ 2H/ 2°, 14°, 26°/ Venus

FS can have Taurus rising, Taurus degree on their rising, or Venus in their 1H. They can also have a Venus ruled Rising. Future Spouse can look very good, beautiful, handsome, you can feel like you are blessing with someone just look stunning. Your person can have a lot of charm, they can look so good they can attract a lot of people. They can be extrovert or be a social butterfly. They can be into art, be creative, they can also like music. They can look like they are wealthy, rich, or just luxurious. They can often dress in a way that make them look so good looking. They can look like they are thick, curvy too, it can often give you a Future Spouse with beautiful and feminine traits as well. They can smell incredibly good and have a very good voice too.

♱ Gemini/ 3H/ 3°, 15°, 27°/ Mercury

FS can have Gemini rising, Gemini degree on their rising, or Mercury in their 1H. They can also have a Mercury ruled Rising. FS can look young, they can be younger than you too. FS can be very smart, they can be witty, funny, humorous, they can be very curious in general too. FS can talk a lot, think a lot, they can often want to learn many languages, or they know many languages. FS can enjoy drama too. FS just like informations and tea, they wanna know for sure. FS can have a normal height, they can also have a prominent laugh, a beautiful smile, they can have a "smiley face", they can have shiny eyes too.

♱ Cancer/ 4H/ 4°, 16°, 28°/ Moon

FS can have Cancer rising, Cancer degree on their rising, or Moon in their 1H. They can also have a Moon ruled Rising. FS can be younger than you or look young compared to their age. FS can look sweet, innocent, FS can have prominent eyes, they can look good, they can have a very soft skin, smooth too. They can look childish, or act childish. Their chest area can be prominent too, if they are a woman, they can also be blessed with beautiful curves. Can be thick as well. Can have a normal height to small, their face can be round, they can also have high peach voice, a smooth one too. Soft spoken. They can also be pretty chill, calm, sweet. They can be known for being the sweetest. They can have round, big shiny eyes.

♱ Leo/ 5H/ 5°, 17°, 29°/ Sun

FS can have Leo rising, Leo degree on their rising, or Sun in their 1H. They can also have a Sun ruled Rising. FS can look very charming, they can look very bright, someone with beautiful smile, smiley face, they can look like a main character, very unique. They can often look good, know how to dress well even casually. They can have a very good voice, they can also have a good laugh, one that is loud too. They can have prominent hair as well, often thick. They can often work out, be toned or athletic. They can be friendly, nice, sweet, they can seem like they are confident, they can have a good personality, popular, people can often like them. They can be wealthy, come from a wealthy family, they can be wise too.

♱ Virgo/ 6H/ 6°, 18°/ Mercury

FS can have Virgo rising, Virgo degree on their rising, or Mercury in their 1H. They can also have a Mercury ruled Rising. FS can look young, they can be younger than you too. FS can be very smart, they can be witty, funny. FS can love to study, FS can also be a perfectionist, they can also be into control, cleaning, arranging, etc. They can seem cold at first, or very serious. FS is calm, chill, but often can also be anxious or stressed. They can look tired as well. FS can have a normal height, they can look tired, they can have a beautiful smile, they can have a beautiful voice, they can also look very neat, clean. They can smell good. Can have darker eyes too, not only the color but more about the aura.

♱ Libra/ 7H/ 7°, 19°/ Venus

FS can have Libra rising, Libra degree on their rising, or Venus in their 1H. They can also have a Venus ruled Rising. Future Spouse can look very good, beautiful, handsome, you can feel like you are blessing with someone just look stunning. Your person can have a lot of charm, they can look so good they can attract a lot of people. They can be extrovert or be a social butterfly. They can be into art, be creative, they can also like music. They can often dress in a way that make them look so good looking. They can often have a very good body, they can be blessed with a beautiful bottom too. They can have a nice skin as well. They can just have the gift of always looking nice, whatever they were and wherever they are. Can also attract a lot of suitors.

♱ Scorpio/ 8H/ 8°, 20°/ Pluto

FS can have Scorpio rising, Scorpio degree on their rising, or Mars/ Pluto in their 1H. They can also have a Mars or Pluto ruled Rising. FS can look quite mysterious, they can also have a dark aura, can be cold and distant. They can also look scary and intimidating. They can often change their appearance, they can have dark eyes, dark hair, thick hair, thick eyebrows, they can be slim, they can also have beautiful and deep eyes, you could stare in those for hours. Though, their eyes can also cut if they could, their emotions often go through their stare. FS is independent, FS is intense, mysterious, deep, FS can be controlling, possessive and jealous. FS can also have a strong will, they can also be powerful somehow. FS holds deep secrets and are secretive in general.

♱ Sagittarius/ 9H/ 9°, 21°/ Jupiter

FS can have Sagittarius rising, Sagittarius degree on their rising, or Jupiter in their 1H. They can also have a Jupiter ruled Rising. FS can be older than you, they can look quite charming, can look optimistic, they can also look very good. FS can be tall to normal height, they can also be thick or curvy. FS have a good proportions on their body. FS can have a main character vibe, they can be sweet, nice, smart, funny, they can also be witty. FS can love to learn, and be curious. FS can be wise and mature, they can be thirsty for knowledge. FS can be popular, people love them. FS can be religious or spiritual, FS can also be independent, likes to be free. FS will be honest too.

♱ Capricorn/ 10H/ 10°, 22°/ Saturn

FS can have Capricorn rising, Capricorn degree on their rising, or Saturn in their 1H. They can also have a Saturn ruled Rising. FS can be older than you, they can also look more mature, wise, older too. FS can indeed be mature mentally, they can be stable as well, they can have money, be wealthy, comes from a wealthy family, money can come from their father. They can be someone who is wise, calm, but they can be anxious, stressed or depressed, burn out. They can look tired often. FS can still be charming, they can also seem cold or too serious when you meet them. Can actually not smile often in general. They can be quite slim, or skinny, they can also have prominent teeth.

♱ Aquarius/ 11H/ 11°, 23°/ Uranus

FS can have Aquarius rising, Aquarius degree on their rising, or Saturn/ Uranus in their 1H. They can also have a Saturn or Uranus ruled Rising. FS can look tall, slim, they can also have a very unique style, or dress in an eccentric way. They can often want to stand out physically. FS can have messy hair lol. Sharp eyes too. FS can seem chill and calm. FS is smart, intelligent, eccentric, original, can be considered weird by some, passionate. FS can also take interest in the most uncommon hobbies, or have hobbies that are avant-garde. FS can often be popular and not get it or do not care. FS wants to be seen as different it's their pride lol.

♱ Pisces/ 12H/ 12°, 24°/ Neptune

FS can have Pisces rising, Pisces degree on their rising, or Jupiter/ Neptune in their 1H. They can also have a Jupiter or Neptune ruled Rising. FS can look young, can look younger than their real age. FS can look thick, curvy. FS can have shiny eyes, they can often seem like they are about to cry. FS can look innocent, sweet, nice. FS can be short, they can also have fair skin, or smooth one too. FS can look like they often daydream, in their world, they can be shy and not talk much at first. FS can be very nice, sweet, FS can be selfless, but can have hard time to put boundaries with people. Too nice. Can be naive too. FS loves art, music, etc. FS can easily be addicted to things. Can smoke or drink. FS can also look sleepy!

Thank you for reading!

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[papoochu]

With the introduction of Nathalie's father in the latest episode, I decided it was time to finally put my interpretation of him on paper so I can catalog how my perception of him changes. Below are some design notes, backstory, and character study comments. (Warning: it's a lot) Of course, spoiler alert for my fic!

Background:

Victor = reference to Frankenstein

Serdtseva = derived from the word "heart" in Russian

Gave Nathalie “Sancoeur” as a way to distance himself + as a cruel joke

Born circa 1930 in Leningrad to a lower-middle-class family.

Family had connections to the Russian Orthodox Church.

Early Life & Imprisonment:

His early experiences during the Holodomor sparked outrage at the government

Arrested in the late 1940s during the Leningrad Affair while a university student for:

Openly practicing religion in an anti-Orthodox Soviet state.

Expressing interest in banned Western philosophy and literature.

Possible possession of prohibited texts or being reported by a peer.

Sentenced to several years in the Gulag system.

Endures brutal conditions.

Experience deeply affects and distorts his worldview.

Post-Stalin Release & Academic Career:

Released after Stalin’s death in 1953 during the Khrushchev Thaw.

Quietly reinstated into academic life as a professor.

Outwardly reformed; secretly continues dissident activities.

Smuggles and distributes censored literature (e.g., Solzhenitsyn, Western political theory, Orthodox theology).

Involvement in Samizdat & Tamizdat:

Participates in Samizdat (underground self-publishing of banned texts):

Used typewriters with carbon paper to make multiple copies.

Circulated materials within academic circles—dorms, staff offices, cultural clubs.

Involved in Tamizdat (smuggling works abroad to be published).

Rise and Fall in Soviet Society:

Gains influence through connections with:

Other Gulag survivors.

Ideologically flexible bureaucrats.

Rehabilitated intellectuals.

Later accused of sexual misconduct involving minors.

Truth unclear; rumors spread in both academic and dissident communities.

Under increased scrutiny, he resigns and vanishes from Soviet public life.

Exile and Life in France:

Possibly uses false claims of Jewish ancestry or religious affiliation to escape.

Refugee channels assisted by HIAS, Amnesty International, or the Catholic Church.

Smuggled out via Austria or Italy; resettled in France.

Reappears in Lille:

Poses as a Soviet defector and intellectual.

Possibly tolerated by French authorities during Cold War for intelligence value.

Lives in exile—brilliant but embittered, haunted by past, with a sense of superiority.

Family & Decline:

Marries a fellow Soviet émigré, also carrying trauma.

Despite poverty and alienation, they have an unplanned child—Nathalie.

Becomes more religious in exile:

Uses faith to rationalize and justify his actions.

Becomes a controlling and abusive husband and father:

Traumatized, egotistical, and morally fractured.

Legacy marked by ideological extremism and deep personal damage.

Can't find proper work at first due to anti-USSR sentiments - first 2 decades in Lille marked by poverty

He works as a tutor

Slowly finds connections again as people recognize his prestige and skill

Works up in status again

His skills land him a spot on the council

Design Notes/Character Study:

Foil to Nathalie, the Duke, and Gabriel

Color scheme inverted from Gabriel’s

Nathalie dresses similarly to him

She looks more like her mother, but she undoubtedly is her father’s pet daughter

He dresses similarly to the Duke (in a darker color scheme)

Yellow tinge to his shirt - reminds viewer of decay and the past

Outfit based on Shostakovich

He likes to be put together:

Wears gloves

Doesn’t like to touch people directly

Touches Nathalie without gloves (views her as subhuman)

However, his past always cracks through

Clothes slightly oversized

Not afraid to get dirty

Clinical and precise

Juxtaposes Gabriel often getting emotional

Using Courier font rather than the usual Wild Words

Military training background in the USSR

Movements are precise and conservative

Gaunt

Muscle atrophy in the gulags

Doesn’t resort to brute force - is clinical and methodical in his violence

Uses leverage and environment to break bones

Learned to be observant

Scar on throat

His refusal to be silenced (contrasting Nathalie)

Dislikes humanity

Wants a better world

Likes cynical literature like Dostoevsky

Irony: completely misses the point of Crime and Punishment (book he is holding)

Blames the world around him

Believes Raskolnikov’s confession was weakness

Similar to Gabriel in that way

In the picture, he is beating up a predator

Irony: he too is a predator

Not out of concern or justice - out of possessiveness

Likes to inflict torture

First, break the legs (break strongest weapons; prevent escape)

Then, then the arms (not able to grab anything)

Final blow between C1-C7 vertebrae (if not dead, you’re quadriplegic for life)

Contrast to Nathalie, who prefers to tie up loose end quickly and cleanly + Gabriel who hasn’t crossed the line of killing

Eyes like "Lucifer" by Franz von Stuck

[villainintern]

... is an upcoming Choicescript interactive fiction game! You can follow development updates on the dev blog here, view the forum page here, and play the demo here.

Villain Intern is currently right at the end of Chapter One: Onboarding as of 5/18/25, sitting at just over 58,000 words.

[FAQ Here and character introductions here, for the newer villains!]

Play as an aspiring supervillain interning at UnderHand, a legacy criminal corporation. Start from the bottom and navigate a world where everyone has it out for you, leveraging your strange superhuman abilities and your knack for manipulation. Make a name for yourself as an executive villain (with your own swanky corner office!), or turn against your higher-ups and usurp the company,…or throw away your promising career for the greater good, I guess...

Powers and Customization:

Choose from two different ability trees. Play as either a homemade cyborg with (painful looking) mechanical augmentations of your own design, or a genetically mutated freak with mysterious, bizarre abilities derived from animal genes. Choose 3 of the 9 unique abilities available for each power type, which update (or mutate) to scale as you get stronger. Climb walls, perfectly mimic any voice, rotate your head 360 degrees, talk to the AI assistant in your brain, etc etc! As a rule, you start out villainous, but whether you’re charming or sinister, sniveling or demanding, and backstabbing or frontstabbing is up to you.

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Key Characters and Relationships

Relationship progression tracks two major stats- your connection with a character, and your rivalry, which are not mutually exclusive. So you can romance your greatest nemesis, backstab your closest friend, that kind of thing. Or both at once, with the same person, even..

Fellow Interns:

👾 Peter Hyde is your cubicle neighbor, a geeky slackoff who’s fond of novelty ties. Unlike you, Peter doesn’t really want to be here, but he seems for some reason unable to quit. Laid-back, conflict avoidant, and generally easy to manipulate, he’s easy minion material for the MC- but his attitude belies a volatile, monstrous secret. Which can be a great asset or a major risk, depending on if you can maintain your control over him.

🤖 T9-670 is a seven-foot tall ex-war machine. Once a military member conscripted to UnderHand’s private security decal, its contract didn’t end when it died- the soldier’s brain was transplanted into a humanoid steel frame with a dark glass plate for a face. T9 is doing some soul searching- it’s not totally sure if it even has one left, but it would like to have a purpose beyond fixing printers and mowing down UnderHand’s enemies with its plasma gun.

🔬 Dr. Dr. Elaine Foster is an up-and-coming mad scientist, assistant to the esteemed Dr. Shrink. Don’t bring up the fact that she has two doctorates and is still an intern. She’s a genius prodigy, but otherwise has no superhuman abilities, which causes her to be overlooked by your superiors. Passionate and inscrutable, she’s obsessed with making it to the top her own way, and will remain one step ahead of you if you aren’t careful.

🧪 Reid/Reney Sullivan (gender selectable, nb included) is your nemesis, or at least they think so. They’re employed by OverSight, the subsidized hero-corporation that works in tandem with the government. An interning hero with impressive telekinetic powers, they are nonetheless as much of an amateur as you, and so you find yourself on even footing with one of the most promising superheroes in the business. Earnest and witty, they genuinely just want to help people. Eventually, they become fixated on “figuring you out”, which can lead to them getting sucked into your schemes. That, or their meddling could be your downfall. Worst of all, they might even succeed in reforming you.

There’s also 👁️ Blink, a rogue superhuman- some say vigilante, others say independent villain. Completely anonymous, they wear a unique suit of tactical gear that allows them to turn completely invisible, the first of its kind. Quippy, chipper, and sauntering, they tend to use their powers for ridiculous, showy things like popping up behind newscasters on TV. An invisible superhuman that loves the spotlight, Blink is full of contradictions. And secrets, big ones, that pertain to you.

… plus a cast of older, more established villains and heroes- including The Man, UnderHand’s enigmatic CEO. A faceless, hollow man in an empty suit. Actually, nobody’s ever seen anything but the suit, so he might just be the suit.

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FURTHER READING: 🌃THE PINTEREST BOARD 🎧THE PLAYLIST

TAG ORGANIZATION: VI Updates - The big stuff, new demo content VI Info - The info posts, development news VI Asks - Anything coming through the inbox VI Characters - Character related info/bonus content VI Sketches - Doodles and concept art Lore - What it says on the tin. Anything worldbuildy The Fridge - The place of honor for fan art! Pinned to my imaginary fridge with a digital magnet

[winged-self-indulgence]

Why Do People Like Yanderes?

Hi everyone, my name is Diya, and this was going to be a YT video-essay-type-thing but I'm too poor to afford a mic and too busy with college to learn how to edit videos, so here's my vague exploration of the psychology behind why people like yanderes so much through the lens of my favourite Visual Novels.

TW for uh. yandere content. Mentions of sex, gore, and non-con, particularly in the last topic. This is more like the first draft of an academic paper so while it's not explicit, I do go into some detail.

Introduction

If you’re a fan of anime or visual novels, then you’re probably already aware of what a yandere is, or at the very least you’ve seen that one picture of Yuno Gasai. Still, for the sake of thoroughness, let’s take it from the tippy top. The term ‘yandere’ is a Japanese portmanteau of ‘yanderu’ – the progressive form of ‘yami’ – meaning ‘sick’, and ‘deredere’ which roughly translates to ‘loving’. Together, the word refers to someone who is – in short – extremely lovesick. Obsessive to the extreme, and with little morality to spare, the standard yandere is characterized by a dangerous fixation on a chosen target, often appearing shy and caring at first only to flip the script and become violently aggressive towards perceived threats (Kroon, 2010).

It should be noted that yanderes are not a strictly romantic or sexual trope. The Ancient Greeks classified at least six forms of love, from familial (storge) to guests (xenia). Modern psychologists may distinguish love as either Companionate or Passionate (Kim & Hatfield, 2004) or consisting of three dimensions of Intimacy, Passion, and Commitment (Sternberg & Sternberg, 2018). Realistically, possessiveness shows up in a variety of relationships. However, people are generally primed to view certain dynamics as inherently amorous. Societal norms tend to encourage the idea that romantic bonds ought to rank above all others, and therefore if Person A is bizarrely fixated on Person B, then clearly there must be an element of sexual interest involved regardless of the actual relationship between the individuals in question.

Regardless, yanderes remain quite popular in fiction. Many dismiss it as a fetish, which it can be, but that isn’t the case for everyone. While there is nothing wrong with indulging in kinky fiction, not all of us get horny at the thought of being chained up in someone’s basement, no matter how hot our captor may be. So why is it so pervasive? Why is this trope so appealing that most writers cannot help but include at least a single line of dialogue implying that – if circumstances had been ever so slightly different – my wholesome shoujo romcom might have turned into a psychological horror?

Hybristophilia

‘Hybristophilia’, also known as Bonnie and Clyde Syndrome after the titular criminal couple, is a word is derived from the Greek word ‘hybridzein’ meaning ‘to commit an outrage against someone’ and ‘philo’ which means ‘a strong preference for’. Sexologist John Money reportedly defined it as a paraphilia in which an individual is sexually aroused by a partner who has a predatory history of hurting other people (Money, 1986, as cited in Matuszak, 2017). In his book, Serial Killer Groupies, true crime and crime fiction author RJ Parker distinguished two forms of hybristophilia: passive and aggressive. The former is when an individual contacts a criminal with the intention of striking up a relationship with them, allowing themselves to be seduced and manipulated but having no interest in committing a crime themselves. The latter are far more dangerous, as the individual not only derives sexual pleasure from their partner’s atrocities but are active participants in carrying out or covering up the crime. To quote Griffiths (2013, as cited in Pettigrew, 2019):

“[They] help out their lovers with their criminal agenda by luring victims, hiding bodies, covering crimes, or even committing crimes. They are attracted to their lovers because of their violent actions and want to receive love yet are unable to understand that their lovers are psychopaths who are manipulating them.”

In some ways, hybristophilia is the nearest thing we have to a realistic understanding of why people love yanderes. I mean, much of the fantasy surrounding such characters and their media tend to be filled with posts begging to be spat on or calling the rightfully terrified main character ungrateful for being a teeny bit upset about finding surveillance cameras in their ceiling. However, enjoying fictitious immoral activity does not predict real perpetration, so what does? There exists little consensus amongst psychologists as to what sparks this particular predilection, and that was strange to me. You would think there would be more studies into this topic, in spite of or perhaps because of its controversial nature. Heck, that one dude wouldn’t shut up about white women’s obsession with Bundy and Dahmer, and I assumed he had gotten that information from somewhere, but it turns out that was just him using modifiers to justify sexism.

However, I believe that we can hedge a few guesses, and over the course of my research, I’ve organized the main rationalizations under four umbrellas which I will explore through the lens of my favourite yandere-themed Visual Novels. Please keep in mind that most of these games are rated as mature due to sexual scenes and/or gore. Additionally, in the spirit of transparency, this ramble will be focused exclusively on male or masculine yanderes. So, without further ado:

Call Me Bob the Builder Because I Can Fix Them

If you’re familiar with DC Comic’s Batman, or just happen to have attended any costume event held over the span of the last 20+ years, you may be familiar with the character of Dr. Harleen Quinzel, better known as Harley Quinn. Initially created as the Joker’s one-off sidekick in Batman The Animated Series, she was so well-received by audiences that she became a recurring character in the cartoon and was eventually given a proper origin story in the form of a one-shot titled Mad Love.

Harley’s origin story has seen some alterations over the past decades, but the core aspects remain largely untouched. In the beginning, Harleen Quinzel was a promising young woman who wanted was a degree from the university’s prestigious psychology department, which she gained through…less than scrupulous means.

(Listen, I’m not sure if the authors were leaning on the Dumb Blonde stereotype, or if they simply thought that casting her as a genuinely bad student would make her later actions more believable. Either way, the idea of Harley as someone with a legitimate PhD came later)

After landing an internship at Arkham Asylum – a half-hospital and half-prison straight out of the 1870s that might as well be built out of one-ply tissue-paper soaked with gasoline and left next to a crate of fireworks – Harleen set her sights on the then incarcerated Joker. At the start, her fixation on the criminal wasn’t remotely sympathetic. She didn’t want to help him, she wanted to use him. Harleen Quinzel wanted piggyback off his infamy and write a tell-all tale detailing what sort of messed up childhood resulted in Gotham’s Clown Prince of Crime. Yet the more she interacted with him, the more the Joker took advantage of her empathy. By the end of their sessions, Harley no longer saw him as a violent serial killer with a clown schtick, but as a “lost, injured child looking to make the world laugh at his antics.”

But Diya, you may be asking, what does this have to do with the video? The Joker never loved Harley, and it could even be argued – as Shehadeh did in a 2017 essay – that her obsession with the pasty-faced clown is more akin to Histrionic Personality Disorder. While that may be the case, I believe that Harley’s story provides one of the reasons yanderes are so popular: their backstory.

Whether they were abandoned by their family, bullied by their peers, experimented on by evil scientists, starved on the streets, died under mysterious circumstances and then trapped in a haunted VCR tape for decades, or are simply so impossibly inhuman that they frankly do not understand why it isn’t socially acceptable to imprison their crush in a pocket dimension made of meat and non-Euclidean geometry, yanderes often have fairly sympathetic or at least understandable explanations for why they are Like That. Your mileage may vary significantly depending on how much you sympathize with these motives, but the point is that yanderes always make sense to some degree. Their morality and priorities may be twisted or even completely incomprehensible, but the audience almost always knows the reason, and that can be comforting. In the real world, other people aren’t always straightforward, and we never really know what they’re thinking, but narrative coherence demands a semblance of internal consistency lest the audience end up frustrated and confused. So yanderes are not only easy to sympathize with, but also fairly predictable. In-universe they may be unhinged freaks with a blood fetish, but to you watching from behind the safety of the screen they’re just acting out the script written for them based on a prototype. And if you understand the why behind their loose gears, then you might just be able to put them back together again.

The concept of rescue romances or “I Can Fix Them” has been around in our stories for thousands of years. The Epic of Gilgamesh detailed how Shamhat essentially ‘civilized’ wild man Enkidu through ritual lovemaking, and a concerning number of religions push the idea that women are dutybound to save men from the follies of sin. Yet men are not exempt either, with one notable example being the German fairytale, King Thrushbeard. Call it what you will regardless: Knights in Shining Armour, the Florence Nightingale Effect, or a plain old case of Because You Were Nice to Me, studies have shown that human beings generally like helping [DA2] others, even when the reason doesn’t necessarily stem from pure altruism. I will delve deeper into this later, but care and compassion are deeply ingrained in human nature, and arising from those roots is the appeal of this mentality: You can save them. You can change them. You can make them better. You are special, and the way you treat this person carries a weight that has not and will never be matched by anyone else for the rest of their mortal or immortal existence.

The illusion is a delicious one, especially if the person you’ve helped turns out to be a billionaire CEO with cash to burn, a super powerful ghost king willing to raze continents to dust for you, a demon having fun on a Friday night, or just your average hot creep with a knife. Moreover, different people have different ideas of what ‘fixing’ even means. Maybe you want to single-handedly rehabilitate your yandere into a functional member of society. Maybe you’re cool with the incessant stalking but would like them to stop slaughtering your friends, family, and local service workers. Maybe you want to make them much, much worse.

Not only do yanderes provide immediate proof that your actions have a tangible impact on the lives of others, but the fantasy also includes the desire of being seen as special. Of being admired and adored by someone whose life you inexplicably made better by virtue of simply being yourself, or an idealized version of yourself. In this fictional world, in this imaginary setting, the person you are is so uniquely, impossibly irreplaceable to someone. And if that’s the case then they can’t risk losing you, can they?

The Allure of Obsession, or ‘Til Death Do Us Part (Literally)

It shouldn’t be necessary, but here is my obligatory disclaimer anyway. Ahem: obsession is not a good thing in real life. Fixating on another human to the detriment of your own wellbeing and that of those around you is dangerous, as is encouraging someone else to obsess over you. You might think you are being worshiped, but real life is not a visual novel. The outside world doesn’t come with an age rating, the author’s guiding pen, and a convenient fade to credits sequence once you’ve reached an ending. The consequences will still be there in the morning, so don’t do it. Just don’t.

PSA out of the way, it’s natural to want to be wanted. Maslow’s Hierarchy places it just above physical safety, but I’d argue that it could easily be compared to baser drives. According to many psychological and anthropological studies, much of humanity’s continued survival and environmental dominance is largely attributed to our ability to form groups, cooperate with one another, and maintain complex interpersonal networks. Social support, intimacy, and a sense of belonging are linked to emotional and physical benefits, such as more optimistic health perceptions, higher subjective well-being, increased creativity and innovation, and greater self-efficacy (DeWall & Bushman, 2011; Harandi et al., 2017; Wang & Sha, 2018). Therefore, it’s perfectly understandable that rejection of any sort would be construed as a threat.

But if someone is obsessed with you, then you have no reason to worry about that, right? No more nights spent agonizing over how they feel about you, asking yourself whether your last text made you sound too desperate, or if you’re boring them because you spent the past hour info-dumping about Stardew Valley farm layouts. With a yandere, there will never be any doubt that they care about you. Sure, they might go about it in weird, manipulative, and insidious ways that violate your physical and mental autonomy, but you can’t deny their loyalty. They do love you in their own bizarre way. You are the sun around which they orbit. When you’re in the room, no one else exists. Every single messy flaw is just another bullet point on the mile-long list of why they adore you.

In essence, yanderes are not only attentive, but their love can be virtually unconditional. A yandere might know everything about you, and still revere you. It’s unhealthy as hell and you might genuinely question their taste, but it can be tempting to pretend that all of you, right down to the ugliest parts of yourself – the traits and choices that you would never share with another living soul even at gunpoint – are worthy of understanding, if not open praise and affection.   

Attractiveness, or Okay but Have You Considered That They’re Hot Though?

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I mean what am I supposed to say here? They’re hot, what do you want from me?

No, but in all seriousness, fictional media paints an idealized version of the world, and most yanderes are hot because they have the freedom of existing purely behind that screen; artfully arranged and edited to forever appear compelling to anyone who happens to enjoy their particular style. And there are a lot of styles to choose from. Whether you want them pretty faced and disarmingly cute, or scarred up and big enough to pin you like a butterfly, yanderes come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes that are meant to pique your interest and draw you in like a naïve little fish being lured towards the mouth of an angler fish, unwilling to believe that anything bad might happen to us when the bait is this pretty.

This is often referred to as the Halo Effect, a form of cognitive bias referring to the tendency for people to assume that a single obvious positive trait must be associated with other positive traits. The go-to characteristic is typically physical attractiveness, but a nice voice, good humour, and cooking skills are also factors which serve to influence our perceptions.

So, conventional physical attractiveness is one thing, but that’s only skin deep. What about beyond that? After all, the yandere still has to talk to you before they enact their master plan of tying you up in their basement until Stockholm Syndrome kicks in.

When I showed my friend a picture of John Doe from the game John Doe, she told me that he looked like a creepy slob, and she’s far from the only person who’s ever thought so. Look at them. I feel like if I tried to comb that hair it would simply eat me, and some of the CGs really put the scopophobia in Scopophobia Studios. I love Doe, but he is not hot, and he doesn’t behave in a normally appealing way either. If the player chooses not to take a bath, Doe will immediately comment that you “smell good” before following you home, breaking into your house, and leaving a bloody organ on the floor for the player to trip over. Many yanderes can at least fake a veneer of normalcy, but from the get-go Doe doesn’t even bother to pretend he’s anything less than an otherworldly creature stuffed into a vaguely person-shaped meatsuit. In an effort to find out why so many people had latched on to Doe – including me – I shopped around social media and YouTube for answers, and what I found was a widely unanimous sentiment.

While some were drawn to his fun design and goofy personality, most simply thought that he wasn’t inherently malevolent, just very confused. In addition to being a supernatural being with a completely alien axis of morality, Doe’s meta-awareness and unbridled attempts at winning the player’s affection lends him quite a bit of support from the audience, especially if you yourself also happen to struggle with social cues and relate to his pure earnestness. In Ending 7 of the extended version, the player character has the option to tell Doe – who has altered himself to pass as more ‘normal’ – that they prefer who he truly is, at which point he grows visibly flustered and sports an adorable pair of literal heart-shaped pupils.

Whether they’re charismatic, seductive, cute, sweet, funny, nurturing, or generous, the best yanderes have engaging personalities. Even while they’re committing truly heinous crimes against God, man, and your guts, you still kinda want to hang out with them, and you want them to acknowledge you as being just as interesting. And this is all fine in fiction because you’re the one in charge, and if you ever get bored or uncomfortable or busy with something else, then you can simply close the tab or window with zero consequences, which brings us to the final and most important reason.     

Power Dynamics and Consent in Fantasy (I Couldn’t Think of a Joke Here Guys, This Is Kinda Serious)

Once again, I feel that I must preface this section just for the sake of my own peace of mind: sexual coercion and assault are vile and disgusting crimes that should never be emulated or tolerated in the real world. We are speaking purely of fictional media, specifically adult-oriented media in this case, so please be mindful.

In 2009, Bivoni and Critelli conducted a study on 355 undergraduate women with the goal of assessing the reasons behind fantasies of non-consent. At the time, there were two leading explanations of this phenomenon. One stated that women with high libidos but repressed views of sex used these imaginary scenarios to alleviate the guilt they had grown to associate with sex. Because the simulation was a purely mental exercise and they themselves were cast as helpless victims in the scenario, they were able to remain blameless while still finding sexual gratification. The second stated that these fantasies were an expression of liberation by women who were adventurous and comfortable enough with their own sexuality to engage with taboo ideas that they weren’t at all interested in performing in real life. Which do you think was more common?

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If you guessed the second option, you’d be right. The study found that of the 220 women who had experienced such fantasies, 45% found theirs erotic, 46% were mixed, and only 9% reported pure aversion. One justification for this outcome relies on psycho-biological theories, for example masochistic preferences or the unintended activation of the sympathetic nervous system and subsequent mis-attribution of arousal. Other reasons have to do with higher order thinking and are tied to the power dynamics within such fantasies. On the surface is the appeal of being so desirable to someone that they simply cannot control themselves, but then there is a deeper impulse, which the researchers referred to as Adversary Transformation. To quote the article: “[fantasies] involve a struggle between an assailant and a potential victim in which it is relevant to consider who is the winner and who is the loser. At one level, it is a struggle over sex, but the woman's non-consent may be feigned or token. At another level, the woman may be seeking a victory that is not about whether sex occurs, but about what happens emotionally between the protagonists.”

Basically, the imaginary perpetrator may have ‘won’, but the self-character need not have ‘lost’.

Media provides an extra layer to the illusion, one that you as the viewer have absolute control over. If you are choosing to engage with a piece of media that explicitly labels itself as including R18+ yandere content, then you clearly have some expectations, and that background awareness goes a long way in reducing long-term discomfort and allowing audiences to make informed decisions. If you don’t like the plot, you can simply turn it off it with the click of a button, and when the screen goes dark it’s not like the yandere is going to punish you for saying no. Strade isn’t going to break into your house with a drill, there are no homicidal clown ghosts hiding in your TV, and no suspicious pink-haired hackers watching your webcam. They aren’t real, and the consequences aren’t real either. You have all the power here.

Conclusion

In summary, Yanderes are appealing for a variety of reasons. Whether you want to save them, think they’re attractive, wish to indulge in a dream of being utterly coveted, or simply enjoy a bit of spice in your me-time, it’s obvious why the trope has persisted for so long and will likely continue to do so. If you enjoy yanderes but are worried that having a taste for the less wholesome side of things might imply something about who you are as a person, don’t be. The notion that fantasies and media preferences directly reflect subconscious desires is not only painfully out of date debunked nonsense but also indicative of restrictive ideologies wherein bad thoughts = sin. This isn’t 1984. You haven’t committed a thought-crime by having a weird kink. You aren't going to superhell for fantasizing. The human mind is hardly ever so mathematically rational, and the point of fiction is to allow us to safely engage with and explore various ideas, provided the everyone involved is mentally, chronologically, and emotionally mature enough to do so.

Thank you all for listening to me. If you learned something or were just a little bit entertained. If you're curious about knowing more, I've listed my sources below

REFERENCES

Bivona, J. M., & Critelli, J. W. (2009). The Nature of Women’s Rape Fantasies: An analysis of prevalence, frequency, and contents. Journal of Sex Research, 46(1), 33–45. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224490802624406

Critelli, J. W., & Bivona, J. M. (2008). Women’s Erotic Rape Fantasies: An Evaluation of Theory and research. Journal of Sex Research, 45(1), 57–70. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224490701808191

DeWall, C. N., & Bushman, B. J. (2011). Social acceptance and rejection. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20(4), 256–260. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721411417545

Flynn, F. J., Reagans, R., Amanatullah, E. T., & Ames, D. R. (2006). Helping one’s way to the top: Self-monitors achieve status by helping others and knowing who helps whom. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91(6), 1123–1137. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.91.6.1123

Harandi, T. F., Taghinasab, M. M., & Nayeri, T. D. (2017). The correlation of social support with mental health: A meta-analysis. Electronic Physician, 9(9), 5212–5222. https://doi.org/10.19082/5212

Hazen, H. (1983). Endless rapture: rape, romance, and the female imagination. https://openlibrary.org/books/OL3161300M/Endless_rapture

Kroon, R. W. (2010). A/V A to z: An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Media, Entertainment and Other Audiovisual Terms. McFarland.

Matuszak, M. (2017). Hybristophilia White Paper. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55dfd21ee4b0718764fb34cc/t/5cb7cabee5e5f00ab13be58b/1555548863275/Hybristophilia+White+Paper.pdf

Oarga, C., Stavrova, O., & Fetchenhauer, D. (2015). When and why is helping others good for well-being? The role of belief in reciprocity and conformity to society’s expectations. European Journal of Social Psychology, 45(2), 242–254. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2092

Parker, R. (2014). Serial killer groupies. RJ PARKER PUBLISHING, INC.

Wang, T., & Sha, H. (2018). The influence of social rejection on cognitive control. Psychology, 09(7), 1707–1719. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2018.97101

[halfway-happyyy]

it's my bday soon so can i have some hcs about how frank would be spending his girl's bday? 😖

oooh, mine too! are we birthday buddies? mine's may 5th 🪇

- frank is not casual about your birthday at all.

- the man starts planning thinking about it about a week in advance. in the years that you guys had been together, he'd only managed to miss it once, and though you were absolutely fine - (the Nelson, Murdock, and Page trio had certainly seen to that) - he vowed to never let it happen again.

- sex. it's always incredible with frank, but birthday sex just hits different with him. his favourite part of the process is kissing you awake, and then settling between your legs, his hot, languid tongue lighting every nerve ending in your body ablaze. he coaxes orgasm after orgasm out of you before the golden sun's even risen for the day - "c'mon, sweetheart - I know you can give me one more. there we go, that's it." peppers ticklish kisses to your temple, your cheeks, your nose, your lips. "plenty more where those came from, your birthdays' only just begun."

- gifts. the man's never been one for grand gestures, and you've never been one to want for them, so it all evens out. he pays close attention to you throughout the year; what interests you've harbored, which hobbies you've taken up. when he eventually gets around to asking you what you'd like, your answer is always the same - "you, frank. I just want you." you want him content - not even necessarily happy, because that's a complicated emotion for him - but healthy, and strong. "you've got me kid, for as long as you'll have me. now stop being so damn stubborn and tell me what you want."

- traditions. he's big on 'em, despite everything. they're a remnant of his past life, and something he really only feels comfortable exploring with you, but he looks forward to your birthday every year because of them.

one of his favourites? making you breakfast in bed. it's never anything fancy, but belgian waffles and an assortment of mixed fruits are usually his go-to. if you ever wanted to go out for dinner, he'd be more than happy to take you, but he knows how much you value his cooking, and home has never been so cozy as when its just the two of you.

another one of his favourite traditions is finding out what cake you're feeling that year and going all-out with it. black forest? no problem. victoria sponge? he's got no idea what the hell that is, but you're gettin' it. this year, when he finally finds out your wish is for a fresh tiramisu, sarah lieberman happily whips one up for you.

- you are his first introduction to taurus women. and like - he's been blessed to have had some pretty strong and amazing women in his life, but have any of them ever been as stubborn as you? have any of them ever driven him to the brink of insanity just to pull him back and make him sick with yearning all over again? the jury's still out on that one.

- your favourite part of the day is actually the evening. the only source of light in the room emanating from the candles that gutter in the cool evening breeze. you're nose-to-nose beneath the sheets, every beautiful fleck of gold in his eyes, suspended in a sea of burnt honey. "did ya have a good day, kid?" "the best day, frank." "did you make a wish at dinner?" "I did." he traces a tan, calloused fingertip down the side of your cheek, your lips, your neck."you should make another one now, just between us two." your eyelids are heavy with the weight of looming sleep, but you smile regardless. "okay, frank."

- he wants to make your birthday special not because he feels obligated to, but because he genuinely derives pleasure from treating you well. from seeing you happy. he works hard to make you feel loved each and every day throughout the year (some days are certainly better than others), but your birthday is an excuse to show you how much you mean to him, and he doesn't take it lightly in the slightest.

[serpentface]

Couya as a 16 year old Odonii initiate with a temple lion.

Young Odonii initiates spend the majority of their time in schooling, and the remainder of that time performing basic upkeep of temples (most often duties that are just Slightly too ceremonial or secretive in nature to be given to servants). Tending to captive lion populations is one of very, very few of these tasks that can be classified as 'cool'.

This is a young adult male, but very close to full size. The subspecies of lion found west of the Blackmane mountains is quite small in general (with males maxing out at ~300 lbs), and the captive stocks tend to be even smaller. The sparse mane shown here is also typical of both captive and wild populations, with full manes extending around the entirety of the throat being extremely uncommon. The pale coloration is a product of captive breeding- leucism occurs semi-regularly among the wild population and is selectively favored in captivity.

These semi-domesticated lions are bred and raised almost exclusively to be sacrificed and used for their hides/hair, as well as being killed as funerary guardian animals for Odonii and high status individuals. The living animals serve functions in the priesthood's internal rites, but they are rarely seen by the public when not in the process of being sacrificed.

They typically have Relatively okay lives in captivity (for a setting without concepts like 'enrichment' and 'animal welfare'), with most being kept in open (walled) outdoor temple grounds which happen to provide sufficient space to carry out basic natural behaviors and derive some degree of enrichment from their environments. They still experience significant background stress from their confined habitats and inability to flee conflict, and often spend most of their time pacing the walls. Captive populations also tend to be very heavily inbred, and introduction of wild stock and altogether fresh genetics is very rare.

They have experienced some selection for tameness and will be routinely handled by humans from birth. Many show interest in human company for socialization and develop attachments to handlers, and most are unaggressive. Maulings and deaths are known to occur, though predatory (rather than fearful or food-guarding) attacks on human handlers are very rare. Caution is, if anything, Especially important around docile and human-friendly lions, as these are still huge fucking big cats with sharp claws and no comprehension of how comparatively squishy a human body is. Most Odonii who have ever experienced regular Lion Duty have at least a couple scars to show for it, if only just from a lion playfully batting the shit out of them.

[sonic-fankid-showdown]

Welcome to the Sonic Fankid Showdown!!!

Where we make babies beat each other up with sticks!!!

This is the tournament we fanchild enjoyers have been waiting for! Sonic fankids put against each other to see who can beat the rest and get the victory!! All for FUN!!! Meaning that the only ones that will be fighting are the fictional characters that participate in the tournament (⁠｡⁠•̀⁠ᴗ⁠-⁠)⁠✧

Hosted by yours truly, @head---ache

RULES:

One character per person. This means that if you have twins, sadly you'll have to separate them 😔 The ONLY exception allowed to this rule is if your character has any pet, chao, wisp, etc. If that's the case then you can submit them as one.

Fankids derived from PRO-SHIPS are NOT be allowed to participate (this includes incest, inappropiate age gaps, etc). I'll be deciding what's appropiate or not (with the help of some people I trust), so what's already decided will NOT be discussed any longer.

Ship discourse is NOT allowed.

The last rule also means that the ONLY propaganda allowed is about the CHARACTER, and not the pairing they're inspired by. I do NOT want to see ANYONE fighting about ships.

Oc x Canon kids are allowed!! Go crazy with it people!!!

Any hate towards the characters and/or creators will NOT be allowed. If I see ANYONE sending hate I will block them! And if it's someone participating then their character will be disqualified. I want this to be a safe space, so be nice, everyone!!

I will be accepting submissions until May 18th.

The limit of submissions is 60, however the number of participants will depend on the number of submissions I actually get (it HAS to be an even number, so I'm sorry if anyone gets left out for that reason).

TO ENTER:

Name of the character.

Ship they come from (if oc x canon then put '[canon character] x oc').

Short introduction to your kid.

Photo (transparent PNG is prefered).

Creator's URL (for proper crediting).

Now that you've read everything above and you think your kid has what's needed to win (or you just want to join for the funsies, that's also valid) here's the form you need to fill to participate!!! (We already reached the limit!!)

Good luck and have fun everyone!!!

[appleflavoredkitkats]

sometimes i think about l'manberg as meaning-makers.

they are what made the dsmp transcend minecraft as a statistical, skill-centric game into something where meaning is arbitrary. this works in both an in-narrative and meta angle. on one hand, power in the dsmp before l'manberg was centered on pvp and resources (and ultimately, that also dictated how power is gained and lost for the rest of the dsmp's lifetime). that's the main thing they were fighting against, yeah? that people in l'manberg were not as physically skilled in a more strategic, game-like minecraft sense compared to the dteam and their allies.

l'manberg is literally the introduction of power derived from personal meaning and interests, something more supposedly "arbitrary" than, let's say, being able to pvp like techno or dream. it's the one thing you cannot measure compared to physical power (like dream's insane pvp skills) or resources (dream's ability to build the prison with sam, or dream and the emerald duo being able to blow up nlm). l'manberg literally sets the precedent of the dsmp being controlled by! arbitrary means!

it works in good and bad ways, because i mean like. defying the status quo of power is one thing, but how is a completely other thing. how every l'manbergian viewed l'manberg isn't the same with each other, especially wilbur. besides all the principles he designates to the idea of l'manberg, we can't ignore that he literally brings up geopolitical constructs into the dsmp like discussions of economy (salmon being their main produce) or police (his answer of what they'll do abt pet deaths). but of course meaning-making isn't bad, because, i mean, look at the discs! at the pets everyone owns!

i joke about everyone needing to apologize to the dsmp after the minecraft movie trailer dropped because. the dsmp will forever encapsulate the meaning of minecraft better than that movie ever will. there is always a constant discussion of power - entertaining that this game, this server is winnable. the closemindedness people can have when dictating how minecraft should be played (ie. dream on the pvp side, wilbur on the narrative side) versus minecraft being something entirely up to your decision, something that is a shared space of people with varying opinions and thought processes.

yeah i'm crazy about l'manberg actually, and the precedent it set in the dsmp. what it challenges and what it's caused. what it challenged and reinforced. what a crazy nation

[autistichalsin]

Mind Flayers and prions: a scientific analysis

Earlier today, I did some brain-related research for a fic of mine, and had a horrifying realization: what the hell happens if a Mind Flayer, which exclusively eat brains, catches a prion infection? A normal Mind Flayer is terrifying enough, now imagine one with kuru!

Then it was suggested to me that Mind Flayers would likely be immune somehow. And yeah, that seems like the second-most Occam's Razor-compliant theory (the first being that prions don't exist in Faerun, but come on, I'm a fucking biology nerd with a Masters in epidemiology and a love of parasitology, the odds of me making it that easy were fucking zero). But the question is: how would that work biologically?

So then I started with a deep-dive into prions in our world, and got my answer from a study on transgenic mice.

Before I get into that, though, I want to lay out the assumptions I'm making here:

Prions exist in Faerun, are capable of infecting humanoids, are found at the same locus (the Prnp gene that codes for PRion Protein [PRP] is located on the short arm of chromosome 20), and are transmitted the same way (in this case, the most relevant is consumption of infected brain tissue).

Considering that in Forgotten Realms canon, Mind Flayer tadpoles can't be inserted into dwarves, gnomes, etc (BG3 diverged from canon in this, and I can't blame them, it would be a sad and lonely game without little folks around), Mind Flayer DNA most closely resembles humans, but is obviously different from human DNA in more areas than elves or orcs (who we will assume are much more closely related to humans given that they can reproduce together) are to humans. That is to say, elves and orcs are closer to humans on the phylogenetic tree than mind flayers are, but mind flayers are still close to all of these, most especially humans.

The genetics of all organisms in Faerun are fundamentally the same as ours. The proteins and respective codons are the same, their form and function and significance are the same, they use the same five mammalian nucleotide bases... you get the picture. Minor genotypic differences are definitely there, but we're going to assume the foundations that inform our understanding of genetics as a whole are the same.

So, then. First, a very brief introduction to prions, because many people have never heard of them aside from possibly knowing about "mad cow disease" (feel free to skip this if you do already know):

The word prion is derived from the words protein and infection. It's exactly what it sounds like. It's a protein that is also an infectious agent, not a virus of bacteria. It exists as a wrongly-folded protein, and is very resistant to protease (enzymes that normally would break down a problematic protein). Over time, due to their resistance to proteolysis (the process that breaks down proteins)*, they eventually can force other proteins to misfold.

*Seriously, it can't be understated how terrifyingly resistant these things are. They can be inactivated with bleach, yes, but they resist autoclaves. You have to subject them to heats of 900 degrees Fahrenheit to denature them. For reference, the inside of a volcano is usually about 2,200 degrees.

The shape of proteins is extremely important in how they function, and proteins really want to be as parsimonious as possible; they want to use the lowest amount of energy possible to find a stable shape. The misfolded proteins require a lower energy expenditure than the normal form to maintain their shape, which is also more stable (hence its resistance to denaturing by heat), so normal proteins adopt it quite readily once exposed. From there, gradually (as little as months to as much as years) the proteins all convert to this unusual state. Unfortunately, while it's more stable for the individual proteins involved, it's a lot less stable for the brain itself, and the cells there begin to clump in amyloids, which cause brain damage and ultimately death. Prions are 100% fatal and care is limited to comfort measures. They also cause probably the worst symptoms of any disease I can think of. For example, the worst one of all, Fatal Familial Insomnia, literally causes sufferers to become unable to sleep. They start with extreme trouble sleeping, then over the course of a year find themselves gradually able to do it less, until one day they can't at all. Death follows in a few months, by which point it's downright merciful because they've been plagued with pain, paranoia, loss of memory, disorientation, headaches, weight loss, and more.

Prions are transmitted in a few ways: as noted, eating infected animal tissue is a big one, and was what led to the "mad cow disease" outbreak in the UK in the 1990s; cows were fed food containing the brain matter of other diseased cows, picked up the disease, and were then turned into food which infected quite a few people. Other ways are through contaminated medical equipment (as noted, you need to basically nuke medical equipment from orbit when it's used on someone with prions, and the long time from exposure to disease onset means a lot of patients are sick unknown to themselves or doctors), through genetics (IE Fatal Familial Insomnia), or sometimes even through spontaneous development if you're one of the unluckiest people on Earth.

So that's your primer on prions. Genetics, I'm going to assume some knowledge here, but I will give a brief explanation (brief because I don't want to seem like I'm just giving a thinly-veiled biology lecture).

The way genes code for proteins is by a series of codons, which are sequences of three nucleotide bases (A, C, G, and U/T depending on whether it's DNA or RNA) that are read and translated by the body. Most of the DNA in your body is non-coding and doesn't do anything, but the regions between a start and stop codon are what are used to make the proteins you need.

The gene that is implicated in prion diseases is known as Prnp, and produces the prion protein (which in its normal state is called PRPc and in its diseased state is known as PRPsc [sc standing for scrapie, which was the first prion disease to be discovered]). It is located on the short arm of chromosome 20. What it does normally is a bit of a mystery still, but the most widely believed hypotheses are cell adhesion or neuronal communication.

So, most mammals are really susceptible to them. Deer in the USA are currently suffering from a massive outbreak of one called Chronic Wasting Disease, humans have quite a few that affect us, and there are some notable ones in sheep, cows, etc. Even cats can get it. Rabbits are believed to be immune, but when scientists did an experiment with transgenic mice that forced them to express the lapine version of the Prnp gene, scientists could still force the protein to misfold by infecting the mice with prions, which suggests their immunity isn't absolute.

On the other hand, canines are also resistant, and scientists who tried to infect transgenic mice in the same manner after making them express the canine version of the gene had no luck (study can be found here). In wild type mice, the attack rate by the prions was 100%, but in the ones with the canine PRP, the attack rate was 0%.

We're getting a bit closer to our answer, then: clearly dogs have a gene that confers protection to their PRP, and since mind flayers most closely resemble a mammal (despite not reproducing the way humanoids do), the answer to mind flayer immunity would likely lie in the same gene.

As for the gene itself? Turns out, dogs have a codon at this locus that is found in very few other mammals. They contain codons that make, depending on the particular base pairs involved, either ASP (aspartic acid) or GLU (glutamic acid). This is not only rare (to the point of occurring in only a few other mammals), but provides a useful comparison: the PRP cats express is the most similar to a dog's. The feline Prnp gene doesn't include codons to make GLU or ASP. Cats are highly susceptible to prions.

So, while the why is still unknown and the correlation not proven yet as a causal pathway, it seems there is very likely a significant link between GLU/ASP production on that locus and the protection conferred to dogs against prions.

SO, finally, we can answer the question. Could mind flayers be safe while eating a diet of exclusively brains, even if they ate the brain of a creature infected with a prion? Yes, they could, assuming their Prnp gene has codons to produce ASP/GLU proteins as part of their PRP. And really, when you think about it, this would be yet another way illithids would claim to be superior organisms; while humanoids have to worry about an incurable neurodegenerative disease caused by something as trivial as an error in protein folding, illithids are conferred immunity by the ceremorphosis process. So it makes sense for the psychology of mind flayers that they're immune, too. And hell, they might even seek out humans infected with one, given they'd be weaker prey, the same way wolves just love to eat moose infected with a fatal brain parasite- and in turn, just like that protects the rest of the moose herd from being infected, illithids consuming sick humanoids would protect other mammals in the area too. It's certainly the kind of thing goodest squid Omeluum would do.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

[creature-wizard]

Info For Beginner Witches!

This is basically a masterpost for content relevant to new witches. A lot of it of it's stuff I wrote but I'll also link to material written by other people if I think it's useful.

Practice & Technique

Magical Correspondences 101

Closet Witchcraft: How To Get Witchy When You Can't Come Out Of The Broom Closet

How To Practice: Divination With Dice!

An approach to deity/entity work for the sort of people this sort of thing would work for

Manifestation Without Woo (a compassionate psychological approach to manifestation)

Non-Competitive Affirmations

No, you can't tell anything about a person from their natal chart.

A Brief Introduction to Energy Work

Energy Work On The Body: Hittin' The Right Spots For Tension Relief

Research & Critical Thinking

Information Literacy Basics

How to research

Distinguishing Fact, Opinion, Belief, and Prejudice

Critical Thinking: Definition, Examples, & Skills

Caution & Critical Thinking In Divination

10 Questions To Distinguish Real From Fake Science

Search for information on any witchy topic here!

"A weird thing just happened, does this mean anything? Is it an omen?"

Practicing discernment: Some ways of testing and ruling out the mundane

Research Tip: Remember the Five W's!

How conspiracy peddlers and cult recruiters make you feel like you're "thinking for yourself" when you're actually not

Remember a Previous Life? Maybe You Have a Bad Memory

Why fighting pseudohistory matters

Scams, Hoaxes, Conspiracy Theories, & Cults Everyone Should Know About

On people who assert "things are done this way for a reason!"

Dogmatism is not the solution to cultural appropriation

Some beliefs you might have to deconstruct as an ex-Christian

How the "divine feminine" and the "divine masculine" perpetuate patriarchy - and what we can do about it

Avoiding Harmful Stuff & Staying Safe

Recognizing the difference between real history and pseudohistory

Is the spiritual person a conspiracy theorist? A list of red flags

List of red flags to watch out for when joining a coven or online group

Beware of charisma mirrors

When your right to say no is entirely hypothetical

Dog whistles and symbols to watch out for

Eugenicist and bioessentialist beliefs about magic

What is spiritual eugenics?

Toxic Individualism In Modern Witchcraft

New Age beliefs that derive from racist pseudoscience

The Ancient Astronaut Hypothesis is Racist and Harmful

Allyship does not mean seeing yourself as worthless

The rules about responding to call outs aren’t working

History

Debunking the Pervasive Myths About Medieval Witch Hunts

Debunking Myths About Easter/Ostara

Just How Pagan is Christmas, Really?

The Origins of the Christmas Tree

No, Santa Claus Is Not Inspired By Odin

Why Prehistoric Matriarchy Wasn’t a Thing (A Brief Explanation)

Why Did The Patriarchal Greeks And Romans Worship Such Powerful Goddesses?

No, Athena Didn't Turn Medusa Into A Monster To Protect Her

Who Was the First God?

Were Ancient Civilizations Conservative Or Liberal?

PODCAST RECS - Debunking and Fact-Checking for Witches & Witchcraft Spaces

Angela's Symposium (YouTube channel about modern esotericism and witchcraft by Dr. Angela Puca)

ESOTERICA (YouTube channel about the history of Western esotericism by Dr. Justin Sledge)

ReligionForBreakfast (YouTube channel about religion run by Dr. Andrew Henry)

Let's Talk Religion (YouTube channel run by Filip Holm, lots of Islamic content but also lots of other stuff)

OceanKeltoi (Norse Heathenry)

Jackson Crawford (Norse Heathenry)

Conservation & Ecology

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Explained (all USian witches should read this, it most likely affects you)

How the Rage for Sage Threatens Native American Traditions and Recipes

(This post is unrebloggable because I plan to use it as a reference post to link, and may add/remove things to it over time.)