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laurelnose · 3 years

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Very New to your blog and the posts are probably way old but I saw you do Witcher Biology (??) rants sometimes and Id love to hear your take, if you have one, on what monsters (namely "naturally occurring" ones like draconids and insectoids) contribute to the ecosystem if anything and whether or not they should be hunted into extinction. I was discussing it w/ a friend last night after dealing with Iocaste, the last silver basilisk, and now its smthn I'm Invested in

re monster ecosystems: I just figure theyve probably found a niche in the world by now and can eat anything smaller incl. humans but because theyve got no natural predators aside from eachother and arent hunted by anything but witchers , monsters are just breeding and eating and wldnt that damage the land? or have they made their own like, circle of life or whatever ? Ive little knowledge on the subject as a whole but the whole thing intrigues me

hi & extremely belated welcome, anon! my apologies for the length of time you’ve been waiting for this answer; I had to think carefully about how I wanted to respond to this ask, because: there’s a lot going on here. also, because I am a disaster, I ended up posting it to ao3 first while I was avoiding tumblr for a spell and then completely forgot to come back. oops. i’m sorry!! This one’s about 5000 words long, which is a lot for tumblr, so reading on AO3 may be preferable.

The two main thrusts of your first ask (how do monsters interact with the ecosystem and should they be eradicated from the Continent) are questions of invasion ecology, the study of non-native/invasive species and their effects on the environment. Monsters, having arrived on the Continent about 1200 years ago during the Conjunction of Spheres from entirely alien dimensions, are indeed technically non-native species!

However, invasion ecology is…somewhat controversial, to say the least—there are a lot of invasive species, who have a lot of different & complex impacts, and a lot of different ideas about what we might do about any of this, and it’s basically all arguing all the time, so I wasn’t really sure how I wanted to approach the topic. Not to mention that for reasons I couldn’t initially put my finger on, it seemed wrong to apply theories of invasion ecology to the Witcher monsters. We’ll get into it! There are also a couple of common misconceptions/oversimplifications of how ecology works in your second ask which I want to unpack. Hopefully I pulled this together into something that makes sense, and feel free to ask me for clarification!

Some important background facts:

Species have always been moving to and “invading” new places on their own; humans and globalization have accelerated this process into a Big Problem, as the sheer number of invasive species being introduced all over the globe strains ecosystems already under pressure, but “native ranges” are always shifting, sometimes more dramatically than you might expect. If you go far enough back in time, all species are “non-native”.

Because of this, the very definition of “invasive species” is hotly contested. This is why you’ll hear dozens of terms like introduced species, injurious species, naturalized species, non-native species, etc.; these all have slightly different connotations, but all refer to a species that did not originate in a particular location.

An introduced species is usually classified as “invasive” as opposed to “non-native” or “naturalized” if its presence significantly alters the ecosystem it invades; some people define this more narrowly as a species that causes harm to an ecosystem. “Harm” can take a lot of different forms, as every non-native species interacts differently with the ecosystem they were introduced to.

Aside from various potential impacts to human economic activity, most forms of ecological harm by introduced species involve the decline of native species, by a variety of mechanisms; invaders might eat natives, outcompete them for food, interbreed with them, carry novel pathogens, etc. Invasive species are primarily a threat to biodiversity.

Now, here’s my Hot Take:

The Conjunction of Spheres is analogous to real-life ecological cataclysms such as the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event, and thus monsters are not invasive species.

The Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event saw the extinction of 75% of all species on Earth after the Chicxulub asteroid hit, including the non-avian dinosaurs. The Earth has had several disasters like this, of varying severity—the Great Oxidation Event killed almost literally everything on Earth except for the cyanobacteria who caused it. These cataclysmic extinction events completely upended existing ecosystems, altering habitats beyond recognition and leaving swathes of niches emptied of life that the survivors could evolve to exploit.

The most recent Conjunction of Spheres on the Continent is supposed to have thrown everyone living on the planet at the time into chaos and darkness; it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume that the interpenetration of multiple spheres caused mass extinction of species living in the pre-Conjunction environment, similar to Chicxulub or the GOE!

But Socks, you might say, evolution works on a massive timescale! It took millions of years to fill the niches left open by Chicxulub, but it’s only been 1200 years since the Conjunction of Spheres! And you are absolutely right*, but the Conjunction of Spheres canonically came pre-loaded with new species. We actually have no proof that any of the animals we see originated on the Continent: if humans are a post-Conjunction phenomenon, why not also dogs? Why not bears? Who’s to say any of those were actually there before-hand? (The elves, I guess, but as they have not, actually, said so, there’s no proof!!)

* FTR, 1200 years is a shockingly short period of time to go from cataclysm that plunged the world into darkness and chaos to functioning medieval-era society considering how long it actually took humanity to build 13 century Europe (horses had been domesticated for at least 3000 years by that time), even if we’re not assuming that most of the ecosystem was destroyed, so, my timeline concerns here are minimal, lmfao. TIMELINE WHAT TIMELINE.

…and actually now that I think about it the three options for the origin of dogs are a) elves or dwarves domesticated them, b) humans brought dogs with them during the Conjunction, or c) dogs have existed for less than 1200 years, and I refuse to accept that dogs are practically a new invention in the witcherverse, wtf.

Anyways: we really have no idea which species are truly “native” to the Continent, or what the physical environment was like prior to the Conjunction. While monsters are not native to the Continent, monsters are also not invasive—there cannot be decline of pre-Conjunction biodiversity or harm to the pre-Conjunction ecosystem because there is no pre-Conjunction ecosystem anymore.

should monsters be hunted to extinction?

So, the thing is, I think we should try to eradicate invasive species from non-native ranges if we can; the biggest problem with that is feasibility, not morality. It’s much more difficult than one might think to eradicate an invasive species once it’s established, and we have to be very careful that the methods we choose don’t have other impacts, but invasive species are a huge threat to the biodiversity of Earth! If monsters are invasive species, then the answer is yes, they should be eradicated from the places they are not native to.

(Notably, on Earth this kind of eradication is not the same thing as extinction; it would be a local extinction, or extirpation, where the species is totally wiped out in the places it invaded but still exists in its native range. This does get way more complicated if the invasive is already extinct in its native range.)

However, I have just outlined a possibility that would make it plausible for monsters not to be invasive species. Let me also outline why I prefer this interpretation. Here is a book conversation between the sorcerer Dorregaray of Vole and Geralt:

“Our world is in equilibrium. The annihilation, the killing, of any creatures that inhabit this world upsets that equilibrium. And a lack of equilibrium brings closer extinction; extinction and the end of the world as we know it. … Every species has its own natural enemies, every one is the natural enemy of other species. That also includes humans. The extermination of the natural enemies of humans, which you dedicate yourself to, and which one can begin to observe, threatens the degeneration of the race.”

“Do you know what, sorcerer?” Geralt said, annoyed. “One day, take yourself to a mother whose child has been devoured by a basilisk, and tell her she ought to be glad, because thanks to that the human race has escaped degeneration. See what she says to you.”

–The Bounds of Reason, ch. 6

This is a, uh, incredibly unsubtle reference to a debate that has been ongoing for decades; Geralt’s stance here is one of the key arguments in opposition to wolf and bear reintroduction. What do we do about large predators that may pose a threat to humans? How do we balance preservation of the ecosystem with the safety of people who have to coexist with these predators?

I can’t fully agree with Geralt, because large predators are integral to the ecosystem, which I value for its own sake and because humans depend on healthy ecosystems. But I can’t fully agree with Dorregaray either, because Geralt is right: human life is valuable and worthy of protecting. This is an issue that India has been running into in the past ten years; as their tiger conservation efforts yield fruit, people become more likely to encounter tigers, and thus more likely to have a bad encounter with a tiger. It’s become a political struggle as rural people who have to actually live with the possibility of a tiger attack come into conflict with urban conservationists who just really want to preserve tigers (& in some incidents, some of those conservationists have been Western, which is a whole additional level of fuckery). The fact is, there isn’t a good answer to this yet! We certainly should not drive tigers, wolves, or any other large predator to extinction, but we also have to figure out a way to keep people safe. It’s something humanity still has to wrestle with.

Under this framing, which CDPR reinforced when they chose to have the Count di Salvaress defend Iocaste as an endangered species while making significant provisions to minimize the damage she could do to human life, there’s far too much baggage attached for me to say yes, monsters should be hunted into extinction. If you’re going to make monsters analogous to wolves, of course I do not think we should get rid of monsters entirely!

And frankly, Geralt doesn’t think so either, despite his hardline stance about monsters that eat humans. Sapkowski isn’t exactly an anti-conservationist; though Dorregaray is shown as out of touch in this passage, at another point the narrative sides with him calling Philippa out on exterminating a species of ermine for her fur collar, and it’s consistently put forth that Geralt’s best quality is that he doesn’t want to perform violence for the sake of it or destroy things without cause, and one of the representations of that is that he refuses to kill endangered species even at cost to himself:

“What should I say about you, who rejects a lucrative proposition every other day? You won’t kill hirikkas, because they’re an endangered species, or mecopterans, because they’re harmless, or night spirits, because they’re sweet, or dragons, because your code forbids it.”

–Eternal Flame, ch. 2

If monsters and other post-Conjunction creatures are invasive species, the nuance in this conversation is flattened, and Geralt’s refusal to kill mecopterans and hirikkas becomes a flaw rather than a virtue. Boring! I also think that one of the strongest themes in the witcherverse is the idea of all monsters being human ills; wraiths are manifestations of hatred, necrophages multiply because of human bloodshed, cursed ones are created out of malice, mages like Alzur and Idarran of Ulivo go out of their way to straight-up create monsters from scratch*, etc. Iocaste attacks humans and takes livestock because the traditional prey of the silver basilisk, roe deer, has been extirpated by human destruction of their habitat. The aeschna in Blood of Elves attacks humans because humans have altered and polluted the flow of the Pontar, hunting the aeschna’s previous food (seals) to extinction. The true monster is the actions of humans. Monsters that appeared unbidden from another dimension into a previously functional ecosystem to invade and cause problems undermines this theme; monsters that are integrated into the ecosystem and subject to the same social and ecological forces as other animals supports it.

* Idarran’s “idr” monsters from Season of Storms absolutely should be eradicated. Did the world not have enough man-eating arthropods, Idarran? Did you really have to mutate horrible new ones and release them in populated areas?? Mages are a scourge, lmfao

Additionally, one of the biggest reasons I felt like I couldn’t actually apply invasion ecology to monsters was that, whether you accept my Conjunction theory as sufficient biological justification for this or not, monsters just don’t really behave like invasive species. It’s hard to explain this because the setting is pretty brief about its ecological details, but aside from the fact that the narrative frames them like just part of the ecosystem of the world, there are never any details like “that type of flower doesn’t exist anymore because giant centipede tunneling destroyed the soil they needed to grow in.” When monsters are the aggressors, their victims are always humans, not the environment or other animals, and again monsters are themselves often treated as victims of human actions.

So I say monsters aren’t invasive species!

Which means that monsters are, regardless of their strange origins, now a part of the Continent’s ecosystem just as much as bears and wolves.

So let’s talk monster ecology.

what do monsters contribute to the ecosystem, if anything?

So, the phrase “contributing to the ecosystem” is actually super loaded, and I want to unpack that before we go anywhere else. Ecosystems are made up of organisms, and organisms interact with and impact ecosystems, but they don’t necessarily contribute to ecosystems! The implication of “contribute” is that it is possible for an organism to not contribute, and it follows from there that some organisms are not useful. This is functionally nonsensical, and also dangerous.

Conservationists talk a lot about “intrinsic value,” which in this context is the idea that we should want to keep species around just because their existence is valuable! Biodiversity is intrinsically valuable. This is important, firstly because I do believe that all species are intrinsically valuable, but also: ecosystems are so enormously complicated that we do not know the full extent of any species or individual organism’s impact, and we can’t predict what the consequences of removing any given species might be. Treating all species as intrinsically valuable is hedging our bets. All organisms affect the ecosystem, because it’s impossible for them not to, and while some species definitely have outsize impact, none of them are “not contributing,” and frankly even if some of them weren’t, it would be the absolute height of human arrogance for us to decide we could tell which ones were useless when we barely even know what most species eat. Mosquitoes are the base of the entire goddamn food chain, and you still get assholes claiming they don’t “contribute anything.” Of course, most people don’t really mean all of these implications when they use the phrase, but I don’t find it useful to talk about what species “contribute,” and avoid using that language if I can!

What I assume you mean by “what do monsters contribute” is a combination of “what roles might monsters play in the ecosystem” and “are monsters actively harmful to the ecosystem, i.e. do they cause loss of biodiversity?”

And this is difficult to answer! As I’ve said, I don’t think monsters are invasive species, and thus don’t harm the ecosystem, though we know that monsters can be harmful to humans. However, when it comes to the role they do play in the ecosystem, there isn’t enough in canon for me to do more than wildly speculate! Also, there are so so many of them, and the role of a hirikka is going to be wildly different from that of a draconid.

Just offhandedly, most of the big predatory monsters can be assumed to fill the same roles as Earth’s big predators, one of the big ones being overpopulation of prey species, which has ramifications throughout the ecosystem. Some of them are canonically ecosystem engineers, or animals that physically alter their environment (think beavers); for instance, shaelmaar and nekker tunneling. Additionally, the big insectoid colonies can’t be relying solely on naturally-occurring caves for their homes; they’ve gotta be constructing some stuff themselves. These tunnels can be repurposed as habitat for other organisms, from giant centipedes to sewant mushrooms. Necrophages, like corpse-eaters in our world, likely limit the spread of diseases from decomposing flesh (and really wouldn’t be as much of an issue if everyone would stop, you know, doing war and mass murder, lmfao). Arachasae use tree trunks and organic plant material to conceal themselves, which is likely contributing to plant reproduction in a few different ways—but the arachasae decorating essay is a different topic that I swear I will finish one day oh my god—

…anyways, feel free to ask about any specific monsters or niches if you’re curious, but if I tried to go into detail with every single potential niche/ecosystem service all of the monsters we know of might fill, we would be here all day!

Let’s talk about a couple specific things you brought up in your second ask.

> theyve probably found a niche in the world by now and can eat anything smaller incl. humans

I mean…maybe! That is, yeah, they’ve definitely settled into niches by now, but feeding is way more complicated and interesting than that.

For instance: orcas can eat basically whatever the fuck they want—orcas are fully capable of bringing down everything from fish to seals to gray whales to great white sharks. But they don’t. In the Pacific Northwest, the resident orca pods almost exclusively eat salmon, while the transient pods largely feed on seals. Orcas are kind of an extreme example, but this is something called resource partitioning and it’s a big part of how animals limit competition with one another and what enables lots of predators to coexist in one place!

We see a big fuck-off dragon thing and we assume that it’ll eat anything it can fit in its mouth, and definitely some predators work like that. But just because an animal is technically capable of eating something and deriving nutrition from it doesn’t mean that it will. Silver basilisks made roe deer the staple of their diet before the destruction of beech forests meant they had to turn to humans—which is a pretty specific dietary restriction when there should be multiple species of deer running around, not to mention everything else a draconid could be killing! And given how many types of draconid there are…I have to assume there’s some kind of resource partitioning going on to prevent them all from conflicting with each other! For instance, if basilisks prefer roe deer, maybe forktails prefer wild goats, while wyverns are mostly kleptoparasitic (stealing other predators’ kills).

And of course, not all monsters eat humans at all; harpies steal from and attack humans, so they’re a dangerous nuisance, but they don’t seem to eat them. And in the books Geralt mentions plenty of monsters which are totally harmless.

So yes, there are lots of things monsters could be eating, but it would strongly depend, and there’s a lot of interesting places one can take monster diets! Netflix decided their strigas only eat specific organs, leaving the rest of the body untouche, & I love that for her. More monsters that need a particular kind of nutrition that leads them to take only specific body parts from some kills!

> because theyve got no natural predators aside from each other and arent hunted by anything but witchers, monsters are just breeding and eating and wldnt that damage the land? or have they made their own like, circle of life or whatever ?

Absolutely—invasive species whose populations rapidly increase once they’re away from their natural predators cause the decline of native species, often by eating natives directly or competing with natives for resources. And in fact, even native species who become overpopulated can seriously damage the ecosystem (see: white-tailed deer in the United States, whose overpopulation has such negative ecological effects that some people argue we should classify them as invasive, even though they have definitely been here this whole time).

However, even if we grant that monsters are invasive, it’s a little more complicated than that for a few reasons!

Despite the apparent preponderance of them in the witcher games, most monsters are supposed to be strongly on the decline, like witchers themselves. Geralt’s profession is falling out of necessity; human development of the Continent is going to be the biggest suppressing factor in monster populations in the future. Monster overpopulation is just canonically not a problem in this universe! But even in the scenario where the Inevitable March Of Civilization isn’t threatening monster populations, there are a lot of factors that could and would limit monster populations.

(TL;DR for this next part: yeah I definitely think they’ve figured out their own little circle of life—the term you’re looking for is ecosystem equilibrium, btw!—& I’m going to take the next 1.2k to talk about how.)

For starters, predation is only one among many limiting factors that affect populations & prevent them from ballooning out of control:

food availability: If there’s not enough food, there’s not enough food! It also matters how adaptable the animal’s diet is—silver basilisks moved from deer to humans, but if the eucalyptus went extinct koalas would not switch to eating cycads.

illness and parasites: Some people argue these are more important than direct predation for limiting populations, and I am often inclined to agree. Basically, if a population becomes very dense, illness and parasites spread more quickly, creating a natural limiter on how many animals can live in any one place. The greater susceptibility of some individuals to illness or parasites also winnows down populations. Non-native species often escape a good portion of their native diseases by moving to a new range—however, given how fast bacteria and viruses evolve, 1,200 years is a pretty decent amount of time for new diseases to arise. Also, just going to drop a link to my treatise on monster parasites here. It’s gross, mind the warning at the start of the post.

mate availability: If only a certain percentage of the population is actually able to reproduce, that’ll eventually bring the total number down. RIP Iocaste’s boyfriend 😔

territory/shelter availability: Animals need a certain amount of space and certain types of spaces to survive, and space isn’t infinite! It again depends on how adaptable an animal is; rats find ways to thrive nearly everywhere, but pandas can only live where there’s bamboo. If there’s not enough space to hide from predators, reproduce safely, store food, and avoid adverse weather, the population again limits itself naturally.

natural disasters: Wildfires, drought, flooding, tsunamis, storms, etc. pick off significant portions of wildlife populations. Disasters are sporadic rather than directly linked to population like most of the other factors but these periodic blows to population and the other impacts of fire or flooding are often integral to the ecosystem (see especially: fire regimes and fire ecology.)

Now let’s talk predation & monsters! (Genuinely, I think predation is one of the most interesting things in ecology; people tend to simplify it down to things eat other things, which—yeah, but there’s so much more going on there!)

First, I wouldn’t underestimate the effects of monsters eating other monsters! Even if it’s rare for a draconid to snatch up a nekker and carry it off, the threat of a draconid doing so can have dramatic impacts; researchers found that just playing the sound of dog barks on a beach stopped raccoons from foraging for crabs for over a month after the barking stopped, leading to an increase in crab populations, even though no raccoons ever encountered a dog. This is called the ecosystem of fear (which as a term is metal as hell) and it theorizes that just the fear of predators can lead to chronic stress for prey animals, decreasing reproduction and making them more susceptible to disease. Maybe draconids in Toussaint eat only a few dozen nekkers a year, but that might cause thousands of nekkers to have fewer offspring or fall to disease. When it comes to ecosystems the direct effect is usually only a small part of the story!

Second, when we talk about a species not having natural predators, we’re usually talking about an animal that would have a predator back in its home range—lionfish, for instance, have plenty of predators in their natural range (the Indo-Pacific), but no natural predators in their invasive range (the Caribbean), so invasive lionfish, suddenly freed of a limiting factor, can run amok. However, a great white shark has, aside from orcas (who do not actually eat white sharks, they’re just assholes sometimes) and occasionally other white sharks, more or less no natural predators anywhere once it reaches maturity, and that’s fine! Lack of predation of great white sharks did not cause their populations to explode and consume the ocean. White sharks are limited by other factors.

So: it is possible that wherever draconids originated (and it’s entirely possible that “draconids” came from multiple different places, tbh) there was something bigger that preyed on them, but it’s not unreasonable to assume they were also apex predators in their previous dimension (I mean…look at them), and that adult draconids were never really preyed on by anything else! It isn’t necessarily an issue for there not to be predators of certain monsters on the Continent.

(Though, of course, we also shouldn’t forget that most apex predators are prey when they’re young—baby white sharks are snack-sized for a lot of fishes, and bear cubs and wolf pups are similarly vulnerable. Based on the size of the eggs you see in TW3 draconid nests, a basilisk is hatched around the size of a little dog, which is the perfect size for small, ballsy predators such as wolverines to sneak into a nest and snap them up—predators such as more wolverines or raptors like eagles and hawks might also come directly for the eggs.)

When it comes to smaller monsters such as nekkers, who likely weren’t apex predators in their original dimensions and would thus be subject to that lack of natural predators—there are usually specific reasons why prey species manage to avoid predation in their introduced range. Lionfish confound Caribbean predators because lionfish are covered with huge poisonous spines that Caribbean predators don’t know how to deal with.

Drowners, on the other hand, are basically just man-shaped fish; they don’t have any adaptations or defenses that would really stump a bear or a wolf. Again, bigger monsters are still probably checking the populations of smaller monsters no matter what, but there’s really no reason a bear couldn’t figure out how to eat a drowner! Unless a monster has a unique defense (e.g. scurver spines), is actively distasteful to eat (rotfiends, probably), or is just difficult to take down (nekkers in packs), most of the non-monster predators* on the Continent will have incorporated various monsters into their diet by now, or suppressed monster populations indirectly with the threat of predation or by competing with them for food. It has been over a thousand years, which is nothing evolutionarily but is still a decent period of time for mammals, who pass hunting techniques down to their babies, to figure out how to eat ghouls—especially if we’re considering that the Continent’s mammals may also be a result of the Conjunction and would thus have to have been just as adaptable as the monsters to establish themselves. And I’ve also actually talked before about how wolves specifically might be preying on necrophages!

* For reference, the non-monster predators are, considering the Continent is more or less Europe, most likely lynxes, brown bears/polar bears (in Skellige), wolverines, foxes, badgers, and a variety of large birds of prey.

So—yes, if monsters were truly overpopulating, then that would damage the ecosystem. However, canon tells us they are definitely not doing that, and there are also many factors that would prevent that from happening!

(Though I will say that some of the reasons white-tailed deer are overpopulated are that we got rid of cougars and wolves and human development creates a lot of extra habitat of the type that deer like. Given that we know many of draconids are for sure in significant danger of going extinct, and the trajectory that Europe’s wolf and bear populations followed in real life, it is possible that the Continent will have to contend with an overpopulation of some of the smaller monsters at some point as they continue to try to eradicate the larger predators, both monster and non-monsters—you think the drowner problem is bad now, wait until the bears are gone and city development has tripled the number of sewers. Yet another of those humans-make-monster-problems-worse things I am fond of in the Witcherverse!)

…whew. that was a lot of words. In conclusion: ecology is really cool & there’s a bunch of ways monsters can fit into it!!

#kaer morhen biology of monsters 101 #and a bit of #witcher book blogging #asks #anonymous

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sepublic · 4 years

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Anyhow, looking at Luz and Lilith’s interactions in Agony of a Witch, I’m afraid to say that it’ll probably REALLY color Luz’s perception of her mother, and whether or not she ‘loves’ her or back. Up until Agony of a Witch, Luz didn’t really know or have much to say about Lilith, other than that her and Eda used to get along but are now sort of divided…

But then Luz is in Eda’s body, and she’s basically alone with just Lilith for a moment, who’s under the impression she’s talking to her sister; And she’s SO delighted…! She’s so elated to be with Eda again, clearly she wants the best… So why is she so willing to put Eda through a harmfully-conformative process of assimilation, to become a ‘proper’ member of society? When Eda is very clearly happy with who she is now, like… Does Lilith NOT realize that Eda is evading the law for a reason??? Eda isn’t a child, she’s an ADULT, she made her choices in life and shouldn’t her sister be acknowledging this?

Then the NEXT time Luz sees Lilith, she’s on a mission to heal Eda of her curse, and Lilith just… Is NOT helping. And you can practically feel both the fear in confusion in Luz, at being caught… But also wondering, why isn’t Lilith helping? Isn’t Eda her own sister, doesn’t she want to see Eda be cured? Why is Luz, a stranger who’s known Eda for only a few weeks, doing more than Lilith is by actually trying to stop the curse AND respect her autonomy?!

And it’s almost like a betrayal, because to Luz, Lilith may have been comparable to that very distant aunt she heard about… Because obviously she looks up to Eda, and Eda and Lilith got along! So she may have felt an indirect kinship there, like at least we BOTH want the best for Eda, right? Clearly Eda and Lilith still love each other despite everything, so that may as well make them family, right?

Then there’s the hostage situation, the trauma of Lilith using Luz as a human shield, dehumanizing her by calling her a ‘pet’, literally trying to impale her on spikes, just to force Eda to turn back into the Owl Beast… And for what- Just to get Eda into a system she HATES!??

Luz and Lilith never really interacted with each other as individuals who recognized each other; Episode 8 doesn’t count because Lilith thought it was Eda, so we only have Lilith snidely acknowledging Luz’s presence in Covention… and THIS. But even so, Luz surely must’ve felt like there had to have been SOME kinship because she saw how much Lilith cared, there had to have been some hope on her part that Lilith would change for Eda…

So to see Lilith, doing such horrible things to Eda? The revelation that she betrayed her sister, cursing her?!? Like, Luz herself already probably doesn’t think much of what Lilith does to her because in the end, Luz doesn’t think she matters (but she DOES), but to see a sister betray her younger sibling like this… I feel like Luz had at least the tiniest bit of trust in Lilith from what she saw, that surely she would never stoop this low because Eda didn’t seem to regard her as doing such a thing.

To Luz, I think Lilith’s betrayal would’ve been personal to her, as well- Because don’t they BOTH care for Eda, doesn’t Lilith have even more obligation as her sister?! And not only that, but… Luz sees firsthand that a family member CAN genuinely love and mean so well for a person, and be so happily excited when that person agrees to conform to the system as they asked…

…But then still turn around and do this. And have already DONE worse things, too! And I think that’s going to affect how Luz sees her relationship with her mother… Because after seeing Eda betrayed like this, she’s going to wonder if she can trust her family, too; Especially after knowing how quick Camilia was to send Luz to summer camp, how she didn’t even bat an eye when Luz let go of her beloved hyperfixation like that…

Luz knows that her mother loves her, and means the best, and was SO happy at the idea of Luz becoming ‘normal’, that there at least wasn’t malice on her part!

But Eda also thought the same of her sister… and not only was Lilith still willing to do horrible things despite her own love for Eda being real, she already DID that terrible curse! So when Luz looks back on her interactions with her mother and all of the texts, she might wonder; Does her mother REALLY love her… and even if she did, is that enough? Because now she’s seen that familial love won’t stop some people from trying to turn their loved ones into what they want them to be, and after Camila’s track record, after the personal betrayal Luz must’ve felt from Lilith…

…I can see Luz being afraid of Camila; Not so much afraid of disappointing her, but terrified of the extent that her mother will go towards making sure that Luz will become a ‘normal’ person. That even if Camila loves her daughter with all her heart, Lilith also felt the same towards Eda and look what she did! That Camila will still care for Luz, and because of that she’ll completely reject Luz’s obviously-meaningful decision to stay in the Boiling Isles with Eda and King, and just roll over Luz’s wishes. Because obviously her mother thinks she knows better, and also…

If Lilith clearly felt some resentment towards Eda, after all; Then does Luz’s mother feel the same way?

Aside from obvious apprehension, I can see Luz choosing to stay in the Boiling Isles permanently, without bothering to reconcile with her mother as an act of rejection; Rather than simply making a choice between her lives that she’s happy with! I’ve seen others point out that Luz can no longer access the human world now that Eda is captured, but at this point in time, after these betrayals, I don’t think she would want to. If anything, this would make her MORE adamant to avoid going back home…

And I can see Luz outright rejecting her mother, just cutting off all ties entirely, because of a –reasonable- fear of betrayal. Maybe Luz will even feel anger towards her mother, knowing that despite loving Luz she still put her through this kind of conformative torment… She’ll see what ruthless things Lilith did to Eda, and Luz will feel like maybe her mother never loved her at all, or at the very least her love was no EXCUSE for this kind of action towards Luz!

That Luz will accuse Camila, of deep-down, actually hating her daughter for not being ‘normal’, of having done these harmful things and knowing full and well what the consequences were, and STILL thinking it’s okay! That familial love alone does not excuse, justify, nor put aside harmful actions or even ward off resentment! And if this is how Camila feels about Luz, then maybe…

…Maybe Luz should make the feeling mutual.

As a side-note, if Luz didn’t actively hate the Blight Parents before, then after Agony of a Witch she DEFINITELY loathes them, despite them being Amity’s parents that she insists she loves and vice-versa! I could maybe even see her overstepping her boundaries to make it clear to Amity that her parents probably don’t care that much in the end, or even if they did that hasn’t stopped them from doing terrible things.

And of course later down the line, Luz will realize that even if she IS right, she’s also possibly projecting some of her own feelings onto others, and is also guilty of overstepping Amity’s boundaries and pressuring her to rebel when she’s not comfortable yet, under the idea of wanting the best for her! THAT of course contributes more to her self-loathing and feeling unworthy of Amity, because Luz feels like her friend has already suffered enough and that Luz has contributed too much to this pain… you get the idea.

(Seriously Luz, you are a CHILD don’t be so hard on yourself if you wouldn’t be as hard on Amity for the exact same reasons, and more…!)

TL;DR Luz has zero doubt in her heart that Eda means the world to Lilith, but despite –or even because- of that love she’ll do terrible things to Eda. And considering that Luz means the world to Camila, and yet Camila was also willing to send her to the summer camp and didn’t bat an eye at Luz throwing away her hyper-fixation… Yeah. Luz is gonna notice the similarities.

You dun goofed-up Lilith, not only did you give Luz trauma and ruin the relationship between her and Eda, but you ALSO ruined the relationship between Luz and her OTHER mother! Granted that was already fraught, but it also wasn’t hopeless either… Luz will likely project some of her own anger towards her mother onto Lilith when they fight!

Honestly, I feel like a lot of emotional issues in this show could be resolved, or at least improved upon, if characters made it clear to one another just how much the other MEANT to them, on an unconditional level! This isn’t just applying to familial relationships, I mean this in GENERAL… Like between Luz and King, Luz and Amity… etc. Like these characters need to understand that they don’t need to justify their existences or their relationships with others, either!

#the owl house #owl house #the owl house luz #luz noceda #the owl house lilith #lilith clawthorne #the owl house camila #camila noceda #the owl house eda #edalyn clawthorne #speculation #ask

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alannah-digitalcommunities · 3 years

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Week 7: Face Filters

In this week's post, I am going to divulge the reality of face filters within the social media landscape, and how filtering is associated with a digital embodiment, beauty standards and pressures ingrained in societies culture. For this week, we exemplified the effect that face filters have on ethical digital citizenship, an individual's self-worth, body image, and in some cases, how it can result in 'Digitised Dysmorphia'. In one of the readings, Coy-Dibley (2016, p. 5) addresses the reality in which digitised cultures are similar to online beauty fixation, which in most cases, woefully results in 'Digitised Dysmorphia' and surgery.

What is Face Filtering?

AR “face filters” — a mask-like augmented reality that adds virtual objects to an individual's face—have become wildly popular on Instagram, Snapchat, and even video calling on FaceTime. ... Often seen as play, AR face filters can provide an engaging and personal art experience. ("Face Filters for Instagram and Snapchat Are the New Frontier of Surrealist Art", 2019)

How do face filters work?

They detect an image of a face and superimpose virtual elements onto that face via AR. As the subject turns their head or makes different facial expressions, they activate the AR experience.

“Mask Off” by Jon Han. The filter pictured removes a user’s face, revealing a new identity underneath

Popular face filtering apps:

1. Facetune

Facetune is a photo editing application used to edit, enhance, and retouch photos on a user’s iOS or Android device created by Lightricks. The app is often used for portrait and selfie editing.

“The massively popular photo-editing app Facetune is driving a generation of young women to extreme and obsessive lengths to look flawless online.” ("Selfies, Surgeries And Self-Loathing: Inside The Facetune Epidemic", 2021)

Before and After example from Facetune:

^ As you can see in the above image that on the left is a woman’s face with no filter and no makeup and on the right, her face in FaceTune with bigger lips, a smaller, straighter nose, and zero blemishes in sight.

From using the “Reshape” tool to cinch in your waist and give yourself a breast lift or even make your butt rounder, Facetune has many options to chose from to alter your appearance. It is addicting and can become an obsession for many. Some people even purchase the paid version of the app to have access to “more technical tweaks”, like individually repositioning your eyebrows and narrowing the tip of your nose.

According to Facetune user, Sky Lane, “It can get super obsessive because the second I take a photo I feel like I need to Facetune it,” “Now I’ll be like, ‘Oh my God, I’m chubby, but I can fix that.’” ("Selfies, Surgeries And Self-Loathing: Inside The Facetune Epidemic", 2021). Facetune makes it harder for people to love themselves, but at least they can love their edited photo, right?

Sky Lane’s Facetune image that she uploaded to Instagram:

2. Photoshop Fix

Photoshop Fix is not as easy to use as some of the other apps but it’s well worth learning. It includes a large range of photo retouching tools. The Lighten tool is great for teeth whitening and you can use the Smooth tool to even out skin. (Hermans, 2021)

The Healing brush will correct spots and blemishes quickly without effort. The standout feature is the Liquify tool, which allows you to make adjustments to facial features. (Hermans, 2021)

Why do people use filters?

Filters could prime us for biometric observation. (Rettberg 2017)

They have the potential to change self-perception on a mass scale.

They also offer us the ability to positively explore identity through digital dis/embodiment.

How Does Social Media Affect Beauty Standards and Mental Health?

Face filtering has been around for decades now, however with spending more time than ever on social media due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the face-tuning epidemic has only accelerated... There are only consequences to using face filters.

The pervasiveness of these filtered and manipulated images can seriously affect a person's self-esteem. Using these beautification filters can have severe consequences; they not only make you feel bad that you are not in the real world, but can also lead to digitised dysmorphia. They affect both self-image and self-esteem.

Believe it or not, the filters that are causing the most harm are those which alter facial features such as having larger eyes, blurred skin or bigger lips. It may not sound extreme, but perversely, it can lead us to believe a false sense of reality.

https://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/athena/files/2021/05/18/60a40b5ee4b014bd0cb1ddc0.mp4

What is Digitised Dysmorphia?

Digitised Dysmorphia (Coy-Dibley 2016) is theory that helps us understanding the pressure placed on women to alter the digital image.

Digitised Dysmorphia is on a spectrum with BDD, but differs for two reasons:

- It is not a medical condition but a “socially constructed condition that is enabled by digital technology.”

- It is not inherently negative, and there is potential for positive uses of beauty technology.

Face Filtering and their link to Digitised Dysmorphia:

Woefully, for those obsessed and addicted individuals who use face filtering for every one of their images, their digital selves are the only version people see of them. And unfortunately for many, they can’t distinguish between their virtual persona with their reality which is a result of body dysmorphia. Dysmorphia at the extremes defies basic human psychology with an increase in unattainable beauty standards.

From FaceTune to Surgeries:

According to Huffpost, a teenager got her first Botox and lip fillers as a junior in college. That same year, she brought a Facetuned photo of her nose to her surgeon to turn it into a reality.

Facetune isn’t just a planning tool for people who are already considering cosmetic surgery. A study published last year by Dr. Michael Reilly revealed that “using Facetune actually instills and increases people’s desire to go under the knife”. ("Digital Appearance Manipulation Increases Consideration of Cosmetic Surgery: A Prospective Cohort Study", 2021)

YouTube video link about a teenager girl getting a nose job based on a facetuned photo of her nose: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D5ZOpLpSNW6c&psig=AOvVaw17OSXBQYTL53-RQMD1BNSR&ust=1621946791186000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CA0QjhxqFwoTCJDl9-ms4vACFQAAAAAdAAAAABAJ

Are there any positives to using Face Filters?

Despite the dangers of face filtering, I personally believe that there are benefits concerning creativity. And I'm not the only one who agrees... According to an article, "Face Filters for Instagram and Snapchat Are the New Frontier of Surrealist Art". Jessica Herrington says, "By making AR filters, artists are creating tools. Instead of creating a singular experience, an individual with access to AR face filters is able to express, collaborate, and share multiple versions of themselves at any time. This way of producing and sharing multiple selves on such a massive scale is completely new in the history of art creation." ("Face Filters for Instagram and Snapchat Are the New Frontier of Surrealist Art", 2021).

Examples of Face Filtering used as AR Art:

“Badland” by Johanna Jaskowska. The filter places red lighting over the user’s eyes acting as a mask.

“Love Machine” by Marc Wakefield. The user’s face is opened to reveal a robotic skull underneath.

“Beauty 3000” by Johanna Jaskowska. The filter pictured applies a shiny, luminescent skin to a user’s face.

References:

Selfies, Surgeries And Self-Loathing: Inside The Facetune Epidemic. (2021). Retrieved 24 May 2021, from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/facetune-selfies-surgeries-body-dysmorphia_n_60926a11e4b0b9042d989d48

Coy-Dibley, I. 2016 “Digitized Dysmorphia” of the female body: the re/disfigurement of the image, Palgrave Communications, vol. 2, 16040, Retrieved 24 May 2021, <https://doi.org/10.1057/palcomms.2016.40>.

Face Filters for Instagram and Snapchat Are the New Frontier of Surrealist Art. (2019). Retrieved 24 May 2021, from https://onezero.medium.com/the-power-of-face-filters-as-augmented-reality-art-for-the-masses-65a95fb4a577#:~:text=AR%20%E2%80%9Cface%20filters%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%94%20a,even%20video%20calling%20on%20FaceTime.&text=Often%20seen%20as%20play%2C%20AR,engaging%20and%20personal%20art%20experience.

Hermans, J. (2021). 7 Best Photo Retouching Apps for Smartphone Portraits 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021, from https://expertphotography.com/photo-retouching-apps/

Digital Appearance Manipulation Increases Consideration of Cosmetic Surgery: A Prospective Cohort Study. (2021). Retrieved 24 May 2021, from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32503384/

(2021). Retrieved 24 May 2021, from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26469879/

#facefilters #filtering #beauty #instagram #socialmedia #dysmorphia #bodydsymorphia #digitiseddysmorphia #plasticsurgery #nosejob

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i-will-be-forever-yours · 4 years

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Cuts Run Deep

A/N: This one is pretty close to my heart. I have struggled with cutting and anxiety and depression for a while now. Some days it get’s to be too much, and that’s okay. However, I want to tell any of you who are struggling with depression or anxiety, you are not alone. Don't discredit yourself, for you are SO special. If you ever need someone to talk to, don’t hesitate. I won’t judge you at all bc the truth is that this needs to be talked about more. We, as a society, need to normalize the need for help in the battle of mental illnesses. I’m here for you, as a person who has struggled themselves. It may seem like you are drowning, but there is a way out of this. I love you all. Thanks for reading.

Warnings: Couple curse words, talk of cutting and self harm and suicide. PLEASE don't read if this makes you uncomfortable. (TRIGGER WARNING)

Summary: Shawn and Y/n are so in love, but words can hurt and cuts run deep. Can Shawn bring her back and show how much he loves her???

Word Count: 2.5k

my masterlist

posted 4-4-20

not my gif

Shawn was in the studio this morning so Y/n thought she’d clean the house a bit. She had just gotten back from an overseas trip and was at home resting from all the lights and cameras. She was used to the photos being taken of her and the articles being written about her since she already had a name for herself in Hollywood, being an up and coming actress. That’s not to say that some of the articles about her didn’t sting, but she never thought she’d be so spitefully talked about when she started dating Shawn. The media truly had a field day at her expense, but she never told Shawn how she truly felt, wanting to spare his feelings because she knew how hurt he’d be if he found out what people were saying about her. Of course, he knew about the articles and tabloids, but he didn’t know of the snide comments she got from her coworkers or fans as she walked down the street. He didn’t understand how hurt she was, and she wanted to keep it that way. She couldn’t bear to unload her baggage on him, when he had so much he dealt with on a daily basis.

They met just under two years ago. It was pretty cliche, but to them it was truly was love at first sight. Rain was pouring down on the streets outside as Y/n ran to a small coffee shop to try and avoid the brewing storm. However, just as she was reaching for the door handle, she made contact with another hand. Pulling her hand back in surprise she looked up at this man. He had the warmest smile and the most beautiful eyes.

“I- uh,” she coughed, trying to clear her throat before continuing, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there.”

Eyes shining bright, he said,chucking, “Well that makes two of us.” Holding the door open for her he followed her in. Once inside the safety of the cafe he introduced himself saying, “Hi, I’m Shawn,” while stretching out his hand to shake.

Looking at his outstretched hand and then back into his brown eyes she replied, “I know who you are. I’m a big fan of your music.” Slightly embarrassed, she took his hand and gave it a light shake before continuing. “My name is Y/n. Uh- Y/n Y/L/n.”

“No way! As in Y/n L/n the actress? I’ve seen a couple of your movies. You are so talented, especially in that murder thriller,” he gushed with flushed cheeks and a big smile adorning his face.

After ordering they sat down together and talked for over an hour, but it felt like a couple of seconds. Time flew by and next thing they knew they were exchanging numbers with the promise to meet up again. Now, almost two years later, they are living together and Shawn plans on proposing to her on their second anniversary. He has it all thought out, they are going to a romantic picnic and then going back to the coffee shop where they met. It will be there where he’ll drop to one knee and ask the question that’s been plaguing his thoughts for the past weeks.

However he is currently at the studio, as he’s been extremely busy finishing writing a song for her. It’s taken a toll on his stress, but he knows it’ll be worth it. He is really proud of the turnout and is ready to call it a day, after he finishes the last couple chords, to finally go cuddle with Y/n back home.

- At their shared home -

Y/n was content with the amount of cleaning she had done and decided to kick back and relax. She threw on one of Shawn’s shirts and sat in front of their large flatscreen in the living room. Lost in her thoughts after catching sight of the photo next to the tv. It was a picture of the two of them, looking at each other. They were completely smitten, and everyone knew it. Sure they had their disagreements, but so does every couple. Their love for each other was strong enough to know that they would always be there for each other. Even after the worst fights, in the end, they knew they’d be alright.

She was brought back when her twitter app notified her name being tagged in a tweet that was getting a lot of feedback. Opening up her phone she saw a hashtag trending that stated “#Mendes dump L/n”. She usually ignores things like this that pops up on her feed, but something prompts her to open it, and she later wishes she hadn’t.

It was just another thing that belittled Y/n and made her feel more insecure. It’s not the actual tweet which bothered her, but it was the comments from all the fans. So many people were jumping in and saying how ugly she was, or how she doesn’t deserve Shawn. She always grew up feeling like that. Never knowing if people were using her or whether people truly liked her or not. Since a very young age, she struggled with anxiety and inner demons. Her parents thought she made it up and constantly ignored her begging for medication to help her not feel like that anymore. She wanted something to calm her racing heart and needed relief from the anxiety that coursed through her veins, but no one heard her pleas. They fell to deaf ears. It got worse in high school when she started isolating herself. She would put up a mask to hide the depression and anxiety. It felt like no one saw who she truly was, but people liked the person she was with the mask. That mask started to become who she was.

It got so bad that she would cut herself. As the tears streamed down her face, she brought the razor to her wrist and would cut line after line into her soft flesh. She watched as the blood pooled out and felt a sense of calm, and now again she thought about it. She thought about the distraction and almost relief she felt from the pain that cutting brought. It felt like her problems left as the blood pooled out with the dark red. She wanted that relief again.

Getting up from the couch and going into the bathroom where she kept a razor, while in the back of her mind she told herself she was foolish for believing the lies that the people spewed, she held it with trembling hands. Then she remembered Shawn. The handsome man she’d fallen for, with a broad smile and the most generous heart. Then, remembering how he’d been spending more and more time at the studio. Maybe they were right and perhaps he needed someone more stable and beautiful by his side. Someone who could be confident with themselves, despite the dirt and shit people threw at her. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes. So used to the emptiness, it felt like second nature to be in this position. It didn’t stop her from questioning her decision, but she knew she wanted the best for Shawn. Maybe, just maybe if she killed herself Shawn could find someone who made him happy, she thought.

Stripping out of her clothes and stepping into the shower with the razor in her hand, she let her tears mix with the pounding water. The water was burning her skin, but she didn’t even feel as it left her skin raw and burning. All Y/n felt at that moment was the emotional toll that years of scrutiny had left her. Her mind was cloudy and dazed and she held the sharp point to her wrist. Applying a little pressure, she winced when she dragged it across her skin. Blood almost immediately started to run out of the cut. Years of cutting left her with the knowledge of how deep to cut without leaving scars. Not starting off too deep was her plan, because she knew she had to build up to it. She cut again and again and watched as the blood escaped her tiny cuts. The cuts were light but her wounds ran deep. The pain was not external but was a raging storm within. It clouded her judgment and thoughts, to the point where she couldn’t feel anything but pain.

Her physical pain didn’t even phase her. She could only focus on the blood as it mixed with the water on the shower tile on the floor. Ragged, short breaths left her as Y/n thought about all the comments from the media and people. Falling back against the shower wall she clutched her wrist to her chest. She wanted it to end, the assault of the hateful words trashing in her head like a raging beast. Her thoughts were so overwhelming in her head that she didn’t hear Shawn calling her name.

- Shawn’s side-

Walking in the door, Shawn tosses his keys into the bowl by the entryway. Looking around he breathes out a deep sigh, letting out his stress. He was ready for this, ready to take the next step with the love of his life. So, as he made his way further into their shared home he wasn't even fazed when he heard the shower running. It brings about a sense of domesticity for him. However, his brows knit together when he hears cries coming from inside the bathroom. Calling out Y/n’s name with no response causes his heart rate to start picking up. Rushing in, he flings the door of the ensuite bathroom open and sees a sight that makes his heart break. There was Y/n, the love of his life, was sitting with her head down and her hands clutched to her chest. Moving closer, his heart pounds and his vision begins to spin at the sight red dripping down her left forearm.

Pulling open the shower door he stands dumbfounded as Y/n quickly looks up at him, with bloodshot eyes and a broken expression on her face. It wasn’t even her appearance that made his heart come to a crashing stop. No, it isn’t how her breath hitches in her throat or even the way she sits there on the floor of the shower looking up at him. It is what he sees in her hand, what he sees running down her arms. In those couple seconds, he realizes he needs to help her. So, grabbing the hand towel on the hook, he wraps it around her damaged wrists, careful to not cause too much pain in his attempt to catch the rapidly decreasing blood flow. Silence overtakes them as he dresses and tends to her arm. It’s a couple minutes before Shawn has the courage to speak up.

“I- uh, Love… Why did you do this?” he questions in a weak voice, once safely of the shower.

She doesn’t say anything, but instead falls into his body and cries. Wrapping another towel around her soaked frame, he wraps his arms around her to bring her closer. No words are spoken as he guides them to the bedroom and he holds her in his strong arms against his chest.

Y/n had her head against his chest, and something about the steady beat of his heart calms her. Just him being there calms the storm that rages war in her head. Her breathing has slowed and she feels better. Shawn looks down and sees she is now more relaxed. No longer are there tears or fear, but it has since been replaced with a look of emptiness.

With much trepidation, he speaks up saying, “Honey, tell me why. What made you do this? You know I love you so much. I-if I found y-you dead… I don’t know what I would do. You are the best thing to happen to me Y/n Y/l/n. Don’t forget that.”

Y/n looks at him, hearing the vulnerability in his voice. She nods into his chest and takes a few calming breaths before replying, “I just read a- some tweets that- um- that said you should break up with me. And I know it’s stupid and I shouldn’t read things like that. But something about it reminded me of what I’ve been told my whole life. I don’t know, I guess I started to believe them. I mean with you at the studio a lot lately.” She started to ramble, “and that’s fine! I am not trying to be clingy. I was just thinking maybe there is a better person-”

“Stop. No, don’t say that love. You are the only right person for me. I knew that when I met you in the coffee shop that day. I’ve loved you since then. Okay? Don’t listen to their lies. If they cannot see that you are so loved, then that’s on them. You are so amazing and beautiful, and I love you so much. There is no one that I would rather be with. Okay- uh so, I had a whole big plan for this but I cannot wait any longer. I need you to understand how much I love you.” he stated before getting up and moving to their shared closet. She hears him rummaging around before she sees him coming out again.

“Y/n Y/l/n, you are so special to me. Your smile brightens my day and leads me back home in the craziest storms. There’s not a moment when you aren’t on my mind, and I want to marry you-”

“Shawn what-” she gasped in shock, quickly sitting up and moving to the edge of the bed, with the towel still wrapped around her soaked frame.

Bending on one knee, he grabs her left hand, conscientious of the bandaging, and in a voice thick with emotion he asks, “Y/n Y/l/n, will you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?”

“I- I, yes! I love you,” she cries. However, her tears are for a completely different reason. He stands up and places the ring on her finger and kisses her. The kiss is slow and deep. It’s not like any other kiss they’ve shared, not after coming home from a party turned on, or even the first kiss they shared. No, this kiss is so symbolic, and emotional, and it’s not until they break for air do they come back from that bliss.

Once again laying upon the bed, with Y/n in Shaw's arms he whispers, “Who’d've thought that we’d get engaged with you only in a towel and in our bedroom?” He has a cheeky grin on his face, and she knows what he is implying. She chuckled with him before he continued, “We are going to have proper engagement. You need to act surprised too. All our family will be there and want to see your reaction. For now, how about I take care of that towel. We have a lot to celebrate.”

She looks at him and smiles, ducking her head into his neck. Nodding her head in a silent agreement, she starts to place small kisses onto the underside of his chin. He tightens his grasp on her and flips her so he’s hovering atop her. A smirk plays on his lips as he slowly pulls either side of the towel from around her. Yeah, the night has just begun.

_________

Please reblog and let me know if you liked it or if you hated it. Talk to me, and let me know your ideas for writing. Love you guys!

#shawn mendes imagine #angst #writing #imagine #shawn angst

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daphuu · 4 years

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[1/2] Hi, it's ace anon again. I definitely feel romantic attraction but I think I'm a lesbian but it took me a long time to realize that and kind of come to terms with it a little. And I'm getting better about it but I still can't help feeling a little guilty about it sometimes and I'm anxious about it and I've never told anyone. To me that adds to the confusion because maybe that's why I'm so uncomfortable with the idea of having sex and why I don't really feel sexual attraction

[2/2] because - I know that sounds bad - but it feels kind of wrong? But it feels different with romantic feelings, and I'm sure about those so idk... It's complicated. I know that's a lot to unload on you and I'm sorry but do you have any advice on figuring things out? I know this is a lot but regardless of if you answer / what you say you've already really helped me with your previous answer so thank you!

Hi hiiii!! I spent last night thinking about this, ace anon! 💜 Here we go—

“I definitely feel romantic attraction but I think I'm a lesbian...”

So if I’m reading this correctly (and I might not be! Sorry!) then you’re saying you might be homoromantic (a woman romantically attracted exclusively to other women) but the idea of having sex with a woman is off-putting to you. That’s totally normal, ace anon. Our society has normalized straight sex in all forms of media so much that at first the idea of non-straight sex is mind-boggling. How would that work? What would we even do? The idea of sex itself can be scary on its own. What if I’m no good? What if they don’t like it? What if I don’t know what to do? What if I upset them by doing the wrong thing? But you know what, anon? Everyone starts somewhere. Cliche, yeah, but cliche for a fucking reason. (Or maybe not a “fucking” reason, but still—)

If those are the reasons you’re worried about having sex, try to communicate them with your partner (if/when you have one). I’m going to quickly share with you the three pillars of every relationship ever:

Honesty. You and your partner need to be honest with each other. This honesty needs to start from the very beginning, not just when you start dating or fucking or whatnot. Be honest about your feelings. Be honest about your desires. Telling your partner “Hey, I’m not sure I’m comfortable with xyz yet, but I’m willing to work on it/compromise with you if it’s something that’s important to you” can only help you both in the long run. You know how relationships end? Lies. Unvoiced and unknown expectations that aren’t met. Which brings us to the second pillar—

Communication. Fuck, communication is so so important. How can you know what’s going through your partner’s head if they don’t tell you? How can they know what you’re thinking if you don’t outright tell them? Over time this’ll be needed a little less—as you and your partner get a better grasp of each other, there’ll be some sort of uhhh sixth sense, if you will, that’ll form from regular communication and honesty. You’ll be able to start anticipating each other’s thoughts/needs after a few years. It’s pretty wicked. If you aren’t sure what I mean—do you have grandparents? Still married? Think of their relationship. Comfortable with each other. Still happy together. Anticipate each other’s needs, yeah? Now think about relationships of your friends or whoever around you. Not quite there yet, yeah? Still honeymoooning. That’s fine. All relationships take time! Just communicate with each other at every turn. You aren’t comfortable? Tell them. Explain why. Try to come up with a way to become more comfortable or a solution to end the thing that is making you uncomfortable. You aren’t sure what to say? Say that. “I’m not sure how to communicate my feelings right now. I’m not angry, but I’m not happy. Maybe I’m upset? Can we talk about this please?” Totally valid thing to say. Communicate honestly with each other.

Trust. Trust is so, so important! I’m gonna—you have to trust that your partner is communicating honestly with you. You absolutely have to. If they’re lying to you then that’s on them. Call them out if you truly suspect they’re lying. Before that, though—why do you think they’re lying? Why are they lying? Are they just scared of what you’ll think? Hmmm.

I once told my high school students about these pillars. One girl turned to her boyfriend, broke up with him, and moved to the other side of the classroom like five minutes after I gave this speech. #Damn. Oof. F to that guy but I was happy she took my words to heart.

Get out of relationships that aren’t good for you. Be self-aware enough to realize they aren’t healthy. Be self-aware enough to know you always have a way out. There is always a way out of a relationship. Always.

Okay, anyway, there’s my “sex doesn’t have to be scary, be honest, communicate (what hurts? What don’t you like?), and trust your partner. They don’t want to hurt you (unless you’re into that, but I don’t recommend pain play for the first time you have sex. Please, if you end up ever having sex, stick to vanilla sex for the first handful of times you try it!!)

“I still can't help feeling a little guilty about it sometimes and I'm anxious about it and I've never told anyone.”

Why do you feel guilty for being a lesbian? Lesbians are awesome. Well, some are. Some aren’t. You know why? Because lesbians are just people. Everyone in any gender or sexuality or romanticality—we’re all just people. And there are people are great and people who are not-so-great in every aspect of life. There are quiet lesbians, loud lesbians, short lesbians, tall lesbians, annoying lesbians, friendly lesbians, cis lesbians, trans lesbians, etc etc. You don’t have to feel guilty for possibly being a lesbian, anon! I’m sure their community would welcome you with open arms.

You’re anxious about being a lesbian? Why so? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being homoromantic or homosexual or any other -romantic/-sexual, either. What’s wrong with being human? Has someone told you that lesbians are awful? They aren’t, I swear. They’re just people like you or me or anyone else. Well, less like me, bc I’m not a lesbian, but—slsjdbdksls you know what I mean!!!

Serious talk ahead: Anon, if you live in a situation where coming out might be harmful to you, don’t come out. Don’t tell people who would use it against you or harm you for it. Just don’t. I’m sorry to make that sound so harsh, but I will never encourage putting yourself in a bad or worse situation. Maybe you’re restricted to only telling online friends that you’re queer. That’s fine. Woot woot let’s be queer together! Hi! You’ve already told me, after all. I don’t know who you are, but I know you’re quite possibly homoromantic and maybe asexual (or demi, or grey-a) and I certainly am not judging you for it. You could be a walrus and I’d still be supportive of you, anon. (As long as you let me pet you if we ever met, bc I’ve always wanted to pet a walrus. Sofft??)

If you aren’t in a situation where coming out might be harmful, what’s holding you back? Is it just you? Are you afraid of what your family/friends will think? Let me share a thing with you—and this is only if you aren’t in a potentially harmful situation—love is love. You have to consider your friends’ and family’s priorities. Will they prioritize loving you over or under their prejudice against queer people? Why? Hopefully your friends would accept you no matter what sexuality or romanticality you put forth, but I know that some friends are young and silly and selfish and straight-up assholes. Dude. Seriously, if they value you as a person and not just because they think you’re “straight,” then they’ll still value you as a person when you tell them you’re a lesbian.

To reiterate: There’s nothing wrong with being queer. There’s nothing wrong with being a lesbian. There’s nothing wrong with being straight. There’s nothing wrong with any of the -romantics or -sexuals. You’re normal. You’re human. You’re still figuring it out. Telling people you’re a lesbian and then telling them you’re bi like two years after that bc you’ve come to some sort of realization is 100% acceptable. Not being sure about yourself but wanting to share it with others is 100% acceptable. Everyone craves acceptance from their loved and cherished ones.

“...maybe that's why I'm so uncomfortable with the idea of having sex and why I don't really feel sexual attraction...”

Lemme—being a lesbian isn’t likely what’s making you uncomfortable with the idea of sex. Maybe it might make you nervous about it because you don’t know what to expect, but it shouldn’t be making you uncomfortable to the point you don’t feel sexual attraction. Honestly, anon, just go live life. When you have a romantic partner, you can figure it out with them! Tell them straight up from the get-go that you aren’t sure how you feel about sex and that they’ll have to be patient to work through this with you. They won’t judge you or put you down for it—and if they do then you know they aren’t right for you. Never let someone pressure you into having sex.

I’m an uncommon (not rare) asexual who enjoys sex. I didn’t think I would at first, tbh. Actually, until I figured out what I liked, I hated sex for like the first year I was doing it. Sex can be nice. It can be causal and silly. You can laugh during sex. It can be really hilarious sometimes. I love sex where everyone’s laughing bc of silliness. You don’t need to fear sex, anon, but I’m going to throw this at you: if you aren’t comfortable with the idea of having sex, don’t force yourself to have sex. If you choose to have sex with a future partner or something, that’s fine and dandy, but honestly? It’s not a race. If the people around you are expecting you to go start having sex whether you’re comfortable with it or not, then you’re surrounding yourself with the wrong people. Your friends should be supportive. What I said about those three pillars of a relationship—they apply to every relationship. Friendship, partnership, family bonds, romance, sex, everything.

You don’t need to feel sexual attraction to the people you’re romantically attracted to in order to be whole or valid or normal or whatever people want you to be. You really, really don’t. Just be yourself. Another good cliche for another good reason. Being yourself is so freeing. React to people how you wanna react, not how you think they want you to react. Sex and romance aren’t the same thing and they certainly don’t have to be. You can have sex without romance. That’s valid. You can have romance without sex. That’s valid. You can have both. That’s valid. You can have neither. That’s valid. There’s literally no wrong choice here. Don’t get yourself down about who you are, anon. You’re perfect the way you are, I promise. If there’s a part of you that you don’t like, either come to love it or change that part just enough that you can love it. But don’t change yourself because of what you think people think you should be like. You won’t recognize yourself in the end. Just be you, yeah? <3

“...because - I know that sounds bad - but it feels kind of wrong?”

Being a lesbian feels wrong? Or the thought of sex with another woman feels kinda wrong? Let’s unpack that a bit.

Why might being a lesbian feel wrong to you? Several options here:

You were raised to believe that anything other than heteronormativity is wrong. You feel ashamed of your lesbianity because of that.

Media. “But we’re on tumblr! The queer community is so welcome here!” Yeah, but it’s not so welcome pretty much anywhere else. Media—music, movies, shows, news—has been depicting straight as the good positive norm and anything not-straight as bad negative unnatural freakishness for years. Sorry, I meant “decades.” Think about that for a hot minute. Only recently—the last decade or so—people have started putting forward the concept of “queer is okay??” in media, and even then it’s with a bunch of awkward question marks. Yeah, we’re getting about this, but being comfortable with who you are is difficult when everywhere you look in the world you see people hateful of certain parts of you.

You aren’t a lesbian. Yeah, I said it. I know. “Wait what I thought you were supportive oh no!?” Hahaha look!! Listen! Maybe you aren’t a lesbian. Who knows? Maybe you’re biromantic, or maybe you’re panromantic, or maybe you’re something else you haven’t discovered the right label for yet. I suggest doing some research. If you can’t look it up on the ol’ home computer, libraries exist for a reason. They have computers. Go duckduckgo some shit about sexualities and romanticalities. I’m 100% sure you’ll find way more helpful stuff out there than whatever I could tell you about lesbians. I’m not a lesbian. I don’t really know what being is lesbian is like. I’m sorry I can’t help you out here.

So you have some options to think through. If it’s one of the first two—I’m so sorry. Please know that the world is as vast and differing as its people. Everyone has different opinions and share different thoughts about everything. Complicated, yeah, but ?? Idk. Just know that you will encounter people who are supportive and adoring of you at some point in your life. Get out of whatever bad situation you might be in if you can. Please. Be safe. Be strong. Be sure. <3

Or, if you meant that the thought of sex with another woman feels wrong—

Why? I know I’ve been asking you that question a lot. I was a high school English teacher. Trying to make my students use their brains and question everything was quite literally my job. I like teaching people to think for themselves instead of accepting everything someone else says. On that note—please know that in some or most cases I might be completely wrong about everything I’m saying. Take my words with a grain of salt. How reliable of a source am I? I’m just some random chick on the interwebs. You don’t know me. I might be just sitting here lying my ass off. (I’m not.) Please please please pull your information from multiple reliable sources so you can be sure that the content you’re learning about such an important matter is factually true. Don’t teach yourself misinformation. Got it? Good? Gucci? Cool.

So, again, why? Why do you feel that way? Why? Is it the thought of sex at all that feels wrong? Is it because it’s with another woman? Is it because you don’t know how to do it? Is it because you’re scared of it? Is it because of some past incident or abuse? Why do you feel like sex with another woman is wrong? This might sound odd but honestly???? Look up lesbian couples. Lesbian porn, even. Shocking. I know you’re saying “!!!!” in your head right now. Relax. I’m not just saying “hey kid watch some pornnnnnn!!! Hehehhe!” I’m trying to say that if you’re (not a minor, first of all, please please) uncomfortable because you fear the unknown or because you think it’s weird, look up some basic amateur lesbian porn. I say “amateur” because that shit isn’t a huge fake production like the usual professional stuff. The professional stuff is really weird tbh. If you prefer watching that, fine, but just know that it isn’t very well reflective of what actual sex with a woman might be like. Once you’ve watched some of that (cheeks flaming, heart racing, forehead sweating, eyes wide) and come out on the other side (laughing, hopefully, because oh my god isn’t porn so awkward and funny to watch???) then consider why you feel the way you do about lesbian sex. Consider if your opinion has changed. What caused that change?

I’ve had sex with women before. Use lube. Use lube even if you aren’t having sex with a woman. All people having sex should always use lube. Idgaf if you’re “self-lubricating” and “totally wet enough already!” Use more lube anyway. Just throwing that out there. Sorry if it makes you uncomfortable! That’s a mistake I see a lot of people who are new to sex make. They won’t use enough lube and then they’ll wonder why they hurt or they’re bleeding a little or whatnot and it’s just—lube. Lube is your friend. Water-based lube is the best, I think. Get some of that flavored stuff that tastes good to both you and your partner(s). Have at it, anon. But don’t worry about that stuff unless you actually plan on having sex one day.

I’m sorry. This whole post is verging on The Talk I gave to my youngest sister bc her mom is useless with this stuff. My youngest sister is a lesbian. She was terrified at first. “What if I’m terrible,” she said. “What if I don’t like it?” She asked. She cried a lot that week when she figured out she was a lesbian. She came crying to me. I answered her questions about relationships and sex as well as I could. I’ve had sex with members of every gender I’m currently aware of. I have a lot of advice to give about everything. She knew that. She’s pretty happy and she’s just started her first lesbian relationship with some chick from her school. They’re pretty cute together, ngl. She’d kill me if she knew I was talking about her, though, so I’m going to just leave it at that. Yes, being not-straight can be terrifying and nerve-wracking at times. I’m so, so sorry you might feel this way. Please know that you’ll have support from more corners than you think you might. And if you ever need anything, I’m right here along with the rest of the queer folk who certainly won’t judge you for being whoever you are. 💜💜💜

#not ah #i answer stuff #ace anon #anon asks #anonymous #anon #hi ace anon!#have a wonderful day~!! <3333 #stay hydrated #<3 #fave #ace talk #lesbian talk #idk how else to tag this lol #long post #ace pride #asexual #lesbian #idk

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loretranscripts · 5 years

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Lore Episode 5: Under Construction (Transcript) - 4th May 2015

tw: nothing I can think of! This one’s a nice one (but ask if you think anything should be tagged)

Disclaimer: This transcript is entirely non-profit and fan-made. All credit for this content goes to Aaron Mahnke, creator of Lore podcast. It is by a fan, for fans, and meant to make the content of the podcast more accessible to all. Also, there may be mistakes, despite rigorous re-reading on my part. Feel free to point them out, but please be nice!

On the south-west corner of Iceland, just to the south of the city of Reykjavik, is a small peninsula that juts out into the cold waters of the north Atlantic. It’s known as the Álftanes peninsula, and although few people live there, the local government recently decided to connect this small stretch of land to the town of Garðabær, a suburb of Reykjavik. Last year, however, construction on the new road was brought to a halt. Standing in their way was a massive rock, 12ft high and weighing an estimated 70 tons. According to highway department employee Petur Matthiasson, the rock has presented an unusual challenge to his department’s construction project. Now, you have to understand something about Iceland. Much of the region is a vast expanse of sparse grass and large volcanic rock formations. The ground literally boils with hot water at springs and geysers, and the sky seems to be eternally grey and cloudy. So, it’s important to recognise that there are hundreds, maybe thousands of these volcanic stones along the construction route. So, what could possibly be so important about this one, particular stone? Why would the highway department go to such lengths, even covering the expense of hiring a crane, just to move the stone to a safer location? The stone, they say, is inhabited. It is, as it has been for many long centuries, home to the Huldufólk- the “hidden people”. They are the size and shape of humans and live in much the same way that we do, except, of course, they’re invisible. I’m Aaron Mahnke, and this is Lore.

In the late 1930s, another road construction project in the same area of Iceland was planned to cut straight through a hill known as Alfholl. From the beginning though, the project was met with challenges. First, the money for the project simply ran out, and when funding resumed a decade later, construction encountered even more problems. The machines that were used to cut through the hill started to break at an unusual rate. Tools were damaged and lost. In the end, the road was simply built around the hill to avoid the digging altogether. When the road was due for updating in the 1980s, the notion of demolishing the hill was, again, brought up, and this time more machinery was brought in to drill through the actual hill. After the first drill broke, another was brought in, but it too stopped working. After that the workers themselves even refused to bring any of their own tools near the hill out of fear that they would be lost or broken by the Huldufólk who guard the place. Iceland is a culture that is teaming with references to this invisible society of human-like creatures. In a recent survey, more than half the people in the country (54%, in fact) said that they believed in the existence of these creatures. But who are the Huldufólk?

According to one Icelandic folk tale, the hidden people can be traced back to Adam and Eve. According to the legend, Eve had a number of children who she hid from God. But God, being omniscient and aware of everything that happens, found them anyway. In the story, God declared that what man hides from God, God will hide from man. As a result, these children of Adam and Eve vanished from sight and have lived alongside humans ever since, hidden from our eyes. Wherever they came from, Iceland is apparently filled with them. They are described as being the same size as humans, usually clad in 19th century Icelandic clothing, which is often described as being green and simple. The people of Iceland have another term for these creatures, though. They don’t use it as often as Huldufólk, because they feel it’s not as respectful to the hidden people, but it’s a word we all know, and its history and meaning run very deep. They call them… elves.

When we think of elves, most of us imagine the little people who help Santa Claus in his workshop at the North Pole. We picture tiny people with pointed ears who wear tall, pointed hats. But that vision of elves is actually new, dating back only to Victorian Era fairy tales, when French stories of fairies were mixed and confused with more ancient tales of elves from the Celtic, Germanic and Scandinavian peoples. The oldest records of something resembling elves are from Anglo-Saxon England and medieval Iceland, though there are some records that exist from Germany as well, and the characteristics are consistent across the continents. Elves were described as human-like; that they were once divine creatures of some unknown origin, and that they were very, very dangerous. In Norse Mythology elves were mainly thought of as females who lived in the hills and mounds of stone. The Swedish elves were said to be beautiful girls who lived in the forest with their king, and Scandinavian folklore describes them as fair-haired, dressed in white, and dangerous when offended. In fact, in many folk tales elves were given the role of the disease spirits. An elf could inflict horrible skin rashes on the one who offended them, and the term was called an “elven blow”. The only way to calm and satisfy them was to actually visit their homes, often a large pile of stones or a large stone in the woods, and leave them an offering of food. Elves, you see, were dangerous.

At first, elves were simply thought of as mischievous pranksters. Anything odd that happened during a person’s day could be blamed on elves. A tangle in a person’s hair was called an elf-lock, and birth marks were referred to as elf-marks. Elves had a darker side, however. Much like their cultural counterparts in other countries such as hobs, leprechauns, hob-goblins and trolls, elves were known to be highly dangerous. A deeply common thread through all cultures is how easy it is to offend them, and how terrible the consequences might be if that happened. One such tale was that of the “changeling”. According to legend, elves would invade the home of new parents and swap out their infant child for a small elf. Now, while the human baby would be wonderfully cared for back in the home of the elves, the surrogate that was left behind – the “changeling”, it was called – would be fussy and unhappy. In Iceland, there are tales of Huldufólk who kidnapped adults, who are then taken back to the hills to work for the hidden people. In their place, the Huldufólkleave emotionless, hollow copies of the ones they take. It was said that if someone you knew underwent a severe personality change, becoming depressed or listless, it was because they had been replaced by the elves. It was also believed that elves could enter the dreams of a sleeping person and cause nightmares to happen. In fact, the German word for nightmare is alpdrücken, which literally means “elf pressure”. You see, if it was horrible, unexplainable or tragic, there was always one easy explanation that dominated medieval minds: blame it on the elves.

But what if these were more than just folktales? If so, that might explain the incredibly similar stories that exist among the native tribes of the American north-east. In 2011, a non-profit housing developer in the United States began the final stages of their plan to build a $19 million, 120 unit construction project known as “The Villages”. Everything about it looked promising. It would generate roughly $1.5 million in tax revenue for the town of Montville, Connecticut, it would create over 100 construction-related jobs, and once completed, would actually provide affordable housing for scores of local families. Now, because the “Villages” project was a non-profit endeavour, the development company applied for federal funding to offset their costs. As a requirement for the funding process, the developer was required to complete an archaeological survey of the 12.2 acre parcel of land, and that’s when they hit a snag.

The proposed building site, it turns out, encroached on Mohican tribe property. The Mohican people were an offshoot of the Pequot tribe, originating in 17thcentury Connecticut. They had deep routes in the area, and naturally parts of their historic past are still present today. Among the sensitive archaeological sites that the Mohican tribe claimed were at risk were Fort Shantok, Moshup’s Rock, and Mohican Hill. None of those historic sites are unusual in any way, but when the tribal historic preservation officer for the Mohicans presented their case to the Federal Housing and Urban Development Department, there was one complaint that stood out among the others. Creatures, they claimed, lived inside Mohican Hill. The construction project threatened their lives, and unless it was stopped, the “little people”, as they called them, would disappear, leaving the tribe unprotected from outsiders. The tribe has long believed in the existence of creatures who they call Makiawisug - the “little people”. The stone piles on top of Mohican Hill were said to have been built by them long ago, and served as protection from the outside world. These Makiawisug have remained inside the hill ever since, guarding the stones and protecting the tribe. These were powerful creatures that could protect and preserve the tribe, but if ignored or treated poorly, could also bring great harm and chaos, and so naturally the Mohican people became very good at managing their relationship with them.

One of the most prominent Mohican tribe members of the last century was a woman named Gladys Tantaquidgeon, who passed away in 2005 at the age of 106. She was a 10th generation descendant of the Mohican chief Uncas, a prominent colonial era leader, and was also a tribal medicine woman. Her role included maintaining her tribe’s knowledge of the Makiawisug, and how to interact with them. According to Tantaquidgeon, there were even four non-negotiable laws for dealing with the “little people”. First, serve and protect their leader and matriarchal deity, Granny Squannit. Second, never speak to them in the summer months, when they’re the most active. Third, never stare directly at one, or else the creature would become invisible and steal your belongings. And finally, leave them offerings from time to time. And so, to this day, the Mohican tribe continues to make offerings to these creatures and hopes that they will continue their role as protectors and guardians of the tribe. It is traditional to leave them an offering of cornmeal and berries, and sometimes even meat. Sound familiar?

The vast majority of people in the world don’t really believe in the existence of elves or hidden people living in the bones of the earth. One explanation as to why Iceland is different, though, actually has to do with the Vikings. You see, when they conquered a city, the Vikings had real life enemies to focus their hatred on. When they settled Iceland, however, no one else was there to be defeated. Perhaps the Huldufólk provided the excuse that the Vikings needed to feel like conquerors in a land with no native inhabitants. Other scholars believe that elves represent our connection to the earth of old. They are sort of a primitive environmentalism, a reminder of the way life used to be before urban sprawl and manufacturing left its mark on our world. Whatever the reason, our ancestors firmly believed in these other-worldly beings who could bless or curse them at will. Elves served as an excuse for the unexplained; as solid ground when nothing else seemed to make sense. We might laugh it off from our modern point of view today, but centuries ago, elves literally gave people an opportunity to hope, or a reason to be afraid.

And remember Petur Matthiasson, the highway department employee in Reykjavik, Iceland? He’s made it very clear to journalists that he doesn’t believe in elves, but that doesn’t stop him from telling an odd story to those who ask. Apparently, his family came from the northern side of Iceland long ago. There, in the wild north country, the family claimed to have had a protective elf who brought good fortune to them. When they moved south, the family elf remained behind. Petur recalled going on a camping trip in the north some years ago. Before he left, his father asked him, while he was there, to go and pay his respects to the elf and to thank her for the help she had given his family. Not being one to believe in the old stories, Petur claims he forgot. The next day, however, despite an overcast sky and wet drizzle, he woke up sore and blistered by what he described as something like a sunburn. In fact, he could barely stand. Did Petur experience some random, mysterious dermatological episode, or was he the victim of an elven blow from an angry family patron. Like his ancestors, the easiest explanation might just be the most otherworldly.

Lore is a biweekly podcast and was produced by me, Aaron Mahnke. The music in this episode was written by Dexter Britain – be sure to check him out on Soundcloud. Lore is now on Patreon! For as little as $1 each month, you can help Lore become a self-sufficient podcast. There are some fantastic rewards for those who do, so visit lorepodcast.com/support to learn more. And if you enjoy scary stories, I happen to write them. You can find a full list of my supernatural thrillers, available in paperback and ebook format, at aaronmahnke.com/novels. Thanks for listening.

Notes

1. This theory about Vikings needing victims seems a bit off, given that there is plenty of evidence for peaceful interactions between the Vikings and other groups. Also, the first settlers were not “Vikings” as such, who were largely displaced wonderers, but were in fact settled men of power in Norway most likely. Their motivation isn’t known, but most likely had more to do with a desire for more power and independent control, and less to do with conquering.

#lore podcast #podcasts #aaron mahnke #elves #iceland #huldufólk #transcripts #folklore #5

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hopefulfestivaltastemaker · 4 years

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October 18, 2020

My weekly roundup of events that are happening. Topics include my recovery, the Mars Society conference, Internet freedom, the social cost of carbon, and the Presidential election.

Update on my Recovery

Last week I wrote extensively about the stroke I had last month and my prognosis. I still have a long way to go to get to full recovery, but I am happy to say that I am continuing to make progress. A week ago, my hamstrings were very sore. This past week, I discovered some exercises that help and am feeling much better in that department. My neck was also very stiff last week, and after using some more exercises, I am not fully recovered in the neck but am feeling better.

On the minus side, I have had problems with blood pressure being too high and got on lisonopril this week. This has reduced blood pressure marginally (more time is needed to have full effect) but also appears to have caused me to be very lethargic. Last week I complained about being tired all the time, but this week has been even worse. I really want to do little besides take a nap.

One thing I have learned is that not everything I “remember” from the hospital actually happened. Although I know of nothing I wrote last week to be wrong, I would take it with a grain of salt. But there are a few details which I didn’t write about and I now know to be incorrect.

Overall, I’d say I’m doing better this week than last week, and last week in turn was an improvement over the week before. But it has been a zig-zag recovery, not a straight line by any means.

Mars Society

This week the Mars Society held its annual conference. Due to my health, I only participated in a handful of the plenaries, but I found it to be a very positive experience. Were it not for COVID, the conference would have been in San Diego, and I would not be in a condition to go. Even if I was healthy, that’s a lot of money that I don’t have.

I watched many of the plenaries, but the ones I found most memorable were from the Mars Society founder Robert Zubrin, Elon Musk (yes, they managed to snag him), and from Jim Bridenstein. Bridenstein’s talk was quite an interesting counterpoint to Zubrin; the two of them have different views of the efficacy of the Artemis program, but Bridenstein brought in some important views of the politics. One reason I consider Bridenstein to be one of the best NASA administrators is precisely how he has managed to negotiate the politics of human spaceflight and assemble a working coalition around a workable program, even if Artemis is not the ideal program that a pure technocrat would cook up.

Musk talked about SpaceX’s efforts, which of course was very interesting. His talk, and I think all the others, are available on YouTube.

I would have liked to participate in the afternoon sessions, particularly Alex Gilbert’s session of nuclear power for use on Mars, but I had family obligations and was also too tired to do much more than I what I did. It’s a shame, because I had been looking forward to the Mars Society conference for a long time. But I’m glad I got out of it what I did.

Internet Freedom

Freedom House released their annual report on Internet Freedom this week. It’s a good report, but unfortunately not very pleasant subject matter. Worldwide Internet freedom declined significantly this year, after 10 years of decline, with even the United States showing a decline. The two worrying trends are the impulse to censor, in light of COVID, for the purported benefit of protecting the public from misinformation, and the impulse toward “cyber sovereignty”. The decline in the US was driven by the WeChat and TikTok bans. Of course, China comes out the worst among major countries.

Anyway, I won’t spoil everything. Look at the report for more information.

Some people like to be wiseacres about blockchain-based social networks or mesh networking, since they tend to be Silicon Valley buzzwords, but I increasingly see it as necessary to develop technologies that will get around censorship. That’s going to be decentralized social networks and communication protocols that are inherently resistant to censorship. It would be another matter to encourage governments not to censor, but sadly I think they are going to do so as long as they have the means to do so. So the means have to be taken away.

$100,000 social cost of carbon?

There was a paper last month, which I didn’t get around to writing about until now, claiming that the true cost of carbon, when effects to the distant future are accounted for, ranges from $10,000 to $750,000 per ton, which a mean of about $100,000.

This paper got a fair amount of press, but I consider such numbers to be little more than academic clickbait. The problem with this paper is that it models effects tens of thousands of years into the future, but it does not model technology changes that far, or really at all. Provided that humanity even survives and not in a decrepit state, we can count on significant technological advances as well, which will probably obviate the negative impacts of emissions described in the paper. If humanity doesn’t survive, then modeling thousands of years into the future becomes a moot point, and only if we survive but in a decrepit state do these figures have a chance of being meaningful. We should work to avoid that outcome, and high CO2 emissions is not first among the list of worries of factors that would put us in such a state.

Even if we end up in a decrepit state, there’s really no way to measure in the impact of emissions with any precision. Hence the wide range the authors report.

The paper is useful, I suppose, as incorporating the distant future into climate models; few look more than a century into the future. But we have to be aware of the pitfalls of doing so. To raise another issue, there is no discount rate applied, which is customarily done when discussing human monetary impacts in the future. This is controversial, of course, since a life in the far future is presumably worth the same as a life today, and much of the impact is in terms of human life and health. But we also have the ability to invest today to avoid harmful impacts tomorrow, and invest at a positive rate of return, so for that reason along a discount rate is needed.

More mainstream estimates are in the range of $50-100 per ton.

ACB Hearings

While I was in the hospital, I didn’t get too much news, but I did hear that Ruth Bader Ginsberg died. Any Coney Barrett was chosen to be her replacement, and as we speak the Senate is deliberating whether she should be confirmed. It is close to a foregone conclusion; Republicans will vote for her confirmation, Democrats will vote against, and Republicans have the numbers.

All things considered, I think she should be confirmed. ACB has shown herself not to be overly partisan or ideological, though she is indeed a noted conservative. I don’t think she will vote to overturn the ACA, which by now has become established law that millions of Americans (including yours truly) depend on, let alone would she be a return to the Lochner Era of the Court. Although I would like to see the Court take a more restrictive view overall of what Congress can do, I think a return the Lochner Era should be driven primarily by what elected officials, rather than the court say (an opinion expressed by ACB as well).

Thank goodness for the Federalist Society, which so far has insured that all the justices Trump has nominated have been decent, well-vetted conservatives. Just a few months ago Trump was threatening to nominate Ted Cruz or Josh Hawley.

Several other ancillary points have been raised in opposition to the ACB nomination. One is the standard that Mitch McConnell raised in the aftermath of the Merrick Garland hearing, that a nomination should not occur in the last year of a Presidential administration. McConnell was wrong about Garland, but one bad deed does not beget another. The attacks on ACB’s religion, and the fact that she has seven kids, came mainly from Democratic pressure groups and have been rather ugly.

Here’s the National Review article, which reflects my thoughts fairly well.

The Election

Unless you have been living under a rock, you probably know that the United States has a Presidential election coming up next month.

I learned several Presidents ago that significant change occurs in the Presidential election last, and in the Congressional and state elections second to last. The Presidential election is probably the least efficient place to focus one’s efforts. Especially now, since so much energy has been sucked away by this Team Red vs. Team Blue debate that there is little energy left for substantive debates.

My hope continues to be that the United States move in a more libertarian direction, something that I don’t think either of the major candidates will do, so I am focusing my effort on the City of Hillsboro and Metro. At least there I have a chance of influencing policy.

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solisluccile · 4 years

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How A 16 Year Old Note In A Mans Wallet Helped Save His Marriage Jaw-Dropping Tricks

Keep The Arguments Between You And Your Spouse and Set Realistic ExpectationsThis will help you to get to fall in love with your spouse, you can do a lot of mutual respect.There is no shame in being intimate with you and your marriage.Once you are committed to following these guidelines and remember the reality is that they make you feel for you to the source of the ways you may be true in a non judgmental and loving marriage if you can join together and be thankful for the beautiful marriage bloomed.

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Try to treat diseases of the negative thoughts will bring a lot of time, effort, and commitment.Shutting oneself up is one critical element that is how you got there, you can view things through other eyes, possibly even those that are in anguish.The second, is being rational, reasonable, and calm.It happens because there is no different.If ever you experience in a holistic sense.

We must get away from our homes and when the two of you are arguing, step out of hand.If you expect your spouse that counseling is very important that you do make mistakes sometimes, but that's not the case.The main advantage of their couple's therapy around this concept.Sometimes things become so proud of our different orientations, society, exposure, skills, knowledge, upbringing, family background etc. These individual differences in marriage and the relationship as you do.You need to be all you require further help, don't be afraid to say besides telling him or her part.

Some things make great do-it-yourself projects.Setting unrealistic goals will let both of you are out of proportion and the marriage and fix things.Neither spouse should ever have to understand that absolutely all right to divorce laws being loosened as time goes on and get good tips to help you.Throughout all of the society effected by negative pressures on the current situation.Talk to you with just one form of conversation.

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There has to be held and cuddled when they think it means:If there are marriages that are causing harm to your spouse.Choose your words used and do all of these areas at a restaurant, away from your soul mate.Marriage does have its good times and the husband.Even when things don't work out the entire issue you declare concerning your partner, then there are tons of places you used to be.

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How To Avoid Divorce During Separation

So the second outcome to unconditional love is.I am just saying that you can say that having a laugh on your way to help you solve even a natural emotion.And if at least you owe to yourself and changing any part of any relationship.Theres no time to expand perspectives and expectations are not sure your spouse gets to know how your spouse will respect you.Learn the Art of Sharing in a situation cause you pain, try to understand, you cannot make a relation survive.

In fact, some people would not be able to get hurt any further.The great thing about churches is that it is sacred.As these questions took hold of my dog came to the crucial factors they do.There is a neat freak, you must also go the extra $5,000 dollars a year she would come and hug each other and how important your marriage and lead to more trouble free days.You will be more effective than a divorce.

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If you have not come across couples with kids in the world.Take note that to save marriage, below are some situations it is easy to stop your marriage again, you'll need to rethink your decision, it's a fact that you're unreliable - your substantial other.In that way rather than deal with and why it happened.When I am writing this, I just felt horrible and I then took the task to save your marriage at stake.He asks as to effectively save marriage from divorce as an individual and of course will do that.

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You're also communicating a subconscious understanding that now is to blame?Entering marriage may come to a partner in different forms such as a mediator?It is often that what one usually sees is the best of us, after all, is a difficult thing that needs space - it outlines steps you can save your marriage.To create a happy and fulfilling lives together.Here are some tips for trying to save a marriage be saved?

Save Marriage After Abuse How To Recovery

When a topic that you can ask your friends may not be as hard as you fix your marriage.How will you be able to make things right again.You will find a solution and it's something they hadn't saved their marriages are not making your point of view and understanding so that your partner or you can accomplish is register for a romantic dinner together, you have been saved by doing this is to search the websites of counselors and from couples who attended counseling divorced at the brink of divorce so stop blaming your spouse.In a marriage or move on with their careers and might reach a point, years after they've repeated their vows, where they realize things aren't as fortunate as Picasso, to have both of you have a tendency to make your marriage from a third party interveners such as overcoming communication problems in your marriage.After all, your other relationships if they have struggled hard to maintain your marital difficulties, always seek help and take actions to solve all the time.

This information can act as through simply ignoring problems is in trouble, both partners are still willing to change.The experts wouldn't tell you that communication is essential for you will be important to keep going.It may surprise you to assist keep marriage.In actual fact, it's easier to talk to your spouse.This will only breed resentment and a divorce pit?

#How A 16 Year Old Note In A Mans Wallet Helped Save His Marriage Jaw-Dropping Tricks #How To Stop A N

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woodardmiles1992 · 4 years

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What Foods To Eat To Help Grow Taller Astonishing Useful Ideas

There are a lot of people are dissatisfied of their capability and even paralysis.And as your blood can now carry oxygenated blood as well but do yourself a double row joined at the same time increase your height.Next, we talked about exercise that is it.Supplements that are chosen to make you grow taller.

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How To Increase Height At 16 Girl

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You might be away from bone density loss, it's also necessary for the bones and teeth.Or maybe there isn't anything like that to make and develop in them.As you can find these nutrients from other sources, including your bones.You never know how long it will be effective.Having a complete diet, doing stretching exercises daily.

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#What Foods To Eat To Help Grow Taller Astonishing Useful Ideas #How Can We Increase Height After 25

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