#childhood encounter

[unganseylike]

thought of the day: the way that everyone forgets noah and yet will be forever influenced by his presence in their lives is kinda appropriate for TRC as a coming of age story. do any of us truly, consciously know each person, event, or place that shaped us into the people we are today? though our consciousness forgets, their memory is inseparable from the way we go about life.

[canisalbus]

When Machete became a cardinal, did his parents ever recognize him?

Machete's home village was on the other side of Italy (and separated by the sea no less) and it was small, relatively rural and remote. It's very unlikely many news about Holy See's happenings made their way there. I don't think his parents had any reason to expect to ever hear about him again, he seemed to be somewhat of a lost cause when they dropped him off.

[idiopathicsmile]

the hardest part of growing up Unitarian Universalist in a small, conservative midwestern town was that pretty much nobody outside the church had any idea what it was.

i know this is not the case in parts of the east coast, and probably parts of the west coast too, but in rural illinois, when i said i wasn't christian but unitarian, the default assumption was that i was part of some weird cult.

i would try to explain the basics of my religion—no creed, no requirements to believe in any deities (but you can if you want), the emphasis is on kindness and acceptance of others and finding the spiritual path that works for you—but it's a pretty esoteric thing for a child to try to verbalize, particularly to other children.

kids on the playground would get as far as "wait, so you don't believe jesus christ is your lord and savior?" then they'd drop me in the "going to hell" bucket and be done with me.

one time in middle school, one of my closest friends said "oh hey, what is it that you believe again?" and when i was about halfway through my little elevator speech, i said something about tolerance of difference and she threw a significant look at three of my other closest friends because the four of them had gotten really into the Left Behind books and turns out that in that particular series, "tolerance" is one of the favorite words of The Antichrist. that's why they'd asked.

the fucking antichrist.

on the other hand, the funniest part of growing up Unitarian Universalist in a small, conservative midwestern town was that pretty much nobody outside the church had any idea what it was.

in sixth grade, we were supposed to wear heavy, gloppy foundation and blush and eye shadow to be extras in the school play. i knew from other school plays that it irritated the hell out of my skin, and so, figuring that alone would probably not spare me, i told the adult in charge that i couldn't wear stage makeup because it was "against my belief system."

she was like, "oh yeah? what's your religion?"

when i said "Unitarian" not a single adult in the room knew what that meant well enough to push back. i went on stage bare-faced.

i looked like a ghost up there but the thing about being UU is that even as a kid, you get to decide for yourself what is spiritually important to you. and on that day i decided that part of my personal, cosmic, holy truth was exploiting loopholes to avoid itchy rashes all over my face, amen.

[letmeliedown]

whenever anyone claims that a trans adult calling themself a “boy” or “girl” or "baby” etc in their 30s is intentional self-infantilization to avoid responsibility or whatever other nebulous evil it kind of just makes me feel like they haven’t ever hung out with trans people over 25

[aquanutart]

I absolutely LOVE the Squirtle/Wartortle illustrations by kantaro in Pokemon 151!

The Squirtle jumping so joyfully from the rock into the ocean, the colors are STUNNING! I love the contrast of the Squirtle's aqua blue framed in the vivid orange sky, the soft bit of blue reflecting in its shell and its tail just catching the sun, how little and squishy its body looks as it launches itself towards the water with such tremendous excitement!

The lineless style of the background gives me the feel of a travel poster and I sense the tropical environment around it from the rocks and trees framing the corners, the waterfall splashing with as much energy as the Squirtle!

The layered blues on the surface of the water and the bubbles rising at the corner make me FEEL the liquid rising to meet the Squirtle--I can just feel how the next moment it's going to break through and be immersed in a cool island swim!

And the Wartortle running along the sunset beach, this is somehow everything I always imagined for Wartortle! I adore the way the rich purple melts into the warm red/orange sky, the matching purple clouds and shadows in the foreground, and how the dimming sunlight glows red on Wartortle's deep blues!

I love how the yellow and orange of the sky illuminate the lapping waves, I can just feel the gentle motion of the sea at dusk. The aqua color of the ocean matches Wartortle's ears and tail and sets off the red-orange sand, I just love how the colors are here!

Wartortle looks so round and squishy, I love its happiness as it goes frolicking through the shallows, chasing the bubbles caught in the setting sun! The shine and deep shadow on its shell give it an almost jewel texture like real tortoise shell; I love the silhouetted splash Wartortle leaves as it goes running across the shore. It's so full of energy and delight at the end of a gorgeous day! The colors in these are SO vivid and harmonized and the style is so cute and bursting with energy and joy. I just LOVE it (also Squirtle is my starter)

[megabuild]

im gonna be 100% honest with you man i'm not gonna post this in full because you are just going to open yourself up to getting clowned on again but i do need you to know this is my absolute favourite opening to any ask i've gotten ever.

[tamblerdraws]

I drew this during Matpat’s last episode

I’m not crying you’re crying

(Also at the end the multiple endings thing was awesome & really funny)

[mrsfrecklesmarauders]

Remus knew that if he didn't meet Sirius when they were kids, he would have never been part of a group like The Marauders. They were so cool. They were so fun. They were the group of friends anyone wished they had.

Remus knew he was an intruder. Sometimes he felt out of place. The three boys were rich, they had everything. They never experienced what Remus did. They never lacked of anything.

James, Sirius and Peter had been friends for years. They had inside jokes Remus didn't understand. They had shared adventures Remus hadn't.

James and Peter only liked Remus because Sirius said so. And Sirius only liked Remus because of what they went through as kids. A nostalgic feeling more like.

Remus would have never been a considered in other circumstances. He wasn't actually their friend. He wasn't actually a Marauder. He was so different and uncool.

What Remus didn't know was that he balanced the group like no one else had. He was a complement for the Marauders. He made the boys better, the group better.

Remus became a confident for James. He listened to whatever rant he had. James loved to talk a lot and Remus was a good listener. He casually became friends with Lily, the girl of his dreams. And Remus was their matchmaker. He helped him get to know her better and he taught him how to behave around her. Remus listened with a smile how he talked and talked about her nonstop.

James also understood through Remus, the consequences of his actions. Remus had been a victim of bullying and mockery before. And James realized he didn't want to be that asshole anymore. Instead he swore to protect Remus from everyone who treated him differently. James considered Remus a good friend.

Remus became like a brother for Peter. Before Remus, The Marauders' dynamic was pretty much centered around James and Sirius. Sometimes they didn't take Peter seriously. Of course they loved him and worried about him, but their personalities were so chaotic that sometimes they didn't realize Peter needed someone to listen to him and pay him attention. James and Sirius joked around Peter. And he felt included when they did that. But not everything was a joke. Remus paid Peter more attention. Because while James and Sirius were more wild and open, Remus and Peter were more quiet and calm. Remus noticed when Peter was down and needed someone to talk to. Remus truly listened and tried to help Peter with his issues. He tried to make sure Peter didn't put himself down. And he was constantly telling him he was good enough.

Remus made James and Sirius notice when they were wrong with Peter. When their jokes stepped over the line. So James and Sirius felt bad about making Peter feel bad and genuinely apologized.

Remus became Sirius' first love, the one to make him feel in the clouds, but also the one to put him in the ground. Remus made Sirius knew other types of realities and problems. That he wasn't the center of attention. He showed him that he didn't have to pretend to be perfect all the time and he was allowed to be vulnerable. But also with Remus, and what Sirius felt for him, he had more courage to be himself, to be more queer and more open about his feelings.

When Sirius acted like a proper dick (and he did most of the time, based on how he was raised), Remus put him in his place. He was the only one to make him calm down when he was having one of his tantrums. Because James just pleased him too much and Peter just left him alone (not to be involved in that). But Remus made him realize he was acting like a whinny baby. So Sirius stopped. Sirius matured thanks to Remus.

Remus didn't know how The Marauders appreciated his arrival. Remus made the boys better and the group better. He was the missing piece of The Marauders. They weren't meant to be three. Always four. And Remus was meant to be their friend.

[disastergay]

first time watching goblin slayer: jesus fucking christ they weren't kidding about this shit being dark

second time watching goblin slayer: this man is autistic. how did I not notice before. he's so autistic it hurts

[strawberrybabydog]

hmm i really wish childhood psychosis was easier to study because the longer im in psychotic spaces the more i see there's a really clear and obvious difference between me (earliest memories include psychosis and psychotic trauma) and the regular psychotics who develop it as a late teen/early adult

theres at least something to be said about the way we double bookkeep & how childhood psychotics seem to have significantly less attachment to Reality, something it seems to me like most psychotics eventually return to or are able to keep in touch with, unlike childhood psychotics who dont seem like we're able to do this whatsoever

when i say i live in a constant state of psychosis, i mean, i experience trauma related to my psychosis 3+ times a day, every single day, with 0 fluctuation as to how im perceiving things. not one day of my entire memorable life has passed without objects talking to me and me understanding this is a normal part of my life. i think adult psychotics are able to disconnect and say "this ISNT part of my life, this is terrifying, i want this to end" which creates a new trauma that as a child psychotic i do not experience. for me this is the default, it's never been any other way because that just isnt possible

maybe TLDR, in childhood psychosis there is some level of acceptance of our reality that carries with us into adulthood, and commonly from what ive seen and heard from adult psychotics, they deeply reject their reality because they understand and have experience living differently

[jerreeeeeee]

i feel like we don't talk about twosun enough. its inherently very interesting. this is the world that shaped our heroes. but the minutiae is easy to make up to suit your purposes and none of it ultimately matters to the narrative. trying to think of what we know about this world. there are 2 suns. a purple sky. it was a hard world (aren't all worlds?). there was a spaceship.

so what's the technological state of this world? hard to say. there's a spaceship, first of its kind, but how specific is that? is it the first flying ship at all, or only the first to leave the planar system? the light fell down a year before the starblaster took off, since the hunger came down right on that day. the ipre had the light for one year. how much did that contribute to their technological advancement? (i hate the idea of 'advancement' as if it's some inevitable linear progress but bear with me here, that's the easiest language to use). were they building ships beforehand? what else did they have?

here's how i tend to think of it: the ipre has the light. the ipre is already quite "advanced" for this world. here are things the ipre has, so by extension twosun has: bond engines, indoor plumbing, industrialized steel production. however i don't tend to think of twosun as a globalized world. so there are many places that do not have these things. and of course these are all things we think of as "advanced" but they also lack many things we think of as technological "advancement," like steam engines, or concrete. anyway.

i don't think its possible for the light of creation to have inspired all of this in only one year. this world was already well on its way. the ipre already existed, it already built spaceships. just not as ambitiously, and more rooted in magic than technology (the idea that magic is just science/technology you don't understand yet is very fun, but in this case i think magic is very much different, and has a longer history. although it can be used in tandem with tech, like in the bond engine).

and aside from technologically i tend to think of it as very politically fractured and chaotic. small regional governments with little reach, fraught and difficult trade, certainly no formal schooling systems (there are, like, wizard universities, all with different inscrutable systems, and then the ipre, and that's your choices for "education"). which is why there's more tech in some places than others.

the most interesting thing is, i think, the difference in lifespans among our crew. magnus, lucretia, and barry know only a more or less industrialized world (although i do tend to have barry grown up rural, that'd be one of those places all this tech hasn't quite reached yet), where there's an organization that sends spaceships with engines to different planes of this reality, and now with a little extra kick from the light, to different realities entirely. magnus has only ever showered with water from pipes indoors. he doesn't bat an eye at buildings made of all metal and glass. but lup and taako grew up in a medieval fantasy world. this shit's all, like, seventy years old max, and they've been around for nearly two centuries. they were bathing in big medieval washtubs as kids. their clothes were all handmade. merle too, although he grew up off the grid anyway. and probably davenport as well, but he would've been more immersed in tech, growing up in a gnomish warren. which is maybe why he was such a good pick for pilot of the starblaster.

but also: we see some of the same happen in faerun. even there it's not clear what the time period is. it's fantasy, all swords and sorcery. but there's trains and arcane engines and skyscrapers. again, not globalized, these things exist in isolated pockets. is it the light? did it still manage to have subtle influence all those years? is it just the luck of the millers finding a window into the plane of thought? is the real answer just that it's inconsistent in whatever way makes the most fun story? is it fun to play in the space of trying to make sense of it anyway?

[vulpinesaint]

i don't talk about alucard castlevania very often because the last season of castlevania was so bad to me that i just don't engage with the show anymore like that but make no mistake. i have many thoughts and opinions on that man.

[easays]

fisting machine

fisting machine

fisting machine

[adrianasunderworld]

A Miss Yuu who does not shut up about the weird hot guy that keeps showing up in her yard. Ace, Jack, Deuce, and Grim will hear all about every encounter with that guy, they will be sick of it. They have never met this guy, they don’t know his real name, they will not know what he looks like besides her very bias retelling. But what they do know is they will be the bridesmen in his and Yuus fall wedding, and that’s the important part. “He is my boyfriend, he doesn't know it yet, but he is my boyfriend.”

[anotherpapercut]

I just wanna say like. my managers literal defense of her insane behavior was that she doesn't believe she can actually CAUSE me to feel anxiety. like she can't "make me" anxious. I just am anxious. not because she "made me" anxious. she can't do that that's impossible apparently. all of my anxiety is internal and I'm just projecting it on her which is causing her to be a huge bitch I guess

[zscribez]

in honour of jttwdaily starting, gonna share a bit of my chinese diasporan childhood

i grew up with two different animated adaptations of journey to the west

the first one was 大闹天宫 (Havoc in Heaven) which was a film that adapted the earlier episodes of journey to the west. it's an absolutely gorgeous piece of animation with a very beautiful soundtrack. it is in the public domain so you can watch the entire thing for free on youtube

the one i linked doesn't have english subtitles but i did see another one that's lower quality with english subtitles so you can certainly find it

the other adaptation i grew up watching was Journey to the West: Legends of the Monkey King, a television show. this one has a saturday morning cartoon feel to it and the opening intro is super nostalgic to me.

i'll link both the opening intro and the first episode since the episodes uploaded to youtube seem to have muted the opening music for some reason, which is a shame since i loved the opening music