#i did a double take when youtube recommended this to me

[sssilverstoned]

couples quiz ꩜ ln4

type: transcription from a youtube video

The GQ couples quiz goes precisely how you both, and your PR teams, expect it to

lily said: i just love world building (even if im not the best at it) so i can't ever leave a concept or pairing alone, so it goes!

part 1 part 2 part 3 2.5ish interlude

Y/N: Why do I feel like I left the oven on in the kitchen?

Lando: Well, because you did. I turned it off on our way out, don't worry about it.

y/n turns to the camera with a bright smile, and lando smiles at the sight of her own.

Y/N: My hero, everyone!

Y/N: And um, I guess we're getting started now? So hi, I'm Y/N L/N, a model and creative director currently based out of Europe.

Lando: And I'm Lando Norris, a driver for McLaren Racing's Formula 1 Team, and this is the GQ couples quiz. And if I may add, I absolutely think I'm going to win.

Y/N: I'm not even dignifying that with banter.

lando turns to the camera, an eyebrow raised.

Lando: Fun fact: Y/N's quite genuinely the most competitive person I've met in my entire life.

y/n's jaw drops with a scoff.

Y/N: No shot! You race for a living, for crying out loud.

Lando: Trust me, Love, you take the cake.

y/n rolls her eyes with no charge, a smile still on both of their faces and small looks exchanged between the two of them,

Y/N: Alright, you first. What's my favorite color?

Lando: (your favorite color), easy. it's the color of your phone case right now too.

Y/N: Yup. What's my favorite place I've traveled?

Lando: You loved Venice, no?

y/n winces, weighing her hands back and forth.

Y/N: I did, but that's not my favorite. In my whole life, I'd say,

Both: Jamaica!

they laugh at their unison.

Lando: And I knew that, I knew that! Because of your grandparents.

y/n nods fondly, giggling at how lando beats himself up about getting one wrong.

Y/N: Alright, what am I most scared of?

Lando: You're petrified of spiders.

y/n gags, and shudders.

Y/N: Don't even get me started.

lando turns to the camera with a faux look of exhaustion.

Lando: This girl refused to go into our bedroom for 3 hours once when I was out because there was a spider on the vanity.

Y/N: Whatever. Where did I go to school?

Lando: Switzerland and New York, very posh.

Y/N: You're calling me posh?

Lando: Can't the pot and the kettle both be black?

a producer bursts out in laughter in the background, making the couple do the same. there's a fondness in both their eyes as they double over in laughter.

Y/N: Okay, okay, almost done. What food do I love and hate?

Lando: You hate mushrooms, and for some reason, you really don't like salmon. As for what you do like, you get stir-fry and noodles a lot, but only from specific places. And you love tomato soup, that's the number one.

Y/N: Right again, nice baby! You make a good one now, by the way.

he winks at her.

Y/N: Who is my celebrity crush?

lando scoffs.

Lando: Dylan O'Brien.

Y/N: Forever and ever. My birthday?

Lando: March 10th, a spicy pisces, as you say.

Y/N: Hey, Olivia Rodrigo herself called me that.

Lando: And what about Scorpios?

Y/N: Nope, not your turn yet, I've got one last question.

lando takes a dramatic breath.

Lando: Alright, hit me with it.

Y/N: Where did we go on our first date?

a big smile grows on lando's face.

Lando: We went to a music show one of our friends recommended, and we both thought it was awful but didn't say anything because we didn't want to leave and have the date be over, so we listened to the most shit jazz music for an hour and a half just to be around each other.

Y/N: Best result from the worst music I've ever heard.

Lando: Ditto. Now, hand me the cards, yeah? I'm about to stump you so good.

the camera transitions to y/n now in the hotseat answering questions, lando teasingly taking his job very seriously with the question cards.

Lando: Alright. Where am I from?

Y/N: Bristol, thought you said you'd stump me?

Lando: This is literally question 1?

lando turns to the producers.

Lando: You see what I mean? Ferocious.

Lando: Moving on, what is our favorite show to watch together?

Y/N: We're rewatching Prison Break, so I'd say that?

Lando: I'll give you that one. Ugh, what was I wearing when we first met? Fucks sake, can we skip this one?

y/n sputters over him.

Y/N: Absolutely not, we're not skipping over this!

Lando: Oh come on, Love-

Y/N: I swear to you, the very first time I met Lando, he came to my 18th birthday party in a full on basketball kit!

Lando: I was told it was "Space Jam" themed!

Y/N: As in dress like you're in space, you fool! Not the Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny movie!

Lando: Needless to say, I was mortified. Seems like she still thought I was cute though, no?

another wink is sent to the camera.

Lando: What's your biggest pet peeve about me?

Y/N: You spoil everything. I can't ever watch a show or a movie without you walking in and going, "Oh, this is the episode before he dies." Like? Who does that?

Lando: Yeah, ah, guilty. Working on it. Eh, not really. What's my nickname for you?

Y/N: Cradle robber.

another producer reacts to this. a sputtering shock of laugh. "you call her WHAT?"

Y/N: We're the same age, mind you.

Lando: Wrong, you've been alive 8 months longer than me on this planet! 3/4 of a year, mind you. But I've got real nicknames for you.

Y/N: Yeah, you do. You call me Love, more than you say my name, so it always feels odd when you do say it.

lando doesn't respond with his voice, but the fond look in his eyes and nod at her answer.

Lando: What irritates me the most?

Y/N: About me? Or, like, in life?

Lando: Life, nothing irritates me about you.

Y/N: Oh, please. But, in life, you're pretty irritable when it comes to selfish people. You've always been like that, though, very compassionate and not a fan of people who aren't.

Lando: Very true, never thought of it like that, I guess. Just don't be an asshole, you know?

Y/N: See? Irritated.

Lando: Anyway. We're on our last question, so I guess you've won because it's not a point question.

Y/N: I won't rub this one in your face, just because you've been a great interviewer.

he gives her a gracious nod, and y/n rolls her eyes.

Lando: You'll never ever know how grateful I am. Final Question, what's something that you weren't expecting about me that you love about me?

Y/N: Oh goodness, are you wanting me to cry? Well, I think something that was initially a hard adjustment was the intensity of your racing schedule, and doing long distance sometimes. We don't really see each other sometimes, but when we do, you always sleep in. And at first it was really annoying to me, because we only have like, 3 days together, wake up! Let's do something! But once you told me that you let yourself sleep in on those days because it's a time to just, be, and we can do it together. So I guess my answer is, I wasn't expecting to love how much you love little moments. You've taught me to be grateful for things we take for granted, and I don't know, I think it's helped me through a lot.

lando stays still for a bit, an adoring look on his face as his eyes swell with what we think were happy tears. we're hoping so, at least.

Lando: I can't wait to marry you one day.

[siriuslysmoking]

Swim

Part 4 of Meddle About

Series Masterlist

A/N: Never been on a private plane or been on a sailing boat or been to the bahamas, this is all coming out of my ass. I did however watch a youtube video on how to sail so I'm basically an expert. Much love <3. I recommend listening to Mamma Mia soundtrack once they get on the boat.

Pairing: Fem!college student x sugar daddy!steve

Warnings: fem!reader, she/her pronouns, alcohol consumption, age gap (R:21, S:29), Reader fawning over Steve every moment she can, I don't think I missed anything, Not edited because I don't want to.

Word Count: 2k

Summary: Working and being a student is tough, you never seem to have a moment to yourself, so when one of you co-workers needs a shift and offers to take your saturday night double, you take it. Finally going out with your friends you encounter a strange man with a strange proposition.

-The water's getting colder, let me in your ocean, swim Out in California, I'll be forward stroking, swim So hard to ignore ya, 'specially when I'm smoking, swim World is on my shoulders, keep your body open, swim-

Steve picks you up at nine in the morning two months later. He walks up to your door and refuses for you to carry your own luggage down the stairs. He opens the doors for you and only lets you carry your book bag. The drive only takes thirty minutes to the airport.

"Mr. Harington, this way."

Neither of you go through customs likes you should, you don't get your bags checked like you normally would've.

Both you and Steve are guided by an employee to a side door onto the tarmac, to a much smaller plane than the other big airlines. You eye the side of Steve's face.

Once you step onto the plane is when you realize this is a private plane. You need to stop forgetting how rich Steve Harrington actually is.

The plane ride is full of smiles and Steve explaining the plans for the week. "I booked a nice dinner for us tonight and we can go to the beach after, do you like the beach? I didn't ask."

"I do." You laugh at the panic in his eyes, "No the whole sand thing, but I love the ocean."

"good, good." He nods, "I've never done this before."

"Never been on a plane?"

"No, never been on vacation."

"You're joking?" You look at him in shock.

"Not unless you count work trips."

"You are a ridiculous man." You laugh, looking at him, "If I had the luxury I wouldn't stop traveling."

"I never really had the need to. I'm what some might say, a workaholic."

"You don't say?" You look at him sarcastically, he just lets out a low chuckle. "Then we will have to make this your best vacation ever."

"Only vacation-"

"But best." You point out.

When you arrive at the house, it's the most beautiful thing you've seen. It's a white house with light blue shutters, right on the beach, with a pool, and surf boards.

Steve and you take a walk through the house, the kitchen is huge with a view of the ocean, there's two bedrooms and three baths.

The bedrooms were big with golden mirrors and balconies.

You and Steve unpack in your respective rooms across the hall. You throw your windows open, letting in the fresh air. "Hey, we have dinner in a couple hours, if you wanna get dressed now, we can go walk around town."

"That sounds good." You smile, he nods and closes your door behind him, letting you get ready in private. You throw on a white long sundress that has buttons going all the way down your front so that you can leave the bottom open for your legs. You put on some strappy white heels to match and throw on your favorite jewelry.

Putting on some light makeup while you spray a floral smelling perfume all around you. You access yourself in the mirror while you put your hair up in a clip.

Steve knocks on your door while you put some finishing touches on your hair, "Can I come in."

"Yep!" You look away from the mirror, looking to him.

well damn. He's wearing a simple white button up and black slacks. He's got sunglasses placed on the top of his head and he looks good.

"Wow, sweetheart, you look beautiful."

"So do you." You smile back at him.

"Ready to go?" He holds a hand out.

"Yeah." You grab your bag and take his hand as he leads you down the stairs and into the car he rented for the week.

His hand stays firmly on your knee as he drives downtown. You stare at the beautiful sight- the outside of the car and inside.

You arrive in no time and of course Steve rounds the car to get your door, "Thank you for coming here with me. Doing this."

"Hey, I got a free vacation, I would never turn that down." You joke, he laughs along as he grabs the door to the restaurant.

You two get settled at a table on the patio. Both of you glance at your menu, discussing what you should get.

"You know, I've never asked the simple questions." Steve looks up from his menu.

"Then ask."

"favorite animal?"

"Elephants."

"Why?"

"They are a lot like humans, they mourn their dead like we do, burying them in dirt, trying to stuff their wounds with herbs, and even stay by their dead for days after they die."

"Woah, I didn't know that."

"What about you?" You put your elbows on the table, leaning forward

"Dogs."

"Why?"

"They're cute?" He scrunches his face.

"That's valid." You laugh.

The next day Steve wakes you up to breakfast on the porch of the house. After eating his pancakes you might have gotten down on one knee right there. You thought about going down on both knees when you saw him in his pajamas, simple gray sweatpants and a black t-shirt.

He explains your plans for the day, he rented out a boat for the day.

A new thing you learned about Steve, He has a Sailing License.

You go upstairs to get dressed for the day and throw on your bikini and a sundress that also counts as a swimsuit coverup. You slip on your sandals and grab your bag. You meet Steve downstairs where he's packing a bag of sunscreen and towels. He goes quiet as he looks up at you, he takes a moment to study you and you suddenly wonder if you should be wearing something else, then he breaks your thoughts by smiling wide and softly saying, "Ready?"

You nod, following him out of the door.

You didn't know much about boats but when you got there it looked like something right out of Mamma Mia.

"This beauty is called a Picchiotti Classic Bermuda Ketch."

"You know that means absolutely nothing to me, right?"

"Just wanted to impress you with my big words."

You watched as Steve tied all the ropes and raised the sail. While he was working you applied sunscreen and watched as reached for different things, his shirt lifting and-

You need to stop. You think to yourself.

Once you're on the water you rid yourself of your dress and lay down in the sun, pulling out a book.

"Having fun?" You hear Steve ask.

"Living my Mamma Mia dream." You sigh, basking in the sun.

"Mamma Mia?" He glances at you.

"Yeah, the movie, they used all ABBA songs."

"I know what ABBA is, but what's Mamma Mia?"

"No." You look at him in disbelief, propping yourself on your elbows, "Oh my god, you're serious!"

"I'm sorry?" He looks at you with a confused expression.

"You should be!" You laugh, "We're watching it when we get back."

"Alright then." He agrees with a smile.

"Tell me when you get hungry, I've got a surprise for you."

"This isn't when you kill me and dump me into the ocean, right?" You raise an eyebrow.

"Again, don't plan on killing you," He smiles then it suddenly drops, "Yet."

"Killed by a rich man on his boat." You raise your hands as if it was on a billboard, "Sounds like a good way to go."

"At least you have standards." He laughs, sitting next to you. "What are you reading?"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"Yeah, I would." He snatches the book out of your hands, before reading the back, He sits in silence as his eyes glance over the page. He looks at you while you give him a smirk.

"You sure?"

"I see you have high standards in other categories as well."

"Wouldn't you like to know." You repeat yourself with a sly smile, stealing your book back. "I'll let you read it when I'm done."

"Can't wait." He sends you a wink and stands up, turning and asking, "Drink?"

"Yes please." You smile up at him. He comes back with two Margaritas in hand, "Thank you."

"Of course." He sits and you've noticed he's taken his shirt off. You try your hardest to keep your eyes on the pages of your book but you can't help but let them wander.

Twenty minutes later Steve comes out with plates and lays them on a picnic blanket, "I asked Mia what your favorite food was and she was very specific."

You almost melt when you see him lay out all of your favorite food. "Steve."

"Yes-," He pauses, his face almost panicked, "Wait did she mess with me?"

"No, no." You stand when he sets the plates down with a sigh of relief. You engulf him in a hug, he seems shocked by it but after a moment he wraps his arms around your waist, and you whisper. "Thank you so much."

"It was nothing."

"No, it wasn't." You don't let go, hugging him tighter, "Maybe to you, but this means a lot, so accept my thanks."

"You're welcome." He whispers into your hair. He slowly lets his hands fall to your waist and you follow suit, your eyes meet and his hands settle in yours. You hold eye contact for what feels like seconds but hours at the same time. You feel your eyes falling lower from his eyes and then to his lips-

Steve clears his throat, quickly stepping away from you, he motions to the food, "Let's eat."

You stay still for a moment then quietly you sit across from him on the blanket.

A couple hours later you find yourself dipping your toes in the water, Steve's already in the water with his life jacket on.

The wind has died so the boat is steady. You are reading your book and you don't notice Steve looking at you, until you feel water on your face and book. You slowly look up, shoving your bookmark into your book. "That's foul."

Steve just smiles, "You'll forgive me."

"No." You stand. up, leaving your book on the ground, "Maybe if you hit me, but my book is next level."

You jump in the water, splashing him in the process. You feel his arms around you before you even touch the surface. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Attacking you with water."

He laughs, "You really shouldn't be in the water without a life jacket."

"But I have you to save me." You give him an innocent smile.

"Hours ago you were asking me if I was finally going to kill you, now you think I'll save you from drowning."

"What can I say," You wrap your arms around his shoulder as he holds your thighs up. "I'm a very trusting person, some may say it's a flaw-"

"I say it's your greatest strength." He says softly.

"Why, thank you kind sir."

The both of you have been waiting for the wind to pick back up, so when you feel it, the both of you take notice, "Let's get back on the boat."

He helps you over to the boat, not letting you swim on your own even though he knows you're fully capable. He lets you up the ladder first, then he follows after.

You spend the rest of the time just watching him in his element.

You make it back right before sunset and he tells you what he plans to order in. "Sushi?"

"Oh, most definitely."

After picking up dinner you and Steve settle on the couch, he clicks on Mamma Mia and you settle so that you can see all of his expressions and the screen.

By the time you've finished your meals you and Steve have moved close to each other on the couch, your legs rest over his and his hand lays over your upper calf.

Throughout the movie he makes comments such as:

"We have the same boat"

"Why does he have tattoos there?"

And

"Why is she singing to a child?"

At the end of the movie he looks at you with wide eyes, "We don't get to know who the father is?!"

"No." You laugh.

"There's DNA tests for a reason." He huffs, you almost burst out in uncontrollably laughter on how serious he is.

"She doesn't want to know, it's three times the love."

"I think it was Bill." he crosses his arms, seemingly studying the credits.

"I'm a firm Sam believer."

"No, He's a cheater, I can't get behind him." He shakes his head, still looking at the TV.

"Just wait until you watch Mamma Mia 2."

His eyes go wide as he looks to you, "There's a second one?!"

-

-

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[rotdistressxox]

DARLINGGGGG GUESS WHOS BACK FROM THE PYSCHE WARD!!

im currently brainrotting over agito as you can see..can you write how you think he would meet reader and how their relationship would develop into romance with him? like actually i sat at work for like 15 minutes trying to think how but i actually cannot cook anything up.

(Also I'm seeing the ghost stuff and I'm interested...gonna have to do research for dis one☝️)

sorry if i keep sending you silly asks😞

—🪡 anon

JOIN US WE HAVE SEXY POPES WHO DOUBLE AS FRONTMEN AND FREAKY GHOULS. Listen to them, I highly recommend listening to the meliora and prequelle album before delving any deeper. Watch some YouTube videos abt the lore. PLUS THEY HAVE LITTLE EPISODES <3

Time for some more Cakemaster 9000

Phew, this took a while

Kanoh Agito: How does he fall for you?

• Like what I mentioned in one of the headcanons, you work for Katahara. While Agito doesn't directly work for him apart from beint his representative fighter, he's technically his family AND The Fang.

• However, you two hardly see eachother when on the job. BUT-

• You two visit the same coffee shop. He loves his morning Latte, and you love (insert your favorite Cafe drink here)

• When you first started working, you were surprised to see the Kanoh Agito at a small coffee shop.

• He usually greets and addresses you formally, not interested in any small talk.

• "Sheesh, what a stick in the mud" It's not that he was trying to be rude, but he did come off a little condescending when he greeted you. (He has tone issues)

• One day you woke up late and didn't have time to stop and get your usual.

• He notices your absence. "They can't be sick, they showed no signs of it two days ago"

• Long story short, he picks up your order and goes looking for you. Once he finds you, he stiffly hands it to you. "You were late I presume. I picked this up for you"

• Everyone in the room was shocked. The cold hearted Fang buying someone a drink? You smiled warmly and looked into his eyes "Thank you, this was very kind of you"

• His breathing hitched, and he felt speechless. Was he....flustered? "Don't let it happen again, you work for the Chairman afterall"

• You obviously didn't let it happen again....buuuttt it was super sweet how he seemed to care about you enough to get you something.

• To return the favor, you arrived earlier and got him his Latte. Listen, he was speechless before, now he was in shock. He didn't show it though. In his lifetime no one had ever bought him anything or returned a favor. There was a first time for everything.

• You saw through his attempt to hide the baffled expression on his face. It was kinda- cute.

• "Why have you done this?" "Why not? I'm just repaying you" "I-" "Shush, just take the drink, it's burning my hand"

• He has to get there before you now to ensure that he sees you. He's a bit friendlier with the greetings, too. Don't expect a smile though, just a softer glance in your direction.

• When he was around you, he didn't feel like he needed to be The Fang of Metsudo. You didn't hold him to any higher standard when you chatted, you didn't bother holding back a few curses. He felt as if his soul was on Earth instead of hanging in the balance.

• On one of your off days, the two of you get coffee and sit down for once. Finally having a slower paced discussion. It lasted a few hours, you did most of the talking while he had a response to almost anything. There was a lot he didn't know about pop culture.

• Coffee dates became your thing, even though it wasn't technically a date. More like two friends hanging out. Discussions got into deeper topics like pasts and whatnot.

• Agito decided that he could trust you, so he opened up about the Human Gu Ritual. He didn't know what trauma was, so you explained to him that his feelings and memories about that time in his life would be very traumatic.

• "I'm glad you could tell me that, but are you okay? If I had something like that on my chest I'd cry" "I'm quite alright, I'm not fazed in the slightest but I had no idea the caliber of the topic. I hope I didn't ruin the conversation"

• You tapped your cheek and sighed. "Have you ever been hugged before?" Agito thought for a second. The embracing gesture? The only physical contact he's hand was a pat on the shoulder or when he's fighting.

• "No, I don't think I have" "Well today's your lucky day, bring it in"

• He froze as you wrapped your arms around his waist, pulling him into you. His heartbeat raced as he thought of what to do. "Just tell me if you don't like it" you squeezed him gently. He awkwardly put his hand behind your back and rested it there.

• You let go after a few seconds, but he didn't want you to. "How was it?" You smiled.

• "I'm not sure" He smoothed out his suit, trying to relax himself after what just happened.

• A few days passed and you haven't seen him anywhere. He wasn't at work or at the coffee shop. You start to worry. Did you drive him away? Was the hug too much? Oh god was he dead?

• All the while Agito was keeping an eye on you from afar. Not letting you see him, but he could see you. He felt very fragile after that day, he almost felt ashamed. He wasn't good at managing his emotions. And what happened moved him in a way that frightened him.

• He summons the courage to talk to Katahara Metsudo about how he felt. He was the only parental figure he had in a sense.

• "You are a grown man. Is this really a difficult concept to grasp?" Katahara looked out the window of his office. "I'm inexperienced, these feelings are foreign to me"

• 'He's not referring to himself as we and us anymore, this must be serious' Katahara turned around. "To put it simply" he laughed "Tell (Reader) everything you told me"

• "I have a strong regard for you" Agito came clean. You know how I said there was a first time for everything? Well he had a hint of red on his cheeks. This beast of a man, blushing? Utterly adorable

• "So you're saying you love me?" That's the word. Love. He nodded. "Well. Say it then. There's nothing holding you back"

• He pauses for a moment, he's not exactly fond of eye contact. But this was for (Reader)

• "I love you"

• You wrap your arms around his waist again. "That's all I needed to hear"

• His lips curled into a smile as he looked down at you. You parted from the hug and tilted your head to the side. "Wanna go out to a restaurant sometime?"

• "Are you asking me out on...what is it that they call it...a date?" "Yes" you stated bluntly. Beating around the bush or teasing wouldn't get far in this situation.

• "We can talk about plans later, I have important matters to attend to" he look your hand and grazed his lips on you knuckles. Planting a small kiss on it.

• "Now where did you learn that?" "It's a romantic gesture they do on television" you bite your lip from calling him a dork.

• "I'll meet with you later about this date. Until we see eachother again" He leaves, and you're alone again.

• Man, you're already falling for him. It's not like you'd hate dating him. But you didn't want to be head over heels just yet. You looked at your knuckles and sighed "Ah what the hell, being love isn't that bad"

[renspacesz]

WARNING: EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY, I do not condone.

Guys did you know there was a trans teen who planned to shoot up his school during the day of columbine's anniversary. The media said this person was columbine obsessed, and that got me thinking he would've had a tumblr account somewhere. I think all tcc followers have a tumblr account to find a place where they could talk to people about the crimes and the murderers. Also why wasn't this mentioned here, this news was everywhere and it came up on my youtube recommendation as well.

Other than that, there was also another school shooting happened just yesterday in Texas. Maybe eric and dylan was right about this.. the day of their attack carried a legacy, 25 years from now on. Gun violence without columbine involved is common, but columbine nearly doubled the effect of it leaving many dead just because the shooters wanted to be edgy. I know that's not the only case, people like them already had mental issues from the start, and the lean onto this case to find something to relate to, but sometimes things can get excessive quick and becomes a habit, so you get more desensitized and used to things like this. Then push them to the edge one more time, when they finally snaps, and write their manifesto. I'd say school shooters are a mix of suicidal-ness with some homicide urges. I don't think anyone would want to kill themselves or to face consequences if they only wanted to kill others. Suicide from the start and maybe their reasons came from hatred of humans (misanthropy), nihilism, detachment, depression, and it disturbs the mind.

People always say they don't know what happened to these guy and what makes them do such things. Well it's complicated and there's no simple answer, they all got their own reasons and motives. No simple answer also means no simple solution, it will take a while for people to get educated on such heavy and complex topic. It takes deep cognitive skills & empathy to understand the minds of others. No medication or therapy can truly fix homicidal problems, although they may reduce the urges.

I believe homicidal urges in human, is only nature. Some has better control over their anger and rage, which reduces the possibility of it turning into homicidal urges/thoughts. Depends on quality of life, when people are frustrated, have declining mental health, personality disorders, cognitive impairment, social-problems, etc, it can lead to troubles, and a small percentage accounts for killing people. You can't really stop them, sometimes they look normal on the outside, which is called masking. But if theres anything that tells you "there might be something wrong about this person", delving deeper into it could lead you to a useful conclusion.

[astroacespace]

Recently, a 4-hour video essay on plagiarism in the YouTube space came out from YouTuber hbomberguy. The video made some big claims with damning evidence against some big-name YouTubers—the first half focusing on two channels with significant-sized audiences. The 2nd half focuses on James Somerton, a gay video essayist primarily known for his queer video essays on tv and film. To summarize hbomberguy's video (this will not do it justice if you have the time, I highly recommend the original video it's so gripping it doesn't feel like 4 hours), Somerton plagiarized most of his content significantly. The twist here is that Somerton's persona was that of gay representation when he stole his content and ideas from much smaller queer writers who saw none of the profits from their stolen content. The content he wrote was often misogynistic, with double standards on the way women engage with pop culture. Then, when concerned fans saw that his work was almost word for word of an article or book, Somerton would claim that the concerns were in bad faith from targeted homophobes sending him death threats. This situation hit many topics we've covered: virtue signaling, representation, Marxist theory, & feminist theory. I really looked at this situation from a more meta-narrative; what can we learn from the Somerton situation to better understand rhetorical criticism and analysis? As we try to understand pop culture through these different lenses, I think it is essential to take away to understand the power of a platform. Queer fans really engaged with Somerton's work because they believed him to be a trusted source from their community. This is why it is so devesting that he stole the words and ideas from other queer people who did not benefit from their hard work. Somerton stole without regard for his community, even stealing the ideas of men who died in the AIDS crisis. This made me think about how important our work as communication scholars is. By first recognizing and building on our community ideas, we succeed together. We must continue to research and analyze media in good faith and lift up the writers who came before us.

[pochqmqri]

When I saw this video drop in my recommended, I knew it was going to disappoint me as someone who has done personal nuzlocke runs before, used to be an active member of the forums, and even still is friends with people from there. And I was right. Look under the read more for my gripes.

To start off, he makes a rather big mistake by stating that the original Ruby Hard Mode run ended in a win, when it definitely did not, and was the basis for the Ruby character going to Kanto to start the FireRed Hard Mode run. That one isn’t one I think is too bad compared to the others, but it’s still something you could easily research on your own. 

He’s also a little wrong about ShiroInu being the earliest person to post a nuzlocke comic on the forums, but I can also forgive him for that. In general, he spends only a small portion of the video on the Nuzlocke Forums before branching out to videos, and I feel that was a misstep. For one, he completely glossed over screenshot runs, which were just as important as comics and written logs in the formation of Nuzlocking’s early years. A lot of people at the time couldn’t afford recording set ups for let’s plays, and screenshotting on VBA was as easy as pie, making Nuzlockes accessible to most people especially those that didn’t want to draw.

I also think it’s a bit peculiar that Kynim wasn’t mentioned at all, when he discussed Nuzlocke comics. Myths of Unova is probably the most popular Nuzlocke comic outside of the original, especially so for one with actual effort put into the art and narrative. We can go on all day and week about other popular comics too like Petty Nuzlocke Challenge, It’s A Hard Life, FireRed Kick-Ass Mode, Double Nuzlocke Series, etc. That not much time is dedicated to the narrative aspect of Nuzlocking in favor of the more technical and challenge-oriented ones is such a shame especially since a lot of history was made on the now-defunct Smackjeeves website. Like, in the video, fucking Emerald Kaizo got its own section while the forums, comics, etc. don’t even get that much respect. Towards the end of that video it was basically summarizing specific Nuzlocke runs from popular YouTubers/streamers, rather than an overall look. 

Moving onto recorded Nuzlockes, it’s really baffling that Marriland wasn’t given an explicit shout out. While he wasn’t one of the first to do a recorded Nuzlocke on YouTube (October 27, 2012), he was one of the first people to upload Let’s Play content on YouTube period, and he was also one of the important figures in Nuzlocking since he invented the Wedlocke challenge. Granted, the Wedlocke was mentioned briefly in a list of variants and his videos were shown in a screenshot of Google, but that’s not enough respect I feel.

Also, I think it’s funny that PokemonChallenges is attributed as the founder of the Hardcore Nuzlocke, that is, a Nuzlocke with the added rules of “no item use in battle” and “no overlevelling against important trainers’ strongest Pokemon.” The video claims Jan invented that in 2016 for his streams, when in fact, people have been using those extra rules well before he did. I also want to note that I don’t really blame Wolfey for this misinformation, since he said in the video that the research was primarily done by pChal and some guy named Drew, which, yeah, makes sense with how biased it is. 

No disrespect to Jaiden, even if I don’t find her content entertaining, but I feel she got a lot of undeserved credit in this video too. Like, obviously the thumbnail having her in the “Then” portion is just clickbait, but to go on in the video and say that “the way that [original Nuzlocke comic creator] and Jaiden share their nuzlockes might be what caused Nuzlocking to take off” is plain wrong in the case of the latter. Like, yes, Jaiden’s 87mil+ video definitely brought it out of the general Pokemon fandom, so that people like Alpharad and Ludwig started doing them, but Nuzlocking took off well before she made the video. In fact, Griffin McElroy made a rather popular Nuzlocke video back in 2016 on Polygon’s YouTube channel.

The video also misattributes certain tricks and strategies to that Drew guy’s Renegade Platinum run, saying that it would “define the meta.” Stuff like the repel trick to manipulate encounters, which is not true at all, since the repel trick has been documented on Bulbapedia since 2010, well before that ROM hack.

Overall, I don’t want to gatekeep the Nuzlocke from anyone, but it’s just sad how it has primarily evolved to just adding on challenge after challenge and treating your Pokemon as pawns (i.e. sending them out to die), as well as optimizing the gameplay to reduce the amount of failure such as by hacking in rare candies to save time grinding (when that basically cheeses the periods between important fights and removes the possibility of something bad happening during grinding), and manipulating encounters (esp. in newer games without grass) to your biggest benefit. If you want to play it that way, that’s fine. The storytelling part of Nuzlocking was such a huge boon in how the challenge got popularized, also the concepts of using Pokemon and strategies you’d have never thought to have try before, so it’s disappointing that it gets overlooked especially in a retrospective like this.

[theminecraftbee]

Hey bee! I’m sure you’ve gotten this ask before, sorry, but I am leaving the dream fandom due to being very uncomfy supporting him re:the recent situation. I’m planning on focusing on the other side of Minecraft YouTube for now and was wondering if you had blog recs for third/last life and hermitcraft?

hey! welcome to the hermitcraft fandom! we're a cool place to hang out i think personally. uh, be warned that i'm often bad at recs because i have the memory of a squirrel, so if there isn't someone on here that isn't because we aren't friends/aren't cool mutuals/i don't like them, it's because i am naming the first people i think of, which is not always people in a sensible order. also i tried to stick to hermitcraft guys more than traffic or empires guys here because i did not realize you said third/last/double life when i first read this ask WHOOPS.

also i saw the other list i was tagged in by @griancraft, i am EXTREMELY flattered, that list is here, and i have tried not to put any names that are repeats from there. i am vouching in general for a lot of the people on there though.

ALSO also before we get into the names: GO FIND YOUR OWN FRIENDS! one of the ways i do this personally is that i just... browse through the hermitcraft tag occasionally and stick a bunch of stuff in my queue and if i see a person crop up a lot i follow them because clearly i like what they're doing! sometimes also when i was a smaller blog if someone showed up in my notes a lot i'd also show up! uh, just in general, find other 'smaller' guys too! i have, as i said, tried to stick to people i thought you weren't already going to be following, but let it be known that i have no sense of scale anymore so i don't know who is considered "big" or not on here the scale may be WILDLY out of proportion. FIND YOUR OWN PEOPLE it's very fun to find people yes yes.

@dmwrites and/or @simplydm (her main) does very cool writing. i am a big fan of all of her ficlets. if you are following me for the writing let me direct you that way to ALSO get a lot of good ficlets.

speaking of other cool writers in the fandom. @mawofthemagnetar writes eldritch horror keralis and a bunch of other fics that are cool. also one of the people on my dash who is an xb understander, you know?

@fluffy-papaya and @betweenlands wrote dog at the door and a bunch of other stuff i like (plus fluffy's art is very cute). also i know solar and solar is cool... albeit. mostly not a hermitcraft blog at this point. but still. deserves to go here, be wary they will get you into a minecrafter you've never heard of. i still need to watch secret rivals. soon,

also on the cool writer list is @sixteenth-days, who writes hermit archives and also a bunch of other cool things!

@redwinterroses is someone i originally followed from more of the traffic side of the fandom but i recommend following her, she's pretty chill.

someone who i like a lot as both an artist AND a writer is @silverskye13. still need to catch up with monsters splitting hairs, love the artstyle, all their hels takes are good.

another cool artist and writer is @kiwinatorwaffles, lots of good xisuma, evil x, zedaph stuff over here from what i've seen.

@quaranmine runs the absolutely necessary @mcyt-cats blog. has the watcher grian takes i tend to actually trust, haha. she's pretty cool as far as general hc/mcyt blogs go.

@luigra does REALLY cute art i love the colors she uses and her style it always makes me feel soft and happy. also, of course, a fellow joe hills enthusiast. always important, us joeguys stick together like this.

speaking of fellow joeguys. @12u3ie probably knows more about joe than me. has been around here longer. fellow joeguys represent.

one last joeguy. hi @concorp. e does cool art and has a lot of good general hermitcraft stuff going on. also, as mentioned: fellow joeguy. also they do @badlydrawnhermitcraft and have been a guest on joe's show before!

@shadeswift99 feels like a pillar of the community to me. they run the @hermitcraftheadcanons blog, if you haven't been there before. they also do writing good and tend to know a lot of people who have been around a while. cool person.

i like @closet-thing's art a lot. tends to be somewhat horror-focused if that isn't your thing but if you, like me, DO like horror stuff, then you're in for a treat.

i am also a big fan of @jestroer's art. it has a very... i don't know the word for it but the style is very distinct and i like it. fluffy? if that's a bad word for it. i am sorry. i don't know how to describe art. anyway recommend.

@bdoubleowo is a good general mcyt blog! she does very nice art as well. the sexy fish animatic is scott smajor approved, you know.

uhhhh last one for now @girltimeswithscar has such good character designs. i am in love with how they draw skizzleman. also their mumbo. also their bdubs. also just their takes about bdubs in general. bdubs takes good.

as i said before... if a name isn't on this list it's because i don't have object permanence if you are not in front of me RIGHT NOW i do not remember you are there. i have MANY OTHER COOL MUTUALS AND BLOGS I'M FOLLOWING AND BUDDIES AND STUFF, and THERE ARE MANY BLOGS THAT ARE COOL. THAT I DO NOT FOLLOW YET. this fandom is full of so many cool and creative people! go! seek them out!

[subskz]

I think there's something so beautifully cosmic abt Lino covering Love me or Leave me and Monday doing a performance of it on Double Trouble back in 2022... i'm trying to picture a fusion of the two. It'd slay..

WHICH REMINDS ME

SEUNGMIN MET 4/6 MEMBERS WHEN HE DID MONGKIRA!! Mans was shocked to learn that Weeekly didn't/doesn’t drink coffee often at all.

And and.. full Weeekly got to go on Dekira when they were promoting ColoRise & they sang some Day6 songs together and oh my god.... people of subskz council,, pls don't sleep on Weeekly's vocals, i'm still there watching them sing with YoungK

~~~

Uhhh... Daily Weeekly song recommendation is: 7days Tension!! It's a commercial song for a line of contact lenses... specifically a 7-Day Tension brand. Who better to be your promo group, right?

it’s all connected by a pink string of fate 🪡 i watched monday’s performance of it and omg that was her as a rookie!! 😭 i loved how her cover gave the song a rock spin…imagining lino singing it w her is actually gonna make me crazy i think their voices would compliment each other so well! the harmonizations…♡_♡

i didn’t know this hello!! this is like ur multiverse of madness lmao i wasnt able to find their day6 covers on youtube but i did find their cover of taeyon’s “i” and it was heavenly…is it soeun who’s 2nd from the right? she blew me away and ofc monday w her INSANE belting

i love how weeekly are always doing osts and songs for ads they are employed!! the song is so cute their music is seriously such a mood booster for me, i notice a magical quality in the instrumentals a lot 🩵 also this is from a few weeks ago but please take a look at what u had done to the state of my top songs

[uncloseted]

Do you have any tips or advice for us ADHD girlies that are either working from home on our laptops all day or finishing our university degree the same way :( i know in person learning and working is usually most optimal but i don't have a car at the moment and i'm from a really small town so my only choice for either is digital :(

Ooh! Yes! I work from home and actually really like it (although full disclosure, I'm avoiding doing work right now).

The biggest thing I can recommend is adjusting your space so that it works for you. This will depend on what your symptoms are and how they manifest, since not everyone's ADHD works the same way, but here are some things that may help:

If you struggle with sitting still, getting a standing desk (or just sticking your laptop on top of a bookcase or stack of items), under-desk treadmill, or other way to move while working may help keep you on track. You can also schedule regular breaks to get up and walk around or do some exercise. In the same vein, a fidget toy can help to keep you focused while in meetings or lectures.

Have a dedicated space where you do your work, and try to make it so that space isn't facing any distractions. For example, you might set up an office in a closet (that's what I did) or just have a desk that faces a wall instead of facing the rest of the room. The fewer things you can see, the easier it is to avoid distractions.

To further avoid distractions, set up a "do not disturb" function on your phone and laptop so that you don't get random notifications and alerts that can pull your attention in a different direction. If you have noise cancelling headphones, that can also be useful for avoiding distractions.

This one is a YMMV, but it works for me so I'll include it... I put on some background music that I only play when I'm working (usually one of the lo-fi beats to study to videos on YouTube) and then set a Pomodoro timer. I focus on only my work for 25 minutes, then take a 5 minute break to walk around, then start the timer again. 25 minutes is the upper limit that most people can work on one thing without getting distracted, and the music is kind of a Pavlovian trigger where my brain goes "okay, we're doing work now." Plus, dividing your day into 25 minute chunks means that you can bounce between tasks if you're bored with what you're doing while still maintaining productivity.

Put everything into your calendar the minute you're told about it. If you're anything like me, you always tell yourself that you'll remember, and then it immediately disappears from your brain. Getting into the habit of writing things down and setting reminders has made a big difference in terms of actually remembering everything that has to get done.

Try finding someone to "body double" for you when you're doing work, either virtually or in-person. This can be one of your coworkers or classmates, but it can also just be a friend (or even one of those "do work with me/study with me" Twitch streams, if nothing else). Having someone working with you can help to keep you on task and keep you accountable.

At the beginning or end of every day (whichever works better for you) do a brain dump of everything that needs to get done. Prioritize them by how important they are and how soon they need to get done. Then, identify 3-5 tasks that you need to do today (whichever ones are the more important, urgent, or are stressing you out) and just focus on those. Cross them off your list once they're done. Keep these tasks easily visible so that you're reminded to stay on track.

I'm sure there are others, but these are the ones that have worked the best for me for the past few years.

[aristocratic-otter]

I'm determined to post this week, it feels like it's been so long since I did a WIP Wednesday! I've got lots of words to share, so many thanks to @larkral, @letraspal, @rimeswithpurple, @artsyunderstudy, @wellbelesbian, @confused-bi-queer, @you-remind-me-of-the-babe, and @j-nipper-95 for the couple of weeks worth of tags!

With no further ado, the fics:

From Saving Simon Snow:

I wonder briefly if the fall might have shaken some sense into her. I push that thought away. It doesn’t matter. She needs to be contained, for Simon’s safety. And so I can get some fucking clothes on.

I fire off spells, one right after another. “Cat Got Your Tongue” prevents her from speaking any spells she may have at the ready without a wand, and “All Tied Up” pins her arms at her sides so that she can’t cast fire at us (which, like my mother and I, she can do wordlessly). Finally, “Out of Sight, Out of Mind” sends her immobilised body careening out the door of our bedroom and around the corner. 

She’ll make me pay for the indignity of being gagged, trussed up and shoved out of sight, but I can’t care right now. 

From my Simon as a TikTok dancer fic:

Discovering YouTube and the world wide web cracked my world wide open. I spent hours every night learning the moves of various hip hop artists from my tiny screen. When I ran out of hip hop moves to try, I followed a breadcrumb trail of comments and recommendations to find other dancers in other styles (and learning human idiom and slang along the way). There’s so much to learn, I’ll never be done, I don’t think. Which is brilliant, because I want to do this forever. 

Then, after spending all night dancing, I’d spend all morning charging my phone at McDonalds. During that time, I’d spend the cash I’d starting earning from performing on the pier on piles of hamburgers, fries, shakes and pies. And while I chewed my way through mounds of food, I’d skim the net for more ideas, more dances to learn. 

From my CORB, The Heart In The Well

“Don’t move!”

“I’m trying, Snow! You’re not exactly a featherweight!”

My knees wobble and threaten to give out as I stand, balanced on Baz’s shoulders. I want to snipe that he’s got vampire strength so my twelve stones of body weight should feel like feathers to him. But I’m well aware of how he’d react to that remark, and I really don’t want to fall over six feet to the ground. 

From To Heal a Broken Mind (finished! Off to the beta, you should start seeing chapters soon!)

Simon

Baz’s eyes fall shut and he gasps, in relief I think. I watch his face. My thoughts aren’t really clear yet, but I don’t think that’s because of brain damage. I think I’ve just not completely shrugged off the effects of the anaesthesia. 

So, I’ve had my brain cut apart and come through the other side. And Baz is still here, and still loves me. He called me darling. There’s just one question left unanswered, and the open fear I saw on Baz’s face when I woke is the opposite of reassuring. Is he frightened because the news is bad? Or for some other reason?

From Stars, Flowers, and Children:

“What is it?” I ask him, when he takes the thing from me and turns it over in his hands. 

“‘Tis a stereoscope,” he says gruffly. “A picture viewer,” he explains, when I look at him blankly. “Were there cards with it?”

I pull a double handful of paper cards out of the handkerchief and pass them over to Davy. He flips through them swiftly. His eyes open wide at what he sees on several, and, in the end, he shuffles out a majority of the cards and stuffs them in his pocket. “Sinful shite,” he mutters, when I question him. “Not fit for young ‘uns to see.” 

And from Snow Fox (next chapter posting soon!):

I stand up and close my eyes at the popping sounds coming from my spine when I do. I’m too damn young for my body to be betraying me like this. But months of short rations and sleep on hard ground have left me feeling like an old man at times. I shake the stiffness out of my muscles and begin to pace. 

“The only known supply of salt and quinine are with the British,” I say, thinking aloud. “They’ve doubled their guard since our last raid, and I doubt we’d be able to sneak someone in, with half the camp down with illness.”

Penny stands and watches me, wringing her hands in front of her stomach. “I know you don’t want to put him in danger, but—”

I raise a hand to cut her off. Then I sigh. “I know. Baz may be the only person who’s got a chance of sweet talking the supplies we need from Tarleton. Fuck. I didn’t want to pull him in deeper…”

I'll tag a few folks for Sunday. I'd love to see what y'all are doing! @alexalexinii, @alleycat0306, @asocialpessimist, @bazzybelle, @bookish-bogwitch, @ic3-que3n, @carryonsimoncarryonbaz, @dragoneggos, @erzbethluna, @ionlydrinkhotwater, @hushed-chorus, @fatalfangirl, @facewithoutheart, @gekkoinapeartree, @ivelovedhimthroughworse, @ileadacharmedlife, @jbrrring, @jasonfunderberkerthefrogexists, @krisrix, @messofthejess, @moments-au-crayon22, @moodandmist, @frjsti, @nightimedreamersghost, @onepintobean, @prettylightsbigcity, @raenestee, @theearlgreymage, @tea-brigade, @technetiumai, @thehoneyedhufflepuff, @upuntil6am, @vampire-named-gampire, @whatevertheweather, and @yellobb-old

[bonefall]

What herbs should a med cat use to treat epilepsy?

Now that the epilepsy herb guide is out, I can say with certainty that The BEST treatment for canon-compliant warriors is cannabis or valerian root, and a dietary change to fatty prey + eggs.

But let me tell you about the whole journey I went on in research, complete with links to the most helpful educational sources I drew on, in case you would like to learn more

(CONTENT WARNING: Historical discussion of abelism towards epileptic people, animal testing resulting in animal death, links to resources that discuss seizures affecting both humans and cats, cannabis, gross cuts of animal meat, and Pliny the Elder)

So I actually made a bit of a mistake that I won't make again; when I did the HRT guide, I started with modern medication and went backwards. That worked for HRT but didn't for Epilepsy-- because modern epilepsy formulas are almost completely synthetic.

I started with some casual googling for epilepsy in cats, and what treatments they tend to get. After that I started comparing that to epilepsy management in humans

THE big boy epilepsy drug is Phenobarbital. Only RECENTLY (as in, the past 30 years) have we really started to branch out past it, and they're mostly extra types of barbituates. These cannot be found in nature.

So then I was like, OK, I can step back a little bit more, right? WRONG. The predecessor of Phenobarbital was Potassium Bromide-- and I was kinda horrified to find out how much worse it is in comparison. Bromide has a bad habit of building up in your body and a ton of super, super nasty side effects.

The rise and fall of Bromide in epileptic treatment is an epic story all on its own!!!

I was going to include it anyway since Bromide was better than not dying (and indeed it was REVOLUTIONARY at the time), but even BROMIDE is made chemically. The easiest process includes boiling salt and iron together-- iron would not be something warrior cats can access.

Besides-- Bromide is sometimes used for epileptic dogs, but in cats, it causes lung failure of all things.

So, at this point I was realizing I was not going to be able to make the guide with the same methods I used for HRT. I couldn't even find barbituates or potassium bromide in Natural Review of Products, so I was gonna need a new source.

BUT THEN

It dawned on me that managing Epilepsy through the eyes of a Clan medic would involve the seizures specifically--- and I was already realizing that the best recommendations I was going to end up with were non-herbal.

So, before I dove into chasing down herbal remedies, I was going to make a section on general seizure management. Especially first-aid.

Which was where I realized I didn't know as much about Epilepsy as I thought I did. I was only actually familiar with first aid (even got training on it). I didn't even know if a seizure hurt or not (they don't) and I didn't know about the different types of seizures. The "famous" type of seizure is the clonic/tonic, or 'grand mal,' but the most common types are absence seizures, sometimes called the 'petit mal,' as well as localized seizures.

So it was here I nodded and said, "I need to make sure I listen to first-hand experiences of what it is like to have and self-manage epilepsy."

And it was very insightful. I went through firsthand accounts, and came across the Epilepsy Society, and double-checked their credibility (since after all I didn't want to accidentally run into the Autism Speaks of Epilepsy, y'know? As far as I can tell, these guys check out. Lmk if they're sus).

Their Youtube channel was helpful. Lots of stories from epileptic people, some nice informative videos, all short. This video specifically made me dive into absence seizures.

I couldn't include every experience because I was trying to keep the guide short and focused on this being a Battle Cat Fan resource.

So-- that's why the guide takes a lot of time setting up non-medication aspects of Epilepsy care. That entirely came from what came up in my careful research.

But! Of course! I still have a lot to learn so I'm still happy to go back and edit anything if I messed up. I tried really hard to get this RIGHT, y'know? I hope it shows!

However... I still wasn't done.

You can't listen to marginalized voices and not learn about abelism; and I was about to face against the long, cold medical history of ancient Epilepsy treatments.

I still needed to find herbs for the Funny Fight Cats to actually use. Googling wasn't going to cut it anymore. I worked through citations to find A Brief History of Epilepsy And Its Therapy In the Western Hemisphere by R.A Gross and Epilepsy – From Mysticism to Science, which is taken from a translation of the Revue Neurologique.

Historically, Epilepsy was widely seen in Western society as a spiritual possession, with varying degrees of sympathy through history. I would really recommend checking out the two sources I linked, but I was VERY taken aback by Pliny the Elder saying "The best treatment for epilepsy is spitting on them so they don't come near you." FUCK YOU, PLINY.

Unfortunately Pliny was just a huge bitch reflective of the general feelings of the time. It was a constant back-and-forth between people saying "EPILEPSY IS EVIL SPIRITS" and "no it's a medical thing"

And that came crashing to a head in the 1800s with the birth of modern medicine....... and unfortunately, institutionalization. Which is where the vast majority of modern attitudes towards epileptics was born.

Modern attitudes being those that strip epileptics of agency. This has been used to take away their autonomy and legal rights. So I did a lot of revision to try and make sure my guide wasn't reinforcing that, especially considering Warrior Cat's dodgy history with abelism.

Most epileptics can be completely independent-- so the majority of warriors would just need someone to patrol with when they're going to be walking in the dangerous woods.

I removed a recommendation I had in my first draft to completely prevent epileptic warriors from going on battle patrols for this reason. Stress and head trauma caused by violence can worsen Epilepsy; but I don't think it would be responsible to patronize a warrior for whom battle is an extremely important part of Clan life, when they could still choose to fight.

So, onward,

Those two books also gave me herbs to check. When I saw something I wanted to consider, I would jot it down and then go research it individually.

(this was helpful for filtering out some of the... interesting suggestions. I think I counted 8 different types of cooked animal testicles which OBVIOUSLY were not going into my SFW herb guide)

Mistletoe was the first one I found. I even found a study on its usefulness in treating Epilepsy. It was eliminated for being poisonous and being more regionally limited than chamomile, while is naturalized pretty much everywhere.

White Hellebore immediately made me tilt my head because Hellebore is notoriously poisonous. I knew it was used in herbal medicine, just like yew, but it was followed by a whole chunk of herbs well-known for being EXTREMELY deadly. It didn't make it into the guide because of just HOW deadly it was-- but this is the reason why I included Chamomile and Mistletoe.

There were LOTS of herbs eliminated for being too poisonous to cats, though. Hyssop, peony, datura, foxglove...

Chamomile was almost axed by the 'no poisons' rule. In high doses, it can be harmful to cats. I was pretty sad to be cutting it, but if HELLEBORE could be used for people, chamomile easily wiggles in if its dosage is controlled.

In my mind, Chamomile is the Warrior Cats replacement for herbs like Hellebore. The one closest to how humans were treated for epilepsy traditionally, and the one you'd use to strike a balance between the "traditional treatment" style of herbs the Erins use and the "soft realism" of the cats being slightly different from humans (can't taste sweet, can't eat certain things that would be fine for a human)

There were a ton of herbs cut for being in the wrong region, including camphor tree products. There's a lot of history to Middle Eastern, Chinese, and South American treatment of Epilepsy. I didn't dive too deeply into it, since my guides focus on the most common type of fan clans; Temperate biomes in central Europe and North America

Which brings me to my darlings, cannabis and valerian root.

I initially thought that cannabis was going to get cut, since I was only familiar with industrial level production. I was surprised to find out that feral ditchweed actually has a very long history.

You know when you really should have known something, but it catches you off guard regardless? That's where I was with ditchweed. I knew that a lot of early American items were made of hemp (the declaration of independence is actually written on hemp paper), but I didn't realize it could... grow feral like that.

Anyway, cannabis is actually one of the oldest epilepsy treatments on record. It's also fine for cats, as long as it doesn't have a high THC content, which feral weed does not have.

(it's also full of seeds which would be AWESOME for a warrior cat, I should actually make a guide on cannabis uses since it's one of those "golden herbs" like my friend Fennel)

Lastly, there's valerian root. Which is actually fascinating.

See, valerian root is another herb that was used to treat epilepsy in antiquity, but modern studies don't seem to know what chemical inside of it is the anticonvulsant. It's probably isovaleric acid, and REAL high doses of it have shown promise in treating epilepsy...

But this shit is stinky

It's STINKY and not palatable. Valerian root tastes like ASS. And it only gets worse the higher the dose you have, something you don't notice when it's just a herb and not a super concentrated supplement. Apparently it's so bad that the research I've seen has said outright, "We should synthesize isovaleric acid from somewhere else because this is gross"

But... cats?

Valerian root is practically the opposite to cats. They LOVE the stinky. It's like catnip to them. Though it's a sleep aid to humans, it can energize a cat and is only a danger in excessively high doses.

And the best part is that both of these herbs are all over the place. Valerian is invasive in America and likes to grow in wet areas, and ditchweed (cannabis ruderalis) is native to central Europe to begin with... though, funny enough, through American Historical Shennanigans™, ditchweed is now more common in the midwestern united states than its native range.

I was also going to read Plants and Plant Products with Potential Anticonvulsant Activity – A Review and The Falling Sickness by Owsei Temkin, but at this point, I had three solid herbs and a whole guide on epilepsy management as it pertains to Warrior Cats. I'd recommend these two if you guys would like to read further than I did.

I've been working on this one all week which is actually a LIFETIME considering my average attention span, so I'm ready to move to the next big thing!

[theindependenttrentcrimm]

✨Finals for People w ADHD and Chronic pain

Hello, hello fellow phys and mental disabled people. This should be able to apply to a lot of people outside of those w chronic pain and ADHD but as those are two of things I struggle the most with, I wanted to be specific. It’s finals season! Yikes! Some of the things that I use to make sure that I’m getting my work done:

The pomodoro technique

the thing that I love about this one is that you can totally adjust it to your needs. Can only focus for 5 minutes before you need a break? Great- do 5 minutes of work and take a break for 2.5 minutes. You need longer stretches to focus? Great do 50 minutes of work and then take a 10-15 minutes break. Make it work for you!

On these breaks, check in with yourself. What hurts? When was the last time you went to the bathroom? Did you drink any water today? Do some stretches- especially those of us with chronic pain in our finger joints and hands. Do you need to stand up? Has sitting been hurting your back? Get a snack. Use this breaks to recharge

2. Body doubling!

if you don’t have a buddy to study with, look up study with me on YouTube. I highly recommend Angela V’s channel. Helped me get a lot of work done in high school. if neither of these work, go to a cafe or a library or other study space with people. If you see other people are working, you’re more likely to work

3. Make a list of things that ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO be done today

no, not a priority list. Those don’t work (at least for me). I make a list of what is due at midnight that day and then only set out to accomplish those tasks. 4. Recognize when you’re done

sometimes the executive dysfunction or pain hits and you simply cannot get anything done for the rest of the day. Stop there (if you can). Trying to push through this will only impact your ability to get things done for tomorrow. When you hit this point, do something that helps you relax. Watch a movie or do something creative or go outside or make yourself a hot drink or take a bath or talk to a friend. Try to accept that you can’t do anything for the rest of the day. Give yourself grace

5. Take pain meds before it starts hurting

if you know that staring at screens gives you a migraine or typing or sitting for too long cause chronic pain flare ups, take the meds ahead of your study session. There is no reason to be in pain on top of the already excruciating ordeal of getting through your studying and homework. If you get dehydration headaches, keep a glass of water readily available.

6. Try to have everything at ‘point of performance’

try to have everything right on your desk or in your study area. This helps both with not moving too much while you’re studying and with limiting distractions when you get up to find things. THIS INCLUDES CHARGERS (mostly a reminder for me, my phone is dead right now)

7. If all of this fails, that’s okay!

you’re disabled. it is not your fault if your brain and body are fighting you. it’s absolutely exhausting and even just today I decided that I’m not doing an assignment because I can get a decent grade without it and I need the energy that I would’ve put into that assignment to put into another more weighted assignment

[death2normalcy]

This is Bang Chan!

Bang Chan is his stage/Korean name, His birth name is actually Christopher Bang. He was born in South Korea in October 1997, but moved to Sydney, Australia when he was really young, so he’s fluent in both Korean and English and has a strong Australian accent when he speaks the latter.

Short video of Chan speaking English!

Chan was a trainee for around 7 years and he was given full control to assemble his own group. He’s considered the leader of Stray Kids and not only does he take his job very seriously, but he is very good at it! Many fans refer to him as the ‘dad’ of the group, and you can definitely see that dynamic from time to time. There’s a ton of videos and pics of him being in the back of the group or all the way at the end. He’s stated that he prefers being there so he can see all the boys and make sure they’re okay! (He even stated on one of his lives that number one reason he would get angry or agitated is if the members are uncomfortable or something negative happens to them, so he really cares and watches out for the boys!)

Chan is a part of 3Racha, which is the rap sub-unit within the group that was formed pre-debut and they’re responsible for writing and producing the majority of the Stray Kids discography (as well as their own music which is still up on Youtube). The other two members are Changbin and Han.

Within 3Racha, Chan mostly raps, but within Stray Kids, he tends to sing more than rap (although he does both). He’s also a very skilled dancer, songwriter, and producer, and most of the songs done by Stray Kids are produced by Chan (and Changbin and Han), and he’s also helped arrange many of them as well! He’s an extremely hard and dedicated worker, to the point where he’s gone many nights with very little sleep. He once said:

“...I actually thought of it like this too. Songs could be food for me. Dances could be water to me. Composing could be like air to me. I think that’s how I’m living my life. I don’t think I ever questioned why I do it, since it’s just so natural to me.”

Some songs I personally think he shines in:

Vocals: Waiting For Us; Red Lights; Thunderous; Zombie (a Day6 cover performance he did with Seungmin) (starts around 1:45); Scars

Rap: We Go; Hey Monster (a 3Racha performance at MAMA 2021); Passion (3Racha performance in 2020); Double Knot (3Racha version); Broken Compass (3Racha version)

Songwriting: I Don’t Want to Admit; Haven; 24 to 25 (these are mainly just songs that he’s credited as writing by himself, according to Google. But Chan has a hand in having some input in writing most of the songs by the group!)

Chan goes live almost every Sunday (or as close to it as he can, depending on his very busy schedule). His lives are called ‘Chan’s room’ and he is currently 171 episodes in (about to be 172!). Each live tends to just be him interacting with Stays, listening to random music recommendations, reacting to some kind of Stray Kids content that may have come out, or just telling everyone random things about his day/week. He has also said some really inspirational stuff in these lives and many Stays consider his lives to be a safe space for them, something which Chan strongly encourages! He’s been very open about having his own struggles in the past (and even in the present) and he always want Stays to feel like they can come to him. It’s very sweet.

Many people consider Chan’s naturally wavy/curly hair to be a major defining physical characteristic of his! We don’t always see his hair in it’s natural state, since they tend to straighten it a lot and all the dyeing and styling over the years have damaged the curls, but they are still there, for sure.

Usually fans refer to him as Chan or Bang Chan, but you might see them suddenly refer to him as Christopher out of nowhere. This is usually because he’s done something out of pocket, like his choice in wardrobe (or lack there of) during the ‘Wolfgang’ performance on Kingdom (he works out and it shows, and he clearly doesn’t seem to mind showing off the fact that he works out, despite his shyness)

or posting selfies like this one

Overall, Chan is an extremely hardworking individual who is very talented and skilled at what he does, but he’s also a goofy, adorable nerd, and many Stays adore him for this reason (and many more)!

There’s so much more, but I want to keep these posts at a more acceptable length, lmao. But I’m creating individual playlists for each boy, featuring fancams that I love and videos that I think are interesting to watch and to get to know each boy a little better!

Bang Chan’s playlist!

Edit:

I almost forgot! I was going to put this bit for all of them, but Chan’s SKZOO animal is a wolf called Wolf Chan! This little characters are going to pop up a lot, so it’s good to know whose who, lol.

Another Edit: Didn’t think it was fair everyone else was getting bonus pics, so here’s some of Chan!

[eugesounds]

See You in September

In the summer of 1966 I was 7 years old and spent most of my days wearing only a bathing suit and casually strolling the beach in Surf City, NJ. When I wasn't looking for cool stuff in the sand, I was either body surfing or "skim boarding" and just taking in all of the surroundings. I can still smell the Coppertone that the "shoebies" (a unique name used to describe summer visitors to New Jersey's southern beaches) slathered on. I can also still remember the sound of sea gulls as they hovered overhead ready to dive at any moment for a sand crab or an unguarded bite of unfinished hoagie.

Those days also included music blasting from radios and permeating the salt air, and whether you liked it or not, it couldn't be avoided. I carry many of those sounds with me still, The Four Tops - I'll Be There, Tommy James and the Shondells - Crimson and Clover, and The Supremes - You Can't Hurry Love. I highlight these songs mostly because of the influence of my older sisters, who much preferred dance grooves and the sound of Motown over anything by the Beatles or Stones.

Last week I was reminded of the song See You in September, so I pulled it up and was surprised to learn that I remembered every lyric. The obligatory Youtube rabbit hole ensued and I was astounded that the '66 version I had in my ears all of these years (by The Happenings) was not the original and in fact, the song dates back to June of 1959 when it was written, recorded, and played on the radio in NYC all in the span of about a week. (Highly recommend this Wiki page about the song).

The original version by The Tempos, (a band out of Pittsburgh, PA) did not become a hit, but it does include a cool Latin groove and much the same melody and lyrics as the Happenings version. This version of the tune did have a slight resurgence in 1973 as it was included on the American Graffiti soundtrack.

There are also several other versions from the early 60's:

Here's The Quotations doing a crazy double-time "Doo-Wop" version with beefed up harmonies.

Here's Bobby Rydell's campy, shuffle-swing version with cheesy horns.

The Chiffons gave their version a harp.

Shelley Fabares kept the samba train rolling but added her swooning vocal slides... and an overused triangle. I mean, this ain't Ravel's Bolero right? So more than once is too much IMO.

And let's not forget Gerry and the Pacemakers adding the British back beat and picking up the pace a bit - pun intended.

But The Happenings version nails it for me, starting with a great drum sound and fills. Then there's the tight tambourine part (I loves me some well played tambourine), great overlapping harmonies, a solid yet understated use of horns, and a pretty cool bass line. This all bolsters a very Frankie Valle-esque vocal and for good measure, the single ding of a well-placed service bell!

I hope you'll give the song a play, and if you listen closely, you might be able to smell the shore. :) Have a great week!

[jeremy-ken-anderson]

It’s About the Cones

My brother told me this, and it’s true:

Multipliers are one of the great bugaboos of fairness in game design.

You want to find a break point in a game? Look for the word “double.” The frequency with which a developer thinks it’ll be fair and doesn’t realize how this effect can be combined with another one that ALSO says “double” to produce something abominable? Well. It’s more frequent than finding something where a +1 breaks something, that’s for dang sure.

The Rules Lawyer (a mostly Pathfinder 2E rules YouTube channel) did a side-by-side comparison of a fight between the classic F/R/W/C adventuring party and four goblins, and watching it I found myself reminiscing about something 3rd Ed D&D had in common with PF2: Deadly Cones.

Breath weapons are meant to be dangerous, so their damage is pretty solid. But cones aren’t splitting their damage between targets. Everyone takes all of it.

Cones - AoE in general - are basically always damage multipliers. Any creature (and GM) with access to them will be aiming them at two targets at least. They’re nearly impossible to avoid all damage from and they’re being leveled against 2, 3, maybe even 4 members of your party at once. One big damage roll and everyone could be down.

Throw in the way that Pathfinder might have crit fails where a player dodges into the cone and takes double damage, and you’ve got a very volatile situation.

And you know how my original example had the multiplier getting multiplied by another multiplier to get really out of hand? Well, a lot of encounter designers don’t realize what happens when you have a social group of 4-5 creatures who all have breath weapons. They get in a fight with adventurers and each of them functionally gets to attack the entire party. Where an swordsman’s attack might hit one guy for 1d8+5, even if we lowball and say the breath weapon deals 1d6 damage that’s 1d6 * number of people with the breath weapon (let’s say 5) * number of people they can catch in the cone (let’s say 3) for...15d6 damage against your party in one round. For a lot of groups that’d be a TPK even if everyone succeeded at all their saves. If they’re high damage rolls, they can’t survive half of that.

Because the cone damage is starting from “decent” in order to make the adjudication even worth it (nothing says “overcomplicated” like having people roll a saving throw on 4 fire damage to see whether they take 4 or 2), this multi-multiplier only needs a couple bad doublings to get really ugly.

Abomination Vaults has an encounter with two creatures with a 20′ cone that deals 2d6 and Frightened 1 on a failed save, 1d6 on a successful save, and 4d6 and Frightened 3 on a crit-failed save. These things are level 2 but they can absolutely TPK with bad saves and a reasonably high roll, and it all comes down to the fact that you’ve got 2d6 * 2 monsters * 2-3 targets in the cone = 8d6-12d6 damage you can reasonably expect to hit the party in one round. That’s a lot! It can completely turn the fight from “okay” into “DOOM ON YOU” in one set of rolls.

Unless you’re playing a Cheese Grinder “The game is surviving a dungeon that wants to kill you, bring a stack of expendable character sheets and let’s see how deep each one gets” style of session, if you’re a GM I recommend you spread out your breath weapons even if rationally your cone-blasters would just blast the heroes so hard they’d disintegrate and leave one of those atomic shadows on the wall behind them. It’s more fun/survivable and the important thing with interesting monsters is generally getting to show off Their Thing, which you succeed at if even just 1 of them uses the cone attack.