#if anyone isn't sure how many of these are actually commonly used

[middle-name-queer]

A great thing about the good place is how all four of the main crew are actually self-centered

We commonly identify forms of self-centered behavior such as selfishness that is exemplified by Elenor. (aka "a Bad Person"), but then you have Chidi and Tehani. These two are far less classical in their self-centered behavior but are still self-centered, nevertheless.

The show makes Tehani's folly pretty clear, despite all her philanthropic acts she still centers herself in every situation. How she ended up there is actually parallel to Elenor's upbringing, the only real difference is the glitz and the glamour. They both had parents that were withholding for one reason or another, neither felt seen nor wanted and so one shut down to protect herself, the other made her entire existence a performance, either way they are deeply, deeply self-centered people.

But Chidi is my favorite, for the obvious reason that his self-centered behavior is the least obvious. Now of course it's made pretty clear to us as viewers but as a character within the world, for nearly all situations most people would judge Chidi as a good (albeit, sometimes annoying) person. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who would out right call him self-centered... yet he is!

Chidi acts as though the world rests squarely on his shoulders, that each little choice he makes carries the weight to change the trajectory of humanity. Putting this into words pretty clearly illustrates the ridiculousness of it. It simply isn't reality, and it shows how, even though Chidi is a "good person" (vs Elenor and Jason) he is still susceptible to the very human condition of not looking past yourself. Another way to state it (as I'm sure many have before) he basically suffers from thinking he's a main character. (lol) Now, lucky for him he actually is one but translating this to real life you can see how people fall prey to this way of thinking, convoluting their lives due to the faulty belief that they, and they alone, can make or break the world around them.

This rolls around my brain like a marble because, I did this! For an embarrassingly long time in my youth, I truly felt the grief and horror that comes with thinking you, and you alone, can fix the world's problems. And I think this sort of thing isn't talked about enough because there isn't an obvious red flag of being a "bad person". Chidi is "good" and so there is a smoke screen effect hiding how poor his behavior actually is. (Can you tell I deeply identify with his character? 🤔)

Jason is an interesting case in his own right, because he's self-centered almost in the same way as a small child. I assume Donkey Doug was simply unequipped to help Jason develop past that stage in his upbringing, in tandem with say... other lifestyle choices, Jason's overall mental development is limited. He's an interesting example of how not all self-centered behavior is motivated by innate "selfishness". Jason is very much capable of empathy, generosity, and comradery, as shown by his relationship to Janet, lifelong friendships, and his participation and organization of a 60-person dance crew. This is in opposition to Elenor, a selfishly self-centered person who could not form meaningful or lasting relationships.

Jason Mendoza's behavior is more of a big kid who acts on impulse, this can obviously be perceived as "hurtful" and when done by a grown adult it may be judged as "he's a bad person". But when looking at his overall character it's clear that he doesn't make a single move with any ill intent or malice. You can easily reason with him in nearly all situations, even when he chooses to throw a molotov at a train, all it takes is grabbing him by the arm and telling him to knock it off. He doesn't argue or get defensive, unlike versions of Elenor who would tell you to "go fork yourself". Jason is only self-centered because he struggles to see the big picture, but when it's shown to him, more often than not he accepts it with a little guidance.

I have no end point here other than watching these characters exude self-centeredness in four distinctly different ways, only to then learn and better themselves, is a delight!

[neuroticboyfriend]

I don't know how to start this post, but. When it comes to drug use, there's something called harm reduction, and it's well... exactly what it sounds like. Harm reduction is about improving safety in a given situation, and it stands in opposition to the abstinence-only approach. It accepts that, for better or worse, drug use is part of society, part of life. No matter what we do, there are always going to be people who use drugs. The most any of us can do is offer support, advice, and resources.

Examples of harm reduction practices are: offering free drug testing, clean needles/syringes, having someone to watch over/take care of you during drug use (a tripsitter), having naloxone for opioid overdoses... It's educating people about the drugs they're on, the risks involved, potential drug interactions, signs of a medical emergency and what to do in one... that kind of thing. But I want to further explain the whole "given situation" part.

In most cases, the immediate goal of harm reduction isn't to have someone not use drugs. In fact, in the case of withdrawal, having someone not use may be dangerous than them not using at all. There are also situations where, if someone doesn't have access to drug A, they'll go take the more dangerous drug B. They may even combine multiple drugs to try to achieve similar effects as drug A... which can also be dangerous. All of it can be deadly. This is to say, sometimes harm reduction means giving people drugs - especially drugs that aren't cut (laced) with other substances (commonly, fentanyl).

There are many situations where someone is going to do something dangerous no matter what we do - but maybe, we can help change how dangerous it is. Some of the practices I mentioned earlier will do that, but further examples are taking a lower dose, taking a break to lower tolerance, taking one drug at a time, spacing out how often you use a drug... Hell, even making sure you're fed, hydrated, and as comfortable as possible helps. Or maybe, when it comes to cravings, you distract yourself with something for a bit, even if you still end up using.

Instead of "everyone needs to not use drugs ever," which doesn't actually help anyone who's using... harm reductions strategies are based on an individual person/population's needs. It's not coercive. It accepts people know their needs/wants better than others, and that bodily autonomy is a human right even when that autonomy leads to someone harming themself. And this premise can be (and is being) applied to other things, like behavioral addictions, self harm, and disordered eating.

Basically, abstinence-only may work for some, but they're only a small portion of the population. Applying a single approach to everyone who does/will do drugs is not only ineffective, but deadly. Harm reduction has saved and improved countless lives through its acceptance and versatility, and more people need to know about it.

[starflungwaddledee]

alright. look, we're going to go into this because i genuinely want to think you didn't mean harm by this, but it's unacceptable to use this sort of manipulative phrasing. especially with strangers, some of whom are kids.

this is not a call-out. i've hidden all names except my own. i just need to address this post i was tagged in, and don't want to add it onto the end of the original post. i could also have done this privately, but i want this to be here for the other folks who were @'d. i won't @ anyone else who was mentioned in this post, but many of us are mutuals, so if you see this post and you're feeling at all stressed out or bad, i recommend just clicking through because i'm going to go into this.

firstly, and i'm going to make this transparent, person who @'d me: i don't think you're being malicious or did anything purposefully bad. i don't think you intended harm or that you are "a bad person". i don't have a single negative thought about you as a person. i don't make this post to be mean. i truly think you made an earnest mistake that could easily have hurt others, and i am stepping in with the hope this can be avoided in the future! per my usual boundaries on reassurance seeking, i will not reassure about this further.

secondly, the post that you tacked this onto IS important and a helpful resource, and it is great to bring attention to it. we should be doing everything we can to not only defend against, but actively fight back against generative AI. many people cannot access the most commonly recommended tools (myself included), so a resource like this is fantastic and i'm glad to learn about it and share it! i don't speak for anyone else, but i've said before that i personally don't mind being tagged in resources that could help me or others and i'm usually happy to share them, especially if i think the latter

but, assuming that you are genuinely well meaning and don't know better, you need to know that this is not the way to go about it. i don't mean mass-tagging, which is fine in times like this imo, i mean your written add-ons that actively guilt trip every single person you tagged.

"if you weren't convinced by the idea of being a good person" and "I do hope anyone I @'d isn't a bad person" in particular.

you may not have realised, but these are profoundly manipulative and cruel things to say. regardless of how you intended them, they are inciting guilt in the reader, and especially in the people who you actively called to come and look at it. here's what it sounds like:

"hey! you! yeah you! come look at this!! come closer! now, do what i ask you to do, or you're a bad person."

there are a million and one reasons someone might not reblog something. being tired, offline, anxious, even needing to run a specifically professional blog with exclusively your art on it for your own financial survival which makes it hard to reblog important posts like this; none of those are bad.

in this case, only one thing makes them a "bad person", and it's "they're pro-generative AI and did not reblog because they want to hide this information to ensure they can continue stealing from creatives".

i'm fairly confident you don't actually think anyone you tagged here has that point of view, or that you really have any doubts about their stances on generative AI. in fact, of the folks i recognise here, they're all independent creatives, sharing artwork with fandom for free on the internet. they are the victims of generative AI, and like most of us, are facing a terrifying future and are already desperate to find a way to defend/fight back.

you do not need to use manipulative language like this to get us to care about this sort of content! this affects us all, content creators and content consumers alike!

in future if you want to direct folks to something like this, which is super helpful and it was good of you to do!, you can just @ them so they see it. you can even say something like "this is important and some reblogs would sure help to boost it!". this is still a call to action, but without the manipulative phrasing, just in case they cannot act for any reason.

in the end, guilt tripping people like this, intentional or otherwise, is dangerous.

at best it will make them feel like shit and they'll feel forced to reblog + share from you out of guilt rather than just believing in the cause. and sometimes it feels like it's most effective, especially when things are urgent; but in my opinion the risk of harm is just too high. because at worst, you could accidentally send someone into a negative thinking spiral. you can never know what people are going through offline, or outside of your spaces, and how something like this will hit them.

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

Hi! I really like your blog, and I hope this ask isn't insensitive in any way. Apologies in advance for the long ask, and it is totally fine if you choose to ignore.

I have ADHD, and recently my psychologist and I have been discussing I might also have autism. I meet all of the diagnostic criteria in social deficits/interactions, and I also have strong sensory issues.

The thing is, I also have some severe childhood trauma which I won't dump here, but the gist of it is that I was extremely, totally isolated as a kid (I was pulled out of school when I was 11, and my internet access was very limited, so ages 11-18 I had almost no interaction with anyone except my shitty parents) (I'm in my mid 20s now). From what I can remember before that, I didn't have any of the autistic social traits/symptoms that I do now, and I can connect a lot of my social traits back to that trauma (eg. I don't always understand social interactions because I went years without social interactions; I speak overly formally because I didn't have anyone to talk to and got most of my language from books; I have strong interests in some things because they were a comfort during that traumatic time period; I struggle with eye contact because I either wasn't allowed to or was traumatically forced to make eye contact during that period). I am also pretty sure that sensory sensitivities can be a symptom of ADHD (which I've definitely had since a kid).

But... I do still fit all the diagnostic criteria for autism. I've spent years in therapy since moving out, and massively improved my mental health. But many of my "social deficits" remain, because they don't bother me- even though they may have come from trauma, they don't feel like a trauma response now if that makes sense, that's just who I am.

All of this is to say: do you know if there is any evidence or resources on autism coming from childhood trauma? I'm almost scared to ask, because I feel like that might frame autistic people as all "traumatized" or who need to be "cured of trauma" or something. But I know I wasn't always like this, even though I fit the diagnostic criteria now. Reading about autism has helped me better understand myself and develop helpful coping mechanisms, which has in turn genuinely improved my mental health. I've wondered if it might be useful to just tell some of my close friends that I'm autistic, to help them better understand the way I think and function. Even though I'm like this due to trauma, I relate so strongly to everything I've read about autism and do fit the diagnostic criteria. (I scored a 140 on the RAADS-R, if that helps.) However, I also don't know if that would be a rude thing to do if I might not actually have autism.

In summary, do you know if there are any resources relating autism to childhood/adolescent development? Is this something that is even possible? Finally, would it be damaging in any way to autistic people if I told people I'm autistic when it might actually just be trauma?

Thank you and I'm very sorry for the long ask. I hope you are doing well and I really appreciate your blog, it has been an amazing resource. I do hope this isn't insensitive or an ableist way of thinking at all.

Hi there,

Unfortunately trauma and autism cooccur together. Many autistic people experience PTSD, myself included.

TW: Suicide/Trauma Mention

(I’ve been in two car wrecks, lost my uncle and biological mother, and even tried to commit suicide in 2019).

I found some information from Neurodivergent Insights that has an Infograph about this:

According to the article:

Autism and trauma co-occur at high rates. Despite how commonly trauma and autism co-occur, there is limited research on this, and it is rarely talked about in clinical training. ⁠Autistics are more at risk of PTSD due to several factors:

• We have more vulnerable neurobiology (more reactive nervous systems)

• Increased risk of victimization

• Sensitive sensory profiles that encode memory with more intensity

•The stress of navigating an allistic world.

Women and genderqueer people are particularly vulnerable to PTSD (Haruvi-Lamdan, 2020). Following is a summary of the research cited in the above image:

• Rumball et al. (2020) study found that approximately 60% of autistics reported probably PTSD in their lifetime (compare this to 4.5% of the general population).

• Haruvi-Lamdan et al., 2020 study found that 32% of their Autistic participants had probable PTSD compared to 4% of the non-autistic population.

• Fenning et al, 2019  research demonstrated that autistic children had more reactive nervous systems. This aligns with similar research that has identified the autistic nervous system to be less flexible (Thapa and Alvares, 2019). Less flexible nervous systems have a more difficult time coping with acute stressors and may contribute to increased hyperactivation of the nervous system following trauma.

• Neurodivergent (ADHD/Autism) neurobiology is more vulnerable and reactive: (Beauchaine et al., 2013)

• We are more vulnerable to social victimization and marginalization. In the Haruvi-Lamdan et al., 2020 females with autism (but not males) reported more negative life events, particularly social events, than typical adults.

• Brown-Lavoie et al., 2014 found that 70% of Autistic adults reported experiencing some form of sexual victimization after the age of 14 (compared to 45% of the control group).

I hope this helped answer some of you questions. Thank you for the inbox. I hope you have a wonderful day/night. ♥️

[intern-seraph]

Hey, sorry if this is a weird question but. I was wondering if you knew of any blogs specifically for responding to/arguing against leftist antisemitism? I want to be a good ally to Jewish people, but also I Am Not Immune To Propaganda and sometimes I just don't quite notice the implications, you know?

There's been a few posts going around recently, where there's screenshots with the water filter, and someone responding to them like "yeah this is actually pretty fucked up for x and y reasons". Those have been really helpful because, while some of them are much more obviously antisemitic, some of them I'm not sure I would've noticed, and now I'm a bit better educated. That's the kind of thing I'm looking for.

Again, sorry if this is a weird question, and I hope you have a good day!

none that i'd recommend tbh? i feel like laser focusing on something can get to the point of seeing it everywhere, and there's also a risk of becoming reactionary abt it if that makes sense. the blogs i do rec are mainly other jews' blogs, especially the ones you've prob seen me rb from.

my main rec for recognizing leftist antisemitism is familiarizing yourself with antisemitic tropes. some of the most common ones you'll see:

Blood libel: Originated in medieval Christian Europe, spread throughout Afroeurasia and persists today. The accusation that Jews kidnap gentile (Orig. Christian) children to do nefarious things (Orig. and still relatively commonly "blood rituals" or "taking their blood to use in making Matzah") with. You'll see this often alongside "Jews rule the world" antisemitism.

Jews rule the world/Zionist-occupied government/Evil Cabals: What it says on the tin. If you see some shit about how "Oh isn't it SUSPICIOUS how many billionaires/millionaires/rich people are Jewish?" or "The ZIONIST-CONTROLLED MEDIA is suppressing this!", that's a variant on this canard.

Khazar theory: Antisemitic pseudoscientific theory that Ashkenazi Jews aren't ackshually descended from the Judeans who were forcibly exiled from our homeland, but instead descended from Turkic Khazars who converted to Judaism. Easily disproven by actual genetic studies that show that uh yeah all ethnically Jewish folks, Ashkies included, are descended from common ancestors that originated in the Levant. Also Yiddish is derived from, y'know, not Turkic languages. There are definitely Khazar Jews, but they make up a small number of an already small population. Variants you'll probably see of this are basically anything saying that Ashkies are somehow less Jewish than other Jews, that we're all White People (Jewish connection to Whiteness is Complicated) who have no connection to the Levant, How Could Ashkenazim Be From There When Some Of Them Are BLONDE?, etc. Shit like that.

stalin shit: a lot of modern leftist antisemitism has its roots in soviet antisemitism, which used "zionist" as another word for "jew" in order to pretend to not be antisemitic. people still do that today. if you see a post where "zionist" can be replaced with "jew" and it reads word-for-word like a classic antisemitic trope, well, you know. don't trust anyone who stans stalin (or modern russia to be honest. tankies (derogatory)).

this is non-exhaustive ofc. here are also blogs i recommend blocking asap (with / in their names to inhibit name-searching); they're all in the same far-left antisemitic atrocity apologist circle (i.e. assad stans, putin stans, holodomor deniers, uyghur oppression deniers, CCP stans, houthi stans, etc):

her/ita/gep/osts (north korea stan, which is fucking insane. beloved tumblr funnyman who implicitly blames jews for the actions of the israeli govt in multiple gross posts and has targeted multiple jewish bloggers, prompting mass harassment)

ko/ms/om/ol/ka (nasty character all around. claimed she was banned for being pro-palestine, it's actually prob because she's been reported before for being a fucking racist antisemitic freak lmao)

tx/tt/le/ta/le (ew)

bre/nda/nic/us (happily antisemitic. homophobic too, as a treat i guess)

blo/g/lik/ea/ne/gyp/tian (egyptian nationalist. don't ask her what happened to cairo's jews. makes nasty posts that outright state that jews should feel guilty for current events ON JEWISH HOLIDAYS.)

whe/nma/gic/fil/led/the/air (infamously antisemitic. block.)

a-si/ent-/ecli/pse ("Happy Holocaust Memorial Day")

ara/bia/n-k/nig/ht (extremely and openly antisemitic kid. just, like, don't engage)

nat/ive/ne/ws (tweet screenshots aren't news. loooooves spreading disinfo and misinfo)

ap/as-/95 (part of the tankie committee)

les/bia/nch/emi/cal/pla/nt (i think she's a jew but she's, like, the tankie tumblr pet jew istg. she's also an asshole. girl they will gladly turn you over once you outlive your usefulness 😬)

other advice: anyone who claims to be "anti-zionist NOT antisemitic" who only ever fixates on jews and jewish orgs instead of the christian zionists who vastly outnumber the entire jewish population is lying, they're antisemitic (whether they realize it or not). houthi stans generally are stupid jew-haters who would rather support the ethnic cleansing, racism, misogyny, antisemitism, and chattel slavery party than possibly say that Someone Who Rejects The Enemy(tm) is, yknow, not morally pure. people who are abnormal about ashkenazim are generally abnormal about non-ashkies, too, but in a different and still nasty way. if someone claims that "everything was fine before the Zionists(tm) attacked", they are wrong. do some research on the history of jewish life in the region and it's very clearly wrong. if someone says that they're tired of jews and jewish feelings and jewish safety being a focus, they probably don't feel particularly kind things about us in general. fact-check claims. screenshots aren't news. people who are okay with widespread civilian death/suffering in one direction probably only desire vengeance more than anything else, which does nothing for anyone and is a net loss. anyone baying for blood is suspect, anyone without a concrete solution/plan beyond "burn it down" is not going to do much constructive work in terms of delivering justice.

[oxpogues4lifexo]

Full Kook - JJ/Rafe Fic

Part 1/? - Bella Brooks

Summary: Part 1 is an introduction to the OC told by JJ Maybank. The lead up to my story. Overall this fic is about a troubled Pogue who finds comfort in people she least expects whilst dealing with many turns of events. A/N: This isn't planned out in any way shape or form. No reliability on the release of any parts I'm just writing this because I enjoy writing if it's not for you please move on. Warnings: Mentions of sex, alcohol, drugs, violence, abuse (mental and physical) Anything I missed lmk. Word count: 800

(Not proof read)

JJ's Pov:

Bella Elizabeth Brooks

My best friend since before I can remember. 

Most commonly known as the 'Princess of Kildare Island'; With the face of an angel and a heart of gold. The girl everyone wants to either be, or be with.

I'm pretty sure she'd give it up to anyone if she could... 

She's the perfect girl: a sweet persona, gorgeous appearance, kindest soul to exist. Who wouldn't want to be friends with her?

The answer.. everyone.

She has a close-knit group of friends, only through her dad. Me, because our dads used to be close friends, Sarah because him and Ward are disgustingly inseparable, and then Topper and Kelce because.. well.. Rafe. 

Swiftly moving on..

Bella's the type of person that people don't particularly see as a friend, but more of someone they can go to if they need something. She thinks it's a compliment; that people go to her when in desperate need of help. 

But no just.. no.

She's a toy.. pretty much sums it up; an easy target. 

It makes me sick thinking about it. 

People take advantage of her empathy, her soft attitude, the fact she can't say no. They see her as someone who can get away with anything and use that to their own benefit. 

She puts everyone first, doesn't want there to be any bad in the world, likes to make everyone happy anyway she can. Even if it means breaking herself in the process.

So my duty as her best friend is to keep her safe from the world. Keep her away from the bad. 

It physically hurts to know about the way people see her, and so I feel as if it's my job to protect her from ever dealing with it again. Dealing with the pain and the hurt she puts herself through for others who deserve nothing but a stick up their ass. 

She's my priority. And I will let nothing get in the way of me taking care of her and treating her how she deserves. 

Except for one tiny problem..

Thomas Brooks. - The man who created the Island's untouchable sweetheart.

Let's just say he's got a bad reputation.. but having Ward on his side gives him MAJOR  advantages. 

Don't get me wrong, the Brooks family is THE MOST respected family on the Island but just.. for the wrong reasons. 

And sadly it's not my place to say. Sorry, not sorry. I hate talking about it. 

Anyways, Bella is my everything and before you say ANYTHING, it's purely platonic. 

Well, to her. 

But, with everything she's been put through with all the fucking leeches in the OBX, I don't blame her and I wouldn't ask for it any other way. 

She's my rock, my girl. And no one will EVER take her from me. At least, they can try but it won't end well. Speaking from experience.

Enough about Bella.. but more about Bella..

She lives on the Cut, with me. Well no actually I live with her but, same thing. 

She has never once moaned about the little amounts of money her dad earns, and never once made a single comment about where she lives. 

It's this run down shack-like house. Imagine the Chateau but just.. worse. 

The walls are boarded up from the masses of storms that have destroyed what used to be there causing the remains to become rotten. The windows are cracked and the furniture is far from usable. 

The only healthy-ish part of the house? Bella's room.

It's a huge contrast from the rest of the building, almost like it was placed there separately. The wall's a bright white colour, her soft bedding and her drawers overflowing with colourful clothing puts the rest of the place to shame. A large window overlooks her room, filling it with more light than the whole house sees combined. 

The reason behind this is because her dad isn't the greatest dad. But in his defence he's aware. And so he spends the only bit of money he has on her - Always. Without any slight slither of guilt. He would give her the world if he could and she knows that, which is why she excuses his actions. 

She holds a pretty smile to cover the hurt she feels beneath. Her vibrant choice in her room reflects the young girl inside of her. 

She hasn't got an easy life and if it wasn't for me living with her, I wouldn't understand.

If the island really knew why she's the way she is.. they wouldn't want to be her. 

Please let me know what you think x

Thank you for reading 🌹❤️

Masterlist

[yejinigami]

𝕎𝔼𝕀ℝ𝔻𝕃𝕐 𝕊ℙ𝔼ℂ𝕀𝔽𝕀ℂ 𝔹𝕌𝕋 ℍ𝔼𝕃ℙ𝔽𝕌𝕃 ℂℍ𝔸ℝ𝔸ℂ𝕋𝔼ℝ 𝔹𝕌𝕀𝕃𝔻𝕀ℕ𝔾 ℚ𝕌𝔼𝕊𝕋𝕀𝕆ℕ𝕊

What’s the lie your character says most often? — That she doesn't want to love or develop feelings. How loosely or strictly do they use the word ‘friend’? — Yejin only has one friend at the time. She doesn't use that term very loosely. How often do they show their genuine emotions to others versus just the audience knowing? — Yejin can't really hide her facial expressions well, but she still tries to hide her feelings. Can they cry on command? If so, what do they think about to make it happen? — Yejin's never cried since she's been a Shinigami due to her not being allowed to feel anything. What would you (mun) yell in the middle of a crowd to find them? — "FREE STRAWBERRIES!!!" What would their best friend and/or romantic partner yell? — "FREE STRAWBERRIES!!!"/"I FOUND YOUR DEATH NOTE!!!" How loose is their use of the phrase ‘I love you’? — She never said 'I love you' to anything other than strawberries... Do they give tough love or gentle love most often? Which do they prefer to receive? — If she ever came close to love anyone, she'd probably give gentle love. Even though most people she's met yet wouldn't expect that from her and she sure as hell would make sure they never found out she's capable of being soft and lovey dovey. What fact do they excitedly tell everyone about at every opportunity? — That she's almost immortal and therefore isn't scared of anyone or anything, I guess... What’s something that makes them laugh every single time? Be specific! — Gullible and naive people. She loves to play tricks. What do they notice first in the mirror versus what most people first notice looking at them? — She herself would notice her burning red eyes. Others would (if they could see her) probably notice that she seems to be surrounded by this dark and alluring aura. What would they do if stuck in a room with the person they’ve been avoiding? — Um, probably write their name in her Death Note. What simple activity that most people do / can do scares your character? — To love. What do they feel guilty for that the other person(s) doesn’t / don’t even remember? — She never feels guilty. She hardly feels anything at all. Did they take a cookie from the cookie jar? What kind of cookie was it? — Definitely. Probably a strawberry shaped cookie. What do they tell people they want? What do they actually want? — She tells everyone she doesn't want to develop feelings of any kind. That's not true. She wants to feel everything. How do they respond when someone doesn’t believe them? — Yejin would laugh and prove she's telling the truth by writing their name in her Death Note. How do they greet someone they like / love? — She's probably wave awkwardly. What phrases, pronunciations, or mannerisms did they pick up from someone / somewhere else? — Since she doesn't have many friends, she will probably pick up anything Yuji says or does. If invited to a TED Talk, what topic would they present on? What would the title of their presentation be? — Strawberries and why they're the only food source anyone needs What do they commonly misinterpret because of their own upbringing / environment / biases? How do they respond when realizing the misunderstanding? — She takes mostly everything quite literal, which is why she doesn't really understand sarcasm. When she notices, she gets kinda shy and apologizes or gets defensive. Depends on how the person reacts. Who would they say ‘yes’ to if invited to do something they abhorred / strongly didn’t want to do? — Probably anything that Yuji would want her to do, tbh. (Yes, Yuji, this is a compliment. You're kinda her best friend. Well...also her only one, but you get the point.) Would they eat something they find gross to be polite? — I guess she'd spit it right in their faces. What’s a phrase they say a lot? — "Uh..." Do they act on their immediate emotions, or do they wait for the facts before acting? — Depends on how patient she is related to whatever it's about.

tagging: @wind-wielder @t-hevessel @tenshadcws @bloodieststreethawk @shattered-mind @shortenedlife @kettensaege @drachenfaust

[mdhwrites]

I'm sure you're being sent a lot of TOH-related questions right now, but what's your opinion on Belos's rise to power? Its portrayal in Elsewhere and Elsewhen somewhat makes sense for the idea that the Coven system is bad for witches (putting its implementation in the series as a whole aside), but even so it really bothers me, even with the focus on Bonesborough and all, that there's little hint of savagery in the "Savage Ages" and it's made clear that the witches back then deemed the BI Titan dead and not a deity whatsoever, which... is not consistent with how people attained power in reality nor with how the Titan is portrayed throughout the series?

You VASTLY overestimate how many asks I'm actually getting. The fact that I've even had two asks most days as of late is impressive. Mind you, it's not surprising with how anti-criticism this fandom feels and the fact that most people's blogs aren't for sharing the sorts of long winded takes I have. I'm also a small account so my rants mostly stay in my own corner (Or I get lit on fire and accused of having never watched the show).

This is a JUICY one though. The short answer to my thoughts on Belos' rise is that if you want to see it done right, go read the book "Ranger's Apprentice: The Kings of Clonmel." It actually depicts super well and convincingly how a group of bandits and brigands can use these sorts of tactics so as to almost become nobility. Ranger's Apprentice is just an amazing series in general.

As for Belos' rise…

Well, let's first lay down what the trick is he's using. It is theoretically akin to every racist who has risen to power on the platform of "I will make this country great again and part of that plan is to persecute these people who are perceived as a problem for some reason." This is commonly associated with religious or national fervor due to the fact that people don't need concrete proof if that which they have faith in is what they see as being attacked. It also gives the people a wide, established base of those who are already scared and primed for action for one reason or another. This is why rises of fascist movements often happen in countries facing economic decline or severe disparity because people are desperate and ready to believe anything.

The Isles during the savage lands have… LITERALLY NONE OF THIS. Let's review:

The Scapegoat: "Wild witches, those who use all types of magic, are evil murderers out to destroy me!" Um… Except EVERYONE uses all types of magic. So you are claiming EVERYONE is a wild witch currently. You are not narrowing your targets down or giving them an inhuman face, especially with your claim.

The Fear: "They're out to destroy me! Even now they've found me and will burn this place down trying to kill me!" …So you're the problem? The threat isn't against anyone in the Isles, it's just you. And you're the one telling us we're all wrong? Why does trouble and death follow you from town to town, razing as it goes? Suddenly you seem to be the real threat…

The Religion: Um… As you pointed out, the denizens of the Isles consider the Titan to be dead in the past. What did Belos do to convince them that the Titan was alive? How long had they considered the Titan dead? The Titan being a god is obviously not something they considered so why did anyone listen to this crackpot who effectively said, "I HEAR GHOSTS AND WANT TO RULE YOU BECAUSE THE VOICES IN MY HEAD TELL ME"?

The Nation: This is maybe the only positive? It's questionable how connected to the rest of the towns any one town in the Isles is. This creates a problem of identity. "Oh, they burned down this one village? Fuck that village. Their mayor owed me fifty snails and their crazy person told me my cat smells." And if they are connected, then it becomes "I would have heard if my cousin got killed by wild witches! And besides, are you saying Gertrude is a bad person? Her pies are great and she makes them with baking and beast keeping!"

And finally, the unrest: The Isles pre-Belos is depicted as a utopia. Philip gets a man killed and jacks his palisman and the worst that his two brothers? or at least cohorts threaten to do is burn his journal. That is… Fucking nothing compared to literally anything a bad guy does in S1 of TOH. And this is for getting someone MURDERED. This is not a society with a crap ton of problems like we're told in S1 for how Belos came to power (history is written by the victors so I don't even consider this a plothole besides it being just badly done). Instead, it's depicted as being in pure harmony purely to make the kind one time the show actually makes a case for the coven system being bad outside of "Restrictions to expression are bad" that is the basis for the show claiming Covens don't work for the most part.

None of it works. None of it is actually thought out enough to be anything more than taking inspiration from real world events, real world ATROCITIES and plastering them on face value without actually appreciating what goes into those sorts of systems of manipulation and abuse.

Honestly, end of the day it comes off as tone deaf and half assed when this is such a crucial part of your villains ethos, their plan and your plot in general because this should be a large part of explaining how the world got to be the way it is. It isn't though because there's no actual explanation for how we got from Utopia to Belos ruling. None at all. Not when realistically he would have been caged and killed just on the superstition that he brought death everywhere he went.

But I mean, they literally can't keep it consistent from episode to episode whether fucking Belos believes what he says about the Titan or knows that it's dead because he enters its fucking skull. The show did not give a fuck about making this plot work. So why not make something that someone talk about for a thousand words in a think piece over instead of actually trying to make it coherent?

Because there's a lot of that in this show and it's why I can talk so much about it.

========

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead, If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

And finally a Twitter you can follow too!

[poisonouspastels]

ok have an ask that isnt a spam link: tell me uhhhhh 5 facts. about a current project your working on. can be anything just infodump a lil bit mayhaps

Oh god okay I have a lot of things I'm working on ATM <- bearer of the multitasking curse. so I'll try to narrow it down uhh -Currently wanting to delve more into a project called Canvas, which aims to be a M&L inspired RPG game featuring Rose and Thorns, which if you've been on this acc for a while you probably have seen them before. If not don't worry about it lol (MC AU is taking up a majority of my brain space rn though so this will mostly be me talking about that. Cause that counts.) -I don't really get to talk about the other players in the MC AU much but they all kind of have their own "thing" so to speak. Like I know at the very least I've mentioned Efe is a blacksmith and Sunny is the redstone guy, but you also have Kai who makes carvings out of the cherry blossom trees they live around, Noor and Ari who currently find themselves in the desert digging up and restoring old relics (mostly pottery), Makena who does glasswork (living near the beach there's abundance of Sand) and Zuri who weaves different things out of bamboo. -Diamond is a resource that isn't actually commonly used as its typically too heavy to be properly utilized in armor outside of trims, which are just for show anyway. It most often gets used in swords and pickaxes, there's rarely ever exceptions, especially since it takes a LOT of diamond even just to make one tool. As of the battle of Ender, there's only two diamond tools that exist. (Efe owns a sword (self made of course) and Steve a pickaxe) -Herobrine has been bitten by cave spiders so many times that he's developed an immunity to their poison. He can chug a bottle of it as a cool party trick (cool as in gives anyone a heart attack who doesn't know) His legs are also covered in scarring that never properly healed because of this. His years spent in the caves sure were something. -The way healing potions work in the MC AU varies based on injuries. External injuries like cuts are applied directly and heal at a fast rate (think like how the holy grail works in Indiana Jones) and leave behind no scarring if the wound is small enough. But any internal injuries such as broken bones or wounds that go far deeper than surface level require consumption of potions over time and speeds up the healing process instead of practically fixing the injury outright. Still extremely useful though. Incidentally, this method is also used to grow back teeth, but neither ways can grow back things like missing limbs.

[ramshacklestar]

Magic Tool Ocarina:

There's many parts of Ramshackle that haven't been mentioned as being explored, so at one point when Grim and Yuu are setting out to explore more of their temporary home they find yet another dust covered room that looked like it served as a bedroom at one point. All out it hadn't appeared all that interesting a room, but Yuu and Grim still walked into it regardless Grim spotting the ocarina in question beneath the bed and dragging it out. Much like the room the ocarina was coated in dust, and when Grim held it out for Yuu her first instinct was to naturally clean it of the layers of dust.

Finding it's appearance very flute-like Yuu brought to instrument up to her lips after cleaning it a single note quiet at first but getting louder coming from the wooden instrument. Ready to comment to Grim how interesting the instrument was and how alike it was to a flute from her own world, that she could definitely play, the surprise she had when entering that room returned again to see Grim with a completely blank expression his eyes dulled slightly as though he was in a trance. It was easy enough to break him of it once she'd snapped her fingers in front of his face a few times, but even after he seemed awake again when she asked what happened to him he replied with a 'don't know' as though he hadn't realized what happened.

Feeling a bit guilty Yuu does end up testing the instrument again this time blowing out more than just a single note by covering a few of the holes with her fingers, again much like a regular flute. And again Grim was affected by the blended musical notes, lulling from side to side in a sort of blissful state until she hit a lower note ending in Grim whimpering as though he was in pain his eyes glossed over the entire time.

It isn't long until the trio of ghosts finally appear curious about the sound, all three particularly perturbed when they see what was in her hands. Asking for something of an explanation about the item the ghosts go on to tell her it was a magical instrument that had been deemed as missing for decades, and with clear reluctance they further went on to explain the instrument wasn't just capable of affecting the listener but also affecting the player, the ocarina seemingly transmitting the notes into the players mind based off what their intentions were.

The instrument in question was able to make certain types of imagery appear in the listeners mind leaving them in an unconscious sort of state and depending on the song and players intention it could relax or harm, even lull the listener to sleep. It fed off the emotions of the player and in the case anyone with nefarious intention got a hold of it they could easily force a individual in submission if not completely torture their listener. It was unknown if it had effects on certain species of people in the world as most records of the instrument were lost with the ocarina itself and though the ghosts doubted she had intent to use it negatively she still was advised not to ever use it to harm. Taking their advise to heart Yuu has kept it close; occasionally dragging it out just to play it behind Ramshackle, and learning in the process that the most commonly affected listeners were the various animals that wandered out from the forests. The fairies for the most part however seemed unaffected, appreciating the melody but not falling into a trance like state. She has also used it to lull Grim to sleep on a number of occasions but has yet to use it on any of her classmates and friends alike.

The instrument itself has also remained her little secret mostly out of not knowing if Crowley would actually let her keep it but also because she isn't sure if it would affect her classmates or friends, a part of her being a little afraid to find out. It also gives her something of a feeling of having magic herself, the instrument itself is completely useless unless played though.

[anewp0tat0]

obviously I'm late but better than never for my semi monthly chapter review hii~

Chapter 191

firstly i do want to half heartedly apologize for how much I am obsessing over this tiny cameo, but we haven't gotten art of her since the hotel promo and idc if she's the second reaper we most commonly seen it's just been so~ long. and also I didn't hear anyone complain -v-

also just because I didn't see anyone post about it before(I probably haven't scrolled enough), I'm pretty sure that's Eric and Alan(because of the hair and everyone in this panel is a reaper we know), in the corner, just dangling their existence over us as always. i just find it a little funny when yana decides to play God at what she wants to include in her canon universe.

I think this cover's pretty cool! it's the first time we canonically get to see other side reapers, and I was very excited!!

I gotta be brutally honest though, as someone who takes the visuals to heart, I was a little disappointed to see that the the reapers behind Ronald are mirrors/copies of each other. I personally get pretty dishearted when potential to create a great product gets wasted due to laziness or any other lacking that is within our control.(and also specifically applying to this, Im a sucker for character design and get bummed when i keep seeing the same jawless pretty boi face design everywhere).

however, I won't hold it against her for 2 reasons. 1, despite my whining I'm aware that there's nothing yana can if she's too busy for herself or anyone in her art team to draw so much. secondly though, the explanation that I'm gonna prefer to go with cause she will never confirm or deny this I'm sure: this was a purposeful decision to show how all the reapers- besides their hair- are meant to be soulless carbon copies of each other. except for Ronald, cause he's cool(and I think we have a mentor to blame for that😌)

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alright now I should actually mention the contents of the chapter

I am very excited about this Brass😀 I don't trust my memory anymore so I may be wrong, but I don't think the higher ups... or higher than higher ups👀👆🙏 have ever been referred to as the "brass" before. which I love. I have no clue what that means but it's cool. and personally I love when stories with religious contexts diverge from the traditional lore. which should be weird cause I'm kinda religious. but ya boi gets bored.

like, the almighty brass is not like the God in traditional religion, cause so and so bla bla created the planet or big bang or smth I forgot. this, these, beings seemed to have appeared. before humanity or after I'm not sure. but dude isn't it so cool and kinda creepy?? right? can't ya gurl just obsess over something that doesn't matter at ALL???

also I gotta say, I'm a little shocked that reapers can't see souls, cause I had assumed that in this universe the cinematic records themselves were the souls, or representations of them. but nope, two separate things.

dude if this series ends with the Brass literally destroying the universe cause these reapers and demons and maybe humans found out and meddled too much in the unmeddleable I don't know how my brain would work.

also real quick what if the reapers don't even work for god. what if the demons aren't even based around him and we shouldn't be assuming them to be based around Christianity in yana's universe.

LOL anyway.

I found this interesting because it's true, bizarre dolls were not the reapers(or the Brass' :O) business before. they were not known or classified as a wide threat, and they didn't have be involved. but now they have to be.

it also makes me wonder how many other reapers are involved with this case now. I mean, others have the be right?? why would they just keep sending people who are associated with grelle. there should be others off screen. it seems like this may escalate to a nation wide threat soon.

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also, I'm 70% certain someone mentioned this in a theory blog prior, but it's nice to see now that it's confirmed the very real symbolism of Lord Vega's 2 personalities in the 2 ribbons.

finally. in case it's my bad memory, does anyone mind reminding me who the "old woman" is? if we don't know yet then that's something I'll just have to think about more later.

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have a great day!! till next time :,D maybe in November we'll get to see finny and snake?

also, I know I go on like 4 different tangents here. I thought keeping them all to one post would be more organized, but should I actually be separating these thoughts? dunno. maybe I'll give it a shot next time.

[wrotelovelytears]

interpretation of Scorpio sun conjunct Venus in a natal chart?

Ohhohoho do i have words about this placement.....

Whatchu you mean by that?

A through lashing about Scorpio Sun/Venus

🥏People with this placement most def have issues with women in particular (not feminine energies).

🏍Its not all women either, its specifically more masculine (trait wise) women. The combination of the Sun's masculine energy and Venus's feminine based energy is the root of this.

🥏There is a tendency to favor Taurus like behaviors and/or Taurus people themselves.

🏍Yes this is partially due to Venus influence and the other half of it is it being the sister sign of Scorpio. One might take joy in cooking, homemaking activities, and physical comfort due to this.

🥏This combo can not stand people who are surface level.

🏍In fact they probably already know, they just wanna see if you gonna lie about it.

🥏Emotional vulnerability is something these people don't truly struggle with. I know many people say Scorpios (in general) have a hard time with emotional vulnerability, and this placement in particular not only wears their emotions on their face (yes you getting judged, no I don't actually care enough to do anything about it), they have a strong will to share their emotions with others. As well as encourage it.

🥏"mAyBE iTs MenTaL ILlneSs" Not to diagnosis anyone, but that oversharing and level of self hate ain't normal my good pal.

🥏I'll be honest I think this placement is a lot more sensitive than say a Scorpio Moon. Why? Again the active showing of emotions, not only that their self worth (as the 2nd house/Taurus rules over that, therefore Venus is tied to it) and how others see them is part of their ego.

🏍Yes that does mean ego deaths for this placement is actual hell. Their emotions and personality have to constantly change to deal with not only outside stressors but internal ones that are self imposed

🥏This a side note (and also a slightly biased observation), people might not be correct about your sexuality.

🏍So from what I've noticed (this might apply to Scorpio Sun and Venus placements as a whole), is that because you carry yourself in a certain manner, people misjudge your sexuality. It could be from heterosexuals being assumed gay/bi to gays/lesbians being assumed bi (at the most hetero). I'd say its partially due to Venus influence making people "more feminine than their peers commonly are" as well as Scorpio's general mysterious vibe. It makes it hard for people to pin point what you do and don't like because you exuded "I exist 🧚🏿‍♀ Im an experience🧚🏿‍♀" energy.

I'll use myself as an example, people (even my close friends) think I'm bi, and I'm actually a lesbian. I have been told countless times "I just look bi", "i don't have very lesbian like mannerism" and "am I sure???"

🥏I'll be honest this placement is OVERsexualized by probably everyone. Like my God, of you see a sexual astrology post, guess what placement you'll see. This isn't healthy for them however, it just furthers the idea they are only sexual objects to others and only liked when preforming sexual acts.

🥏Learned from an early age that people are unusual (derogatory). These native have had to deal with all sorts of projections and behaviors from those around them. It leaves them questioning why people act the way the do. Might even spark that interest in psychology (and the occult) to figure out why people do what they do

🥏Got bullied for their appearance when younger just to be praised for those same things when an adult.

🏍The Sun technically rules over how we are seen as adults (so the Rising doesn't have the same energy as when younger, unless your Sun is in your Rising). Its not that one was an ugly duckling, its more others weren't paying that type of attention to the native and as their Sun became more prominent so did their beauty (Venus plays that role)

🥏Another sexual note: This placement has a tendency for masochsadism. Being both the sadist and masochist in not only sexual but romantic situations as well.

🥏Most likely (and I'm sorry yall, it must be said tho) base their self worth on how attractive people see them.

🏍Its not like they want a relationship with said folks, they just want to be affirmed that they still got it.

🏍However this can lead to some maladaptive coping mechanism (staying in relationships that arent healthy, seeking external validation from people, engaging in things they don't want just to be seen etc)

🥏Since I'm on a "please get help" trend right now, I'll point out another big problem: Doing things just to feel something 🥳

🏍Yall thought Sags (and Pisces) were bad with their lack of concern for their safety. Wait till you meet Scorpio Sun/Venus. I'm not sorry at all, but the way maladaptive coping mechanisms (especially ones involving the senses) can become ones' whole being, is scary. I mean these the people to do drugs, not because their friends are but because they really down. The type to have multiple flings, just to feel the warmth of someone else because their own is gone. The type to self medicate, to see if it brings some new spark in their life.

🥏This placement struggles with feelings of grandiose and emptiness, typically at the same time.

🏍Grandiose is largely when they are seen as attractive, social (on their own terms), and flirtatious. Empty is when they heavily involve themselves in the material and physical world as a means of survival.

🥏Loves to beautify the darkest of things. Almost like a "light at the end of the tunnel" but more a "there is light inside the tunnel if you look for it"

🥏Piss shit relationships 💀 There's not other way to word it besides, relationships are typically toxic (or straight up abusive). These people tend to give a lot more than they should (as Scorpio is meant to receive just like Taurus) and then get confused why someone is treating them bad, and further excuse the behaviors (until it starts pushing their moral boundaries). (In no way am I excusing others treating someone badly, I'm simply pointing out a commonly seen theme)

🥏Amazing love advice. If you want an honest opinion on your relationship or potential one, a Scorpio Sun/Venus is definitely the person to go to. They will not only see patterns others don't, they won't sugar coat anything (no matter how much they love you).

🥏Not as attracted to/comfortable with masculine energies (gender neutral) as other placements. In fact might steer away from overly masculine people in general due to past experiences.

🥏Likes forwardness. Not obtuseness.

🥏Would definitely smile while being choked.

🥏Loves kids. Will they openly say that idk, depends on their fifth house sign.

🥏Really enjoys music and might even enjoy dancing and singing (when alone)

Images this placement remind me of:

Songs this placement reminds me of:

I Disagree- Poppy

Only- Zhu (feat Tinashe)

Wish You Well- PVRIS

Wild Thoughts- DJ Khaled (feat Rihanna and Bryson Tiller)

Siren Song- Maruv

Mary Magdalene- FKA Twigs

Human- Sevdaliza

Its Only- Odesza (feat Zyra)

Stuck with Me- The Neighbourhood

The Warmth- Koda

Let's Link(remix)- WhoHeem (feat ppcocaine)

Die a little bit- Tinashe (feat Ms.Banks)

Beings this placement reminds me of: Sirens (and water nymphs), Djinns (as a whole), Vampires, Phantoms, Phoenix, Pontianak, Banshee, Echidna, Nyx, Manticore, Sphinx, Abaia, Harpy, Succubi, Huldra, Anitu

Sorry, this honestly could've been better written, I'm currently having an AP depression moment and writing something is at least a way to get my mind off... Well itself.

(If you learned something new or would just like to support me you can leave a wittle tip via the tip button or one of the links in my masterlist. Ko-fi: nymphdreams 🧸)

[genderqueerdykes]

Helloo, could you explain the diffrent types of testosterone like as in androgel, sustanon, all that stuff. I'm thinking of going on sustanon but I don't see quite alot of info except for cis guys using it for bulking and im afraid it's not quite a good comparison for ftms

i am not familiar with sustanon, so i will have to do some research and return to you at a later time, as well as see if any other anons or anyone in the comments can help for the time being. also i typically tend to recommend the subreddit community r/ftm, they are great for asking questions about different forms of T since so many guys use it =)

i have personal experience with androgel, and injectable testosterone cypionate. i used injectable T subcutaneous, meaning I injected into fat/skin tissue, and not intramuscular/into muscle tissue, due to my intersex condition and natural testosterone levels. I'm not sure how commonly this method is prescribed to people, but I have always been instructed to do it this way, as I've been told it will lead to less prominent up-and-down spikes and fluctuations of hormone levels. I'm not a professional though so I can't verify as to whether or not this was just that one professional's advice, or if that's 100% accurate.

again, for me as an intersex person, I don't know how applicable that is to perisex trans people, as i know most perisex transmascs inject intramuscular. that being said, testosterone cypionate is generally the go-to, it's strong, it's effective, it's kind of what everyone pictures when they think of T. the only thing to keep in mind about injectable T is pharmacies don't always give you the correct gauges of needle. generally you want 2 different gauge of needle, one larger and thicker to draw the T from the vial and a smaller thinner one for injecting, but pharmacies are really bad at giving you both, and giving you the correct gauges of both. this is easily the biggest pain with injectable T. if you have needle trauma or just don't want to have very strong spikes of testosterone and very strong drops in your hormone levels leading up to injection day, a gentler option is topical.

i've personally used androgel and i really like it, that's actually what i'm using right now, as i've been injecting for 7 years and my doctor wanted me to move away from that to avoid potential tissue damage from years and years of poking my skin. i really like androgel, although for some people it is less effective. if you have very low natural testosterone, or, your body is just poorly receptive to the hormone and doesn't take to it easy, it make struggle to benefit as much from topical testosterone, however nothing is stopping you from asking your clinician to try the topical T at a slightly higher dose to see if you just need a boost when using it transdermally. your dose isn't going to be the same on an injectable format as it is on a transdermal format

i get a generic version of androgel that comes in a bunch of pre-measured tubes so i don't have to measure anything out. i just apply 1 tube two days a week. i find that super handy as measuring my dose with injectable T was sometimes time consuming, especially if the pharmacy gave me the wrong gauge of needle, which they did often. my only complaint is that it's an alcohol based gel, so it smells very strongly when applying it. it literally just smells like rubbing alcohol, which doesn't sound bad, but it smells like about 1 gallon of it at once. that's hyperbole of course but it's just very concetrated smelling. the two areas they suggest applying it are on your abdomen (belly) and on the outside of your biceps (between shoulder and elbow). you can pick what works for you, i typically tend to do it as far away from my face as possible so i'm not dying from the smell but some of my alters put it on our arm because they're too lazy to put it under our shirt so (shrug)

always wash your hands directly after using topical T because you can in fact transfer testosterone to other people by touching them. you're not going to cause them to transition but it's just important to wash your hands to make sure you're not getting it on anyone else. it's recommended to avoid showering or getting into a pool or getting wet or anything for at least 45 minutes, i'd wait at least an hour or more if you can, just to make sure you're getting the most out of it you possibly can. it does leave a residue on your skin, but i notice it's more annoying on your hands than anywhere else. i think some people probably use a glove to apply it but i am broke as hell rn and don't

that's about all i can think of at the moment, anyone else please feel free to weigh in about any other kinds of testosterone or to throw in anything else i missed, like i said, these are the only two forms i have direct experience with. hope this helped some!

[nongenderbentanimeneilarmstrong]

Early Honkai Impact manga are extremely fascinating to me. I would say anything released before Elan Platinus (Purple Kite Tales in case you're ever looking up volume release order on mangadex) is early Honkai to me since that all came out before there were a number of retcons regarding certain characters.

Another notable thing is that the artists basically didn't know how to draw boobs like at all. They look like gelatinous spheres attached to characters chests. Yeah sure this isn't probably that interesting but it really just gave honkai a different tone when there were flacid scuppernong grapes smushing into each other every page.

What may be the only official de-canonized part of honkai is the mystery of the stigmata arc. I'm not sure if later changes to the plot influenced this decision or not since I have commonly heard it was removed due to depicting the yellow emperor as an anime girl. Regardless, the main antagonist of this arc is Walter, the 1st herrscher, sovereign of AE, and also secretly Himeko's father. If you ever see anyone crawling out if the woodwork taking about Welt being Himeko's father, this is why. While we don't know what his powers were, the rebirth dlc GGZ character named Walter who was also the 1st herrscher and sovereign of AE had gravity powers. The Joyce clones and Welt seemed to have gravity powers in AE invasion/moon shadow so I feel fairly comfortable in saying that the 1st herrscher used to have gravity powers. However Walter was retconed and now we have Welt who is basically just a totally different guy (and now he doesn't even have gravity powers). Also here's the first image we get of Walter.

And here's a Canon image of the Joyce clone from Moon Shadow.

Himeko's first appearance in the escape from nagazora manga is also really, really bad. That's not how you put on armor, please don't do that. I genuinely don't want to post an image of the page I'm referring to because I don't feel comfortable inflicting this onto others I'm pretty sure this is soft core porn.

On a lighter note I want to show people Otto Apocalypse's first appearance in Honkai Impact.

As far as I can tell, since Otto is never actually seen in Theresa's chronicle chapter, this had to be his first appearance in the story. The translators of this game chose to introduce the English speaking fan base to this guy with a "nobody expects the Spanish inquisition" joke. I'm not sure if he was supposed to the the main antagonist when this was published, but regardless, someone consciously chose to draw this guy like this and someone decided to add in a month python joke. Old Honkai was just, extremely horny (though it is important to note that female characters were sexualized to a far greater degree).

Anyways regarding the original main antagonist, I'm pretty sure it was Cocolia to at least some extent. She was the main antagonist through the moon shadow arc, though Otto Apocalypse was pretty evil in that one so it's hard to say anything with a ton of confidence. Regardless, that's probably part of the reason why Cocolia AE was the main antagonist until she suddenly wasn't. Though the whole AE fracturing and Einstein/Tesla making a deal with Theresa was a pretty significant plot point in AE invasion so technically it wasn't entirely something that came out of nowhere, but really how many people would be reading the manga at that point in the story.

But yeah, here's some notable events from early Honkai manga that I think are pretty interesting. This post kinda ended up being a collection of some of the more salacious images I want to forget about so in general it's actually a pretty mixed bag. Azure Waters is really really good and I definitely enjoyed parts of AE invasion and moon shadow regardless of some scenes that I did not enjoy and would not recommend. Also I find it hilarious that Otto's introduction is like that. I cannot take him seriously at all in that arc or kinda in general whenever I'm reminded of that scene.

[ask-a-familiar]

Welcome back to Get Familiar!

In this second installment, we will be discussing:

Vampire Feeding

The do's, the don'ts, and more! (New recipes, anyone?)

Let's get into it!

The Bloody Basics:

Vampires cannot consume anything other than blood. That much you should be aware of unless it's your first day on the job.

That rule, the MAIN rule that you should NEVER forget, is... well... more vague than it sounds.

The most healthy thing for a vampire to feed on IS human blood. But they can also safely ingest a few other things, such as:

- Blood from other animals (this leaves them momentarily sated but still unsatisfied, for the most part)

- Other... human bodily fluids... (you've seen this if you were unlucky enough to have to host the biannual vampire orgy. This doesn't actually soothe their hunger or give them any nutrition, but they don't get sick)

- Human flesh (in small quantities), most commonly consumed during throat-ripping when they're desperate for blood.

Now, with that being said, you need to throw your morals out of the window if you haven't done so the second you took on a dark master. There are no artificial alternatives to blood that can be used to feed vampires. They can go for many nights without feeding, depending on the vampire. Younger vampires need to feed more regularly than ancient vampires.

In general, the best way to go about it is to fetch when your master tells you to, save leftovers for later when you can, and learn your masters feeding schedule.

If you mess up, be prepared to be the substitute meal.

Now that we're clear on what they can eat, here's a crash course on some do's and don'ts, and general questions most familiars have at some point in their infernal careers.

Q: Should I offer my own blood to my master?

A: NO! That is a remarkably bad idea. Most familiars start the job with rose tinted glasses and romantic YA novel fantasies about vampires. If your vampire isn't outright disgusted by your offer, getting fed off of will not be the intimate, romantic thing you think it will be. (Okay, maybe intimate, I've heard it gets kind of intense,) but the main concern is that you will die.

Virgin blood, freely given, is some of the most delectable blood a vampire will ever taste. So if you offer it, they will take it, and more often than not they WILL completely drain you. You will not be turned just for offering to feed them, unless you count being turned into a shriveled up raisin of a human corpse.

Remember: Vampires are VERY rarely attached to their familiars. You are replaceable.

What does being fed off of feel like? Am I leading people to a horrible, painful, death?

Yes and no. Being fed off of hurts, but it also makes you dizzy and I've heard there is a sort of elated numbness that comes over you when being fed off of. It might even feel sort of good.

Take solace in the fact that it doesn't ONLY hurt for your victims, but there's no way to dance around the fact that you ARE still leading them to their violent deaths. Sorry.

I feel like my vampires are bored of just plain old blood. Can I cook something with it? Or freeze it into blood Popsicles?

No. We've all thought about it, many have tried it, and it's usually a major fail. Blood "popsicles" won't make them sick, but vampires don't like them very much. Cold blood is usually a no-go. Blood snow cones work for some vampires, but it's a big gamble to try.

However... after many sleepless days, I managed to figure out an answer to the problem.

How can I make a recipe using only ingredients found in human blood?

For this, I had to turn to food items with a VERY small list of ingredients, for blood is incredibly simple in its makeup.

Then it hit me.

It is fully possible to make blood cotton candy that is edible for vampires.

Yes. You read that right. Cotton candy is the only feasible way to feed your vampire anything other than plain old blood.

They will not projectile vomit as if they were eating regular human food, just make sure you ONLY flavor it with blood. No other flavor.

You're welcome!

And with that, thank you for reading this installment of Get Familiar. I hope this helped, g*dspeed, soldiers.

-Sair

[delusion-of-negation]

Hi! So I just recently came across the info that you have DID, and I wanted to ask - is this a blog for all alters/parts in your body or are you just one of them/the host?

This isn't meant to be rude or something, I'm just curious

I don't take it as rude, don't worry! I hope you don't mind that I'm answering it publicly, just figured it might be useful for other folks who want to ask similar questions. first of all, language like "host" or "original", or even the "protector/persecutor" categories, don't apply very well to my situation, and I'd prefer if people didn't use them to refer to any alters here. we definitely don't have an original (more responding to other people there than you, obviously you didn't say that), it happened long before we ever integrated a singular identity - so it makes no sense to ask who the original is, it's like seeing a person who was born without legs and asking which leg left first. and it's kind of similar regarding hosts, being polyfragmented means we aren't some easily described system of ten people you can track and then say Fronter McGee gets the most screentime, y'know? the term host is too simplistic for what's going on with us (I made this complaint once and somebody said "I just take host to mean whoever is controlling the body right now :)" and it was like ma'am that's not what the term means, the term for that is to front, the host is the boss who typically fronts the most and sits in the big boy chair with a fancy desk and a pipe). we don't have a host, we do have a big handful of alters who are more closely "related" to each other, for lack of a better word (it's really hard to explain this stuff, and I don't want to go on eight different rants in this one reply), who front more often than some of the more distant or specific alters (ones with very specific triggers, for example), but to call them hosts would be stretching the definition of the word, given how many of them there are and how little their role or behaviour resembles that of a traditional host. as for the categories, we just don't fit neatly into them, and they always felt to me like I was doing the DID version of a buzzfeed personality quiz when I tried to use them. I'm sure they work for some people and help them to articulate an experience, but I just don't vibe with them. so yeah, sorry this got long, but I figured since you used one of those words (and only one, I know, they're just all commonly used ones), I'd just take the opportunity to mention that I don't like them and would appreciate them not being used. this blog is for anyone, we're not the type to be very rigid in who's allowed to post where, because of various issues (both related and unrelated to those already mentioned, and I'm too lazy to list them all), but there are alters who prefer to use other blogs that have themes more akin to what they like to post or what they want to see on their dash or whatever. and similarly, none of those blogs are locked from anyone else. overall, we tend to find it easier to take a more wishy-washy approach than to be like "this is who's out right now, they can only use these accounts, they aren't allowed to steal my ice-cream!" otherwise we'd be micromanaging more than your average business owner. alters who might say something truly out of character for this blog know it'd be a dick move to the rest of us to do that, and would probably get them shit from my followers anyway, so they don't do that, and similarly I don't go on their yandere blog and go "actually I kinda prefer people give me space" for the same reason. mutual respect, I think, is a better system for us than each person having wholly differentiated spaces, especially with the amount of blurring and fragmentation and such we suffer from. so yeah, to answer your question, it's open to anyone, but most typically used by a select group of alters for various reasons.