#if anyone wants to discuss with me on the logistics of it i'm interested

[i-eat-deodorant]

i'm sure you know this already but:

COTL ISN’T DELETING THEIR GAME.

1) in terms profit they'd pretty much shoot themselves in the foot with that decision, and as protest it's not very effective to make unity listen.

2) if they were, there would've been a much bigger announcement than a twitter tweet.

3) they confirmed they're not in both the discord and the twitter. after the deletion tweet went viral. which...ok.

4) it's probably a scare tactic to take advantage of the unity news to get more people to buy their game.

5) it probably worked.

so many people are focused on the unity issue that i don't think it's often talked about how much of a shitty pr stunt that was by the social media manager. people are fearmongering, sure, but the initial seeds were planted by that twitter post that really should've gone through some extra foresight.

hope they enjoy their extra revenue.

[subtle-as-an-earthquake]

phew, ok gonna just ramble for a minute! for the last couple of days i've been getting so caught up in my milex feelings and the letdown after the anticipation that i almost forgot to be properly excited for this trip 🙈 but now that i'm actually in dublin, after listening to arctic monkeys and miles tunes on the flight and getting hyped about seeing my one of my best irl friends from london again for the first time since june, it's much easier for me to put things in perspective, thank goodness!! i'd have kicked myself later if i spent my time here moping (which i've kind of been doing these past two days) instead of being excited about getting to see my all time favourite band play again (twice!!) AND with miles as well, and just have a fun trip with my friends in dublin (even though it'll be raining cats and dogs, but we'll be in the pub most of the time anyway 🍻)

after the london gig in june i really thought that was it for a couple of years, so to have been given this extra opportunity to see them again so soon is insane and an absolute blessing. i'm SO fucking excited, i can't even tell you 😭 these will be my 8th and 9th arctic monkeys gigs to date, and i'm still just as hyped as i was 10 years ago, and i think that's worth reflecting on for a minute ❤️

i'm putting some more musings about the milex situation under the cut for anyone who might be interested in a different perspective, but mostly it's just for me, to be able to untangle the mess that my mind has been in these past few days. also, please know that i'm definitely not trying to invalidate anyone's concerns or diminish anyone's feelings, because lord knows i've been feeling all the things the past few days and all those feelings are very (very) real!

i guess what i just keep coming back to is the fact that arctic monkeys (or alex, really, lbr) asked miles to be the support for these four dates when they absolutely didn't have to do that, and that if there was any bad blood between them then they totally could've asked anyone else. but they didn't, they asked miles! and miles agreed! it's much more likely that the fact that they're not playing together is due to logistics (with the orchestra and limited rehearsal time) and wanting to highlight miles's new album than any personal reasons tbh. they're professionals doing their jobs first and foremost, and while obviously we'd love a display of sentimentality, if that doesn't fit the show for whatever reason then it makes sense they don't give us that. i'm sure it's all been discussed and agreed on between them, and that they're doing perfectly fine behind the scenes. it's true that miles shows us a lot of himself, but alex and the other boys do not, so it also makes sense to me that what miles shares about them/their interactions with him is limited too, much as i'd love to see him gush about them and post bts footage. i always find that i get easily swept up in emotions and conjecture when i'm watching things unfold from a distance, through the tumblr/fandom lens, but i forget sometimes that that is a heavily coloured lens, and that real life is often very different, despite what social media etc. may seem to show. and for me personally, i've noticed that sometimes it's really good to break out of the bubble for a bit and see things from a different perspective, so i'm glad i was able to do that before my shows!

also, on a side note, i've seen some people being disappointed that alex didn't dedicate bodypaint to miles but just gave him a shoutout, but to me the distinction doesn't matter too much. he mentioned miles when he didn't have to, and miles stayed to watch the boys do their thing after his own set, and he didn't have to do that either if he wasn't feeling it. the fact is that recently there have been more and more signs that our boys are actually growing closer again than they seemingly have been for a few years, and while obviously i just want them to give us everything and announce a tlsp reunion and also profess their undying love for each other while they're at it, maybe their doing what they can right now, and they just need a bit more time to get to where they once were. we all need time to heal, or something like that, anyway. i obviously don't know anything, but this possiblity seems just as if not more likely to me than the other option (which would be that any of this is a sign they're growing further apart, instead), so i'm good with that for the moment.

anyway, this is just me talking to myself on the plane and creating some perspective for myself, but maybe someone else might find it helpful too, who knows. in any case, i'm going to do my best to enjoy it all to the fullest!! and while obviously getting to see them do something together would be brilliant, it would just be the cherry on an otherwise already really fucking delicious cake ❤️

[shimmeringweeds]

Link Click Season 2 Episode 10 pt1

Okay. Taking a deep breath before documenting my thoughts because that was some info we got.

like first off --

How did he do that???

When I tell you I paused the episode and put my head in my hands for five minutes.

I have some dead end theories, but for now that one is a mystery for future me to chew on.

What I want to discuss:

Now that we have confirmation, I want to start talking about the implications of mixing and matching our character's abilities. This gets dark. If you want to live in a brighter world with happier theories, look away. I don't blame you.

Lu Guang can see into the future of a photograph through the eyes of its photographer.

Cheng Xiaoshi can possess the photographer and even feel their emotions.

Li Tianxi can see through a photograph what a person in the present is doing and feeling.

Li Tianchen possesses people in the present through touch.

There's a reason these abilities are paired as they are. If Li Tianchen worked with Lu Guang? Well, he could see the photograph. That's no benefit.

If Li Tianxi worked with Lu Guang? Similar issue. She goes to the present and gains memory. No need to see the past.

If Cheng Xiaoshi works with Li Tianxi? Well, yeah, they just did that. It's useful for undercover intelligence gathering, but not much else.

If Cheng Xiaoshi works with Li Tianchen? This is where things can get scary.

A dark thought has been nagging at me. And now that we have confirmation on what each individual twin's powers are are, I'm ready to discuss.

I’m interested, logistically, in what would occur if Cheng Xiaoshi and Li Tianchen combined powers.

They both have a possession ability.

They both take over a body.

Each time we see Li Tianchen take possession of a body that Cheng Xiaoshi is occupying, Cheng Xiaoshi is forcibly evicted.

Yes, I understand that these possessions have been coming from opposing sources and not one source traveling through another. That's the point.

I don't think this will work out as simply as anyone wants it to.

Li Tianxi doesn't have a possession ability. She's just an observer and an empath.

Cheng Xiaoshi does have a possession ability. And he, too, feels their emotions.

If Li Tianchen dives into a photo through Cheng Xiaoshi, how aware would Cheng Xiaoshi still be? Even Li Tianxi maintains some awareness if her ability is used (and that was a horrifying thought I'd suppressed for weeks, thanks Link Click, I hate being right.)

Look, both Li Tianchen and Qian Jin seem to think that Cheng Xiaoshi can change the past. But from Cheng Xiaoshi's current perspective? He can't. He's tried. In his experience what has happened -- will happen. That logic has been his sword. And to "leave the past be" is drilled into his mind.

I think -- and honestly I pray that someone talks me down from this because I hate this thought--

I think that Li Tianchen wants to protect his sister. I think that Li Tianchen doesn't want to change the past. He doesn't want to bring anyone back to life.

I think Li Tianchen just wants to make it so those acts weren't committed by Li Tianxi.

And if -- and admittedly this is stretching it -- but if somehow Li Tianchen had the foresight to send a selfie to a certain phone before each person died...?

He's found a way.

[mixelation]

i feel like i am going insane

this post was on my dash (screencapped bc don't go harass OP):

I'm not going to claim to be a TB expert, but any post talking about how we "have a cure" should be regarded as suspect. What happened in 1958 wrt TB treatment? I have no clue, and I just skimmed multiple reviews of the history of TB. If anyone knows, please tell me. In general the 1950s was the golden age of antibiotics, plus there was just a general better understanding of disease management in general, meaning fatalities from TB in Europe and North America tanked. But I could find no specific thing attributed to 1958.

What is the cure for TB? It's months of antibiotics, and even then clearance of the bacteria isn't going to be 100% of all patients. There's no specific miracle drug. There are vaccines (idk how effective, but they show up randomly in all sort of papers for having interesting and positive off-target effects, like improving blood glucose levels in diabetics), which is not a cure but IS a very important tool for stopping the spread and protecting people.

TB is tricky to manage. It can lay dormant in your lungs for decades. It's harder than the average bacteria to kill with antibiotics, and the course of antibiotics needed is so long that you end up with more logistical issues (what happens if you're in a remote area where you have limited supplies? how do you ensure patient compliance?). There are more and more antibiotic resistant strains appearing. A lot of effort and money and brilliant minds are dedicated researching TB and implementing strategies to manage it across the world. I'm sure there are ways to improve our approaches to managing and treating it, but TB is by no means a "neglected" disease. TB is not the example I would pick for how we have failed the world on a global level due to resource hoarding, unless you want to go into a much more nuanced discussion of why poverty is a huge risk factor for contracting it in the first place (due to things like overcrowding, poor living conditions, and poor access to healthcare, not because some specific miracle cure is being hoarded).

But I guess "the problem is we're not DISTRIBUTING the CURE" is much easier take for people to pat themselves on the back for having. TBH I think a lot of people feel safer when they think complex problems are secretly very simple ones that can be fixed by overcoming one singular evil.

[lady-harrowhark]

I have a theory about the arm! I think John used the arm to ‘regrow’ the whole of G—. I think that G— being at the epicenter of a nuclear explosion would mean that the majority of (if not all of) his matter was vaporised, and therefore there would be nothing for John to resurrect. If he had the arm beforehand, he had a G— ‘blueprint’ with which to reform him completely. What do you think?

It makes total sense to me! I'm curious how much of the John chapters in NtN align chronologically to the main narrative - basically just wondering if when he said he still has it, does that mean he still had it during the events of GtN/HtN/NtN? Or is that only true in the dream/bubble/whatever? If it's true in the "real world" timeline, I'm just imagining John propagating G— like one of those spider plants. Ya know, just stick the arm/clipping in some dirt, wait for a plant/person to grow, take another clipping/arm. Which like, not that I think that's what happened necessarily, BUT if we want to put on our recreational thought experiment tinfoil hats for a second, that would actually be kind of a slick parallel to John crafting Alecto, in part, out of dirt as well.

Just letting some thoughts spiral out here, and I'm too lazy to check any of this against the text so apologies if I'm misremembering anything in this stream-of-consciousness infodump:

Lyctors supposedly can't regrow limbs, but we do see Harrow's thumbs regrow, and Harrow's able to regrow a limb to some extent for Ianthe. We know Harrow's GOOD and she's worked out that Lyctoral healing relies on the nerves and she's then able to replicate that for the bone arm, but I have wondered about the logistics of that. Like can Lyctors just not regrow their OWN limbs? In which case, that doesn't seem like that big of a barrier (provided you're on good terms with one of the others), and the way Harrow phrases "I didn't bother about the meat" seems to imply she COULD have attempted it but didn't. It definitely could have something to do with Harrow and Gideon's connections to Alecto and John respectively, meaning a typical Lyctor couldn't do that but Harrow can. Would have loved to have seen everyone else's initial reactions to the bone arm. I've seen a few people musing about whether or not Ianthe could have fleshed it over herself but I don't really have any further thoughts on that. We also don't know where Ianthe's temporarily transplanted flesh arm came from.

The other incident that comes to mind is the reference they make to Cassy "taking half her finger off" while cooking and not telling anyone until after they'd eaten. Which like, idk, I feel like you might notice if someone was missing part of their finger at dinner, but maybe not, or maybe "took half her finger off" was an exaggeration. Orrrrr maybe she did and it regrew. Anyway, I'm just thinking that IF it's possible for John to regrow/reform/whatever someone from part of their body, it would make sense that he wouldn't want any of the other Lyctors to know about it. And he certainly wouldn't want anyone else attempting it, much less succeeding at it. I think we only ever hear that Lyctors can't regrow limbs from John (via Ianthe), but I wouldn't be surprised if that wasn't true, or not the whole truth. If Mercy and Augustine had started figuring that out (or knew to begin with), even bringing up that story about Cassy might have been a way to subtly needle at John (sort of similar to the way Cristabel and Alfred get brought up during dios apate minor, actually).

I also think the way John refers to the arm as "material" is an interesting parallel to Augustine's quip about needing John's genetic "material", especially after the way that both John and the narrative position the Lyctors and the resurrected bodies as he and Alecto's "children". I've seen some discussion about whether Lyctors could be sterile, which, if true, adds another interesting layer. Specifically, we see that Pyrrha thought Wake's baby was hers/G1deon's and that she wanted that baby, and it does tug at the heartstrings to think that perhaps there is some of G1deon's "material" remaining that could conceivably (pardon the pun) be used for some form of reproduction whether literal or more abstractly. I don't think it was an accident to specify that Gideon arrived in the kind of container one would use to "carry a transplant limb" and then be named after the figure that John takes a limb from; that description could have just as easily been "the kind you'd carry a transplant organ in", but it wasn't. Maybe it's plot relevant, maybe it's just another way to symbolically link the two within the narrative.

So anyway, that ended up spiraling pretty far out from what you originally asked but the tl;dr is yeah that sounds super reasonable!

[bts-polls]

hi. i know this blog is just for fun, and i don't want to be a downer, but jk rowling is a terf. she actively does not want trans people to exist. as a trans army, it makes me wildly uncomfortable when people who aren't fans are called 'muggles' or when people Sort the members. again, i know it's all supposed to be fun, but. i don't feel at all safe anymore whenever hp stuff is brought up. i hope you have a good day though <3

Hi anon,

First, before I get into the rest of my response I want to say that I while i can't truly empathize on this specific issue, I do sympathize with not feeling safe due to a marginalization from 'the mainstream'. I do apologize for any part my posts played into this for you and anyone else that may have seen them. I'm going to put the rest of my thoughts on this topic below a cut for anyone that isn't up for a discussion-type post from this blog.

HP was my first real fandom and as someone who was raised in an extremely conservative rural area, I'm unfortunately very familiar with this mindset and viewpoint.

I also had to do a hefty amount of soul-searching when deciding how much of hp-fandom I would continue to engage in. I've never been a merch-focused person (which honestly gave me some heartache getting into kpop..there are legit ppl out there that try to make you feel like a fake fan if you don't spend serious money on this interest... but that's a discussion for another day). Anyway, back to HP, I'm not into merch and I didn't like the movies, (I've still only seen the first two and a handful of clips from some of the others) so I'm personally not contributing anymore to the money channeling in but money isn't the only thing that fuels this massive engine.

Again, I had to have a very frank heart-to-heart with myself to see where I personally feel comfortable continuing to engage. For me, being involved in the Fandom to any degree and even having casual conversations about the themes and meanings was an essential part of learning to be curious enough to see more lifestyles different from the one I was raised in. And my story is not dissimilar from many that I knew in situations similar to mine. So I know that this body of work has actually had cases where it fosters discussions and mindsets for minority groups more than anything else of its time. I really cannot overstate how significant the HP books and fandom were in creating the first space where we were able to even explore the idea of being different from those around us, let alone feeling comfortable or even celebrating it. To us, HP was less about the magic of being able to move items without touching them but more about the magic of finding your own worth when everyone around you said otherwise. This concept takes different forms each generation, for some it's superheroes or musicians; for my generation, it was HP.

Do the unveiled viewpoints of the original creator now undo all of the progress that was triggered by her work? And should we all attempt to bury it as if it never happened? Another point of discussion, especially where I now live in the southern US with many entrenched systems of racial discrimination. (Again, another tangent but we're not here to talk about tearing down ugly statues that don't add any value to the current population).

There's also the literal logistical issue of deciding that I can't engage in anything because I don't agree with the views of the ppl in charge, then there will literally be no viable method to exist. My professional expertise is in systems design, implementation, and maintenance; and let me assure you, the world is legitimately run by people who have despicable beliefs. From entertainment, food manufacturing and distribution, to health care and politics; there are scummy mindsets infecting it all. The biggest lie in our society is that good ppl do good things and bad ppl do bad things. No. People with awful motivations do good things continuously. And the inverse is true as well. There is remarkably little black and white in the world, everything is on a spectrum.

Attempting to cut myself off from ALL of it is not possible, nor do I want to engage with ALL of it. So again, I need to decide where that line is. And it needs to be re-evaluated frequently as both myself and the world around me grows and changes.

But this really comes to my main point of this whole post. I had to do my own personal soul-searching to decide where my own boundary is with this issue. And each person should do so as well. We are all so beautifully different in our life experiences and thoughts and mindset. I would NEVER want to claim my personal boundary on any issue should be upheld for ANYONE else. That's where we must empower ourselves to understand our own sovereignty. I have complete control of how I choose to respond to a push of my boundary but not to dictate that others must place their own boundaries.

This is where we are right now. I recognize that my past actions have induced some harm, intentional or not. Again, I apologize for that. I've shared a few reasons why we have different viewpoints and may continue to create similar polls in the future. So, to move forward, I will be more diligent in tagging any polls so that anyone trying to avoid such content may do so. You will have to decide if that is sufficient for you or if you will need to also disengage here.

Whatever you choose, I do wish you the absolute best and thankyou for bringing this lapse to my attention. Like you said, this is intended to be a fun place where we can vote in meaningless tumblr polls about a group of guys in Korea that make music. I would never want to compromise someone's peace with something so trivial but I am just another stranger on the internet. The one thing I can do is try to give you the tools so that you can make informed decisions about what type of content you may encounter in my space.

I'm not looking to turn this blog into a discussion one, so if anyone wants/needs to chat further, please reach out in DMs or through my main blog @curio-queries . This blog will continue to focus on BTS polls.

BORAHAE 💜

[vocaloidfactoftheday]

hello! so hypothetically if someone made a vocaloid art challenge prompt list (like a list of vocaloid songs to use as daily prompts) would it be alright to tag you for it to gain traction? for both the list and a submission form?

(when I say hypothetical I mean there is no list but me and a friend are discussing making one and the logistics lol)

short answer: no, sorry! please don't take any offense, i wish you good luck with your challenge! if you like, you can tag my main blog and i could reblog it there, though i honestly don't think it'd be very helpful either way.

long answer:

i want to avoid using this blog to promote things. which i know sounds hypocritical because i do use it to promote my own things sometimes, but this is just limited to 1. my vocaloid music (which i try to promote very sparingly to avoid spam) and 2. livestreams about vocaloid that i think this blog's followers would be interested in (which i've only done 2 of so far and i don't even remember if i promoted the second one lol...they were respectively "discussing every vocaloid voicebank" and "drawing vocaloids from memory"). once enough time has passed sometimes i'll delete my promos just to clean up the blog

there's a couple reasons for this:

i want to avoid too much irrelevant (i.e. not related to vocaloid facts) content on this blog. this is partially to avoid spam/clutter, which would be intrusive if someone just wants to scroll through to look at facts, but also because this will lessen the chances of the random button (which isn't visible on mobile, but it's on the blog's desktop theme) selecting an irrelevant post when its purpose is to show random facts.

i don't think there's that much of a point to it. promoting my own stuff (particularly the music) does get me a little attention on my youtube channel sometimes, but it realistically makes very little difference. i'm not sure anyone has actually found my music through this blog. this blog has over 1k followers and my youtube channel has under 500, and my subscriber count tends to stay stagnant for long periods of time. i can't imagine it would make much of a difference if i promoted your art challenge - the posts themselves might get more reblogs, but the actual amount of participants probably wouldn't increase very substantially.

i personally find it a bit awkward to promote stuff from people i don't know on this blog. or even from people i DO know, honestly. it just doesn't really fit on this blog. i'd be more okay with doing it from my main, but even then i don't typically promote things i don't pay attention to (like music i don't listen to, commissions from artists i don't follow) or participate in (though a vocaloid art challenge might be different - i don't think i'd participate because i'm a slow artist, but it'd at least be interesting to see the art that results from it)

this kinda loops back around to the "minimizing clutter/irrelevant posts" point - but this is a vocaloid trivia/fun facts blog. this is not a general vocaloid blog, i don't use this to share/post just anything vocaloid related (i do plenty of that on main). if i use up all the vocaloid facts, maybe this will change, but i currently have no desire to stray from this blog's purpose.

sorry for the long response! i hope this doesn't come off as a rant or anything, the main reason i'm posting this publicly is in case other people have similar questions/requests in the future. i appreciate you asking!

[rengo-katze]

(A/N: Oh, look. Another post about how obsessed I am with this crackTP of mine. This takes place after the series ends and the LOV disbands [hopefully without anyone dying lmao] and Toga interacts with Bakugou long enough to encourage her to do a 180° redemption: to train as a hero in UA.)

✨ BakuToga / KatsuHimi headcanons that will rewrite your current perception of them ✨

+ Most stories would make Himiko the dom while Katsuki's her sub (bc yandere, that's all lol) but in reality, she's a totally shameless sub who wants someone really brave enough to pin her down (enter Katsuki 👀).

+ It was Katsuki who crushed on Himiko first; through their few "coincidental" meetings on the streets and at how she always made his blood boil at the sight of her. It was when she accidentally saved him from a minor fall that his interest in her solidified into something akin to infatuation (tho Himiko at that time was purely curious of the blonde; his confession to her later opening her mind to other opportunities in their peculiar relationship).

+ Himiko is both academically and athletically smart. It surprised a lot of 1-A to have her effortlessly ace her studies; but since she was required to catch up to them (with a ton of pre-requisite classes tailing her every end of school hours), she still found her adjustment to UA difficult.

+ After being his girlfriend, Katsuki never-ever physically abused Himiko. But he's still learning to tone down the verbal abuse.

+ And with that, Himiko also never-ever tolerates any of his toxic habits if they're geared towards her. She reprimands him, tho in an obnoxiously teasing and challenging way, similar to, "Aww, Kacchan, you really wanna die alone so bad that you'd scream at your beloved girl?"

+ Both are noisy but very bad at communicating. 🤧

+ Both were virgins but acted as if they weren't during their first time with each other. 👀 Needless to say, they quit the powerplay mid-way and got comfy with their sub-dom dynamic.

+ Himiko now "formally" asks for blood from everyone.

+ Himiko is a real good cook. Katsuki was also surprised and challenged by this. Since the time Himiko learned that he loved spicy food, she often tries experimenting on new dishes in the dorm's kitchen, which led to plenty of food that only the two of them could eat (since the spiciness level was over the roof by then--).

+ Katsuki expresses by actions, while Himiko could do both actions and words. One time, she got a little moody and asked Katsuki to try to learn to be more vocal and appreciative of her (through praises), and that why was it so easy for him to praise himself but not others? They had a blown up argument (pun intended) bc of this and 1-A was unable to apeace them the whole day. But as the night grew late, Katsuki decided to lower his pride and visit Himiko's room, instantly hugging the blonde girl when she opened the door, murmuring into her shoulder, "Look, Himi. I'm sorry. I'll try my best to learn. I'm really shitty with my words so be patient with me." And that was all it took for Himi to jump up and down while hugging him and flashing him a huge grin.

+ Katsuki takes Himiko to mountain hikes and climbs during free weekends, and since this was new to the city girl that Himiko was, she kinda found it a hassle at first (the backpacking, logistics, preparations and all that). But as she was really excited with nature, and also being able to accompany Katsuki in his favorite hobby, she tried her best to keep up. Eventually, she learned survival skills in the woods as well.

+ Both of them are adrenaline junkies but in a deep and information-seeking way. All the possibilities of things going wrong excited them like for example: bungee jumping. Before they tried it, the pair discussed the most morbid death that could "accidentally" occur. Their talk certainly made the line to the jump a lot shorter than normal with the people in front of them backing out.

+ They're both fans of horror, psychological, sci-fi, and fantasy movies. One would think they'd just like the blockbuster action movies that reflect how they act during hero training and all. But no, the mental stimulation of their favorite genres is their top priority.

+ Himiko has a hard time with Katsuki's want of being in control all of the time.

+ Katsuki has a hard time with Himiko's on-the-fly whims and inconsistencies.

+ Both are extremely loyal to each other, though. And they're still trying to argue less and less up to this day lmao.

+ As they grew up and became adults, they have been best-couple-friends with Izuku and Ochaco; a couple that up to this day has been learning to adjust on how scary the two blondes are and how to react to their eccentricities as heroes. Himiko, being super-duper extroverted and all, pushed to be closer to Ochaco and it worked actually, while Katsuki and Izuku just happened to gravitate towards each other since they were childhood friends and all. Katsuki has to remind Ochaco to "not give his wife any shitty advices and bouts of 'standards' that seemed normal to the fucking nerd and you, 'cause we ain't listening to that shit and this ain't couple's therapy," to which Ochaco has to remind him back that "Himiko is her own person and time off from you isn't gonna hurt your future with her; it's just something she deserves *in a bare whisper* because of how much of an ass you can be sometimes." And that prompts a fight that only Izuku can mediate.

[thecrackshiplollipop]

tagged by @phoolhearty

1. are you named after anyone? yes! both of my grandmothers. although my mom likes to joke that my dad's lucky his mom had the name she already picked out for me, because it was going to be my first name one way or another. she's a virgo, she plans well.

2. when was the last time you cried? according to my cry tracker....last night. we watched the latest ted lasso. i think i've cried at 8 out of 10 episodes of the latest season.

3. do you have kids? i was once a step-parent, but not anymore. and i don't plan on having any.

4. do you use sarcasm a lot? often! i actually remember learning how to use it as a kid and i became insufferable because of it.

5. what’s the first thing you notice about people? it depends. if i'm immediately close to someone, i notice their smell, if they're wearing perfume, if their skin/hair products have a specific fragrance. but if i meet someone with distance or online, speech patterns/speaking behaviours (do they talk with their hands? move their body/facial features a lot?).

6. what’s your eye color? green

7. scary movies or happy endings? why not both? i love a HEA, but i also enjoy the thrill of a scary movie. also, scary movies that have a nice, tidy happy ending are nice. a reminder that you can survive The Horrors.

8. any special talents? i'm very good at learning and retaining a wide and varied trove of knowledge, and i'm also very good at finding information i don't already have quickly and easily when a question is posed.

9. where were you born? central texas~

10. what are your hobbies? writing (currently finishing a book); computer games (valorant, fortnite, sims 4, loads of sons of the forest lately); watching valorant pro games with my wife (currently watching VCT americas); photography (expanding into film rn!); kpop girl groups (more of a special interest at this point)

11. have you any pets? what a fun way to ask this question. yes, i have two dogs, a beagle and a beapitt (beagle-pitt mix). i really want a cat, but we have some logistic concerns to resolve before we can do that :C

12. what sport do you play/have played? i played tennis and golf, i also technically did shotput and discus but like i was bad at those, even though that was the only time i was on an official school team.

13. how tall are you? 5'4" baybee

14. favorite subject in school? at the time i was in school, it was a toss up between english and french. in hindsight, i definitely got the most enjoyment out of creative writing, science, and orchestra, but i was really bought into the image of being literary and scholarly, even though i actively hated writing essays and struggled to finish the books in time for discussions.

15. dream job? ehhh like leah said, i don't dream of labour. i have had a really hard time figuring out what i want to do with my life, to the point where i keep stalling out on whether or not i want to get a degree because i don't know what i would even go to school for. i'm just certain i want to publish my book, so. published author would be nice.

tagging @sarah-crewe @punk-aziraphale

[thornescratch]

Desert Solitaire for the ask/fic meme, because I don't know SW but I love Edward Abbey :)

Sorry I'm so slow with this, I currently only have the time/mental bandwidth to answer one or two a day and I didn't want to flood anyone's TL with my dumbass fic answers. I suspect by the time I finish writing that, the title will no longer fit, but I do love me some Edward Abbey also. ANYWAY.

That's a story I started on the Bobadinluke discord server for one of the weekly prompts (blue milk? I think. It gets mentioned like once and then it's all about an Luke as a desperate baby gay who wants to climb Cobb like a tree, and who could blame him. And then, the inevitable meetup ten or so years down the road when Luke's had his glow-up and is also possibly sleeping with the dude who helped Cobb blow up a krayt dragon) and then, as per usual, it grew into something longer. Mainly because I think there's a disappointing lack of CobbLuke and DinLukeCobb in general in the world. We must fill voids where we can.

There's not really a ton of plot to it; it's mainly an excuse for figuring out fucking logistics in a threesome where one person can't take off their helmet and make heavy handed desert metaphors.

Cobb considers himself a simple man: he's found most problems can be solved by shooting or fucking, and since shooting is definitely off the table in this situation, Cobb promptly switches right over to fucking. Or the prelude to fucking, anyway. There are rules in the desert. Hospitality comes first, no matter what.

He does most of his talking and business as Marshal in the cantina; personal affairs deserve a more private setting. Cobb rarely has enough company in his home to warrant owning more than two chairs, let alone having three of them in his small living area, but he gives the couch to his guests, and drags one of the kitchen chairs in to sit across from them, planting the spotchka bottle on the small table between them.

Skywalker—Luke—sits next to him, hands folded almost primly in his lap. Out of the cloak, he's slighter than the impression he gives off. Maybe an inch or so taller than the last time Cobb had him pressed up against an alley wall behind a cantina, but not much more. Cobb remembers his hair being lighter and longer, bleached by Tatooine sunlight instead of the darker gold it shades to now. Like sand dunes in the evening, instead of high morning. There are a few faint scars scattered on his face—a mark below the right corner of his lip, a small diagonal scar on his right cheek, and another on his chin, but it's still a youthful face that probably still prompts age checks at cantinas more often than it doesn't.

His eyes, though. That's where the years are hiding. They're the same startling blue as Cobb remembers, and only a few lines at the corners, but they're nowhere near as naïve and unexperienced as before. They follow every move Cobb makes, but the jumpiness is gone. He's almost as still as Mando; despite their physical differences, they make for an interesting matched pair.

Speaking of whom.

Mando hasn't said too much since the unexpected reunion, despite the fact Cobb had had the distinct impression it was his business that brought him back here to Mos Pelgo. He does tilt his head slightly at the bottle, and then back at Cobb.

"Weequay sent a straw for you, Mando. No excuses this time," Cobb says, and cracks open the bottle to pour.

Mando makes a non-committal noise. "I have things to discuss with you," he says.

"Hospitality first," Cobb says, and tips the last of the spotchka into the third glass before plunking the straw in it with aplomb. "And there we go. Spotchka follows the rule of three, and here we are, three of us. Must be fate."

"How's that work," Mando says flatly.

"Well," Cobb says, "To start, there's about three full glasses of spotchka per bottle, and one glass'll do you just fine in terms of feeling good. You got four people, well, then you might not get drunk enough. And with two people, you might get too drunk."

He picks up the glass with a straw in his right hand and another glass in his left, proffering them to Mando and Luke respectively. When Luke takes his, their fingertips touch, and Cobb smiles at him. Luke's gaze flicks up to meet his for a heartbeat before dropping down again, looking at his glass while one corner of his mouth curls up.

Mando doesn't take his yet. "I don't remember any rule of three the first time you offered me spotchka," he says.

"Of course not." Cobb says. "You walked into the cantina looking all fit and ready to kill. I figured I'd try to get you drinking so if it came to a fight, I'd have an advantage. That's just being sensible, Mando."

Next to him, Luke makes a quiet huff of laughter but he's still looking down. Mando tilts his head incrementally again, but eventually he reaches out and takes the glass. Cobb sits down and picks up his own glass.

"And anyway. Three people makes for more interesting conversations all around, and with a third person, you got someone who can tiebreak or peace-make if you get into an argument," Cobb says. He raises the glass and takes a sip, licks his lips and raises one brow. "Or do other things."

"I'll bet," Mando says, voice dryer than the Dune Sea.

[uncloseted]

I want to start therapy but I am so so nervous. I found an office near me and I just have to call and basically try to schedule when I can come in but I'm so nervous to go see them and call. I don't even know why I'm scared, Im just scared of messing it up, I don't have anyone to help me figure it out besides google.

I'm happy to help! This is what I'm here for.

If calling the therapist's office feels intimidating, check to see if they have a website or a profile on PsychologyToday. A lot of times, you can contact a therapist through email, which might take away some of the stress you're feeling now.

If that's an option, you can say something like:

"Hi! I'm interested in starting therapy. I was curious if you're currently taking on new clients and what your availability is. I'm interested in starting therapy because I'm struggling with [anxiety, and it's impacting my life/a traumatic event that I experienced/relationship issues]. Could we set up a phone consultation to discuss more in-depth?

I was also wondering if you take [xyz insurance]/if I pay out-of-pocket, how much do you charge for a single session? I can be reached at [phone number] and [email address]. Thank you!"

If they don't have an email address listed, script out what you're planning on saying on the phone, similar to what you would have said in an email. It's likely that you'll have to leave a message, since therapists are in sessions for most of the day and don't always have assistants. If you do connect with a person when you call, they'll be able to walk you through how to schedule an appointment. Remember, they talk to people who are nervous about starting therapy all day long! They'll know how to help you feel comfortable.

Typically when you call or email, the therapist or office will have you schedule a 10-15 minute phone consultation. This consultation isn't a therapy session. Instead, it's an opportunity for you and the therapist to get to know each other and see if you might be a good fit. Generally, the therapist will also you some questions to get a better understanding of what your concerns and needs are. They'll also give you some information about their therapeutic approach and discuss logistical details with you, such as appointment times or payment. This is also your chance to ask the therapist any questions that you have. These might be questions like, "what is a typical session with you like?" or "how should I prepare for my initial session?" At the end of the consultation, if you feel like the therapist is a good fit for you, you can schedule your first therapy appointment with them.

The most important thing to remember here is that you can't mess it up. Therapists are here to help, and they'll do whatever they can to make you feel comfortable and safe. They've seen lots of people who are struggling, and nothing you can say or do will surprise them. Starting therapy can definitely feel scary, but it's usually not as scary as people are imagining before they start.

[heleizition]

yes hi hon im back, logistics ARE the fucking worst. if ur looking to send ur prints off urself u can maybe check out shops that offer printing locally that you can print a small batch to offer from first and then get bigger orders and maybe a deal going when you're able to properly evaluate the demand? could also easily try the same with online printing shops probably. also fucking. annoying but tru that fanart gets around easier than ocs which is just fucking. bullshit dont know words fuck shi

shit okay. dont know how to help with that am struggling with getting art around without doing fanart myself. tho u can deffo sell prints of ur already existing art, especially with there already being ppl wanting that! otherwise pride art also gets around a lot??? but with ur art being available as prints there would probably be more ppl coming in and maybe that can expand that way? or offer non fanart along with fanart from the getgo and then just expand that part over time? art great love bye

im not sure if i ask a local printer it'd be cheaper for me ! rn i'm unemployed n everything so im a bit tight and id need to use an online printing shop. ive used vistaprint a few times, i'm usually satisfied so if i went that way, id probably use that website until i can afford a local printer.

while it pains me that ocs art is much harder to promote and get exposure for, i get why, but thats another discussion sefojefsoj. it's a known thing that to be popular you usually have to start with fanarts until you're relevant enough for people to like and want to know more or see you ocs...

pride stuff could be done but it just feels very performative ... like no offense to anyone who does pride stuff but it just feels. yeah . i don't know. at least to me if i were to do it !! i don't know...

anyway i will think about it More. sometimes. maybe. maybe i'll do like a google form of people interested or people who want to order and what and i'll get what i need then !

[mixelation]

Would it be possible to genetically code a baby to be identical to an irl person? Like in vitro gene fuckery to make a not-clone.

I am not 100% sure what this is asking, because to me "genetically code a baby to be identical to an irl person" implies.... a clone. Like, being 100% genetically identical to someone is a clone by definition.

Short answer for "real life science": cloning technology has come a long way since Dolly the sheep and genetic engineering in general is treated as an INCREDIBLY casual act by scientists working with model organisms, but genetic engineering of human genomes has a lot fo red tape around it and therefore a long way to go logistically. See: the CRISPR baby scandal (I'm not actually up to date on this, but thank you for the reminder that I want to be). This might be biased by my personal interests, but most of the chatter I've heard about full-organism cloning is related to conservation-- for example this cloned black-footed ferret.

My personal opinion on the direction of human cloning (based on observation of Western politics, interactions with biomedical research that's more on the "petri dish" side, and discussions with students of bioethics) is that I highly doubt we'll ever get to the point of making full-on clones (at least within the lives of anyone on tumblr), less due to technological restrictions, and more because of ethical complications. I do see a future where a person is able to order "clones" of specific types of tissues or even full organs for medical purposes. But I also want to emphasize that most of the basis on my opinion on this specific topic isn't, like, worth much more weight than the average reasonably informed person.

For more "wild fictional science" takes....

Yeah, I think fiction with even a vaguely near-future setting could have human cloning. Note than human cloning has this really annoying thing going on where the patterns of gene expression during development are like.... really wild. For example: genetic imprinting is an ongoing "problem." So I think near-future "steal person's hair, churn out clone" is probably out, but "I commissioned a clone of myself, donating whatever cells the lab needed" is in.

If you mean "could I gene edit my own embryo to look like Justin Bieber and musically talented, even if it's not a real genetic clone of him," then. Hmm. I think our understanding of the human genotype-to-phenotype pipeline is good enough that you could give your local mad scientist a list of traits and they'd be able to go, "okay, I will put in blonde hair here..." Buuuuut here are the problems I would anticipate (besides being thrown in jail if caught):

Doing more than one gene edit at a time results in like. Problems? Idk, my ex-lab did some CRIPSR and we were phenomenally bad at it (and also, I never designed anything myself, just injected CRISPR juices; please do not ask follow up questions LMAO). It was a lot of "try on like thirty embryos, let them get to adulthood and only five survive because we jammed a needle full of chemicals into a single-cell embryo, oh fuck it only worked in one," which is both ethically and logistically iffy with humans. So I think with current technology, this would be. Stupidly risky to try the hundreds of edits you'd need for a Bieber clone. But I can see minor gene editing and screening of human embryos as a vaguely near-future advancement. TBH I think "full genetic clone of Justin Bieber" is probably easier than "tweak someone else's genome until they look like him."

I don't think our understanding of genotype --> phenotype is like.... as nuanced as people pretend it is. I think you could reasonably predict some things, but I don't think you'd get a lot of.... idk, detail? From our current understanding of genetics, and for humans specifically, I think some traits are so complex in terms of the interaction between environment, genetics, epigenetics, culture, and just, like, personality, that you wouldn't even replicate all of them with a perfect genetic clone.

But also, if this is a wild scifi fake scenario.... sure? I think environmental factors would prevent you from getting an exact clone, but you could get something...... close.

[eyeballtank]

Main links post (WIP)

Will edit it later.

NewGrounds: https://eyeballtank.newgrounds.com/ Itch io: https://eyeballtank.itch.io/ Pixiv: https://www.pixiv.net/en/users/77420289 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_X_mTUAr3SPIC3To-lwA_w/videos Tellonym: https://tellonym.me/eyeballtank Retrospring: https://retrospring.net/eyeballtank Codepen: https://codepen.io/EyeBallTank/projects/ Discord: EyeBallTank#5681 GitHub: https://github.com/EyeBallTank Neocities: https://eyeballtank.neocities.org/

TAGS:

Essential: Important stuff https://eyeballtank.tumblr.com/tagged/essential

OC: https://eyeballtank.tumblr.com/tagged/oc

Art: https://eyeballtank.tumblr.com/tagged/art

Gamedev: https://eyeballtank.tumblr.com/tagged/gamedev

Update:

Reblogs of other people's works and interesting stuff: https://eyeballtank.tumblr.com/tagged/reblog

Rants, opinions, random talk etc: https://eyeballtank.tumblr.com/tagged/blog and this shit https://rentry.co/4i85w

And also this https://rentry.co/icvzk

Third: https://rentry.co/pbnbk

ABOUT RANTS:

Because i used to have a different handle and posted some opinions or “hot takes”, i thought of reposting some stuff on this blog.

But only so i don’t have to say them again and if someone asks, they could just look back into old posts so i don’t have to repeat stuff.

Whether i change my mind on certain topics, if i’m wrong/hypocritical/lacking/etc about them or even if they affect my works may be irrelevant.

Because i’ve been thinking of putting them in a specific corner for anyone that dare to look into stuff, while also not being annoying over it.

Because i want to primarly focus on actually making stuff that some people will like and don’t want to get into stupid fights or cause controversies that don’t need to happen.

(Or at least waste my time on better stuff like practice or having fun).

One thing is seperating art from the artist, another is seperating parts of an artist because humans are supposed to be complex creature.

Besides, even if some opinions of mine aren’t agreeable, they’re not horrible fucked up shit either.

And even if someone likes what i have to say or agrees with it, i still want to put my time on better stuff (Without having to regret opinions that aren't even bad to begin with).

And this sounds cliche but i really hope i don't get "cancelled" over shit i said because none of this is a crime or even horribly offensive.

At worst, it's me revealing that i may have been "too online" at some points but i drew a line at least and want to keep my word.

Also, i'm autistic and ESL, so i may have flaws with how i articulate myself; So take what i say with a grain of salt.

I also spent a good while on some topics because of self reflection or at least trying to see other prespectives and the "logistics/anatomy" of discussion.

I can also see someone go "i see where you're getting at but" and expand on the shit i way, because i know someone will say some stuff better but i also don't trust Youtube commentary guys.

At least i don't mind if an opinion is "stolen" because you know... i have ACTUAL content to make.

AND ALSO: If i do say something from this long post and outside of it (Like in a Tumblr or Newgrounds post), it might be about a topic like certain art styles or media, not drama or politics related shit that's contained in that link to begin with.

[winterrseason]

what do i call this au. caraDOS au??? conscience!au???? idk. vote now. i'm also going to revamp it a little. i was originally using this GLaDOS design for a silly fanfic i thought of on a whim but now i wanna develop it into something bigger ig??? so. might scrap those two and a half chapters i wrote and start over. anyway. here's a little explanation about GLaDOS' design here: * GLaDOS and Caroline's bodies are interchangeable. Rather than uploading Caroline's conscience into another body, they instead uploaded GLaDOS to Caroline. In the process, Caroline herself died, now replaced with an AI who cannot recall her original identity. Thus the phrase, 'GLaDOS is Caroline, but Caroline isn't GLaDOS.' Meaning, GLaDOS, at her core (pun intended) IS Caroline in terms of her conscience and even elements of her personality, she shares her brain and, somewhere, even her memories. However, she is different from Caroline in that her personality is constantly modified by personality cores, as well as the fact that GLaDOS isn't consciously aware of her origins. As for physical logistics, GLaDOS' body operates through her organs being powered by technology. Her brain, heart, nervous system and lungs are all powered through electricity, the main source being her mainframe of which she is often attached to (never willingly leaves it, more like). It IS possible for her to stay alive without it, but her body more or less goes on 'battery saver mode', so she cannot move, only communicate through voice. Which begs the question of how Chell killed her in the first place; well, ironically enough, if GLaDOS had disconnected herself from her mainframe, she would have likely survived their first confrontation (not that she'd be able to do much with herself) but since she was attached to a corrupted body, her actual body too became corrupt and shut down.

GLaDOS is also unable to fully delete Caroline. At the end of the events of Portal 2, she does trick Chell into thinking Caroline is gone, however it's not entirely true or even possible. GLaDOS' brain is Caroline. It's the base of her whole structure that she's built on. She can delete certain aspects of Caroline, such as memories, or aspirations that no longer apply to her, but she will never be able to separate herself from her true origins as a human, and that terrifies her.

*

there are loads of other aspects of this au i'd like to explore, so if you're interesting in hearing more then do tell me what you'd like me to discuss next !!! i plan on explaining cores at some point, if anyone wants to hear abt that

[timemachineyeah]

One of the things that's interesting about UFO/Alien conspiracy theorists

(sorry, I'm just gonna keep talking about this stuff)

is they way they treat the supposed reliability of media and the government.

I mean, I know "You can't trust them (unless they agree with me, in which case it's the most incontrovertible proof)" is basically universal among, like, any fringe belief - or really any deeply held belief at all, but like-

Okay, so everyone's getting all excited because there's going to be an official report from the Pentagon on UAP (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, which while more accurate than UFO technically as terminology goes, is, let's be honest, a rebranding to try to make the discussion more serious and seem less silly given the pop culture association with UFO) that is set to release June 1.

The conspiracy theorists are stoked. A lot of them believe in "Disclosure" - the one single giant event that will launch us into a new age of officially and incontrovertibly not being Alone. And a lot of them are really thinking that this is gonna be it. The big one. The day they've been waiting for.

(Much of Disclosure is predicated on the belief in a long-running coordinated coverup, which is the biggest reason there's almost certainly no such thing. Because anyone who believes in massive coordinated coverups spanning nations and decades has never worked in logistics.)

And it's like. I don't know. I don't know how to explain myself well, but.

Unless the evidence is really, really good, like. Even if the intelligence community says "It is our belief that there is intelligent life out there, that it has come to Earth, that They are among us, that these phenomena represent advanced technology from an unknown civilization outside our own" - like, that'd be a pretty big news story, for sure, but it wouldn't actually

make it

true.

Like just because you have a government job, that doesn't make you immune to getting excited, to getting fixated, to being mistaken, to being a conspiracy theorist yourself or becoming one.

Like our former President continued to espouse belief in a Deep State or Secret Government while he was president. Like??? QAnons have been elected to congress. Lincoln's wife held seances, the Kennedy's consulted psychics. Like.

And we all know the military has a history of having more fancy than sense sometimes. Like, at this point the research that went into making a "gay bomb" that would contain a powerful aphrodisiac rendering the opposing side powerless in the face of their lust is infamous, but, uh, that's also a thing our government attempted in some seriousness. In 1994. So like, don't mind me if I don't take the Pentagon at "we believe it's aliens" without, like, more looking into it. The intelligence community also swore there were nuclear weapons in Iraq. Like. They, uh, sometimes just decide to find evidence for what they want to be true.

But I know the conspiracy theorists would absolutely take them at their word. They're all "Don't trust the media, they lie! Don't trust the government, they're part of the coverup!" right until they say what you want to hear, and then you give them your heart and soul and complete faith, apparently.

And I want there to be aliens!!! So bad!!! I want aliens!!! I would fucking LOSE IT with glee if, on June 1, the Pentagon was like "Yeah, there's aliens, and here's some of their recovered tech. Here's a message. Here's coordinates."

Like, it would be the only thing I would talk about for the rest of my life. It would be - can you imagine???? SO COOL. Amazing. Incredible. It makes me want to cry and my heart race just to think about it.

But, like, while obviously I would give more credence to a military scientist, or better, multiple scientists, saying they'd come to the conclusion this was the most likely explanation of UAP than I give to Fred with his Yarn Wall in the basement, without evidence it's still not proven fact. That's just a hypothesis with a state endorsement. The people in government are factually wrong, like, all the time.