#im not sure why this pattern exists but it does

[mildlyinterestedcreature]

the male/female friendships i have obsessed over

i love how unexpected this friendship was for them, i love how if you told themselves from 2/3 years prior they'd be best friends they would have thought you were crazy. i love the bathroom scene and how they laughed with each other.

i love their "a thousand pushups" thing, i love the donut hole thing, i love how they've been best friends for years and she's still so mysterious to him, i love Jake and Rosa's First Impressions, i love the Show Me Going episode.

i love that they've known each other since they were kids and i love how that's based off of the actors, i love that she was his origin story, i love the Dope Denim Crew, I love that they're goofy together, i love that their friendship is little boy holding little girl's hand, I love all the stories about when they were kids.

I love that she hugged him, i love that she put her cape over him when he fell asleep, i love that he ghostified a dude because he threatened her, i love so many more things that i've forgotten because it's been a while since i read HOO

i love that they were friends before jason came into the picture, even if they didn't know it, i love that she jumped into the water when he came back, again i probably love so many more things that i've forgotten.

i love that we know their origin story even if we didn't see it, i love that his kids called her "auntie nat", i love that they named their last kid after her, i love "Tell my family I love them" "Tell them yourself", i love how thinking about them makes me want to cry, i love how she talked about yelena so much he knows their whistle, i love that she gave him hope and his hopes were fulfilled, i love how broken he looks at "Clint, where's Nat?", I love the tic tac toe games when they hid out for three days

there's not a lot of canon content for them but still <3333333333333

i love that they're siblings, i love that she jumped into the pool to hug him, i love that he wore her skirt, i love the Twistin The Night Away scene, i love that he joined her hug with Viktor, I love that they're 3 and 4, i love that he's wearing her feather boa in the season 1 promo pics, i love that he held her after they got the tattoos

[kyrakyrakitty]

madoka magica walpurgisnacht rising half-baked theories below cut!!

i was just thinking, and idk if this means anything, but id like to draw your attention to homuras doppel in magireco (coolmura, not moemura)

her description reads: "The Doppel of Karma. It's form is the mortal world. The master of this emotion visits many worlds in search of an exit, spinning giant threads of fate. Fourteen incomplete bodies born from emotion trail behind the master's body, which has almost completely transformed into glass. In order to achieve their mission, these 14 bodies work methodically and tirelessly to remove obstacles. Regardless of their master's will, they weave the threads of fate, which become tangled in ever more complex patterns, driving her yet further into a maze, the exit of which can hardly be found. These bodies of emotion have no names."

fourteen "bodies of emotion" taking the form of homura that act of their own accord to entrap their master? if we take magireco as canon (i like to pretend its completely separate and have strong opinions about why it shouldn't be canon LOL but thats not important), then these definitely seem like incomplete versions of the clara dolls. it might just be an allusion to them, but it could be taken to imply that their initial forms are various homuras - that they don't take on the form of clara dolls as we know them until homulily is realized.

if we run with this idea, then does that say anything about homuras existence as it pertains to the witch system? maybe that she's still destined to become a witch, but has yet to fully mature? from there, can we also further back up the claim that homura will become walpurgisnacht? homulily's power was constrained by her existence within a soul gem, but between losing that constraint and inevitably gaining karma from pulling part of god away, surely homura could become an even more powerful witch, right?

side note with regards to the 15th clara doll, ai, who is said to have "not arrived yet" - i was thinking about what homura says to kyubey as she becomes a demon: that he could never hope to understand her new power because said power is love (ai). maybe she's suggesting (either intentionally or inadvertently) that the final clara doll herself is responsible for this new world order. and since love is an emotion she shares with madoka, maybe instead of taking homuras form, ai takes inspiration from both homura and madoka - the two sources of her emotion. i think that would make sense alongside both the theory that the mystery trailer girlie is (a) ai, and (b) a mix of both homura and madoka. ai is the one emotion that is intrinsically tied to madoka; her existence would be impossible without both homura and madoka.

im kinda just rambling here, but it'd be super neat if this gave anyone any ideas to share!! id love to hear your thoughts!! ♡ i hope you find reason to smile today!!

[petruchio]

hope this isn't a weird and irrelevant reply to your personal post but honestly i really get what you mean. tbh i've been there too. i get how being in a place where you're confident in some aspects of yourself and doing enviable (?) things can be pretty isolating, especially if you're (perceived as) a woman, you feel like you're good at [insert some skills that matter to you], and you generally like the way you look. it can feel like you lack empathy because you don't share some of the insecurities that people around you experience and bond over (though you may be struggling with something different that they don't get), it can feel like you can't tell if you're a good friend or not because others talk about you in terms of what you've accomplished or what you have rather than who you are as a person, it can feel like your positive emotions aren't real because they're atypical and viewed as "unrelatable" idk. i feel like loving yourself and believing in your abilities is a net good but not a substitute for being around people who actually relate to your experiences. for me it's essentially feeling likable but not understandable (or understood), and ime it's something that isn't "solved" by having a lot of friends. it makes sense if you feel like that's not enough. not sure if any of this is actually similar to what you're going through, but i hope you get the chance to be around people who Get It, and i hope you feel less alone soon. you seem like a genuinely kind person on top of being great at writing/analysis -- i love the way you write about the things you're excited about. wishing you all the best <3

it's not weird or irrelevant AT ALL! it honestly always does make me feel better when i come on here and speak about something i'm struggling with and other people say, hey, yeah, me too. especially when the thing i'm complaining about is feeling alone, it's comforting to know that other people feel the same way. like, we're all lonely together, which makes us less alone in our loneliness.

and yeah i think you're right -- confidence is one of those weird things where the more you work on it, the more difficult it can become to relate to other people. people are always telling me i'm so confident and asking my advice on things and i'm always like... idk how to tell you to just stop caring what people are thinking. i mean, obviously i do care what people think of me, but maybe the problem is that because i'm my own worst critic, i can't imagine anyone hating me more than i already hate myself, which paradoxically means that i assume everyone loves me? or maybe it's because i can't imagine anyone genuinely giving a shit about what i do, so it's easy to just do whatever i want. because it's not that i don't care what people think, but just that i pretty much assume they aren't thinking about me, so why would i bother trying to impress them? (like some of my friends will describe in detail the logic behind their instagram story posts. and i'm just like... do you really think other people are noticing this? do you really think people care that much what you, some random person, is posting? it's kind of crazy to spend so much time thinking about yourself through the lens other people. just post if you think it's funny, or don't. nobody is actually thinking that much about you.)

but to your point, i feel like that is kind of where a lot of the loneliness comes from. because people describe certain insecurities or thought patterns that they have, and i'm just like yeah i truly cannot relate to that, or yeah, i would never do that. and when i do express things i'm struggling with, people act so shocked and never offer any kind of support because they're like "but your life is so perfect!" (which is INSANE! nobody has a perfect life! and i know it sounds like the most obnoxious problem ever, like oh my life is so great that nobody believes me when i say i'm still inexplicably sad, but it is a really isolating and lonely existence!!) and then i guess it kind of becomes a cycle where people say or do certain things, i don't relate to them at all, and then i wonder why i'm still struggling so much even though i'm honestly doing fine, and then i feel guilty for even struggling or feeling down because i don't really know what else i can do to get better, since again, i'm objectively doing fine.

i get what you mean about feeling likable but not understandable. recently i was on a second or third date with someone, and i had this weird out of body experience where it was like, i could see myself doing everything right -- i could see that he was totally into me and that i was saying all the right things and laughing at the right times and making the right jokes, but i didn't feel like a person? i knew i could make him like me, and that it wouldn't even be that hard, but i knew he would never actually know me, not even if we kept dating for years. he would always have just "liked" me, like you said. it was a really weird and uncomfortable feeling. i came home and wrote in my journal "sometimes i feel like i'm so good at pretending to be a person that i don't feel like i'm actually a person at all"

SORRY for these long rambling answers. i guess i'm feeling some type of way about my inability to function normally lately. being 24 is just weird i guess. it's uncomfortable and awkward and frustrating, and so much of it feels like this sense of cognitive dissonance between being really good at acting like an adult but still feeling like you just want to scream and cry and throw things like a toddler but you know you can't. i guess someday it will all make sense. or maybe it won't. but i'll keep writing about it either way <333

[thewertsearch]

You are always up to your nook in the newest and hottest games. It is hard to walk around the place without squishing them. Whenever that happens you are screwed, and you have to grow a new one from scratch. Or just pirate it you guess.

See, here’s the thing. I know the idea of ‘pirating’ a grub is probably just a throwaway line, but the implications here are killing me.

Like, ok, a game is stored on a grub, which is an ambiguously living thing. These creatures serve as biological storage, which you have to grow yourself. Presumably this at least saves on cost, since you can cultivate these grubs in your own home.

But apparently if you pirate a grub, you don’t have to grow it. How the hell does that work? Is he physically ordering these illegal, black-market game grubs to his house, or is he loading a pirated copy of the game onto an already existing grub? Why does he need to pirate the game again, then, can’t he just load it from a backup? Why grubs, Alternia?

Ahem.

GC: OBVIOUSLY YOU WERE GOING TO SET UP RED AND BLUE TEAMS COME ON TA: you dont know what im going two do, stop being as though you can read my mind. TA: its not a power you have, your strengths are being blind and tricking people about stuff.

Terezi essentially does read minds, but it’s not a power - she does it the hard way, with actual logic and intuition.

That, or she’s got some Seer of Mind magic working to her advantage - but I like the former explanation better. I love superpowers, but you have to give your characters actual skills, too, or they’re just a vessel for your worldbuilding.

GC: HOW EXACTLY ARE WE SAVING THE WORLD? TA: i dont know yet. TA: i just know what ive seen in my visions. TA: that the world will end and our whole race dies and this is how we save it.

So, which untrustworthy well of knowledge is our latest oracle drawing from?

The Horrorterrors generally dispense whispers, but there’s no reason they couldn’t also show him images. We don’t know what they’re capable of.

As I mentioned before, Sollux could be awake on Prospit. This is just the kind of ‘technically true but misleading’ stunt that those clouds would pull. 

He could be getting information from the ‘imminently deceased’ - aka, one or more of the millions of Alternians who are about to die by meteors. He could even be tapping the other Players for information, because, as he points out in a second, they’re all going to die, too.  

Whatever’s leading him, I don’t think he’s being quite as badly misled as I thought. Sollux is fully aware that the world is ending today, but he seems to be under the impression that Sburb can prevent or mitigate this somehow. 

In principle, he’s correct, in that it can save twelve of them, but it can’t save their entire race. Like - technically, yes, they could probably Paradox Clone the troll race back from the brink with Veil tech, but I really don’t think that’s sustainable. They don’t have a planet any more, for starters. 

No, Sollux is obviously missing a ton of context here. If he knew what was actually happening, he wouldn’t be facilitating it. 

TA: i am going two die. TA: i mean we all are. TA: but especially me. TA: i am going two get my ass served two me twofold.

I mean, he’s not wrong.

All the trolls are going to die, but all of them - save one - will survive, as well. It sounds like only Sollux will die for real.

He was alright when he was helping Terezi and GA out, so he was either resurrected, or his second death isn’t until much later. 

TA: but before i die, im going two go blind like you. TA: it has two happen like that. TA: im not sure why, but i think its like... TA: fulfilling some requirement for a true prophet of doom.

If Sollux isn’t a Space Player, by the way, I think he’s a Doom Player. The guy’s all about doom, which seems to hang over him like a dark cloud.

Prophet doesn’t match the single-syllable pattern of all the Classes we’ve seen, and the otherwise obvious Seer is already taken by the Mind Player. Like I said, it’s be a little too messy if Titles could double up like that, so I think he’s something else. 

TA: in order for the visions two be right, that has two happen, and the universe will make sure it will.

Poor Sollux. Knowing about the predestination doesn't make things much easier, does it? It doesn’t stop you looking over your shoulder, it just means you know exactly what you’re looking for. 

[homophyte]

thank you for the long & thought out response. while i do fully agree with you on stances like prison abolition & the myth of the stranger pedophile scapegoat, my question and discomfort with jimmy’s actions comes not so much from a political/philosophical standpoint but from a very human emphatic one. i put myself in the shoes of the girl he groomed and abused and imagine people listening to and enjoying the music of my abuser and it makes me sick to my stomach. so thats more where my guilt and discomfort comes from. that said i can’t say that their music doesn’t have an impact or isn’t enjoyable. i also agree with you that this mass outrage and very public renunciation and demand for punishment is very much a social mechanism and automatic reaction that quite simplifies a complex situation. however these mechanisms exist for a certain evolutionary purpose after all (sorry my background is psychology) but thats sort of besides the point because im also not a fan of how these things get handled with zero nuance. 

its also true what you said that me or you or anyone deciding to disengage with this band or their music changes nothing in the grand scheme of things, so doing it as some sort of Noble Cause against abuse is useless. so in this case i feel it’s up to personal preference and whether or not i can swallow the cognitive dissonance and discomfort this information arises in me whenever i listen to their music from now on. 

thanks again for the insightful response, i’m glad we can have this sort of discussion because i also think this topic is extremely important but people often shy away from it because it’s so heavy. 

im glad you asked me to share! like i said ive spent a lot of time thinking abt this specifically so its very much like years worth of mishmash thoughts kinda strung together only by me experiencing them over time in succession lol. but i agree its important to talk about it especially within a culture so ensnared in the logic of the prison and particularly how effectively thats been exported into like 'mob justice' for lack of a better word.

re: the emotive aspect im not sure i have much to say other than like Yeah its a very strong one and i dont think its a bad thing at all to have. i got the impression from ur ask--and idk how true this is--that you were wrestling between a desire to return to the music bc you enjoyed it and that response preventing you and feeling a sort of obligation to do one over the other n struggling with that. so i think i approached it as like 'heres ways you can reason w that emotional response and grapple w it if its smth ur agonizing over' or something like that. im also a firm believer in the ways politics shapes the ways we think n feel so my instinct was to tease out some of the structures that may be shaping ur thought processes--which of course i nor anyone but you can fully know. but i dont get that same sense from how u describe it here and either way i think whatever feeling ur having about it is like...i dont want to say its 'valid' but ur allowed to have that and do whatever you want pretty much lol. i cant and am not going to force anyone to engage w the band and theres probably more reasons than i could think to list why its not for everyone even without the sordidness of abuse hanging over it.

without getting into a much much broader discussion i would gently push back on the idea of a biologically innate reason for the existence of carceral/punitive logics (and frankly psychology more broadly), if only bc it does a lot of the work of justifying them. keep in mind that these are concepts ideas and patterns of thought that exist because they serve systems of power and particularly the state. we did not have to have a society which created them, we only happen to--which is to say theyre not innate in this way and i disagree that they have an 'evolutionary' purpose bc it fails to properly historicize them. but thats me coming from an antipsych position lol

[agwic]

my opinions on post-canon homestuck

i see so many opinions on this mess. always. but especially now that it's back. and most of these opinions are bad. so here i am, to grace the world with my objectively correct take, which is that post-canon homestuck is bad exclusively because it does not include best spidertroll aranea serket.

PART 1: OVERALL OPINIONS

ok more seriously(but no less pretentiously and arrogantly, this is homestuck after all) i did in fact enjoy reading the epilogues and hs^2 and was sad to see it go. im unsure if i thought it was good, but i would rather it exist than not exist, and if that doesn't mean it was good, what does? I do think this new team will probably do a better job though. that doesn't mean im glad the old team got harassed off the project, obviously. ugh i dont know what crowd im pandering to with this. if i start with what i disliked about post-canon homestuck, it'll scare off the people who liked it, even though i think they're on the right side of this fandom conflict. but if i start with what i liked, it'll scare of the people who hated it, who make up a majority of the fandom, and also have quite a few good points. i guess ill just assume the crowd which was more charitable to post-canon homestuck will also be more charitable to me, and start with what i disliked.

PART 2: CANONICITY

is post-canon homestuck canon? the epilogues say that they're "outside canon" but not "non-canon". this is a shitty answer and anyone with the pattern recognition skills necessary to recognize a double negative can tell. i feel like the epilogues knew this was a shitty answer, but that doesn't mean i don't want a better answer. maybe we'll get a better answer, eventually. now, the correct answer is that post-canon homestuck is not canon, but still has a bearing on canon. because that's the only answer that doesn't cause several issues. like, if they're just fully non-canon, basically just fanfiction, then that would open up a gaping plot hole in homestuck, of "hey wait what about the masterpiece and lord english". some people think you can just ignore this fact, but i am not one of those people. on the other hand, if they're just fully canon

PART 2.5: THEY DESERVED A HAPPY ENDING

hey wasn't the intermission after act 3? do i need to rearrange this post to be a weird meta reference to the act structure of homestuck? the answer to one of those questions is yes and the other is no, but getting more into that is for another section. anyways yeah, the title kinda says it all. what was the point of homestuck if, after all that, they opened the door to the new universe, and shit just kept happening. this is also why you can't handwave that earlier plot hole with "oh they just went back to handle it at some point and died" because that doesn't sound like a happy ending to me. and if they don't get a happy ending after all that, then homestuck just becomes a neverending black hole of infinite cynicism, which i am not a fan of and would be horrible. and even if, after all of the post-canon bullshit, they get another happy ending, who's to say that happy ending won't be ruined for no good reason like their last one was? i mean other than the fact that they'll presumably be out of classpects by then. oh that's another reason this can't be wholly non-canon, we need those classpects. someone needs to explain to me what a sylph is and kanaya did a pretty shit job at it if im being honest, and im sure aranea would have had a good explanation but they fucking erased her from existence so.

PART 2.5.5: MY HEADCANONS! NO!

that's not how numbers work. but anyways, another reason declaring this as wholly canon would be shitty is that post-canon just kinda stomps over a lot of headcanons for little reason. trans girl roxy, for instance. also people who think jade doesn't have a dog dick exist and are quite loud but they're not me so they don't matter. let's talk about trans girl roxy. or not, since all there is to say on the matter is that roxy is a trans girl. i could go into why i have this headcanon but does it matter? does any of this matter? no not really. but im sure you have some headcanon which post-canon invalidates for no reason, so you can empathize with me here.

PART 3: VRISKA DID SEVERAL THINGS WRONG

alternate title: "kate mitchell did in fact have some bad takes". this could be folden into the previous sub-section but vriska's too important for that. actually fuck no, vriska isn't important at all. you know who is important? the answer is aranea in most scenarios, but in this case, the answer is tavros. when hussie glorified vriska and shat on tavros, it felt like a joke, like literally everything hussie ever did. when kate glorified vriska and shat on tavros, i got the impression she genuinely believed the shit she was spewing. now, did she deserve to be harassed for her horrible takes? obviously not, that would be something vriska would do, and thus hypocritical. especially the blatant lies, because wow i just googled "kate mitchell homestuck" and people are lying even more blatantly about her now that they were back when hs^2 was ongoing? anyways this section isn't about kate mitchell, it's about vriska, and by that i mean it's about tavros. speaking of tavros am i literally the only person on earth who projected onto tavros while reading homestuck? like i rarely get the impression that other people are actually sympathetic to tavros, they all just see him as pathetic. which makes me sad. even though he is pathetic. oh vriska also did another thing wrong, which was indirectly cause aranea to metamorphosize into a piece of sh

PART 4: THE META SHIT

despite the title for this section including the word "shit" we're now onto the good parts of post-canon homestuck. because the meta shit was genuinely entertaining to me, and also i've seen enough analysis of it to know that it's not just surface level bullshit trying to look interesting. it's been long enough since i read the epilogues that i probably couldn't contribute anything to that discussion but i have it on good authority that this is good and not just my brain activating whenever i see meta shit and/or time travel. oh also this is the section where i was supposed to talk about structuring this post based on homestuck but im not doing that

PART 5: HOMESTUCK WASN'T OVER

this kinda contradicts one of the earlier sections. but it's true. there were several plot threads left hanging by the end of homestuck proper. most notably caliborn's masterpiece, the defeat of lord english, and the four missing classpects. the meat epilogue handily dealt with those first two, and if hs^2 doesn't deal with that last one i am going to track down andrew hussie and silently hand to him a strongly worded letter while holding a butter knife. i know i already said this but it bears repeating. i need to know what a sylph is. so that i can write my 10,000 page aranea-centric fanfiction. im begging you. do you not want to see my 10,000 page aranea-centric fanfiction? do you not w

PART 6: THERE WAS SOME OTHER GOOD STUFF IN THERE TOO

putting actual trans characters in homestuck was a good idea. shame they picked the wrong one. i imagine they'll get around to making june canon eventually. i cannot state my opinions on jade's dog dick or else risk being forever barred from the homestuck fandom. some of the gamma kids are interesting. tavvy and yiffy, specifically. i wanna see where those two characters end up going. "deltritus" is a funny name. i sure hope that ripping off the main plot point from "to boldly flee" was intentional. im not sure if that last sentence was a good thing. but it was an entertaining thing. um, the more homestuck there is, the more likely aranea gets brought back? ok yeah now im grasping for straws but im sure you get the idea

PART 7: I'M STILL CALLING IT HS^2

why did they rename it. that was a very silly decision.

oh hey 7 parts that's nice. if i moved part 2 to the end it might mirror homestuck better. but im too lazy to do that. pretend that this mild oversight is actually a brilliant creative decision okay? okay.

[pompompurin1028]

im so envious of your abilities

I'm not sure if this is about analyses? But I will take it as such because of the context, but I think everyone can train to do so if they wish, I think it's really learning about what to look for. No one becomes equipped with these skills without practice and reading other of such works.

For stories or written works, looking and figuring out the larger theme and narrowing down to how each little thing adds to it is a good way to start. For poetry especially, after understanding the main idea of the text, you can literally look at anything to see how it can add to your understanding of the work. The structure and meter? Sure! Punctuation? Sure! Sound patterns? Yeah go ahead! One can do the same even with novels, but in a different sense. Characters too are tools used to tell a story, to contribute to the larger theme of the story, and this makes one question character's actions XD, does this do something to contribute to the larger context.

Or if you're simple wanting to do a character analysis, how does it add to the characteristics of a character? If they do something that seems self-contradictory, is there a reason why? Or maybe that existed in the story earlier already.

Of course, no one knows the definite answer, and multiple interpretations are always present, but that's what makes it fun. And honestly if you have convincing enough evidence, you can succeed as well!

I've personally been reading more academic papers on works, and that has sometimes opened my eyes to looking at things I never even considered looking at. So reading stuff can also definitely help and even help you figure out what to look for :3

[missamyrisa2]

hi Miss Amy i hope you had a great holiday! I was hoping as a holiday gift that tickle mama amy would come down the chimney and after my feet? im a guy with big ticklish feet who melts for tickle talk and This Little Piggy

The cozy evening is gently interrupted by a growing tingling sound, a pixie jingle coming down the shaft. The fire winks out of existence for a moment as shiny black boots glide into view, followed by legs looking a bit slender for Santa, a red velvety skirt trimmed with white fluff on the bottom and the oversized black belt on top ~ when a petite belly follows you're sure something is amiss, as that tummy is quite exposed by the cropped white vest with big buttons. The jingling continues, care of two belled bracelets on long lean arms ~ the appearance is capped by a luscious tuft of long blonde hair, flipped to one side around the beaming face under a santa hat whose puff is bouncing comically as she steps before you, snapping a finger to reignite the flame. "Coo, coo, coo~" she smiles, hands on her hips. "Merry Gigglesmas sweet pea ~ looks like someone..." She reaches from behind and produces a scroll. With a shake and a dip, the parchment unfurls to an impossible length, and a feathered pen appears in her other hand. She clicks her tongue, purses her ruby lips and looks down the list. "...has been veryyyy good this year!"

She tosses her list aside, the paper thinning out into nothingness, but keeps the pen in hand. The fluffy white feather whips gently in the air as she steps closer to you, boots clicking on the floor. "You know what good boys get don't you~" she chuckles, hand on her belt as the feather draws over your nose at your balking response to being called a boy. "Why of course I know how hold you are ~ but you're a boy to this tickle mama~" She delights at your blushing, following as you scoot back. "Good boys get tickles, oh yes they do, my, my, my ~" Fingers drift down, wiggling tauntingly over your belly. "Do you have just so many giggles in your belly? Aww, you tell mama Amy all about it now." Her arm wraps around you, cuddling you lovingly. The fingers at your side trace up and down, carefully working your shirt up to expose a little slash of skin for the feather to start tracing back and forth as she pumps you for giggly information. "Have you wanted your tickles all year? Yeahhh? Where did you want to be tickled? Mmhmm. Is that your favorite place to be tickled? And you like to be tickled more than to tickle right? Are you my sweet little ticklee boy? You just want to be cuddled and loved and feel so special huh?" The feather dips in and out of your navel, carefully exploring its depths before swirling in a loopy pattern, following the twitches and gliding on your waist. Her nails at your side squeeze and stroke to accent the sensation, as does her merry chuckles and big smiles drifting down from above. All the movement of her hands sets off those jingly bells, the sound sending aural tickles up to your silly ears. "Aww ~ just relax, your tickle mama is taking care of you now~"

She releases you and tells you to stand up. "C'mon, stand up~" she starts poking you playfully, stroking under your arms and behind your knees. When you stumble up to attention she chases you with more pokes and playful tickles, directing you over to the couch. Taking at seat at the opposite side, she pats her lap lovingly. "Feet~" she directs, pointing at your socked soles. When you sheepishly start to bring them forth she smirks and seizes your ankles, tugging your feet into her lap. "Oooh, such big feet you have my giggle boy. Let's seee~" the back of her index finger begins probing up your sock, carefully diverting around and testing for reactions. "Does that tickle? How about here? Right here? On the little instep? I'll take that as a yes~" she coos and hums, evolving from little testing strokes to playful wiggles. Her other hand makes a crash course to attack the other foot, wiggling fingers slowly in the air towards its destination. "Coochie coochie coooo~ you're very ticklish. Very ticklish boy. Ticklishness!" She follows your wiggling feet, keeping them dancing with playful strokes and scratches on the surface of your socks, smiling away at every reaction. "Do you just love your tickle mama tickles? Let's hear it silly honeybunch~" As you start to respond, her fingers hook the ends of your socks, her mouth open in mock concern. "Ooh. Ooop! What's gonna happen? What's gonnnna happen?" Her nails follow the progress of the socks, gliding along the skin as it is exposed. With a squeak, she reaches your toes and pops off each sock, tossing them aside unceremoniously behind her. "You won't be needing theseee~"

She looks over your wiggling toes, admiring their shape and motion. "What adorable toesies~ are they ticklish? Ticklish toes? Hmm. Are your ticklish toes on my good tickle spot list?" She again reaches into nothing and produces a scroll lined with feathery edges. "Why yes, they are! And guess what your toes are getting for Christmas?" She chuckles, her exposed tummy bouncing merrily. "A nice game of This Little Piggy!" She squeals, tossing aside her list and making a pinchy motion with her thumb and index finger. "Ahhhhhh~" The pinchies grow closer and closer, a smirk on her lips as she fakes out a few times, getting to your big toe and hovering over it. "Ahhh ahhh~ thiiiiis little piggie went to market~" She starts, holding your big toe and rubbing it softly and slowly with her thumb. As she plays the game, her other hand retrieves the feather and starts dusting under the currently highlighted toe playfully. The next toe ~ "this little piggie stayed home~" Her thumb massages tight little circles on the toe, the feather swishing down below. "Thiiiiis little piggie had~ kumquats!" she snickers, moving to the next toe, where her thumb and feather meet on the smaller surface, rubbing and fluffing that sensitive digit. "This little piggie had a market. Or it stayed roast beef. Hmmmm~~" Her thumb wiggles and the feather idly traces under all the toes. "Now, how did this go again~This little piggie~ this giggle boy, hmmmsss. Now, now, don't fret. Tickle mama will get it~ " She starts idly drifting from toe to toe, the feather even wafting down to play at your sole. At last she squeaks and recalibrates, recapturing that toe and working her magic touch. "This little piggie stayed home with tickle mama for all these wonderful ticklesss~" she grins knowingly, moving to the pinky. "Annnnd this little piggie~ wennnnnntt~" she stops her narration and attacks both of your feet, hooking an arm around your ankles and raking her nails up your soles, digging under your toes and stroking the inner curves in a rapid blur of motion. "Allllll the way home!!" She cackles out, keeping your feet captured snugly in her lap ~

The night becomes a blur in your recollection from this point. She certainly played this little piggie on your other foot as well, and some variation called this little llama on your belly. And then it was warm snuggles, held in tickle mama's lap, all that soft hair over you and soft touches along your body while she prompted you for your holiday wishes and tickly confessions. The jingling never stopped, the giggles never ended. Your laughs went long into the night. Was it all tickle haze? Certainly not, as you wipe the sleep from your eyes now and see those black boots gliding back up the chimney, her chuckle and the jingly bells following as the fire once again rears to life. Your toes and belly tingle with holiday delight.

[thegrimmmystic]

Encountering The Shadow

In Carl Jung's "The Red Book" he described that one could encounter their Shadow, in a TRULY physical manifestation. Well, after a few rounds of The Alchemical Process, I can testify on Jungs behalf for this to be true. There seems to be a link of some sort between all of the synchronicities throughout the day, and them stemming from both our 'Highest Self' and from our 'Shadow'. It seems that The Shadow is very aware of the work being done with the Alchemical Process and in turn will turn to attempts of manipulation through our deepest fears as a last ditch effort to dissuade you from following through on the creating the desired product of your Alchemy. It still amazes me how these synchronicities work but the more I look into it, the more things become clear as to what's going on. Your Highest Self seems to hold control during the day, The Shadow at night, and Dawn/Dusk are the times they both have the ability to control the synchronicities, though it seems that is entirely based around where your current vibrations stand and the frequency they're emitting. I've also learned that, in most cases, your Shadow truly does want what's best for you as well, and that it's only upon believing there's an attempt at snuffing out its existence that it reduces to psychological warfare on you. It doesn't intend to harm you. These dominating, manipulative, toxic approaches are simply the defense mechanisms it's been taught to equip as a form of survival. We MUST remember that our Shadow was our protector of our self from this world and all the negative experiences that came with it prior to 'awakening'.

Having recognized these patterns and how it works, I've begun to try a different approach. One that more NEGOTIATES with the Shadow opposed to threatening. Instead of attempting to rid myself of my Shadow, I've chosen to give it 'its own room' where it's free to express itself however it may wish, free from any and all judgement. I've taken control of the self while making my stance VERY clear with the Shadow. I've noticed the Shadow doesn't really like this new arrangement, as it's still attempting to dominate the mind with fear tactics, looking for a weak enough moment of self-doubt for it to take back the seat of control. But, I truly do think this is only because it's not used to me being able to see it as clearly as I do now. It's used to being able to steal back control with its war tactics and mind games, but is reluctantly beginning to accept the terms I've laid out. I'm no longer putting down my Shadow as something 'bad', and instead am understanding it, why it is the way it is, and why it works the way it does. The answer isn't complex. This World has dealt so much damage and trauma, that the Shadow HAD to learn to fight the way it does to maintain survival. Which is heartbreaking on its own, but when you take in the whole picture, it shows the genius that can truly be found within the Shadow, and IN TURN, the genius that can be used towards your developments progression.

So the terms laid out are that it may have it's platform. It's free to express itself in all of its misunderstood beauty in all the ways it wishes, so long as it brings no harm to the wholeness of the self. I'll ensure I give it it's time. But that when we are no longer with "it's room" that IM the one who maintains control over the 'rest of the house'. Well, outside of 'the highest selfs' room as well. With them I hold the same arrangement.

I'm very interested to see how this round of Alchemical work plays out and I'll be sure to log the changes I notice and the progress made from it all.

Until then, Blessed Be

🤍🕯👁🖤

[yeoldontknow]

I love to know more about Jungkook 8:50am and Namjoon Flowers on Wednesday 💜

hello love!! absolutely!! ironically, you selected the two fluffiest fics on this lmaoo both 8:50AM and Flowers on Wednesday are relatively short fics, and both are filled with fluff. im not the best fluff writer, so this was my attempt to practice

8:57AM -> Barista!Jungkook x Reader (oc; female) At 6AM, the sky is still dark, the late autumn chill adopting its tell-tale crisp edge of winter. The metal of the shop keys was cold enough to sting his fingers, October’s slow turn into November putting a flush into his cheeks, skin tight and movements sluggish. Even now, in the steadily increasing warmth of the cafe, his limbs are tired, pressing the wet cloth into the wood in slow, lazy circles. 

Yet, conversely, his mind races with the totality of you. 

In the morning, time seems to give itself pause simply because of you, because he anticipates the brief moments he will get to share with you - and he will share those moments, of course, only if he is lucky. 

He’s got two hours before your smile can combat the sun, two hours before your movement through the door has the chimes igniting the beat of his heart. Hair falling into his eyes as he wipes, he smiles to himself, wondering if today you will laugh, if you will giggle. Or, perhaps, it’s one of your more pensive days, the kind of day when your smile is a secret tucked into the corner of your cheek, but still he will find a way to see it; one of those days when you don’t say anything beyond your order, the normal pink shimmer of your chapstick absent, and he knows you rushed to get to work on time.

Those are some of his favourite days, because it means you still came to see him. Even when you’re hurrying, even when there should be no time for coffee, you still find ways to make time for him. On those days, Jungkook lets himself be a little selfish. 

He lets himself think you rushed to be with him. 

And, of course, you’re pretty. 

Tossing the cloth into the sink, he grabs the step stool and places it in front of the grinder, arm clutching a bag of beans as he smiles absentmindedly. He fills the container and, today, does not mind the cacophonous noise this makes, hands doing the work while his eyes focus on the haunting phantasm of your features. 

Your bright eyes - always bright, even if they’re a little tired - and your full lips, soft cheeks, hair that makes his fingers twitch with the urge to reach out, to touch, to feel you. Your body against him is a nostalgic haptic memory, one that does not exist, has never existed, yet one that he feels just the same. 

And he wants it. Oh, how he wants it, you, all of you all over him, the delicate caress of your fingers as they trace patterns over his biceps. Your lips against his and his lips against your chest, biting purple marks of his teeth into your skin - hidden beneath your clothes and visible only to you both - a private claim that reminds you he needs you, always.

Flowers On Wednesday -> Florist!Namjoon x Corporate Accountant!Reader (oc; female)

Summary: Your relationship with Namjoon is new, tender. It started quickly, almost immediately after a breakup with your boyfriend of eight years who resolved that no, he could not marry you; somehow, you just were not enough. Namjoon is careful. Namjoon takes his time, and makes sure every conversation flowers around you, blossoms around you, giving you the space and vulnerability to be open. For you, he will do his best to prove you are the most special thing in the world.

its basically namjoon sending flowers to OC on random days, days that don't matter. its a random wednesday in july, and he has sent a bouqet of roses; its a tuesday and its october, but still he brings you lilies. he doesnt need a reason to show he loves you. he just does.

wip ask game

(i am so sorry i dont know why tumblr wont let me indent the snippet TT)

[cringelordofchaos]

(this post is both in favour of mileven and Byler (maybe w somewhat of a bias towards one), please don't kill me lol)

.

When Mike lost Will, El came his way

When Mike lost El, Will came back

.

I can imagine him falling in love with one while the other is gone. Maybe as a coping mechanism. Maybe that's how he develops a love for someone - when they are there to fill the absence in his heart. Wether it'd be from a loss, or from his parents tricky situation.

So when he lost Will, when will went missing, in one of his harder times, El appeared. She brought hope. And I feel terrible saying this but she was also... Useful for their mission. Which o hate to put it that way seeing as she was always used as a weapon rather than viewed as her own person but that's a whole notha topic.

There were definitely bumps then and there, him losing trust in her but at the end they got close

During this time you could say Mike fell in love with her. She made him happy. He Suggested going to the Yule ball with her. Though I don't think that's what El needed right then and there (girl didn't even understand the concept of romantic attraction) but that's just my own personal opinion.

Then El sacrificed herself, bringing Mike to tears. Quite sad seeing him tear up honestly

But then Will came back his way, in one of his harder times, and brought some form of joy.

Continuing onto season 2, they comfort each other, open up to each other, are there for each other, to not feel alone, crazy, etc. mike is still obviously upset over El but he at least has will. He feels like he's going crazy but so does will - and so he's not alone.

In some interpretations you could very well say during this time, or even much before, mike fell In Love with will. (Not that platonic love doesn't exist of course but I'm too tired to explain how or why mike could possibly ever be in love w will and Im sure there are already other explanations out there)

So maybe, when El came back, and will was still there, mayhaps mike got.. confused? Why he seems to sometimes crush on both of then?

And when the Yule Ball comes, I swear to God he actually looks sort of sad/disappointed/confused when will goes over to dance with a girl. But it could just all be in my silly little head. And then, when will strayed farther away from him, did then come El - and they danced and shared a kiss (a much less awkward one from the S1 one, thank god)

So... Is there any form of pattern to be sought?? Or am I making things up ??

Probably none of this makes sense but who cares

Also I find it interesting how will and el are sometimes paralleled with each other, particularly when their relationship is compared to mike. Like when both of them screamed for Mike to save them in S2, or how they could both be compared to the quote "love makes you crazy", and etc ect

but I'm too tired to go on more rants now

[meansealevel]

What is pleasurable to the thing and how do you know this

Does this change? Is their personality fixed?

Am I imaging their qualities in my head? Yes. But am i not doing that with everyone else?

There's a way I cohere information gathered from other people as my working, always incomplete understanding of them, same way for a thing. The overarching patterns in the ways people treat things is worrisome to me on some level, however generative and beautiful it might also be. How do people read information/input? What are the mechanisms of any individual's interpretations? These things are seemingly laid bare in an interaction with something not normally seen as having social value or agency. Or in any situation where observing, interpreting, touching, are some of the only ways that work to reach toward something else's being.

A response is a response, sure. How do you interpret that response? Do you interpret everything that makes a computer work better, more smoothly, as a positive response? How do you know the computer likes working? If a person might desire to cut off their own limb in order to better interface with the world on their own terms, why isn't that also possible for a computer? As in, why is it not possible for a computer failing to do something or making some noise associated with an error to be read as an enjoyable response? What does a misreading mean in the context of love with an object? Do misunderstandings happen? If not... Why is that?

That there are such monopolistic commonalities in the ways of expressing interpretations of the personality of objects is what worries me, not any individual practices in themselves. Im basing this just off of what i know about objectum stuff based on video media and tumblr specifically.

Im thinking too, about the prevalence of mapping normative human ways of relating onto objects. Being objectum is already looked down on, is already suspect. On one hand i understand why what i might be seeing as a fault of someones bad imagination might also be a way to express this sort of love in a semipublic way in order to relate to others who do the same. As in, its safer to map human shit onto your object if youre going to be expressing love to your object at all, maybe, because at least those ways of relating are the already accepted ones. The anger there, then. Is that what should be ""reserved"" (what a word to use) for humans is now used for objects, and people interpret that as a threat to what is allowed to be considered human or not. Thinking about the propensity for people in comas/w paralysis/ etc to be considered vegetables and thus objects, etc.

But to me, something that 'sees itself' as nonhuman, disidentifies from humanity in its social actions and ways of relating (so, sure, an object, but also maybe the right sort of person) is something as infinitely unknowable as a person who can speak words and does so in expected fashion. The difference is that the implied certitude of words and language to describe something gets in the way of an understanding that could be deeper, more beautiful, maybe also more dangerous as far as projection goes. But I don't see projection as something inherently harmful--it is necessary to different extents based on experience and other bullshit. Whats more important are the causes and effects of actions, the feelings--so how do you come up with that information?

An aside. I see people trying very hard to own the community and control what possible identifications can exist, and unsurprisignly its thru those efforts and adjacent ones that seem to repeat the 'just find the best way to map a human body/human feelings/human responses onto your object'

And then i get disappointed in what 'humanity' thinks it is.

[dumbbitchfrommars]

hes definitely the biggest distraction that could have entered my life right now.

its hard to sit around and go with it when i have no idea what his intentions are. or are they are simple and innocent as my own?

i guess i just cant stop wondering the same question. why me?

if it took such a short meeting and two nights together for him to decide he wanted to be serious with me... how many other girls has he tried to enter a serious relationship with ? what made me different to them? because, he barely knows me. two nights was enough for us to gauge each others energy and get to know each other (pretty well mind you) but i just am so wary of the fact it was literally 48 hours and now he wants to be a couple.

i wont lie its nice to get texts calling me baby. and his accent is adorable. and hes just so comfortable in himself. it helps me feel comfortable in myself, too.

theres just so many questions! but god clearly gave me a gift. maybe thats what he sees too? its insane that he thinks im as rare as i do him. hes an attractive and funny person, surely girls have thrown themselves at him? what is it about me? thats whats been distracting me. so many things to talk about and theyre so unbelievably intimate and private and i have to do it with him over the phone in the spare moments i get to myself. its impossible!

but i am excited to finally do a long distance relationship. i feel like i manifested this by accident. all the fleeting ideas and thoughts ive had over the years. they added up and the universe said here you go, a gift. IM SO THANKFUL!

the craziest thing is how hes already noticing my toxic traits and calling me out on them. this time will be different. i wont allow myself to become my parents. im leaving the criticism in the past. i am my own person, and what he is, and what he does, makes him him. i dont want to control any of that. it will make him insecure and resent me. and if he listens... well ill resent him for that too. so its best we exist independently and boldly. i will be open minded, open hearted, and radically accepting of the person he is. and well both be happy! i dont wanna be the bully i can become in a relationship. its not healthy. but its nice to have it revealed to me once again. it always happens and its a dark pattern of mine. a part of me that needs work, change and healing. my new era! becoming unconditionally loving and accepting.

[greatandquestionablecontent]

a ramble about coaptation plot and trystan employment issues

Ive been in such an In the Mirror zone lately but I abruptly brainteleported back into Coaptation zone.

Fun fact about my plans for that: I have a scrivener doc split into three sections: Before Trystan Comes Back, Trystan Comes Back, and After Trystan Comes Back. And like fully a third of After Trystan Comes Back is various plotlines about Trystan and employment. Nevermind the basic fact that it's hard to get a job as an ex-con with 0 employment history, Trystan just has Issues with work.

Idk if ALL of these plotlines will happen or in this exact order but basically here's what I've got so far.

At first he's just happily unemployed, but then he gets depressed and feels stuck in Gavin's apartment, so Gavin talks him into getting a job, which is a big source of conflict at first, because Trystan hears "I think you seem unhappy being in my apartment all the time, maybe you need enrichment, getting a job was good for me yknow, also we're broke always" and jumps to "you're useless and annoying and should just fucking leave forever."

This is another recurring relationship issue. Trystan approaches every problem with "fight or flight" and Gavin is so freaked out by the idea of Trystan leaving, which sometimes also freaks Trystan out and makes him feel trapped, even though he also desperately wants Gavin to want him around.

So anyway Trystan gets a warehouse job and feels so martyric about it, but the job sucks physically and mentally, and he has an entire crisis about how he can't quit or Gavin will be So Upset with him, and maybe it's kind of romantic slowly destroying his body like this. And Gavin's like "bro ur forgetting im literally disabled from a factory job? Ur forgetting every workers rights rant ive ever gone on?? Just quit!!"

And then the next job is soul sucking in a different way, it's like a desk job shuffling papers or something, and Trystan quits and is like actually I was right, jobs suck and authority sucks and I'm gonna be unemployed 5ever, fuck the system. And Gavin's like bro maybe you're just depressed and you haven't found the right one? #notalljobs. And Trystan's like sorry I'm failing to find joy?? Sorry I'm not the happiest little worker bee??? Sorry I'm failing to delight in finding some meager way to apologize to society for my existence and be less of a useless parasite??

And Gavin's like bro, ur not a parasite, ily, you can be unemployed, also pls stop threatening to leave every time you have a problem. yes i know you dont mean it as a threat but i feel threatened

And then this fic I just wrote, where Trystan just dissociates out of a job that he actually finally liked, and Gavin actually successfully gets him to agree to therapy. It just occurred to me and I scribbled it out today so I'm not sure if it fits in with the timeline or how it fits in. I think it's kind of fun that Trystan's scared he's gonna like, accidentally break up with Gavin and leave for good, but also the topic doesn't even come up, unlike many other times when it very much does come up.

Eventually endgame is that Trystan has a series of odd temporary jobs, does a lot of traveling and different things, is still often between jobs but just embraces the inconsistency of it instead of trying to stay at one forever and be trapped on either side of a permanent employed/unemployed binary.

So, yeah, definitely some recurring patterns here. I'm aware it gets kinda redundant, but also it be like that? But also I don't want the whole book to be overwhelmed by WORK DRAMA lmao. They have plenty of other drama.

Trystan domestication plotline is hard for both of them lmao

You can kind of see why Gavin's mom is like "ah, yes, we just need to teach ur chronically unemployed partner to be a happy housewife and homemaker" even though she's incredibly off the mark with that

[sextechnews]

These 7 Sextech Products Are Transforming How We Have Sex - Pulse Nigeria

Undoubtedly a lot of sextech is focused on sex toys in the hopes of enhancing sexual pleasure between couples, but there are plenty of sextech products also tackling real-world problems couples face. These creative sextech companies are answering questions like Why does it hurt when I have sex? and What can I do to prevent premature ejaculation? We spoke to three sextech pioneers to learn about their favorite recently-released or soon-to-be-released sextech products. You'll hear from Bryony Cole, CEO of The Future of Sex , a company that works to promote real world sexual connections in a non-pornographic manner; Daniel Saynt, founder and chief conspirator of The New Society for Wellness ( ), a private members club for the adventurous; and Kristin Fretz, co-founder of Emojibator . They each provided Men's Health with a few of sextech products they're most excited about in 2020. 1. OhNut What is it: OhNut are rings that penis-owners can wear around the base of their penis that helps control the depth of penetration. It's a helpful tool for when vulva-owners experience pain from having a penis too deep inside of them. Why its exciting: " OhNut is my favorite wearable toy in the market because its simple design solves a huge medical problem," says Fretz. "No person should feel pain when theyre trying to experience pleasure, and the inventor Emily Sauer is committed to ending painful sex, which is so badass!" 2. Lioness Generation 2 What it is: Calling itself the worlds most advanced vibrator , the Lioness uses built-in sensors and an intuitive mobile app that actually lets you visualize your arousal patterns and orgasms. You can review the results on your phone and then use this information to make your climaxes stronger and more enjoyable. Why its Exciting: There are few "smart" sex toys like the Lioness. " Im so impressed by their use of technology and data to teach people with vaginas how to have the best orgasm," says Fretz. 3. eXtreme Restraint's Thrusting Dildo Strap-On What is it: A strap on dildo that uses mechanical tech to thrust on its own. Why its exciting: "Perfect for taking your pegging game to a whole new level, this thrusting strap-on extends over an inch to ensure you enjoy the deepest pleasures," says Saynt. "With seven modes of thrust and vibration you're sure to find the right mix to please any partner who's lucky enough to enjoy this game-changing new toy." 4. Lover App What is it : Lover is a personalized, science-based app for addressing your sexual concerns, increasing your pleasure and improving your skills in bed. It provides audio and video content, plus practical exercises, games and sexual profiles, all designed to improve your sex life. Why it's exciting: Released in February, the app begins by guiding you through Myers-Briggs type personality test to determine your sexual phenotype. Once youve taken the test, you'll have the opportunity to share your type with your partner, which may put into words some things youve been wanting to articulate in the bedroom but didnt know how. "Once you connect with your partner on the app, you can each play a game which decides what sort of kinks and fantasies youd be down for, and only the ones you both connect on will be shared with your lover," says Cole. 5. Morari Medical Premature Ejaculation Device What is it: The Morari concept is a transdermal-based patch that uses neuromodulation as a means of inhibiting the nerves of the penis, thereby delaying an ejaculation. In simpler terms, it's a Band-Aid-like device you place on your perineum that helps you not ejaculate as quickly. Why it's exciting: "The wearable patch is going to provide a solid alternative to pharmaceuticals and existing treatments," says Cole. "The team is currently doing a pilot study with some great results." 6. Tryst What is it : A bendable, multiple erogenous zone massager with a remote designed that was designed with all bodies in mind. Why it's exciting: "An exciting thing about new sex toys hitting the market is that they are becoming more and more genderless," says Saynt. "The Tryst is a bendable massager designed to ensure every he, she and, they have a toy worth exploring with. Pleasure knows no labels and neither does the Tryst." 7. Emojibator Chickie What is it : Released in 2019, the Chickie vibrator is a cute, little clitoris sucker and vibrator. Why its Exciting: "While the suction tech itself has become common on the market, we made a quality, beauty toy at a budget-friendly price which is pretty revolutionary in the current market," says Fretz. Read the full article