#just in case i dont want them to interact

[drdemonprince]

Re: autistic advice; i keep seeing people making fun of stuff like "are you in a place to hear bad news" or scripts like that. I grew up in an environment where it was common practice to just drop heavy subjects on people out of the blue, & I still find that intensely uncomfortable. But I've now had multiple people tell me that it makes them feel shitty when I ask, for example, "are you up for a dark subject?" & I don't really know how to square it away. I want to make sure that I'm not stepping on anyone's toes or making them feel ambushed or trapped, but apparently it makes some people feel like they're not allowed to have their feelings. I end up feeling pretty shitty about it, because like... it feels like either I have to be Rude (because it DOES feel rude to just drop a dark topic on someone) &/or risk having something shitty I can't deal with dropped in my lap, or else really upset people. I guess... is there a way to navigate this?

I would recommend being more specific.

People find phrases like "Are you in a place to hear something that might hurt you?" and "Are you up for a dark subject?" to be a bit presumptuous about what their emotional reactions will be or what they are capable of handling. It also can make what would have otherwise been a very unremarkable exchange become tinged with anticipatory anxiety.

When someone asks me a question like "are you up to hear something dark?" I might feel coddled and condescended to, rather than emotionally respected. Or if they ask me "are you prepared to hear something that might hurt you?" / "are you up for a serious conversation?" I think they're about to drop some serious emotional bomb on me, like that they're friend-dumping me for something horrible that I didn't realize I did. Then when it ends up being a meme they want to share or a question about a celebrity lawsuit or something i'm kind of pissed at the false alarm and the coddling that, rather than protecting me, made me feel worse.

In either case, rather than giving me time to emotionally prepare or interact when I am ready, these vague questions have introduced some kind signal of social or emotional threat. If anything, it increases the felt urgency to just have the damn conversation already and see what kind of monster is lurking behind the person's words. It makes me *less* likely to exercise control over when the conversation happens or when I see the upsetting thing.

So be specific. "Do you wanna see a disgusting meme?" "I want your opinion on something, but the question touches on sexual assault. Is that okay to talk about?" "I want to talk to you about a conflict I'm having with my other partner." "Can I ask you your opinion on this transphobia discourse?" Etc.

The more specific you can be about the subject and why you are asking about it, the more power you are giving the other person to actually decide what they want to engage with. When someone asks me if I am willing to discuss something dark, I really have no idea what to say. They're imposing their judgement of what is a dark or upsetting topic onto me, when really they have no idea what I might find triggering and what I might really enjoy getting to talk about.

Rather than trying to protect me from something I haven't even encountered yet, you gotta let me encounter it, and actually trust that I will take care of myself. If I don't want to talk about sexual assault I won't, if I don't want to look at gross imagery I'll say no, if hearing one more bad thing about your other partner is going to make my jealousy fume, I am responsible for handling that. You're not responsible for my emotions.

It's good to notice which subjects your friends are especially sensitive to and what big triggers they have so that you can be considerate. My friends know I cant look at lots of blood flowing out of someone for instance and dont send me visuals/fics that feature, say, wrists being slit or blood being drawn. But if they forgot, I'd understand and just look away and squeal oh no i cant look at that get it away. And that would be fine. They are not responsible for my reactions to things.

[blossomthepinkbunny]

Stolas & Loona should have friends

(something I feel would work well for their characters)

I feel like Loona's and Stolas' character would really benefit from giving them friendships. Relationships that could help to humanize them, make them more sympathetic or help to develop/change them as people.

For Loona it makes sense to go into that direction because this huge part of her character is dealing with the fact that she grew up sheltered and never had someone who really cared for her. Blitzø is the first real parental figure she has in her life and she is often pretty cruel to him because she never learned to interact with others who genuinely wanted to be kind to her.

I think giving her more of a social life and potential friendships like we kinda got to see in the Beelzebub episode is something they are working up to with her character, though I find it weird that we didn't really get to see her in the new s2 trailer (or in any of the last 5 episodes for that matter). It seems like Loona wont have any focus on her which is dissapointing because right now her character is in a state where she is still pretty unlikable and comes off as just rude more often.

The show had three good opportunities to give Loona someone to be friends with. First one was Tex which didn't work out because she had a crush on him and even after meeting his girlfriend being defensive and jealous rather than realizing that maybe they'd be better as just friends. Second one could've been Beelzebub (if you ignore the fact that she's the one organizing the pounds for hellhounds) but she is Tex's girlfriend so Loona immediately doesn't like her. And lastly Loona and Octavia, who they were kinda setting up as having a sister-like bond in "Seeing Stars".

But Loona and Octavia have never interacted after that as far as we know. Like I said, Loona basically hasn't shown up in a relevant way for 5 episodes now. It could've been small stuff even. Like maybe in "Western energy" instead of having the stupid nursery subplot it could've just been mentioned that Loona and Octavia are hanging out while Stolas is on his meeting with Stella and Andrealphus. Or just see them chilling together in the background of some episodes.

Giving Loona friends would give her someone she could share her feelings with and that could make her less toxic because she can get her emotions out in a non destructive way. She needs someone who isn't Blitzø, someone who is closer to her in age and someone who will understand her and help her with socializing. And in my opinion that someone shouldn't necessarily be a love interest either. We already have so many romantic/sexual relationships in HB and rarely see relevant friendships which I think is a huge missed opportunity, especially in Loonas case.

And for Stolas, giving him a friend would maybe show more of the sympathetic aspects of his character. Right now I don't like Stolas at all and I don't see a reason to either. He forced Blitzø into a sexual relationship so he can do his job and then starts to whine about Blitzø not loving him back. Knowingly or not, he made great use of hells classist system and basically neglects his daughter as well in the process (though the show will tell you that he actually cares a lot despite us not really seeing that on screen).

What pisses me off most about his character is that they don't acknowledge him being a terrible person. I don't care if he's bad as long as the show doesn't try to woobify him out of nowhere. If they pointed out what he does and he would recieve consequences that aren't treated as unfair or mean i'd like him a lot more because then they could also genuinely show him becoming a better person. A characterization similar to Rex Splode from Invincible would really do wonders for him (I've only watched the show for Invincible so I dont know if/how they move his character forward, but so far I really like it).

Anyways, giving him a friend or something could also help. HB tries to make a big point about people having layers and showing that someone who does harmful stuff can still have sympathetic sides to them. Stolas' problem is, that the only focus he ever gets is in relationships where he is acting bad. I already mentioned how he treats Blitzø and with how hard they're pushing them as a couple they're showing Stolas to be pretty terrible in retrospective. We also don't really get to see how hard he apparently cares for Octavia. Giving him a relationship that shows the sympathetic sides to his character could be done by making his relationship with Octavia be actually good. Like showing them hanging out, actively interacting in positive ways and basically making him a great dad but bad partner sort of guy. Giving him a friend would also work as I said. Maybe Asmodeus could've been that or just a new character. Something that makes him more sympathetic because we get to see a positive side to him with how he cares for this other person.

I really hope they put some focus on Loona again because I kinda care for her and I think dealing with what she has going on could be nice and cute. And for Stolas idk. It might already be too late to make me not dislike him. He is just way too far into being victimized already for me to assume that i will sympathize with him anytime soon.

[miwtual]

im so fucking tired of the disrespect gifmakers get on the gifmaker website

[caffstrink]

Cain and abel sealed the fate of all siblings in history

[sonknuxadow]

please tell me people are joking when they say sonic prime is queerbaiting with sonic and shadow. that is not whats going on here please be serious you guys just see sonic and shadow interact in any way and become unable to turn your shipping brains off

[eebie]

my last post got me thinking so im gonna do a poll to see what u guys think

id love to do a second poll like this on twitter and compare the results. they’d probably be very different from what i’m predicting the response to be here But also twitter is a notorious hellscape and im not setting foot in there. also theres a typo in that last option we isn’t supposed to be there.

EDIT: some clarification bc my wording may have been a little confusing: if two characters are not related in canon, but their voice actors are related in real life, would it be weird to ship the characters?

[kindnessoverperfection]

I've found that, when interacting with others (or myself), it's useful to consider the lessons I'd want to teach a growing child.

If a child makes a mistake, I wouldn't want them to feel shame. I wouldn't yell at them, humiliate them, or in any way indicate to them that their mistake is a reflection of their worth or of who they are as a person.

Instead, I'd want them to associate the process with love and joy. If they say something that hurts someone's feelings, or otherwise ostracizes someone in some way, I'd compassionately explain to them. Ideally, they'd walk away knowing why they said / did it in the first place, how to handle similar situations in the future, and would accept the consequences (e.g. if a friend no longer wanted to hang out with them).

While the consequences may sometimes be painful, I'd do my best to instill in them that mistakes are human and natural, and that the process of learning from these mistakes is an opportunity to improve connections with others and express love.

I have a tendency towards excessive guilt. Memories in which I've said / done something ignorant or hurtful are infused with this guilt and shame- but ideally, I'd feel a sense of love and peace, and perhaps happiness, when looking back on them. Because they were moments of growth, moments I learned how to be more compassionate (even if the actual learning came years later).

So I'll put this out into the void:

When you make a mistake, that is not a reflection of you as a person. It is a moment in time, a moment which was informed by your past experiences. Humans are not static labels, or monsters in an RPG game. We are social creatures who live and learn and react and grow and experience and love. Be gentle with yourself and move forward knowing you're doing so in accordance with your values.

[fiendishartist2]

guys what if i want to make my own apollo justice game.

[zevrans]

literally refusing to long rest so i dont trigger orin's infiltration scene so i dont have to rush killing gortash and her 😩

[sam-the-pancake]

I'm a teacher and this summer I'm working afternoon summer school at a building that's known for not having enough parking. People will park along the side of the driveway or in other non-spots that aren't in the way when the proper parking spots fill up. There's also ample street parking behind the school.

There are 3 disabled spots and I believe a total 2 loading zones between the spots. For the past two weeks someone has either parked in the loading zone, or 2 of the 3 spots have been taken by someone without a placard or disabled plates. We have at least 3 people working in the building who are disabled and have parking placards but we don't get to park in those spots because they're constantly taken.

I get that you might not want to park farther away or whatever. But that spot is reserved for people who need it. And yes I know not everyone can get a placard or plates and these people might be disabled. I only recently was able to get mine despite being disabled for years. But never once did I park in the disabled spots that I didn't have a placard for. Never did I dream of parking in the loading zone that might be necessary for someone to get in or out of their car.

Today I drove in and saw that once again the three spots were taken, and I recognized two of the cars as the repeat offenders who don't have placards. I stopped in front of the spots to reevaluate where to park, when an older Black man got out of his truck in the third spot and came over to ask if I wanted his spot. When he recognized that I'm the person with the cane he immediately was like "I'll move it's no problem" even though he did have a parking placard. I'm so grateful that he did that. And I hope I see him again today so I can properly express that to him. But he shouldn't have had to do that. We should have both been able to park in the accessible spots. This isn't an instance of lack of accessibility but of (almost certainly) ablebodied people being inconsiderate and ableist and taking up a limited resource set aside to help disabled people.

Don't park in the disabled spots if you don't have a parking placard/plates (or whatever it is outside the US). DONT park in the loading zones! If I had brought my wheelchair to work and someone was parked in the loading zone I wouldn't have been able to get it out of my car. I don't care if no one ever parks there and they're always empty and you think you aren't harming anyone. I don't care if you don't understand why we need them or need so many or need loading zones or whatever. Its common fucking courtesy to not be an ableist asshole.

[hella1975]

i went on the date...

[bitterseadrop-a]

y'all if you wanna unfollow me ?? or i follow first and you don't want to interact ?? for literally whatever reason ?? that's totally fine.

only thing i ask is that you hardblock me, especially if it's a follow first from my side. i understand if you don't want to interact, you're entitled to curate your dash to your own needs. but i don't wanna stand here like an idiot or seem obnoxious by following again after i've already been soft-blocked, because 9/10 i won't remember if i've followed you before.

and if you have hardblocked me and change your mind one day, wanting to interact ?? i'm cool with that as well. i won't ask questions. heck even if you shouldn't be feeling any interactions at the moment but want to interact at a later point, you're free to shoot me a dm or just follow back 5 years down the line.

[halo-lll-odst]

whats your favorite half life creature

I LOVE THE ANTLIONS SO MUCH theyre so goofy lookin and i think theyre really cute tbh. their sound effects are so good too they just buzz around and screech a bit. whenever i play nova prospekt i treat them like my children they are so goddamn cute. also i for some reason love the fucked up fact that their back legs are their front ones and their front legs are there back ones? like look at em theyre so funky. whats up with them i love them so

houndeyes are probably a favorite too, i remember i once saw on a video analysis of houndeye behaviour i think it was? that someone's headcanon for them was that they aren't inherently hostile, but they just get so excited and unfortunately the sonic pulses they release as energy hurt the player. theyre just little space dogs and theyre really happy and theyre just so excited :( i wanna hold one also also also probably snarks, though maybe to a lesser degree? i think i moreso like how gordon plays with them as an idle animation in both hl1 and the black mesa remake LOL but theyre still super cute.

stupid round thing i love it so fucking much. handheld idiot.

[worstloki]

i think natasha and thor have an obligation to set up a playdate between their younger siblings. at least once

[toytulini]

wish the little listicles and articles reccomending google alternatives didnt like, mention ios. like no offense but do you think i dont know what an iphone is. you think im looking into google alternatives but i dont know that apple exists? you really think that? if i was going to buy a fucking apple product id already be doing that?

[larnax]

what i really like so far abt 2 is that they put in a lot more little details. the sprites still have the paper doll thing where sometimes you need to approximate an action thats too complicated to animate but way more stuff DOES have custom animations like particio pulling out a bag or throné doing the little knife flip at the end of battles, and also it seems like the protagonists you havent picked up yet have different dialogue depending on the party leader who talks to them which is great. most importantly though i really like that they have dialogue that react to each other in combat though, like giving them all lines for when specific party members do a good job or are in danger is really sweet