#my last two brain cells go brrrrrr…..

[sleepdeprivedsimp234]

~so I’m still toying with the idea of Cryptid/Animal!States, so I made a small fic for it and I thought it was kinda cute so here~

⚠️TW⚠️: mentions or references to 9/11, hurt/comfort, FLUFFINESS- so much soft mushy fluffiness, the characters may be OOC, and me over-explaining NY’s animal/cryptid form lmao.

For some "slight" context: NY is some blend of a cat, a blue jay, and LA is a blend of wolf (cuz the Rougarou) and gator (cuz why not-)

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Florida and Louisiana were sitting in the living room together one peaceful evening. Or as peaceful as it could get in the statehouse. Loui laid in Florida’s lap as the taller gently played with his wolf-like ears that he had decided to let out, his wolf-like tail gently thudding against the side of the couch making a calming little sound amidst the silence. He suppressed a slight giggle when Florida decided to be a little mean and gently scratch behind the Pelican State’s ear. His ears perked up slightly when he heard footsteps coming into the living room. He sat up slightly and saw that it was just New York walking into the room and sitting on the opposite side of the couch.

"Hey Loui?" Florida whispered to him.

"Yea sha?"

"Have any of us ever seen what kind of animal-thing New York is?" Asked the Sunshine State.

"Uh….-" Loui paused to think. He doesn’t remember ever seeing York have any animal features. I mean, sure he purrs like a damn cat and has the claws and fangs of one, but otherwise he hasn’t seen anything. Not even when he had first met the Empire State. "Come to think of it sha, no, I don’t think we have."

"Whelp. Tonight’s the night to find out what he is." Exclaimed Florida. He waited for Loui to get up before tiptoeing over to the other side of the living room where York was completely lost in his book. "Hey New York!" he shouted slightly.

The Empire State jumped a bit before glaring at the slightly shorter state. "Jesus Christ….Whaddya want Swamp-For-Brains?"

"I just had a question for you." Florida said with a smirk.

York sighed a bit. "What is it?"

"So I just wanted to know, what are you?"

"….What?" Asked York, who was visibly confused.

"Well y’know how Loui is a weird gator-wolf thing, and Human Torch is a bear?" Florida asked.

"Yea…?"

"I was curious as to what animal-thing you were." Florida stated.

"Nope."

"Cmonnnnn please?"

"Hell no."

"Why are you so boring…?"

"Don’t care."

"Pleaseeeee??"

"F*ck off."

"C’mon Yorkie~~"

"Ughhh…. If I show you, will you leave me alone?" York said, sending a death glare the Sunshine State’s way.

"Uh-huh!!" Florida promised, though NY knew that it was probably a half-a$$ed promise.

"Fine…." NY said. He motioned for Florida to back up a little so he could stand before standing up in front of him. He closed his eyes and about five seconds later, a bunch of firework-like flashes filled the area surrounding him before there was a bright flash that temporarily blinded the other two states. When the flashing subsided , the two smaller states eventually regained their vision, and they were not disappointed with what they saw….

There the Empire State stood. He was at least a few inches taller. He had feathery-elf-like ears, and a pair of what had to be cat ears on top of his head along with some more blue-jay feathers running down the sides of his neck and shoulders. New York also seemed to have some feathers on his forearms as well as some claws where his fingernails were. He had a long tail that came out of the small of his back and looked like a cat tail at first, but started to look more like a blue-jay’s tail feathers. And lastly, this part was a bit concerning. Why was it concerning, you may ask? Well, he also had a beautiful pair of large blue-jay wings, but they seemed to be beat-up and broken, seeing as they drooped pathetically close to the ground near the Empire State’s feet and looked like they could be injured with a single touch….

"Oh my god you are so CUTE!!!" Florida squealed loudly, looking at the Empire State with the same look you would give a kitten.

New York blushed brightly and his feather-ears pinned back slightly as he glared at the Sunshine State. "No I am not!!"

"He’s right, sha. You are pretty adorable." Loui said, though secretly his main focus was on York’s wings. He was trying to think of what must’ve happened for them to look so- broken and delicate….

"Not you too 🥲" York groaned slightly. Suddenly he felt himself get tackled onto the couch. He opened his eyes to see Florida on his lap before feeling a soft touch of the Sunshine State’s calloused fingers playing with his feather-ears. "Really?"

"They’re so fluffy!!" Florida exclaimed.

"Yea I know. Ya coulda just asked instead of tackling me duma$$."

"Yea but you would’ve said no."

"Fair enough. Hehehehey cuhuhut ihit out!" York giggled when Florida decided to be mean and gently scratch him behind the ears like he did with Loui. A few seconds later, Florida stopped torturing him. The three states sat in silence until it was broken by a squeak coming from the Empire State when he felt two gentle fingers run across one of his wings.

"Oop- sorry sha. Did dat hurt?" Loui said as he retracted his hand from where it was over York’s wing.

"N-not really you must surprised me a little." York said quietly. He tensed up slightly when Loui went back to touch his wing, this time to straighten out a few of the feathers as gently as he could.

"If ya don’t mind me askin’, what happened to your wings sha? I’m sorry, they’re beautiful but they also just look so….broken and fragile." Loui said, concerned for his friend. At first, York thought it might’ve been meant to be a slightly teasing remark, but with the way the younger’s ears and tail drooped, he knew it was genuine concern.

His own tail and ears drooped slightly as he gave a small sigh and felt a few tears fill his eyes but not fall ."I-I’d rather n-not get into the details, but it was from….That. Event. In 2001…." He paused for a minute before looking at the two other states, who had not pity, but genuine concern in their eyes.

And so he continued to explain."F*ck it….I was flying around the towers and sh*t looking for anybody that I could save in the air if they were jumping out a window so that maybe that would possibly have a chance at continuing to live and and-"

"Shhh it’s ok, slow down sha. You need to breathe at some point." He heard the calming voice of Louisiana say. He hadn’t even noticed that his breathing had quickened, but he eventually slowed down and relaxed when he felt a gentle hand over his.

"Well I was looking for people to save in the air and I saw this guy that was nearby me about to jump and I flew over to save him as quick as possible before the towers fully collapsed. I managed to catch him, but unfortunately I hate to it this way, but he kind of a bigger guy and my wings got hit with a f*ck ton of rubble. And to add insult to injury, I already had a gaping wound across my entire back. I managed to save him along with a few others, but at the cost of my wings."

The two smaller states stared with concern and sorrow at their friend’s story.

"I-I have no words for once…." Florida mumbled. For once, he was rendered speechless.

"T-that’s terrible….Im sorry dat happened sha…." Loui said, his ears and tail drooping even more.

New York gulped slightly as he tried to hold back tears. "It’s n-not that big a deal, what matters most is the fact that those people survived." he said quietly, his voice shaking a bit. Out of nowhere he felt two arms wrap around him in a tight embrace. He could smell the slight scent of daiquiri and strawberries, so he knew that it was Loui that had hugged him. He buried his face in his friend’s shoulder as he let a few tears fall down his face. "Dammit why do I have to be so weak…." He mumbled to himself, but it was loud enough that the other two heard him.

Florida moved a little closer to him and gently wiped a tear from his face. "It’s not weak to need to cry, New York. Everybody needs a good cry once in a while, it’s completely normal. It’s also completely normal to need some form of affection too, so don’t start beating yourself up over needing it. I will not hesitate to do what I did to Tennessee and send the meth gators."

That got a small chuckle out of the Empire State, even though it sounded more like a smoker’s cough (probably from all the smoke—). York allowed himself to get pulled into a laying position by Louisiana, and just buried his face in his chest with a deep contented sigh.

Florida managed to get on the other side of them, and started gently petting NY’s cat-ears., and in response York started purring and his tail started swaying gently. Florida laughed to himself a bit. No matter how much NY said he hated this kind of affection, anybody that knew him well enough knew that he did in fact enjoy it a lot, just at the moment there was a tail to prove it :)

And they all fell asleep the end :)

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@simpyfrog I did it :D

And @literallyjustexistinghere cuz you seem to be just as obsessed with NY as I am lmao

[everything-laito]

damn the brain be out here going BRRRRRR here’s the Laito and Cordelia Analysis (with a little bit of Karl sprinkled in) Part III

wow my fingers are freezing but my brain sure isn't! 

aaaanyways, iiiiiit’s trauma time!!! Am I a productive member of society by writing these analyses? No. Do I gain anything by writing them? Kinda, my brain gets exercised and they’re fun to research for. But if you haven’t read the first part or the second part for some reason (I recommend reading them in order), there they are. 

Once again, trigger warnings still apply; mainly about trauma, isolation, etc 

I’m gonna talk about the trauma and effects it had on Laito and to attempt to extrapolate why he is the way he is. I have a lot of examples I want to go over and stuff to talk about, so I think the trauma part is going to be split between two (or maybe three) parts. I also have a little bit to say about Karlheinz.

As always, big ass rant under the cut! 

Section 6: Neuroplasticity and Trauma

Oh???? More science vernacular??? You BET! Ok, neuroplasticity. I know I’ve talked about it on this blog. But, I seriously doubt that there is a madlad who has read all of my analyses (speaking of which, I should update the master list lmao) and I don’t expect anyone to do that LOL! Anyways, this neurological concept is the ability of neurons to adapt to certain circumstances or stimuli by creating new neurological pathways (through synapses). This basically relates to memory and learning. It’s why we don’t stay the same person as we grow and develop. It’s responsible from mindset changes to response to traumatic events. It plays a huge part in trauma, which is why “repressed memories” occur as well. 

Trauma, taken from Psychology Today, is defined as: 

...the experience of severe psychological distress following any terrible or life-threatening event. Sufferers may develop emotional disturbances such as extreme anxiety, anger, sadness, survivor’s guilt, or PTSD.

It’s a basic definition. And although I’d assume people would know what trauma is already, but knowing the lexical definition of something can be good to know before going into it. 

Obviously, Laito has trauma, there’s literally no refuting that. But, the point I’m getting at, is the reason why he is the way he is today is because of neuroplasticity. As previously stated, we are going to assume the DL vampire brain works similarly or the same as a human brain. So, because of the stress put upon the brain (Cordelia’s actions and Laito’s general upbringing in a stress filled household), Laito’s brain was rewired (neuroplasticity). This section doesn’t really have much new information, but I wanted to give a baseline since there’s many people who don’t know what neuroplasticity is.

Laito’s definitely different than what he was as a kid. He still kind of had his smarts, and might have been  but as we’ve deducted from the first part of this series, he might have been groomed. On top of that, the brain is easily moldable when you’re a child (which is why grooming makes sense for Laito’s case), and continues to snip brain cells off and form new connections. 

Section 7: Little intermission about Karlheinz 

I know I haven’t really talked about Karlheinz yet. So this will be the section that I do it in. I know this part is about Laito’s trauma, but it’s so hard to not just weave other characters into it. Nothing is stand-alone, which is why it was so hard for me to plan this out. I was debating about saving this for another analysis, but I feel like it fits. 

I referenced this in Part II, Section 5 of this analysis series. Basically, Karlheinz throws Laito into the dungeon and locks him up. Not Karlheinz personally, but he ordered someone to do it. We don’t explicitly know why, but there’s several implications. A huge one is that it was part of Karlheinz’ experiment. Before Dark Fate, I was like “wait, so did Karl find out about Laito/Cordelia? And got like jealous or was like ‘nah this shit fucked up no thanks’?” I was really scratching my head on that. But in Dark Fate, you find that Karlheinz knew about Cordelia and Laito, and even really wanted it to happen. Which is all sorts of fucked up. This really put Laito in for a loop. Here’s a scene from Dark Fate: 

Laito: That woman always, always believed in Karlheinz. Laito: She believed he married her because he loved her, wanted her. That’s why she was sure that one day... he will give his love only to her.  Laito: But she was tricked. She wasn’t loved from the start... Laito: -And I’m a victim of this unbelievable mistake... That’s how it is. Laito: I was treated as a vent for her feelings. Yui: ...Laito-kun... Laito: I’m sure he knew that something like this will happen... He is a god after all... Laito: I was hoping that... He just overlooked it up until now... Laito: But... I was naive.  Laito: I was only planned a scapegoat. 

God, when I played this, that just freaking struck me to my core. That’s so awful. Ironically... Karlheinz probably has some high level of emotional intelligence. I don’t believe he could be labeled as a sociopath, considering he has this high level understanding of pathos. He’s not god in a sense that he controls everyone individually himself. He’s so good at manipulation that he basically creates fate itself (whether you believe in it or not). He’s generally intelligent and cunning, and it also just helps with the fact that he’s immortal and can time travel. He knows cause and effect by now, and I believe Lost Eden said something about how he’s done so many different “timelines.” 

The definition of a god in a philosophical sense can be broken down into three words: omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. More wicked cool jargon! Yay! Here’s what they mean for extra clarification:

Omniscient: All knowing Omnipresent: All seeing Omnipotent: All doing

Sure Karlheinz doesn’t absolutely know everything, nor can see everything, and he definitely has limits to his power, but he has gained knowledge through living for so many years and time traveling; he has familiars which add to the whole “all seeing” part; and he has a lot of power. So basically, in the most semi-”realistic” sense, it would definitely be the closest being to any kind of god.

Karlheinz is probably the reason why Laito himself has such contempt towards religion, and the existence of a god in general. Sure, the boys are like “that shit’s made up by humans” in general, but it would make sense for Laito himself to have that specific hatred. It makes sense that these vampires would be like “oh that’s made up by humans” when they’ve been around forever and have seen multiple religions come and go. (I’m mainly talking about in DL’s lore case, not starting a religious argument; please don’t take it as such––just to clarify)

Section 8: Isolation

Originally, the previous part was going to be about Laito’s isolation being locked up. However, I went off the rails and it turned into that little intermission. This is going to be a shorter section, but I still wanted to talk about, and it will weave into the next section. 

There is no implications about how long Laito was locked up (and tortured) in the dungeon. There’s also no implications about why he was tortured. But torture and isolation puts such stress on the brain that there’s definitely going to be some kind of outcome if persisting for a good period of time. So let’s take a look at what that does to a person. 

Once again, taking this with a grain of salt. I imagine vampires don’t need to rely on social interaction as much as humans do, considering they live forever. But we don’t know. However, throwing Laito into a state of isolation implies that it would be some type of torture or harsh punishment for a vampire, which therefore implies that social interaction is a necessity for emotional function. It’s just sound, inductive logic. 

So now, as for isolation, I’m using this article as reference. It’s a pretty interesting one to read. Here’s another extensive article as well. Basically isolation can cause:

Depression/anxiety

Immune system deficiencies (basically more likely to get physically ill)

Sleep cycle changes (if put underground or with limited natural light)

Hallucinations

Paranoia

Issues with processing information and more susceptible to persuasion/manipulation

We have no clue if Laito’s experience fits all of these. Also, the second one can be crossed out because vampires in DL can’t get physically sick in the way we can. Also, unsure about the sleep cycle stuff considering they are used to being in the dark. Hallucinations and paranoia can’t be crossed off nor proven. 

Being isolated physically and mentally exhausts the mind, which is why it’s also a way of torture. Laito implies that he was tortured with physical devices, but regardless, it’s still stress on the mind. This type of stress definitely goes along with what was mentioned with neuroplasticity and trauma, which also supports the last bullet point: issues processing information and being more susceptible to persuasion/manipulation. Take this flashback from Maniac Prologue in HDB that I used in Part II section 5 (but here’s even more context):

Laito: ーー Let me go!! Let me out of here! Butler: I can’t, young lord. We’ve received strict orders from your father. I am deeply sorry, but please stay put for a while. Laito: What’s the point in having me chained up in here!? Butler: ーーI am very sorry. Laito: Hahahaha…You stupid old man! Do you think that this will make repent!? How foolish! That demon! Has his brain finally rotten from spending too much time with humans!? ー Cordelia appears Cordelia: ー Oh? Laito: …!? Have you come to save me? Cordelia: Oh dear. Ufufu…I’m sorry Laito, that isn’t it. Laito: Eh? Richter: ー Why are you here? Laito: …That’s my line. Cordelia: Okay, okay. No fighting! More importantly, Richter…Come here. Laito: …!? Cordelia: Nnn…Hey, Laito. You are a good boy. Laito: …!! Cordelia: Right, Laito? Laito: Yeah, that’s right. I’m…I’m a good boy after all.  ーー Besides, I’m the type of person who only get more aroused from this kind of thing.

Although I also use this to support the whole Stockholm syndrome point, this could also be supported with the trauma isolation also holds. His mind is being re-molded into the facade he holds. Also, note the whole “do you think this will make me repent?!” part. Just a very interesting thing. The word “repent” implies that there’s something to feel guilty about or the person knows that what they’ve done is bad. It just goes to show that Laito has some part of guilt or moral compass still in tact. 

You can also argue that this scene was when Laito just got locked up, or he’s been here for a while. Either way, he could have also been socially isolated before this too, just hanging around Cordelia like it’s implied when he was a child. Remember the whole not being in bed 9/10 times when he was a child? Yeah, controlled social isolation. We also rarely see Laito with other characters in his flashbacks. I don’t believe we see him with his brothers in any of his flashbacks from what I can recall; he’s usually with Cordelia. Just implies (to me) that he’s around her a lot. And being locked up is also a more extreme case of that, which would mold the brain even more. 

I know that was a LOT to process and read. I sure hope this still is cohesive for you all. I’m pretty bad at organizing this kind of stuff; it’s a bit difficult since it all just goes together. Which, kudos on the writers of DL, because that’s just good writing. I was going to put something about gaslighting in this part, but that might be too long, so I’m going to make that a separate part or include it in the next part. 

If you have any questions, feel free to just put it in the inbox. I’m planning on making the last part of this series answering all the Laito/Cordelia questions I’ve received, or just general questions pertaining to this analysis in general, whether it be tangential questions or clarifying questions. 

Hope you all are still enjoying this ride as much as I am!  -Corn

[junker-town]

How do I get into woodworking without losing a finger?

Stuck inside the house? Here’s how you, yes you, can get into woodworking.

Chances are you’re stuck at home right now, and you could use a new hobby. Maybe you’re trying to learn a new language. Maybe you’re getting into new kinds of personal fitness. Maybe you’re finally clearing out that backlog of unfinished video games.

Or maybe you’re like me and have small children at home, so you’re ignoring all of that stuff to watch Frozen II again.

But even kids eventually go to sleep (usually), and you can only watch Tiger King so many times. If you need something else to occupy your brain during quarantine, I’d like to suggest one of my favorite pastimes. Now is actually a great time to pick up woodworking!

Wait, why would anybody want to start woodworking? Why on Earth is that fun?

If you’d like to become more handy in general, woodworking is a great way to gain the basic skills and confidence needed to tackle all sorts of repair jobs. If you can teach yourself how to build a small bookshelf or table without cutting off your arms, you’ll be a lot more confident in your ability to tackle another project. Now you have an excuse to learn how to use the tools gathering dust in your garage!

Another fun side effect of getting into this stuff? You’ll be able to say stuff like “rip cuts” and “cross cuts” and “joinery,” asserting your dominance over other neighborhood dads. Sure, they may have nicer cars, and their kids are apparently all on the honor roll at St. Expensive’s Academy, but do they know how to rip some plywood and cross cut some hardwood? Huh, DARRYL?

For me, learning to build stuff also engaged a new part of my brain. If you’re like me, and you write or do spreadsheets or push paper for a living, there’s a good chance that nothing you create will last more than a few weeks. But that side table I built for my office — even with its dings, weird grain patterns and a screw that I couldn’t hide completely — will last for decades. I can step out of my garage after a few hours, covered in sawdust, and create something. For me, that’s immensely satisfying.

Plus, power tools are loud and fun!

Yeah, but I watched an episode of This Old House once and that guy has a gazillion tools. Don’t I need to spend thousands of dollars to actually make anything useful?

Listen, I love Bob Vila too. But you don’t need to own every single tool in order to have fun woodworking or to build interesting stuff. You really only need a few tools to get started, and you might even have some of them already.

As far as power tools go, for the absolute beginner, here’s what I’d recommend:

A power drill *and* an impact driver. Even apartment dwellers would probably benefit from a drill, which makes basic tasks like hanging pictures or assembling furniture much easier. You CAN get by with just a drill, but I really recommend springing for a separate impact driver and using the drill just for making holes. That way, you don’t have to fuss with changing bits as often (which means you’ll be less likely to lose them). And the extra power from the impact driver can make driving screws cleanly and quickly a little easier.

You can find a brand new set for around $100 bucks at most hardware stores, but you can find them used for much cheaper.

power drill go brrrrrr

A circular saw. This is about the cheapest saw you can get that will break down just about any kind of board. Nothing else breaks down large sheet goods, like plywood, as easily, making circular saws handy for household DIY-type projects. And if you don’t need boards to be exact, a circular saw is still very effective at making crosscuts (cutting boards vertically), though it can be cumbersome if you’re trying to “rip” boards (cutting them horizontally to make them more narrow) or do any sort of precise cut. I’ve built garden beds and rough shop furniture using nothing but my circular saw, but more often I use it for household projects.

You can find a circular saw new for $40, and for under $20 used.

A miter saw. Miter saws are used for cross cuts, or cutting boards vertically. They’re super easy to use, very safe, fairly precise and a great first tool for anybody new to woodworking. All you have to do is pull the saw down to the board where you want to make a cut, and a second or two later: boom, you have two boards and some sawdust. You can do some fancy joint work with these if you’re really patient, but even at a basic level, this may be the only saw you need to build your first workbench and other projects that rely on using dimensional lumber from a big box store.

You can get new miter saws for under $100, but I’d personally recommend you spring for at least a 10’’ blade, and those usually go for around $130 new.

A note about table saws: Most woodworking enthusiasts will tell you that the most important tool in the shop is the table saw, and that’s true. It is by far the best tool for making horizontal cuts, and just about any kind of joint that doesn’t involve a screw. But it’s also a more intimidating tool, and a little more expensive. If you play with the other tools and decide you really want to get into woodworking, a table saw is a must-purchase, but I don’t think it’s required for a newbie. My advice is the same for other useful tools, like routers, jigsaws, belt sanders, planers, jointers and more.

There are a few other things you’ll probably need that aren’t power tools, like wood glue, screws, clamps and sandpaper, but none of that is expensive or takes up much space. And it’s all stuff you might want to just own, anyway.

But I don’t have a garage, or space to store all these tools. Can I still build stuff with wood?

If you have electricity and a yard or common space, all of the tools I mentioned are very light and can be easily used outside (although you should probably double check with your landlord). You can also build all sorts of things with hand tools instead of power tools. Hand saws, chisels and planers can do a lot of the same stuff as electrical saws, and usually at an even more precise level. They just require more time and patience.

Personally, I think hand tools are more dangerous than power tools. I’ve never been injured in any way from any of my power tools, but I do have a big ‘ol scar on my left thumb from when a chisel skipped over a knot in a spoon I was making and plunged directly into my finger.

If your workpiece is properly secured, and you’re paying attention, you’ll probably be fine. But power tools make a lot of noise and force every cell in your body to give them proper respect. It’s a little easier to get lulled into a false sense of security with hand tools.

Personally, I use power tools for most of what I build, but I’m also a dumb caveman sports blogger. If you want to channel your inner Ron Swanson and learn to cut dovetails, live your best life. Your furniture will probably look better than mine.

I’m stuck in my house, how am I actually supposed to learn how to use any of this?

Youtube University is your friend. Just about every power tool has videos explaining how to unbox, assemble and safely operate it, and DIY Youtube is full of helpful explainers. When I was first getting started, I really enjoyed the Woodworking For Mere Mortals channel, but there are loads of other good ones, like Wood Work Web and This Old House. Even stuff directly from your tool manufacturer can be great. A quick search for “how to build X” is often really instructive.

Figure out what you’d like to build, find some plans online (there are loads of free ones), and give a basic project a shot! You’ll be surprised by what you can create.

Here’s some stuff I’ve built!

The coffee table and the two bookshelves were things I made. The plants and all the books? I didn’t make those.

Am I ready to quit the internet factory and pivot to carpentry? Absolutely not! Everything I make has tons of flaws, and I’m still a beginner myself. But is this a fun hobby that forces me to stay off Twitter, think differently and help keep my house properly outfitted? Sure!

And hey, if I have the power tools running, I can’t hear Frozen II again. These days, that’s a pretty big plus.