#protip: this will not make you feel better you will just feel worse

[these-are-the-first-steps]

You probably haven't considered this, but you posting about your first world problems when there are many of us who are out here struggling just to afford the basics is really tone-deaf, and not like you.

There are plenty of us whose are struggling to afford food and rent, those of us who are sick and can't see a doctor because we can't afford a doctor's bill, those of us struggling to find a job that will pay a decent wage and still treat us like human beings.

We get it, you are financially well off. Congratulations, you played the game correctly and won. But please bear in mind that there are plenty of us who would love it if our only problems were shaky arms from going to the gym too much, or wondering if a new air-conditioning unit will work.

I am literally on unemployment and have gone TWO YEARS without air conditioning. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

I am not obliged to trauma dump on the internet so you, a complete fucking stranger, can point and laugh at my problems and feel better about yourself. Go watch reality tv if you want to feel superior. Fuck off.

PS: please come into my inbox again so I can block you. Piece of shit. Feel better now? 🥴

[did-osdd-culture-is]

(Mentioned general trauma)

P-did/osdd 1-a culture is fucking WISHING so badly that you were more fully split so that you could stop feeling hazy all the time and being unable to interact with neither the singlet nor system cultures.

Thinking “if it had just been worse. If it had been worse maybe this disorder would be “worse” and I could at least understand better.”

protip anon splitting worse doesn't make the hazy feelings better. I havent been fully grounded in years. I rarely have a full grasp of who I am or what's going on around me except for a couple times a day at best. don't do that to yourself. it's not helping you and even if you could make it worse that obviously works not help either

[monsterparade]

re: social anxiety— after many years of struggling with the same thing and freaking out as it got worse as i "matured," i eventually figured out that the only thing that really helped was pushing through it and confronting my fears head-on, little by little (which other people had been advising me and which i HATED hearing, but turns out it's actually true /:). it really helps to hype yourself up as much as you can beforehand by picturing interactions going *perfectly,* in detail, and telling yourself/believing that it *will* play out just like this, if not better! blah blah manifestation etc (it...works, though. truly.). if you find your mind drifting into negative thinking, gently drop that train of thought and redirect your attention to something else. social anxiety is habitual patterning in the brain that can be rewired much more easily than you'd expect. the more you stress over your "worsening" anxiety, the more conditioned you become to responding anxiously to certain triggers. start unlearning this patterning by being aware of your own thinking, noticing when you start to revert to it and then focusing your attention on something that has no stressful associations, like a pet or whatever. find a 'happy place' that you can cultivate in your mind's eye, to retreat to when negative thinking rears up again. fill this place with joyful thoughts that relax you and make you feel good. if/when you do push past the anxiety and connect socially, celebrate afterwards and reward yourself for trying no matter what happens (and chances are it will go so much better than you'd expect!), and find a way to relax! demonstrate to your brain that social interactions are actually fine and see how quickly things change for you :)

protips: join a zoom offering that many people participate in, and remain off-camera. it might feel scary to participate but you'll be surprised how lowkey it really is. say something nice in the chat box! maybe later, test your courage by turning your camera on :) also, try leaving nice anonymous messages in people's askboxes on tumblr. when you're feeling less intimidated, leave asks that aren't anonymous! most people are gonna love this!! or leave comments on fics on ao3, as a guest if you're more comfortable, or not— better yet if the author frequently replies to comments! small interactions like these get easier and easier, until your brain becomes desensitized to any anxiety over these kinds of actions <3

Hey, there! Thanks for taking the time to send this, that was very kind. And it's all definitely good advice. Working to redirect my negative thoughts will be an uphill battle, especially now that I'm without a therapist, but something I still need to be more diligent about. I love the idea of leaving comments on fanfics as social practice. I kinda do that on tiktok as well, but hadn't even thought to frame that as socializing for some reason, haha!

[melancholic-pigeon]

protip: sometimes you feel horrible because you need to be on a medication

sometimes you feel horrible because you need to be on a different medication

and sometimes you feel horrible because you need to be off a medication.

Because it seems the thing I was on for my depression can cause depressed mood as a side effect.

It's a little counterintuitive, right? "Oh, my depression has been getting worse, I should probably stop my meds" isn't exactly the first line of thinking one typically has. Fortunately, I have a psychiatrist who seems to know her shit!

I just really was not expecting to feel so much better because of stopping a med. I was kind of freaking out a little, actually, because I'd basically tried everything and the only antidepressant that worked was contraindicated and I couldn't take it— but that was before I went on ADHD meds.

Like, seriously, if you're on shit and it isn't working, adjust it. Don't give up on yourself. Brain chemistry is a funny thing and the smallest changes can make an enormous difference.

[rhube]

Protip: get a cheap heart rate monitor (doesn't need to be a fitbit) that also tracks you sleep. I have a Veryfit Heart Rate Monitor. It was about £30, which is still a chunk of change, I know, but it is the single thing that has most improved my sleeping patterns most quickly.

I wouldn't have believed it if I had told me.

I got it purely to monitor my heart rate, as ppl with MECFS operate with a higher metabolism and I get into the zone that causes post-exertional malaise at about 85 beats per minute, which thanks to my heart monitor I now know happens at normal walking pace.

That was the last straw that made me give up my allotment - a thing I should have done years before - because I could actually see that what I was doing went against the advice for stabilising my condition.

But that's not why I'm talking about it today.

I'm talking about it because the app that came with it also monitors my sleep patterns. And I looked at it sometimes for funsies. And I noticed that it frequently thought is was already in light sleep while I was downstairs on the sofa, cruising the net.

I'd been avoiding bed because I have chronic insomnia - have done most of my life - which was made worse by a series of terrible neighbours who would start having parties (or loud sex) around midnight. When you know you won't get to sleep, you just stay up. And for years after I got better, safer housing, the anxiety about going to bed and laying alone with my depressive thoughts stayed with me.

But now I knew two facts:

1. Sleep comes in cycles. If you power through when you start to feel sleepy, you then won't be in the best state for going to sleep when you DO go to bed. You might have to wait about 2 or 3 hours until you are!

2. My body was getting ready for sleep at around 11pm, just like it had when I had a healthy sleep pattern.

My heart rate slowed and I moved around less (these are the things heart rate monitors track when they guess that you're asleep). I might have been awake, but my body was doing the things it does when it's ready to fall asleep.

So I started going to bed around the time my heart rate monitor thought I usually fell asleep.

Friends I got to sleep so much more easily??

For a while I woke up during the middle of the night more (that's partly an MECFS thing) but within a few days my body was reset to go to bed 11-12pm and make-up at 7.30-8.30am.

I had been going to sleep at 1-3am for YEARS. I feared I would never break the habit, because I thought it had to be done gradually.

But my heart rate monitor had given me a secret window into the internal rhythms of my body. My old sleeping patterns were still there, I just needed the external reassurance my monitor gave me to help still my anxiety and let me resume them.

I dramatically cut down on day-sleeping and was actually sort of functional before 11am again.

And to emphasise: I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. My body wants to hibernate - light sleep all the time, deep sleep never - generally walking around visible conscious but eyes drooping.

It didn't cure me - I'm still sick - but boy howdie is it ever the best thing for my sleep since I got a mattress that didn't have springs poking out.

If you struggle with sleep, invest in a heart rate monitor. Your body is trying to tell you when it wants to go to bed, and the monitor enables you to hear it.

If you can't afford one, ask for it for your birthday (I got mine with birthday money).

Sleep effects everything. Sleeping properly has helped me manage my emotions and my job to keep me employed and reduce stress. I'll not deny that I am still a hot mess, but I am SIGNIFICANTLY less of a mess than I was.

[fencesandfrogs]

hello :( I'm procrastinating and I have a test in two hours. I'm terrified of even looking at basic stuff I just need to remember (I'm kind of rusty rn) because .. I don't know. Do you have any advice?

hi! i hope i’m not too late to help <3 (according to my email you’re abt an hour out from ur test)

okay here’s my protips: take a deep breath. emergency studying is not going to help you super super much, so prioritize being calm/centered. i mean don’t not study, just make sure you’re not freaking out worse because you’re studying.

you’re going to be okay. you’ve got this.

if it’s open note, then i suggest seeing if someone else has a cheat sheet online you can print out. it’s kind of a specific tip, but it’s a good way to study as you review it and highlight the important stuff. doing that the morning of ap tests saved my ass last may when i was hyperdepressed and barely functional.

make sure your space is set up for test taking if you’re at home. clean off everything you can, fill a bottle of water, make sure you have plenty of paper, sharp pencils, whatever you need. i suggest some form of stress ball/fidget toy.

remember that you know more than you think. i understand the desire to not look at anything, and i do think it’s more important to feel confident than to study when you’re close to a testing deadline, but studying anything is often enough to kick your brain into gear. my suggestion is to grab a study guide if you made/were given one, or a textbook, syllabus, set of learning objectives, etc., if you don’t, and just run through each topic in about one sentence.

if you don’t remember anything, that’s okay. google it/check the textbook/whatever the fastest way to get a really quick summary of the subject is, make a mark of it as a topic you didn’t really know, then move on.

once you’re done with that, circle back to the topics you weren’t sure of. alternate between recitation and review until you feel like you’re on somewhat firm ground. if you spend more than five minutes on a topic, just move on.

if you still have time after this, and you want to study, then i suggest reviewing key equations, proofs, theorems, vocabulary, whatever is relevant for the subject your test is on. read through examples in your textbook. usually trying practice problems freaks me out more, but if it won’t freak you out, you can certainly go for it.

if it’s open note, and this is applicable, i also suggest writing out some common problem types, the strategy to solve them, and where you can find more information (textbook page numbers? a certain sticky note in your notebook? etc.)

give yourself 10 minutes before the test starts to listen to whatever confidence boosting music you like (this is classical/orchestral “get shit done”, this is soft rock “indie folk for focus”, and this is upbeat pop “songs to sing in the shower” if you need suggestions), take deep breaths (scientifically proven to make you feel better, simplest pattern i know is “in for 4, hold for 4, out for 4, hold for 4″ — four steps, each for four seconds), and reassure yourself you will be okay. remember that this one test does not define you, and you’re going to give it your best.

i’m rooting for you! i’ll try to check back in like 5 minutes if you want more specifics: i don’t know what your test is on but i have a lot of links to study resources, if you send me a subject i might be able to throw something back your way. best of luck! <3

[krizaland]

Do you think in your Zimvoid story that our zim has a random picture of his s/o in his pak and is looking at it a lot. Like he is under the impression he might not ever see his s/o again. (the sad talk from all the other zims arent helping either.)

How delightfully angsty Anon! You just made me cry gave me inspiration for a chapter 2!

Bring some tissues and strap in! We’re going on another feels trip! I apologize for any sadness this chapter may bring you!

Be warned: There’s spoilers for the Invader Zim comics ahead!

First Chapter

Protip: If you listen to a funny song (like a meme song such as: All Star or even circus music) while reading angst then it helps halt the tears. 

Meanwhile, your Zim had just climbed the ranks in the arena.

“Congratulations, 2170, you’re the new 2165. You can look forward to your new assignment, Mold Scraper” 500 sighed as he changed the number on your Zim’s collar.

“What?! No! Is that better than sewage unclogger?” Your Zim huffed.

“Very slightly”

“Unacceptable! I demand something better!” You Zim snapped as he pointed to the sky.

“Well if you really want to participate in more fights..” 500 pulled out his book of Zim opponents and flipped through the pages.

“As many as it takes! It’ll be a cakewalk! No Zim walks cakes better than I! You hear?!” You Zim declared as he shook his fist at the sky.

“Just point me in the way of the mes I need to destroy!” Your Zim’s voice dripped with venom as a sinister grin spread across his face.

“Alright, let me chose your next opponent. Just wait here for a bit.” 500 groaned as he gestured to an empty seat in the waiting area.

Your Zim promptly took his seat and let out a sigh. While he would never admit it, he was starting to get tired.

“Why am I even doing this? Everyone knows that I’m the superior Zim! And what’s with all of this talk of ‘things’. This Zim needs no pathetic ‘thing’! These battles are a waste of my time!” Your Zim thought to himself.

Suddenly his mind reminded him of something you once said to him when he was feeling down:

“Sometimes, we have to do things we don’t want to do. Does it suck? Yeah. But can you do it? Absolutely. Zim, you’re the best at everything you do! Go out there and show them who’s boss!”

Your Zim chuckled as he straightened up a bit. He opened his PAK and a small gadget popped out and displayed a hologram of you.

It wasn’t just any hologram of you. It was his personal favorite hologram of you.

In the hologram, you were wearing your fanciest formal attire for the Skool dance. You looked so lovely that evening. Your Zim let out a dreamy sigh as he remembered that night:

“Thanks for coming with me, Zim.” You smiled as you held Zim’s hand.

“It’s of no trouble, Sweet Y/N! I’d like learn more about these human ‘dances’” Your Zim explained as he followed you inside the Skool.

You gently lead your Zim to the lunchroom. The lunchroom was poorly decorated in half assed streamers and poorly edited posters that read: “Danse”.  The smell of mold and expired milk still lingered in the air but your Zim didn’t care.

All he could focus on was the feeling of your hand intertwined with his.

“Seriously, Y/N?! I can’t believe you brought that alien monster to the dance! He probably wants to plant a bomb or something!”

Dib’s whining woke your Zim from his thoughts.

“Dib, he’s not a monster. Zim and I are just here to dance and have a good time.” You huffed as you shot Dib a glare.

“Yeah! So go wallow in your lonely existence somewhere else, Dib-Stink!” Your Zim added.

“Zim! Don’t stoop to his level!” You scolded as you shot your Zim a glare.

“I don’t get it! What do you even see in him?! He’s an alien! An evil monster that wants to destroy mankind! How can you stand there and call him your boyfriend?!” Dib ranted as he gestured to Zim.

“Dib, there’s more to Zim than you think. He’s not evil and has given up on destroying the Earth like a year ago.” You huffed.

“Do you honestly believe he’s changed?! How gullible can you be?! Why don’t you -”

“I’m not going to argue with you, Dib! Leave us alone!” You interjected.

“Gah! Why do you love him?! There’s so many better people out there! You could do so much better!” Dib insisted.

“C’mon, Zim let’s go find somewhere else to dance.” You growled as you gently lead your Zim away from Dib.

Your Zim let you lead him away from Dib but stuck his worm like tongue at him while you weren’t looking.

“You should be dancing with me…” Dib trailed off as he hung his head in defeat.

“You’d think after you apologized said you’ve changed that Dib would leave you be.” You grumbled as you sat down at one of the open lunch tables.

“Oh let’s not let the Dib monkey rain all over our perfect dance!” Zim mused as he sat beside you.

“Heh. I guess you’re right, about that.” You giggled.

“Attention, students! It’s time for the obligatory slow dance! Find yourself a partner or suffer in your bone crushing loneliness!” The DJ announced.

“Slow Dance? Are they going to bring out a time warper and slow down the flow of time?!” Your Zim squealed as his eyes lit up.

“I wish! But no. A slow dance is where they play a really mushy love song and you’re supposed to dance all slow to it.” You chuckled.

“Oh. I liked the time warp idea better.” Your Zim pouted.

“Yeah, me too. Wanna slow dance anyway?” You offered as you got up.

“Sure, why not?” Your Zim chirped as he joined you.

You gently took your Zim’s hand and lead him to the dance floor.

Upon observing how the other students were dancing, Your Zim activated his spider legs and gently put his hands around your waist.

You giggled as put your hands on his shoulders.

Your Zim was very nervous but the soft look in your eyes put him at ease.

Soon the music began and all your Zim could focus on was you.  

Your Zim followed your gentle movements. His hips swayed with yours and let the music take the reigns.

“Wise men say, Only fools rush in.  

But I can’t help falling in love with you.”

You mouthed the words as you gazed into Zim’s eyes.

“Shall I stay? Would it be a sin? Oh if I can’t help

Falling in love with you.”

There may have not been a time warper nearby but time still felt like it was slowing down none the less.

“Like a river flows, slowly to the sea. Darling so it goes

Some things are meant to be”

Suddenly the other students seemed to melt away. It soon it felt as if you and your Zim were the only ones in the room.

“Take my hand, take my whole life too. Oh for I can’t help,

Falling in love with you”

Your Zim gazed deeply into your E/C eyes. They looked as if they twinkled with stardust.

“Like a river flows, slowly to the sea, darling so it goes,

Somethings are meant to be”

Your Zim never thought he’d ever feel anything like affection in his life. He used to think affection was for the weak but all of that changed once he met you.

“Oh take my hand, take my whole life too. Oh for I can’t help

Falling in love with you”

Your Zim never expected a human to be on his list of the most beautiful things he’d ever seen but there you were.

Your Zim had travelled throughout the universe and had seen his fair share of beautiful things but you? You surpassed every single one of those things. It so was more than just your physical appearance as well.

You were strong, intelligent, and most importantly,

You were open minded.

You never judged nor made fun of him. You always gave him the respect he so rightfully deserved! You were the only one who understood his incredible genius! You were perfect in every way.

“Oh for I can’t help

Falling in love with you” You and your Zim’s voices melted together as you gently pressed you’re foreheads together.

The moment the song ended, your Zim’s instincts kicked in.

Without a second thought, he removed his hands from around your waist.

He cupped your face and pulled you into a passionate kiss.

It wasn’t just any kiss, however. It was a first kiss. For the both of you.

Your eyes were wide for a moment before slowly closing as you let your Zim explore every inch of your mouth.

Your tongue playfully wrestled with his as he let out a few muffled chirps and purrs.

“Hey! Excuse me!”

The sound 500’s tired voice brought your Zim back to reality.

“Huh? Gah!” Your Zim yelped as he realized he was kissing your hologram.

“You should probably put that away. You’re never gonna see them again.” 500 sighed as he gestured to your hologram.

“Nonsense! Of course I’ll see my sweet Y/N again!” Your Zim insisted as he shut off the hologram.

“That’s what every Zim says” 500 groaned as a few tears begun to trickle down his cheeks.

“And your point is?”

“My point is that you’re stuck here forever. No Zim has ever successfully left the Zimvoid. You might as well forget that your Y/N, heck, any Y/N even existed. Trust me, keeping those memories around just makes things worse than they already are.” 500 explained as a few more tears streamed down his face.

“No! You lie! YOU LIE!” Your Zim screeched as a few tears of his own begun to form in his eyes.

“That’s what every Zim says.” 500 shook his head as he dried his tears.

“I will leave this filthy planet! I will leave this planet and see my sweet Y/N again IF ITS THE LAST THING I DO!!” Your Zim roared as a few tears dripped down his cheeks.

“Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I’ve heard it all before. Here. I’ve found your next opponent. Come with me please.” 500 groaned as he lead your Zim back to the arena.

“Very well! GIVE ME YOUR WORST!”

Next

[dogwooddivinity]

"I'm sorry, I don't." Sirius scrunched his eyes closed and slowly opened them again. Yup, still three in the morning . "Okay, let's start again. What is it you needed?" Fucking Regulus. Trust him to list me instead of...okay, yeah, okay. What's he done now? He threw a stiff arm out in the direction of the dresser, groping blindly until he felt his fingers graze the bridge of his glasses.

"Thank you, Sir, what we need to do is confirm that you are the Sirius Black we have listed as emergency contact for a patient in our care. If you could just." He leaned just a little further in an effort to hook a finger around them. "Shit!"

"I'm sorry, Sir, are you alright?"

Obviously not, it's the middle of the night and I can't see a fucking thing, but "Yes, yes, I'm just, it's the middle of the night and I'm," stuck half off the bed because I fell while trying to get my glasses, like the idiot I am, "nevermind," he said instead. How do I prove I'm me?" Fuck it. As quietly as possible, he pulled his legs down after him and sat propped up against the side of his bed. 

"The easiest way would be if you could confirm the information we have. Let me just pull up the address we have on file for you…" Oh, shit. Nope . It wasn't like he didn't know his own address, obviously he did, but specifics like postal codes never seemed to stick. Who writes letters anyway? And who needs to remember when you've got a Moony for that?

"Wait. Can I," he might be an idiot, but he's my idiot after all . Sirius stifled a wince when he stood to get his glasses. For real this time. Without falling. "Can I just come in?"

"Yes, yes of course. Just stop by the intake desk in the Emergency Department and let them know you're there." She sounds relieved. Who wouldn't be, it was three in the morning and she'd been given the job of calling a man who couldn't verify his own address. "Will do," Sirius replied, while reaching for his jeans. He was about to hang up then thought better of it. "I appreciate your patience."

"Of course."

Okay, clothes? Yes. Keys? Sirius moved through the room still bleary eyed and half asleep. He'd have to call in sick likely, but he could do that later. Call James too, he'd be worried obviously, no, better leave that until morning. Oh! Moony. Sirius double checked again for his wallet and keys before ducking into the washroom to brush his teeth. Remus had come in after him last night, was pulling that terrible late shift, regular shift back to back that always seemed to hit him more often than others. If I'm not going to be here to wake him up, I should let him know.

"Remus, hey, I know it's early, or late, or… Look I don't know, I just, come on wake up I think Regulus is." Sirius crossed the room, talking the whole time. "Moony, Moons, come on, I need…"

"Shit, shit, Moony."

"Oh my God, Remus," Sirius threw open the curtain around bed twelve with no regard for either Remus' privacy or the comfort of the other patients. "Are you okay!?"

"Yes. Holy shit, Sirius, close the curtain. I'm not even dressed." Remus sat up as best he could, pulling the blanket farther over his lap, and waved wildly in the direction of the rest of the room."Why are you so embarrassing? I could hear you yelling from down the hall."

"I was worried, okay? I get a call in the middle of the night, and I think it's Regulus so I'm grabbing all my things." He closed the curtains with just as much force. "...and then went to wake you up, you know, because of the late shift and then the normal one, but then you're not, I tried, but then you didn't answer, and..." And then you weren't there. And I thought you were hurt.

"Woah, Sirius. Stop. Just stop. Come here." Remus waved him over and patted the side of the bed. "It's okay. I'm fine."

"I didn't get a call in the night because you're fine," Sirius threw over his shoulder, while trying to unstick the curtain rings. "And I'm not calming down until you tell me what happened. I asked at the desk but they wouldn't say."

"I know, everyone knows, you were yelling. Oh my God, can you just sit down?" Remus pointed emphatically, with his whole arm, at the chair beside the bed. "You're making it worse." 

"Fine." Sirius sat down and attempted to feign calm so pathetically that Remus had to choke back a laugh. "What happened?"

"I was coming home from work and a car turned into me. I was fine, I am fine, but the driver insisted on calling an ambulance and now I'm here." He spoke slowly, a clear attempt to diffuse the energy positively radiating from the chair next to him. "When I said I wanted to leave they asked if I had anyone to come pick me up and I told them to call you. I thought it would be faster to just tell them to get it from the file. I didn't think…"

"That it might scare me?" Sirius sat up, somehow finding a way look even more ready to spring. "That I might be worried about you?" That I might be worried that I lost you?

"Just shut up, would you?" Remus was yelling now too, his eyes darting to the gap in the curtains in expectation of someone coming to tell them to quiet down. He gripped the rail of the bed and took a long slow breath before coming back quieter. "I knew you'd be worried," he said, his jaw set tight. "Why the hell do you think I made you my emergency contact?"

Sirius could feel the fight go out of him at the sight of Remus angry. It happened so rarely. He hated to lose control. "I thought it was your mother?" Why isn't it your mother?

"Is she going to come from Wales to get me?" He was still agitated, still white knuckled against the metal. "I called you so I could go home. I'd like to go home now."

"Yeah, yeah, of course." Sirius shot up out of the chair, moving it aside to clear the way. "Is there anything you need? You're sure you're fine?" Please tell me you're okay.

"Just my pants." Sirius couldn't help but miss the reassurance he was hoping for. But are you okay?

"Sure. I'll meet you outside."

 

(protip: read the tags)

On ao3 here.

[crypticmotherfucker]

Protips for piercing newbs

Make sure you go to a place that isn't shady and uses sterile equipment and has experienced people to do your piercing (research places nearby you and ask around pls)

Pick a quality metal to start with(and make sure that you arent allergic to it)

DO NOT select those really small bulby ones as your starter piercings (particularly for ears). When your piercing is new, this lil bulb can sink in and cause the piercing to heal all wonky.(Learned that the hard way)

DO NOT ignore cleaning your piercings.

Don't mess with your piercings very much, and avoid sleeping on them.

If you do notice that your piercing is sinking in, check to make sure it was pierced at the right angle and if it was go ask if you can switch it out for another one, it will do less damage than leaving that one in. If not, take it out and let it heal and get it re-pierced.

Make sure you ask if they are using the longest earing they have so that your piercing has space to heal and won't swell due to pressure.

If your piercing is infected, clean it more regularly. Don't take it out if the infection is not bad, as it is common and will clear. If it gets worse, you might want to go to the doctor and take it out.

Hot rag against your piercing once or twice a day helps with infections

Ice/ cold water helps with swelling

If you have multiple ear piercings and are gauging your nearby piercings, do not size up until those new ones are healed. (And don't gauge new piercings either).

Hot topic and Spencer's sells this aftercare spray that is really nice, if you're looking for one. It's the easiest to apply, though it is kinda messy.

Don't put anything else on your new piercing besides aftercare liquid, it can irritate it more.

Rinse your piercings specifically when you shower to get the excess gunk/ avoid soap getting into them.

Jojoba oil is really good for gauging up. So is coconut and hemp oil. (Be careful not to get these into new piercings).

If gauging up hurts (Like hurt hurts, not just small ouch hurts) and continues to be painful, then you're probably not ready for the next size. Go back to the size you were at and keep it for about another week & make sure you clean ur gauges and put oil on ur ears regularly.

Also it typically takes 1-4 weeks. Typically two. For a gauged ear to heal and be ready for the next size.

Wood plugs allow your ear piercings to get airflow, decreasing all the gross junk. / it's better for your ears

If you are wearing tapers for a longer time than a couple hours make sure that they are lightweight. If they aren't they might stretch your ear weirdly over time.

Uhm. That's all I got for now but feel free to add to this post~

(Also I'm not sure if it is I before e or e before I because I'm stupid with those letters specifically so like. I apologize if my spelling is wrong in those aspects).

[amphtaminedreams]

All The Tattoos I Couldn’t Really Afford

Hi to anyone who’s reading!

I thought I’d write about my tattoos a lil bit.

Partly because I’d like to talk generally about tattoos and what they mean for people who have dealt with self-harm and poor body image and partly because I get questions now and again about the more practical side of things; who did them, how much did they hurt and probably the most frequent one, how much did they cost (I mean, only my entire livelihood and every last spare pound I had for about 2 years but nbd)? The point being that I can put all this information in one place, especially as I don’t plan to get any more in the foreseeable future. 

See, as much as I get tired of people I don’t really know commenting on them, I suppose I did kind of bring it upon myself. Facially, I probably look about 15. I get told I'm exaggerating when I say that BUT I WAS STILL BUYING CHILD’S TICKETS ON THE BUS UP UNTIL LAST YEAR BC AIN’T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR £2.60 SINGLES. Where do you live for a bus single to cost £2.60 I hear you ask? In a tory heartland, my friend.

Anyway, the point is that I look pretty young to have a sort-of sleeve and tbh, I am. I’d say that for a lot of people, a sleeve is something you build on kinda throughout your life, not something you plan on getting pretty much the minute you turn 18. That isn’t exactly how it was for me either. I was more like 20 when I started on my left arm, lol. I started on the rest when I was 18 and had known most of the tattoos I wanted to get since I was about 14/15, so for quite a while. I think I always associated a tattooed version of me with a version of myself I liked and respected a lot more than the girl I saw myself as at that age,  but I didn’t realise just how true that would be. The tattoos definitely aren’t the reason I’m so much more body confident than I was back then; I’m at a weight I feel more comfortable in, I’ve learned how to do my makeup better and I think I’ve grown into myself more. Plus, I got my braces off, which helps. The constant fear of having food in my teeth hardly conjures up a sense of nostalgia, lol. On top of that, seeing a wider and more diverse range of faces and body types celebrated online and in the media has definitely helped me too. 

But one thing that I noticed is how much more respect having tattoos gives me for my own body. When you have talented men and women’s art all over you, it makes you feel like less of a body and more of a blank sheet. I think the attention moves away from the parts underneath that you might not like so much to something you don’t necessarily associate with yourself. It helps me to notice myself more objectively, with appreciation taking the place of scrutiny. And with regards to self-harm, on a practical level, I don’t want to damage somebody else’s hard work. 

The first tattoo I actually got, about a month or so after I turned 18 was pretty simple. I found the studio by way of recommendation from someone who’s tattoo I liked, which imo is probably the best route to go down for your first one. Word of mouth is generally a pretty good indicator of what to expect.

The 5 planet formation on the back of my neck was based on a Tumblr photo I’d saved on my phone, though in the original design I believe the planets were on the person’s chest.

PROTIP: If you’re getting a tattoo based on something you found on Pinterest, Google Images or Tumblr, the best thing to do is first to probably make a note of the artist and ideally ask them for their permission. This is something I wish I’d done at the time; the majority of my tattoos are based on images I found on the sites I just mentioned and saved without thinking and I generally deleted the photos once I sent them to the tattoo artist. Understandably, artists see it as respect thing to credit them and if I do ever come across the designs some of my tattoos are based on, I will of course make sure to add their details to this post, BUT to be completely honest, nobody outside of the internet is that bothered if you copied a tattoo you saw on Pinterest one time. 

I think the best thing to do is to ask your tattoo artist to put their own spin on a design and add to it, which is what I’ve generally done, and that way you should avoid anyone feeling like their work has been stolen. I like that approach anyway, especially if you’re going back to the same person for all your tattoos; it adds a consistency to them. 

This being my first tattoo, there wasn’t really much of a deeper meaning behind it. I liked the way it looked and wanted something simple that could easily be covered. I got this done by dclxvi.tattoo on Instagram, and it cost around £40. In terms of pain, there wasn’t much at all. I thought it was going to be a lot worse from what others had told me, and more than anything I could feel the vibration of the needle. I’d give it a 1/10 on the pain threshold. 

My second was the quote on my left side over my ribcage which reads “think deeply, speak gently, give freely and be kind”. This came from one of those cheesy typical middle class white people signs we usually put in our kitchens; we currently have about 6 and counting in ours. The full quote is “Think deeply, speak gently, love much, laugh a lot, work hard, give freely and be kind” but I thought that was a bit long winded so I kept the parts I liked. I suppose the meaning meaning of this is pretty self-explanatory, lol! When I was younger and still even now with the people I’m close to, I worry way too fucking much what people think of me. It’s a very cliche saying but at some point, I learnt that what others say about you says more about them than it does about you. From then, I started realising that as long as I know I do my best to treat people well, that’s the important thing and this tattoo is kind of just a reminder of that. IIRC, this one cost about £60 and was with the same artist as my first. She was really lovely and made me feel very comfortable so I went back to her for this one, and my next couple too. Again, even though it was on my ribs, I’d give it a 1/10 for pain.

I kinda lose track but I’m pretty sure it was over the summer of my 18th that I got the 3 you can see in the photo above, all still by the same artist. The first on this area of my arm was the quote “love yourself so no-one else has to” inside the heart/feminine symbol hybrid. Similarly, it’s quite self-explanatory but if I had to expand on it, it’s just a reminder that it’s not about what other people think and that as long as I’m happy in myself and BY myself, that’s what matters. This was around the £40 mark and I vaguely remember tattoos getting slightly more painful around this point as we’re getting into musclier territory. Not to make out I have guns or anything, lol, but I’ve always found that tattoos that are on top of muscle are the most difficult to sit through, still though I’d give it a 2/10 for pain. Shortly after I got the crystal ball with the quote underneath. The crystal ball is pretty much a copy of a tattoo I found on Pinterest by the tattoo artist Emily Malice/@emilymalice on Instagram:

I then chose a quote to add underneath it to make it my own which was: “it’s not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves”. It’s the modernised version of a quote from the Shakespeare play Julius Caesar, and basically sums up the idea that if we want something, we have to go and get it ourselves. I’m not really a believer in fate or destiny or the idea that the universe has a bigger plan for us and though that might sound really pessimistic, I find it empowering in that we can go out and make our lives into anything we want them to be. Of course there are things that are out of our hands but for the most part, it’s down to us; I’m on that inner locus of control shit. And yes I remembered that from A-level psychology, lol. On the pain scale, also a 2/10.

Next was my Lana tattoo. Imagine copious amounts of the heart eyes emoji here. It’s based on this drawing:

Which I cannot find the artist of fucking ANYWHERE. The image is all over the bloody internet and returned about 30 different results on TinEye but I can’t for the life of me find the original version so if anybody knows, lmk! 

Anyway, it was my first of 2 Lana tattoos and it’s probably my favourite of them all. I’ve been a hardcore stan of this woman since I was about 12 and Video Games went viral (yes, I was a very pretentious 12 year old/general human being) and her music has been my soundtrack to EVERYTHING for the last 7/8 years. I’m a basic bitch and so Born to Die: Paradise Edition and Ultraviolence are still my favourite albums of hers but I wanted to pay tribute to the Lust for Life cover with the flowers in the hair because it represented her moving towards inner peace and contentment and I loved that. 

COST: approx. £70

PAIN: 2/10

That was my last tattoo for a while until about November 2018, from which point onwards I was getting them pretty much constantly up until a few months ago. I was no longer at uni, had a part time job and for the first time had proper disposable income, so I got my first proper “piece” tattoo:

This one I very shittily designed myself, though the lip part was based on this tattoo by Heidi Kaye/@heidikayetattoo on Instagram:

The lips were always going to be the centrepiece though it was originally a much bigger design. The idea was that it would be a piece based around the elements, water, earth, air and fire, with the things that represents each being something sentimental to me. Well, apart from the lips which would represent the passion of the fire signs; I just thought they looked cool, lol. On a less shallow note, the butterflies, which represent air (along with the moons), I associate with my mum as she’s always wearing butterfly patterned outfits and jewellery. Yeah, I don’t know how you can claim a whole ass insect either but apparently they’re her thing! And similarly, the scorpion is for my sister; it represents water, scorpio being a water sign. She and I used to watch Orphan Black together and took to affectionately calling each other “sestra” instead of sister like the Ukranian character Helena pronounces it in the show. At one point, I believe it’s season 3, her character hallucinates a scorpion (don’t ask, that show was pretty wack at times), hence the scorpion tattoo. Lastly, the flowers and the agate rock represent earth, which is the home of my sun and moon sign. There were originally going to be a lot more details to the piece but I wanted to keep it on the back of my arm and when I showed it to my new tattoo artist, Matt Cassy (cassytattoo on Instagram), he simplified it for me so that it would fit. It cost around £140 and took the longest time yet, but I’d give it a 1/10 for pain and it’s my favourite tattoo after my Lana one, probably because it’s the most individual.

Next after this was my sunflower and it took me to one of kindest and most talented people I’ve ever met! I’m pretty sure this was the first one she did for me and from this point onwards, I went back to Bianca Kidd (biancakiddtattoo on Instagram) for 90% of my tattoos. It’s a pretty basic piece but I really wanted a tattoo on my shoulder and preferably something that will never really go “out of style”. Flower tattoos are so simple but the absolute prettiest imo and I don’t think I’ll ever look back on this one and be like “what was I thinking?” I got Bianca to add the stars which were SUPPOSED to be in the form of the constellations of my sun, moon and rising signs, Capricorn, Virgo and what I thought was Scorpio but turns out is actually Cancer. Shoulda known considering how much of a needy, over-emotional twat I am, lol. On the one hand, it seems kinda contradictory to my crystal ball tattoo quote to believe in astrology but on the other, I think there might be something to the time of year a person is born and the environmental factors that come with that (climate, financial patterns etc.) affecting a person’s temperament slightly. It could all be a load of BS, considering the vagueness of most star signs and our tendency to want to agree with positive statements about ourselves, and I DEFINITELY don’t believe in the stars having any impact on your future or fate but it’s still fun to read about either way. Would be even funner if I didn’t have regrets about getting my natal chart wrong and being sure enough that Scorpio was my rising sign to get a tattoo referencing it every time I did, but there you go. If anyone asks, the placement of the stars is TOTALLY. RANDOM.

COST: approx. £140

PAIN: I find that even if a tattoo isn’t in a super painful position, your skin begins to get a little raw and thus more sensitive when it’s under a needle for a long period of time so 3/10

Next was the snakey boy on the inside of my right arm which I got just before Christmas, again by Bianca:

I don’t have much to say about this one other than it’s pretty much a copy of one I saw on Pinterest that I’d saved quite a while before (unfortunately I can’t find it anywhere now but if anybody does know the source lmk!) because I fricken love snakes and think they’re cute and misunderstood af. Not as cute as cats but definitely up there. Bianca changed it slightly by adding the dots around the rose and we went from there, and the main thing I remember is that this one actually hurt. Close to the armpit and on top of the muscle is a bad combination and I’m totally in awe of the madmen that go right into the pit itself. It cost £80 and for pain I’d give it an 8/10. 

Cop the exact same pose only with the other arm instead, but I also got my mermaid around this time:

She was done by Polly (biffinx on instagram) who’s an apprentice tattoo artist. If you are looking for a slightly cheaper tattoo, apprentices are a good shout, as they usually charge slightly less, though in Polly’s case are equally as skilled at what they do; you’re also helping them build their portfolio so it’s a win-win situation for both you and the tattoo artist. That being said, make sure you do your research and get someone who’s good at the style you’re looking for before you commit. Instagram is often your best bet, and if not, tattoo shops often have websites with photo galleries showcasing each artist’s work. It might take you a while to find what you’re looking for but you really can’t compromise when you’re talking about something that’s probably going to be on your body forever. NBD. I got the mermaid as a nod to both growing up by the sea and how much I loved to swim when I was younger. I feel like I’m going to end up saying this far too many times but she’s one of my favourites. 

COST: £60

PAIN: 8/10

I also got the other 3 tattoos on my upper right arm during this time. Bianca did the satanic kitty (can’t find the source of the tattoo it was based on! again, if anyone does lmk!), because of course I had to have a cat tattoo, and that was around £50 and a 3/10 on the pain scale. The two shells, which again are a reminder of where I grew up, were done by Terry Weeks (terryweekstattoo on Instagram) and cost £70 for both. I’d give them a 2/10 for pain.

Next were my knee and calf tattoo in February of this year, for which I went back to Matt Cassy:

He did the two of them for £140 and it took around 3 hours. Palm trees always remind me of California which I absolutely love, and the spider’s web was kinda just because...spooky, ya know? Honestly, I hate spiders and I equally hate that it gave the old man on the bus the inspiration to make the joke (imagine this being said in a strong Dorset accent) “you’ve got ae spiderr on yerr leg” at me that one time on the bus. Plus, I’d give my knee tattoo a strong 9/10 for pain. Realistically, it probably wasn’t any more painful than the inner upper arm tattoos but you have the added burden of suppressing your reflexes; when somebody is carving into the skin on your leg, it really shouldn’t come as a surprise that your knee jerk reaction is to...well, kick that person in the face. Or away from you at least. I also got the elbow pit tattoo on my left arm from Bianca around this time for £160. 8/10 for pain on that one.

And then, there was the 10/10 in March. The things I do for Miss Lana Del fucking Rey.

Because the Just Ride tattoo above my knees HURT. I wasn’t expecting it at all but BLOODY HELL. My tattoo artist actually had to get the numbing spray out for this one. It was, again, the combined effect of it being on top of muscle and the need to resist my reflexes so that I didn’t flinch, which clearly I didn’t do a very good job at, hence the spray. I think my reaction at the time was kind of, what the fuck, has this stuff always existed? But the more you can put off asking for the spray, the better, because used in large quantities it can be pretty dangerous. This was the only tattoo I felt I did need it for because I literally couldn’t sit still and there was a risk of me jogging the tattoo artist, Megan, the amazing @bunnystattoos on Instagram. Her stuff is adorable and she has such a strong vision and brand and if I was going to get another, I’d love to just give her a starting point and see where she’d take it from there. Like, I’m not a Star Wars fan but LOOK at this set she designed for someone else:

I also got my Dream On tattoo with her in the same session and in total she charged me £110 for both which is pretty reasonable considering how in demand she is (and how much of a total baby I was about the Just Ride tattoo). I chose lyrics from Ride because lyrically, it’s probably one of my favourite songs of hers, plus the opening 30 seconds are pure magic.

Megan also did the linework orchid lady on the back of my arm around the same time:

I suppose you could say this is my most “meaningful” tattoo, because it was inspired by something my care-coordinator said to me about my diagnosis of BPD. In amongst all the other less than complimentary comments, she told me that it just means we need a little more care and sensitivity than others, like orchids do in comparison to other flowers, but that that doesn’t make us any less deserving of care or less beautiful. Basically, in the right circumstances, we can bloom too. And I liked that. 

This one cost £80 and was about a 3/10 for pain. I can’t find any photos of the tattoo it was based on so for the millionth time, if you do know, hmu.

From April-May I got a shitload of tattoos and to be honest, I can’t really remember what order it was in so I’m going to group them into artists. First, the ones I got from Polly:

The anatomical heart I got in March and was based on this tattoo by Harry Plane (@harry.plane on Instagram):

COST: £50

PAIN: 7/10

And the sun and moon kissing was also around £50. 2/10 for pain.

Bianca did a few for me too, starting with the floral design on my lower left arm around March, which was probably my biggest piece yet:

The floral piece started off as a 4/10 though it creeped up to a 6 the closer it got to my wrist. Going over raised scars is also slightly more painful, something to bear in mind. Along with the Keep It Cute tattoo (6/10) on my wrist:

It came to £180. 

Bianca also did the linework of my favourite GIF, like, ever.

Yes, it’s Go Go Yubari from Kill Bill about to try and maim The Bride, who don’t get me wrong I am perennially rooting for, but come on. It’s an iconic moment in film history Once Upon a Time in Hollywood wishes it could replicate. 4/10 for pain due to it being over scarring, otherwise we’re talking about the kind of placement that’s a reliable 2/10. I also got wrapped into the whole renaissance inspired trend and got Bianca to do me a little cherub gap filler based on this flash sheet I found on Google Images (link to the image found here https://creativemarket.com/Sonulkaster/280110-Angels-and-Cupids-collection.?utm_source=Pinterest&utm_medium=CM):

I suggested the cigarette as a cheeky little addition, lol! I’d give it a 5/10 for pain, being close to the inside of my arm n all and it set me back around £40. Unfortunately, I don’t have any great quality photos of it that I haven’t already used in the post but here’s one where you can see it a little bit (idk why my hair looks so brown and basically my natural colour in this photo but I DO NOT APPROVE, it is not at all fitting with my wannabe mildly goth aesthetic):

Finally, we have my last 2 tattoos.

See, getting my finger tattoos done was an absolute necessity before I went inter-railing and not because I’m an over-dramatic bitch who wanted a little something to make my multitude of me-holding-food photos more aesthetically pleasing (though of course it helped on that count), but because I made the fucking huge mistake of trying to stick and poke them myself. To be fair, they weren’t THAT bad at first. Like I was pretty pleased with them. Buuuut they faded super quickly and I guess that’s the issue with stick and pokes, especially on your fingers, where even professional tattoos are a bit of a flight risk anyway. So, after having to go over them a million times and spilling Indian ink all over my laptop keyboard, I decided to admit defeat and get Bianca to go over them for me. It cost £30 and I’d only give it a 4/10 on the pain scale. After months of having to explain my shitty faded finger tattoos to everyone and convince far too many customers at work that they weren’t just drawn on with a sharpie, I’m finally happy with them. Lesson learnt. Don’t stick and poke kids, especially not near your laptop.

Lastly is my “Wouldst Thou Like to Live Deliciously?” quote that Polly did for me:

The cost of this tattoo? £30. Having to explain to every person who hasn’t seen The VVitch what it actually says and then what it means too? Priceless. Hotel? Tri-

I joke. It’s actually very annoying having to explain what it says and vague what it means, not because I don’t EXACTLY know but also because I feel like a snobby film hoe (which is quite an accurate description of me) every time I do. The VVitch is super good, guys. Please watch if you’ve got the patience, it’s a slow burn. 

Anyways, I hope anybody who read to the end enjoyed the post and found it informative! If you have any other tattoo questions, shoot me a message and I will definitely respond. I think one of the most common things I get is people saying they’re too indecisive to get a tattoo and that they want one, but are worried they’ll go off it. What I think is that once you get your first, getting a tattoo starts to feel like less of a momentous decision. Like there are tattoos I have that I probably wouldn’t get now but that doesn’t mean I regret them because, although it sounds cheesy, they sort of become a part of you and represent what you liked at the time. The more you have, the less significant one individual tattoo is. At the end of the day, are you ever going to regret getting a tiny rose? Worst case scenario, you can always get a cover up or if you’re brave and rich enough (lol), get laser removal. In terms of aftercare, I’ve always been kind of sloppy. Follow the instructions your tattoo artist gives you but also, if you don’t get time to moisturise them, it’s not the end of the world. TRY not to itch them but one tiny scratch isn’t going to permanently damage your tattoo. 

One thing I will say, though, that’s probably kind of obvious to everyone but me (being the dumbass I am) is that you should NOT go in the sea right after getting a tattoo. It is literally the equivalent of pouring salt in an open wound and whilst it didn’t ruin my Lana, it really fucking stung for about 3 days afterwards. I’m an endless treasure chest of protips, didn’t you know?

Thank you for reading!

Lauren x

[sinemoras09]

Chapter 78 thoughts

- Kazuma used a spell to illuminate what Hiyori was feeling for Yato. Probably up until then she was kind of in denial as to her feelings for him. His “curse” was making her aware of them, just as he’s aware of his unrequited love for Bisha. (”Now you will never be satisfied with pretending to be a family.” That was a total burn toward Bisha. Ouch.)

- Speaking of Kazuma, I can picture a missing scene where Yato dragged him to a room and made him take a nap (there’s a note on the nightstand: I ORDERED ROOM SERVICE YOU BETTER EAT IT GDI). Just enough time for Yato to set up a shinki station and put in help wanted ads XDD

- This panel:

This makes me wonder more about Kazuma and Bishamon’s backstory. I mean, we’ve gotten the most subtle of hints that she could be cruel, but everything we’ve seen in the manga so far, she’s portrayed as very kindhearted. But then we got the flashback of Kazuma telling her, “You don’t know how to properly show affection.” It makes me wonder just how badly did she take him for granted. Did she go days without speaking to him? Has she done anything worse?

Then there was the fact that she left him behind. He already has this complex about being useful to her - she was trying to protect him, but it’s easy to misinterpret this, ie “even though I was by her side and served her unwaveringly, she still didn’t need me.” I mean, look at this panel:

I love how Adachitoka draws their characters’ expressions. The white lines at the bottom rims of his eyes makes it look like his eyes are wet. He’s hurting. And Yato just told him to forget about him.

- Kazuma’s whole conversation with Hiyori read to me like he was coming to this same conclusion at the same time he was telling her. I think, for a long time, he was probably satisfied just being Bisha’s guide and confidante. But after this whole debacle, he realizes he will only ever be an “object” to her, something to be used and thrown away when he’s not needed. “Gods can’t love the way humans do.” His worth as a person is only secondary to how he can be used, and it makes me think Bisha naming Nana was something that pretty much solidified that for him.

- At the same time, BISHA DOES NOT FEEL THAT WAY. And Kofuku and Daikoku pretty much throws that whole thesis in the trash, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I’ve already gotten a few asks referring to this panel like CONFIRMED KAZUMA JUST WANTED TO HAVE SEX but I don’t think that was it. I think he wanted his feelings to be reciprocated, which they were (sort of), but I think he wanted a proper relationship, with all the trappings that come with it: being able to cuddle her, to hug and kiss her and feel safe and warm; all that sappy human stuff gods don’t really care about (again! Kofuku and Daikoku would beg to differ!).

But it’s just really sad to me. He tried so hard to be happy with what little he had (”it’s good enough that I’m her guide,” and “it’s enough that I’m useful to her”) but it’s not enough.

-And this is why love corrupts. Thanks for the protip, Kiun XD

- Woo-hoo for confirmed one-sided unrequited kazubisha and yatori! I mean, that’s progress, right? Because both ships were skirting the line of “is this canon or is this just wishful thinking” for a long time now, heavy hints and occasional heartwarming yatori scenes notwithstanding (hello, Yato-falling-on-top-of-Hiyori-after-she-calls-his-true-name, I’m looking at you). All in all the chapter is depressing but at least we have confirmation of Kazuma and Hiyori’s ~feelings~ (thanks for the curse, kazu-chan!)

Also? That cute opening scene of Kofuku making Russian Roulette Onigiri and Daikoku happily grinning and eating them up is like a total rebuke of Kazu’s worldview D:

[myassbrokethefall]

So...it seems to me that after making its announcement, Tumblr loosed its in-development new algorithm for flagging stuff that will be deemed offensive under the new rules. 

Leaving aside for the moment the question of whether this new policy is a good idea or not...

It seems PAINFULLY obvious that this newborn robot is not yet completely ready for prime time. Some of the things that have been flagged just seem overzealous/erring on the side of caution re: the stated new rules, and I presume that the plan is to review them (this in itself seems like an impractically massive undertaking) and unflag them as each case is reviewed and as they fine-tune their policies for what they want to be allowed and not allowed. It’s silly and makes Tumblr look like a panicking first-day teacher on a schoolbus full of sixth graders, but I get that they are just starting to implement this and we’re not going to get surgical precision right away. 

But some of the stuff that has been flagged is CLEARLY a victim of inept robot guessing. Like dog nipples. Or that picture of orange juice in Mulder’s fridge that startwreck posted. Now that I follow this picture-guessing bot, I am amused every day by how bad it is at guessing things. I can only assume that Tumblr is using a similar bot. And obviously it’s not much better at guessing which pictures have woman boobs in them than this guy is. 

So I have three main thoughts I guess: 

Hopefully this bot will get better once it’s got some more data under its belt? I think/hope that the current book-burning armageddon that’s happening will not last. I mean, Apple Maps got better. Sigh. 

Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to immediately deploy the bot hours after dropping this bomb of an announcement on people, when you knew it was going to censor a bunch of stuff that it shouldn’t? That’s gonna like make people more mad and stuff? And make Tumblr look like like a screaming ineffective Church Lady? Could you have somehow done like, more testing on it before just slapping its rump and sending it off into the wilderness to do whatever it’s gonna do?

Tumblr, you laid some intense new rules down on people yesterday. It’s going to change the culture of the site quite a bit. It’s your right to run the site as you choose; we are all here using it for free. I’m sure you anticipated that people wouldn’t be happy, and they aren’t. So that’s your business and you can navigate that as you see fit. HOWEVER. It’s one thing to say “Folks, we are changing the rules of the site; we will no longer allow porn.” It’s quite another to say that and then IMMEDIATELY unleash a bunch of INEPT robots to censor people’s posts, INCLUDING POSTS THAT ARE STILL ALLOWED UNDER THE NEW RULES. That is just a terrible choice. You’re making it so much worse than it needs to be. 

I really don’t want this site to die, because I like spending time here. I don’t agree with this rule change, even though I personally do not use the site for porn and am baffled that so many people seem to think that that’s its main purpose (I’m not counting fanfic). Like, I don’t know any of these people but I accept that they exist, just like male X-Files fans who are in it for the mytharc. (I am almost always to be found in the cluelessly wholesome nerd corner of any given situation, so this is no different.) But regardless, this feels to me like a solution that does not remotely fit the stated problem and is much, MUCH too sweeping.

So I hope Tumblr can get its shit together, and even if they stick with this PG-13 downgrade, AT LEAST I hope that they figure out how to actually enforce that in a sane, consistent way instead of with this overzealous robot insanity that is currently taking place. Protip, Tumblr: To do that you are going to have to hire some human beings. Because your robot is dumb.

Fwiw, I’m not planning on going anywhere anytime soon. My entrenched addiction will not allow that, lol. 

[omgkatsudonplease]

Another Love by Tom Odell and Viktuuri

day 4, part 1! 

The meeting ends with Mila and Christophe arranging for Seung-gil to be transported onboard the Firebird. Sara relays a request for ship logs from the spaceport, while Phichit keeps an eye on transmissions from Nevan law enforcement. 

Yuuri feels a bit like an extraneous appendage as the other crew members spring into action. He tries tagging along with Phichit, but as soon as Christophe finishes the arrangements, he and Phichit delve into the transmissions together. “Maybe take our guest around the ship?” Christophe offers as a strange sort of olive branch. Yuuri sighs, but acquiesces readily. 

“I’m excited!” Viktor exclaims as Yuuri leads him down the corridors of the ship. “How many people are in the crew?”

There are twenty-four beings onboard, answers NICA before Yuuri can respond, twenty-three of them are regular crewmembers onboard the Firebird. Would you like the ship’s roster? 

“NICA, no,” says Yuuri, shaking his head. “Yeah, there’s 23 crew members, though I think Mila officially added Christophe’s Kotchka to the roster after she got her shots.”

“Ooh, you have one of those?” Viktor raises an eyebrow. “I think Yura will be more inclined to come with you guys, then, if you tell him he could play with her.”

“He likes Kotchki?” asks Yuuri.

“Yeah, he has three back in Moyka,” replies Viktor, shrugging. Yuuri pulls up a map from NICA, trying to calculate the best route for a tour. 

Might I suggest showing him the observation deck? asks NICA innocently. Yuuri sighs. 

“Want to see the observation deck?” he asks. Viktor claps his hands. 

“It would be an honour,” he says. Yuuri feels his cheeks heating up as he starts to head towards the starship’s aft.

The observation deck is less of a deck and more of a small room with a large viewing panel and several comfortable chairs. It serves primarily as a breakroom for the ship’s engineers as well as a popular date location for the ship’s couples on designated weekends. Sure enough, as they enter the room, the ship’s head engineer snaps to attention. 

“Your Highness!” he exclaims, bowing deeply. Viktor bows back. 

“This is Emil Nekola,” Yuuri says. “He does most of the mechanical repairs.”

“Except the crazy genius ones,” says Emil, shaking his head. “I just listen to the Terrans when they start spouting their ideas. I recommend you do that, too, Your Highness.”

Viktor chuckles. “They can be stubborn otherwise,” he agrees. “What brings you away from Neva? I know why Captain Babicheva is here, but…”

“She picked me up from a spaceport cantina in the Outer Quadrant,” says Emil, shrugging. “Protip: Never accept a ride from a Weyr.”

Yuuri shakes his head. “Emil, have you given Mila the list of supplies we’re going to need? We’re heading out at 0800 tomorrow.”

“Already ahead of you,” says Emil. “My crew’s all planetside; apparently there’s some sort of new nightclub in Moyka that’s opening tonight. I hope they make it back in time.”

Yuuri laughs. “You’re not going to go make sure they behave?”

Emil shrugs. “Maybe I should. You’d know better than most how Nevan liqueur can get with non-Nevan biologies.”

Yuuri winces, but Viktor’s interest seems to have sparked based on the way he leans in closer. “Tell me more,” declares the prince. Emil’s grin gets positively shit-eating. 

“Well, there was this one time a couple standard months ago when I’d come back from my leave with a flask of Moykavino –”

“Triple distilled, right?” asks Viktor. Emil nods.

“Yes. The kind that gets you absolutely polluted after three shots,” he says. “But you know, the grade of intoxicant is apparently very close to lethal levels on Terra, which of course means Terrans are always challenging one another to take a shot, right? Anyway, Yuuri decides, because he’s really quite the daredevil if you push his buttons, to try some –”

“Oh god.” Yuuri sits down in one of the seats, turning towards the observation pane. “Call me when you’re done recounting my embarrassment.”

“It was not an embarrassment!” exclaims Emil, reaching out and ruffling a heavy gloved hand through Yuuri’s hair. “It’s impressive a Terran can even drink one shot of triple-distilled Moykavino, let alone six!” 

“Six!” exclaims Viktor, his eyes wide. “Wow, Yuuri, how are you not a galactic legend yet?”

“Phichit keeps trying to make that happen,” Yuuri mutters. “He has musical numbers about this incident, too. His favourite part is the a capella portion that’s all me having to be tied down in the sickbay for a week afterwards while Dr Minami detoxed me.” 

Viktor’s laughter makes the mortification almost worth it. Almost. “Travelling with Terrans sounds like something exciting,” he remarks. “I know there are Nevan companions with the ICU, but everyone wants Terrans instead because they’re so hardy and…”

“Mad scientist?” Emil’s smile is fond. “And they’re even more intense when they’ve already bonded with each other like Yuuri and Phichit are – no, not official,” he adds, as Viktor seems to have gone very still at that, “it’s… an official camaraderie, I guess.” 

“Licensed friend-bond,” Yuuri mutters. “You invite one of us, you invite the other automatically. Otherwise there are legal repercussions.”

“Ah, similar to the Beta Allegrian companions who take their mating pairs with them,” Viktor says, nodding. “I’ve looked it all up.” He comes to take a seat next to Yuuri, looking out at the stars. “You wouldn’t believe how close I keep coming to filling out the companion applications every year.”

“But you’d have to surrender your place in line,” Emil says. Viktor nods. 

“It caused instability for a couple years when Gosha was forced to do so after being rejected by all of the Candidates,” he says. “I’ve had better luck; a lot of them want the bond with me, but… I couldn’t reciprocate.” 

Yuuri can hear Emil slowly backing out of the room. He sighs. “I’m sorry, this is probably a stupid question, but since Mila rarely talks about Neva and the interneb doesn’t have any reliable information about the Royal Family – what are Candidates?”

“High-empath Nevans who were discovered past childhood,” says Viktor. “The institution of the Royal Family wants only the most powerful empaths to be rulers, so they adopt the precocious ones and raise them as potential heirs, and they compel the late bloomers to bond into the family.” His tone is a little dry, a little brittle. “If someone in the direct line of succession is unable to secure a bond with a Candidate by their 30th birthday, they must give up their place.”

“And Mila was one of those Candidates before she fled,” says Yuuri.

“It’s an act of treason,” agrees Viktor. “Only the monarch and the heir apparent are allowed to grant royal pardons to forgive those who flee their duty to Neva, but not every border guard knows that.” He laughs a little drily at that, before looking over at Yuuri. “Neva doesn’t make that sort of information easily searchable on the interneb, and the Searchers never confirm anything to the outside press.”

“I can imagine the uproar,” says Yuuri. “Or maybe not imagine – Phichit says there’s a social media conspiracy that the Nevan government rounds up high-empath Nevans. There’s usually a ‘FreeNeva’ nonprofit or two trying to send an investigative journalist planetside to see if it’s true, but then they all get discredited or disappear, or worse.”

“I don’t think…” Viktor sighs, looking out at the stars, at the ringed blue sphere that his homeworld is from up here. “It’s not right, but it’s also not something I can control, even as the Crown Prince. The Searchers are an institution now, and the industry surrounding them is so big. I don’t know where I’d start dismantling it, if they don’t immediately execute me for trying.”

From up here, Yuuri also feels small. Just a speck of human dust floating in the vast dark vaccum of space, insignificant in the grand scheme of the galaxy. But there’s some comfort in insignificance sometimes – it means not every decision is life or death, not every choice will affect the structure of the universe. Viktor, on the other hand, looks down on the planet like a weary guardian, larger than life, able to determine the fate of everyone on this ship and everyone else on the planet.

But then Viktor looks at him, and Yuuri realises that no, the prince is small, too. Bowed over already by his responsibilities, chained to this planet out of duty. A puppet dancing on the end of the string, a child afraid of the dark spaces between the stars. His fingers find Viktor’s, seek the now-familiar comfort that they seem to bring. Viktor kisses their foreheads together, his breath exhaling softly between them. 

“Thank you, Yuuri,” the prince says after a moment. “For all you’ve given me so far.”

“I haven’t given you anything,” Yuuri says, confused. 

“You gave me a taste of the universe,” replies Viktor. “A sample of the life I could have led, at the eleventh hour of my freedom.”

Yuuri pulls back, brows furrowing. “What do you mean –”

“When this is over, I must return to Neva and be bonded,” replies Viktor. “It’s what I must do, in order to start changing the culture around Searchers.”

Yuuri swallows. “What would you do?” he asks, somehow speaking around the lump in his throat.

“I’d no longer make it treason to refuse,” replies Viktor. “It’s an opportunity, if someone wishes to take it. And many – especially those who who are poor – will take it for the chance at stability, at prestige, at privilege. But for others, it’s little more than abduction and captivity in a gilded cage.”

It’s a promise. It’s a good start. And yet the price feels too high for Yuuri somehow. The idea that he’ll have to say goodbye forever to this extraordinary prince from the stars wrenches at his heart in a way that he still doesn’t understand. Viktor looks at him, evidently sensing the pain; Yuuri turns away, trying to swallow down the lump in his throat. 

“You’re very… honorable,” he chokes out.

A pause. “That is high praise from a Terran,” Viktor whispers, one hand reaching out for his cheek. Yuuri leans into it readily, savouring the contact, the little peek into the supernova of Viktor’s emotions. 

Maybe this is what heartbreak feels like – knowing that the dutiful path is not the same as the right one, and knowing he must choose it anyway. 

[turtle-paced]

GoT Re-Watch: Fine-Toothed Comb Edition

Sorry for the delay! I’m up to the really long episodes now. This takes a while.

7.05 - Eastwatch

(2:00) Hail the miraculous survivors, now some distance downstream from the battlefield. The plot armour is with you, boys.

(2:54) Man called cunt: 1.

(3:02) “Until I get what I’m owed, a dragon doesn’t get to kill you. You don’t get to kill you. Only I get to kill you.” I’ve seen this called an explanation for Bronn’s actions, but this is not holding up on previous characterisation. Bronn cut his losses with Tyrion when it came to fighting Gregor Clegane; his chances of surviving a fight with a dragon are considerably less than his chances of surviving a fight with Gregor Clegane. Either there’s something to the theory that Bronn’s fallen in love with Jaime (or feels for him more deeply than any affection he has for Tyrion) and his character development compelled him to spear tackle Jaime out of the way of a fireball, or this is a bad justification for writing themselves into a corner earlier.

(3:42) A nice shot of Jaime looking back upriver at the battle.

(4:55) Just looking around at the extras here, it seems to me that we have a case of the Nice Lannisters, just like in 6.01. The average conventional attractiveness of these guys has gone up a notch, and we have a lot of younger men, soft haircuts and big eyes, all filmed in a nice golden light. Compare to the plainer, hardbitten, closer-to-middle age men who make sexual threats and talk about killing people. Again I say, it’s so great how this show doesn’t judge people by appearances.

Protip: If Dany’s wrong to burn these people, she’s wrong to do it whether or not they’re young or old, good-looking or not.

(5:02) Also, Dany mentions here that thing where Cersei Lannister has been burning people and orphaning children etc etc. The fact that nobody should be fighting for Cersei is the elephant in the room. They wrote that elephant in there and now they can’t write it back out, but if they ignore it aggressively enough, maybe they can convince people that the elephant’s not there.

The problem here is this. If Dany doesn’t say “Cersei’s worse than me,” she’s made zero case for herself immediately after setting a battlefield on fire. Likewise, if she just says “Cersei’s worse than me” without giving specifics…well. Dany still set a battlefield on fire, where Cersei’s been kicking back in King’s Landing most of the season doing nothing worse than kill Tyene in front of Ellaria. It’s been more than a year real-time since we saw Cersei’s direct involvement in a mass atrocity, whereas the end of the last episode and the start of this one both focus on how much damage Dany just did.

But if Dany gives the logical specifics of “Cersei blew up your church, killing the highest holy man in the land, a beloved queen her daughter-in-law, and her own uncle and his men” that reminds everyone of the plothole.

(5:31) Note Tyrion’s reaction shot here; I’ll talk about that sort of thing a bit more in a few scenes. Here, though, in theory Dany’s turn to the hardline extremist isn’t a bad idea for her character. That’s where her book version looks to be heading. The problem is that we still do need something to set Dany apart from Cersei, and we haven’t seen Dany do anything here but pursue the throne for the throne’s sake. She talks about wanting to break the wheel and leave the world better than she found it, but she’s done pretty much nothing this season that supports this - unlike earlier seasons, where in spite of the executions and the missteps, we could connect those actions to the clear overarching goal of leaving the former Slaver’s Bay stable and free. We always knew what she was trying to do.

And yet again this is related to the Queen Cersei problem. This is why I call Queen Cersei a narrative black hole. As I said above, Dany can’t make the case that Cersei is a tyrant on the level of Aerys, and that she herself is a liberator in this scenario. Not without drawing attention to the fact that Cersei’s smashed every social norm of Westeros in her quest for power, and that if the society was depicted with any consistency, Cersei would have been dragged out of the Red Keep by angry mobs episodes ago.

This isn’t the entirety of the problem - an excellent place to show Dany’s positive agenda would be in her interactions with Jon Snow. Show Dany, like Jon, encouraging women to train as fighters. Show (or mention) her expanding peasant hunting rights, planning to rebuild septs and hospitals, ensuring better access to guilds (‘cause they’re going to need every carpenter, blacksmith, textile worker and tanner), taking an interest in winter stores, and so forth. There must be something concrete to show that Dany cares and is worth caring about, even if it’s subordinate to her goal of the throne.

(6:14) Randyll Tarly says, “I already have a queen.” Yes, he’s most certainly serving Cersei out of fear, as opposed to all these people who knelt to Dany when Drogon roared. It’s some damn shitty writing that has a character say “people serve Dany out of love and Cersei out of fear” and then a few episodes later show people defying a goddamn dragon for Cersei’s sake and others only kneeling because of said dragon.

(6:47) Hey Randyll. Psst, Randyll. Cersei murdered her uncle. (And she should probably be a suspect in her son’s death as well.) The kinslaying thing is not a point of distinction.

(6:53) Randyll here calls Dany a foreign invader with no ties to Westeros. Except, you know, the fact that she was born in Westeros, she was raised to think of herself as Westerosi, her family history is significantly linked to Westeros for the past three centuries…things like that.

(7:15) Ah, artificiality. “You cannot send me to the Wall. You are not my queen.” Not how it works! There is nothing stopping Dany from chaining him up and shipping him off. And this is actually a problem induced by Tyrion’s presence; unadvised, Dany may well not think to make the offer of the Watch. Instead, we’ve got “maybe send him to the Wall?” and Randyll going “no that is arbitrarily not an option,” so that Dany ends up killing him and Dickon both.

This is backwards. The rules of the setting in this show bend according to the needs of the plot. It is the plot that must bend to the rules of the setting.

(9:13) Deaths: 2. Randyll and Dickon Tarly, killed by Dany.

(9:52) Cut to Jaime here.

(9:59) Seven seconds of Jaime walking down a plain stone corridor later, something happens. Needless to say, this is a few seconds too many of Jaime walking down a plain stone corridor. It’s not even an interesting corridor, it’s not like we’re holding on a shot of a battlefield, or the harpies of Meereen, or a striking interpersonal tableau. It’s a corridor. It’s made of stone. We’d get the point Jaime was walking fast after two or three seconds. We don’t need seven.

This show is no longer doing its best to pack as much complex plot into a limited time.

(10:04) Making things worse, all that happened back at the 9:59 mark was Qyburn stuttering something. The action of this scene starts here, where Jaime bursts in on Cersei - the single movement gets his haste and emotional disturbance across, as well as the fact that he clearly hasn’t stopped to wash. That was basically twelve seconds for Jaime to build up the momentum to open a fucking door.

(11:10) Then a Jaime-and-Cersei scene again gets to the point nice and quickly, centred around an actual conflict. The Lannisters think their defeat is all but certain, and they aren’t in a position to make peace either.

(11:31) Followed up by a reveal with real personal impact, all fitting in to show the larger problem of a deteriorating relationship and two different value systems. It’s incredibly ironic that though the plot point of Queen Cersei is so damaging to the fabric of the worldbuilding, so many of Cersei and Jaime’s scenes together this season work to establish exterior problems and advance interior conflict. Belatedly, yes, but they actually do their job.

(11:56) “Which [of Joffrey or Tommen] would Margaery have been better able to control?” A reminder that Margaery raped and abused Tommen with the aim of gaining political power!

(12:22) And Jaime brings it nicely back to the original problem, with Cersei’s response of “fuck it” starting to make an impact on him.

(12:37) Once again, Jon Snow on the edge of a cliff, cloak blowing in the wind. He’s making up for all the time he lost in season six.

(13:18) This is probably the best Jon-and-Dany scene of the season, and if you could only get one right, you’d want it to be this one, where Jon encounters a dragon close up for the first time. (Obviously, you want to get more than one right.) It’s important not just to advancing the romance, but to advancing the reveal for later.

(14:11) Key to this is Dany actually showing concern for and interest in what’s going on.

(14:39) And actually smiling. Good lord. A romantic relationship that involves the parties being happy? Perish the thought.

(14:58) There’s a bit of the Jon staring at Dany that was missing from the last episode.

(15:24) “We both want to help people.” And you both ran into serious scripting errors when the writers told the audience how bad and terrible and evil your opponents were, and then showed other things going on instead. Nobody turned on the Boltons, and the people of King’s Landing seem pretty happy about Queen Cersei.

(15:42) The writers have got to have something in mind for the internal reveal that Jon died. They’ve got to.

(15:55) And magically appearing Jorah. Urgh. He doesn’t have a point! His story is over! We’re done with him! All he does now is add no-purpose awkwardness to a relationship between Jon and Dany that’s already awkward because of their political positions!

(16:30) “I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t [found a cure].” Oh, bullshit. He was perfectly fine hanging out with Dany when he had greyscale, and he’s perfectly fine ignoring her orders to stay away from her.

(17:01) Look at that, Bran’s actually doing something. It only took four episodes for him to find a use for his powers that wasn’t being cruel to the people around him.

(17:16) These ravens can also teleport, if the shots of them taking flight outside Winterfell and then flying north of the Wall is any guide.

(18:10) The Night King looking at the warged ravens is a good moment.

(19:15) “Somehow, a crippled boy survived for years beyond the Wall where no one else could. Not the wildlings, not the Night’s Watch, no one.” First, again into the timeline weeds with it apparently being years since season three. This is not my area of expertise, but I was definitely under the impression season four took place over something like a month, and most of season six in a similar sort of timeframe. Second, huh? How does Sam know where Bran went beyond the Wall, and why does he think nobody could survive there, not even the Free Folk?

Short answer: Sam couldn’t possibly know this, and he’s just channeling the knowledge of the writers. Because this is a badly-written show.

(20:06) Invited to argue to the meeting why the maesters should take Bran seriously, Sam flubs it. Oh, I know, I know, it’s presented as Sam presenting an obviously correct and reasonable idea. But seriously, there is neither logical flow nor actual argument to what Sam says. First he says they should take Sam seriously, then when Maester Broadbent invites him to elaborate on this point, Sam says what the Citadel can do.

(20:16) Indeed, Maester Broadbent’s response is “it’s possible.” He continues on to say that it’s also possible the news is part of a ploy by the Dragon Queen. (Which, you know, you could discover by authenticating the maester’s handwriting, so you’re not off the hook either, Maester Broadbent.)

The problem is that Sam hasn’t fucking mentioned why the Citadel should take Bran seriously. “Bran’s been beyond the Wall” is, in and of itself, not all that compelling when the Citadel is aware of thousands of Free Folk who’ve done the same.

(20:23) Then Sam has the nerve to frown and shake his head in horrified disbelief that the maesters could be so stupid. Well, mate. Next time, make an argument. Don’t tell us “X exists”, tell us “why X.” They can’t just go google this. Their ability to run source comparisons is limited. If you want them to believe you, you have to work for it.

I really don’t like this storyline. Sam’s an outright Mary Sue here. His actions are always correct, and the surrounding characters are judged by the narrative on how closely their opinions conform to Sam’s own.

(20:38) “I’ve seen it.”

What did you see, Sam? It? What the fuck is “it”? Did you see a copy of Stephen King’s 1986 novel? Did you see the 1990 miniseries? The 2017 movie? Or something else entirely? The audience might know what you saw, but the people in front of you sure don’t, because unlike the audience they don’t have the rest of the series downloaded, nor an episode guide to help them out, and when you tell them you’ve seen “it” you could be referring to just about anything. They need more than a pronoun to make a decision, and I do not blame them one bit for not finding your pronouns all that convincing.

(21:13) Sam doesn’t know what happened to his father and brother. I sense another future reveal.

(21:35) Tyrion drinks: 1. Speaking of characters who the narrative tells us are always right…

(21:54) “I am her Hand, not her head. I cannot make her decisions for her.” “That’s what I used to tell myself about her father.” Basically, the implication Varys is giving us here is that Tyrion should be Dany’s head.

This is also another “it’s funny because it’s meta” moments - Varys says he found the traitors, but he wasn’t the one burning them. Book!Varys was finding traitors everywhere. On purpose. To poke Aerys into self-destructing.

(22:39) Doubling down on the implication. “Daenerys is not her father.” “And she never will be. With the right counsel.” Tyrion is all that stands between Dany and her impulse to tyranny. It’s on Tyrion not just to make sure Dany gets good advice and all the knowledge he has of Westeros, but to make her a good queen. The burden of her character development has fallen to him.

I can’t say it enough that this is shitty writing for both of them. Dany’s character development should not be given over to Tyrion so that he can do it better; Tyrion’s character development should not be vanished and made contingent on another.

(22:46) Tyrion refilled the goblet, so Tyrion drinks: 2.

(22:56) “It’s a sealed scroll for the King in the North.”

(23:03) And the punchline is left hanging for seven seconds. “What’s it say?” It wasn’t such a clever joke that we needed seven seconds for the complex set-up of this gag to sink in.

(23:18) “I thought Arya was dead. I thought Bran was dead.” And he’s just so happy to learn they’re at home, safe and reasonably well. Let Jon and Dany smile at each other, please. It can’t hurt the romance to see them being happy in the other’s happiness.

(23:40) “We’ll fight with the men we have.” Worked out just fine last time!

(24:06) We’re doing this! The genius wight-trapping plan. Written pretty much entirely to get Viserion killed off, because goodness knows not much else of use was accomplished here.

(24:37) Varys here points out that Cersei’s not much for negotiating in good faith. So here’s the other option that must be at least considered - stepping up the war against Cersei.

(25:37) Jon volunteers for the mission, and Dany gets upset. That escalated fast. They’ve had, what, four conversations in total, with little room for them to have interacted more offscreen? And only two of those conversations had anything like intimacy in them?

(25:46) Oh, and Jon keeps using the wrong justifications for going. Instead of “I’m the only one here who’s fought them,” try “we need the Free Folk, and they won’t cooperate with me if I send other people to do this job.”

(26:25) “Now I’m asking you to trust in a stranger.” It’s lines like that that really emphasise the close emotional connection Jon and Dany have forged over the past few episodes! (This should have been, “Now I’m asking you to trust in a [friend/ally/partner].”)

(27:01) From goofily incompetent writing to just unappealingly incompetent writing, we return to Winterfell, where the writers are engaged in another bout of “we meant to do that!” as the Northern lords say that maybe they should have considered Sansa as their queen.

(27:07) The Knights of the Vale came here for Sansa…so what do we need Littlefinger for, again?

(27:30) The ominous music starts up as Arya glares at Sansa. The timing of the ominous music confuses the matter; if we’re supposed to think that Sansa was considering the offer of queenship, that cue needed to be earlier. As it is, the music tells us that it’s Arya who’s the threat in this situation.

(27:55) “These are mother and father’s chambers.” That could have been a much better moment than it was - instead of Arya jumping to the ludicrous conclusions she jumps to, she could have had it brought home in this small intimate way that their parents are dead and life moves on.

(28:09) This is the worst goddamn plot of the season. It really is, and I say that having ranted extensively about Sam’s. Arya just goes straight to vicious personal attacks on Sansa for no reason. So fuck what if Sansa likes nice things?

(28:33) Sansa’s arguments here are pretty much unassailable. It is her job to listen to the complaints of Jon’s bannermen. It is much smarter to sit there and take some grumbling when the alternative is maybe losing the whole army.

And Arya’s counter to these very solid arguments is “Fuck it, kill them.” I do not know what this was in aid of. Why is it a good idea to pit these two against each other? Why are they even fighting? Was Arya meant to come off as murderously unreasonable and unreasonably murderous? Because that’s what it looks like!

Yes, it’s another example of the writers not able to manage two smart people in one scene.

(28:42) “Winterfell didn’t just fall into our hands.” Ha! Ha!

(29:07) Yes! Yes, if Jon does not come back, Sansa will need their support so they can all work together! This is a true thing! I do not know why Arya is saying it as though it’s some huge crime of Sansa’s. Of course there needs to be a plan for what happens if Jon dies. It is not remotely evidence of treason or potential treason, not even when you take into account that Sansa might want to be queen.

The direction for Maisie Williams is also atrocious, here. She’s not coming off as menacing, or even cold, but smug and self-satisfied. Smug and self-satisfied that she’s hurt her sister’s feelings after accusing that sister of wanting their brother dead.

(29:54) Oh, snap. The writers did remember that Tyrion bears a decent chunk of responsibility for the death of Davos’ son. This episode, anyway. I actually don’t mind the way it’s played; it’s almost refreshing to have a character go “well, this personal tragedy takes a backseat to greater necessity.” It’d be even better if the writers had remembered that there was a personal tragedy with any sort of consistency.

(30:21) Without foreshadowing or logistics, Tyrion has got in touch with Bronn. Don’t ask how. It’s not worth it. We cut to Bronn and Jaime here.

(30:51) And Tyrion enters the scene here, after thirty seconds of banter. Edit, people. Edit. The banter added next to nothing to the scene. It just gave Bronn more lines. All we needed was Jaime asking something to the effect of “Why are we going down here? I was preparing for the imminent arrival of the Dothraki.” The writers are pretty bloody enamoured of their own cleverness, and it shows up with Bronn a lot.

(32:05) Can’t complain about the acting here on either side.

(32:45) “She has a more important request.” And cut away. For all the good acting, it has to come attached to plot. This isn’t the worst example we’ll see of this all season, not by a mile, since other scenes give the cut-out bit context - but the writers’ habits of having characters stand around and hash out their characters (we know why Tywin wanted Tyrion dead) rather than progress the plot needed to be stomped on long ago.

(32:45) Cut to Davos wandering through a smithy.

(33:20) And effective Gendry reveal. Thirty-five seconds well spent. No way that could have been cut down?

(33:31) “I thought you might still be rowing.” It’s funny because it’s meta. It’s also funny because the showrunners forgot about this character for several seasons.

(33:42) “I looked in shops, taverns, brothels - should have known to come to the Street of Steel.” Hey, look at that! The one line does all the work of the thirty-five seconds of Davos wandering around.

(34:26) Gendry jumping at the call is pretty adorable, though.

(35:10) Scene with Davos and Gendry on the beach starts here.

(38:01) Deaths: 3. Gendry kills a goldcloak.

(38:03) Deaths: 4. Gendry kills the other goldcloak.

(38:16) I went quiet there for a few minutes. You know why? Because nothing of interest or importance was happening. Absolutely nothing. The only thing that might have been relevant was Davos advising Gendry to keep his parentage on the down-low, but other than that it was basically a random encounter. It did not challenge the protagonists. It did not reveal anything to them. It had no impact on matters external to them. It should not have been in the episode.

Over three minutes of utterly wasted time. Great.

(38:51) I really do like how over the course of the season Jaime becomes less and less comfortable with Cersei. Now he’s outright worried about telling her that he met with Tyrion.

(39:35) Night and day. Night and fucking day. Even when Cersei’s talking about what Jaime intends to do with Bronn, which does not affect the stuff with Dany, it comes back to a) Cersei’s skewed priorities and b) Cersei’s increasing viciousness. There is work being done with these lines.

(39:39) “Do you think anything of importance happens in this city without me knowing?” Soooooo…which Cersei are we dealing with this scene? The master manipulator or the vicious unhinged tyrant? Because I find it hard to believe that the Cersei who just asked if Jaime was going to punish Bronn would be so complacent about Gendry’s presence in town if she knew about it…

(40:00) “If we’re going to beat her we have to be clever about it. We have to fight [Dany] like [Tywin] would have.” So, you know, we’re still on the ‘the Red Wedding was a great idea’ thing, and Tywin the ur-politician of the setting.

(40:20) Speaking of timelines. Jaime was 40 back at the start of season four. Obviously, this means Cersei was also 40 back in season four. Years have passed since then, according to Sam, and if we go with the clearly-not-true-but-let’s-go-with-it one season equals one year model, Cersei’s between 43 and 44. Cersei’s pregnant now. Not impossible. What I do find nigh unbelievable is that nobody mentions Cersei’s age. The (male) writers aren’t thinking about the consequences of a pregnancy, nor even how Cersei might feel about having a child at such an unlikely age after she’s buried three/four children already, but about relationship drama. That scene was about Jaime.

(40:41) “People won’t like that.” Meaning people won’t like Cersei saying that her child and heir is Jaime’s as well. And no, they won’t. Confirmation of the incest thing would have been enough to topple any of Joffrey, Tommen, or Myrcella - but who cares about continuity?

(41:20) Just to make sure we know that that three minute scene with the goldcloaks and the fermented crab was useless, Davos repeats the only line of substance and renders it utterly redundant.

(41:42) It’s a crying shame that Gendry “you’d be m’lady” Waters became so pro-Robert over his seasons away.

(42:04) But that said, it’s nice to see people smiling and getting along and willing to take chances with their trust.

(43:42) You’re right, Tyrion, I don’t believe it. I disbelieve it on principle when people say they missed Jorah. That piece of shit. Why is he here, again? I could have sworn he was out of story.

(44:04) “Our queen needs you.” For what, and why? Jorah is out of story. And Dany’s succeeded and failed with and without Jorah. She’s had functional relationships with and without Jorah - no thanks to Jorah, of course.

(44:23) Oh, that’s why Jorah’s here. Artificial tension with Jon! Well, don’t sweat, Jorah, Jon called himself a stranger to Dany a few scenes ago.

(44:46) “I wish you good fortune in the wars to come, your grace.” Goddammit. Stop it with that line. It’s not so good that you have to repeat it that often!

Also, wow, that was a bland and unremarkable farewell between those two. Not helped by the fact that we see Jorah looking back at Dany…and not Jon.

(45:42) “Guess how many steps there are in the Great Sept of Baelor.” “None anymore.” People are terrified of Cersei. Very disturbed about how violent she is.

(46:04) The other bad thing in the episode. (Keep in mind the standards of ‘bad’ I’m working with.) Septon Maynard wrote down that he issued an annulment for a “Prince Ragger” and remarried him to someone else at the same time. Elia got screwed, and the show’s portrayal demonstrates a real lack of thought.

Because it’s really not hard to see how much of an asshole Rhaegar was, if he out and out annulled his marriage to Elia. The marriage never legally happened. His kids with her? Bastards, as of that decree, since there was no wedlock for them to be born into. Bad enough that he’d do that to his wife and kids in peacetime, but then he left them in the Red Keep with his murderous dad! Who kept them hostage, in part to assure that Elia’s brother would fight for the Targaryens! We also get the detail that this marriage ceremony was held in Dorne. Elia’s homeland. Classy. I’ll talk more about Elia’s significance in the depiction of R+L=J when we get to 7.07.

It’s also a timeline/worldbuilding snafu. And snafu is the term I want, because it is perfectly normal for the showrunners to forget that back around this time, everyone wanted to know where Rhaegar and Lyanna were, on account of the impending war; that annullments aren’t so easy to issue as ticking a box; that we need to account for travel time to and from Dorne plus the absence of the High Septon from King’s Landing; and so on and so forth.

(46:29) Well, that line about the secret to defeating the Night King for good sitting on a dusty shelf ignored was intentional irony, and I think it just about brained me as it fell anvil-like from the sky.

(47:15) The riveting “breaking into the Restricted Section again” scene. It loses impact when it’s the second such scene.

(47:51) If I didn’t hate Sam’s storyline so much, I’d feel bad at his feeling bad over leaving a library as cool as that.

(48:20) Then as he drives away from the Citadel, Sam repeats his father’s words about reading about the achievements of better men. God I hate show!Sam. There’s your existential defeat. Sam didn’t learn the best of the Citadel’s traditions while rejecting the bad parts, becoming the best possible maester he could be and the best possible help to the other characters; he learned that he was right all along and the maesters were stuffy old nerds like his anti-intellectual dad always said.

(48:42) Littlefinger meets with a random person. It is clandestine. Arya watches from the shadows.

(50:01) “Maester Luwin’s archives are very thorough.” Convenient that they didn’t get burned along with most of the rest of Winterfell.

We know with hindsight that this scene shouldn’t be mistaken for Littlefinger doing anything. Once again, he’s just kind of there, because with the utter mutilation of Sansa’s arc, he’s got jack shit to do around here. Thus far this season, Littlefinger has given away a knife (which made no sense) and received a letter (which, as we’ll find out, also makes no sense). Otherwise it’s all hanging around walls antagonising people.

(52:06) This is the letter that Sansa was forced to send from King’s Landing following Ned’s arrest. Again, I’ll get into the implications later, when the narrative’s take on this becomes more apparent.

(52:26) Also, Arya continues to be a terrible assassin, as Littlefinger turns the tables on her with ease. It’s just not a sequence of Arya sneaking around without her fucking it up bad!

(52:45) After more than fifty minutes of episode named “Eastwatch”, we arrive at Eastwatch.

(52:54) Nope, turns out Tormund thinks Jon going on this mission is a bad idea too. With this sort of reinforcement, the only logical conclusion is that indeed, Jon’s participation on this mission was a stupid fucking idea, and he should not be doing it. Jon looks even stupider for hearing this advice from multiple people and going ahead anyway.

(54:06) So much recognising of people from earlier seasons, so little emotional resonance. This is because the people who care about each other aren’t spending time together. It’s at one remove.

(54:21) I say that, and immediately Gendry comes up with a much more emotional and compelling reaction! Thanks, Gendry!

(55:26) “There’s a greater purpose at work.” Yeah, the railroad plot tracks you all are tied to.

(57:03) And so we end the episode with our adventuring party heading off into a howling blizzard, this bad idea raid in search of evidence for a bad idea meeting. None of them with hats on, of course. They didn’t need their ears anyway.

Game of Numbers S07E05

Deaths: 4. Dany kills Randyll and Dickon Tarly; Gendry kills two goldcloaks.

Woman called ‘cunt’: 0.

Man called ‘cunt’: 1.

Tyrion drinks: 2.

Cersei drinks: 0.

[godslayingenthusiast]

https://qgpennyworth.com/portfolio/dont-be-a-dick/

Dont Be A Dick is a work from Holy Nonsense, a Creative Commons project. View Holy Nonsense 2020 here.

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Don't Be A Dick by The Good Reverend Roger

Take a look at the news today. There will be gleeful stories about people being dicks. People raping people. People murdering people. People raping and THEN murdering people. All of them dicks, and a special kind of dick sitting behind the news desk, telling you all the gory details with a look of studied concern on his face. He seems to be puzzled as to why the peasants would act in such a fashion...

Whereas a normal person being forced to barf up this litany of dickishness would have a look of profound disgust on their faces.

If you listen to that guy, you'll think being a dick is NORMAL. It isn't.

And if you change the channel, there's Jack Bauer torturing some bastard because he's a SPECIAL kind of dick, the sort of dick we need to protect us from dicks from other countries. You know what I mean. Smudgy dicks who blow people up because "why the hell not?" This might lead you to believe that ONE kind of dick is better than ANOTHER kind of dick, and that one kind of dick is somehow "heroic". They aren't.

No, brothers and sisters, the plain fact of the matter is that being a dick is just that...Being a dick. The one thing dicks have in common is that they make the world WORSE for people around them. Some more than others, obviously, but that's just a matter of SCALE. Lester Maddox was a medium-scale dick, for example, and Jerry Falwell was a gigantic dick.

But the kind of dick that causes the most damage is the small-time dick. The LITTLE dick. Because they make up for in volume what they lack in scale. I'm looking at YOU, dick who is slipping roofies in that girl's drink. I'm talking to you, dick who is tormenting the cashier or being rude to the waiter because you can. I'M LOOKING AT YOU, DICK WHO JUST FEELS THE NEED TO SAY SOMETHING MEAN TO SOMEONE FOR ANY REASON OR NO REASON AT ALL.

Dicks always have excuses, too. "I had a bad day", when the behavior happens every day. Or perhaps "My love life isn't what it ought to be, so all members of my target gender are fair game for dickery". PROTIP: You aren't a dick because you can't get laid, you can't get laid because YOU ARE A DICK. All of these excuses boil down to the same thing, and that thing is "I am a small person and I feel bigger when I shit all over everyone around me, like the baboon that I am."

Everyone acts like a dick now and again. It happens. But if it happens on a regular basis, then you are no longer ACTING like a dick, you're BEING a dick. It has become your new state of normalcy. What, after all, is an evil person? Obviously, an evil person is a person that does evil things. And a dick is a person who does dickish things... And the ONLY difference between an evil person and a dick is that at least the evil person has some level of over-the-top, widescreen mania to their bad actions. Dicks are just boring in their evil.

Now, if you mull things over and realize that you are in fact a dick, there’s still hope. There is in fact a CURE for being a dick. We Doktors refer to this cure as “STOP BEING A DICK”. It’s easier than it sounds. You just stop being a passive aggressive sack of shit. You stop trying to be an “alpha” pick up artist. You stop deliberately trying to torque people up because it is the ONLY MEANING LEFT IN YOUR LIFE.

And that’s the real trick, isn’t it? If you go out and BUILD A LIFE for yourself, you will be so interested in that life that you won’t have TIME to shit on other people, and YOU WON’T EVEN WANT TO.

Happy people aren’t dicks.

It’s just that simple.

[airstarheating]

Knowing the Basics of Furnace, Both AC and HVAC Care

Were You Aware on a Typical, People in America invest 93 percent of The Life Indoors,'' as Stated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)?

 That the EPA Go on to convey Which Indoor Air Quality Is accountable for Different work-related and Skin Care issues. That the air pollution Level boosts two into one hundred Times Within your house In relation to the External.

 SO suitable operating and upkeep of one's residence's HVAC process is definitely an essential component of its own functioning. Because of this, it's almost always a fantastic concept to seek the services of HVAC repair contractors to address some issues which you can deal with.

 The ideal time for you to schedule an HVAC support and care is always spring or fall up. That really is crucial to get a very long and much healthier lifetime span of this body.

 Some matters will probably be needing your prompt awareness, even though some might be viewed just one or two times per year or two.

 You obtain an HVAC San Diego Ca system to get a comfortable place temperature throughout year round. However, in addition, you ought to keep up it and also care to this on the standard basis to guarantee smooth operation.

 Listed here are 10 methods to lengthen the life span of one's HVAC process and give a wide berth to its premature breakdown.

 Particles and filth around your HVAC technique may restrict heat. Thus wash the neighboring spots routinely.

A sudden program failure as a result of improper setup can be very easy as are erroneous strategy options. To guarantee the machine has been installed properly and is still performing about the most suitable preferences.

Folks feel that even bigger the AC, the higher it really is. But this is a fable! Get in touch with a trusted HVAC company that will counsel you to the proper dimension of this HVAC strategy.

The perfect temperature to your own HVAC process is seventy eight levels through the summer season and 68 degrees through the winter months.

Appropriate understanding of this HVAC program may assist you once it's malfunctions. You might find a way to trouble shoot before an HVAC supplier towards you comes to resolve it.

Halt the drinking water source into furnace replacements in sexy weathers. In the winter, place the humid stat amongst 30 percent and 40 percent simply turning the drinking water source .

In order to prevent stress in your own HVAC process, place the registers over 20%.

It's better to displace the bolts in carbon dioxide detector one time per year in the a minimum twice.

Inappropriate lubrication may boost the friction of moving elements, cutting back the efficacy of one's own body. This will result in this deteriorating prior to anticipated. S O scatter your own body in frequent periods.

Thoroughly clean up the condensate drain frequently to make sure it is absolutely free of germs, algae, soil, and bacteria that are harmful.

#ProTip

Blend inch cup bleach with 3 cups water and then stir it nicely. Pour the solution right in to the condensate drain to completely clean it.

 All done and said, HVAC techniques do not continue for ever. They've a lifetime span of roughly 1520 decades past

 If a HVAC process is nearing that era, you then might need to look at investing in a fresh system rather than repairing the older you.

 Below are some aspects to think about whenever you are on the lookout to get a fresh platform.

 Feb Sq. spot to become heated/cooled

The kind of structure (concrete, timber or some material)

sum of colour your house gets

perfect in door temperatures you are comfortable with

Insulation given to ceilings and walls

quantity side, doors and skylights

going through management of windows and doors

From contemplating the aforementioned things, you're going to be equipped to put money into something which is employed economically throughout yearround.

H-Vac is your respiratory program of one's house. It retains the mind and heating a-c systems inplace. Maintain them tidy as well as in easy functioning state in the least moments. Additionally, be sure your air ducts are all tidy by shifting filters when each 3 weeks or even if they're cluttered.

 Filthy filters may impact the HVAC method from the next manners.

 Result in strategy collapse

build-up dirt and debris such as pet hair, mildew, fleas and dust infestation can decrease the efficacy

Wastage of electricity contributes to lengthier power invoices

By appearing following your furnaces in addition to heating a-c approaches, you also can guarantee the HVAC programs have a fantastic shape.

Listed here is the thing you want to be on the lookout for in the those scenarios.

 Furnaces

 The back fire may be sign representing their condition of one's own body. In case the shadow is sharp blue, then then it really is fine and at a fantastic working condition. However if it's while in the colors of crimson and yellowish, then you should telephone a expert furnace repair corporation.

Assess your basic safety whilst the very first measure. Any leakage or shed connection may result in safety difficulties or reduce the efficacy.

The elderly your own furnace undergoes, it grows more likely to overtraining. If a furnace is more old compared to 15 to twenty decades along with also the repair prices you 15 percent greater than purchasing brand new furnace, then you then need to ponder changing it.

An over worked furnace will probably set you back longer in electricity payments. In the event you start visiting a substantial escalation inside your debts, then put in contact a neighborhood furnace repair corporation towards one to put in a brand new furnace.

An ineffective furnace could cause several rooms staying warmer or colder compared to some others.

An obsolete duct technique could reduce its capacity to disperse heat evenly across your home.

If you begin experiencing any one of those aforementioned, qualified information is undoubtedly superior compared to the usual DIY tactic.

Heating AC Methods

 It really is not simple to repair your heating a-c techniques, specially if sunlight is just about the corner.

 It really is worse if your furnace gets broken , and now you've got to contact to get an urgent situation neighborhood HVAC repair agency . That really is only because it is going to definitely cost you more.

 Many physicians dismiss those indicators of heating system issues inside their HVAC techniques. However, you ought not!

 You're spending a lot about heating system, and also the invoices will be costing you you more.

However large you turn the thermostat up; it really is still not hot enough for that full home.

As soon as an AC limited bicycles, it is maybe not working to finish a heating cycle, even utilizing a whole lot of electricity whenever it must stop and start.

Should you become aware of fire discoloration, then you should instantly switch off the furnace. The fire must remain blue. Otherwise, it's an indication of rust or debris within the burner.

Obtain a expert service close to to look at out your HVAC atleast two times annually. They'll assess for flaws with electric motors and supplies.