#she went to psychic conventions

[tofuingho]

Imagine a world where Bruce got really into the occult when his parents died.

He did all the things. He bought a Ouija board. He went to psychics. He held seances.

He never did talk to his parents.

But, sometimes he wasn't as careful as he should have been. Once, just once, when a Ouija session once again failed to reach his parents, he left the planchet on the board and never said goodbye.

How long would it take for something to come through? How long would it take for Bruce and Alfred to notice? The manor is so very big and it has so many lovely dark places to hide.

If things get moved around, who would really notice? Especially once Bruce adopts the Robins. So many children causing so much chaos at all hours of the day and night.

No, I expect that no one would notice until Duke moves in. But even then, who knows how long it would take him to notice one big humanoid shape hidden away in some long forgotten attic room.

[quickhacked]

"The outer reaches of space remain unexplored by humankind to this day, but its greed is relentless. We grasp and yearn and hunger for knowledge— answers to questions we cry out into the endless void expecting to understand, expecting the stars to respond. The stars will not, but one day something else will— and we will not like what it has to say." — Rome Solomon, Beyond the Exosphere (1965)

taglist (opt in/out): @shellibisshe, @florbelles, @ncytiri, @hibernationsuit, @stars-of-the-heart, @vvanessaives, @katsigian, @radioactiveshitstorm, @estevnys, @adelaidedrubman, @celticwoman, @rindemption, @carlosoliveiraa, @noirapocalypto, @dickytwister, @killerspinal, @euryalex, @ri-a-rose, @velocitic, @thedeadthree

[sapphyreopal5]

I'm very currious about all you have said about the jared/gen dynamic. She has said in many recent interviews and podcasts that she would have/wants another baby. She also mentioned in https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/011-gen-padalecki/id1669068961?i=1000607754239 episode 11 about 1h10m in that her psychic friend told her all about her future husband when she was a younger gal. Its is a fun listen. That her psychic friend was right. Her husband was there for her all along, she just had to wait for him to come into her life. Also, she claims jared is very intuitive, which I've kinda thought he was a little blind to people's intentions, as he seems too trusting and looks for the best in people.

Having said all that, jared seems the type to love easily and I imagine there would be constant temptation on his part, even if he was deeply in love.

Thank you for this share Anon. I see that this podcast was aired on 4/6/2023. Pretty interesting things to notice in this podcast on your part, not to mention the numbers! Episode 11, 1h10 min in, and the overall podcast is 01:17:48 long... I see 11s galore here! Heck, even as I'm typing this the URL contains 1111. The quotes from that website that standout to me in this particular for the numerology aspect going on here is "Put your intuitive gifts to work. 11 reminds you that your thoughts have power, so focus on positive intentions to attract the person or whatever else you desire." Also for the health aspect because I believe this is relevant to Jared and even Gen too: "Regarding your health, angel number 11 is a powerful reminder to pay attention to your overall well-being. It’s like a cosmic call to nurture your mind, body, and spirit. 11 encourages you to seek balance and make positive choices for your health."

I also noticed the message Peggy said to her in the podcast is: "Slow down, try not to rush to manifest everything you're trying to manifest. I see all these piles of things of all these different things, *exaggerated breathing" and also the pressure of really like doing it right and which one is the right one to do it with and as you do with all things, slow down and just relax then that one will show up, that one present itself, so you're not doing it alone. You don't have to think about it all yourself and if you relax with it, that project that needs the attention will go "hey, me" right, and you'll just intuitively feel it more in your body and um also just..." *pause* "It's like you have a lot like *laugh* okay, less structure on the outside, more on the inside. Does that make sense to you?" They also talked about her tendency of wanting perfection in things but Jared telling her to not let perfect get in the way of great.

I stated there will be a time of separation in their marriage in my previous tarot post regarding Gen and Jared for a reading I did back on 7/22/2023. I believe that this one will be more quiet and not public (but will be hinted at, as if it isn't already). Interestingly, people were speculating that Gen went to Idaho with the kids alone for weeks. I saw a story on Gen's IG a few days ago I posted a screen recorded video of, which actually confirmed this. She claimed "my husband had to work" for why he was not in Idaho... because every actor and writer is currently busy working with the strikes going on right now? It's also strange to note that in the same IG story she posted confirming he was not in Idaho with her she was talking about a drink supplement she's been doing every morning for a while now... ag1partner!

I believe also the awkward "non kiss" on Celebrity Family Feud (around 4:54) that was filmed on 4/22/2023, and the hesitancy to kiss onstage at the JIB13 convention on 6/18/2023 (around 11:33) in recent months are telling. Also, "No, don't wear your hat". Gen we all know Jared wears his toboggan as a comfort thing, no one cares about it on a live video book review, I promise you. I'm referencing their "Happy Place" IG live story they did back on 5/26/2023 or so, it's a couple min into the video. I believe that the bigger message Peggy missed here is that they need to tend to the "health of their marriage" and spirituality, as they are physical health oriented people and self-care types as it is. Stop caring so much about what other people think Gen! Less structure on the outside, more on the inside...

From what I've noticed in the short time I've been part of this fandom, Jared has a lot of subliminal messages in the things he says. His idea of heaven is "being able to love freely" and said something like "I know what it means to live in secret" when someone talked to him about "coming out of the closet" to their family. Wish I could tell you which panel that was as it was a couple friends of mine who told me about this stuff. Was Jared admitting he's gay? Not a chance but I do believe he was hinting at some reservations he's got with even his own marriage. My guides tell me that Jared does need help to work on his intuition and to trust his instincts. My senses also tell me that their marriage isn't as ideal as people believe it is, a lot of smoke and mirrors. Gen seems to be done pretending things are perfect but is afraid of letting go of her current lifestyle.

These are my thoughts on this for now Anon. Thanks for sharing this!

[yuridovewing]

This is such a minor gripe compared to dotc's laundry list of sins, but since it doesn't stick to the naming conventions of the modern clans (except for that one kit I think?) I will just straight up forget that a character is supposed to be a baby. Like Sparrow Fur, she's a baby when Tom shows up and probably mid to late apprentice age when she jumps in to defend clear sky (God only knows why)

but a lot of the time I'll read a scene with her and think "yeah fully grown, probably needs to get her taxes done soon"

On that note, I genuinely can't relate when people tell me they like dotc. A part of me feels like they're lying because reading it causes both psychic and physical damage to me. There are some good scenes and concepts but it's dragged down by everyone else

i honestly kinda liked that aspect of dotc! it took some getting used to, but it was a nice change of pace from the usual naming scheme. some of the names are so pretty too, like shivering rose.

jumping off of that though, it bugs me so bad that they dont have an explanation for why the naming convention changed so drastically. like, the erins are so uncomfortable with changing the status quo that when they couldnt figure out how to naturally introduce the deputy system and the separate territories, they just sorta went "well! its there now! just cause!" but they didnt know how or why they should do it with the names so its just floating in the void

[archaiclumina]

My rival should be strong to keep me sharp!

♡ Pokemon Trainer Ren ♡

Tagged by the lovely @miqojak ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ tysm for thinking of me c:

Well I really didn't know what trainer type I'd get, but I was very happy with Psychic because I think that fits Ren really well c':

Still as someone who spent too much of her late teens and early 20s on Smogon U, I wanted to make sure I built a well-rounded team for her, so I only included 1 pure Psychic type in Espeon (I think that's kinda how Ren's carbuncle would look tbh haha c': ). Need wings if you wanna move around fast so she gets woobat (flying/psychic), of course! I left out fire type and put in Celebi (grass/psychic) too cause that's how Oli would want it c': The bottom row I just went for astronomy looking Pokemon, because the accident that discoloured Ren's eye as a kid happened while she was using an experimental astroscope c:

Young trainers look up to you -- maybe because they admire your psychic powers, and maybe because you’re smart and caring. You aren't super muscular and your Pokemon might not look strong in a conventional sense, but everyone knows you’re going to be a tough fight. It can be hard for you to recover if you’re ever caught off-guard, but you’re still a top-notch gym leader. Young trainers look up to you -- maybe because they admire your psychic powers, and maybe because you’re smart and caring. You aren't super muscular and your Pokemon might not look strong in a conventional sense, but everyone knows you’re going to be a tough fight. It can be hard for you to recover if you’re ever caught off-guard, but you’re still a top-notch gym leader.

(Oh gosh, kids, please don't look up to Ren c': )

Here's the Quiz and the Trainer Card Template for anyone who'd like to play along! Tagging some beautiful moots for pokemon fun! @fair-fae, @hakai-zonapher, @dumb-hat and the recently arrived from the birdapp @gaussbarrels (Sorry if you've already done it <3 And no pressure to participate ofc! It's just for fun and memes c: )

[jujupepi]

A Pre-History of Fanfiction IV: Slash Trek

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Chapter 4: Slash Trek 

BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING. It is true that Star Trek exploded onto the SF scene and changed the fandom forever. Star Trek premiered on NBC September 8th, 1966 and aired for three seasons. Star Trek fans were dismissed as “TV star smitten pre-teen” and not “true fans” (Bruce Soutard). Despite gatekeeping by THE ‘true fans’ Star Trek fans made a huge splash in the community. Star Trek zines account for a ridiculous amount of total zines. The first one, Spockanalia was published in 1967 by Devra Michele Langsa and Sherna Comerford aided by fanzine vetern Juanita Coulson. Spockanalia was what was known as a ‘secondary universe’ zine which assumed the world put forth in Star Trek was real. It was a massive 45 double sided pages and it sold for 50 cents at the World Science Fiction Convention. Spockanalia was so widespread, Gene Roddenberry and Leonard Nimoy sent letters to the editors that were published in subsequent issues.

Notably, the third issue has a very early example of real person fanfiction wherein Kirk, Spock, and Bones travel to the set of Star Trek and meet Gene Roddenberry. Besides that, many of the articles had to do with Vulcan history, archeology, and language exploring what was left unexplored in The Original Series. There’s sexy stories, too, one presented Spock involved with a part-Vulcan woman. All the sex happened off-page but it was controversial to ST fans at the time who in all honestly come off as very prudish as a group. 

It’s time now to get to the part we’ve all been waiting for: the SLASHFIC. Kirk/Spock or K/S skyrocketed in popularity in the 1970s among the women publishing fanzines at the time. The first documentable K/S fic is The Ring of Shoshern written by Jennifer Guttridge in around 1968, maybe earlier. She didn’t want to publish the story for fear of litigious action by Star Trek actors. As common as it is today, writing a story with gay protagonists was not a trivial choice, especially in England were obscenity laws were tightening. Later, the fanzine Alien Brothers published Shoshern without Guttridge’s full permission. (Comandini and Sinclair)

The first official slashfic is A Fragment out of Time published in Grup issue 3 in September of 1974 written by Diane Marchant. The story is sexually explicit but doesn’t identify the protagonists by name. The subjects are made clear by line drawings of Kirk and Spock. Funnily enough, the first line of the fic is “Shut up… we’re by no means setting a precedent.” It went on to set the greatest precedent in fanfiction and fandom in general. 

In 1976, Gerry Downes published the 1st standalone K/S zine named Alternative: An Epilog to Orion. It was 50 pages, with 12 pages of poetry, 21 pages of prose, and the rest containing art. It was described as “A new mature-theme zine from Gerry Downes. A different kind of love story for Starship Captain James T. Kirk and his first officer, Mr. Spock.” The plot dealt with a psychic creature invading Kirk’s mind defeated by Spock’s Vulcan mind meld. During the meld, Kirk’s mind reveals the depths of his love for Spock. 

Do not fear, these stories did not exist without THE DISCOURSE. After publishing Fragment out of Time Marchant wrote an essay defending her work called Pandora’s Box… Again: A Psychological Discussion of the Relationship Between Captain James T. Kirk and Commander Spock. Marchant maneuvers around expliciting defending gay love, but those in the know read it as a argument for a sexual relationship between Kirk and Spock according to Joan Marie Verba (Boldly Writing). It created a firestorm in the community, inspiring both derision and zeal. At this time, pins started to circulate at cons with the letters K/S crossed out. 

So why Star Trek? For one, Star Trek was much more accessible to new SF fans than Amazing Stories type magazines mired in history and SF subculture while still showcasing what made science fiction so attractive. Star Trek was a mainstream television show airing at a time when there were only three channels in America. There was a good chance you caught Star Trek at some point, whether you liked it or not. And as for what made Star Trek special, I would say that there is a reason fan obsession seems to orbit around Spock. He’s a compelling character, stuck between two worlds, unable to show or understand his own emotions. That kind of tension can set a creative mind going with ideas. 

So why slash? Well, for one, if you’re going to write romance about Star Trek characters, then there aren’t many woman characters to do it with. This isn’t to degenerate or diminish those actors and characters, but men characters took up most of the screen time. In a more philosophical sense, Star Trek presents a world where race, nationality, and creed don’t matter and that isn’t a step too far from sexuality and gender not mattering. 

Writer PJ Falzone speculates that K/S isn’t gay in the tradition sense but instead indifferent to gender. It’s not the sex or gender of these character that matter but the dynamics between them. Kirk and Spock aren’t a bonded pair but a divided self. A dyad in the Force, if you will. This theory is also acknowledged within K/S fandom itself with a trope entitled “We’re Not Gay, We Just Love Each Other.” 

Petty fandom drama could have also stoked the proliferation of K/S. As much as Star Trek fans were marginalized in larger SF fandom, women Star Trek fans were marginalized further. It only makes sense that they would coalesce around a few zines that accepted them. Some fanfiction theorists take a more psychological stance positing that these fans might have been writing romance stories as a way to explore sexuality without the potential dangers of real-life relationships (Falzone). 

After the explosion of K/S, fanfiction was divided genetally into three categories: ‘slash’, ‘het’ or ‘adult’, and ‘gen’ meaning general. 

K/S set a precedent for a fandom that is fueled by shipping. The influence can be seen from LiveJournal to Tumblr. From Fanfiction.net to AO3 and from fandoms as disparate as Supernatural and Hetalia.

[vespersbelladonnakiss]

Asking about Vesper

HOLY SHIT OKAY OKAY WE’VE BEEN PREPARING FOR THIS MOMENT GUYS

idk what you wanna know exactly but general thing, they’re a stupid little thief who annoys a lot of people. they were born on a day. their parents were cringe but they had a sister named vee who they basically raised. when they were 16 they ran away to build a life away from their shitty parenrs for them and vee. they came back for vee and she died :((( this is very sad because she is actually a blorbo of time. (technically vesper never found the body but years past and they could never find her so they assumed dead) anywyad flash forward to 20 year old vesper. they recieve a job offer from yhis powerful rich magic lady. she wants them, and four others, to investigate some murders of magic users and this is where the campaign began (they are from a d&d game i realise i neglected to mention this)

this shithead went from silly goofy fucker to traumatised as shit real fucken fast, and this does not include backstory stuff, though it was a tad influenced by that. after causing the death of the dm’s npc he sent to make sure we dont fuck up because they wanted to (reads notes scrawled on the palm of my hand) impress the party who had seen them as only this thief bastard who can never do anything tood becayse they’re a thief, they continued an almosy forgotten hobby of theirs where they blame themself for everythint bad that happens around them. and some times, its even justified!

they proceeded to find the hilt of the long dead goddess of justice and began hearing her voice in their head. she was nice and tyen she started asking vesper to do stuff for her, which they thought they would be able to do on their own because they qanted to impress her. but unfortunately, they could not figure oit what the fuck she meant because shes a cryptic bitch and i hadnt yet started taking notes so she was like “vesper, tell these other buffoons what i just told u” and they were like “nonono gimme a sec i can figure this out” and then she 1d10 psychic damage. after freeing her from her prison within the god of murder’s sword and watching her kill said god, the rest of the group decided to. betray her. with amazing timing, as you can see. vesper, however, did not, and spied on the party for her.

not only did this sneaky little rat bastard spy though, they also caused (sparkles) general discord (sparkles) and may have convinced the party that one of its members was going insane. which they later found out was true. vesper, despite their continued alegance to evil justice girlboss- i mean very nice lady, tried to convince another party member, who had been communicating with the dead murder god, to not go down the same path they did, and did go to. lengths. to try to stop this.

one of the things they did however resulted in their stupid ass reviving evil murder god asshole. though they were commanded not to kill the party, edgy mc my chemical romance WAS permitted to torture the group. while they did this, they killed the bard’s mom and cut off embodied teenage angst (the one who was communicating with murder bitch)’s arm off. god of murder and child soldiers gave vesper some torture that was very enjoyable for me by: breaking their fingers, to stop them from stealing; cutting out their tongue, to stop them from lying; telling one of previously mentioned child soldiers to kill their GUESS WHAT alive sister, wowie who coulda guessed, and serve her head to vesper on a silver platter. greatest breaker of the geneva convention and hater of all also decided to mention to the group what vesper had done for american justice syst- i mean, very nice justice lady, causing three out of four party members to turn against them. vesper also recieved a message from the goddess of justice saying that they had FUCKED UP!!! and weren’t considered by her one of her followers anymore. BUT butbutbutbut she also said if vesper um remained loyal then she would reward them so obviously it’s worth it yeah :)

after being healed by the resident soundcloud rapper with cleric spells she somehow managed to get (i know how, but this isnt fucking about her is it), vesper was (more sparkles) fucked up mentally! sparkle sparkle end sparkle. we got sent by shadow in a girlboss’s body to go help out a vampire lady in overthrowing her mom, which is fine cuz we fucking hate her mom! vesper tried to drown their sorrows in alcohol (more sparkles) but was stopped by youtube cover artist, who insisted that learning an instrument would be better than alcoholism. also the party members who hate them like stole the alcohol and shit and wouldnt give any to vesper. so vesper decided to take her up on her offer

and that’s what’s happened so far. very shortened. and missing my character analysis essays. i realised i wasnt using any characters’ names at one point and just decided to roll with that i hope it’s still readsble

also funny vesper fact: i stole their name from a nonbinary name website BUT i think the othrr meanings apply just a little as a treat. first off!!! vesper comes from latin and means evening, which is perfect for this sneaky little rat. the other thing is the meaning of vesper that is evening prayers for catholics i think. they literally got religious trauma’d by a bitch goddess of justice and are like so fucked uoa bout it.

[fruityyamenrunner]

I don't want to stick this on the thread i just read but here's my theory about where the fuck the puriteens came from and it's partly Crowley's fault

In the sense that the 20th century occult revival is Crowley's fault -- Thelema is very specifically Evangelical Satanism bc that's who Crowley was. It's not his fault -- he was just a prophet, and there were many others like him.

His oath, which I see echoed everywhere now : I will interpret every phenomenon as a particular dealing of God with my soul.

This is an oath of both evangelicalism and of Thelema. As Satanists always do, it was a means by which he propagated Evangelical Christianity -- with the result that if you take that oath, as an epic Thelemite seeking to discover your True Will, your mind will break the same way as an evangelical trying to discern God's Will.

The two currents went through parallel paths throughout the twentieth century, kissing in places, but they have come together quite firmly again in this century when the money going to anti-woo ended, and Left and Right agreed that everything would now be woo, and so now there are witches and christers and rats fighting off magic missiles everywhere. (The Secret, incidentally, came out in 2006)

Specifically, what breaks is this: there is a certain personality type that lives in stories more than anything, and there is one mode of storytelling that enchants them more than anything which is "The World Is About The Story and You", and there is one particular story that brings people who are enchanted by this mode together like nothing else: Millennium.

There is no anti-woo faction which means there is nobody telling you to cut it out and stop seeing everything as psychic warfare. I've bitched about this and will keep bitching about it.

(Last year, I think, or maybe the year before, there was a madwoman in the public square in the city, before it became a habitation of evangelicals, shouting "Save the children!" in between shouting dispatches from several of those psychic wars. I went up to her and asked what she was up to, and she was clearly *empowered*. I told her I agreed there were certainly some problems and if she stuck to one problem and really worked on it, she might achieve something. She replied that she was achieving something -- she was working on *everything*, after which she ran away from me and returned to shouting.)

I am going to bitch about something else too: There is also no anti-millennarian faction -- Just as there are a dozen fronts for psychic warriors to fight on, there are a dozen Millennia at hand, and essentially nobody saying there is no such thing.

Dominic Crossan has also noticed this. In his 2000 memoir (note year), in the last chapter "Mine Eyes Decline the Glory", which is about how much he thinks the millennium is dangerous bullshit, the very poisonous core of false Christianity (for Br. Fr. Dr. Crossan believes Jesus, like him, was an evolutionist and the famous millennarianism of Christ was a misunderstanding interpellation by some early fantasists) he tells this slightly disjointed parable:

Once upon a time there was a group called the Southern Baptist Convention, which locked horns (possibly an unfortunate metaphor) every year with another group called Walt Disney Incorporated. The media reported that the issue was the sexual content of movies made by Disney subsidiaries or the equal respect it showed to both gay and straight employees at its theme parks. The Southern Baptist Convention held that gays should repent, change, and go straight. Gays responded that such was not possible, that they had never met such transformed individuals, but that they had often met fundamentalists who had repented, changed, and become Christian. Be that as it may, the media got it completely wrong. The debate was not over morality or even over differing views of morality. It was not over the Bible, the New Testament, or the Gospels, over where they were permanently valid (“Love your enemies”) and where they were socially relative (“Slaves, obey your masters”). It was actually over the global control of fantasy.

The contest was between two giant corporations over the worldwide missionary expansion of illusional entertainment. Both were, at least in large doses, equally if differently dangerous. With Walt Disney Incorporated it was sometimes difficult to tell reality from fantasy as cartoon characters, literary figures, historical events, geographical places, and eventually religious traditions disappeared into animated illusion. With the Southern Baptist Convention it was difficult to distinguish between religion and Prozac, Christianity and chloroform, baptism and lobotomy. But, locked together, the object of the battle was obvious. Who, for the next century or even the next millennium, would control the transmutation of reality into fantasy, of religious reality into religious fantasy, and of secular reality into secular fantasy?

The only solution was to bring in a conflict-management arbitrator to negotiate a final solution before the parties destroyed one another. She spoke about the dangers of giant corporations fighting to the death rather than arranging sensible compromise. She said she wished that Apple and IBM had combined forces to make the original personal computer and that Microsoft had died aborning. (She admitted that last comment might have been unfair, because she realized the difficulty of reinventing the wheel without infringing on its first patent. It did, however, make the final product more complicated than the original.)

After only a few weeks, the deal was concluded. Walt Disney Incorporated and the Southern Baptist Convention amalgamated freely and evenly—not a hostile takeover or even a friendly buyout, but an absolutely equal combination. It was like, as the arbitrator said, Harper and Collins becoming HarperCollins Publishers. The two erstwhile enemies became BaptistDisney-Entertainments.

They started immediately to plan for the future. There would be a new giant theme park, wiping out any recent gains made by Universal Studios’ Escape and taking up all the rest of central Florida, from sea to shining sea. It would have an interactive Garden of Eden, where visitors could create different original sins and divergent histories of the world, and an interactive Rapture Ride and Millennial Slaughter, where visitors could invent alternative atrocities to exterminate the ungodly. The possibilities were endless.

There was only one cloud on the horizon. The U.S. Justice Department moved immediately to forbid the merger and to prevent BaptistDisneyEntertainments from obtaining a monopoly on world fantasy. But a good legal defense was easily able to overturn that prohibition. Clearly, there were still other major contenders in the market. There were Hollywood’s special-effects wizards, England’s royal family, Rome’s Vatican City, and Israel’s National Parks Authority, which, according to Time magazine for February 22, 1999, “has approved a 262-ft.-long transparent bridge to be built just below the surface of the Sea of Galilee so visitors can follow in the footsteps of Christ…. After it opens in August, [the contractor Ron Major] expects up to 800,000 people a year to pay a minimum fee to walk on water. And, yes, lifeguards will be on hand in case anyone strays from the true path.” That issue was actually introduced as an exhibit for the defense.

Eventually, the Justice Department agreed: BaptistDisneyEntertainments would not be a monopoly, just number one. Everything was now perfect, although an op-ed in the New York Times warned, from somewhere in William Butler Yeats’s poetry, that when a heart grows up on fantasy, it often grows old on brutality.

[grandhotelabyss]

If your second-favorite sentence in Portrait is "Her nature had, in her conceit, a certain garden-like quality..." what is your favorite? Also, any thoughts on chapter 42?

Thank you, bless you even, for taking the bait. (The question refers to my most recent Substack essay.) My favorite sentence in The Portrait of a Lady, or really just the first half of a compound sentence, is,

Deep in her soul—it was the deepest thing there—lay a belief that if a certain light should dawn she could give herself completely;

Despite forgetting the exact context, I've almost used this as the epigraph to several of my novels. Individualism so absolute it becomes its opposite, a spirit of renunciation—this is the whole of the novel, maybe the whole of James, in miniature. The "belief" and the "if" and the "could" freight the otherwise romantic sentiment with enough irony for me, but, after the semicolon, James almost coarsely punctures the romanticism, gives us the type of overt comic-ironic deflation in which novelistic prose formally specializes:

but this image, on the whole, was too formidable to be attractive.

I mentioned Michael Gorra's Portrait of a Novel in the comments to the Substack post. Gorra treats Chapter 42 as the key to the novel's importance in literary history: James's inhabitation for a whole chapter of Isabel's wandering mind moves the novel as a form from the stately analytic prose of Middlemarch to the fluid representation of consciousness in Mrs. Dalloway.

Gorra is right, but I've just reread Chapter 42—I actually haven't ever reread The Portrait of a Lady in full since I was in college; there always seems to be an unending supply of James novels to read for the first time—and I wonder if James's portrayal, at least of the mind in personal crisis, isn't more realistic than Woolf's (or Joyce's). Don't we compose interior essays when trying fully to establish how we feel about a person who isn't what we thought? Woolf and Joyce might catch the vagary of the mind walking down the street, but James's greater formality, even if less rigid than Eliot's, more in the vein of free indirect discourse, may be more appropriate to even the fevered or tortured mind in profound thought. My own representation of the inner life may in the end owe more to James than to Woolf or Joyce.

The metaphor of Isabel's imprisonment that recurs throughout the chapter suggests to me an even more profound revision of the novel: James takes the Gothic back into the psychic interior from which it emerged. Even a novel with as little "action" as this has an armature of fairy tale and popular romance, of "Bluebeard" and The Mysteries of Udolpho:

He had told her he loved the conventional; but there was a sense in which this seemed a noble declaration. In that sense, that of the love of harmony and order and decency and of all the stately offices of life, she went with him freely, and his warning had contained nothing ominous. But when, as the months had elapsed, she had followed him further and he had led her into the mansion of his own habitation, then, then she had seen where she really was.

And then there is the fine distinction Isabel inwardly draws between Osmond's European aestheticism—a means of establishing his permanent superiority over others—and her own Emersonian aristocracy of spirit, compatible with democracy (which Osmond, sounding like a Twitter reactionary, dismisses as "worthy of a radical newspaper or a Unitarian preacher"):

Her notion of the aristocratic life was simply the union of great knowledge with great liberty; the knowledge would give one a sense of duty and the liberty a sense of enjoyment.

In short, such a good book. I have to reread the whole thing, after I get to The American and What Maisie Knew and The Golden Bowl... In conclusion, here is my favorite sentence from Chapter 42, in which James takes the realist novel right back to that first of all novels, the Book of Genesis:

Under all his culture, his cleverness, his amenity, under his good-nature, his facility, his knowledge of life, his egotism lay hidden like a serpent in a bank of flowers.

[ultrahpfan5blog]

The Flash Season 4 - Retrospective Review

After having watched season 3, I was actually pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the season. It definitely went up some notches when it came to its overall quality. Season 4 was one of my least favorite seasons of The Flash when it first aired. Rewatching it I feel like its still a significant step down from the first 3 seasons. There are definitely some good character work in the season and the villains are fairly decent but overall it is a pretty dull season.

The season has a lot of obvious issues. Firstly, the beginning of the season is another missed opportunity to explore Wally taking over as the Flash. They made Barry's decision to go into the speed force as so final that it can't help but feel like a cop out to have him be brought back so soon. I get that this is Grant's show but they maybe could have done a couple of episodes of him in the speed force while Wally takes over as the Flash in central city. Wally in general is treated quite poorly after having so much build up in season 3. I don't know how much it was they show's decision and how much it was Keynan's decision to be phased off the show, but I wasn't a fan of how it was handled. The show also shortchanges what season 3 set up for Caitlin/KF. The show promised a unified version of Caitlin and Frost and instead it reverted to a more conventional split personality story. The show also started making Cecile a more central character and gave her those psychic abilities. In all fairness, they weren't a problem in this season but they were meant to be temporary, but the show in the future started using as a crutch in later seasons. The biggest character issue for me was with Iris. Season 3 did cast her in a bit of a damsel in distress role but this season basically put her into a role which she was completely unsuited for. The fact that the show's writers were struggling with coming up with something for Iris to do was very apparent. But by plugging her into the team leader role, it made the whole thing even stranger as Iris spends almost the entire season doing nothing outside of team Flash stuff. I think this season definitely played a big role in the polarization of the character. There was the whole 'We are the flash' stuff, which I know was intended to be a metaphor, but came off as unintentionally hilarious and ridiculous. Cisco probably had the strongest season out of all the existing supporting characters but it was a shame that his relationship with Gypsy was cut short because Jessica got a regular role elsewhere and she wasn't really available. Its disappointing because Carlos and Jessica had good chemistry. Trejo as Breacher was an entertaining addition.

Tonally, the show seemed to take the criticism of The Flash season 3 in the wrong direction. In the initial few episodes, it felt the cast and the writers were trying to force the lighter tone of the show and it just didn't work. Some of those therapy session scenes were just cringey when they should have focused on the dramatics. Thankfully the season stabilized tonally after a few episodes. I think the entrance of Ralph Dibny helped elevate the season significantly. I remember at the time, people really hated Ralph because he was uncouth and inappropriate, but that was kind of the point. I do think that Ralph, like Julian in the previous season, kind of brought a different energy to the show and I think the season's strongest element was the evolving relationship between Barry and Ralph. I liked that show gave Ralph and that dynamic a very full arc, starting at their relationship being very antagonistic to becoming a more mentor/mentee role, to finally becoming friends who truly loved and cared about each other. I liked that Ralph was not given a clean cut hero arc. He was scared for his life when he found out he wasn't invincible, and he was scared of Devoe and was hiding in the basement and lashed out at others. It made him all the more human. I also liked Barry as the mentor this season. I think they did a better job of Barry being a mentor to Ralph than they did with him and Wally in season 3. I felt Barry was more mature and his heartbreak to losing Ralph to Devoe was definitely one of the season's more affecting scenes. I also quite enjoyed Harry's arc, especially in the back half of the season. I liked that the season showed Harry struggling with not being able to outsmart the thinker and it backfiring on him, but him learning acceptance and gaining a balance by the end of the season. His brain degradation was heart breaking to watch and the Cisco and Harry dynamic was particular strong in the season.

The villains for the season were a bit of a mixed bag. I think the Devoes were overall fairly interesting villains and it was refreshing to have a non speedster villain who isn't a person who is intrinsically involved with team Flash. I quite liked the idea of the Devoe duo being a villainous counterpart to WestAllen. However, while the villains are good in concept, Clifford Devoe just ended up being too OP and the season got dull as a result. The problem with having a villain that is super smart is that everything ended up being a repetitive. Team Flash attempted to save a Bus meta, Devoe outsmarts them and takes their power. This happens again and again and team Flash literally never gets in a win until the end of the season. I think the Devoes' would have worked as a half season villain when some of the repetitiveness would have been cut down. Marlize Devoe was a pretty good character and I liked that the show showed how the relationship between her and Clifford turned toxic and how she finally turned away from him and helped team Flash defeat him. The standalone villains are fairly forgettable. There are some Bus metas that stand out, like Rebecca Sharpe/Hazard. A few Bus metas recurr as Devoe takes over them. Katee Sackhoff as Amunet is one of the other major recurring villains and there is some fun to be had with her.

This season never really got a really consistent run of good episodes. I would argue that 'Enter Flashtime' is one of the strongest episodes the show has done. The COEX was probably the best crossover of the Arroverse, though I would argue that the Supergirl episode felt most like a Flash episode in the crossover. I liked Elongated Journey Into Night' as well as a few of the prison arc episodes were pretty good. I think 'Lose Yourself' and 'Fury Rogue' were pretty good and the finale was solid with an interesting tease for the future. But there are a lot of episodes that are pretty meh. 'The Trial of the Flash' was pretty silly because the entire trial was predicated on pretty dumb arguments. Some of the episodes in the back half of the season where Devoe keeps taking over the bus metas are pretty meh.

The performances are all pretty good. Grant has a few episodes where he gets to really stretch his chops like in 'Enter Flashtime' and 'Fury Rogue'. Tom Cavanaugh as Harry is always a delight. Carlos is great as and continues to provide a good chunk of the humor. Jesse L Martin is always reliably solid as Joe. Candice Patton does a good job with what she had to do. Danielle Panabaker gets to play dual characters again and clearly seems to relish playing a softer version of KF. Hartley Sawyer brings some Jim Carrey like energy to the show. Kim Engelbrecht and Neil Sandilands leave a suitable impact as Marlize and Clifford. They actually have pretty good chemistry together. Keiynan Lonsdale doesn't have much to do in the handful of episodes he appears in. Katee Sackhoff has some fun as Amunet. Danielle Nicolet also starts having a more regular presence this season and has some fun with her abilities. There are some returning guest stars like Jessica Camachao, John Wesley Shipp, Violett Beane, and Wentworth Miller who are a welcome presence. Jessica Park Kennedy has a handful of guest appearances, teasing her major role in season 5.

Overall the season is definitely disappointing. There are better seasons of the show that have come before and better seasons that will come after. It did feel like a transition season. I will say that the season has one of the best Flash suits on the show. Looking forward to rewatching season 5, which I had enjoyed more than a lot of people, when it first aired. Season 4 ranks a 5/10.

[maliignant]

DRUSILLA LAVINIA MORGAN 

Born in 19th Century, London. Sired in 1860 at the age of 19. Drusilla is a vampire who possessed psychic powers as a human. She was tortured to insanity and sired by Angelus, who murdered her entire family before her eyes in order to turn her into his "masterpiece." Drusilla later sired the young London poet William Pratt, who took the name Spike and became her long-time lover and paramour. HUMAN LIFE

Drusilla was born around the mid-19th century and lived with her family in the East End of London. One night in 1860, whilst walking the streets with her sisters, she was recognized by the vampire Darla for her prophetic gifts; she was not only pure, sweet, and chaste, but possessed the uncanny ability to foresee the future. Darla presented Drusilla to her lover, the ruthless Angelus, who became instantly obsessed with the young woman. He wished not only to destroy her physically but to poison her mind. Drusilla's father told her that her visions were an affront to the Lord, which had caused her to regard them as a curse rather than a blessing. After Drusilla had a vision of a mine crash that resulted in the deaths of two men, she sought the guidance of a priest; however, she didn't realize that the man inside the confessional she visited was Angelus, who had murdered the real priest. Drusilla told him about the vision and her growing fears, so Angelus taunted her by calling her a "Spawn of Satan." This was the first of many tortuous acts Angelus condemned Drusilla to experience through the course of creating his "masterpiece." After stalking her for a prolonged period of time, Angelus butchered her entire family in their home. The vampire made her witness the slaughter and then allowed her to flee her house. With her sanity nearly destroyed by both her constant visions and the loss of her family, she sought refuge at a convent.

SIRING

The night Drusilla was called to take her holy vows at the convent, Angelus massacred her two older sisters before her very eyes. Whatever hold on reality Drusilla had managed to retain was severed; as she lay babbling on the convent floor, Darla arrived to survey the fruition of Angelus' work. When Angelus admitted his desire to sire Drusilla, Darla, who had no desire to travel alongside a lunatic, objected. Angelus, however, insisted that death would merely release Drusilla from her suffering while eternal life would ensure that his "masterpiece" would endure forever. He and Darla had sex in front of Drusilla, and then he turned her into a vampire.

For the next twenty years, Drusilla traveled with Angelus and Darla and terrorized Europe under the group banner the Whirlwind. After two decades alone with her sire and "grandmother," Drusilla began to desire a playmate and companion of her own.

THE POET

In 1880 in London, Drusilla bumped into the young poet William Pratt, who had fled a gathering after his romantic advances were rejected by Cecily Addams. She followed him into an alley, where she found him in tears. Sensing his potential, she approached and sired him.

Drusilla and William remained together for many years and quickly became a highly affectionate couple. William was unrelentingly devoted to her, though as they were both soulless, their love was rather twisted. Much to William's displeasure and sadness, Drusilla maintained a sexual relationship with her sire, which only added to the formation of a long-time rivalry between Spike and Angelus. Still, he remained faithful to her and cared for her despite her insanity, which thought of as childishness rather than instability.

Following Angelus' ensoulment, Spike, Drusilla and Darla slaughtered the Romani Kalderash clan responsible for their leader's curse. Subsequently, Drusilla encountered Spike after he had killed his first Slayer during the Boxer Rebellion in China.

Soon afterward, Drusilla and Spike left the already disbanded Whirlwind and went off on their own. Together, the couple visited Rome, Italy in 1953.

PRAGUE

In 1997, Spike was nearly dusted by an angry mob, and Drusilla was kidnapped and tortured by a human inquisitor. Spike killed the inquisitor and rescued Drusilla, but she was left in a weakened and frail condition. Spike cared for her, and the couple decided to travel to the Hellmouth in Sunnydale, California in hopes that its energy would help to restore Drusilla's strength and health.

MOTHER SUPERIOR

Drusilla made her way to London, where she gained control of a Lorophage demon who had once been known as the "Highgate Vampire," and gathered a following of both lesser vampires and human groupies, becoming known as "Mother Superior." Thanks to her control over the Lorophage demon, Drusilla had regained her sanity. The Lorophage siphoned out all of the trauma and pain that Angelus had inflicted on her before she was sired. She remembered everything that had taken place, but according to her, she no longer cared; all of the confusion, fear, and torment was gone. With her new lease on undeath, Drusilla decided to emulate Angel and "help the helpless." Using the Lorophage demon, she took it upon herself to rid citizens of London of their trauma, resulting in a number of them going mad and some joining her cult.

When Angel confronted her, Drusilla attempted to persuade him to allow the Lorophage to rid him of his trauma, though to no avail, Angel regarding it as little more than a lobotomy when forced on someone as they need their emotions. Drusilla, however, refused to give up on him and told him that she would not force the treatment on him but will wait until he willingly came to her. Although Faith Lehane accepted Drusilla's gift after a traumatic encounter with her long-lost father, Angel affirmed that the loss of her pain had then deprived her of the strength she had gained from it. To restore the emotions of Drusilla's cult, Angel forced the Lorophage demon to feed on itself, expelling the trauma that it had absorbed and returning it to its victims. With her insanity restored, Drusilla fled, leaving Angel and Faith with warnings of a dark future.

While Angel and Faith were in Los Angeles, Drusilla ambushed Faith's London Slayer squad, severely injuring one Slayer while succeeding in killing Marianne. Since Angel had let Drusilla escape and had sired her in the first place, Nadira grew to hate him even more.

MAGIC TOWN

Drusilla's vampiric ancestor Archaeus contacted her through her dreams and she agreed to act as his lieutenant. Although she thought highly of her ancestor, it was not reciprocated. Archeaus even physically abused her if she failed him. Her primary objective was to create an army by siring the students of St. Cuthbert's. However, Angel had a vision of her crimes and had Faith and Winifred Burkle investigate the school while he was in San Francisco, helping the Scooby Gang against Archaeus. Along with Eldre Koh, the two women prevented Drusilla from siring the student Mary.

On run from the Slayer, Drusilla and her minions established themselves in Magic Town, terrorizing the mutants and demons, as well as kidnapping their spiritual leader Nadira and Angel. Drusilla dueled Faith in a sword fight and managed to get the upper hand before Faith revealed to her that Angel managed to rescue Nadira, before Faith kicked Drusilla in the face. Faith then fled as Drusilla commanded her forces to help kill her. Drusilla later abandoned Archaeus following the battle at Magic Town.

POWERS & ABILITIES

Vampire abilities: Drusilla had the standard powers of a vampire, being immortal, possessing superhuman strength, and capable of regenerating from physical damages.

Combat skills: Though Drusilla's combat techniques were awkward-looking, she was still able to hold her own in a fight against Angel, Spike, Kendra, and Marianne. As a vampire's nails were much sharper than those of human beings, she had a tendency to use her nails in combat as a weapon of sorts, as demonstrated by how she used them to slit Kendra's throat, and to scratch Spike and Angel. Drusilla was also adept at fencing — she defeated Faith in a sword fight, though she admitted that the Slayer might have been slowed down from fighting her minions.

Hypnosis: As a vampire, Drusilla had the inherent vampire power of hypnotizing people, which enabled her to mesmerize her prey and render them helpless — all she had to do was to catch her victim's gaze, point her fingers towards their eyes, and whisper to them, eventually putting them in a trance. This was one of Drusilla's most dangerous abilities, for the Master himself used a similar version of it to paralyze Buffy, and Angel (a far older vampire than Drusilla was) was never able to master this ability, but she appeared to be a true mistress of it — she used it to murder Kendra, taunt and threaten Dalton, and project false imagery into her victims (she once convinced Giles that she was really Jenny Calendar). This power also allowed her to control other entities like Betta George, Beck, and a Lorophage demon.

Extrasensory perception: Even before Drusilla became a vampire, she had the power to acquire information by means independent on any known senses or previous experience, which Darla termed as "the sight." This not only enabled her to foresee and thwart attacks on her and hers, but also allowed her to accurately detect the subconscious desires of those who surround her, and exploit those desires to her best advantage.

Examples of other abilities she derived from this power were:

Precognition: Drusilla had the power to perceive future events before they happened, which manifested in the form of vivid visions. For instance, when she was still human, she foresaw a mine crash that led to the deaths of two men. She might also have foreseen some of the upcoming events of Buffy's eleventh year in high school, given how she said to Angel during their reunion: "Poor little thing. She has no idea what's in store," and she knew that what was going to happen was "just the beginning." This power was also partially responsible for Jenny's death, as Drusilla received a vision of her attempt to re-ensoul Angel, leading him to kill her.

Empathy: Drusilla had the power of empathy, which allowed her to sense, feel, and understand the emotions of others, and even learn concealed information from those emotions. For instance, when she was still human, she was able to sense Angelus' and Darla's presences at a distance, and perceive their nefarious intentions for her, which led her to herd her family away. Just before siring Spike, she sensed the passionate killer that lurked beneath his timid exterior. Drusilla could also sense Angel's presence out from a crowd of demons, and realized Giles' love for Jenny by merely touching his head. The most potent application of this power was allowing Drusilla to sense past and future emotions — she sensed Spike's subconscious love for Buffy, as well as the fear of those who took refuge in Holland Manners' wine cellar when it was a nuclear fallout shelter during wartime.

Power detection: Drusilla had the power to sense the presence of supernatural powers within others. For instance, upon seeing the Anointed One, she sensed his power, claiming that she felt it from the outside. Later on, when she was presented with the sleeping body of Acathla, she claimed that the amount of potential it had "fills my head, I can't hear anything else."

Cartomancy: Drusilla had the power to gain insight into a question or situation using cards — she once used a set of Tarot cards to inform Spike that the Du Lac Cross was needed to translate the Du Lac Manuscript, and the cards she pointed to not only consisted of the image of where the cross was located, but also predicted the order in which the three Tarakan assassins would attack Buffy (first, the cyclops for Octarus, then the insect for Norman Pfister, and finally, the jaguar for Patrice). Last but not least, the cards revealed to Spike and Drusilla whom the key to her cure was (Angel, her own sire).

PERSONALITY

Drusilla was widely considered to be "insane," her own grandsire Darla describing her as "a lunatic." Spike lovingly commented that she "never stopped surprising him," and that she "still had a bit of a child in her," in contraction to very belittling statements about her lunacy by her sire Angel.

Drusilla was unusually affectionate for a vampire and viewed her fellow members of the Whirlwind as her family. Although because of her soulless statute, she had only a twisted obsession in them being only objects of her neurosis. She was particularly attached to Spike, her longtime lover and companion. Years after she and Spike had gone their separate ways, she was shown to still be very much in love with him, as she told John that her heart rested with him. She was also very fond of Darla, who acted as a surrogate guardian to her; Drusilla called her "grandmother" on several occasions. While still traveling with the Whirlwind, she kept up a sexual relationship with Angelus even while she was with Spike; Angelus wanted to teach Spike what it meant to be a vampire, and used Drusilla to achieve this end. Drusilla seemed to ignore the rivalry targeting her, unless she delighted in it. After Angelus's departure from the group, Spike continued to take care of her.

Despite her unstable state of mind, she was quite capable of carrying on normal conversations with Spike, though generally only when they were alone together. With others, she spoke in riddles and babbled illogically. Her insanity made her a source of great fear for both vampires and demons. Many believed her to be unpredictable, though Spike thought she was rather simple.

Drusilla showed a strong attachment to nature and had a particular appreciation for animals, though she had proved incapable of caring for them on several occasions; her pet bird died of starvation, something she did not process until Spike got irate and brought it to light when she was trying to get it to sing. She seemed to like dogs, as well as plants, particularly flowers like jasmine and lilac. She hated red roses, possibly because they were the symbol of her home-country, England, and reminded her of her lost family or purity. She had a love for her "family," the Whirlwind, and helped to organize the resurrection of Darla as a vampire. At the time, she was excited that she was going to be a "mummy." She seems to connect the act of siring to parenthood.

As a human, Drusilla was chaste and moral, and had the potential for sainthood. Her purity was what originally brought her into Angelus's radar; he saw her as something virtuous that he could corrupt and destroy. She was also very self-conscious of her visions, as she believed them a direct affront to God, and a curse. Though she seemed to keep her fears about them between herself and God, Angelus was quick to take advantage of her anxiety by confirming what she already worried. Still, she seemed to love the members of her family very much; when Angelus observed that she could foresee what he would do to her, she protectively urged her sisters to leave the streets with her. Her love for them followed her into her life as a vampire, and she continued to miss them long after their deaths at Angelus's hands. She even tortured Angel to remind him what he had done to them.

One of Drusilla's most prominent traits was her ability to foresee the future. Although her insanity makes her visions somewhat difficult to understand for both herself and others, her abilities have often served as foreshadowing to future events. Before she followed William Pratt into the alley where she turned him, she commented to Darla and Angelus that she would "pick the wisest and bravest knight in all the land" for her future "playmate." Although Spike first became one of the most notorious and violent vampires in history, after falling in love with Buffy Summers and sacrificing his life, he truly did become the "brave knight" she had imagined. Furthermore, she was able to foresee Spike's sacrifice several years before it occurred; this was made evident when she told him that he "tasted like ashes" to her. She later had visions about Angel and Rupert Giles, during which she was able to determine that Angel had taken fragments of Giles's soul into his own body.

Drusilla exhibits many other quirks. While some are quite normal for vampires, others are quite unusual. For example, like most of her kind, she seems to delight in suffering, torture and death, and was rather amused during the death of the vampires like Collin by Spike and Dalton by The Judge and enjoyed when killing the Slayer Kendra; also, both she and Darla were excited to see Spike and Angel fight in the Whirlwind's more powerful years.

Ironically, although her tragic past, Drusilla was particularly vicious. When hypnotizing Giles, she find a certain pleasure to disguise herself as Jenny Calendar & was happy to imagine Buffy killed by the Judge, was excited by the human heart offered by Angel and had a certain masochist/maternal futility to be attacked by a newly sired Darla, similar to a mother happy to see her baby making his first steps. It was also her who told to Angel about Acathla's existence, implying that the Apocalypse was her own idea.

As a result of Angelus's psychological torture, she displays behavior that suggests she was somewhat infantile. She owned and played with a collection of china dolls that she kept blindfolded, one of which she named Miss Edith. Spike observed that Drusilla was quite childlike in her speech and behavior, but, unlike Angelus, he thought it endearing. When she saw the Judge burning Dalton, she laughed as a girl amused by her pet dog.

Drusilla liked music and songs. She liked having birds and adored listening to them singing. She liked listening to the songs of her mother, whom she sang with a little boy whom she tempts to kill. She sang a macabre nursery hymn to celebrate the revival of the vampire Darla, and sang during Wolfram & Hart's massacre.

When Drusilla briefly obtained a soul, it resulted in her becoming even more insane due to the regret over murdering and torturing hundreds of people in her time. She hit Willow during this time, then commented that she regretted it.

After regaining her sanity, Drusilla attempted to return to her roots and do good by removing the painful/traumatic memories from others. Her methods, while seemingly sound, had the unfortunate side effect of making her subjects insane. She "so solemnly" forgave Angel for siring her and killing her family (although she said it when she was healthy, it was however necessary to specify that she had no soul). Her sanity was lost once again when Angel killed the Lorophage demon.

While Drusilla seemed to have lost her sanity again after the Lorophage demon died, she seemed far more lucid and rational in her behavior than she was before; being far more forward and clear in her conversations though she would still fall into using metaphors or double entendre.

Drusilla was very patient and meticulous in her planning, opposed to having an aggressive approach. She didn't attack her enemy directly and preferred to let things take their time and come to her at their own accord (thanks to her psychic powers). However, she had also demonstrated short temperament, only when interfering with Faith, in contrast to her previous fight with the most classical Kendra Young. Faith was her only enemy with capacity to destabilize her.

[anthonysstupiddailyblog]

Anthony's Stupid Daily Blog (722): Sat 9th Mar 2024

I watched a documentary about Aardman Animation. One of the animators at the studio says that whenever they make a film an average days work results in them shooting roughly two seconds of the movie and when he said this I thought "Well they should fucking work harder then shouldn't they? Two minutes after a whole day's work that's fucking pathetic". Seriously though I've always been in absolute awe of Aardman for the sheer patience they must have to be able to construct these movies from beginning to end. Moving the plasticine ever so slightly after taking a picture of one of the characters in order to create the illusion of movement and speech. There was actually a fire at the Aardman studios a while back which destroyed nearly all of the original plasticine character models and I can't help but wonder if this inferno was caused by an animator driven mad by having to work so hard every day just for a few seconds of screen time. There's a woman who's conversations they've recorded and they'll make a film of it starring plasticine hamsters. The distracting thing is that this woman actually has really horrible teeth and doesn't seem to have realised that this is why the animators were inspired to make her character a hamster. The only way it could have been more insulting is they made it a beaver and they actually constructed it out of her excess plaque instead of plasticine. They actually interviewed he about the movie but she struggled to get her answers out and run on a giant wheel at the same time.

I also saw piece on The One Show advertising an upcoming country music festival formerly known as the International Incest Convention or “Incestival”…okay not really. Country music is one of the very few genres of music that I can't stand with zero exceptions. I just don't think the southern American voice lends itself to music. It would be the equivalent of a singer from Newcastle singing in a Newcastle accent. Come to think of it Paul Gascoigne did exactly that in the video for Fog On The Tyne so that is basically what British country music should sound like. When I took Nana Jenny to America to see Graceland we were supposed to go to attend a recording of The Grand Ole Opry as part of our trip but I frankly would have rather received a blowjob from that hamster toothed woman Aardman are making that film about.

I read a news story that a "psychic" who claims to have received his "gift" after "meeting aliens in a car crash" and was recently fined for claiming he could cure cancer has now come under fire for offering "psychic healing" workshops. What an absolute "fucking cunt". First of all he became psychic after meeting aliens in a car crash? Did he get into a car crash and while he was waiting for AA to turn up the aliens appeared or is he claiming that he crashed into a car and when the owner of the car stepped out it had big bulbous eyes and green antennas sticking out of its head? OR is he a car mechanic who went to the scene of a two car crash and it turned out both cars were being driven by aliens and they gave him his psychic powers instead of paying his extortionate call out charge? Whatever it is I think that claiming to have psychic powers should be fucking illegal just like service fees on Viagogo and listening to music on public transport without headphones.

[thea-dacity]

Dancer drama. Petty Olympics Ahead

No one in this story is guiltless, not even me. But here's why I haven't been posting any photos of Oniya Divine anymore.

I want to say that I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt because she is a newcomer to the dance scene and we all make mistakes in our first couple of years and I think she's trying to do it all on her own- which is the hard way to do anything.

But.

Gotdamn.

First time I saw her was at a big open air festival and she was going by Princess Oniya. We saw her dance in a kind of 'sun goddess' costume that to the average non-costumer looks like a beautiful, authentic costume; but because my girlfriend is a costumer and I'm a dancer- we knew it was the 'belly lady' skirt from Amazon. She did not call it 'bellydance.' She called it 'feminine expression of water.' Which is fine! This particular show was big on being a little kooky with their lineup so why not?

Her dance was beautiful. I would have called it contemporary jazz. She has an amazing stage presence. Like there's a lot to appreciate about her performances.

I asked for an email address so I could get the photos I took to her and where I could find her on socials in order to cross promote, which is how I found her gigsalad.

I got nosy and read a little bit of it and the blurb was like 'never rehearsed, never the same- this dance is an expression of the soul and you never know what you're going to get.' Which is not a great marketing tactic but I was like… ah- improv.

See her again at a few different shows, do my bit. By this time she's solidly going by Oniya Divine. Which I think suits her because there was something a little ecstatic about the way that she danced. But she's also calling herself a 'bellydancer' and I'm like… hold on now. What style is this, because it doesn't look like any of the styles that I grew up with. It still looks like contemporary jazz, but with a hip scarf. Okay? I mean people use the hip scarves for samba and cha cha so its not a big deal.

Then there was arts fest, where she hired me to take photos.

She missed… a lot of cues. Like… a lot of them. Like she finished dancing a good 30 seconds before the song was done. Which is the downside of improv- if you can't hear the music to dance to it you're out of luck. But my job is to make people look good and I do it well.

Our troupe has been trying to get into the arts fest for like ten years.

The glamour is starting to wear off a bit at this point. But she comes up to me and my girlfriend and she's very sweet. She's very nice. And my girlfriend will talk to anyone so she started asking her questions. Oniya says she keeps her dance life very separate from her non-dance life, and I'm a touch confused by this because coming from a family of dancers its like… how do you separate these things? Dance is my community. Dance is my support. Dance is where my friends are.

But to each their own. Girlfriend gleans that she's very Christian, so maybe its a case of her church disapproving of the dance- which was never a problem for us but we were Methodist so that's a whole nother kettle of fish.

Which brings us to September with 2023 Mystics and Marvels- which is a show that I go to every year because its where I started doing event photography and I use it as a guide to see how I've improved as a photographer.

I did not post any of the photos of Oniya from that show, but she was there.

So here's where it gets… really messy.

Every performer at this show gets a booth for free because the gig does not pay well. It is a two day event at a fairgrounds with a dirt floor that features a lot of psychics, mediums, general weirdos. I turn a blind eye to a lot of the stuff that happens at this one because it would be like complaining about cultural appropriation at the cultural appropriation convention.

But I think we went a bit too far this year.

So the acts of this show were this: our dance troupe, a group of fire spinners, a dancer who does fire and sword balancing (stylistically distinct from the other sword and fire acts), a drag troupe, and Oniya.

I am told of a conversation behind the scenes- Oniya asked the show runner (Kay) if she could be paid more for her act, and Kay said no. She quoted what Raven (bellydancer, sword performer) makes for her acts and Kay told her that Raven makes more because she does sword. Oniya said that she does sword, she should be paid more. Kay said "she's worth more." Which is not how I would have phrased that, but I think that Kay and Oniya were already fighting about something else at that time so I can't know what was going on there. But that also kind of put Raven in one hell of a situation. And oh my god you do not tell a black woman that a white woman is worth more.

What the fuck, Kay?

So Oniya doesn't show up to her first set. She doesn't make it until her second set in the evening. When she arrives, I ask her about it and she waves it off.

But also.

She's wearing her usual 'belly lady' outfit in red, but there is a face mask attachment to it that's… so like its straddling the line of whether its racist or not but its sheer, cheaply made, and has coins on it- definitely in that family of 'orientalism' and yes- I know. The cultural appropriation convention.

There's another thing about this that not many people know- its traditional in bellydance to not be in costume when you're not performing. We typically wear some kind of cover around the belly area because in some countries where these styles of dance originate, you can be arrested for walking around with a bare belly. So out of respect for the culture that we're taking inspiration from, we tie a veil around ourselves or we have a cover up or we change out of it completely. She did not do this. So she's walking around in costume.

Again. She has no community. She keeps things separate. She doesn't have anyone to tell her that she's being disrespectful. But none of us are close enough with her socially to be that voice in her life and she's already beyond pissed (you could tell it in her performance that she was still mad. Like... you can tell when a dancer is mad because they dance differently.)

She's also… enigmatically, putting on some kind of affected accent, something in the Transatlantic meets Queens English. Like this isn't right. This isn't you.

What's going on?

(Also missing a set as a performer is one of those things that you can get blacklisted for.)

So she does her set. We do ours. She's in the audience for ours but I don't think she recognizes me as a dancer. Later, she comes up to Raven and says:

"Oh, its so NICE of you to LET your students perform with you."

Which I don't think she meant it in the way that she said it, but boy did she say it. And Raven was like… "We don't LET them perform with us, we want them to perform with us- because performances are part of building your skills and we want to see our community grow."

And not being present for the conversation I can't say what her response is other than 'oh.'

Her booth is doing tarot readings. There's a million tarot readers here, so its not surprising. But you can tell its her first time doing it and she's struggling. Which we all have a first time doing something, but its a little frustrating to see a line form for a newbie when I'm not getting much traction at all. Which is 100% sour grapes on my part but I'm starting to get rather annoyed by situation because its dipping into my business. And I start thinking about words like 'pretty privilege.' And that's unfair, I know, its jealousy. But I'm being... honest today. That's how I felt.

So that was day 1.

Here's day 2.

I didn't perform on day 2 because it was just the main troupe that day. So I got to do my photo thing.

Our troupe gets on the stage. Its a dirt floor. Raven is doing a thing with a sword and she does a move where she dramatically stabs the earth with it and dances around it. Its very elegant, its very cool, Its full of emotion and performed flawlessly. I catch it on film. Oniya is in the audience.

Oniya visits my booth, finally recognizes who I am. She is wearing something that I'm calling Esmerelda Cosplay, which- I know… cultural appropriation at the cultural appropriation convention. She glows about how she didn't know I was so talented, that I painted and wrote and did multi-media as well as photography… still doesn't recognize me as a dancer. But I can't get over like… how now that the glamour has worn off a little its like… is this genuinely you or are you being supportive because Raven had that conversation about community?

Then its time for her set.

The song she chose for her opening number is the exact same song that another troupe member performed for earlier, which means that the troupe member has to scramble and find another song to perform for her second solo (which wasn't like... the biggest affront because a lot of bellydance music is... similar, but it is very annoying to have to improvise like that at the last minute)

And… she's wearing a sword on her head.

And… okay, trade secrets. Our balancing swords are NOT sharp. They can be sharpened, but for safety reasons they are not sharp. We create the illusion of them being sharp by never touching the edge. You can still, absolutely, injure yourself on one of our swords and that's why we're very careful about performing with them. It is, once again, a skill that you have to hone. There's showmanship involved. The other performer who does sword performs with sharpened swords and I do not know how she does it. I would lose a toe.

I don't know how to describe the sword that Oniya is wearing other than that from far away it looks… plastic. I thought that it was a headband with a sword glued to it like a gag, from the distance that I was seeing it in the wings. But then it wobbled and I was like… okay, its actually balancing- sure. Why does it look so fake?

It doesn't have an edge. It doesn't have a tang. The thing is thick, like an inch thick and there's a texture to it that makes it look like a matte plastic. And its short. A typical balancing sword is about 2 feet long, but this one is like maybe a foot and some change? Like it looks like a toy.

And she is having a hard time keeping it on her head. She's got a headband and she's done her hair up to act as a barrier to keep it from falling backwards, but it is wobbling like the dickens and I don't know if anyone else could tell, but I could tell that it was like her first time using it.

I found the listing for it later on amazon while looking for a better quality sword for myself (I promise I didn't go looking for this, it just showed up when I searched 'balancing sword bellydance' because I was trying to find a 3-pounder) and the fucker is 1.4 pounds. The heavier a balancing object is, the easier it will be to keep it balanced and our lightest sword is 3 pounds, our heavy sword for dips and spins is something like 5 pounds.

So like... a comparison:

This is Seka doing a balancing act with two 5 pound Moorish scimitars. She can do complicated multi-object balance tricks (I have seen her do 3 swords at once) because that 5 pound sword on her head is not going anywhere anytime soon. She was able to do dips and kneels without them falling.

Raven here is doing a 3-pound saber, which requires a touch more body control to balance, and its why she's not doing more than one at a time. A 3-pound sword is what you use when doing 'fast sword,' which is great for the air-qualities of the sword- like slashing and slicing.

Here's a better look at the 1.4 sword. She's doing some tricks like leg lifts and splits, but those particular moves are not balance-focus movements- they're flexibility movements. She can perform those in her sleep because its how you do jazz contemporary.

Also- I'm glad I took a closer look at this picture because if you were trying to give the illusion that your sword was real, why would you hold it LIKE THAT?

There's a point where she tries to sell the illusion of it being a real sword with this move.

Never. Ever. Touch. The. Edge. Ever.

The comically fake 'ouch' on her face is such a disrespect to the showmanship of balance acts. Like... if you knew it was a sword and that the sword was sharp, you would learn that before you got on stage, would you not? "Yes, I know I am dancing around with a sharp sword on my head, but I am just now learning during the performance that its a sword that is sharp."

That is what you sound like.

She puts the oh-so-very-sharp sword back onto her head and continues her set.

It is not staying. If your sword is not staying, its because its too light. She catches it before it flies off, but she does not have the control to keep it on.

-culminating in…

…wait for it…

Stabbing the earth with her sword.

It does not stay in the earth, it flops over.

Raven was in the audience.

And she saw this.

And she's fucking livid.

Performance culture education moment: its rude as fuck to steal another person's bit.

Like… drag performers will make statements about their acts that no one can perform a similar act (a character, a song, a movement) within a 50 mile radius. Dancers will copyright certain moves and names of those moves. And if you're a dancer, and if you've been dancing for awhile, you just kind of get to knowing when someone has a bit. Like there are cues in the music, its somewhat hard to explain. But you get to knowing it.

Not Oniya- Columbus' #1 Bellydancer, though. All that went over her head- just like the sword went right over her head.

And she looks at Raven like 'did I do good?'

And we are being VERY professional because we want to see dancers grow, we don't want to discourage creativity. But. Yikes.

Her set moves on and its "Through Heaven's Eyes" from Prince of Egypt. And this is a very Jewish song, so to see a Christian woman dressed as a traveler who previously wore an embarassingly racist Arab charicature costume- dancing to a very Jewish song from a Very Jewish film- it makes me feel a certain kind of way. And I have some… hesitation about telling a black woman that she's being racist.

(Like… yes, I'm planning on doing Korobushka when I have the stamina, but I am at least learning the schottische so that I have foundational knowledge.)

…and she misses a lot of her cues. I'm seeing… the flaws. I decide that I'm not going to post the photos of her because its embarassing. And it makes me angry to see them. I'll send the photos to her so she could have them but… I need to think it over and cool off.

We don't really interact after that. Because we're busy packing up, we're tired. The troupe that's present that day decide to go get dinner and discuss the events and what is the appropriate reaction to… uh… that. Raven is the most pissed, and she has every right to be pissed because holy shit- right in front of my salad. You do not steal someone's bit.

So we give her some space to be a little unprofessional and vent about it and once we're all calmed down and have eaten we decide that the best thing to do is assume the best of her and extend an olive branch.

Plans go into the works about how we can educate better and we talk about doing some workshops on ettiquette, how to dance cultural dances while being appreciative, not appropriative. And those things are probably forthcoming. But what was decided was that we were going to invite her to the haflah (this is a party where bellydancers can perform for fun, there is usually a charity aspect do it, and there's usually workshops.) Because we would love to have her come, we would love to see her become part of the community so we can all learn from each other.

We sent two invitations and she has not responded. And maybe she's busy or maybe it went to spam email, but its becoming somewhat clear that she doesn't… want to be part of the community. Like… she's a solo act. She only dances her numbers.

We don't interact with her for months. Kay no longer books her for her shows so we don't see her.

I post a video of us on facebook, performing at Gallery Hop. She follows my photographer page, and she 'likes' the videos.

But she's no longer Oniya Divine.

She's Oniya Zhe Geisha. And her headshot shows her wearing the red dot bindi on her forehead.

Mad curious what happened here, I go to her gigsalad and she lists herself as "Geisha Zhe Genie AKA Oniya" and she's categorizing herself as a 'burlesque dancer' while her blurb still says "Columbus's #1 Bellydancer" so its kind of like… are you sure you know what ANY of these words mean?

And I'm being very unprofessional about it because I'm kind of bitter about the situation because I feel like I've been supporting this person only to find out that she's just trying on cultures like hats.

So now I'm pissed, trying to figure the situation out. Facebook tells me she took one of those 6 week masterclasses on 'art of the courtesans' that are like… seduction tips and how to embrace your 'dark feminine' and looks like she got herself some certification and that's why she's calling herself 'geisha.'

You don't get to be Geisha after six weeks of repeating 'I am' statements. Its a culturally-weighted word that you have to enter an apprenticeship for and I cannot stress this enough: you live in OHIO.

And if you're listed as a burlesque act, and you show up and you're doing bellydance and not burlesque, then you are going to have a VERY pissed off client.

A 6 week masterclass in seduction courses does not give you the right to call yourself a 'geisha.' Wearing a coin belt and voguing does not give you the right to claim the word 'genie-' a cultural connotation that we've been trying to distance ourselves from for the past 50 years. The dot in the middle of the forehead represents your marriage. Did they teach that in your courtesan classes?

All the while, we're thinking… she teaches. Teaches WHAT? Teaches how to steal a bit? Teaches how to put a toy sword on your head? Teaches how to miss your cues? Teaches how to piss off your community?

Teaches… scarf? (There's a bit she does with a scarf that you can tell is trying to do what we do with veil, but its not the right material and so it doesn't look near the same.)

(Scarf on left, veil on right)

And I know I'm being real toxic about this but I didn't come to dance to get gigs, I came to dance to be part of a community that I was missing, and to have fun and maybe once in awhile I perform for small shows. But she is getting a LOT of gigs, to the point that she's becoming a face in the local performance industry and it is giving me some real opinions about 'pretty privilege.'

I still want to believe that she's just… she needs guidance. She needs community. She needs friends in dance. She needs someone to tell her that that's not right.

But we've tried reaching out. We've tried including her. But I don't think she wants that.

So I'm hesitant to be like… 'canceled.' Because I want there to be room for her to grow. I think she has talent and just needs control, but yikes. I don't know if I can be supportive of someone using the diversity of the city as her personal playset.

Anyways, that's the whole tea. This is on my secret blog because I don't want her on blast. But I needed to put this SOMEWHERE because otherwise my head will explode.

[creationfathers]

I have NEVER rooted for anyone to shuffle themselves off this mortal coil prematurely but holy fucking shit I would be genuinely relieved to learn that Amber had successfully unalived herself. That sounds terrible but imo she is beyond help and an active danger to others. She proved that beyond all doubt today. Look at the fucking lengths she went to to try to convince strangers on the internet that she wasn’t going to be at a convention, just in the hope that she could sneak in unnoticed and “confront” the celebrity she’s been stalking, who she thinks she has a psychic connection with. She is devious and totally insane. The depths of her creepiness. It’s sinister. She needs to go away and never come back.

Girl is way to known to go unnoticed...

[charcherry-weekly]

Charcherry Weekly - Issue 146

This is Mage of Light Nick Card and It's another week on the campaign trail. A lot went on this week so let's get to it.

Early this week, Presidential candidate Heir of Time Thoren Emit drove to Grand Nursery, seeking supporters and Spades Slick, who was captured by voidco.

Grand nursery is reportedly the site of a major tree and produce growing operation initiated by Prince of Time Aeons Edgeworth, later also hosting a town of those that continue their work in their absence. It is also adjacent to the Anaconda River, which was taken from the past to the present by Aeons Edgeworth, for the sake of a reliable aboveground water supply.

Thoren's general reception among the townsfolk was uninterested at best, and untrusting at worst, many of them apparently too busy with farming work to do much aside from work and rest.

Prince of Time Flux Emit infiltrated a small mini dungeon of sorts that was found in the orchards. She managed to confiscate a dungeon core the size of an air conditioner,

and successfully rescued Spades Slick, as well as a simple fisher called Dillon (reportedly only detained by voidco because of their name.)

After this rescue mission, Thoren attempted to work alongside the people of Grand Nursery, to gain an audience that would listen. Eventually, they spoke with a worker who finally explained that Thoren and their friends had showed up there already, reportedly badmouthing the work ethic, speaking of profit margins, and a number of other things. It was at this point that an imposter was detected.

Thoren just barely gained the trust of the old tem.

A day or two later, the crew packed up and flew towards Newglass, to rescue Heir of Breath June Egbert.

Upon landing in Newglass, the tires of the Eros Machina reportedly popped from the large amounts of glass scattered across the sands. Thoren took a day to upgrade and replace all wheels on the Eros Machina.

The next day, the rig was reportedly surrounded by bikers, part of the glass riders gang. Thoren spoke with the leader of the glass riders and managed to gain their trust and support, due to both being very much anti-chronos.

The dungeon that may contain June Egbert was located by Flux Emit, as an underground locale, accessed via an ominous shaft. A team of dungeon crashers will enter on a soon later date, likely on Monday.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, am expedition was mounted to the Frigid Northern Archives. The present group was Rogue of heart Charles, Witch of Time Katyleen kitten, Prince of Time Flux Emit, and your dear newsletter writer. It was a fun trip, though Charles idea of a craft to send us there, a large round capsule craft, wound up breaking in a number of places. the crew remained relatively safe, fortunately.

upon arriving, we met an AI known as The Curator, who kindly told us all that we needed to know, provided terminals designed for connecting to the archives in the post apocalyptic era, and was given access to the friendship network. the Alcove terminal was successfully delivered to Thoren Emit, who delivered the terminal back in time the next day, therefore completing the timeloop at hand. four other terminals were also handed over, to be distributed to four major settlements later on.

At another point this week, Warlock of time Coleman decided to challenge himself by scaling Rift Mountain while blindfolded. subject to the temporally shifting mountain's whims, only his recording glasses could give a conventional view of his route, while he instead relied on his time sense to navigate.

He successfully reached the top, home to the lab located there. a psychic flying noctowl varient was also discovered there that day.

This week’s known market stands in Desertia Town:

Katie’s potion stand (*CaFAI filling in for Katie when unavailable)

shinyjiggly pokesnacks stand (ran by Rufus)

I think that does it for now. Mother's day was pretty busy for Page of Mind Samm, as a well established mother. I've been slowly working on that flash animation, and overall things have been going smoothly.

now to get back to sleep. goodnight!

https://letssosl.boards.net/thread/378/charcherry-weekly-issue-146

[ripbull]

5 Signs He's The Right Man For You

She regularly goes to sci-fi conventions, frequently holds video game marathons at her location and meets numerous folks that percentage the equal pursuits - consisting of guys.

As it turned into, Tessa were unmarried for a while and hoped to discover a associate who may want to complement her persona. And even though she had loads in commonplace with the men in her social circles, she could not quite get on well romantically with any of them.

So it become an entire wonder when Ben got here social media girls forum alongside and swept Tessa off her ft.

"He's first-rate lively within the neighborhood sports activities scene and could be very athletic, so he wasn't my type at all… Or so I thought," Tessa shared with a girlish smile.

They met by means of risk at a charity public sale set up via mutual friends, and that they clicked the moment they met.

"I couldn't put my finger on it at first, but I knew right away he become exceptional, and in an amazing manner," she gushed.

"He wasn't like some other guy I've met, and I do not assume it had whatever to do with our interests. Ben has this power and warmth about him that I really LOVE."

How to spot The One

Their worlds had been pretty far removed from each different, however that failed to forestall Tessa from falling tough for Ben.

It's unexpected how couples who appear like polar opposites at first grow to be an excellent match.

And most of the time, it could be a elaborate enterprise to determine out if a certain man is a good in shape for you.

Considering his particular persona and quirks - in conjunction with the complete deal about combined alerts - it is hard to sift through all of that and spot the signs and symptoms he's MEANT for you.

So how will you tell he is your Mr. Right… Or in case you have to keep looking?

Read directly to discover…

Click right here to find out the positive-fire way to make him stay…

Sign #1: He's were given your returned

One thing I've observed in quite a few couples who've been together for years is how supportive they are of every other.

It's constantly a great signal while a guy for ever and ever encourages his companion to pursue her pastimes and passions - regardless of how "obtainable" they may appear.

If you notice that your man is always trying to push you forward in a HEALTHY path - especially when you doubt your self - it truly is a clear indication he's a very good suit for you.

When searching out a associate, it is crucial to discover a person who desires to see you GROW and evolve. A guy who acts as a positive force on your life is well worth maintaining around.

Sign #2: He's part of your international

Like Tessa found out, hitting it off does not have much to do with how comparable your personalities or pastimes are.

Sure, having stuff in common makes it less complicated to interrupt the ice, however in the long run it is no longer going to hold the connection going.

The extra critical element is how inclined he is to be part of your life anyway.

Tessa recalled fondly: "Ben did not know the primary element approximately Star Wars, or sci-fi films in popular, but he went with me to the nighttime screening of The Force Awakens with my geek friends… And we even wore matching Jedi clothing! I didn't ask Ben to try this, but he suggested the idea and I cherished him for that… " If he's into you, he's going to care about the stuff you do. He'll spend his time on them due to the fact he is aware of the ones matters make you, YOU.

And it truly is precisely what he wants to be a part of - your fun and going on existence.

Sign#3: You share a unique bond

You recognise how some couples nearly appear to recognize what the other is wondering with out announcing a word?

It's first rate - and a touch eerie - to look them connect at this stage that no person else can.

It's now not ESP or a few other supernatural phenomenon - a few human beings are empathic this manner and have a sort of radar for it.

Your guy does not have to be psychic or have a 6th feel, nor ought to you anticipate him to be.

But if he has the notice to as a minimum ask you in case you're OK, then this is the signal of a concerned - and CONNECTED - associate.

This is the kind of man who can sense this is there's some thing amiss on your inner global and reply to it.

When he choices up in your signals, he may not just ask in case you're doing alright…

… He'll also need to help you get from your funk, get the proverbial fly out of your soup…

… And basically do something to make you proper as rain again.

And the truth that he cares approximately what you're feeling or thinking speaks volumes of the type of guy he's.

Sign #4: He's making the EFFORT

If a man's critical to you, he's going to usually be running beyond regular time to make certain you're glad.

Men are large on making their partner sense furnished for and guarded, so he's going to try this in every way he can.

If he is not making plans with you and create tremendous, shared reports together…

… He will attempt that will help you with something it really is bugging you, like your solving your cellphone or running a few errand you hate.

A guy worth retaining is one that'll do some thing to take the load off your mind and make your existence less complicated.

Another aspect you may note is how a guy will do matters with you on a ordinary basis.

He'll take you out for morning espresso, stroll your canine with you every Saturday or schedule a monthly expedition at his favorite tenting spot.

If he does this, take be aware, due to the fact a man does not change his schedule that without problems.

Only a man who is in "single" mode will insist on maintaining his appointments as they're.

A guy IN LOVE, then again, will abruptly have all the reasons within the world to make his agenda extra bendy than a contortionist at the circus.

More than that, he desires to create a shared lifestyles with you.

So it is no longer simply what he does - it is also the amount of time he offers up and hassle he is going through in the call of your happiness.

This is one of the most treasured items he ought to supply every body.

Click right here to find out the sure-fire way to make him live..

Sign #five: He makes everything AWESOME

Even the most dull, regular things turn out to be great while you're with him.

Maybe you need to run to the shop to get pasta noodles or choose up a package deal at the post office - but you wouldn't leave out it for the world if he gives to go along with you.

You're so drawn to each different that the entirety else appears to fade into the historical past when you're together.

He wants to realize every little you have been as much as nowadays, and also for you.

That's what being soulmates is all approximately - he turns the mundane into the magical via genuinely being there.

And when you're having the worst of days, you STILL need him round due to the fact you know he is this kind of wonderful presence for your lifestyles.

He's there to listen you rant approximately the crazy drama you had with a co-employee, or a few other warfare you are going via.

Whatever it's miles, he's all ears and isn't always itching to leap in with a solution to your problems.

He'll take a seat returned, listen quietly and most effective speak when you're achieved talking.

He'll most effective offer his opinion when you ask for it and usually make you experience like he's hearing you out.

All of these upload as much as the unmistakable reality that you've observed The One.

Finding this type of reference to a person is RARE, so that you ought to pay interest when he's showing you the right signs and symptoms.

More importantly, you want to make certain that spark continues burning shiny and strong together with your Mr. Right.

I've visible a number of couples who have been ideal for each other, but float apart for one reason or another.

Maybe he's not as affectionate as he changed into earlier than…

… Or the passion has diminished…

… Or he's really going via the motions.

Worse, it would even appear that he's pulling away.