#that's an ugly acronym but whatev

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WIBTA for dropping a friend for being cringe? Obligatory "cringe culture is dead" or whatever people say to feel better about liking kids shows. I (22F) have this friend (21 NB), and we've been friends since high school. We're in college now. This friend of mine genuinely makes me cringe so much I don't think I can maintain this friendship anymore. At the time of writing this I've only been texting them to reply to anything they say, and even then it's a one word answer or an image at most.

They've always been cringe, but when you're a neurodivergent woc in one of the whitest states in the country, you take what you get in terms of friendship. Beggars can't be choosers or whatever. I don't know why I let the world let me think I'm a beggar though.

Anyways, It's a lot of things. They fucking dabbed, without a hint of irony, when I was walking up to them and I considered pretending I didn't know them and walking past. They have this comically nasal voice and are completely incapable of having an appropriate volume anywhere. Like fuck man how do you sound more autistic than me? Their style is so fucking ugly I feel sick looking at them sometimes. They're not dirty or smelly or anything but jesus fuck at least match a color. What I think broke the camel's back was going out to a movie with them. They would NOT shut the fuck up. Like goddamn fuck off I'm trying to enjoy the movie. Stop eating my fucking popcorn bitch. To their credit they did stop after I told them to. I feel embarrassed bringing them anywhere. My brother has asked me multiple times why I hang out with this individual, and I think this is what made me completely reconsider. He's neurotypical and more emotionally intelligent than me, and due to being younger will always keep it real with me, so I trust his judgment. I'm not an emotional person or anything so I can't say I feel much of a bond with people in the first place, so I don't feel bad ab potentially cutting this person off.

I realized I fall into this situation a lot as a neurodivergent woman of color, which is being friends with ugly white people I should know I'm too good to even look at. I've already had other friends tell me I'm too pretty to be seen with them. Objectively? They're right. I'd rather be friendless than interact with this bastard anymore. I've already dropped most of my former friends from before college for similar reasons.

What are these acronyms?

[astradyke]

warning this might be a nothing post i'm just a little emotional & rambling but like... i think a lot about hometown showdown and gay and not proud a lot. and i understand this was in the peak of YouTube's fuckery with Dan and disrupting his plans for DINOK so i understand there's like a tension behind a lot of what was ongoing. i also realize that YouTube-- more obviously with hometown showdown-- but generally had strong business rationale for wanting Phil to feature in these videos, with Dan & Phil being the duo of HS and Phil being there in gay and not proud (sorry the acronym for this looks ugly).

but man... i think a lot about how hometown showdown was just kind of a lot of dates. i've not seen the other ones but i hear a lot that they were way more competitive versus Dan and Phil were just casually exploring their hometowns together, showing pieces of themselves to the other. i think about all the dialogue that was cut (that I think was alluded to in WDAPTEO 2?)

and i think about like. the seismic Importance of Phil being in gay and not proud as like... Dan's safe space. the same way he's remote crisis manager, the same way he was part of WAD's pre & post show, the same way he filmed that haircut video basically to promo YWGTTN and Dan is leaving me to talk about WAD. the same way that Dan got a taxi to his place after his nightmare experience at the laundromat to do laundry because "for the first time since I was a tiny child, I actually felt safe."

and after the latest mukbang it's like... it's really insane to me how their personal relationship has continued despite the pressures they've faced as being a comedic influencer duo. the fact that they work as business partners but still have this relationship. the fact that even in these YouTube originals that Dan was resentful of at the time anyway you can still glowingly see how much they love each other. like Phil being in gay and not proud wasn't a cameo, it was a fucking love confession.

i dunno. this is something that's been talked about a Lot but i do think about it frequently. i don't tend to rewatch these specials a lot because Jesus Christ the editing really gets me, but like... idk. "you're next to me in my life," or whatever. 15 years have passed and Phil's still cheerleading for Dan, from his first YouTube video to his first solo tour. i dunno.

[firelxdykatara]

Dragon Age 4 looks amazing, that gameplay trailer had me on the edge of my seat and I cannot fucking wait for the game to drop. Somewhat less enthused for the inevitable wave of fandom discourse that's gonna rear it's ugly head, especially given how BG3 went over, but whatever. (Also I hate that the name changed to 'The Veilguard', not just because 'Dreadwolf' was cool as fuck but the 'the' throws things off. DAV looks better as an acronym than DATV. But whatever whatever no one consulted ME on this, it's fine, I'm fine.)

It did make me start thinking about Solas again and how little nuance the fandom approached him with last time, and it's just funny because like... it's very easy to understand where Solas is coming from. How he sees what he is planning as necessary, as fixing an ancient wrong that he has always meant to put right.

Will people die? Yes, and he thinks that's unfortunate--and, according to him in the trailer, he took the precautions he could to minimize that loss of life as much as possible. But he's not doing any of this with the specific aim to kill people or 'do genocide'--that was never his goal.

He is trying to fix something that he broke countless ages ago.

As he says, 'the veil is a wound'--a wound that he ripped open in the very fabric of space and time, and which he is trying now to heal.

And the thing is, he is ancient. He does not conceive of time the way mortals do, nor the importance and significance of mortal lives. I would like to think that romanced solas vs unromanced will have some affect on the way he goes about things, because falling in love was entirely unexpected and had to alter his views at least a little. Not enough to sway him from his course, but perhaps enough to make him feel the coming losses more keenly than he otherwise would. But even failing that, the connections he made during Inquisition are clearly not nothing to him--Varric is able to draw his attention, keep him distracted, might even have been on the verge of talking him down, we don't know. But as easily as he shattered Bianca, he could've killed Varric to end the threat he posed, and he didn't.

Mortal lives mean something to him now that they didn't when he set out at the beginning of Inquisition to tear down the veil with no regard for the mortal lives he would destroy in the process. And I'm wondering if those very safeguards are what release the big bads when Rook fucks up his ritual and that leads into the rest of the game. But anyway, my point is this: Solas does not look at life the way someone with a mortal lifespan does. He can't! Modern Thedas is the burned out shell of a building that he once set fire to without realizing what the consequences would be--and he is determined to rebuild it, because no matter what life has sprung up in the cracks of the burned out husk, his original fault was destroying the life that had been there to begin with.

People don't tend to overly worry about the insects and birds nests and whatever else they might have to bulldoze through when it comes to tearing down some condemned structure and rebuilding in its place, and that's how Solas views the modern world of Thedas and the lives within it. And I get disagreeing with him and wanting to stop him at any cost, but I don't get assigning maliciousness or bloodthirst to his motivations when there's no reason to believe he sees this as anything less than a tragic necessity.

Then again, I think Anders was right too so, y'know. But one bomb lobbed into the fandom commonroom at a time lmao.

[zerofuckingwaste]

Reasons to go zero waste that aren't because of the environment:

It's good for your wallet! Wasting less means that everything you buy either is reused, or consumed completely with zero excess; so you aren't paying for anything that's just going to end up in the bin.

It's much less stinky! And you'll get fewer flies, if you live in an area like me where fruit flies appear if you so much as leave a jam jar open for more than 2 seconds! If you compost whatever food waste you do produce rather than dumping it in the trash bin, then you'll end up with a centralized location where the food waste can properly decompose, thereby not producing a horrible methane-filled stench, and not stinking up your trash bag.

Less trash means fewer trips to the curb or dumpster! I know that taking the trash out is my absolute least favorite chore, even below snaking the drains. It can get really gross and grimy, and the trash bin itself, or dumpster, can be absolutely unholy.

It might help you achieve that lifestyle that you wanted to do for a while, but couldn't quite manage. Whether that style is minimalism, which is facilitated by the idea of only buying the things that you absolutely need, with minimal excess if any at all, or maximalism, which is conversely supported by the idea of using what you have without letting anything go to waste, or anything in between, you'll find that you can focus more on your lifestyle goals when you aren't wasting time, energy, and money on needless waste. (I'm a maximalist with a house that has been described as 'an ADHD dream' so I really do mean it when I say any lifestyle is attainable through zero waste ideas.)

It can help support your community in ways you might not have thought of previously. If you find that you have a lot of old kitchen supplies and clothing that are very nice but unnecessary, then you can easily donate them to organizations for folks in need. In your journey towards a zero waste lawn, with more native plants and less wasted space taken out by hungry grass, you might find yourself advocating for more native greenery in your town, and make it more beautiful as a result. Heck, just going to the farmers market regularly can help you build friendships with people in a way that you could not possibly do at the grocery store- all the while helping local businesses and farmers!

You might discover a new hobby by doing DIY, you also might discover that you absolutely suck at DIY, either way, you'll have new and creative experiences to look back on. Fondly or not.

And finally: it can be way better for your health. Micro plastics are a HUGE problem both environmentally and biologically. BPA (and all those other three letter acronyms) is extremely bad for your endocrine system, and is likely linked to a lot of the illnesses rearing their ugly heads as of late- not to mention the unknown long term exposure effects we've yet to realize. They can cause neurological issues, hormone imbalances, even cancers. Aside from all those physical things, a zero waste lifestyle can be great for your mental health- certain aspects can be therapeutic in a meditative way, (for me I find great peace in gardening and baking,) while others can lessen your anxiety, (again, for me, I have found great relief in knowing that I have a stocked pantry, and I no longer have allergic reactions to the occasional hygiene product because I actually know what's in them).

Feel free to add on! Not all of these will be applicable to everybody, but I hope at least one speaks to you. 🌺

[dragynkeep]

rwby merch thoughts because i’ve been on hold with my landlord agency for over an hour & have work in 3 ✨

this legitimately just looks like the hoodie my fiance gave me but with less sentimental value or really. any value at all. rwby also not being in their font is just? okay. absolutely not worth 42 quid.

brought to you by my fiance’s wardrobe.  3 / 10.

this is actually kinda cute? nice riff on the mascot in american football trend but the font is really hard to see against the colour because it’s so muted & also just. kinda ugly. shit brown font colour. nice tshirt colour though.

school pride featuring werewolves.  4 / 10.

it’s been pointed out but why has atlas merch been released now that it’s been turned into knockoff atlantis & not? when we were actually there for three years of actual time? the actually colouring of the shirt is fine, it looks decent enough. that pin though looks like it’s made out of plastic & something i could find at poundland. i think as well it being in silver would’ve been a better choice, to contrast with the red + gold of beacon while keeping with atlas’ colour palette.

are we going to get the other kingdoms or is it only the white european inspired ones that matter? 3 / 10.

wow this is. boring. also i know this is meant to be oscar & a new iteration of “jnpr” but why would they not just retire that & make up a new acronym to show the team is moving forward but still honoring their dead friend. this would’ve been a good place to canonize one of the many suggestions but whatever.

chef gusteau said anyone can cook draw. he was wrong. 2 / 10.

can this meme die already: the quality of rooster teeth’s overpriced & under quality merch that was probably made in a sweatshop was already a joke without this “inside one” still being riffed on years later.

i hate capitalism.  - 10 / 10.

[borderlineangeldisorder]

So catching up with my mental health has also encouraged me to catch up on my physical health. Which in return continues to boost said mental health.

I have borderline personality disorder along with other acronyms such as Adhd Cptsd Ocd Anarexia along with fibromyalgia and the subdivisions of disorders that accompany them ; anxiety depression chronic pain fatigue and a whole other list.

This past year ive gone through more traumatic events due to loving someone who didnt deserve the olive branches they kept burning. But i have learned and i will always be coping with them all.

The happy part is me making the effort to change and Not want to rot away in my room anymore just indulging myself in the pain and misery. Because it loved company and ive been a partner since i turned double digits.

Lack of education from my family even friends our shared ignorance did fuel some of the fires i lit. Like i said ignorance to everything with sex drugs love even what healthy relationships look like due to a history of ignorance and misinformation from my family line; generational curses theyre also known as. Which is for my case so true and it hurts looking back at all i wasnt told about. Especially the warning signs "red flags" to know about. I did not know.

Me being the lover girl i am i did learn the hard way. I became aware of what abuse actually is do to an off chance flier i found at a doctors office. Something in my heart and soul cried out to sneak it home and bury it where my abuser (at the time i wasnt aware that was even the word for them) couldnt find it.

I still remember the way i felt Hope tear up in my eye when i read through the simple 3 page flier. That it confirmed i wasnt crazy like my abuser claimed. That they were hurting me and causing my own mind to be damaged. I learned abuse isnt just being hit ; i learned it was also financially and sexually possible thanks to the words on those pages

There was a checklist going into detail about all those different forms of abuse and when i gained the courage to check off the box it opened my eyes to the truth; that the man who claimed to love me would kill me. Immediately i pushed that realization away repressed it with all the abuse i knew for the past 4 years. It took me another year to finally kick him out and that only worked because i lived with my own parents.

Even still it took me another 4 months and him abducting me holding me against my will to go to the police; nd thats because my parents forced me. I was humiliated and ashamed of loving such a man Of him attacking me abusing me using me and forcing me to do things im still ashamed to admit even here. Ive been in and out of therapy on and off medication for yearssssss and just this past 6 months after processing another traumatic relationship did i wake up one day and pray for strength feeling ashamed the entire time.

I decided to start and write again Even if it was a simple This is what ive done today. Even if it was a single sentence. I wanted to do it for me to get my pent up emotions out before me. I dont reread what i write and i stopped trying to be aesthetic or neat i simple put the pen to paper and let flow whatever comes. It has helped lift the weight of my trauma and loosen the grip ugly thoughts have taken hold of me.

Every day i have to make the choice to not rot and to do something anything. I used to feel this pressure (still do but not to suffocating) that i just had to have everything "together" before i could even enjoy anything at all. Ive learned even doing one thing will encourage my mentality to find one more thing to accomplish.

So far after the past few months (yes months its the most important to force myself still most days but it does get easier and more habitual) of truly trying and putting myself out there Out of my bed ive accomplished

A healthier relationship with food and eating habits

Self care such as simply trimming and filing my nails It encourages me not to rip them apart with my teeth

Showering and bathing more regularly (bubble baths are fun!)

Brushing my hair each morning which is turning into each evening before bed

Brushing my teeth in the morning and before bed which honestly was hard for me to implement because i just want to go to bed

Facial hygiene such as actually removing my makeup before bed and then continuing on to wash my face; this has evolved into applying moisturizer to my face after washing; which has helped encourage me to do am skin care as more moisturizer and sometimes a syrum (i only use one for my pores its a niacinamide syrum and does help me even if its placebo i enjoy it so i dont care) And sunscreen but i do it on sunny days or high iv days (a bit ocd as i have a fear of my face drying and falling off Like trench foot but for dry skin: which i also struggle with) Its become a way to self sooth and helps keep the thoughts at bay that i wont die from the sun)

Speaking of sun i started just simply sitting out in the morning and getting the natural vitamin D only the sun can provide My aim isnt to tan but to help those levels as it does affect my mental health like countless others suffering from SAD. It feels good and i like to cloud watch

Trying to limit my screen time Honestly of course this is Not easy I dont have many friends aside from my sisters who i dont really get to see ; ive deleted netflix hulu I do scroll tiktok but give myself a limit of an hour before bed or its 2am before i can stop myself

Reading reading reading I have the same books for years and still i enjoy the stories It also stimulates my mind my imagination and keeps me off my phone

Listening to music without headphones It helps me stay in the moment and encourages me to clean instead of sitting down and getting sucked into my maldaptive daydreaming Which i did use for years as an escape from my own issues and ignore the reality of what needed to be done Its much more fun to dance around and sing along as i clean or blog here

It seems like a lot and maybe it is But making the decision to change and then actually taking the first move to change myself caused this domino affect of self love self care and continuing on to another change in my life.

Every day theres still the choice i have to make on whether i do something or dont. Some days are harder than others and its extremely important to trust yourself your body and learn the signs on if todays the day to dance around doing the housekeeping or pick up a book and enjoy the sun. Its better to keep it slow and trust yourself instead of accidentally burning yourself out which is discouraging. Im still learning and still lack in other areas I am mentally and Physically chronically ill. I have issues im still working out and it isnt easy

But it is possible and its true when the void says Its up to You. Only You can makr the decision between getting up or staying down. Noone is the same and every one has their own desires dreams goal which is what makes this world beautiful and different and fun between the messes and chaos.

You Can do it even if it feels like you cant

[olli-online]

read some ghostsoap fics listened to my music did more brainstorming for dith (that acronym is kinda ugly but whatever) and now im sleepy Goodnight everyone now look at my edit of my silly guys

[tom--22--felton]

Hi Val and everyone I just want to say a couple of things, regarding the break up with R, I would not speculate so fast if the profile disappeared maybe it did, maybe it didn't and if so or not maybe hiding the earring is also or only due to another separate reason, that we don't know, on the other hand about the new profile "spirit" or whatever it is clearly a stalker, it is clear that T is trying to get rid of him without giving him much entity on the one hand let's remember the facts as another anon said first T puts in the subs channel the glass then and coincidentally only by sayings of this iG a girl called convenvenienteme G if you see the profile you can not see the name, this is the same as if we say that because as T published a photo in a place and a girl x that as I understand follows him published one at the same time and place are together?, well no the world is free and T can calmly go to a fast food place at the same time as many people remember as I said before he is a normal person at the end of the day that they are in the same place does not prove anything, It wouldn't be the first fan to find him in a place on the other hand as for the anon that talked about the acronym although at first glance it may seem "Looking for Giselle" as the account that spreads the audios wants to make it look like. If you google it you will see that it is actually a common use for "Looking for a group" so if we start from that base maybe the only thing we will find is that it is not as solid as many here believe, maybe the only thing we will see is a meeting between T plus friends? Derek among them I guess in the future maybe. I mean he was up to his eyeballs in the comments and he understood that too- that's how he interpreted the "LFG", plus if as many say he broke up with R for cheating, which he may not, sometimes there is more than one reason for a break up and it's not always infidelity, Also if this G was his girlfriend with the history of harassment that his previous girlfriends suffered I do not think that even if Cali is more relaxed, he is so comfortable hexibiendo already so fast their relationship because what does not rest there are the paparazzi, and because at the end of the day I think he is the type that when he loves someone takes care of him a lot but why would hide both R for years, eh? I think that if there is G is just a girl of the moment and nothing too important, also if I agree with the anon who spoke of the AI system for the voice of T and Photoshop templates for chats with the alleged official account because according to hear that in his official account can not receive messages from anyone if you want Val I send you the evidence of this by PM. For all this I doubt it is true and that he has a girlfriend so quickly when they say he finished so recently with R, for me he just wants to have fun, hang out with friends and therefore if this is true it is nothing serious, so please do not do so much drama and let him live without drama. Remember he is a normal person like all of us at the end of the day and if it is true that he broke up he is free to enjoy himself as he wants. It's very ugly that this account doesn't even wait 5 minutes to cause drama he is clearly looking for attention. And remember me and all of you are here to support T don't forget that.

Thank you so much for taking time to share your thoughts, anon. I don't want to hurt your feelings, but it's almost impossible for me to read and understand your ask. I'm not a native speaker, so please bear with me and put some dots in the sentenses and make them shorter in the future, if you can.

I will just have to repeat what i already said: - no proof that they broke up - i don't believe G (if she exists) is his new girlfriend, she's most likely just a fling - for me LFG means "let's f***ing go" and i consider all other interpretations a stretch.

Just my opinion.

[idigitizellp21]

9 Golden Rules For Content Writing

                                9 Golden Rules For Content Writing

Today, the internet is an overcrowded space and can be compared to a lot of stars in the sky or unlimited sand particles on the beach. As per the internet live statistics, there are 1.9 billion plus websites in existence, 3.5 billion plus Google searches on a daily basis, and roughly 350,000 tweets sent every minute. In this kind of competition, capturing the readers’ interest can be the biggest challenge you can be facing. Chartbeat conducted a research that opened up an ugly fact that 55 percent of the visitors spent less than or 15 seconds on a webpage. Good website content is the key to defeat these statistics. Well-written content that’s optimized for the web allows your webpage to top the search results and can hold readers’ attention. Whether your content appears on the web or in print or carved on a wall there are some writing rules that you need to know.

Follow these 9 golden rules to make sure whatever you write gets the attention it deserves:

Do your research: Before you put pen to paper or finger to keyboard you need to study who are you trying to reach? I.e. your customers, audience, readers. These are some questions which need answers before you start drafting your content. Who is my target audience? Who are my target audience influencers? How are they going to reach my website?. Once these parameters are defined you need to dig deep and try to answer questions like, What topics would they like to read about? What questions would bring them to my website? Is my website answering/solutionizing their issues? You then need to ensure your content is accessible and engaging to all these audiences.

Structure your content: Web visitors have a very short span of attention and are judging your website for relevant information in seconds. Structuring your content on the web is like a website makeover, where utilizing the Inverted Pyramid Model of content writing proves beneficial. Here, you need to place the most important/headlines at the top of the page and then progressively move to more specific and factual data. Making your text scannable is another habit you need to incorporate while you structure your content. Instead of verbose paragraphs, use bullet points or numerical listing which will make your content look organised. White space, is the best friend of a web designer where they would allow empty space around images, text and other website elements. A decent amount of space around text eases your eyes and makes it look more legible. Love at first site is applicable here, make sure you make it worthy.

KISS (Keep it Simply Short) rule: As the attention span of the audience is reducing, research proves that readers today prefer sentences with less than 35 words. And also an average reader reads at a 7th to 9th grade level. We recommend you to use more nouns and verbs compared to adverbs and adjectives.

Active voice gets more engagement: In order to draft user-friendly and actionable sentences you must consider using active voice compared to passive. For example, you can say, “Visit your nearest outlet for great deal” compared to “Our outlets have great deals”. Active voice is a direct form of communication, which drastically increases the engagement levels of a reader.

Avoid technical jargon: The web is for the world and not just for your technical circle. So you need to ensure that your content on the web educates/informs/imparts knowledge to the world, for which it needs to be generic. Define niche terms, if you use acronyms-spell them out in the first reference, provide hyperlinks to other webpage which can help the reader to know more.

Variety of words is the key: Words are like cookies, we all have our number one. But in order to keep your audience engaged, you need to use variety. You may have exhausted a word by using it too often. Type it into Thesaurus.com (Can link) to find new synonyms to complement your content. While you enhance your web content, do not miss out on your primary keywords which should appear throughout your web page systematically. not looking like a word crowd. Keeping a positive tone of text is always a pleasant read. Example, use “invoice” over bill, use “client” over patient.

Blend multimedia: Many a times a picture/graphic speakers for itself and doesn’t need text to support or elaborate it. Research shows that 90 percent of the information transmitted to the human brain is visual, and people process visual information 60,000 times faster than text. Images or videos also helps break up text monotony making it easier to distinguish sections on a webpage.

Hyperlink keywords: Your website is great when it allows the reader to navigate from one page to another in a smooth synchronised manner. Help users find meaningful content by hyperlinking certain keywords to other relevant pages on your website. Recheck if the right page is linked with the right keyword/phrase as this can make or break your audience engagement score. These internal linking are extremely beneficial for your SEO but remember overloading your text with too many links will confuse the readers’ directly contributing to higher number of disengaged readers’.

Call-to-Action text is critical: A website which generates sales or achieves its desirable goals gets its readers’ to reach its conversion page. Between information sharing and conversion comes a thick line called “Call-to-action button”. Keep them blunt and initiate it with an action word like “Share”, “Buy now”, “Book now”, Sign up”, Watch”, etc. After which hyperlink this button to actually allow the user to complete the action.

Writing, in general, is a tough job—writing content for your website, even more so. But remember, you don’t need to be a pro at it, at the very first time! Once your content is live, you can monitor and optimize it monthly for a better web performance. With the above mentioned golden rules , you’re ready to create effective content that will solutionize your readers’ queries.

If it still gets you worried, we at iDigitize specialise in designing web content that is simple and effective. We believe in drafting engaging content with a dash of fun.

[albumwalloffame]

Album Cover Wall of Infamy 2022 - Day 19

YOLO - Alvin and the Chipmunks (Soundtrack album)

You know, I only just realized how ugly the CGI models for the chipmunks are, the face just doesn’t look right, but that is only the least of the issues here.

Anyone remember “Yolo”, it was an acronym for “You Only Live Once”, and everyone rightfully decided that it was cringe and we needed to stop saying it. Well, for whatever reason, they chose that for this album’s name. Oh wait, I know the reason, “Because dem kiddies are sayin’ it so it must be hot!”.

If there is one type of album cover I can’t stand it would be the pandering type, Dungeon Wolf’s “Metal’s Back”, Madonna’s “American Life”, the album cover that only draws you in because “It speaks to you”, and by that I mean, it’s filled with imagery and iconography and titles that agree with your views or were market tested and is believed to fit within the target demographic that you fit into, this cover falls into the latter.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for making noise on a residential public street at 5pm?

I am currently living at home to save money, but moving out very soon. My mom and I have begun walking together during the pandemic, and it is a nice way to bond/get out of the house. However, I noticed something coming up a lot more on our walks recently and I am not sure if I am at fault. I am autistic, and my mom definitely knows it (she is the one who told me about it when I was 16). Some of my stims are verbal stims and echolalia. Most of them are not that loud, but are definitely not the usual talking or humming sounds people make. If I do say words, I say them in drawn-out ways or repeat myself sometimes. It isn't something I do in the middle of a conversation with my mom, just something I do when we aren't speaking and my brain is just sort of going along. I do my best to monitor my volume too, and I have checked it on a sound reader. Most of the noises don't run above the same decibel level as my regular speaking voice. It is one of the ways I relax myself after a long and stressful day, and since walking is a relaxing activity, I end up stimming in various ways during it. Lately, my mom has been telling me to stop it every time I start up. It doesn't matter if it is an "ugly noise" or just me saying a word, she tells me that someone could be sleeping, kids are napping now, and that I need to be quiet. I have asked her if my noise is bothering her specifically, but she insists that it does not, and she is simply making sure that I don't disturb anyone else around us. (side note: she does not hate all of my stims, but does call some of them ugly/unpleasant. This hurts me, but it is something else we have talked about and she is not changing her behaviour, so whatever. I try to let it go.) We live in a residential neighbourhood, but it is by no means quiet. Many people go out walking, especially at this time of day. People talk and laugh, some play music. Some kids scream. There is no "naptime rule" that you have to be quiet at 5-6pm. But my mom only ever seems to notice/view my noise as a problem. AITA in this situation?

What are these acronyms?

[unknown-kai]

I love reimagining old works into my own versions. Like yeah lemme just she ra this shit and make it different but still enjoyable. Call me self indulgent but this shit is like free therapy.

Anyway so about the Fireboy and Watergirl lore..

I've done a bit of research (aka skimming through the wiki) and already I see problems. Elementals are hard to do but it can't be THAT hard right?

Fire, water, plant? Sun??? Frost????? THE FUCKING YIN AND YANG????????????????

Y'all. This cannot be real.

I mean. No offense to the developer but... yeah.. no.

Okay so lemme just add a bit of "creative liberty" juice and whoops my hand slipped!

Time for a complete overhaul of the lore 😈

Okay so the yin and yang is gonna be split into two dudes (gender neutral). They're like. The makers of the mazes or something. They're demigods of sorts

There consists of 4 temples, 3 of which are filled with mazes

The first temple is just the entrance. A few traps maybe. At the end there are 4 gems. We'll talk about those later

The second temple is fire and water. Pretty self explanatory. The green goo is nerfed btw.

The other second temple (this'll make sense soon i hope) which we'll just call the third temple is wind and earth. This where weight and flight is involved

The last temple, the biggest temple, combines the 4 elements along with light and dark. Light puzzles require you to adjust mirrors and also there's ice. Dark puzzles require you to traverse the maze in darkness (or with the little light you can manage to produce) and black goo or i guess tar? Is there.

At the end of the last temple there is a great hall where the victors can feast. There are more rooms to explore but it's better to exit (trust me)

Anyway the 4 elementals are fire, water, wind, and earth (something something avatar shut up). These elementals are created from vessels, often humans, but they can be any living creature, who touches a crystal. Within the mazes, these vessels are reborn when they die. Outside, however, once an elemental dies, it's spirit finds its way back to its crystal. There can be no more than one elemental of each crystal.

To turn back into a human or whatever creature they were, an elemental must drink The Golden Milk. It's not actually milk. It's just this thick golden drink that's really sweet. Although.. the transformation back to a vessel is just as painful as the transformation into an elemental..

If you want to know what Golden Milk tastes like just mix a bunch of honey with milk until they're one consistent fluid. You can have it at whatever temperature you prefer but our fellas got to drink it warm.

That's kinda it. Good night, lovelies I'm sleepy and have an exam tomorrow 💖

[hauntedradiotower]

OWCA origins

“hot take: OWCA is not a spy organization. it’s an experimental therapy program. if needed I will elaborate but I think we can all agree.“

Theatrical villains are rampant in the Phineas and Ferb universe. Before the existence of OWCA, it was worse. People lived in constant fear that they would fall victim to mustache-growing laser beams shooting through the sky and OSHA-noncompliant bear traps opening in the sidewalk. Authorities were desperate for any solution. So desperate, in fact, that they did something unheard of: They turned (partially) from violence, and towards psychology.

A leading study showed that all these depraved theater nerds had one thing in common: a tragic backstory, full of neglect and deprivation. The head of the study, a little-known sociologist/expert in animal behavior/genetic engineer/major general i guess/gymnast/seriously what has he not done?, got an idea. Here’s a transcript of his conversation requesting permission and financial support from the President:

Major Francis Monogram: “I’ve got it! I know what they need to change for the better!” President: “Well, don’t bust my chops man, what is it?” MM: “Emotional support.” President: “???” MM: “That’s right: Emotional support.” President: “But they already have all the emotional support they need via L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N.!” [Direct result of CIA involvement] MM: “No! I mean emotional support in the right direction. Companionship.” President: “Well, sir, at this point I’ll accept anything. What’s your proposal?” MM: “I propose... emotional support pets.” President: “Emotional support pets?” MM: “Quite right. Although, we’ll call them NEMESES. Nemesises? Whatever. We’ll assign each villain a custom Nemesis, based on their personality and crime patterns. For example! That old coot in California who’s really into hijacking aquariums and stealing the decorative coral? We’ll set her up with an octopus nemesis. Say that five times fast. AH. HAH. HAH.” President: “Stopping crime with cute animals? It’ll never work!” MM: “Ah, but what if these cute animals were also highly intelligent and trained in JIU JITSU?” President: “Ahhhh, through experimental genetic engineering that hasn’t been cleared by NIMH or WHO etc etc etc?” MM: “Yessir that’s the one sir.” President: “Permission granted. Go nuts.” MM: “The point is, these Nemeses will provide an outlet for combative and contraption-esque violence, but the whole time what’s actually going down is COMPANIONSHIP. And the national casualty count. We’d love that to go down, too.” President: “yeah ofc ofc, just one thing. Who will lead this mission?” MM: “Carl the intern and I, sir.” President: “And where will you get the genetically modified animals?” MM:  MM:  MM: “We’ve already got them, sir.”

[FLASHBACK to Carl the Then-Paid Intern sneaking animals out of the lab under cover of night]

President: “Fantastic! Make it so!” MM: "Now, about our funding?” President: “Ha! Don’t look at Uncle Sam. 100% of taxpayer dollars have gone to filling the potholes and funding mustache removal syndicates.” MM: “But there are still potholes everywhere. Not to mention mustaches.” President: “Not my problem. I have a hovercraft that takes me wherever I want to go. Slash Carl’s income, or let your science project die!” MM: “Yes sir.”

-

And thus, Organization Without a Cool Acronym was born. The effects were seen almost immediately. Crime went down, canceled out by the efforts of the emotionally-intelligent martial artist pets. All of OWCA’s budget went to taking care of the animals and bribing people from NIMH, PETA, and just about every organization with a cool acronym out there. That’s the ugly truth you don’t see onscreen. But that’s the truth. Everything you see on the P&F wiki is lies and propaganda. This may be my final message to you all.

[skywillsometimeswrite]

My opinion on constructive criticism:

It doesn't exist unless it is:

A. Explicitly asked for (and then delivered in a proper, professional manner)

B. It's offered to fix an honest mistake the creator might not have realized, especially if it could lead to someone being hurt (i.e using an acronym for something without realizing it already exists for a hateful group)

People should be allowed to create at their own speed, in their own way. Would you go up to someone on the street and tell them their shirt is ugly, or they're carrying way too many bags for no reason? Would you really go up to a complete stranger without any reason and tell them something they are doing is wrong?

Furthermore, do you expect them to care?

If you don't like something, it's far easier to turn the other way. You can say that you're doing it so people improve, but people do that naturally. You know what happens more often when people receive unsolicited criticism (especially if they're trying something new)?

They quit. They quit because they are humiliated, and ashamed. They quit because clearly they are never going to do it right. I should know, it happened to me.

Everyone's response is different, but the point still stands that criticizing someone's work for whatever reason when they haven't ask for it? It's rude. It's rude, and it's uncalled for.

You don't have to like what they've made, because they aren't making it for you. Don't expect them to change it just because you think it's bad.

[theseerasures]

Re: that anon who asked about the shuffle step of the themes of sacrifice

I also found the ideological shift in the volume very interesting, and I think she most interesting bits are with Team RRAYNBOW. Like I think the dynamic between Yang and Ruby and their respective missions this volume is very interesting (if maybe a bit underdeveloped, atm at least). You said a little about it with Team JOYR in Chapter 7. Do you have anymore thoughts about the "shuffle step" in regards to that?

i’m gonna admit upfront that i find this question kind of perplexing, because i don’t know what “ideological shift” it could be alluding to when imo our heroes didn’t so much pivot (or shift, or shuffle step) ideologically so much as make a series of context-specific decisions according to what they felt in the moment they could live with, or would die for (don’t make me tap the sign, etc).

what i DO think might be helpful, though, is to lay out what was at stake in each of the weighty choices/discussions our heroes took part in, from the very beginning of the Long Night to the end of volume 8, to see what (if any) throughlines persist or change. so:

Cordially Invited (7.8) to Out in the Open (7.10): our heroes are all in accord. transparency (telling the truth to Robyn) and collaboration (working with/helping Mantle) are paramount, and Ruby specifically takes steps to remedy her own wavering in that earlier in the season, by letting Oscar tell the whole truth to Ironwood. what’s key about this run, though, is that our heroes aren’t calling the shots yet. they advocate for certain actions when advising Ironwood, but they still trust him to take charge of deciding Atlas/Mantle’s fate.

Gravity (7.11): the Big Shift in terms of status quo. our heroes (JNR more implicitly) remain in accord--abandoning Mantle is the line in the sand they refuse to cross. but what does RWBY advocate for, if not Ironwood’s plan? they all agree that the best thing to do is to stand their ground, but for what? Blake and Weiss are comparatively silent on that front, but Ruby and Yang are more explicit. Ruby makes her plea about Amity--that if they hold out long enough, they can do what they always planned, and unite the world, and get help. Yang’s argument is that Huntsmen and Huntresses don’t back down from a fight. (she’s also the first person to suss out that Amity isn’t ready for launch.) this difference is going to come up later.

The Enemy of Trust (7.13): Oscar makes his last individual plea to Ironwood. his reasoning, much like Blake’s (and presumably Weiss’), is simply that abandoning Mantle is a sacrifice of such magnitude that it becomes unconscionable. it’s wrong because it’s wrong, and Ironwood’s rebuttal that it’s pointless to argue about philosophy when Salem’s right on their doorstep, is dickish, but not incomprehensible. Oscar is still looking to retain the advisory capacity that Team Unwieldy Acronym has had for the entire season, and guide Ironwood to making the right call, but that bridge has already been burned. they have to decide the fate of Atlas/Mantle now if they want to save both.

Divide (8.1): The team is no longer in accord. Ruby and Yang recognize that though they agree about Ironwood, their reasons for not abandoning Mantle are different. Ruby’s looking at the big picture, both in terms of what they have to do for the world, and what the world can do for them. Amity looks to be the only obstacle to getting both and saving everyone. Yang thinks it’s pointless. Yang didn’t want to abandon Mantle because that’s just not what you do, but she has no expectation of fighting toward any good outcome. she’s gonna do what seems more readily achievable, which is saving whatever lives can be saved. Ren and Nora split along similar lines more acrimoniously, because Ren at this point is desperate for tangible success and Nora is...just as desperate for total consuming optimism. Blake throws her lot in with Ruby, Weiss abstains, remaining the most quiet on the fate of Atlas/Mantle despite being Atlesian. Jaune and Oscar, though they go with Yang, mostly go for pragmatic reasons.

Refuge (8.2) to Midnight (8.6), Yang’s Team: the plan to help with Mantle is almost immediately derailed when the Hound kidnaps Oscar. i’ve talked about JYR’s plea to Winter in War, but that of course is not the first time that team chooses the few over the many; they do that IMMEDIATELY after Oscar is kidnapped, when Fiona calls for their help and they--without even verbally consulting with each other--go for Oscar instead. in that moment the more proximal thing they can and need to achieve becomes rescuing their friend, whose captor was still in view. but crucially: as soon as they lose Oscar in Fault, and especially after they discover the Grimm River in Amity, JYR had been on their way back to Mantle, and presumably, back to the less impossible thing to do, the thing they promised the Happy Huntresses they’d help with. running into the AceOps and Salem’s invasion throws a monkey wrench into that plan. suddenly rescuing Oscar becomes possible (though not probable)...

War (8.7), Yang’s Team: but not if Ironwood blows up the Whale, whereupon the equation changes again because now doing nothing for Oscar means leaving Oscar to certain death. tbh the confrontation on the airship is about like fifteen different things at once, because the variables keep changing and everyone is having their own argument over whether to rescue Oscar, and why. Yang’s response once she hears about the bomb is mostly you can’t; it is once again just not what Huntresses do, with some personal stakes thrown in. for the AceOps it is about the weighing of lives, and how they can’t put the mission to save Atlas on hold for one life. Jaune is the one who thinks of an idea where they might be able to do one without delaying the other (the second time this season Jaune has suggested the “go for both” option), where they would be the only ones risking their lives, and no harm comes to the greater good. only then does Ren jump in and shift the argument to caring and friendship; that is to say, after the stakes have been lowered so it’s not Oscar vs. Atlas anymore. i don’t think it takes away from his big moment, though: we know from Fault that Ren has taken Yang’s challenge of “let’s do what we can do” and run with it, and come up with “and what we can do is nothing because we’re not ready and we get everything wrong,” so him vowing to do whatever we can here is important. the point is clear: Team Hero draws their strength from their friends, and they’re willing to die for each other...but the question of if they’d let the world burn for their friend is put off for now.

Strings (8.3) to War (8.7), Ruby’s Team: in contrast to Yang’s plan faceplanting at the first hurdle, Ruby’s plan...works. they accomplish their primary objective! but they had to pay a steep price, and the only immediate consequence of that victory was entirely negative. Nora threw so much of herself into Ruby’s optimistic gamble that she now has lasting scars, and if they had never gone to Atlas Command Penny would not have been hacked (so easily; she might have been regardless). Ruby successfully put the ball in the world’s court, but that the problem: the ball is in the world’s court, and the longer it stays there the less sure she is that help will come. and it IS just about the help they’ll receive by War; Salem batting away Atlas’ hard light shields has shifted the goalposts from “hope the other Kingdoms can prepare :/” to “BLAKE’S PARENTS CAN YOU PICK US UP???” the question of Atlas or Mantle rears its ugly head for the first time since Gravity, and this is the first time Weiss is the first one to advocate, and she says we can’t leave--which, not coincidentally, is also what RWBY said to Ironwood in Gravity. May’s argument, of course, is driven by far more compassion: the need in Mantle is greater, and having finished facilitating Ruby’s (and Robyn’s) plan she’s going to do what Yang decided to do, what Joanna wanted them to do, which is fight for every last life. there’s no longer any big wheels to turn, nor any big powers to convince; all they have to do is decide what they themselves will do, and who to fight for. and Weiss finally shows her hand here. she believes in not leaving Mantle behind, but when it comes to the faces she’d fight and die for, Weiss’ are still in Atlas. Blake and Ruby are the ones to abstain this time, and notably when Ruby tries to argue that they’re all in this together it’s much less effective, because...there’s nothing left for them to do together. Ruby is out of concrete solutions.

Witch (8.9): what goes easily missed here that in retrospect is very important is...Oscar kills Hazel. (which means that an Ozcarnation killed BOTH of the Rainart twins.) we all thought he doubled back to make a sacrifice play, and he did, but not for himself. he received Hazel’s verbal consent, and Hazel would have died regardless, but the point still stands. he had to kill Hazel to neutralize Salem, to buy them the time they desperately needed. an unsettling portent for what comes later, innit? it highlights what his own kidnapping, Nora’s injuries, and Penny’s hacking already illustrates, which is that they are now risking every inch of their body and souls in this fray, and it also illuminates the other part of that, which is that by continuing to throw themselves back into this conflict, they now control the fates of other people as well. Hazel trusted Oscar to make the right call, but Oscar had to make the call.

Risk (8.11): where we ultimately land with the splitting of teams is that: Yang’s team went out to achieve the easily graspable, and they ended up forging alliances they never anticipated and dealing a devastating blow to Salem. Ruby’s team went out to achieve what should have been much more difficult, and they did, but with little palpable impact beyond the negative. what comes out and blends exquisitely with their conversation about Summer is that yes, Ruby sent out the call to warn the world, because she believed in humanity and unity, but Ruby sent out the call because she wanted help. she wanted people--say, parental figures--to save her and tell her things would be okay, and she wanted back the innocence to believe them. Ruby didn’t ask to be the face of the war against Salem, and she most certainly does not want to be in charge of it; she has lived with the material consequences of her family being the centerpiece of that war for her entire life. the Hound reveal is the final twist in the knife of Ruby’s childhood, because now the figure on the highest pedestal in Ruby’s mind has been perverted to a malevolent specter, and if that’s the case there are no more adults. THEY have to be the adults now, and look what a terrible job she’s done with that. Yang’s response is that Ruby is not alone--either in her traumatic fall into adulthood, or in her choices not panning out as expected. all they can do is the best they can in the moment, and Yang’s probably going to keep defaulting to what feels more tangible to her, but that doesn’t mean she wants Ruby to stop going for pie-in-the-sky options, either. Summer is still Yang’s hero, which means Ruby is too. what matters most is that they remain responsive to the moment, and don’t get bowled over by despair when something inevitably go off the rails.

so given all these developments, what are we to make of the plan from Creation (8.12) to The Final Word (8.14)? we start with the archetypal Third Option, as championed by Ruby and Jaune: use the Staff to save Penny and Mantle, and Atlas along the way. but the priorities of the plan--civilians first, presumably even before the Relics or the Maiden powers (though the question of one of them or a Relic is really only answered by Winter, who does not speak for Team Hero)--have Yang all over them. we have to do this for Yang isn’t just because Yang’s gone, it’s because they know it’s what Yang would have wanted, and they will respect that. they made a Ruby n Jaune style Big Plan, but when that plan fell to pieces there was no time to think of a fourth, or fifth, or sixth option that would get everyone out, so they had to improvise and double down on what they all agreed was most important. the choice between their friends or the people could no longer be deferred, or augmented, so they chose. civilians, then the Relics and the Maiden powers, then each other. and when any of them wavered--Blake, Ruby, Jaune--someone else checked them, reminded them to trust and respect what they all committed to. they’re still drawing strength from each other, still dying for each other, but they acknowledge that they are not directing just their fates with their decisions anymore. they took a huge desperate gamble to save Atlas/Mantle, and it worked, but what they gambled with was their own lives. and they made themselves make peace with that--that they’d have to do what they can, everything they can, without hoping for salvation for themselves, even from friends or family.

in the end, what comes across just from doing a close reading of these moments is that RWBY’s views on sacrifice, logic vs. sentiment, the greater vs. the few, etc can’t really be plotted on a solid line. that’s why i can’t really think of what happened this volume as a palpable shift--because so many of these choices were context and character dependent. what i DO think happened with our heroes’ ethical beliefs (or “ideology” ig) is that they were tested across a sequence of stressful and traumatic situations, and as a result they had to compromise on a few things they hoped to never have to compromise in order to shore up defenses on what they were certain they could not live without, or would die for (or both! in the case of six of them). if they have to die like every other Huntsman in history so be it, but they refuse to be so cavalier with the lives of others. none of that is meant to be definitive, however: in-universe RWBY is far from over, and Team Hero is going to get to re-litigate and reexamine these questions from lots more angles, out-of-universe...RWBY is far from over, and the point of the show is not to provide an ethical rubric against which the audience can judge themselves and the characters. there are things--like y’know. genocide--that this show will always consider to be beyond the pale, but in terms of grayer complex questions it is content to simply feel out what is and is not allowable in each particular instance, without trying to resolve all options into One Correct Option.

because sometimes you do just have to sit with the discomfort of there not being one right choice or one golden rule, and sometimes you are awash in the consequences of not only your own actions but the actions of others. and then you have to keep going.

[elenyafinwe]

CN TERFs, radfems, transmisia, genitals, sex

What I find so sad about rafems is the fact that they actually have a point, but then ... decent into TERF-dom. Because yes, feminism has to be radical, is has to be loud and aggressive to give a voice to the marginalized people around the globe. We need a loud, unmistakable feminism. But we need it in the form of intersectional feminism and not whatever shit radfems are doing.

I make a bold assumption: Most radfems are white cis women, and those are among the most privileged people, literally ony surpassed by white cis men. You have to understand that privilege is not a binary, you are not either privileged or marginalized. Reality is that you can be privileged in one aspect (i.e. skin colour) and marginalized in another (i.e. gender) and everything in between.

Trans women are women but at the same time get denied privileges cis women have precisely because of TERFs. They demonise trans women, frame them as predators and stealing rooms for women. But where do belong trans women then if not into rooms meant for women?* TERFs claim, that every man now can clam he’s a women and invade saferooms for women, while at the same time ignore statistics that proof that trans women are also vicitms of male violence as other groups. And who says cis women can’t be perpetrators themselves? Women are not inherently less violent than men, two X chromosomes doesn’t make you magically a peaceful creature.

And then there are all the other genderqueer people out there who also get ridiculed by TERFs. I got called ugly simply because I’m nonbinary. I got called woman, after I said I’m nb, which is as violent as being slapped in the face. Assholes insisted that I’m mentally ill (nicely said, they used different words) because I use neo pronouns. Some people even got as far as saying that no one wants to see my mico penis and that was the point where I simply laughed out loud. Because c’mon, how lost do you have to be to put that in my mentions simply because I have neo pronouns in my bio???

TERFs are obsessed with genitals, but claim that trans people are perpetrators violating safe rooms. Who is the creep here? Not me, that’s for sure.

TERFs shout out that no one want to sleep with trans people because *insert a lot of nasty shit here*, but it has never occured to them, that trans people also don’t want to sleep with them simply because they are very nasty persons. I at least would never sleep with a person I detest. Would you?

TERFs ignore science. TERFs ignore that it’s long prooved that there aren’t only XX and XY chromosomes. TERFs ignore anything that doesn’t fit in their narrow world view and demonise it without being provoced. Some people simply want to exist and they attack them for simply existing. Isn’t that utterly disgusting?

TL;DR: Radical feminism isn’t per se bad, because we need loud feminism. But we need it in the form of intersectional feminism. But then TERFs happened and ruined everything.

*And where belong other genderqueer people? My German bubble therefore uses FLINTA for safe rooms of any kind. F(Frauen, women), L(esbians), I(nter), N(onbinary), T(rans), A(gender). I haven’t seen a similar acronym in English speaking corners.