#this isn't to change your mind or anything it's just to keep its history and context in JP in your mind

[spamtoon]

(Out of nowhere, you are approached by a familiar lightbulb-headed Cog.)

Ah, it's you, cat. Thinking you're oh-so-slick. Muttering and whispering under those raggedy whiskers of yours... Thinking I am unable to hear it all...

Well, you've simply underestimated my fantastic hearing. You probably want to know the reason why I'm here, taking a 'break' from my incredibly important scientific breakthroughs? It's quite simple, really!

(She gets close, and squints her eyes.)

I know what you are.

Farewell, now!

(She then leaves the way she came from.)

(Spam giggles immensely, covering her face... it always seems like she's giggling, isn't she? This lasts... at least thirty seconds. Longer than usual.)

And I know what I am too, Sparky! You broke through something, that's for sure. Really, broke through...

(She looks down, continuing to laugh nervously.)

You know, I find it odd you Havent tried to bulb blast me into the stratosphere by now. I mean knowing how you acted with Frostbite. Is there something peculiar about me that you perhaps can't quite track? Something about me that you... don't know what I am?

I know, I know, I'm talking to nobody again. But you were there when I had a moment today with the one the only Frostbite The Bravecog. You may be remaining. Lurking in the shadows. Knowing about these thoughts that I'm thinking.

(The giggling resumes, lasting far shorter this time.)

Your brother's a piece of fucking barp, by the way

(She braces for impact for a few seconds, wincing while smiling, before comically looking around to realize nobody's there. She sighs.)

Wow, okay maybe toony superhero show logic doesn't apply in this situation. Cool.

WAIT I JUST FUCKING REALIZED WHAT SHE MEANT but like. Dude if she meant that then what's the point I mean the whole ahh sellbot department barping knows unless you're Really low on the ladder. Heheh... maybe she did mean what I thought she meant.

Oh i'm so fucking screwed. What kind of bitch gets filament fever

[otogariado]

found a thread made by a japanese mlm about the fujoshi label, in response to a tweet that's now deleted. thought it provided some insight so i'm gonna share it anyway. thread was originally from twitter on august 3 2020. he also linked resources in the thread as well as a poll from JP twt about if they should keep the label or not, which i didn't include here but you can find by accessing the post source.

obvs disclaimer, communities are not a monolith and one person isn't the end all be all of a discussion, but i think we should consider and listen to what he says anyway. especially if we're not from japan. op uses he/they according to their twitter bio.

@/matchamallow from twitter: "As a japanese mlm... Please don't spread more misinformation about the word fujoshi. 😅 It's simply a woman who likes BL. It's also a reclaimed word in Japan so making it a bad word again is not nice. Plus BL is very important to LGBT movement in Japan."

@/bokutosbooty replies: "I’m sorry!! i didn’t mean to start fujoshi discourse or try to change its meaning. It’s just that in the west i’ve been seeing a LOT of western mlm be uncomfortable w the term bc of its negative implications and associations set by those who fetishize mlm."

@/matchamallow replies: "Don't worry! And yes I know many self proclaimed fujoshi in the west behave very poorly. I think we should fight the behaviour and not the word, you know? Because of course I don't agree with how they act, but I also dislike seeing a word from my culture with so much history be associated with that. I don't blame anyone for conflating the two! I'm just trying to show resources so we can fight misinformation and bad behaviour together without demonizing a word."

@/bokutosbooty: "yes!! THANK YOU for leaving your thread and pointing out the real problem of fighting the behavior rather than fighting the word!! it saddens me to see fujoshi has such a negative undertone in the west bc thats very disrespectful to japanese otaku who have reclaimed the term"

@/matchamallow: "Yes, that's why I think we should recognize its origins and context. There's nothing inherently wrong with being or calling yourself a fujoshi - the wrong thing is being disrespectful to real people. We should strive to educate them and clear up the meaning of fujoshi."

@/matchamallow: "Again I don't blame anyone for being uncomfortable with the word or disliking some of their behaviour. That's very understandable. I just want to clear up misunderstandings how I can and focus more on the behaviour, not the word. And thank you for listening!!"

@/bokutosbooty: "thank you for sharing your information!! hopefully all of the fujoshi discourse ends and the focus solely on fixing bad behaviors as we both stated!! pls take care and have a good day!!"

[creature-wizard]

Some things associated with New Age that aren't inherently bad

Since this blog can get kinda heavy sometimes, and because there's some people out there who think that anything remotely adjacent to New Age is evil and must be banished forever, I figured I'd write something on elements it includes that aren't necessarily bad.

Its general concept of God and divinity

New Age beliefs typically posit that God, or Source, effectively split itself into many different souls in order to have different kinds of experiences. There's nothing wrong with this model of divinity in itself, since it doesn't by itself imply anything hateful or suggest any kind of action that might lead to harm. Where it gets messed up is when people start claiming that if you're suffering, it's because you deliberately chose to have this kind of experience before you incarnated. That's just victim blaming, and it's wrong.

Energy healing

Energy healing on its own is a harmless practice, and many people do report feeling better for doing it. Dismissing energy healing as inherently bad in itself would be like dismissing prayer for recovery as inherently bad. It's really not. The problem is always when people start believing they should only rely on energy healing or prayer, or fall into the belief that pharmaceutical medicine is sinful or an evil conspiracy.

Listening to relaxing tones

No, those "healing frequencies" probably won't cure any serious ailments. But that doesn't mean they can't make you feel more relaxed or help you focus. You don't have to subscribe to any specific belief system to listen to these audios.

Glossolalia

The New Age practice of speaking in light languages is a form of glossolalia, which basically involves relaxing and speaking whatever sounds immediately come to you. Doing it can be cathartic and relaxing, and you don't need to subscribe to any specific belief system to do it.

Tarot reading

Reading tarot cards doesn't require subscribing to any specific spiritual belief system. Nor do you even need to be spiritual at all; you can read tarot cards with the perspective that what you're doing is prompting your own mind to consider things from new angles.

Meditation

Meditation is known to have beneficial effects, and doing it doesn't require subscribing to any particular belief system. Yes, it's a problem when somebody subscribes meditation as a cure-all, or use it as a form of spiritual bypassing, but that's a problem with the teacher, not the practice itself.

Eating more plant foods

Provided you don't have any allergies or intolerances, eating more fruits, vegetables, nuts, and the like usually isn't a bad idea. The problem with New Age is when it effectively moralizes food by decreeing certain foods "high vibrational" or "low vibrational," or when it's pushing conspiracy theories about modern processed food items being intentionally poisoned to block our psychic abilities or keep us dependent on the healthcare system. And obviously, it's appallingly ableist to tell someone that they could cure a chronic illness by switching to an all-natural vegan diet or something.

Belief in aliens

It's a big universe, and it's not unreasonable to think we're not alone in it, and that maybe there's beings who are observing us. The problem is when belief in aliens becomes part of a conspiratorial worldview that scapegoats certain groups of people for the world's problems, displaces real history, and misuses other people's traditions and beliefs.

Belief that things can and will get better

To paraphrase Terry Pratchett's words in The Hogfather, we sometimes need to believe in things that aren't true (such as justice and mercy) so they can become true. Believing that things can change makes people feel like their efforts are worth something. Meanwhile, when everyone's got a doomer attitude nothing will change for the better because nobody will even try.

One problem with New Age's optimism in specific is that they tend to believe that things getting better is contingent on converting a large number of people to New Age spirituality, which includes getting them to accept a large number of conspiratorial beliefs that target and harm vulnerable minorities, and/or distort and erase the actual spiritual beliefs of people from different cultures (many of whom are marginalized minorities and/or have been severely harmed by colonialism already).

Another problem is when you get the whole 5D ascension thing going on. 5D ascension is basically the New Age version of the Rapture, and just like the Rapture, it's always said to be right around the corner, but it never materializes. (If you'd like examples, here are predictions for 2012 and 2015.) Very concerningly, New Agers often list a number of physical and mental health symptoms as "ascension symptoms." They were claiming this as far back as the 2010s, when December 31, 2012 was supposed to be the big day. (Here's an example.)

Basically, hope and belief that things can get better is important - but it's also important not to hang our hopes (and medical decisions) on supernatural predictions that have already failed multiple times.

Wanting to promote compassion and understanding between people

This is a great thing to want! The problem with New Age isn't that they want to spread peace and harmony, but rather the way they want to do it without really listening to the people they supposedly want to help. You can't, for example, genuinely fight colonialism if you're engaging in cultural appropriation and misrepresenting their spiritual traditions - you're an active part of the problem. Promoting compassion and understanding begins with you shutting up, listening, and learning without imposing your own preconceptions or reacting from your ego. You're not doing this if you're looking for mythology to project aliens onto, or dismissing anything you don't want to hear as a conspiracy.

And here's some critical thinking tips before you go

When you're evaluating any belief system or practice, it's always important to remember that belief and practice are not the same thing. Most of the time the practices are harmless in and of themselves; the actual danger comes from the conspiratorial and morally polarized worldviews many practitioners also subscribe to. Nobody's ever died from putting rose quartz in their room or getting a reiki session. They have died from refusing evidence-based medical care because someone convinced them that the health care industry is a scam and will also separate them from Source.

When it comes to beliefs themselves, ask yourself what kind of narratives they're upholding. If they basically promote the same kind of conspiratorial narratives used by Nazis, witch hunters, or far right Christians to justify their hatred and violence, that's a pretty strong sign that this belief is bullshit. But of course, there's a pretty stark difference between believing that aliens could be out there, and believing blood-drinking reptiles have invaded the Earth.

[utopians]

I don't want to be that guy but that's not pseudoscience? The prefrontal cortex isn't fully developed until around the mid to late twenties bc the synaptic connections between neurons in that part of the brain are the last to develop. Source: https:// doi.org /10.1038/ s41386-021-01137-9

I think there might be a miscommunication happening here -- the pseudoscience isn't the assertion that synaptic development continues into adulthood, it's the assertion that synaptic development defines adulthood.

I have now read this whole article and the only assertion that it makes that's relevant to this discussion is that synaptic development continues "into the 3rd decade of life". this doesn't -- at least in my opinion -- give any meaningful credence to the idea that the brain isn't fully 'mature' until this point, bc this idea relies on the assumption that 'maturity' is a static biochemical state that the brain organically reaches and not a complex interplay of life experience, societal conceptions of 'maturity' and 'adulthood', and individual variations in development/cognition in addition to the broader process of brain development. additionally, 'brain development' is far more complicated than just the synapses of the prefrontal cortex finishing development, and is a process that continues throughout one's life.

CONTINUED below the cut bc I don't want to annihilate everyone's dash with this but I have a lot more to say

continuing the previous thought: if we're measuring maturity strictly by brain development, then things get extremely dicey, because the brain continues changing beyond your twenties and throughout adulthood! consider this study, which finds that the age of peak performance for different cognitive abilities varies widely, with some peaking around 20 and others closer to 50. the brain doesn't reach a state of 'maturity' in its cognitive functions at age 25 that it then maintains consistently through adulthood, it's far more complicated than that.

essentially, while synapses in the prefrontal cortex keep developing into your 20s (curious as to where you got 'mid to late twenties' from as well; the study only references 'the third decade of life', which could mean anything from 20 to 30), the idea that this development means anything particularly concrete about maturity or adulthood is based on (imo) a faulty and oversimplified understanding of both the brain and what 'maturity' actually means in the context of society. if your conception of 'maturity' asserts that adulthood begins in the late twenties, this conception may be due for a serious reevaluation.

and the reason I'm concerned about all this isn't because I'm a pedant -- it's because this matters in our current political climate. conservative politicians in the UK are currently trying to raise the legal age at which one can transition to 25 based on exactly this faulty conception of maturity, which argues that trans people can't make 'adult' decisions about their own bodies until this point. this is wildly infantilizing and patronizing, and I imagine I don't have to explain why it's a problem, but to elaborate: adulthood and maturity aren't apolitical concepts, and the assertion that adults don't have the right to bodily autonomy because they have been deemed medically incompetent by a truly arbitrary metric is an act of political violence.

I highly recommend this slate article: it goes into this topic in a lot more depth than I do, and features commentary from a lot of neuroscientists who know a lot more about this than me.

[gigidragonbbxxx]

The Dark Side of Loass + motivation

I was on my daily reddit scroll while sipping my morning coffee when I saw something extremely disgusting on my homepage.

It was a manifestation success story by a man who claimed to have manifested his "perfect" gf - the kicker? She's underaged and he is a fully grown man.

The post has been deleted but the original poster's account is still up, as is his comment history. In his comments he details how he essentially used SATS and shot a message to someone he saw in discord. Apparently she is 15, lives with him due to an abusive situation, and yes they are s******y active. Apparently he treats her very well (he even mentioned bringing her to school YUCK) and buys her a lot of stuff and she's happy.

Let me make this clear:

a girl in an abusive home situation is not "saved" by an adult man taking advantage of it in the guise of "improving" her life situation while subjecting her to doing physical things she cannot consent to because she is not a damn adult.

I did some digging and it was not very long until I saw his first-ever comment about it and it was worse than I thought. I was trying to give the benefit of the doubt like maybe he visualized for a perfect gf and he didn't know she was a minor. Well, that says more about me than anything bc yes I found out that he had specified that he wanted her underaged. He literally says in the comment "specifcs that could get me in trouble". He made a lot of comments about her body, etc. and quite literally said something along the lines of "I'm her savior and shes my obsessed loving gf". Keep in mind...one of the titles this man used (he posted twice in diff subreddits) was "I manifested a s** s****e". So. Yup. He's a whole p*do.

I will not be sharing links as I don't want to give that horrible man any more traction but if you read all that and said to yourself, but Gigi whats that got to do with the dark side of the law of assumption? and why would you say there's a dark side to it?

The truth is that the law isn't dark at all, the evil part of the law is the people who use it for evil.

This is why good things can happen to horrible people.

This is why you see villains win.

They may have an amazing self-concept OR they just are under the assumption that NO MATTER HOW HORRIBLE THEY ARE THEY GET WHAT THEY WANT EVEN IF ITS FUCKED UP AND MORALLY TWISTED.

It's why you see nepo babies who aren't talented get shit handed to them - THEY EXPECT IT BECAUSE OF WHAT? WHO. THEY. ARE. SO CHANGE YOUR INNER SELF. EMBODY THAT CONFIDENCE.

This is why I wanted to share that story with you, it is to motivate you: if you know you're a better person than that horrible man, WHY CAN'T YOU HAVE EVERYTHING YOU WANT TOO?

Shouldn't you deserve even more for being good?

Stop thinking you don't deserve things bc guess what? People who are genuinely criminals are out here manifesting - so stay on your zoom and FOCUS. SATURATE. DISCIPLINE. COMMIT.

and let's all collectively agree to pray for that girl. I'm honestly gonna affirm that she gets saved and ends up in a situation where she is protected, loved, and away from predators.

Do not let evil win. Use it to remind yourself that the law is about BELIEF not FEELING.

with a heavy heart, xx, gigi

[stealingyourbones]

So, I got this idea a while ago but I'm generally a slow writer so while I plan to do something with it, I thought I'd share it to see if anyone else liked the idea and wanted to play with it, too.

What if Fright Knight isn't the name of a specific ghost, but rather the position of body guard/General for the Ghost King? The one we meet in the show is who Pariah Dark chose.

I don't see Danny being ok with using the same Fright Knight as Pariah Dark. At all. So, in typical teen fashion, he ignores it and hopes he just won't have to deal with it. (He's also ignoring Clockwork's increasingly persistent demands he gets crowned.)

Flash forward and he's in Gotham. This could be part of a standard he gets adopted by Bruce Wayne fic. Maybe he and the bats know each other's secrets, maybe they don't. But Danny meets Jason for the first time and is all: "What the fuck brought you back to life?" This can be in front of the others for comedy or maybe he chases Jason down after the first meeting and does it in private for angst. Dealers choice.

Well, he drags Jason to the Far Frozen with half-baked explanations so Frostbite can fix his corrupted ectoplasm issue. And while there Jason gets a crash course in ghost biology.

With Danny in the Ghost Zone, Clockwork comes up and tries to force the coronation to happen. Takes one look at Jason and offers him the position of Fright Knight. Bribes him with the cool sword it comes with.

Jason accepts.

When they return to Gotham, Jason is super over protective of Danny. Mostly because he cured his pit rage, but also because it's his literal job now. He starts referring to Danny as King Brat or My Liege at all times.

If you like, he can also be all "Hey, dad" (some of his father issues went away with the pit rage) "So, I'm the general of an inter-dimensional army of beings that the US government has declared war on. I'm gonna have to fight on their side. So if we don't want an all out war waged on US soil, can we get the Justice League in on this to straighten things out?"

And Danny's like "No! No wars! I don't support this!"

And Jason is all "Sorry, My Liege, but my job is to keep you safe. And the US government attacked first. I don't need your permission to defend you and your people."

And everyone's just super confused until they all sit down with the League to go over the Anti-ecto laws.

Extra, extra bonus points. Jason helps create a study plan for Danny to learn the politics and history of the Ghost Zone along with finishing his normal schooling.

Ooooooo I enjoy your funky little mind thoughts sm.

Jason becoming Danny’s Fright Knight is something I dont think I’ve ever seen explored before. This is super cool.

It’d be neat to see the Fright Knight title slightly change Jason.

He’s now stronger, faster, able to think quicker, higher endurance, anything that could benefit him in martial or long range combat to protect his king? He gets a slight buff of said abilities. The title is something granted to one chosen person by the Ghost King, that position has a bit of ghost magic bullshittery tacked onto it.

Jason is much more alert and aware of Danny at all times, almost like a second sense. He’s extra protective because the title requires him to be but he also is extra protective because the Fright Knight title MAKES him protective. It’s an ingrained sense info his entire being now. Its his sworn duty to protect the King.

[strqyr]

Sorry for bothering you but. Shoves my posts into your face. Oz parallels Darkness; he begs for humanity not to be punished for his actions like how Darkness didn't want the Jabberwalker punished for his. Destruction is not the enemy of Creation, destruction begets life (decay is an extent form of life), it's change. Oz embodies change to the highest degree and values it highly. He is demonized time and time again and he thinks he destroys everything he touches. He freely offers knowledge and especially choice. (<- this is all also why I think an allusion of his is Lucifer) Not only that, but he freely offers magic as well.

I just. Gestures wildly. Oz parallels Darkness so heavily that I'm so willing to bet that once Oz and Salem actually Talk, and Salem says something she believes about him, that he'll say "Is that truly what you think of me?" Or some form to parallel The Two Brothers. If he doesn't I'll fucking eat my hat and I don't even have one

yeah, oz definitely has more parallels with darkness than he does with light. like, while the gods don't embody only one specific gift, darkness is still associated more with destruction, and that is where oz's curse comes to play: he lives, he dies, and he reincarnates into a body of a like-minded soul, and with each life he's changed.

and i think what makes it even more poignant is that. . . it didn't necessarily have to be that way? if ozma's first reincarnation is anything to go by, he could have just taken over and remained unchanged, but he learned to live with each of his hosts, living their lives as much as they lived his.

in general i find oz's relationship with each gift quite fascinating. he uses the sword to end the bloodiest war in the history of remnant, and in the aftermath brings change. he uses the staff to raise atlas, making using it again quite a hurdle, highlighting the stagnancy of creation without destruction. he established the academies, institutions of knowledge and learning, but keeps the same secret close to his chest that brought him despair when he got his answer from jinn. he offers choice and encourages others to think it through instead of taking the first answer (as much as the circumstances were awful, at the time), but it is slightly undermined by the knowledge he keeps to himself that may or may not influence the choices others make.

and so much of it is informed by his own past, his own experiences, his own fear of what might happen that at times "slows" him down, where he doesn't quite follow the gifts as they should, while also following them in a different manner.

and, idk, it somehow makes me think of V9 and balance that isn't two forces locked in never-ending battle, but an ecosystem, an organism, a living breathing thing, that will find its own equilibrium, only requiring love and patience to see things through to the end.

and it's just. oz. that's oz, in a way. yes he's made mistakes and missteps along the way, but especially now that he's with oscar, he's closer than ever to finding the true balance, me thinks—and that's why it worries me that they were both fighting against the merge because that's. that's two (or more) forces locked in a battle of balance. "thus, balance cannot be restored with force or calculations" y'all i am concerned.

. . .where was i. i feel i got off the track lmao but yeah. yeah, i honestly think the like. biggest turn of events or something, words escape me, comes from salem because there's something she doesn't know about oz. it's the same as with everyone else—including ozma himself—learning about salem's immortality, just this time it's time for salem to learn something that changes her view of oz and that's where, yeah, something akin to "is that truly what you think of me?" might come out.

[that-ari-blogger]

Chekhov's Gattling Gun, Part 1

Like a boat, lost at sea With no sails, not a breeze. I am drifting, cold waters No stars to be seen

Life isn't simple. You can't measure every moment in history on a scale of a to b. Life is like a collage, made from disparate materials stuck together, some organised, some more wild. But all of them collaborating into the great picture that is a single human being and their lived experience. This is true for everyone around you, and since no artwork is identical, no person can ever live the same way as anyone else.

Stories work in a similar fashion, with different threads getting tangled and twisted until, with one final pull, the full might of the tapestry is revealed, and the audience can marvel at the beauty, or reminisce about how they watched it come together.

Stray Gods: The Role Playing Musical is a fantastically complex and moving story, and two of the final songs, Adrift Reprise and The Trial serve as a climax in momentum, plot, and theme. These are the moments when the tapestry is revealed.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Adrift Reprise needs to be understood in the context of its namesake, the first song in the musical, and in the context of, well, it's context. This sits just before the climax of the musical, just before everything comes to a head, and we get this quiet before the storm. And this is also the moment after our conversation with Freddie (you know the one). So, you bet I'm going to talk about that.

Let me start with the imagery, the stage. This is a bit of a meta metaphor, this is a game, literally a story, and the imagery references that. But what I find interesting is the reason why.

Grace has spent the entire musical detached from reality, directionless, unable to pin down. There's a reason you can make any choice for her and it won't feel out of character. She's a blank slate, emotionally and motivationally. The only thing that can get her to do something is a threat of death.

And then we get here, Grace sits upon a stage. But now she has purpose. Now she has something to look forwards to after the trial. This is a Grace that is making up her mind. So, the story acknowledges it's superficiality at the start, when Grace is the most detached, and now, when she is feeling the most real.

This also serves to contrast her with an earlier version of herself. I keep saying that this is a story about change, and here we are presented with how much Grace has changed over the course of the musical.

And despite you not actually getting to choose anything in this song, you feel like this is the culmination of all of your choices up to this point.

Specifically, I am talking about the choice whether or not to bring Freddie back from the dead. I did, on my first playthrough, so I was met with this very quiet version of the song as Grace and I both reflected on what we had just done. There is a noticeable air of uncertainty, and the resolution isn't "I did the right thing", but "I did what I did, now I have to deal with that".

However, there is another path you can take to get to this song.

If you let Freddie go, you get backup music. And you get shown a different change between now and the beginning. Slightly.

I actually think Grace has changed more as a mortal than as a muse. If that makes sense. As a mortal, she owns up to her decisions, and resolves herself. She is alone for now, but she knows she has people to rely on. But as a muse, I think she has definitely changed, although not quite as much. Grace still feels alone, and still has to be brought from that by Calliope. I think that if Freddie stays dead, Grace regresses to the point she began the story in, and has to be given that final boost externally.

The change is different between the two, I simply prefer the former option because I, personally, find it more interesting.

"In your heart, we remain You do not sail in vain"

All preferences aside, however, this is a cool line. All of the people that Grace has changed have changed her in return. There's another musical with a similar sentiment in it.

I've heard it said That people come into our lives for a reason Bringing something we must learn And we are led To those who help us most to grow If we let them And we help them in return

This is from Wicked, and stay tuned for some analysis of that in the future. But for now, it is the meaning that is important. We grow the most if we accept the help, and we give it back when it's needed. Humans are a communal species, we stay static if left to our own devices, or we spiral.

The question then becomes this: What do you want to do now? How do you want to do this?

If you bring back Freddie, you need to keep her alive through the trial, and if you don't, well now you have to live on in her name. Either way, you need to make a decision.

There is no inertia in the ocean.

(There is a Part 2 going up at the same time as this that will discuss The Trial)

Previous - Next

[trillscienceofficer]

I was thinking that while Discovery has undoubtedly changed throughout the seasons (some ways long overdue, because if your idea of being "edgy" is just being racist then you get season 1), ultimately it's always been just like itself, very fond of big plots and big speeches, enamored with unnatural dialogue (in early seasons because the writers thought they were being so clever, in later ones because the show is deliberately dumbing its writing down), plagued by poor pacing, and the hopeful message that every season wanted to convey not entirely supported by what actually happens in the story.

In the latter respects season 4 did better than previous seasons, and again I certainly don't want to return to the season 1 approach, but my reluctance to watch season 4 wasn't entirely unfounded, either. I said this before but I'm in the 'generation' of Trekkies whose point of entry to the franchise was Discovery, back when it was a new show on Netflix, and it's always been... so viscerally disappointing to watch it constantly fall short of the potential these characters were offering. Season 4 did not exactly change my mind. If anything the handful of good episodes (which were very good!) made me long even more for the ideal version of this show that I could glimpse in there, and which I could wholeheartedly support and recommend without any caveats.

And I mean, this is not just on Discovery either. All the other live-action shows suffer from the same problems I outlined above, and SNW and Picard staunchly refuse(d) to confront their "edgy" racism issue while also being mediocre TV, so Discovery is still miles ahead of them. I also don't think the more structural writing problems should come as a surprise post-WGA/SAG strike. All these shows have been made on pretty strict budgets, by cutting corners wherever and whenever the production could (eg moving to Canada). I'm assuming the labor practices in the writing room and on set were along the lines of "squeeze these people for all they got as fast as you can, one season at a time" since 2016, and that is not a recipe for thoughtful, or even just sensical, television. (Plus, Discovery has had a history of workplace harassment in the writing room since basically its inception, and that can't have helped. That is hopefully something the show has left behind since season 3.)

So I suppose Discovery will keep Discovery-ing in the next, final season. The plot will be universe-ending, there will be speeches every episode, the dialogue will make you wonder how do these people even live huddled all together without going crazy—if Star Trek is overall an allegory about the workplace, then Discovery now reflects the recent corporate tendency to deflect actual grievances through the use of therapy language and the idea that everyone should be always 100% open about their struggles with everyone else, no matter how appropriate for the situation it is. That sums up my expectations pretty well, I think.

After all these years, I'm unmoved by Discovery's promise of a future where every big problem can be solved if you say the right words, with the right attitude. Contrary to its purported message, the show proved over and over that that isn't even enough to make a scifi show I could find consistently entertaining. But I will still be there to watch season 5, if anything because sometimes I like to see things to their end, and I'm still irrationally fond of this mess and these characters. Perhaps I'll have a good time along the way as well.

[bridgetoesoteria]

🔮Quickie Read: Pick an Oracle Card🔮

Short & sweet read. Just going to see what comes out. Numbers correlate with piles.

(Psst! I'm going to split the readings so the post isn't ridiculously long. Piles 1-3 on this post).

Hope it resonates!🤍

Using Mystic Misfits Oracle Deck + Playing Cards

Pile 1

Spread: 10 of Spades, The Joker + Lovers (Oracle)

You may be holding onto something you need to let go of. I am getting that it is some kind of loss or a sense of loss. You might have had to let go of a person in some way, whether that was through breaking up or physical loss.

I'm not saying "let go" in an invalidating, trivializing way. "Process" would have been a better term. Its like you are paused in the grief/regret stage. Wishing for what no longer is. The skull has a tiny little star on its head. It made me think of the star card in tarot. Healing. You could have to let someone, or something, go that you hoped to see improve. You have a lot of history. This could be related to struggling with mental health.

The movie Lovely Bones came to mind. I am not suggesting to watch it. Its not a pleasant movie and may trigger some people. But iykyk. Perhaps something about this movie is meaningful?

TL;DR: If you are struggling with grief, mental health, or anything else. Please tell someone you trust. Ask for help with processing whatever events you are dealing with.

Pile 2

Spread: 5 of Clubs, Jack of Diamonds + Fairy (Oracle)

When I'm reading playing cards I never know whether I should consider jacks as pages or knights. So I just think of them as both and go with the energy I feel. This one feels more knight-y...

(Probably) y'all rn 🤣🤣:

Okay, let me stop trolling. Yes, this jack feels like more of a knight of pentacles. So a lot of you could be on the younger side or just really youthful. You could be used to being looked as childish or childlike. You could like to joke a lot and not take things too seriously and that may be getting you in trouble in some way. Maybe you feel like you might need to "grow up," in some way and you are wrestling with what that truly means.

Or, you could have gotten into a disagreement with a youngish masculine. Maybe your personalities don't always mesh. I don't think this will be romantic for all of you. I actually feel like it is a platonic or familial for many of you.

For both scenarios, give the situation time to calm down. If you want to reconcile with someone, don't be impulsive about it. You should probably send something sincere, thoughtful, and as "too the point" as you can get it. Depending on your situation, you may even want to meet up. If this is more about you making decisions for your future. Again, don't do anything impulsive. Move at your own pace. Embrace who you are while remaining open to who you can become.

TL;DR: If you are feeling pressure to "grow up," take a breath and make the decision when you are less conflicted. Its possible to stay true to yourself and open to change. If you are butting heads with someone else, give things time to settle then send a sincere message/peace offering.

Pile 3

Spread: 7 of Spades, Ace of Diamonds + Sun (Oracle)

Right away, if you are wondering if a certain person is lying to you or in someway being duplicitous...you're probably right. For some of you, I feel like there is a feminine energy that is burning with jealousy. Some possible reasons that come to mind:

Run-of-the-mill hatin' ass hoe

Thinks you stole her man

Thinks you stole her "position"

Like...sis is mad mad. And they are willing to try and sabotage a new beginning, opportunity, or offer for you. If this isn't someone else, this could be how you are feeling toward another person. You could feel like they get all the spotlight.

If you're winning right now, keep it to yourself. There are def haters in your energy. They don't see you as celebrating your wins when you talk about them, they see you as bragging. If you aren't telling them directly, they know somehow and think that you are on a pedestal and haaate it. Be careful about saboteurs. Loose lips sink ships besties!!

TL;DR: Mad haters around so keep your business to yourself. Not everyone is happy to see you do well and they are willing to so something about it (as in sabotage your success). For others, you are the one doing the "hating," and may view someone as a rival in some way. Don't let this hate consume you. You are great and have much to offer too <3

~ K

[khaleesiofalicante]

Noorambles strikes again

As we all know, David is your own character. But how did you come to make him? Like what was the thought process, any inspo?

Why is he French? Why’s his name David? Where’d you get his last name from? Was David your rough draft and you ran with it, or was he originally something else? Like different name, nationality, and personality wise?

Out of everyone in the shadow verse, why’d you chose to write about max and make David a part of it ?

Funnily enough, David came out of nowhere.

Most of my other OCs (if not all of them) were born out of a lot of thought and workshopping.

David is what I call an accidental pregnancy lmao but he ended up being my favorite kid. I made a small reference to him when I was writing a ficlet on tumblr years ago and then he just never left my mind...

There wasn't a lot of inspo. David is honestly inspo for what I want to see in the real world. I wish there were more Davids out there.

But for some of your other questions:

He's French because I've always liked France. In school, I studied French history for two years (and yes I impressed my Uber Drivers in Paris by answering their questions lol). David's name came up absolutely randomly (like I said I picked a random name for that ficlet I wrote and I never changed it). But I was so so pleased to learn that the name actually means 'be loved'. HOW COOL IS THAT?

David's last name has a deeper meaning (which we'll learn later), but it was inspired by Claire Beauchamp - a character from the Outlander series whom I loved very much.

A lot didn't change about him in terms of the specific things you mentioned. He really is the original draft. But the David who is now isn't who I thought he'd be at the beginning. But that's the same for any original character I write. The more you write, the better you understand them. Like when I wrote him at first, I didn't think being a father would be an important part of his personality. But now it's kinda most of his personality. He loves his children more than anything and I can see how that came to be considering how he was realized and how much love he kept himself inside himself without having anyone to give it to. He never had any family so when he got one that he could love, he didn't hold back. Those are things I only realized later on. And that's the best part about writing OCs. They keep surprising you!

As for why I write about Mavid the most, I feel closest to them the most. In the same way, I feel and relate to Malec the most in the tsc universe. It's impossible to write about a ship if you don't understand its dynamics on a deep level. I kind of understand Max and David very very deeply - in a way I don't understand Rafael and Anjali or Lance and Theia. Maybe it's because individually as characters, Max and David, are more fleshed out in my brain than anyone else. I assume so anyway :)

[dionysianchub]

Fatty liver anon here. Did they say why you have it specifically? Its very rarely caused by just being fat, it's usually health issues that can also make you gain weight. If it's alcohol related that's an obvious fix (harder in practice of course), if not there are a few different routes to go down

I'm 5'6 and 240lbs (gained 70lbs so far intentionally after gaining 35lbs from pcos, learning you can't just lose pcos weight with diet and exercise, and realising just being a feeder wasnt what I needed) and while they did say it can sometimes help to lose weight it's more about the pcos which caused insulin resistance and high cholesterol (for other people it can also be from diabetes, underactive thyroid, high blood pressure etc).

As I said I take inositol for the IR but I did also make a lot of lifestyle changes. I've had improvements whilst also lowering how many simple carbs I have and eating more complex carbs and fats instead (dairy isn't great for insulin resistance so I eat so many avocados, nuts and other plant oils as well as oily fish), taking those little cholesterol drinks containing plant sterols, and upping my fibre a lot with both oat bran and psyllium husk. I swim, go on walks, lift weights, and do some of Dr la thoma's YouTube functional bodyweight workout videos+stretches (being specific cause I do rate them for fat people, shes tiny but most are about functionality and ability over athleticism— We aren't in her mind but it's adaptable and useful) for general health/wellbeing and to hopefully keep the visceral fat % and liver fat lower as I gain. I also take milk thistle tablets because some studies show it's good for repairing and protecting the liver. I can't say what specifically has helped the most but I'm keeping it all up because it's working, you'll probably end up doing some experimenting. It sounds overwhelming written out like this but it really wasn't

They said I should try weight loss as well of course but I explained "it would be bad for my mental health so tell me what you'd tell a skinny person" and they dropped it. They tell me I'm obese every time I see them of course because I'm fatter every visit but accept it's not the sole or best treatment option. If you have an ED history they can be more understanding about avoiding WL. I'm personally willing to do anything except lose weight unless I get big enough that I can then lose the 5% recommended (visceral fat goes first, or so they say, and that's around what people can reliably keep off) and still feel good about my body.

One nurse tried to say something about me being on testosterone and only stopped when she realised the gel doesn't metabolise the same way, I'm sure you know what they can be like just don't be surprised if someone decides to blame T. Trans broken arm syndrome strikes again.

Sorry this is long and very ()()()(), I hope it's helpful enough to compensate.

This is wildly helpful! My doctor hasn't even called me since testing, this is just what I've seen from the results of the ultrasound and MRI, but I do know that at the time my liver values were evaluated they did discover I had an underactive thyroid. I've been placed on a synthetic thyroid hormone for the last month or so. Hopefully that helps? I also know that prior to my diagnosis I was eating a ton of sugary foods and carbs, so I've been trying to cut those and eat a more mindful diet. I'll look into the supplements and videos you mentioned as well! Thank you so so much for all your advice!! 💜💜💜

[666writingcafe]

Time to Gossip

A Text Conversation Between Asmo and MC

Asmo: UGH, UNBELIEVABLE!

MC: You're not upset at me, are you?

Asmo: No...it's Satan. He's EVIL! Absolutely EVIL! He's a fucking monster!

MC: What happened?

Asmo: He just dumped a whole bunch of work on me! What's he even thinking?!

MC: Homework, or housework?

Asmo: Satan's been helping me study for my Devildom history exam, and I missed yesterday's session.

Asmo: I mean, I get it. Maybe I shouldn't have agreed to run off shopping with Mammon when he invited me, but still! I was planning on wrapping up my shopping early! I didn't mean to skip, but picking out clothes takes so much time, you know? Before I knew it, the hours had flown by!

Asmo: You're on my side here, right? Don't you think Satan's being just awful?!

MC: I think he just wants to make sure you pass your exam. Of course, I don't know the exact amount of work he gave you. If it's a mountain of paperwork, then yeah, it's a bit much, but if it's only a few packets, then I honestly don't see the harm.

Asmo: I can't believe it! You're siding with HIM?! I didn't do anything wrong! I mean, my only crime is being a little too beautiful!

MC: *gif of someone face-palming*

Asmo: That's why Satan's picking on me for such a tiny mistake, you know? He's jealous!

MC: You keep telling yourself that, Asmo. *eye roll emoji*

MC: Besides, complaining isn't going to make your schoolwork go away.

Asmo: You're right.

Asmo: I guess I'd better get to it. As much as I don't want to.

Five Minutes Later

Asmo: Why did you ask me if I was upset at you?

MC: You really are desperate to not study, aren't you?

Asmo: I was trying to, honest!

MC: Sure.

MC: If I answer your question, will you go back to work?

Asmo: *nodding crow emoji*

MC: I thought that Solomon had told you that we got a bit distracted during our last tutoring session and that you were jealous that you couldn't be there.

Asmo: What do you mean, you 'got a bit distracted'?

MC: *side eye emoji*

Asmo: *questioning sticker*

MC: *two kiss mark emojis*

Asmo: Seriously?

MC: *sweat droplets emoji*

Asmo: About time.

MC: *questioning sticker*

Asmo: He's been eyeing you for weeks, MC. His lust flares up whenever you guys are in the same room.

MC: Ah.

Asmo: It was kinda sad, actually, because he was also telling himself that he couldn't have you and that he would have to be content with the current state of your relationship.

Asmo: I take it that he got hit with or consumed something that counteracted those feelings?

MC: A love curse.

Asmo: That'd do it for sure.

A Couple Hours Later

Asmo: I want to take a break.

MC: As long as you've actually been studying, I don't see why not.

Asmo: I have. I just finished my third packet.

MC: Congratulations.

Asmo: Let's do something together. You must be worn out too, right?

MC: I am getting tired, yes.

Asmo: Then that settles it. We're having a spa session in my room.

Asmo: I mean, we could spend heaps of time cramming until exam day, but that won't help us if we end up utterly exhausted on the actual day, will it?

MC: True.

MC: Give me a few minutes. I'm almost done with my study guide.

Asmo: And then you'll come over?

MC: *thumbs up emoji*

Asmo: *sticker of crow happily flapping its wings*

Asmo: I have it all planned out.

Asmo: We'll get in the bath together, and then afterwards I'll give you a massage, and then after THAT, we'll snuggle!

MC: Snuggle, or "snuggle"?

Asmo: Whatever you want. I want tonight to be all about you. You've been working much harder than I have, after all.

MC: Then I'm afraid it's going to have to be strictly SFW. I don't know if I have it in me to do much more than that.

Asmo: I understand.

Asmo: If you DO change your mind, I'd just focus on you. You wouldn't have to do anything for me if you didn't want to.

[killingsboys]

Hey Jamie, I was thinking of watching the RWRB movie and since I’ve seen you didn’t like it I wanted to ask if you think I should only read the book instead? I don’t mind spoilers and I wanted to know what do you think they failed to adapt to the screen. (Also, if you think people will annoy you if you answer this with the things you disliked you don’t have to answer, ok?) I love your blog! 🫶🏻 Hope you have a great week ahead of you!!!

hi anon!! i'm going to answer this beneath a 'read more' so people who don't wanna see negativity about the movie don't have to read it🫶🏻 trigger warnings for discussions of sexual harassment & assault and forced outing.

obligatory disclaimer that the book is not without its flaws & there are very valid criticisms of it!

a big part of the RWRB book is the main character, alex's, journey through realizing he is bisexual, and pretty much all of it was cut out of the movie — for what i consider to be completely ridiculous reasons. the director said that the characters were older in the movie than in the book — which i don't think is actually true? alex is in law school in both the book and the movie so idk what this guy is going on about — as if someone in their midtwenties couldn't possibly still be discovering their sexuality. he also said he wanted alex's "angst" to only be related to henry and not his sexuality. lol.

almost all discussion of race is also taken out of the movie. for context, alex is a biracial Mexican American, and this shapes a lot of his journey throughout the book. aside from one line, all of this is taken out of the movie.

also taken out of the movie are two big characters from the book: june, alex's older sister, and rafael luna, alex's mentor. june's absense is explained by the director (in the same article linked above) as being about not wanting "two young actresses who are each being given half a meal." so he keeps nora, alex's best friend, and cuts out the sister, but funnily enough, nora doesn't even get half a meal. pretty much all of her personality & story are cut out of the movie.

rafael luna, in the book, is a gay senator who takes alex under his wing. he isn't in the movie because the director said, and i quote: "Anything that isn’t about Alex and Henry and their relationship and their own personal journeys to the narrative doesn’t belong in the film." i don't know how he can explain rafael (or june) as not being about alex's personal journey, but whatever lol.

[this is where the big spoilers start] the climax of the book is when the emails that alex and henry have been sending each other are leaked to the public, outing both of them. in the book, it is revealed that the emails were leaked by the republican running against Alex's mom in the 2020 presidential election. it is also revealed that he has a history of sexual assault & harassment, and that rafael luna is a victim of his.

in the movie, though, they scrap that whole plotline and imply that the emails were leaked by a jealous gay reporter who used to hook up with alex and is mad that alex isn't in love with him. aside from just being a stupid change to make, this is a genuinely harmful & homophobic stereotype, and honestly it really upset me. taking out the entire plotline on institutional homophobia and making it all about ~jealous gays~ is just sickening imo.

i was also annoyed at how characters like henry's sister bea and his best friend pez were given almost no personality or screentime when they were, in the book, fleshed-out and lovable people. henry's mother was also removed from the movie — in the book, she has a bit of a rocky presence, but ultimately stands up for henry against his grandmother — because the director felt that "robbed henry of his agency." which is an especially interesting take from the person who changed alex's coming out scene in the movie so that he comes out publicly and tells the world that he and henry are in a relationship without talking to henry about it first, giving a speech on how "queer people deserve to come out on their own terms" while doing that exact same thing to his boyfriend. but whatever!

on a more petty note, i just think the movie is extremelyyyyy cheaply made, that the actors playing henry and alex have absolutely no chemistry, and that uma thurman's texan accent is godawful. but i could live with all of that if the movie had literally any of the heart that the book i had! but i think "gay media should be allowed to be bad or silly" only goes so far.

ultimately, i would definitely recommend just reading the book & skipping the movie entirely, but it's up to you! i'm sure there are other people who would say it's a perfect movie and they loved every second of it. but it couldn't be me lol

i hope you have a lovely day/evening, anon!! i hope your week is lovely💛💛

[lightyearssurrogatedaddy]

the "narcissists are bad" makes me really, really sad. I try to talk about it with my mama and tell her people with NPD aren't the spawn of Satan, its just a disorder, but she always comes at me with the "Think about what your stepdad did to us!" and yeah I get it, being abused sucks, but I think it's really unfair that she's not seeing the humanity in any other person with NPD and instead groups them all together in the big stinky pile of "evil people"-- I understand why, because she's got her own history with people in general. She has her own traumas and I know I can't ever change her mind about people.

but along that same vein of unfairness though; Some of her friends have only had ONE bad experience with a someone, and they all come together to vent about how ""narcissistic"" they were. One bad time to define an entire community.

I see the talk everywhere honestly. Much less on Tumblr though. They're calling it "narcisissitc abuse" when it should be just "abuse", it doesn't change its fucking flavor when someone with a mental disorder inflicts it on you. Would you call it "traumatized abuse" if someone with PTSD did it??? "Bipolar abuse" "OCD abuse" "anorexia abuse" and if we're counting anything that isn't neurotypical, think about "autistic abuse" DO YOU SEE HOW STUPID THAT IS??

People with NPD are usually victims themselves, which is one of the main reasons why I find it so dehumanizing when I see/hear people cringe at how nasty NPD people are, how irredeemable, "what a lost cause". It's awful and it doesn't help people with the disorder think they can change in any way because everyone's screaming it from the rooftops.

One my of besties has narcissistic traits and I swear she is the NICEST person. The disorder doesn't define the person, it's a thing that's a part of them whether they're aware of it or not. I know people with NPD or traits that actively are trying to keep it in check and not hurt anybody. I know other disorders where the people who are stereotyped to be dangerous and untrustworthy, when they're in the corner giving it their best effort to combat their own freaking upbringing.

If someone you know is being a real dickhead to you and won't listen to anything you have to make them realize what their actions are causing, I do recommend backing away. But don't immediately turn in with the assumption that "oh they were such a narcissist", even if they did have NPD-- why the hell would you blame the disorder??? Man up and evolve your color cones. Stop seeing every little thing in black and white.

[oopsiedaisymae]

🍈

For the ask game pls

i answered this question here and talked about sasazuka but i have a million blorbos and i will talk about them endlessly. today i want to talk about solomon from obey me. my silly, ridiculous, shady wizard man. i love him. here is a small collection of some of my fav pics of him (incredibly limited for space).

i do sort of feel like a fake fan bc i didn't actually like solomon all that much when i started playing og. in my early ten pulls i got the solomon new years ur+ card and i just did not like him. i thought he was weird and was irritated i got him instead of a demon brother, so for all of og season 1 and at the beginning of season 2 i disliked him. my memory gets a little blurry here in the timeline, but i think i finished season 2 of og and warmed up to him a tad bit, then nightbringer came out and i became a simp.

my feelings about solomon are complex even to this day. i really find him and his character interesting because of the dubious nature he has. he's this cutesy wizard guy who is a simp for mc, but he's also a very dangerous figure that has waged war against the devildom, is the most powerful human sorcerer in history, and is prone to incredibly selfish bouts of behavior at the expense of others (although, never really at mc's expense). i really really like how he's handled at the end of og season 2, where he's absolutely willing to kill lucifer without much of a second thought to save the realms but cannot bring himself to do something that would upset you. fascinating! i think his character is at its best when it's handled with these multiple layers of nuance.

in terms of headcanons, i have lots, but i'll share three that are currently on my mind:

i am incredibly fond of the headcanon that solomon, in his youth, had a more olive skin tone and dark brown hair that faded over time with his magic and immortality. SCREAM!!! it's so incredibly jack frost and so incredibly interesting. not only is the image so attractive, but there's something so angsty about it too. solomon feels his humanity has been altered by the immortality he now has, and clings to human connection to remind himself who he is. i think it's so interesting to think about the image of him watching the life seeming drain from him over time. it very much mirrors asmo's fears of not recognizing himself after falling in nightbringer and i think it's delicious.

PACT MARKS!!!!!!!!!! oh my god solomon is covered in pact marks and you can't change my mind. i simply refuse a canon where he isn't. i don't give a single shit. part of my solomon simp arc was heavily spurred on by this fanart floating around, originally posted by @/angyedfez on twitter. jeeeeeeesus. oh my god look at him. i need him so badly.

and an nsfw headcanon because i'm in a mood today ig...

solomon is such a desperate lover. he never thought he'd be able to get his hands on you, to let this love building in him manifest in a way where he can freely press his lips against yours, run his scarred palms against your skin, feel the heat of your body against his chest, anything to tattoo this moment into his mind every single time he has you with him. he prefers any position that has you facing him. solomon wants to cover your body with his and just be as close to you as physically possible, to tangle legs and limbs until neither of you know where the other begins or ends. pushing even just the tip of his cock in has him resisting the urge to roll his eyes back in his head and groan like it's the first time all over again. he's so obsessed with you and your warmth and he'll fuck you far past the point of exhaustion just so he can keep memorizing everything about you.

in conclusion. i want him. i want to study him. i want to bully him. i want him between my teeth and i want him out of my kitchen. i want to chew on him like a dog with an old frayed toy and i also want to set him very delicately on my shelf where he's comfortable and happy.