#which can make people think it doesnt work since it doesnt work within a few hours

[salt-baby]

What EDS treatments are effective?

you all responded really well to a previous medical education post I did, so I wanted to try something new: a series on research papers!

today I’m looking at “Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: An Analysis of the Current Treatment Options”(2019) by Song et al

tldr:

when researchers (well, doctors) looked at the medical records of 98 patients with EDS of any subtype, from their physical medicine and rehabilitation (PMR) clinic, to find out which medications improved, did nothing to, and worsened symptoms, they found:

- complimentary and alternative medicine and opioids were most common for patients to try, with NSAIDS, physical therapy, and bracing/splinting close behind.

- the following improved symptoms in at least 60% of patients: massage, bracing/splints/orthotics, ibuprofen, a nerve block, platelet-rich plasma, prolotherapy, taking a combo of hydrocodone and acetaminophen, steroid injections, oral steroids, baclofen and botox.

- physical therapy improved symptoms in 43% of patients and heat in 58%.

- surgery, going to a chiropractor, acetaminophen alone, and drugs for nerve pain (ie duloxetine, gabapentin, tri-cyclic antidepressants) tended to have low efficacy (less than 30% of patients had an improvement in symptoms).

Note that there may have been a bit of bias in terms of who participated in the study, that it’s not certain how reliable the medical records are, and that there’s a bit of ambiguity in the results because they included multiple subtypes of EDS.

if you want me to walk you through the whole paper, and learn some skills for interpreting papers on your own, keep reading!

I chose this paper for a couple reasons: its open access, easy to read, and has very clearly reported and well defined results. it also has very simple statistics (which is great, because thats my least favorite part). 

the introduction provides some good background information on EDS, although a few things are of note. One is that they refer to a phenomenon called pain sensitization or central pain in paragraph three, which they don’t go into too much detail on. This topic is a candidate for another post in this series, since it’s surprisingly little known. in short, this has to do with the body adapting to being constantly in pain, and as a result, an abnormal pain response develops (3). I don’t want to go into it too much here, but if this part was confusing to you, that’s what it’s referring to. 

additionally, they mention the so-called three stages of hEDS, which I traced back to this paper (4). While this researcher has a lot of publications in heds, I find it hard to believe that a sample size of only 21 (very different!) patients is enough to firmly define three stages that all patients go through. Plus, their ages are never reported, and “stiffness” is defined as just “not hypermobile anymore”. IMO, not very strong evidence.

Looking at the methods, most of it is as I said above. This type of paper is a retrospective review, meaning they looked at data that already existed, did analysis on it, and drew conclusions on it. Reviews in general can be really useful when you’re first starting out on a specific topic, and I recommend people start there. 

Another thing about methods is they used a Mann-Whitney U test, which, fair warning statistics isn’t my strong point, but I’ll do my best. For more resources, look here and here (5) (sidenote, this whole college-level statistics textbook is open access and very practical, and the author is clearly very passionate about teaching.). For the purposes of this paper, just note that the P value in the last column of their results table indicates significance, ie whether the data they got was any better than random chance. Significance in research is usually defined as a P value less than 0.05. The lower the P value, the more likely the results weren’t just random chance. Any P value over 0.05 is generally considered just random chance. 

That’s really important for interpreting these really beautiful results tables. Make sure you pay attention to the little “Significant? Y/N” column. If there’s an N, there’s not enough evidence to prove anything about that treatment one way or another.

Note that when you’re interpreting the results, just because it didn’t work for most people in this study doesn’t mean it won’t work for you. I really like diclofenac gel for joint pain, but only 24% of these participants had the same experience, and that result had a P value of <0.0001!

There’s not much to say about what the authors wrote as their interpretation of the results, which I think was sound. 

Regarding limitations of the study, I think there’s a few. Overall, my opinion is that the paper is decently strong evidence of how effective certain treatments are, especially when combined with other, more specific papers. But for limitations, the sample size is a bit small, but for EDS, pretty good. 

There’s the issue of almost all participants being women, but that’s a product of EDS affecting female people more strongly than male people (1). To be specific, both afab and amab people have an equal chance of inheriting EDS, because although the exact gene hasn’t been discovered, the way it’s inherited has been (an autosomal dominant gene) (1). It’s possible that sociological factors are at play, but the author’s conclusion (and my own) is that it’s likely one of many biological factors that makes EDS worse in female people than male people(1). I’m using female/male instead of afab/amab because anecdotally, some ftm trans people with eds have found their symptoms improved with testosterone (which one person in this treatment efficacy study also found).

This study also mixed all the subtypes together, with only 76 of the 98 participants having diagnosed heds. 2 had other subtypes (ceds and cveds), and 20 were unspecified EDS. That muddies the results a bit, because although the subtypes have some things in common, they can also be pretty distinct. For that reason, I would’ve liked to know what happened when they separated by subtype and ran their significance tests, but it’s not the biggest deal to me that they didn’t.

Then there’s the issue of the sample itself, which was taken from a PMR clinic. Who goes to a PMR clinic? people who live within a reasonable distance and have the money to both get the referral and pay for the specialist. Additionally, people may be hesitant to tell their joint doc about EVERY treatment they tried, and that doc may not have written everything down. Plus, this study only includes those diagnosed with eds (which again requires money), and therefore may not represent EVERYONE with eds, diagnosed or not. In research, these things can be really difficult to control for, and in my opinion, there’s not much the researchers could’ve done to fix this without massively changing the study. 

Additionally, all these medical records would’ve been made by the same few doctors at this clinic, who may have had biases or writing quirks that impacted the data. Plus, the doctors who wrote the paper also probably wrote some of those medical records. That’s not unusual, but definitely not ideal.

I did notice cannabis was missing from the list of treatments (although cbd was not), likely reflecting it’s illegality and controversy. patients don’t want to tell their doctors that they did illegal drugs, and researchers don’t want to publish about illegal drugs either. Still, it’s worth pointing out that cannabis has promising efficacy for eds pain (2).

In conclusion, I do really like this paper, and I think it’s a great intro to both research and EDS treatments. From here, there’s plenty of more specific papers about specific treatments, and its a great way to get started.

This series will be navigable by the tag “salt baby reads”, and I really do mean to encourage learning and questions with this. If you don’t understand, or (respectfully) disagree, please feel free to send me an ask. I want to start discussions about this, because I really do think its important for people to be educated about the conditions they have, so they can make the medical decisions that are right for them. Let me know if you liked this!

Sources:

1.  “Ehlers–Danlos syndrome hypermobility type and the excess of affected females: Possible mechanisms and perspectives” (2010) Castori et al. 

2.  “Use of complementary and alternative medicine by patients with hypermobile Ehlers–Danlos Syndrome: A qualitative study” (2022) Doyle et al.

3. “Pain in the Ehlers–Danlos syndromes: Mechanisms, models, and challenges” (2021) Malfait et al. 

4. “Natural history and manifestations of the hypermobility type Ehlers–Danlos syndrome: A pilot study on 21 patients” (2010) Castori et al. 

5. “Handbook of Biological Statistics” (2014) John H. McDonald

[irradiatedpiratebooty]

fallout tv show ghoul discussion

the only thing i dislike about the show is their retcon of ghoul lore- everything else is a banger i had a great time but the lore changing the ghouls baffles me, as it retcons and changes literally every other game in the franchise. its funny, im not mad about it, im ok with the show having different lore than the games. i just hope they make it clear that its an AU kind of thing haha mainly because if someone gets introduced to the series from the show, and they go off to play the games, theyre going to be confused. so, what are the changes? well-

in fo3, theres an entire side mission involving the underworld, where the ghouls there really hammer in that the rumors like; that they regen and so can only be killed by headshots, that they eat people, that they can go feral at any point, and that they're zombies.

all of this is just propaganda spread by the brotherhood and bigots to justify murder and genocide.

none of it is true. they bleed and die like anyone else. but in the show, these things are not rumors, and they are completely true. cooper constantly has to take this drug from a vial that prevents him from going feral. theres no explanation on where this medicine came from, who makes it, whats its made out of, etc.

so, while in the game, turning feral is unknown, seemingly at random (theories range from genetics, lack of socialization, insanity, radiation exposure, and time) and ghouls dont just- randomly turn feral. but in the show its enevitable and therefore the hate towards them is justified. the only things that are special about them is that they; age much, much slower than non-ghouls, that they can heal faster using radiation. (to my knowlege, they still need to be patched up. they do not just regen. they can still get shot to death, or maimed. they just heal a little faster.) and they need more potent drugs, as it doesnt affect them as strongly (mentioned in fo3 by some ghouls in a subway) the changes made in the show heavily changes the stories of a few characters and places in the entire series.

for fo3: changes the entire underworld. these ghouls cannot leave this place. if they do, they're shot and killed immediately by the brotherhood nearby. they discuss how they're discriminated against. in the fo3 dlc, point lookout, the ghoul there presumably hasnt left the manor he lives in for well over 200 years. he wouldnt have access to these vials. tenpenny tower. their ban on ghouls would be justified then. the entire narrative involving the water purifier and putting the serum in that will kill off all mutants. with the changes the show makes, the decision whether or not you do this has no weight and eradicating mutants becomes justified. for fallout new vegas: dean domino. he hasn't left the Sierra Madre in over 200 years. he wouldnt have access to these vials either and would have probably gone feral a long time ago. for fallout 4: diamond city. diamond city's ban on ghouls wouldnt be an issue anymore. since in the show, ghouls cant die aside from headshots, the ghouls being thrown out into the wastes to the elements wouldn't really be as heavy of an issue.

(i cannot comment for fallout 1 and 2, as i am not as knowledgable about the ghouls in those two games. feel free to add on in reblogs if you know more about them than i do)

i love the show, i think its awesome. im basically consuming it now with the idea that its canon -within its own story and lore- and is separate from the game itself. cooper is a badass and the changes work for the show itself, not so much the entire series. which is fine in my eyes.

[the-s1lly-corner]

Hiii can I request B K M U V for Caine if they're not already done yet?

Caine fluff alphabet! (2)

hoping back onto requests! not including B since it was in the previous caine fluff alphabet post!

KISS- well... given caines head is a set of teeth kissing is going to be a little interesting.... but i have a solution, with one of my favorite ideas when a character doesnt have a traditional mouth/lack of lips! nuzzling n bonking! whenever he wants a kiss, he just lightly presses his teeth against your cheek or lips... he seems like the type to make a "mwah!" sound to sell the effect! since his teeth are so... large, he can really only effectively and comfortably (for you) 'kiss' you on the cheek... caine doesnt mind where you kiss him, but i think my might have a soft spot for hand kisses.. definitely would fan himself with his free hand if you kiss the other

MENDED- how? i mean i think above everything he would be shocked. you were abstracted. done. gonezo. dont get me wrong i think he would be thrilled; i mean caine definitely doesnt have the best system for dealing with the abstracted (ie putting them in the cellar to be forgotten, which i mean what else can he do? theyre a legitimate danger, but theyre still people in some way) but i also dont think he *wants* people to abstract, if he did why would he bother with trying to keep them busy? least of all he would want you to abstract... hes probably not going to waste a second and bombard you with questions

UPSET- when caine gets upset i think he just sits suspended in the air and sulks, perhaps even crossing his arms and legs while huffing. teeth closed to keep his eyes out of sight, as well. i think caine is one of those people who needs a few minutes to get over something, assuming its not something thats like. major. now when youre upset, hes going to do everything in his power to get that smile back... perhaps even making your mood worse in the process if you want to be alone or need quiet

VALENTINE- im not entirely sure if they can keep track of time within the digital circus, and if they can i have no clue how. but lets say caine still wants to do something for you.. in my previous fluff alphabet for caine, i mention how he constantly showers his partner with flowers. take that idea, and add other classic valentines day goodies. stuffed animals, candies, the works. this man would spoil you more than he already does, and then some

[ojbrush]

I dont have motivation to draw but you know what i do have? Ranting about OJ headcanons!

Hi gang i lobe OJ inanimate insanity and here are some in depth headcanons i have and imade sure to research alot about certain things but if i get asnything wrong that is on me and i aspologise OKAY!!!! GIGGLE OJ has Dyscalculia, BPD, and is autistic :3 Dyscalculia is a math learning disability that impairs an individual's ability to learn number-related concepts, perform accurate math calculations, reason and problem solve and preform OTHER!! basic math skills!!! >_< this is just a silly headcanon that may just be projection because i miighhtt have this myself!?!?! but not too sure maybe i just suck at math. WITH AUTISM . this guy does not get social cues, does NOT enjoy change. it makes him anxious, as shown a few times iirc. He gets obsessed with stuff and really never truly stops. Probably one reason why he works so much is because he gets so obsessed with working with stuff that he just doesnt stopo !!! He's also insanely impulsive. although he is a little mature he mainly doesnt think before he speaks, plus he gets very angry over the littlest of things which brings inn!!! BPD!!!! THIS GUY.. as shown in the show multiple times, he has terrible abandonment issues and tries so hard to make sure NOBODY leaves him again. the thought absolutely terrifies him. Despite getting so insanely angry over things (a recent example is when he and paintbrush fought in season 3 episode 4) and having awful and shaky relationships with others.. which causes people to leave him / abandon him. He also has impulsive and risky behaviours (which also ties into his autism traits) such as ALSO ruining okay relationships because of sometjing he thought of someone, thinking they are bad and will hurt him.

(Plus, even better, the hotel OJ canonically has had a casino OJ created!! which could also tie into the impulsive and risky behaviors with gambling!!) what ties with the fact he has intense anger, is also shown with the amount of times hes actually HAD a fight with someone in the show. let it be Bomb, Paintbrush, Paper. Sometimes it can get quite physical!!!

Which also brings us with Taco, since shes a whole thing with this guy. Despite him not being directly effected by her, She still tried to steal HIS prize!! He didnt like that. He got angry with that. he didnt truly show it, but we can tell he did. since everytime Taco is mentioned within his vicinity he gets pretty angry. This could tie with this symptom of bpd since he did, slightly like Taco before it all. Although thinking she was a little stupid, and useless. But this believing Taco is cruel, or doesnt care at all, has lasted over 12 years. So its more of a longtime thing. Which is also something with bpd, having a long time, long lasting hatred, angry, or just a strong emotion about something or someone. or nothing at all!!

Oh and by the way, this guy has a HORRIBLE time keeping good relationships, they usually end because of something he thought of someone. Such as Bombs "betrayal" in season 1, and he thought Bomb was horrible and hated him for a time. Or trying to dump Paper because of how he thought he was going to leave him. OJ has abandonment issues, and with this, gets angry at others for trying to leave him and abandon him, when they really aren't. Or he believes they are cruel and they do not give a shit about him or anyone's well being and tries to just. not associate with them, but he does eventually get them back. Well, sometimes atleast!!! also, to add onto Autistic traits HE GETS ANXIOUS AND UNEASY AROUND FIGHTS WITH OTHER PEOPLE / YELLING / LOUD NOISES !! as seen with the scene where EVERYONE is fighting in episode 1 season 3!!!

And although it could be because hes glass and easily broken, he gets scared when someone raised their voice at him, and looks as if they are going to attack him. But he also gets angry, and starts to fight back. maybe as a defense mechanism but whoo knows! (Note; this one may just be a headcanon, nothing in the show really suggests this but it is also pretty likely he WOULD do this!! he does have a history of snapping back at others and arguing with them if he feels threatened) also i would like to mention his constant state of worry about not being able to work. When he went to season 3 because he was invited, it is implied he rarely ever takes vacations / breaks from working. he says "I'm not too sure im on board with this vacay...--vacayggayu. AUGHj." (he doesnt even know how to say the word!) this could tie into obsessive behaviours?!?!? and if we think about it, it causes him excessive stress and worry. Anxiety about leaving the hotel to a different caretaker while hes on his break. Which he BARELY ever takes, mind you. Autism, and bpd symptoms in themself. He also has a lack of fear, but when something becomes too overwhelming he may overreact and have more fear than usual / expected of him. So yeah!!! little OJ thing, this is just because im insane about this guy. uhhh somethings may be inaccurate but hey, im just having fun and making reallyyy in-depth headcanons about a fictional juice, so. Happy days!

[fairy-switchblade]

sorry if youve addressed this and i havent found it yet, but i was reading your post about stone butches transitioning out of stone. i am a femme coming to terms with the possibility i may be a stone femme and i was just wanting to hear others thoughts about what transitioning in and out of a stone femme identity might be like. maybe this doesnt make sense and im overthinking my identity somehow since im already thinking in terms of leaving it before ive even accepted it. as i am now i dont have any reservations about accepting the identity of stone besides somehow hurting or misrepresenting the community by viewing it this way. i wouldnt want to rush leaving stone behind either your post just sparked me to think long term what i may feel and be like. sorry this was probably unreadable, thank you for reading anyway if you did! it was nice to even write it somewhere at all. thank you 🙏 🩷

Hey there! Sorry about the late reply, it’s been an intense few days at work placement.

First of all, no I have not addressed this yet, there’s no need to apologise. The idea of ‘transitioning’ in and out of stone identity, either butch or femme, is an interesting one. It’s a way of acknowledging that accepting and taking on of this label is a process that takes time, as is the release of that same label.

I believe this is a fairly unique process to each of us, as individuals. Heads up I am not stone, but I am partnered to someone who is currently negotiating with their own use of the term. Much of what I can share on this is based on discussion with them, and is drawn therefore from a stone butch experience, not a stone femme experience. I would strongly recommend you reach out to other stone femmes for further support, if you feel confident doing so.

That being said, I feel that considering the ‘lifespan’ of your own stone identity is not an unreasonable thing to consider. This is something which you may feel differently on at different points in your life. It is important to extend compassion to yourself, not judgement, as you navigate this. Some people might arrive at stone identity feeling soothed by it, and more secure within it, more able to function, or be themselves. Other’s will arrive at it with mixed feelings- there is self-knowledge and empowerment in the term, and yet also for some, exhaustion and hurt, and a need to rely on it temporarily. You will know in yourself whether stone feels like a temporary shelter, or home. It is okay if it’s home. I feel like I can’t really stress that enough.

You can know in yourself that you might want to leave stone behind one day, even as you are just embracing the term. It would hurt if you were discussing stone as something that can be ‘cured’ or something that’s wrong with you that you need to get rid of. But it seems clear to me that is not what you’re doing.

I’m really glad you were able to share these thoughts with me. I hope they provided some release, and I sincerely hope my prior post was helpful to you. Good luck with everything, and remember to take your time figuring all of this out.

[the1975attheirverybest]

Okay so i have a few thoughts sorry obviously you don't have to answer i just want to write them down and you seem like a really sweet person so i thought i'll send it and maybe you or someone can add something to it🤗

Firstly we know that the band didnt expect atvb to go viral on tiktok and the really big popularity on the internet and i think matty once said that the play doesnt work well like that bc you cant film a play and im sure they're gonna count on satvb going viral and im really interested what kind of changes that would mean (maybe know phones but i dont think they would do that especially since the team75live's thing is to go live every concert and we know matty talked to them personally). But on the other hand after this year it seems like they only go viral if matty does something particularly stupid and/or offensive (i really hope not) so idk if it could influence the show in any way or exactly how but obviously the goal is to entertain the audience there not the internet.

Secondly atvb was 26 songs plus 10 minutes consumption and satvb is 22 songs then that would leave like what 25-30 minutes and im really really curious what they will do but i know we wont know it until the 26th but thats interesting i think bc it seems like too much time for me.

Okay lastly it seems like after the vegas show that atpoaim isnt over and thats really great but then it wasn't just something in between atvb and satvb and it'll continue and i had a thought bc tobias ryder said that satvb will continue what atvb started which was the on and off stage playing a character and atpoaim could be like a fourth wall break but after the north american tour announcement it didnt seem like it will be that but i hope at least

Im sorry its a bit long and i know we dont have the answers to any one of these so thx if you read it and have a nice day❤️

Of course, babe 🥰 you can always send stuff in I LOVEEE reading what other people think and the predictions and everything.

So, in terms of Atpoaim, here’s what I think about it’s relationship to the shows and it’s span.

As for the show itself, I do think that it’s going to evolve the ideas that began with ATVB, but I’m not entirely sure what direction it’s going to take. I think you are right. One of the first and earliest signs of Matty’s desire for change was when he would say stuff like “this show wasn’t meant to go viral” and stuff like that. And, in a sense, I get that. He’s never had to think about this additional layer of engagement. Usually, his work is within the context of the fandom. I think maybe this time around he’ll have the scenes be related to as specific theme or idea, but not entirely identical every night. Like he might still have a message behind what he wants to do/say, but he might try to approach it from different angles.

Also, yesterday, he used the words “introspective,” “Kafka” “joy division,” “Freud.” So I’m trying to think about what each of these concepts might have in common with his project and make a few guesses.

I would say, I can kinda see the hot division element. They’re very punk inspired but rather dark. Their lyrics were inspired by a lot of dystopian commentary. Taking the personal and connecting with the social. In exactly the ways that Matty’s show started out being about himself and turned into a show about being a man and the state of masculinity. And Kafka? Well, he’s the king of irony and absurdity. So, my guess is, matty is going to stretch that persona to new heights. The Freud reference and the “introspection,” make me think he’s going to draw on his ugliest and most personal feelings / thoughts and try to dramatize them. But of course inferiority is impossible to share publicly, which I’m guessing is where the irony comes in. That paradox of like how do you make the personal public without losing the authenticity. Usually, his answer to that is to lean into how ridiculous the whole rockstar persona is, but the question is, what makes this time different? What’s the point? Is it gonna be like super dystopian and depressing? Is he going to gesture towards a better future? Are we just fucked? Where does he stand right now? How does he feel about it all and how is it influencing his work?

I feel like this is where it’s all headed but idkkkk. Haha I’m super pumped to find out.

[smolcuriouskitten]

Rules & Navigation Tags below the cut!

1. My blog is semi selective as of 2022. I will not follow back each time I receive a new follower. On the flip side, if I follow and I see selective or mutual, I strongly hesitate to interact even if the follow is or isn't returned. I haven't had the best experience when trying to meet new mutuals, so if I don't reach out first regarding interactions, its nothing personal, just me being more scared of disrespecting boundaries than anything else. So if you have any questions or hesitation regarding interactions, shoot me a message!

2. Rockelle has a triggering past including abuse, domestic violence, rape, cheating, etc. I have an umbrella tag, 'dont pull it; {triggers tag}' which is for any and all triggers. I will tag the individual triggers as best as I can but if you wish to avoid any and all topics including any sorts of triggers, please block the designated triggers tag.

3. I am a mobile only user, I do not use desktop Tumblr at all. I attempt to make the experience as similar to desktop tumblr as possible but of course since we do not see the same thing, I apologize for any inconveniences this causes you. This means I cannot cut posts or replicate most of the features from desktop, I dont do much to my blog mainly due to the limitations.

4. Icons credits goes to @tutorgirlcommissions @tutorgirlrph , @estrangedaframian , @eternalyouth , @mountaindcw , @thedumpofrps and @coinflippcd and my blog layout credit goes to @ofwaterandfire ! Thank you to all of them for making my blog a wonderful place and desktop friendly!

5. I dont have any triggers but if you have any ideas or scenarios that might be considered weird, talk to me about it, I dont bite, promise!

6. Want to be an asshole towards Rockelle? That's completely fine and is not seen as an attack towards the mun at all. How she reacts is something your character has to deal with.

7. Check the tags during roleplays! Within the first few replies, I try to make little tags that describe your character! It could be a movie, song, tv show reference or even a joke! I work hard on them so look at them or I steal kneecaps. >:(

8. Anytime I get a new mutual, I send a thank you message! It helps with me keeping track of them and it opens the door to talk about scenarios, plotting, etc. And if you don't respond, thats okay! I will still interact with you and love your muses just the same! Side note, if I forget to give a thank you, it doesnt mean I dont like your muse or you any less!

9. Rockelle is 100% fandomless so she doesnt fit into one verse or universe. If the desired verse is not under the verses post, feel free to ask me about anything you like! Dont think Rockelle only fits into a bubble due to her character design, just ask!

10. I do not have a banned faceclaim list but I strongly hesitate to interact with those who use dead people as faces. This does not apply to canon characters such as batman, joker, etc due to them having 'new' faces depending on the era.

11. For my mobile users, all of my character info and other related content is under the #lovely kitten; {character info} or #lovely kitten {character info} tag for easy access.

12. Me being a mobile user, I cannot see your rules, info, etc if you do not have a caard or link available on your blog. So if I reach out to ask for them, please dont take it personally.

13. Want to stop a roleplay? Cool! Want to change the trajectory of how the plot is moving? Cool! Want to ship? Thats very cool! You just have to make sure to communicate these things with me. I am not a mind reader and while I will try to be as upfront as possible regarding things, I do not want to make anyone feel discomfort or not enjoy roleplaying with me. I wont bite if you no longer want to continue interacting or cut out something in a roleplay! I wont know until you tell me, communication is key!

14. Rockelle is a multiship muse and is dating several people in different universes. If in the roleplay she has a significant other, she will not cheat on them as that is a trigger for her. However by default (unless discussed) Rockelle will be single due to her 'in universe' story. Due to trauma, poly relationships are a fat no for her as well.

15. Muse is 128 and mun is 21, both of age!

16. I respond either at lighting speed or I take awhile due to lost muse. I do not expect a response to be given within a timeframe or within a designated period. Take as much time as you need seriously. No need to apologize, shit happens.

17. Please do not steal anything from my blog. I will literally hunt you for sport. Dont play with me.

18. The most important rule of all, have fun and enjoy the chaos! ❤️

About Mun!

~ Sup! Names Gigi and I am 21 yrs old! Gremlin and a person with endless zoomies 24/7. If you are my mutual, I will most likely send tiktoks and random things that remind me of our roleplays.

I do have a discord that is available for mutuals if asked!

[youngpettyqueen]

1, 5, 17! 💜💜💜

ty Ally!! <3

Do you prefer writing one-shots or multi-chaptered fics?

generally I prefer to write one shots when it comes to fic! one shots can be so varied in terms of length and what they convey- you can do a scene, a whole story, 1k, 10k, I find the freedom of one shots really appealing. ive only ever written I think two multi-chapter fics, and while I do enjoy writing them, they are limited to being longer-form stories and theyre definitely more of a commitment to yourself and to your reading audience with having to update multiple chapters. its why I havent written another multi-chapter fic since 'and miles to go before i sleep'- I love that fic, I loved writing it, but if im going to write a multi-chapter fic it needs to be a story I really, really want to write and be able to hold my motivation so that I can keep writing it for however long it takes. a one shot can take me months to complete and thats fine cause nobody sees it till its done. if a multi-chapter fic takes me months I might be leaving people hanging, which I never want

(I dont think there's anything wrong with that, to be clear, making people wait- we write and provide this stuff for free and we can take as long as we want, I personally just struggle with some guilt over it because I cant help it lgdkjghd)

5. Do you like constructive criticism?

I dont mind it! I dont seek it out with fic, really, but I actively seek it out with my original writing. if I ever wanted constructive criticism on fic I would ask about it from people I know better within fic communities and fandoms, because I would know and trust that they'd be able to give me actual solid advice. I really dont feel the need for it, though, and thats not like. out of arrogance or anything. I dont think im above it. its just that fic is something I do for fun!

with my original writing I actively seek out constructive criticism and feedback. I think its essential to the process and I eat it up. something im excited for with the novel im working on is getting to send it to a literary agent, to editors, to sensitivity readers all so I can get that constructive criticism and that feedback on it

17. What do you do when writing becomes difficult? (maybe a lack of inspiration or writers block)

I usually try to force my way through it while chanting "its a rough draft it doesnt need to be good its a rough draft it doesnt need to be good its a-" until I can get something down that can be edited later. when this doesnt work, I turn away from the project im currently working on and I go to something else

one such example is when I had really bad block while writing 'and miles to go before i sleep' I turned to writing a few other one shots so that I could get the words flowing again. im a firm believer in writing every day, even if its just a few words, so working on other things really really helps me work through a block and not get stuck for months on end. im currently working through other WIPs while a specific one gives me a lot of trouble, and taking prompt requests the other day has really helped me get back on my groove! im working through the last request now which is a combo of the request itself and an older WIP I'd been struggling with, and its been nice to post writing again

[lunatic-fandom-space]

Im about halfway through Party Crasher rn and its insane how bland Adrien is normally and how endearing he is when we get to see him hang out with his friends without him being on this pedastal by Marinette. Its not even like hes always that boring when Marinette is around or like this show cant write them being cute together because when they were hanging out as "just" friends in season 2 they were honestly pretty adorable! I also really liked them when they thought they were a couple in Oblivio, but for some reason the writers insist on writing Marinette as this bumbling fool whenever shes around him so anytime theres an opportunity for them to spend time together and develop their relationship, we need to get through this barage of bullshit hijinks where Marinette can barely get a word out and then the episode ends with a small moment where something kinda cute-kinda romantic happens but it doesnt actually affect their relationship in any meaningful way

I honestly think focusing more on Adrien would make the romance so much better because it would actually gives us reasons for Marinette to like Adrien because as it stands she really only seems to like him for shallow reasons but the show doesnt really acknowledge that? Like, they try to paint characters like Chloe and Lila as in the wrong for only liking Adrien for his looks and money but its fine for Marinette to do the same thing because idk, shes nice ig not a poorly-written caricature of the Mean Popular Girl archetype ? Granted, MLB has that False Ideal Self/True Flawed Self dichotomy-thing going on with Adrien obviously being that false ideal self in contrast to Cat Noir so you could say it kind of is calling her shallowness out but idk, this just reeks of misogyny to me

Also, before anyone accuses me of anything, I dont mind Marinette being the sole protagonist of the show while Adrien is just the love interest rather than the co-protagonist like you would think from the full title, I just think romances inherently work best when all of the people involved get an equal amount of focus and get fleshed out equally. I think if they wanted to have Marinette be the sole protagonist, it wouldve been better to focus more on female friendships (which is what actual magical girl shows tend to do anyway) and spend more time exploring the relationships between Lila and Chloe and Marinette/Ladybug. That would be a pretty interesting way to handle the theme of Persona vs Real Self with Chloe bullying Marinette but idolising Ladybug and Lila despising Ladybug but wanting to be friends with Marinette (ik that doesnt actually happen but shhhh Im trying to dream up a better version of this bad show) and you could even do something with Kagami outwardly being the type of person you would expect to be Ladybug but no actually being Ladybug and maybe even wanting a life closer to the one Marinette has

Also, to kinda bring this back around to Party Crasher, one of the things that I do apperciate about the show is how the Miracuclass feels like a big 'loose' friendgroup with smaller more close-knit 'sub' friendgroups within it. I dont exactly know what french school culture is like, but it seems like once the classes are picked, youre gonna be spending most of your time at school in the same group for several years. Its like that in germany too and since most popular media is american and about The American School Experience, I dont often get to see that dynamic portrayed in media and I appreciate that. I just wish we could have a few episodes that focus a bit more on those smaller dynamics, like Max and Kim have a pretty sweet unlikely friendship going on, the person Nathaniel texts his bad excuse to is Alyx and they have similar interests and seem happy to sit next to each other but I feel like they hardly interact, it'd be nice to flesh out Marinettes Girl Squad and some of their individual relationships a bit because aside from Rose and Juleka and Marinette and Alya I kinda feel like the only reason they hang is just that theyre all the girls in their class who dont suck ass. Also, this isnt really based on anything in canon, but I recently had a thought that Nino and Luca would probably get along well since theyre both musicians and theyre both meant to be Cool Guys, just in different ways and I like Adrien and Ninos friendship and the few times Adrien and Luka got to interact I thought they were cute and idk, ive been getting really attached to the idea of Adrien, Luka and Nino as a trio

[raybyanothername]

Is Fear in his eyes the longest chapter/section of a fic/oneshot you've written? Because its like 3000 words but its such a good fic it doesnt seem that long because its so interesting. Btw I believe I've added about 104 more rereads since 2 days ago? Anyway this is a very long winded way of asking how your writing is going for FIHE and ur other WIPS. Plus now Im curious, how long do you spend writing these?

Fear is definitely one of the fics with the longest chapters. There's a few chapters of RAMD and CBK that have broke 3k, but I'd say most of my chapters hover in the 1.5-2k range. Like Mother, Like Son is my other fic with those big chapters. Both of these fics have a lot happen each chapter though, so it makes sense.

They're also the fics that take me the longest to write... ^^' Keeping Up and Targaryen Solution are on the other end of that spectrum, they're usually shorter chapters and when I'm writing them I can usually knock a few out in one sitting (I can and have done that with all my fics though to be fair). It really just depends on how much time I have to write and whether the muse is cooperating.

I've been working on these fics rather than my book as late so... that's why they're being updated regularly. I think I average an hour or two of writing a day. Spread across various fics and projects, probably around 2kish a day? Fear is special in that it gets written in a notebook and then I have to type it up when I finish the chapter. That's also how I'm writing my current book, which is why it's so easy to procrastinate on them. ^^'

I'm just like: I could write a bit more... then I don't have to type... oh, look, here's something I can write on my phone, no typing required! *takes a nap instead* What was I working on?

I am a rather chaotic writer. That's why I have a day job. Which I can fortunately write at sometimes. I think I've written half of Keeping Up during my office hours. XD

As for actual progress:

Fear has 1 of... 3? major scenes written.

LMLS is the same, and at 1k, so Fear is probably the same size.

I actually started The Beast, which is my big modern omegaverse AU. I have almost 600 words and it feels amazing to finally have something written for it!

My other fics all have, like, maybe 2 sentences each in progress? I've been trying to finish up some of one-shot WIPs so I'll have fewer untitled documents. ^^' I'll probably try to dive back in to Keeping Up this weekend though, because I have *plans* for the wedding night...

My plan for tonight is to finish the brim of a hat I'm knitting and actually type up some scenes from my book. I'm finally gonna get to write about my own dragons instead of GRRM's! Maybe... if I can wrangle my attention span...

Either that or I'll reread LMLS so I can channel Jace's attitude for the Daemyra wedding properly.

I've actually been struggingly to decide what to focus on the last few days, and that ends with me working on nothing or (maybe) on something new rather than current projects. My brain is very annoying like that sometimes. I wish I could put up a poll asking people to tell me what I should write some days. Just take that decision out of my hands so I can *start* when my brain is being frustrating.

If I'm close to the end of a chapter or fic (like, within 500-1k words) I'll sometimes try to wrap them up when I get asks about them. That's why both my A/B/O one-shots for HotD got posted in the last 24 hours. ^^'

I'm definitely rambling now... Oh well, enjoy what I'm sure was a very convoluted answer to your question! XD

[firespirited]

After recommending "Sherlock is garbage and here's why" by Hbomberguy to my sister, my compulsive ADHD brain forced me to watch the next video on the YT search list: "ADHD vs Sherlock is garbage and here’s why" by Michael Coolwood (who’s been tormented by the first video more than Mariah Carey haunts me) in it’s entirety for balance and for things I’d missed. I appreciate pedantry. No seriously. BBC Sherlock still bounces around my brain and annoys me at random years later so I viscerally *get* both videos... it’s also why I feel the need to be pedantic about the response video.

Rebuttal to the rebuttal under the cut for long post, actually please skip this brain dump, this is nitpicking at a nitpicky video and a waste of your precious time.

Missing the overarching point for the details:

H is clearly referring to Sherlock adaptations and how they entertained him in ways that BBC Sherlock does not. This is noticable in the usage of clips of adaptations and similar material not narrated passages as is common in other videos of his.

The point of talking about Moffat is his disjointed work on other classics notably the most special man trope, how he warped BBC Sherlock to fit that when Sherlocks's character evolves depending on the novels and often evolves in adaptations (House suffers the same lack of growth). Gattis is also to blame but he's given so few interviews where he veers off nice talking points and produced far less material so it's harder to pinpoint his flaws. Moffat has a way of drawing attention to his writing failures *and* providing us with quotes that link mindset A to writing B which is a goldmine: if you felt like a show was treating you like a fool, there's usually a quote where Moffat talks about the viewers or the source material with contempt to back it up. He really needs PR training.

My brain also works like the Liberty scene so I can’t laugh at it like some do BUT the point was that that particular scene is the epitomy of visual and audio noise present throught the show for flair regardless of emotional impact. The finger scratch sound is emotionally resonant, the noises in the rest of the scene are generally not. In fact, most of the excess flair in the show wasn't fully visible or audible unless you rewind and squint at your screen so just registered as clutter. My brain is cluttered like that, it’s a painful experience and I don’t think it makes for good, focused, storytelling about pattern recognition.

BBC Sherlock fits neither in neither ‘character’ nor ‘whodunnit’ mystery types which is precisely the problem. Death in paradise can draw out character development at a snail’s pace because of the whodunnit element, Sherlock choosing to not be a whodunnit means we need character development which doesnt happen.

Turning a serialized format into a tv show or film is a problem we’ve been having since people started turning magazine stories or comics into tv and films. Overarching plot can be used to tie in the stories or abused to pretend proper answers will arrive later. I don’t believe it’s bad in itself (see DS9) but it’s something the public is tired of being teased with (see the fallout for Lost, BSG or Avengers Endgame). Within the specific BBC release schedule it’s particularly painful to not end stories. But Sherlock doesn’t work in binge format either. H’s phrasing is too vague, I entirely agree, but refers to a trend in general visual media and in Moffat produced work reaching a crescendo in the end of Jekyll and the last seasons of Sherlock.

The matrix references were timely but wrong, yes. But that’s missing the point being made: The bullet time shot was jarring as it didn't represent a particularly moving moment for John and his wife nor did it have details we were supposed to latch on to. It was a wasted shot if it was trying to convey joy so people then expected it to be a set up for details that would be important later. By putting this right next to the boomarang shot, the point is that the show tried to be stylish without providing substance for that style to build upon then not using that stylism when it would have been tonally appropriate.

Misunderstanding the original format, missing tone idicators and contrasting with serious video essays:

Sherlock is garbage aka tiddlywinks is not a video essay like the "a measured response" which are carefully sourced and scripted. “x is garbage/good actually/genius” are emotional articles on why a piece of media made him feel things, an exorcism of feelings that are not meant to be agreed with. They are heartfelt screeds. The oversimplified statement "x is garbage, x is genius" is hyperbole - playing on classic youtube clickbait titles to tell you that this is subjective. For example, in "Pathological is genius" he makes a point of telling you that playing this 'genius' game will be excruciating and probably should not played.

Tiddlywinks resonated with me and so many others not as a measured takedown of the flaws of the show (though tumblr probably has episode by episode lists) but as a collective primal groan: BBC's Sherlock was a saturation point of Moffat’s writing (and mystery box clichés also used by american shows) that would have been tolerable in small amounts but netted him multiple culturally important shows. It was a peak piece of media that represents a waste of emotional investment and BBC money along with high value IP. It also suffered from being in a cultural resurgence of Sherlock adaptations that do justice to the essence of the source material if not perfectly faithful adaptations.

[em0ticonz]

Can you tell more of the lwa racing au?

And have you considered turning anonymous asks fir shy ppl?

omg i didnt know yuo cld do that so ya ill do that!!! tyz 4 telling mee :] nd yeaea !! so its more nascar rather than F1 or street racing ! itd still b british tho so idk how thats working out yet... ive been thinking of maybeee integrading magic but im not sure... sucy and constanze are the mechanics ! they often add illegal costumizations on the cars which penalizes akko nd amanda more than anything (only knocks em back a few points) lotte red teams pr manager and has to be within 5 steps from akko at any given time to make sure she doesnt say anything thatd get the hardcore fans to go cray.. in nasca there r ppl who r "on the same team" kinda, so like theyll b employed by the same people but all wanna win the race for themselves and thats what the red green nd blue team r to each other! so while they all have different crews nd everything they are forced to help each other during races!! diana struggles w this the most since she doesnt believe akko or amanda deserve the win, but to keep their sponsor happy she has 2.. i think a plot point wld b her realizing that he teammates are skilled and that she needs to respect em? js a thought!

[the-s1lly-corner]

Hı! İ was laying on my bed then i suddenly think about your TADC headcanons.

İ was wondering how would they react to a smug, sarcastic but ask if they ok or not, doesn't leave them behind when they in danger (probably because grove some empathy for them..) and usually miding his/her own buisness and does not afraid to pick a fight.

Reader said "go f*** yourself b*** face" to Jax one time when Jax was messing with reader

Reader even tried to fix Gangle's mask and tell her that "stop feeling sorry for yourself ! you need to stand up for yourself sometimes " how would gangle react if reader said that to her

(not good at english sorry)

Gangle, Ragatha, Pomni w/ rude!reader who gives advice

already did a request yesterday thats very similar so im just going to link it here and do the other characters in this post i think im going to answer this request and one more and go eat something :3 i always tend to forget to eat something after waking up until a few hours later </3

POMNI:

intimidated by you, but generally stays out of your way. mix of your attitude and because shes trying to find an exit... listens to your advice, though, especially if it has something to do with the circus and how it works and how to hold out for longer.. kind of grits her teeth anytime you say something a little mean though, because she doesnt want to risk possibly losing you as a helpful source of info.. which.. unfortunately leads to her likely turning a blind eye if you're going off on someone else (usually jax) which... well if its jax its probably deserved, but the air does get tense and uncomfortable and thats not really doing anyone any favors, you know?

RAGATHA:

doesnt like your general attitude when speaking to others.. but since this is ragatha, shes still going to be polite to you and wont talk about you behind her back. though, while she still tries to include you in activities and IHAs, i dont think shes going to go out of her way to hang out with you one on one after the first few times.. she doesnt hate you, just doesnt enjoy how you speak to others sometimes.. does give you a pass if what you're saying is deserved, though.. as much as she doesnt like your general attitude around the others she cant deny that you can give some solid advice; albeit blunt and within the same manner you normally speak.. tries to push you to be gentler with things because then people would be more likely to take in the advice you're giving which probably blows up in her face about how you cant be soft with everyone

GANGLE:

i think if the reader said what was said in the ask to gangle i think she would be kind of taken aback. i mean personally i dont think she feels sorry for herself, shes struggling because shes being constantly harassed and knocked down by those around her + i like to think that the mask is like a metaphor for her trying to cope because its either that or abstract. i think it would make her feel worse, honestly, since shes trying the best she can given the circumstances. like do i think she needs to be "coddled" in order to grow a spine? no, but do i think the readers approach is the best? also no, gotta find a balance you know? gangle is too soft to snap back, though, unfortunately.. .so unless you're saying these things to her constantly shes not going to stand up for herself.. but is wearing her down worth it in the long run?

[animaljam67]

My work had a team meeting last night and i dont think one specific attitude in the workplace has ever pissed me off more than what my boss did.

For context- i work at a chain consignment/resale store. There are 9 other of the same business in the PNW and surrounding area, but the one that i work at is the busiest . we get people coming in from north and south along I5. as far south as redding california and as north as eugene oregon. keep in mind this is also the only resale shop in my town. there are few in my county. and basics none in neighboring counties, that have similar populations.

a month or so before i started working with them, one manager quit and a bunch of girls went with her. pretty much all of them. we have all been told it was “girl drama”. and they had to hire all new staff. so everyone working- EVERYONE WORKING- is in training. even my manager who works in store, who for the first few weeks of my time at the job was running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to hire, interview, train, make schedules, try to manage back to school rush, and deal with firing as well.

In all- all my coworkers and myself definitely need to use this time of lull with a sufficient amount of workers after the back to school stuff to reflect on what works and doesnt work, what we want out of our jobs and vise versa, and make gameplans about how we can improve the flow of the store.

for reference, we have already been trying to do what our boss- who is the store owner, she lives in utah and came in to our store on one occasion for 4 ish days- wanted us to do. there were “task priorities” and “stations” that had been layed out for us, the girls who have watched the training videos know. though, like myself, most of us havent seen any videos, or havent gotten to that one. we were dealing with record amounts of buys. like, hundreds of bags were being processed a day. usually, its supposed to work like this: customer brings their bag in. they fill out a buy slip with all necessary information, label their bag, and leave it with us. within the next hour or so, we will have went through everything in their bag, figured out what we wanted and why and what we would give back to the customer. we text them, they come in (same day), and get the rest of their clothes, and the cash or store credit they earned. if they dont come in to pick it up within 48 hours of our text to them that their clothing has been processed, we will automatically donate what we didnt want and give them store credit. ive tryed to give people leniency when they cant come in to get their bag in the allotted time. i once had a woman an who had dropped her clothes off the day prior and they hadnt been processed yet, and i didnt know when it would be. she was pregnant and had to end up scheduling some sort of bloodwork in the hospital, her husband would have her car and she was planning to use the bus to come to our store to get her cash, but because she would have to take the bus to the doctors office to have the work done, which would take much longer since it would be across town across multiple busses, she likely couldnt come in on any other day than that present day, and i also didnt have a single clue when her buy would be processed. i personally know how long it takes to ride the bus anywhere- especially when you have to get off one route and get on another. i was hoping we could either figure out a way to process it today and she could come in or a way to hold that cash for her, since she expressed the need for that rather than the credit, which is understandable. many people come in frequently and they use the money they earn as gas money. it makes sense. but i was the only person up there. in the front. after i picked up the phone for maybe the the 2nd or 3rd time into working there. there were customers in the store, so i couldnt go to the back to ask my manager what to do. i said we would call her back later in the day, when somebody else was coming in and we could have an answer for her then. i wrote this all down on a piece if receipt paper and as soon as i could i rushed to the back to give the slip to my manager and tell her the situation. she said she would, later. im not sure if she ever did.

this problem and other ones like it wouldnt arise if we held any sort of control over the acceptance of buys. we have a strict open-to-an-hour-before-close-every-day-but-sunday schedule to bring in buys. my manager will sometimes call it herself when its midday and the bag area would be overflowing and there was going to be only three girls working for the rest of the day at the end of the hour. and technically, per our owners rules, its actually supposed to be all open hours, 7 days a week, and you stop PROCESSING buys an hour before close. ????????????

keep in mind ive worked there for a month and still have not been trained in buying. i do what is basically the equivalent of a dishwasher job and was hired for much more than that. i do warehouse work for the store, while also helping customers. girls who were hired right before me or even after me are progressing further in training and even being put into shift lead positions, but i spend every shift tagging, racking, and hanging clothes. i see every article of clothing that goes into that store. i see what sells and what doesnt. i see what we have surplus of and what we need more of. i see the duplicates. i see the 7 cropped tight fit ribbed baby doll sleeved t shirts in every color of the rainbow. im the one who has to untangle the tank top straps because there is more hangers of the rack that it can actually hold.

but, to get to the main point of this post, is how my boss interacted with me in the meeting.

We showed up, clocked in, and were handed self assessments. we start filling them out but we stop and are told to gather around my manager’s phone on facetime with the big lady. she opens the conversation with talking about how we were a family, and that she had spent the year of 2020 (when the store was closed) reflecting on what a family really needs to function and what it means to be a job that people want to work for. she also offhandedly said there was also a period of time when no one wanted to work and “aghh if any of you girls did that like ughh i dont know” and quickly went on to start explaining her personal “magic”. she frequently told us that she is working her dream job because of us which whatever it meant something to me the first time she said it but after the 4th i was just like … okay you love your job and making systems and cool alright you live in utah whatever.

she also talked about breaks- and specifically how if you are going to vape or smoke you MUST clock off because she is not paying you to smoke or vape- and thats her magic in caring for us and making our lives a bit better.

but after her spiel about the culture of the workplace she went into going over the assessment we were given, explaining and asking the group for our answers to the questions. and i talked the most out of anyone in that meeting.

this was pretty much how the whole thing went. question- whats your personal magic/what are you confident in at your job? silence. i answered- im confident in my ability to tag and rack efficiently. Cool! anybody else? (crickets) … i answered again- i think [coworker’s name] has a great ability to organize, not only in how things should get done but what big things need to get done. if theres a big pile of unsorted clothes she’ll go through it.

(crickets)

at one point she skips a question asking about what she or our other manager could do better. and i dont mean like, it was printed and she didnt read it, she didnt allow us any floor to speak on what we thought she could do better. and when i brought my answer to her next question- which is what could WE be doing better- back around to what she could do better, she didnt respond to that part of my reply.

this is what made me lose hope for her to ever listen to me-

at the end, after going through the questions and the breakdown of how a store should be set up (as in whos doing what when) and me providing valid criticisms to her structure to which she responded “this system has worked and works at the other 9 stores so thats how it is going to work:)” and she was sending us off with some wise words or whatever, she talks about how if we want something to be changed we should speak up for ourselves and that we should tell her if she could do something better and that communication is key for communities.

whad.

[wsl-chelsea]

I think it’s totally cool that you’re a communist, my friend called herself a communist for many years and we used to have discussions like this. She said what you said that Soviet and everyone else they weren’t really communist. I just think that, if you remove money and therefore remove the value of work, if it makes no difference if you work hard, then you remove the motivation from people. And that creates scarcity and poverty, not wealth and abundance, like we are more used to in the west. I don’t think capitalism is perfect either and it makes people greedy, but it’s better than communism.

I promise you people are selfish and look to take care of themselves first. If there is poverty and starvation, everyone will want to try and feed their own children, not share what little they have with hundreds of strangers. Ask yourself if you’re prepared to give away everything that’s yours. Your money, house, car, phone, clothes, furniture. If yes, then you can be a communist.

I would say Sweden was/is socialist and thought of ourselves as such. The other Nordic countries I think had similar economic models. The social democratic party formed the government alone for decades, creating all the social reforms. Important infrastructure such as roads, railway, electricity was all built by and owned by the state. As well as major industries, some are still state owned. The welfare model that we have was probably working at it’s peak in the 1970s. Now it’s not working as well anymore. It’s difficult to maintain, as it requires a high level of trust, a sense of unity among the population, a willingness to pay high taxes, and also that the State succeed in providing what we all pay for.

oh thanks! i love talking about it as well with a few of my friends

im gonna keep putting this stuff under 'keep reading' bc ik lots of people follow me for soccer and wanna scroll and find soccer asks lmao

im gonna make something clear bc i dont think i did before- i dont think communism is something that will happen within my lifetime, being honest. it does require a large cultural shift in mindset and a revolution of sorts but when we have people in the working class defending billionaires who are quite literally exploiting them (not saying this is you guys btw) i find it hard to believe we'll get anywhere in creating communist societies on the larger scale. this is why i think people can be hard workers without the incentivisation when you completely detach them from capitalism. intrinsically, when you love what you do or you are doing something for a greater good- like lets say weekend volunteer charity work, you know that slacking off is only going to do bad things for the society you're in and the people you're helping, so you do your best work, completely detached from material rewards. bad example but thats kind of where i come from.

'Ask yourself if you’re prepared to give away everything that’s yours. Your money, house, car, phone, clothes, furniture. If yes, then you can be a communist.' you can still have unique possessions in a communist society. individualism doesn't have to be stripped. sure, you don't have money bc money doesnt exist, but you can still have a nice house with a phone and clothes and furniture. people will still make that stuff either in their free time or as their jobs and you can get it! cars though i would give up in a heartbeat lols setting up a good transportation system and cities that don't require cars are infinitely better lol

i think it might depend on who you ask. economically some people say it's not socialist, since it still is a market state but socially it has elements of socialism which is cool. and thanks for informing me about sweden atm/in the past, it's really interesting :)

[the-passenger-if]

A prompt for the angst but!! How would the ros deal/treat/react to a newman that had frequent panic attacks? (If your comfortable answering, and no ones asked before) I imagine since the whole reason we're on earth is because we're trying to hide from this eldritch diety who wants to inhale us whole, and to top it all off newman doesnt even have enough energy to leave. That would cause any being an extreme of stress and anxiety. Especially after Tzr'nekre actually finally locates us

combining it with

if its not too spoilery, how would the ROs react to the MC waking up from a nightmare (say, one in which the RO got possessed by tzr'nekre?) and MC just clings to them, crying, after waking up, and refusing to explain but its obvious they had a terrible nightmare?

This isn’t what Fiama imagined when she was awaken by Newman’s warm face pressing against her breasts, ragged breathing and all. She wants to grab a hold of their head, hold them there, but as her hand brushes their cheek, she finds it damp. Maybe with sweat, maybe with tears.

“Baby?” she asks in a hushed whisper. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

The only reply she gets is a stuttering intake of breath. And then her partner’s arms are sneaking around her—one under her neck, the other around her waist—and Newman is squeezing her tight.

Fiama is strong, she has always been. Her mother once told her—not in kind terms—that she truly took after her father’s sisters; their arms, made to keep children from ripping one another’s eyes out, their legs to carry drunken husbands back home. Now, trapped in Newman’s strong embrace, she feels like the type of dainty, unobtrusive creature her mom wished she had grown into.

She takes a deep breath—as deep as she's able to within her lover’s tight grip—and tries again. “Babe… you’re… crushing me.”

The hold eases up an instant later, but Newman doesn’t let go. They bury their wet face in Fiama’s neck, still silent. It’s alarming to say the least, but she keeps her voice calm. “Are you hurting?” Newman shakes their head. “Are you sad?” She hugs them, feels them shaking in her arms—Newman doesn’t shake like this. “Are you scared?” She didn’t want to sound so flabbergasted (so ‘judgy’ her mother would say) but she can’t help it.

Once again, Newman doesn’t answer, but they do bury their face deeper into Fiama. It takes her by surprise; they have always seemed so unaffected by everything…

She hugs them tight and says the only thing she can think of, “I’m here, babe. And I’ll always be. I don’t know what or who is making you feel like this, but you aren’t alone. I’m with you.” She kisses the top of their head, murmuring every promise she knows she can keep.

A few minutes later, Newman is fast asleep again.

---

Sleeping next to another person in a bed that wasn’t made to be shared by two adults is uncomfortable, but it was late and Newman hadn’t brought their bike, ignoring that Joaquin’s car was at the shop, and Lucia had taken hers that night.

It’s ok, Jonny thinks to himself while he stares at the ceiling, we’ll just wait until my folks leave for work tomorrow. It doesn’t have to get awkward for anyone.

When was the last time he’d shared a bed? Probably when he was around twelve and Quino got scared by a storm and woke him up in the middle of the night, cold hands slipping under the sheets and touching the back of his neck. Dumbass always did the same thing, no matter how many times Jonny punched him to dissuade him. Of course Jonny could never stay mad at his twin for long, and they would share the bed in the end—Jonny grousing about Quino’s cold hands and Quino whining about Jonny hogging the covers.

As if invoking his brother, he feels hands around his neck now; cold, sweaty hands. Even though they don't belong to Quino, the way they’re clinging to him is pretty reminiscent of the way his twin used to squeeze him whenever lightning stroke too close.

“Are you ok?” he asks stupidly. Of course they aren’t; Newman is scared. “What is it?” he tries again, but Newman says nothing, they only keep tightening their grasp around Jonny. He takes their hands and tries to free himself. “Newman, you’re going to choke me.”

Slowly, those cold fingers loosen, giving him a chance to sit up.

“Don’t go!”

“Hush,” Jonny hisses. “Damn it, Newman. Remember we aren’t alone.” He takes the hand that is now gripping the front of his shirt and tries to hold it, but Newman doesn’t budge. “Please,” he whispers.

“Don’t go,” it’s the barely audible plea he gets as a reply.

“I won’t,” he assures them. After another second, Newman lets go, and Jonny takes the hand and gently rubs it between his. “Come here,” he whispers, and Newman doesn’t need to be told twice. They get between his legs and rest on their side and against Jonny’s chest. Jonny takes the covers and pulls them over both of them, and there, with an arm around Newman’s shoulder, he can feel their muscles begin to slowly relax.

---

Roach didn’t usually do this; lying down in bed while their conquests sleep. They had realized that there was so much one could do to pass the time, and watching people drooling was amusing just the first dozen times.

They turn another page of the magazine they stole from that gas station three towns over, the one with the old, balding clerk that had given Roach the evil eye from the moment they dared to set a foot in his territory.

The light is off but that’s ok because Roach doesn’t need it to read, the same way they don’t need it to sneak glances at Newman’s sleeping form. It’s something they do, they tell themself, to pass the time, and not because Newman’s face is nice to look at or anything like that. They aren’t expecting to find their companion awake the next time they look their way, least of all with a terrified look set on their face.

Roach opens their mouth to ask what’s going on, but the words die out as they are wrapped in a tight embrace. The fact that they were so distracted by Newman’s expression that their reflexes vanished for a hot minute, says something. Something Roach doesn’t want to acknowledge right now, so they don’t. Instead, they let their body go limp in Newman’s arms, let them squeeze and squash until they seem to come out of their trance.

“R-Roach?”

“Yes?” they ask in return.

“Are you… ok?”

Roach wriggles to put some distance between Newman and them—as much as their companion’s steel grip allows, anyway—and runs a hand over Newman’s face, wiping off the sweat. “Just a couple broken ribs,” they say, “I’ll live. What about you? What had you panicking like this?”

Newman retracts from those words like a shy snail. It really takes Roach by surprise. They can’t think of many things that might scare Newman, which at least makes the list of suspects quite short.

“Hey,” they whisper in a way that they hope sounds both unaffected and reassuring, “I would know, remember? There’s only you and me here, no third roommate. You can relax.”

Their words, true as they are, do very little to calm Newman down, so Roach sighs and nuzzles against their jaw. “Squeeze away then,” they mutter and kiss Newman’s skin. “I’ll be the prettiest stress ball you’ll ever have.”

---

It isn’t a gentle awakening. Horizon’s muddled thoughts crash into one another as the Domini unsuccessfully tries to slip away from the tight embrace they are being subjected to. What’s going on? their mind asks, half asleep, half panicking.

Memories from last night come back to them as if slogging through a swamp; they remember having dinner with Newman, chatting and somehow ending up in bed together. They remember the tenderness of the moment, the way they felt like they could melt as Newman and they cuddled together...

Horizon strains their neck trying to look over their shoulder, but even with the rays of moonlight seeping through the window, the only thing they have an eyeful of it’s their own dark curls. Newman’s chest is pressed against Horizon’s back and now that the Domini is fully awake, they can feel the other’s racing heartbeat. It scares Horizon, it makes them want to ask what’s going on, what happened to Newman, what, what, what…

They fight those urges. They take a deep breath, find one of Newman’s hands and softly cover it with theirs. “You are in my cabin,” they whisper, “you are in ranch 48, in Luna Ridge. We had diner and I asked you to spend the night. Remember that?”

There’s a long pause, then Horizon feels them nodding against their back. A couple seconds later the iron grip eases up. It gives the Domini a chance to turn around, and very gently press their forehead against Newman’s damp one. “Deep breaths,” they whisper and then are doing just that, hoping Newman will follow their example. An instant later, they are.

Feeling Newman’s muscles relax as they get their breathing under control brings a smile to the Domini’s face.