#yes on hla

[amtrak-official]

any chance you have thoughts on measure HLA in LA, or LA's Mobility Plan in general?

Just read about it and yeah, fucking go out and vote for it, it will save lives and transform LA into a safer better city

[scarletfire03]

Rb with a weird or insane hl headcanon you have

Ill go first

Gordon naturally has a really strong connection to the vortescense. thats why his eyes glow and it manifests in clairvoyant dreams that he barely remembers and a constant feeling of deja vu

[mcbitchtits]

i voted

and then i nearly got hit four times by some idiot driver

[azulcrescent]

Hi, it may be a little personal but how do you even get hrt appointments in Myanmar. I'm just curious. I don't know how one can get the prescription. I also wished for your good luck in current Myanmar situation. I'm also from Myanmar so I know how tiring it must be for you too.

I debated whether to send this through dms, but im going to answer this as an ask in case other people from Myanmar are wondering how to get HRT. There are no doctor approved ways you can get HRT so it pretty much has to be done DiY. There *is* a clinic that has experience helping trans women, but its not entirely a gender clinic, more so helping sex workers get blood tests and what not, and you can check you Testosterone and estrogen levels there. Its called "Ma Bay Dar" (you can search on facebook for their info and you need to make an appointment), and to actually get HRT pills, you either order them online from "Sunflower Whitening IV/Drip Wholesale & Retail" or go to a beauty saloon called "Hla Po Po" whose owner sells the HRT pills. The pills that you will have access to are Progynova (estradiol valerae) and Androcur (cyproterone acetate). Hope this helps. And yes, living here is exhausting. Good luck to you too, and to anyone else from MM who might be reading this lol

[jiubilant]

cw: horror elements

He’d been a scrib of three, sticky-fingered and clinging to his sister’s skirts like an anther-burr, when first he saw a war-wasp of the Dres. In less than seven years they’d be extinct: their cliff-hives burnt, their grubs smeared across singed flagstones or speared wriggling on An-Xileel pikes. But it had been a bright morning—the dust had glittered in the air like motes of kanet, like the specks the goldsmiths blow off their tables—and the messenger from Bal Foy had circled his glorious mount three times above the marketplace, like a victorious chap’thil, before landing her in the middle of the street.

“Give her a pat,” he’d said, laughing, to the children clustering round—and the adults, too, a few merchants and house-servants whose stern faces broke with smiles. “She’s polite, my Khes.”

He ran, that scrib of three—not towards the great wasp grooming her feelers in that circle of hands, as oblivious to her admirers’ attentions as Benitah, but to a basket of comberries abandoned at a fruit-seller’s stall. The first fistful he stuffed in his mouth. The second he stretched above his head, high as he could reach.

“Khes!” he’d called, his voice shrill and garbled with fruit. He remembers the moment even now. Juice dribbling down his wrist. Dust in his throat. His little heart surging upward with that cry, as if on jeweled wings. “Khes!”

The wasp turned her alien head, broad and shining as a bonemold shield. Her feelers whiskered over him. Out flicked her wings once, twice: sheer and strong as wevet, fluted like stained glass into a thousand fiery panes.

“Hold your hand out flat, hla!” the messenger called.

He did. The mouthparts that could crush a Nordling breastplate descended to meet it. Delicately, like a lady reaching into a bowl with finger and thumb, the wasp took a single berry from his palm.

* * *

He wakes in his cold dormitory cell feeling stiff, sore, and improbably cheerful. Mzulft and its horrors, the Synod included, are behind him; it’s up to Mirabelle, now, to decide what to do with what they’ve learned. A magic staff in Hjaalmarch—perhaps the first item of import, he thinks with amusement, to ever come out of Hjaalmarch. And the Thalmor know nothing about it. And he’s rising late from a bed, not a bedroll, with the fading idea that he’d dreamed something pleasant.

“She’s stung me to the heart,” he sings in soft Velothis over his washbasin, scraping off the journey’s stubble with his shaving-knife. The ancient song comes to him in snatches, like the dream. “She’s stung me, jewel of the sky, armored queen of the valleys of the Shir”—someone raps on his door, probably one of the prentices with a question about a translation, and he takes some smiling liberties with the next line—“one moment, per favore, s'il vous plaît—”

“Break it down,” says a curt voice.

The door crashes open. He makes a startled, absurd swipe with his shaving-knife at the first of the intruders—black robes, beaky buttons that glint gold in the firelight—before a burst of magic shivers through him like heat-lightning. He hears a thump. Himself, he realizes with belated surprise, hitting the chilly floor.

“Is he immobilized?” the voice asks pleasantly.

A chorus of subordinate voices, at least three: “Yes, Secretary.”

They’ve never gone this far, thinks the man on the floor, struggling to budge limbs that have gone rigid and heavy as kedge-anchors. Something’s emboldened them at last. A heavy-gloved hand dips into the neck of his nightshirt and fishes out his Company chain.

“Justiciar Ancano was right!” the young Dominion agent attached to the hand exclaims. He dangles the pendant in the light. “East Empire Company. A factor’s clerk. A pleasure, Master”—he squints at the inscription on the copper, above the tarnished ship—“Ramo, to properly make your acquaintance.”

That’s right, the clerk thinks. They’d bungled his name on the thing. Probably in the records, too. A laugh escapes his spell-sealed lips as a stifled huff.

“Kick him,” the pleasant voice suggests. “Oh, cousin. To scribble and scrape for the mayfly enterprises of men!”

Someone does kick him. He finds himself facedown on the hearth, seeing nothing, hearing creaks and thumps and curses as the Thalmor toss his room. One rummages through his sea-chest, takes something out, slams it. His ewer shatters. Floorstones scrape in protest as they’re pried up; the thieves’ Altmeri chatter grows excited, then. They must have found his papers. The clerk scrabbles through his mind for what little Altmeris he knows—

“Closer to the fire,” says the pleasant one in Cyrod, perhaps for his benefit. The clerk’s heart petrifies like his limbs. “He fell. A terrible accident. Put his cane—yes, there. As if he’d been trying to reach it.”

Someone drags him closer to the hearth. Flings his arm into it like a peat-brick. The heat bakes his hand. “I can seal his heart-valves to be sure—”

“Don’t be a fool,” snaps the pleasant one. “That shrieking cat who heads up Restoration would notice. Let us defer, out of respect for our cousin, to Velothi custom—”

The click of the closing door.

The silence.

He can breathe, the clerk thinks, breathing fast. He can blink. Involuntary motions, then, are not suppressed by the spell—only those that he wills. Sitting up. Crying out. Smothering the fire nibbling, with increasing interest, at his sleeve.

It was once said of the war-wasps of the Dres, he recalls with faint amusement, that the venom of their stings worked much the same. One was advised, perhaps as a way to bide one’s time before the end, to battle the enervation in increments: try wriggling a finger. A toe.

Something pops in the fire. The cell begins to smell of smoke and singed hair. He wonders whether the jerk of a limb exposed to flame, to that sharp, betraying sting, is involuntary—no, it seems not. The pain scourges his arm, his ear, the side of his head.

A finger, he thinks, concentrating all his awareness of his body into the palm of his lifeless hand. A toe. A terrible accident, they’ll say when they find him. Don’t think it. Hold your hand out flat, hla—

A strained rap on the door. “Magister?”

Relief crashes through him where the magic holds him fast. His thumb twitches free of the spell. It makes less noise than a crumb of peat shifting in the hearth.

“Magister,” calls the voice, dear and strangely small, “the—the Master Wizard, she wants you in the quadrangle—”

“Brelyna,” a familiar brogue interrupts, “J’zargo does not think he’s in.”

Her voice rises nearly to a wail. “Where is he, then—”

They’re going, the clerk thinks, gripped by a panic more searing than the flames climbing his sleeve. His hand jerks. It hits his cane, which the Thalmor had propped so tellingly on the fireplace-jamb.

The cane wobbles. He holds his breath.

Then, with a magnificent scrape, it clatters to the floor.

A silence.

“Is it unlocked?” asks Brelyna.

The creak of the door. A gasp. The panicked squeak of boots. Then someone throws the contents of the washbasin on him: a shocking blue chill, like a plunge in pack ice. He breathes out. His shaving-knife swirls past his head on a runnel of suds.

“Turn him over.” J’zargo’s voice, sharp as claws. “Is he dead?”

“I don’t think so.” Magic crackles in the air above his head. “I, I think he’s—didn’t Master Neloren show us how to dispel this? Let me try—”

Something heavy and sluggish evaporates from the clerk's bones. He stirs with some difficulty, blinking soap from his eyes, and finds himself in a circle of worried hands: J’zargo lifting his head, Onmund buffeting the last of the fire, Brelyna slapping his ridiculous half-shaved face.

“Hlai,” he rasps, laughing, trying to raise his arms to fend them off. They’ll beat him to death. Ai, a terrible accident. “Hlai, I’m not a rug—”

“You look a rug,” snaps Onmund, terse as ever. The clerk recalls that he’s wearing the nightshirt patterned with fleurs. “What happened? Who spelled you?”

The less they know, the better. The clerk flexes his hands, then his face, breathing with great care around the boot-shaped ache in his side. “Shouldn’t you”—the fire’s ghost gnaws his arm when he bends it, and he winces—“be in class?”

“In class?” Onmund sits him up so roughly that they nearly knock heads. The boy’s hands, the clerk realizes with a start, are shaking. “We were in class. Don’t you know what’s happening outside?”

Brelyna sits back in the mess of hearth-ash and washwater, rubbing her crumpling face with both hands. Her voice wavers like a shrill flute. “I thought you were dead, too.”

“Too?” The clerk, blistered and dripping, stares at his pupils. “Who’s dead?”

A muscle jumps in Onmund’s ashen face. J’zargo flattens his ears and looks away. It’s Brelyna, choking on overwhelmed tears, who answers.

“The Archmage,” she sobs. Outside, muffled by the dormitory walls, a scream pitches above the cries of gulls. “The Archmage.”

[gryficowa]

Remember, we are boycotting Disney and the Olympics

As I see, GF ships are coming back… In 2024, bruh

Marble Hornets? Jeez, I haven't heard that name in years, and I haven't even watched the series (Or that type, because it was more of an ARG before the term ARG)

Well, thanks to them, Slenderman was who he was (Tia… And then this situation with 12-year-olds and this movie from 2018)

Now that I have your attention:

Unfortunately, the biggest problem with sharing links to collections or fundraising posts is that you don't know whether they will be shared or not, which means that the collections don't reach people who could help, which sucks :/

It doesn't help that Tumblr has shadowbanned the Palestine/Gaza tags, which means they don't show up in trends (Although they're in purple, so they're there, but they don't show up, but what can you expect from a site run by Zionists?)

If it was possible to predict whether a post with collections would be shared, it would be a miracle, but unfortunately it is not and it sucks :/

By the way, fuck Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga because they are silent about Gaza

And yes, I know that by sharing links to my fundraising posts and doing the same thing every new post, a chain is being created, but yes, there are also collections from Congo and Sudan (However, there are a lot of collections, and this is the only way to reach people)

There will probably be a lot of tags under this post, because when I talk about many topics in one post, there are usually many tags (Which has its pros and cons, but unfortunately, as I mentioned, otherwise the collections come to a halt)

List of corporations that support Israel:

Disney

Nestle

Microsoft

Intel

Google

Puma

Nike

Amazon

Axa

Booking.com

Burger King

McDonald

KFC

Kinder (It's not written down, but I found the information)

Zott

Coca-cola/Monster

Snicers/Sky milk

Lion

Oreo

Pizza Hut

Papa John's

Starbucks

Volvo

Wendy

Domino's pizza

Tic tac

Pepsi

Lipton

Dove

Nestcafe

Danone (Actimel)

Doritos

Leys

Fanta

MIrinda

Lego

Walls's

Carrefour

Ariel

Orakl-B

Nokia

Xiaomi

Marvel/Fox/Pixar (Disney)

Mattel

Hewlett Pacaro (HP)

Motorola

National Geographic

Tide

There is more, but finding all the companies is a nightmare, so I gave as much as I could

By the way, boycott "Stranger Things" because it is a series created mainly by Zionists, many actors and the scriptwriter revealed their support for Israel

Fuck Rowling too because she liked a Zionist tweet and showed neutrality towards genocide (And the creator of Winx often supports what she says, so yes, we have a chain)

[minetteskvareninova]

How Would I Put This For My Non-Slovak Mutuals

Slovakia is going to have elections (premature, I should note, because Matovič is an idiot, see bellow) and by God I am stressed. Our options are as follows:

Progresívne Slovensko (Progressive Slovakia) - They are the, well, progressive party of the Slovak political spectrum. Which means they are the only fucking party that supports the LGBT movement with any consistency. Most of their other proposals are also relatively reasonable; they are interested in protecting the environment, want to improve the sorry state of Slovak healthcare, fight the corruption and so on. Their only two issues are the fact that their leader, Martin Šimečka, is a fucking nerd with the charisma of a wet noodle, and the fact that everyone, and I mean absolutely everyone, even people who theoretically should be on their side on account of not being bigoted Putin-loving dipshits, hates them for absolutely no reason. Well, except for their large preferences, probably. They are the most successful party, or second most successful (depends on how the elections pan out) after...

SMER - Sociálna demokracia (DIRECTION - Social Democracy; yes I know SMER is also short for something but I'm too lazy to look it up right now) - Hoo boy. These guys. How would I even start to explain the sheer amount of baggage these guys carry...? SMER has been in power in 2008-2012 and 2012-2020. And it was a fucking shitshow. Between massive corruption and widespread mismanagement of public resources, you can't help but wonder how the fuck did these people last one term, let alone three?! Don't let the Social Democracy thing in their name fool you, these people aren't really social democrats, they have no ideology beyond getting more votes and avoiding jail. Their leader is Róbert Fico, a literal antichrist whose corruption scandals would make for an exceptionally thick encyclopedia. This man is able to sell his soul to the devil for money and power, but since the devil seems kinda unavailable, he figured Putin is the next best (worst?) thing. His latest strategy for gaining more support is leaning into the fanatical Putin-loving, EU and human rights hating crowd, which in our country is depressingly large. Another memorable personality is Ľuboš Blaha, a tankie extraordinaire whose favourite meal is the sole of Volodya's boot and a steady diet of bathit conspiracies. Remember when Blaha engaged in casual atrocity denial around Bucha, because Pepperidge Farm and Minette's blog remember. https://www.tumblr.com/minetteskvareninova/680859499810177024/this-war-is-horrible-and-itself-would-be-enough

Hlas-SD (Voice-SD) - Most progressives in Slovakia have high hopes for these people. I don't. They are an offshoot of SMER, whose leader Peter Pellegrini has mostly held the line with Fico, but at least seems spineless enough to betray him if it happens to be advantageous enough. They don't really have any kind of concrete politics (most of their program is a vague "we'll make things better" kind of stuff), but at least they don't actively spread hate, so in that way they are able to climb over the low bar that is their mother party. Still, how are these people in the third place of every pre-election survey I will never know. I guess Pelle is just that sexy or whatever.

Obyčajní ľudia a nezávislé osobnosti (Ordinary People And Independent Personalities) - They have been the ruling party since 2020 and much like with SMER, it was kind of a shitshow, just in a different way. Their leader Igor Matovič is less corrupt (mind you, not NOT corrupt) than Fico, but more than makes up for it by being kinda stupid and also a horrendous drama queen whose antics prematurely ended two cabinets, his and Heger's. Tenderly nicknamed "Matelko", he became known for his "atom bombs" of ideas, such as giving out prizes in a lottery that people join by getting vaccinated. Y'know, to increase vaccination rates during the height of COVID-19 pandemic. That's why this whole thing had to be televised, complete with "call to collect your prize" type of deal. For what it's worth, he at least made attempts to fight the corruption of the previous regime; he did it badly, as is his way, but nonetheless. "Independent personalities" here means a bunch of small parties that joined them in this election, because they would have no chance otherwise. They are a pretty diverse bunch, meaning their ranks include, among others, an infamous bigot and fanatical anti-abortion activist Anna Záborská, but they also made my bae Jaroslav Naď a defence minister, so that kinda balances it out. I wouldn't hate it if they managed to get into parliament, I'll tell you that much.

Slododa a Solidarita (Freedom and Solidarity) - Considering Matelko profiles himself as an anti-corruption crusader, you'd think Róbert Fico is his nemesis. You'd be wrong. Fico unfortunately loses that prestigious title to one Richard Sulík, leader of SaS, who is... Eh? Like, he's competent in the questions of economy and in general not in the worst tier of Slovak politicians, but also, he's as much of a libertarian as is possible in our part of the world (which si to say, he's not as bad as an average American libertarian, but still engages in, for example, casual climate change denial) and constantly feuds with Matelko. Again, I don't hate him, but we could do a lot better.

Kresťanskodemokratické hnutie (Christian-Democratic Movement) - They are surprisingly not as bigoted as their name would suggest, but that's because here in Slovakia we are used to levels of homophobia and transphobia that would boggle the mind of an average non-fundie American. They come off as relatively reasonable, but only because one can't help but compare them to Putin kissasses like SMER, SNS and Republika. Which brings us to...

Slovenská národná strana (Slovak National Party) - You know, Stupidest Slovak Politician is a tough contest, so my respect to anyone who is able to win it as decisively as Andrej Danko. This man is like Róbert Fico, if his spirit animal was a sheep instead of a fox (and I say it as someone who has experience with sheep, those motherfuckers are ungodly stupid). He simped for Putin before it was cool, when that particular fanclub was just him and Blaha. He doesn't seem to be able to speak his mother tongue and his constant malaproper speech is the source of many a meme. Which, yes, means that him getting into parliament would be pretty funny. On the other hand, all that fun would probably be somewhat spoiled by the fact that he's ALSO super corrupt, not to mention, y'know, conspiracy-spreading Putin simp and bigot. He also cites Viktor Orbán as his actual, honest-to-God role model. So, an all-around cool dude that I am very happy might be in the next parliament (if Fico wins the election, because naturally these two get on like a house on fire). /s

Republika (The Republic) - I can't believe SMER legit isn't the worst mainstream Slovak party, but I mean, at least they aren't actual neonazis? I mean, Republika does its best to hide their affiliations, but because their leader, Milan Uhrík, is in competition for the second stupidest Slovak politician (the first place, as stated, firmly belonging to Danko), they don't do a particularly good job of that. I mean, Republika is the product of a schism within ĽSNS, who were already infamous for their idiocy (besides, you know, barely disguised fascism), so figures. Milan Uhrík in particular is the man whose most important contributions to Slovak culture were sitting in the European Parliament doing fuck all (did I mention that like most bigots, he also shits on EU constantly?) and the "I am not a historian" meme. Basically, because of the blatant fascist sympathies of his party, including worshipping Jozef Tiso, he was asked to condemn the crimes of the First Slovak Republic (which was basically a Nazi puppet - yeah, Ukrainians aren't the only nation in this region with a shady past, go figure; not that it prevents some people, including Uhrík himself, from spreading the "denazification" bullshit). Uhrík's answer? "I am not a historian". Since then, he has been given several options to revise this opinion. He never took any of them. His agenda is also truly something to behold, like I've never read something as profoundly dumb as the pamphlets where they present it. They don't seem to be as successful as ĽSNS, but that's unfortunately because their schtick was stolen by SMER with the good chunk of their electorate. Still, SMER might actually take them into their coalition, because like goes with the like even if the "like" is bigotry, and lest we forget, there is no God.

Sme rodina (We Are Family) - *sigh* Do I have to? Okay. Sme rodina is yet another conservative party, completely unlike EVERY OTHER PARTY THAT EVER GAINED ANY TRACTION IN THIS COUNTRY PLEASE GET ME OUT OF HERE. Ahem. Its leader Boris Kollár is a businessman who gained something of a memetic status in Slovak showbusiness by being a massive whore and having a fuckton of illegitimate children (the current count is I think 12?). Something of a Slovak Herschel Walker. And just like Herschel Walker, he, the avowed conservative that he is, has been accused of paying for abortions of one of his ex-girlfriends. Which is just a reflection of this guy's general moral consistency. To put it simply, Boris is the biggest Slovak whore. If Fico asked him to join his coalition, you bet your ass he would. He also has associated with people involved in organized crime (just like Fico) and sexted a fifteen year old drug addict. Because, as their billboards state, Sme rodina "protects children". Needless to say, I can't fucking stand this dude just as a person; since he seems to want to be an Isekai hero, I hope he gets hit by a truck.

Demokrati (The Democrats) - They're fine. Their leader is our former short-term prime minister Eduard Heger, whose only flaws were being hopelessly naive and letting Matelko get away with shit he should not have gotten away with. Any people that might be OK with them already vote for Progresívne Slovensko, but maybe they will get enough votes to be eligible for parliament? Maybe??? Their chances aren't high to be honest, but what do you know, miracles do happen.

[wellthebardsdead]

Vivienne: *sighs and starts rummaging through his pack* no- damn it- Lucien are you done with that book?

Lucien: oh yes! Here would you like to rea-

Vivienne: *takes it and rips out a couple pages* thanks. *folds it up*

Lucien: MY BOOK?!

Steren: what do you need that for hla khes’m?

Vivienne: my cycle started and I’ve no scrap fabric, papers absorbent right?

Steren: … *rips off a chunk of his cape and hands it to him* this should work better.

Vivienne: I… thank you. *smiles and takes it before handing Lucien the paper back and walking off*

Steren: *smiles watching him leave* when you’re done puking and crying Lucien can you add thread and fabric to our shopping list?

Lucien: *ugly sobbing over his book*

[vosh-rakh]

Ku-vastei watched lazily as young Hla-eix and the Duke’s daughter, Derelayn, play-fought in the palace courtyard. Derelayn was bigger than Hla-eix, being a few years older, but Hla-eix kept pace with her. The clacks of their wooden toy swords clashing resonated throughout the empty space. Ku-vastei was proud of her daughter’s skill; she recognized several short blade maneuvers she had taught her herself.

Ku glanced at her wife lounging nearby, casually reading a book. Ku-vastei thought she must be very lucky to have such a lovely wife and daughter. (Being Hortator was a nice plus, too – at least when she had a moment to breathe like this.)

But the feeling was short-lived. A sudden jolt of pain spiked up her right hand, permanently encased in Wraithguard. With her left hand she reached for the glass of cold marshmerrow juice on the small table next to her, and took a mighty swig. No healing potion, but a decent analgesic. The pain slowly subsided in descending throbs until it was barely noticeable. She flexed her hand to make sure. A bit tight in the fingertips and crook of the thumb, but manageable. Watching the interlocking plates and joints shift, she had an idea.

“Girls!” she shouted across the courtyard. “Come here.”

Hla-eix and Derelayn dropped their swords and approached seated Ku-vastei.

“Yes, mama?” asked Hla-eix, expectant.

At the same time, Derelyan asked, “Yes, Hortator?” She seemed nervous, like she thought she was in trouble. And the fact that the girl still called Ku “Hortator” after all these years bothered her.

“Tell me,” Ku began, “What is on my right hand?”

The girls fell silent and thoughtful. After a moment, Derelayn offered, “Lord Vivec, Hortator?”

“No, Derry,” said Ku, patiently but without smiling. “Vivec is my left hand.”

Hla-eix lit up and suggested, “Oh! It’s Uncle Arry!”

“No, Eix,” said Ku again, shaking her head. “Aryon is my right hand, yes, but you’re not thinking literally enough.”

“Ohhh,” Hla-eix gasped, a long, drawn out sound. “You mean Wraithguard!”

“Yes, sweetheart,” said Ku, still not smiling. She raised her right hand, the back of Wraithguard facing the girls. “Eix, do you know what it does?”

“Yes, mama!” Hla-eix said, eager to show her knowledge. “It keeps you safe from the power of Sunder and Keening!”

“And what would happen if someone without Wraithguard on their hand attempted to wield Sunder or Keening?”

Hla-eix frowned and her voice became solemn. “They would die, mama.”

“Hm,” muttered Ku with a slight nod. With Wraithguard, she pulled Keening from its sheath on her hip. “This,” she said, brandishing the profane dagger, “is Keening, what laid low Dagoth Ur with its final sting to his heart.” (She was so used to the lie she had told Vivec after that fight that she told it everywhere – none but Azura could prove her wrong, and she didn’t seem interested.)

“Ah!” gasped Hla-eix, leaning in close.

“Wow!” added Derelayn, also leaning in. “It’s so pretty!”

“Don’t touch!” Ku warned suddenly, raising her voice. “You would die!”

The girls recoiled in fear from the blade, frightened by Ku’s volume.

“You mustn’t be careless with the profane tools,” admonished Ku. “One wrong move and –” She quickly tossed up Keening, catching it in her bare left hand.

“Mama, no!” cried Hla-eix, lunging forward to stop her mother’s apparent carelessness. Derelayn burst into tears immediately.

Ku-vastei pulled back Keening from Hla-eix’s reach, and burst into laughter. “You thought I was in danger!” She returned the dagger to its sheath. “It’s a neat trick I learned by accident once – the gauntlet protects my whole body!”

But now even Hla-eix was crying big, angry tears. From behind came a shout from Ashiri: “Ku-vastei! Stop frightening the children!”

“Oh, it was just a bit of fun, I didn’t mean to –”

“Girls, come to mommy. It’s okay, sweets. That’s right, come here and give me a big hug.”

Ku rolled her eyes. Kids these days. So sensitive.

[amtrak-official]

LA voters, please remember to vote yes on HLA today to insure that LA becomes a safer, more walkable and bikeable city

[sapphyreopal5]

Call this a rant or a public service announcement or whatever you want to call it. I did partake in a bit of a back and forth exchange with regards to mental health on another blogger's page. Of course as always, people do read the comments but that is it (not beyond what is being said without it being said). Yes I get into debates with people and do not care if I upset or somehow trigger people when it comes to stating observations they do not agree with, especially when they start throwing in bullshit like "sending kids to therapy is positive parenting". Yeah sure, do you even know what that actually means (read here before you decide that)? Because sending children or other people to therapy that isn't needed is NOT part of that equation.

When it comes to depression, some say it's genetic. Sure, this is true... to an extent. When people think of a disorder being genetic, I think a lot of them are thinking things like how Sickle Cell Disease gets passed down or in the sense of "if both parents have a trait or the disease itself, their kids are 25%/50%/75%/100% likely to get it", like in the diagram below. In other words, I think they are mistaking the word genetic with depression in this case as it meaning it's an Inherited Disease.

This is not quite how it works with diseases like depression, anxiety, etc. I've seen a lot of articles out there say depression is genetic in a very generic sense when what they really mean is having a Genetic Predisposition to it. Or in other words, certain genes that have yet to be identified are contributing factors that either increase or decrease your likelihood to developing a disease as in this case, depression. Per the Verywellhealth.com website I linked to a couple times in this post:

A genetic predisposition can leave you vulnerable to disease if you encounter the right set of contributing factors at some point in your life.1 Contributing factors can be any number of things, including: * Other genes1 * Acute illnesses, like those caused by a virus or bacterium2 * Environmental exposures, like pollution or pesticides3 * Smoking or other tobacco use4 * Alcohol or drug abuse5 * Hormonal changes, such as having a baby or going through menopause6 * Surgery7 * Long-term sleep deprivation8 It typically takes at least one more contributing factor beyond the predisposition to trigger a disease you're susceptible to. When there are multiple contributing factors, it’s called a “multifactorial illness.”

Genetic Predisposition Example Human leukocyte antigens (HLA) are genes that provide instructions for making proteins important to your immune system. Variations in these genes result in the production of slightly different proteins.9 Some of these variations make people more susceptible to autoimmune diseases like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. Siblings who have a parent with an autoimmune condition may or may not develop a similar condition, even if they all inherited the same genes. Whether or not a specific sibling gets an autoimmune condition can depend on variables such as where they travel or work. For example, a sibling who contracts a rare viral illness while traveling could develop an autoimmune condition while recovering. Another sibling might develop an autoimmune condition after years of working in an industrial facility where they were exposed to toxins that affect the immune system. A third sibling might never develop an autoimmune condition simply because they were never exposed to a contributing factor.

Depression is in fact a Multifactorial Illness, namely being there are multiple factors contributing to someone developing depression. Per Medicalnewstoday.com:

Genetics plays a significant role in a person’s risk of developing depression. However, it is not a solely hereditary condition. A hereditary condition is one that occurs due to a mutation, or change, in a specific gene or chromosome. For example, cystic fibrosis is a hereditary condition. If a person inherits a copy of the gene for cystic fibrosis from both parents, they will have the disease from birth. Depression works differently. It is a multifactorial condition, meaning many factors contribute to its development. These factors can be: * biological * environmental * social * psychological The role of genetics in depression Scientists know there is a strong genetic component because of twin studies. Identical twins share the exact same genes, so researchers can study them to see if genetics or environment play a bigger role in the development of diseases. The American Psychiatric Association states that if one identical twin has depression, the other twin has a 70% risk of developing it. This indicates that genes play a big role in a person’s predisposition to depression. An older 2000 review of five twin studies found a 37% heritability rate for depression. The review also found that there was a two- to threefold increase in the risk of depression in the children of parents with depression. However, it is important to note that genetics do not make depression inevitable.

Does depression still sound like a "genetic" disease? To me, even though some articles suggest depression has some possible hereditary factors involved as is said on WebMD, some sources also acknowledge there is no set of genes that are 100% contributory factors in it either (one gene here for example is suggested to have shown up in over 800 families with recurrent depression). It ultimately sounds more or less like a disease that could have epigenetic roots to me, or namely when environmental factors change or modify gene expression via gene-environment interactions.

Is Therapy REALLY for Everyone?

Now onto the next part of my rant. I do not prescribe to the notion that everyone should go to therapy; I believe you shouldn't go to therapy unless it's needed for so many reasons. As this article said, "Research shows not everyone needs therapy — but everyone needs some form of mental health support." It also states:

YOU MAY NEED THERAPY IF… … your symptoms are affecting your ability to function. The need for professional treatment can be most apparent when symptoms of mental illness impair our usual feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. A therapist has the training necessary to help when changes in your mental health lead to symptoms like: * Avoiding social interaction and having trouble in relationships * Having trouble sleeping * Performing worse at school or work * Facing addictions or eating disorders * Suffering from depression, anxiety, hopelessness, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) * Having thoughts of hurting yourself or others

There are people who per this website Anxietycentre.com say therapy doesn't help (at the core of things) the following reasons:

1. Unhealthy underlying factors might be skewing the client’s perception of therapy. 2. Having fears that pose resistance to therapy. 3. Therapy needs to be specific to each person’s struggle. 4. Goals haven’t been set that can be measured along the way to success. 5. There is a mismatch between the client’s struggle and the therapeutic approach used. 6. There is a clash between therapist and client personalities. 7. The therapist wasn’t an effective therapist. 8. The client is looking for a faster solution. 9. The client is looking for an inexpensive solution. 10. The client’s recovery expectations are unrealistic. 11. Inaccurate preconceived notions about therapy. 12. The client believes she should be able to help herself. 13. The client believes his therapist is wrong. 14. The client believes she knows better than the therapist. 15. Resistance is also a common reason why some people believe therapy doesn’t work.

I especially want to talk about number 4 for multiple reasons which is admittedly in part stemming from my own personal experiences and also other things. Another reason that is not quite mentioned on that is because someone just may not need therapy. Too much of anything is a bad thing, including therapy. It drives me insane people so casually say "go to therapy" for their woes or say things like "everyone needs to see a therapist at some point". No, like I said earlier, everyone needs some form of mental support. BIG difference between the two you guys!

There are in fact times when therapy can actually be a bad thing, especially when you either don't need it, it's the wrong kind of therapy, or you get too much of it. I mean there are side effects to every other type of treatment for diseases and disorders, why wouldn't therapy have side effects too? I read a startling statistic that up to 10% of psychotherapy patients actually end up faring worse than they did before they started therapy. With substance abuse, this is predicted to be as high as 15%. For those going through regular grief per that website (NOT grief triggered by sudden events or long-term grief), about half of those patients in grief counseling end up doing worse after than before.

When it comes to children, there are some studies that show more youth clients have negative experiences than have been previously thought in psychotherapy. A pretty concerning thought given how more teenagers since 2012 have been getting diagnosed with depression than in generations before. And when there are people who are so casual about throwing their kids in therapy they might not need and call it "brain exercise". I'm pretty sure that just about any person on the autism spectrum who has gone to Applied Behavioral Analysis therapy (the said gold standard for treating autism) can tell you that sometimes therapy just is a straight up bad idea, just like conversion therapy. As the said founder of ABA therapy O. Ivar Lovaas once said (essentially calling autistic children less than human "in a psychological sense"): “Autistic children are severely disturbed. People seem to be no more than objects to them… You see, you start pretty much from scratch when you work with an autistic child. You have a person in the physical sense—they have hair, a nose and a mouth—but they are not people in the psychological sense.” So, for those of you who blindly advocate for kids to go to therapy, did you do your homework and make sure they in fact DO need therapy as below... or are you just one of those idiotic woke culture folks who parrot shit they read and hear on social media but don't actually do REAL research on LEGIT websites to form an educated opinion?

Sign 1: Sudden or Drastic Changes in Behavior Sign 2: Persistent Sadness or Anxiety Sign 3: Difficulty with School and Academic Performance Sign 4: Changes in Sleep Patterns or Eating Habits Sign 5: Social Withdrawal or Difficulty with Peer Relationships

Next Steps: Getting Started with Therapy for Kids If you’ve recognized any of these signs in your child, you might be wondering what to do next. Here are some steps to help you get started: Consult your pediatrician: Discuss your concerns with your child’s pediatrician. They can offer guidance, rule out any underlying medical issues, and provide referrals to mental health professionals. Research therapists: Look for therapists who specialize in working with children and have experience in addressing the specific concerns you’ve identified. You can ask for recommendations from friends, family, or your pediatrician, or search online directories and professional associations. Interview potential therapists: Before committing to a therapist, consider scheduling an initial consultation to ensure they’re a good fit for your child. Ask about their experience, therapeutic approach, and any additional training they’ve received in working with children. Involve your child: When possible, involve your child in the process of selecting a therapist. This can help them feel more comfortable and invested in their therapy journey. Be patient and supportive: It may take time for your child to develop a trusting relationship with their therapist and see improvements. Offer support and encouragement throughout the process, and keep an open line of communication with the therapist to monitor progress.

There is one rather noteworthy type of therapy mentioned in a previously quoted article here:

Expressive-Experiential Therapies Treatments that focus on experiencing or releasing powerful emotions can be helpful for some, but harmful for others. This form of emotional catharsis has been found to result in an increase of negative emotion rather than a reduction. These findings are similar to those indicating that catharsis for anger, such as punching a pillow, results in even more anger."

For those of you who follow my page and watch the show Supernatural, there's a great example of this being portrayed on one of the episodes. On Supernatural Season 1 Episode 10 "Asylum" where Dean said "Dr. Feelgood was working on like some sort of extreme-rage therapy. He thought that if he could get his patients to vent their anger then they'd be cured of it. Instead, it only made them worse and worse, and angrier and angrier."

Big takeaway here is that when it comes to depression, saying it's "genetic" doesn't mean it's an Inherited Disease but it simply means you have a higher Genetic Predisposition to it. And don't sit there and tell me you know what it means when articles say "depression is genetic" and assuming this is why someone's kids are in therapy. "Oh dad's got it so who knows what he passed onto the kids". I'm sorry but sit the fuck down and shut up if you have ignorant arguments like this. Blindly saying everyone should go to therapy because everyone needs it is just frankly idiotic at best and dangerous at worst. Just because a product is on the market doesn't make it safe, same with treatment. Did you all also forget about the Thalidomide Tragedy, or when doctors actually promoted smoking, or when handwashing as a remedy to reducing disease was laughed at ('cause going from surgery to the maternity ward without washing your hands can't be contributing to disease right)? Point is, quit blindly trusting sources without questioning everything. And if you aren't educated enough on something, just shut the fuck up and sit down. You speaking on something you know barely a thing about is not only going to make you look stupid by those who do know better, you're hurting those who are just as ignorant if not more ignorant than you are.

[stunkers]

Does Gordon have any scars, and if he does why? How did he get them? I know your story has him injured, so I know he got scarred up, probably, from that, but does he have any scarring from before Barney? Does your full human Gordon have any scarring either

(I'm now gonna be ACGF, btw)

Short answer yes to all!

Borrower Gordon has fur covering most of his body so his scars aren’t visible until he’s in his summer shed, and he didn’t get a majority of his scars till post rescas. Before he met Barney he just had a small scars around his hands from climbing around and making things.

He got a nic on his ear while fighting off a hoard of baby headcrabs and some other scars from being in crossfire. He also got bitten by a rat in a scrap.

As for human Gordon yeah that dude is scarred up. The hev suit in hla is completely ripped apart there is no way that dude went through black mesa and all the way across Eastern Europe without getting some scars

[changelingsandothernonsense]

Bold the Facts | OC Tag Game

Oooo this was fun. Tagged by @mareenavee, Thank you <3

Tagging back: @paraparadigm, @thequeenofthewinter, @snippetsrus, @thana-topsy, @elfinismsarts, @saltymaplesyrup, @gilgamish, @tallmatcha, @polypolymorph, @orfeoarte, @kookaburra1701 Here we are doing Sydari, Teldryn(with some additions by you know who), Hlas, Yani† and Maera. This would be as of 4E 199. Under the cut because long.

Sydari

✧˖°. PERSONAL

    $ Financial: wealthy / moderate / poor / in poverty

    ✚ Medical: fit / moderate / sickly / disabled / disadvantaged / non-applicable

    ✪Class/Caste: upper / middle / working / unsure / other

    ✔ Education: qualified / unqualified / studying / other

    ✖ Criminal Record: yes, for major crimes / yes, for minor crimes / no / has committed crimes, but not caught yet / yes, but charges were dismissed

✧˖°. FAMILY

    ◒ Children: had a child or children / has no children / wants children

    ◑ Relationship with Family: close with sibling(s) / not close with sibling(s) / has no siblings / sibling(s) is deceased

    ◔ Affiliation: orphaned / abandoned / adopted / found family / disowned / raised by birth parent(s) / not applicable

✧˖°. TRAITS + TENDENCIES

    ♦ extroverted / introverted / in-between

    ♦ disorganized / organized / in-between

    ♦ close-minded / open-minded / in-between

    ♦ calm / anxious / in-between / highly contextual

    ♦ disagreeable / agreeable / in-between

    ♦ cautious / reckless / in-between / highly contextual

    ♦ patient / impatient / in-between

    ♦ outspoken / reserved / in-between / highly contextual

    ♦ leader / follower / in-between

    ♦ empathetic / vicious bastard / in-between / highly contextual

    ♦ optimistic / pessimistic / in-between

    ♦ traditional / modern / in-between

    ♦ hard-working / lazy / in-between

    ♦ cultured / uncultured/in-between / unknown

    ♦ loyal / disloyal / unknown / highly contextual

    ♦ faithful / unfaithful / unknown / highly contextual

✧˖°. BELIEFS

    ★ Faith: monotheist / polytheist / atheist / agnostic

    ☆ Belief in Ghosts or Spirits: yes / no / don't know / don’t care / in a matter of speaking

    ✮ Belief in an Afterlife: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care / in a manner of speaking

    ✯ Belief in Reincarnation: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care / in a manner of speaking

    ❃ Belief in Aliens: yes / no / don’t know / don't care

    ✧ Religious: orthodox / liberal / in between / not religious

    ❀ Philosophical: yes / no / highly contextual

✧˖°. SEXUALITY & ROMANTIC INCLINATION

    ❤ Sexuality: heterosexual / homosexual / bisexual / asexual / pansexual

    ❥ Sex: sex-repulsed / sex neutral / sex favorable / naive and clueless

    ♥ Romance: romance repulsed / romance neutral / romance favorable / naive and clueless / romance suspicious

    ❣ Sexually: adventurous / experienced / naive / inexperienced / curious

    ⚧ Potential Sexual Partners: male / female / agender / other / none / all

    ⚧ Potential Romantic Partners: male / female / agender / other / none / all

✧˖°. ABILITIES

    ☠ Combat Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

    ≡ Literacy Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

    ✍ Artistic Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

    ✂ Technical Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

✧˖°. HABITS

    ☕ Drinking Alcohol: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / alcoholic / former borderline alcoholic turned sober

    ☁ Smoking: tried it / trying to quit / quit / never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / chain-smoker

    ✿ Recreational Drugs: tried some / never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / addict

    ✌ Medicinal Drugs: never / no longer needs medication / some medication needed / frequently / to excess

    ☻ Unhealthy Food: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / binge eater

    $ Splurge Spending: never / sometimes / frequently / shopaholic

    ♣ Gambling: never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / compulsive gamble Teldryn

✧˖°. PERSONAL

    $ Financial: wealthy / moderate / poor / in poverty

    ✚ Medical: fit / moderate / sickly / disabled / disadvantaged / non-applicable

    ✪Class/Caste: upper / middle / working / unsure / other

    ✔ Education: qualified / unqualified / studying / other

    ✖ Criminal Record: yes, for major crimes / yes, for minor crimes / no / has committed crimes, but not caught yet / yes, but charges were dismissed

✧˖°. FAMILY

    ◒ Children: had a child or children / has no children / wants children

    ◑ Relationship with Family: close with sibling(s) / not close with sibling(s) / has no siblings / sibling(s) is deceased

    ◔ Affiliation: orphaned / abandoned / adopted / found family / disowned / raised by birth parent(s) / not applicable

✧˖°. TRAITS + TENDENCIES

    ♦ extroverted / introverted / in-between

    ♦ disorganized / organized / in-between

    ♦ close-minded / open-minded / in-between

    ♦ calm / anxious / in-between / highly contextual

    ♦ disagreeable / agreeable / in-between

    ♦ cautious / reckless / in-between / highly contextual

    ♦ patient / impatient / in-between

    ♦ outspoken / reserved / in-between / highly contextual

    ♦ leader / follower / in-between

    ♦ empathetic / vicious bastard / in-between / highly contextual

    ♦ optimistic / pessimistic / in-between

    ♦ traditional / modern / in-between

    ♦ hard-working / lazy / in-between

    ♦ cultured / uncultured / in-between / unknown

    ♦ loyal / disloyal / unknown / highly contextual

    ♦ faithful / unfaithful / unknown / highly contextual

✧˖°. BELIEFS

    ★ Faith: monotheist / polytheist / atheist / agnostic

    ☆ Belief in Ghosts or Spirits: yes / no / don't know / don’t care / in a matter of speaking

    ✮ Belief in an Afterlife: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care / in a manner of speaking

    ✯ Belief in Reincarnation: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care / in a manner of speaking

    ❃ Belief in Aliens: yes / no / don’t know / don't care

    ✧ Religious: orthodox / liberal / in between / not religious

    ❀ Philosophical: yes / no / highly contextual

✧˖°. SEXUALITY & ROMANTIC INCLINATION

    ❤ Sexuality: heterosexual / homosexual / bisexual / asexual / pansexual

    ❥ Sex: sex-repulsed / sex neutral / sex favorable / naive and clueless

    ♥ Romance: romance repulsed / romance neutral / romance favorable / naive and clueless / romance suspicious

    ❣ Sexually: adventurous / experienced / naive / inexperienced / curious

    ⚧ Potential Sexual Partners: male / female / agender / other / none / all

    ⚧ Potential Romantic Partners: male / female / agender / other / none / all

✧˖°. ABILITIES

    ☠ Combat Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

    ≡ Literacy Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

    ✍ Artistic Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

    ✂ Technical Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

✧˖°. HABITS

    ☕ Drinking Alcohol: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / alcoholic / former borderline alcoholic turned sober

    ☁ Smoking: tried it / trying to quit / quit / never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / chain-smoker

    ✿ Recreational Drugs: tried some / never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / addict

    ✌ Medicinal Drugs: never / no longer needs medication / some medication needed / frequently / to excess

    ☻ Unhealthy Food: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / binge eater

    $ Splurge Spending: never / sometimes / frequently / shopaholic

    ♣ Gambling: never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / compulsive gamble Hlas

✧˖°. PERSONAL

    $ Financial: wealthy / moderate / poor / in poverty

    ✚ Medical: fit / moderate / sickly / disabled / disadvantaged / non-applicable

    ✪Class/Caste: upper / middle / working / unsure / other

    ✔ Education: qualified / unqualified / studying / other

    ✖ Criminal Record: yes, for major crimes / yes, for minor crimes / no / has committed crimes, but not caught yet / yes, but charges were dismissed

✧˖°. FAMILY

    ◒ Children: had a child or children / has no children / wants children

    ◑ Relationship with Family: close with sibling(s) / not close with sibling(s) / has no siblings / sibling(s) is deceased

    ◔ Affiliation: orphaned / abandoned / adopted / found family / disowned / raised by birth parent(s) / not applicable

✧˖°. TRAITS + TENDENCIES

    ♦ extroverted / introverted / in-between

    ♦ disorganized / organized / in-between

    ♦ close-minded / open-minded / in-between

    ♦ calm / anxious / in-between / highly contextual

    ♦ disagreeable / agreeable / in-between

    ♦ cautious / reckless / in-between / highly contextual

    ♦ patient / impatient / in-between

    ♦ outspoken / reserved / in-between / highly contextual

    ♦ leader / follower / in-between

    ♦ empathetic / vicious bastard / in-between / highly contextual

    ♦ optimistic / pessimistic / in-between

    ♦ traditional / modern / in-between

    ♦ hard-working / lazy / in-between

    ♦ cultured / uncultured / in-between / unknown

    ♦ loyal / disloyal / unknown / highly contextual

    ♦ faithful / unfaithful / unknown / highly contextual

✧˖°. BELIEFS

    ★ Faith: monotheist / polytheist / atheist / agnostic

    ☆ Belief in Ghosts or Spirits: yes / no / don't know / don’t care / in a matter of speaking

    ✮ Belief in an Afterlife: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care / in a manner of speaking

    ✯ Belief in Reincarnation: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care / in a manner of speaking

    ❃ Belief in Aliens: yes / no / don’t know / don't care

    ✧ Religious: orthodox / liberal / in between / not religious

    ❀ Philosophical: yes / no / highly contextual

✧˖°. SEXUALITY & ROMANTIC INCLINATION

    ❤ Sexuality: heterosexual / homosexual / bisexual / asexual / pansexual

    ❥ Sex: sex-repulsed / sex neutral / sex favorable / naive and clueless

    ♥ Romance: romance repulsed / romance neutral / romance favorable / naive and clueless / romance suspicious

    ❣ Sexually: adventurous / experienced / naive / inexperienced / curious

    ⚧ Potential Sexual Partners: male / female / agender / other / none / all

    ⚧ Potential Romantic Partners: male / female / agender / other / none / all

✧˖°. ABILITIES

    ☠ Combat Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

    ≡ Literacy Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

    ✍ Artistic Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

    ✂ Technical Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

✧˖°. HABITS

    ☕ Drinking Alcohol: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / alcoholic / former borderline alcoholic turned sober

    ☁ Smoking: tried it / trying to quit / quit / never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / chain-smoker

    ✿ Recreational Drugs: tried some / never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / addict

    ✌ Medicinal Drugs: never / no longer needs medication / some medication needed / frequently / to excess

    ☻ Unhealthy Food: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / binge eater

    $ Splurge Spending: never / sometimes / frequently / shopaholic

    ♣ Gambling: never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / compulsive gamble Yani

✧˖°. PERSONAL

    $ Financial: wealthy / moderate / poor / in poverty

    ✚ Medical: fit / moderate / sickly / disabled / disadvantaged / non-applicable

    ✪Class/Caste: upper / middle / working / unsure / other

    ✔ Education: qualified / unqualified / studying / other

    ✖ Criminal Record: yes, for major crimes / yes, for minor crimes / no / has committed crimes, but not caught yet / yes, but charges were dismissed

✧˖°. FAMILY

    ◒ Children: had a child or children / has no children / wants children

    ◑ Relationship with Family: close with sibling(s) / not close with sibling(s) / has no siblings / sibling(s) is deceased

    ◔ Affiliation: orphaned / abandoned / adopted / found family / disowned / raised by birth parent(s) / not applicable

✧˖°. TRAITS + TENDENCIES

    ♦ extroverted / introverted / in-between

    ♦ disorganized / organized / in-between

    ♦ close-minded / open-minded / in-between

    ♦ calm / anxious / in-between / highly contextual

    ♦ disagreeable / agreeable / in-between

    ♦ cautious / reckless / in-between / highly contextual

    ♦ patient / impatient / in-between

    ♦ outspoken / reserved / in-between / highly contextual

    ♦ leader / follower / in-between

    ♦ empathetic / vicious bastard / in-between / highly contextual

    ♦ optimistic / pessimistic / in-between

    ♦ traditional / modern / in-between

    ♦ hard-working / lazy / in-between

    ♦ cultured / uncultured / in-between / unknown

    ♦ loyal / disloyal / unknown / highly contextual

    ♦ faithful / unfaithful / unknown / highly contextual

✧˖°. BELIEFS

    ★ Faith: monotheist / polytheist / atheist / agnostic

    ☆ Belief in Ghosts or Spirits: yes / no / don't know / don’t care / in a matter of speaking

    ✮ Belief in an Afterlife: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care / in a manner of speaking

    ✯ Belief in Reincarnation: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care / in a manner of speaking

    ❃ Belief in Aliens: yes / no / don’t know / don't care

    ✧ Religious: orthodox / liberal / in between / not religious

    ❀ Philosophical: yes / no / highly contextual

✧˖°. SEXUALITY & ROMANTIC INCLINATION

    ❤ Sexuality: heterosexual / homosexual / bisexual / asexual / pansexual

    ❥ Sex: sex-repulsed / sex neutral / sex favorable / naive and clueless

    ♥ Romance: romance repulsed / romance neutral / romance favorable / naive and clueless / romance suspicious

    ❣ Sexually: adventurous / experienced / naive / inexperienced / curious

    ⚧ Potential Sexual Partners: male / female / agender / other / none / all

    ⚧ Potential Romantic Partners: male / female / agender / other / none / all

✧˖°. ABILITIES

    ☠ Combat Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

    ≡ Literacy Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

    ✍ Artistic Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

    ✂ Technical Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

✧˖°. HABITS

    ☕ Drinking Alcohol: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / alcoholic / former borderline alcoholic turned sober

    ☁ Smoking: tried it / trying to quit / quit / never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / chain-smoker

    ✿ Recreational Drugs: tried some / never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / addict

    ✌ Medicinal Drugs: never / no longer needs medication / some medication needed / frequently / to excess

    ☻ Unhealthy Food: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / binge eater

    $ Splurge Spending: never / sometimes / frequently / shopaholic

    ♣ Gambling: never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / compulsive gamble Maera

✧˖°. PERSONAL

    $ Financial: wealthy / moderate / poor / in poverty

    ✚ Medical: fit / moderate / sickly / disabled / disadvantaged / non-applicable

    ✪Class/Caste: upper / middle / working / unsure / other

    ✔ Education: qualified / unqualified / studying / other

    ✖ Criminal Record: yes, for major crimes / yes, for minor crimes / no / has committed crimes, but not caught yet / yes, but charges were dismissed

✧˖°. FAMILY

    ◒ Children: had a child or children / has no children / wants children

    ◑ Relationship with Family: close with sibling(s) / not close with sibling(s) / has no siblings / sibling(s) is deceased

    ◔ Affiliation: orphaned / abandoned / adopted / found family / disowned / raised by birth parent(s) / not applicable

✧˖°. TRAITS + TENDENCIES

    ♦ extroverted / introverted / in-between

    ♦ disorganized / organized / in-between

    ♦ close-minded / open-minded / in-between

    ♦ calm / anxious / in-between / highly contextual

    ♦ disagreeable / agreeable / in-between

    ♦ cautious / reckless / in-between / highly contextual

    ♦ patient / impatient / in-between

    ♦ outspoken / reserved / in-between / highly contextual

    ♦ leader / follower / in-between

    ♦ empathetic / vicious bastard / in-between / highly contextual

    ♦ optimistic / pessimistic / in-between

    ♦ traditional / modern / in-between

    ♦ hard-working / lazy / in-between

    ♦ cultured / uncultured / in-between / unknown

    ♦ loyal / disloyal / unknown / highly contextual

    ♦ faithful / unfaithful / unknown / highly contextual

✧˖°. BELIEFS

    ★ Faith: monotheist / polytheist / atheist / agnostic

    ☆ Belief in Ghosts or Spirits: yes / no / don't know / don’t care / in a matter of speaking

    ✮ Belief in an Afterlife: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care / in a manner of speaking

    ✯ Belief in Reincarnation: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care / in a manner of speaking

    ❃ Belief in Aliens: yes / no / don’t know / don't care

    ✧ Religious: orthodox / liberal / in between / not religious

    ❀ Philosophical: yes / no / highly contextual

✧˖°. SEXUALITY & ROMANTIC INCLINATION

    ❤ Sexuality: heterosexual / homosexual / bisexual / asexual / pansexual

    ❥ Sex: sex-repulsed / sex neutral / sex favorable / naive and clueless

    ♥ Romance: romance repulsed / romance neutral / romance favorable / naive and clueless / romance suspicious

    ❣ Sexually: adventurous / experienced / naive / inexperienced / curious

    ⚧ Potential Sexual Partners: male / female / agender / other / none / all

    ⚧ Potential Romantic Partners: male / female / agender / other / none / all

✧˖°. ABILITIES

    ☠ Combat Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

    ≡ Literacy Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

    ✍ Artistic Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

    ✂ Technical Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

✧˖°. HABITS

    ☕ Drinking Alcohol: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / alcoholic / former borderline alcoholic turned sober

    ☁ Smoking: tried it / trying to quit / quit / never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / chain-smoker

    ✿ Recreational Drugs: tried some / never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / addict

    ✌ Medicinal Drugs: never / no longer needs medication / some medication needed / frequently / to excess

    ☻ Unhealthy Food: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / binge eater

    $ Splurge Spending: never / sometimes / frequently / shopaholic

    ♣ Gambling: never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / compulsive gamble

[gmanwhore]

Valve are alive. They’re doing stuff. There’s a final TF2 comic on the way. For all of my gripes with Deadlock as a concept, it’s still a full game that’s probably going to get released. And the HLA ending tells us that, one way or another, a true sequel for the HL series IS now a real possibility. Yes, there are problems with HLA being VR-only, making it inaccessible to most fans, but that doesn’t mean it’s not the game with which Valve rose from the ashes.

Yeah!!!! It's really important!!!!

[jiubilant]

12 (candles) if youd like :)

12. candles

The lawman’s desk is a heavy old thing, hard-cornered, strewn with billets, bills, and bobs—and tall tallow-candles, pale and slender as a gentry-mort’s throat, standing in ship-shaped silver chambersticks. The urchin stands tippy-toed to stare at them. If she snatches them and bolts, she thinks, she could fence them dockside for a rum sum. Her hands twitch. Her own mug, blank with terror, stares back at her from the polished plate.

“The contracts are in order,” says the lawman, reaching for his quill. Then his hand stops. Through silver-rimmed spectacles, he sizes up the urchin: her togs, her scabby ears, the bald tip of her tail. The hard corners of his mouth turn down. “And—this is the child in question?”

The clerk to whom the urchin will be prenticed, unless she darts out with the chambersticks, drums two calm fingers on his cane. “Yes.”

Auntie, the urchin reminds herself over the hammering of her heart, had told her to mind him. She wouldn't disobey Auntie, never. But Auntie hadn't known, surely, that her turncoat-toff brother would march the urchin straight into a cunning-man's office, where rogues like her get their fortunes read—

"—right, hla?" the clerk is saying, for some reason.

He’d told her outside to bow to the lawman when addressed. Now they’re both looking at her—the clerk with furrowed brow, the lawman fitting her for a noose with just his eyes—and the urchin’s back feels like a wooden beam, and her tongue feels like something growing on it. She manages to nod.

“Well.” The lawman gives the clerk a pointed look, then scans the contracts again. “No bond of surety. No pension provided for the child’s upkeep. You understand that you are, therefore, obliged to provide for her out-of-pocket for the duration of her indenture?”

The urchin, half-listening, imagines the ship-shaped chambersticks sailing away: candle-flames flickering, silver prows carving the sea. She imagines herself in one. The clerk's curt voice drifts down to her as if through water. “Yes.”

“That you are, for said duration, liable for her in every particular—"

“Quite.”

“Well.” With an ironic flourish of his quill, the lawman makes his mark. “You Company people dredge up your prentices from the damnedest places. All right, Master Rano, she’s yours if you sign.”

She’ll do it, the urchin thinks, eyeing the silver glims. She’ll kick the stick out from under the old scribbler, so as he can’t grab her, and be out the door like that. She shifts her weight in preparation—

"My thanks," says the clerk breezily, and whisks the contracts from the lawman's desk. He blows on the ink to dry it—the candles sputter, as does the lawman—then drops the rolls into the wide-eyed urchin's arms. "Hold onto those, for now, and let's be off. Stuffy in here."

"Why—" The lawman, turning red, straightens his spectacles. "You've not signed!"

The clerk's cloak swirls about him as he turns. The look with which he fixes the lawman is one of perfect, polite concern. "Need I do it now?"

"A notary must witness the signature—"

"I'm a notary," says the clerk brightly, and billows out the door.

They're halfway down the street before the urchin realizes that her legs are moving. Wobbling, too. She hugs the contracts close and slows to a practiced stroll, keeping to the scribbler's shadow, because only the greenest dabbers get caught hurrying in broad daylight—

The clerk, she realizes, is talking to her again.

"—all right?" he asks, looking down his long nose. She's never seen such a beak on any bird. He doesn't look like Auntie at all, she thinks, her chest all tight. Auntie had never stared at her like that, brow creased, as though the urchin had been put together wrong.

Whatever he'd said, twice now, he wants her to agree. She swallows and drops her eyes to his boots. "Right."

The clerk studies her. Then he sinks stiffly to one knee.

"I asked if you're all right," he says, still looking at her in that odd, painful way. "It's a bit much, I expect, all this. How old are you?"

The urchin doesn't know. She wants to cringe away. She flicks her ears back instead, trying to come off fierce. "I were the biggest of Auntie's lot. Quickest, too. She"—her voice cracks, and she squares her shoulders to compensate—"she wouldn't have shipped me here if I weren't best."

It's true, she tells herself, trying not to breathe too funny. No lilligut would stroll into a lawman's office, swell as you like, and connive to nab his chambersticks besides. No coward would swimmer to far Haafingar to learn a dayman's trade, and be a prentice, and all. She won't run off. She can't cock this up, she thinks, peering over all the tickrum in her arms, or she's every sort of stupid.

She's starting to understand the look on the clerk's face. It's sad, somehow.

"What did you do," he asks, "for my sister?"

The lawman's isn't twenty steps behind them. The urchin's lie comes prompt and proper; not even a tail-twitch betrays her. "Errands."

"Really?" The clerk's voice is dry as ash. "When I was your age, she had me crawling down outlanders' chimneys to steal their limeware."

The image is so ridiculous—this spindly cove, Auntie's selfsame kin, folded up in a flue like a concertina—that the urchin barks a single startled laugh, involuntary as a sneeze. The clerk blinks at her, astonished. Then he grins.

"Hold onto those," he says again, and levers himself to his feet. "I shouldn't have hurried you to the hiring-hall straight off. At the end of the day, if you find the prospect of a Company apprenticeship, ah, amenable, give them back to me." His voice goes gentler. "There's a place for you to sign, too."

It's a lot of binnacle-words. The urchin blinks up at him, warily fascinated, and mouths one: men-a-bull.

"I know some already," she says hesitantly. "About the Company. About—stuff."

"Stuff."

"And fustian."

"Ah." The clerk's smile is canny as Auntie's. "Well, to supplement your knowledge—why don't we begin with the market rate for silver?"

[send me a number, and i’ll write a microfic using the word or phrase!]

[lexa-griffins]

Clarke loves these new work benefits with her CEO

At first, Clarke loves this. I mean, yes, its a little fucked up and Lexa is very clearly abusing her power but Clarke is gladly letting her. She gets to fuck the hot ceo and gets to move forward in her career. Things are going just great.

But as Clarke gains more responsibility, Lexa's constant desire for her does start to weigh in one her. Clarke is running an entire team by herself after being with the company for a short amount of time, and while she is a very quick learner, she is still a little overwhelmed. And she jeeds to constantly interrupt her duties to go and fuck Lexa because she's bored and decided she wants Clarke to fuck her against whatever surface she wants her to.

And while yes, it is a stress relief, it is also an extension of that stress. Clarke can't really say no to Lexa at risk of being fired. The one time Clarke refused to go to Lexa's office because she was so stumped with work she ended up being chewednoff by her them team leader about something she turned in and Lexa made sure they knew it was wrong.

And I mean Clsrke has definitely caught feelings at this point. She does really enjoy spending time with Lexa and the sex is so good but Clarke wants to take Lexa out on a date or be taken out on a date and not be constantly just fucking in Lexa's office.

But that's also the thing. Is that Lexa doesnt trust anyone and she does believe that she cant just have a normal relationship. Lexa does believe that Clarke would stop sleeping with her the moment Lexa stopped giving her any benefits which would probably be true at first but by now Clarke is hlas deep in this as Lexa is. But Lexa never wants to talk and Clarke never seems to find the opportunity to tell her so at this point she's been trying to drop hints that she likes Leza while Lexa is choking on her dick 😅