#I am primarily here to cause problems

[spinetacks]

#throwback ! #darby allin #aew #gif post #tw scar #I am primarily here to cause problems

[bigfatbimbo]

Hello, my dear! Love that you/others enjoyed my thought and rambles! Speaking of emojis, because I'm a bastard, can I be 🍆 anon??? If that's taken, I could also go for 💦 anon?? Also, forgive me for any spelling errors, wrote this at 2 am

* ----------- * ----------- *

Vee's Dom 2: Even More Rambling (because these idiots won't leave me alone)

- If their dom ever become famous, which is likely, and the fans create edits of them, the Vees would absolutely save those vids and watch them over and over again (Imagine walking in on them watching edits of you LMAO, or even you coming over to where they're sitting cause the sound keeps looping and it's obvious that they're watching the same video straight)

- Let's talk about the clothing situation here

* With Vox's freaky ass wanting to keep you close always, it's probably led him to steal your underwear, and might even wear it, but you'll never know. I can also see Val doing the same thing but being hella more shameless, enough to even show YOU that he's wearing them and if you want them back, you better take it off of him

* Velvette probably has taken more comfier clothes, things you would wear for staying in, like old shirts, band tees, or shirts that are well loved

* Valentino has tried, and failed, to return some of the clothes he took. It's kinda hard to take those clothes back considering they look more like rags with how many holes and substances covering it.

- With a built dom

* Velvette will "off-handedly" mention about creating clothes that cater to more muscle-y/bigger builds, and will insist that she needs you to model/do photoshoots for her (she's definitely not using this opportunity just to have more photos of you flexing in HD)

* Vox will 100% build you a personal gym in the tower, but said gym will be covered in cameras/cctvs, all pointed in different directions

* Val would ask you to train his actors, and he will watch supervise said sessions, just to make sure the actors do right (which is totally not a reason for him to watch you flex on his workers)

* Obsessed with pinning Vox to the bed, I bet he'd find it so fucking hot that everytime he tries to close his legs, we just pry them open.

- i know I've talked about punishments, but what about rewards??

* Letting Vox cum as much as he wants (though by the end of it, Vox might start to wonder if it's more of a punishment instead of a reward)

* Willingly let Velvette mess around with some of your clothes/putting you in different fashion designs/putting makeup on your face

* Dare I say even let Valentino call SOME shots during sex, again, SOME shots (do remind him that even if he tops you, he's still your bitch)

- Also rotting in my brain regarding these whores:

* what if you were more powerful in terms of magic/connections/influence/money? (I just know my problems would simply ✨ disappear ✨ if I had a muscle mommy/daddy)

* what if they met you via social media and they immediately hivemind that "yes, this is my dom, right here" ? Like let's say you're an entertainer/dancer right, and one of your viral vids had been a dance to don't go insane (it's the belt dance, boo if you're curious)

* Being in the limelight also means being in the subjective eyes of everyone, and I know for a fact that the Vees have a lot of haters/threats, but what if you protect them from it (bodyguard scenario????)

* ----------- * ----------- *

I forgot to say this during my last ramble, but, If I may, I would love to absolutely read one of your takes regarding my sub!val ideas, but only if you want to/feel for it.

Btw, on a totally unrelated sidenote, I know the blog is primarily hazbin hotel, but I gotta ask, how we feeling about Arcane Sevika?? Cause I am feeling a lot (missing my muscle mommy as fuck bro)

Anywaaays, have a good day!

xoxoxoxo ❤️

This has been in my drafts for almost ALL WEEK and i’m finally coherent enough to give my thoughts!

Can I just say how much I love the Vees with a well built reader. Like I have no real character study-ish explanation for why in my brain i’m like “they’d be obsessed with that.” But I know for a fact it’s absolutely true.

I’m going to focus on your little side notes at the bottom though. So if they met you through social media I feel like you would definitely start off knowing Velvette first. But even before they start talking to you they would absolutely stalk your page and send fucking edits or something back and forth.

But the Vees with a very powerful reader is very interesting to me. Because like while yes, they’d love to be totally on top of hell, but it’s very convenient for them, and hot and hot and hot, to have your support. Because like super powerful big scary respected dom privilege mixed with their constant self entitlement and attitude? And if anyone says anything about it you fucking destroy their status, business, or hell, even them simply because you can. “Do you think you’ll kill for me one day?” “Yes, of course I will, my love” TYPE BEAT AHHH.

And that leads us to the bodyguard idea because jesus christ. Like this is literally such a mix of the well built buff reader and powerful one I just talked about. Also they would argue for your attention 1000% worse in this case.

ALSO CAN I JUST SAY, YOUR SUCH A BASTARD FOR LITERALLY BEING 🍆 ANON. you’re literally DICK ANON. are you proud 🤨🤨

#hazbin hotel x reader #the vees x reader #sub vees #dom reader #hazbin hotel smut

[chikoriita]

what is good sharpening vs oversharpening? im sorry if i have oversharpened anything i am to new to this

It's a great question! There are a lot of reasons that oversharpening is a problem and just one is that it causes intense colorwashing. Oversharpening introduces excess graininess that skews skin tones and accentuates stray highlights that can wash out a gif.

I want to preface this post with this: I am not here to shame anyone who is oversharpening.

The most important part of this answer is to bring awareness of why these basic steps of gifmaking are so important to the whole process.

Each of these gif pairs are uncolored, unedited, and has the same save settings. The only difference is the sharpening settings that are listed on each gif. The left side has my usual sharpening filters, and the right side has the filters that usually lead to oversharpening.

(Kate Sharma, Bridgerton, 2022, 1080p footage live action)

(Matilda, 1996, 1080p footage live action)

(Barbara Howard, Abbott Elementary, 2022, 1080p footage live action)

(Miles Morales, Into the Spider-verse, 2018, 1080p footage animated)

It's not a crime to oversharpen your gifs, but it does lead to the slippery slope of colorwashing (even for white people).

Look for the halo: If you look at the oversharpened gif of Barbara, you can see a yellow outline around her hair. That is an obvious indicator of going too far.

Use a layer mask to see what the colors were before sharpening: you can see in most of the oversharpened gifs above that there is a huge difference in the colors shown vs. in the less sharpened gif.

If you're working with older footage: don't try to overcorrect the graininess of the media. It's okay if some of it comes through!

Try to get the highest quality footage you can: I primarily work in 1080p files because my poor laptop starts to sound like a plane taking off when I try to screencap 4K files. If you're like me, look for larger file sizes. That will reduce the graininess of the gif.

Here are some links to different sharpening actions and guides: daenerys-stormborn action anyataylorjoy action anya-chalotra sharpening guide

These are great to use if you are starting out in Photoshop! (psst if you need a hookup lmk) I know some people don't use PS, and for them, I put my sharpening settings on this post. I think both of the action sets I linked above have similar if not the same settings.

Also, one thing I noticed when making the gif pairs is that the less sharpened gif was always a smaller size. Fixing sharpening settings might help people who are trying their best to keep things under the 10mb limit.

I hope this answered your question, anon. If anyone has any questions or would like other resources, let me know!

#resources #allresources #completeresources #chaoticresources #gif help #ps help #photoshop #usernik #usermarsy #usershreyu #uservivaldi #useralison #userannalise #useryoshi #userk8 #gif resources #tagged: ps help #nanda answers #userelio

[chiscribbs]

Apocalypse Future Donnie Concepts

I wasn't actually planning on posting these until I had a definitive final design to share alongside them, but- It's probably going to be a while before that happens and I feel bad for how inactive this blog has been lately. I've been working on stuff, but only in-between projects, and none of it is really ready to post. So, here's a little something to prove that I am still alive. ❤

Donnie's design is so hard to update. It's just...so good in its simplicity??? Every element feels necessary to his character - so figuring out what to keep, what to get rid of, and what to change slightly is a definite challenge. It's even harder when we're given so little (canonical) information about what role he played in the Resistance and what effects the Krang Apocalypse may have had on him...including how long ago he was killed in relation to the movie. Or how he was killed, for that matter.

So, I'm playing around with some potential ideas and trying to get something that feels right - feels like Donnie, but if he had to adapt to the apocalypse (while also trying to stick to the show's simplistic, shape-heavy style, so nothing too terribly detailed or complex.) I'll share a few of these ideas below, for anyone who's interested.

(Also, yes - I know the spot-goatee is in no way an original concept, but I have a deep affection for it and had to include it in my design.)

One of the concepts I'm considering is giving Donnie a prosthetic leg, something to sort of parallel Leo with his Robo-Raph arm. But in Donnie's case, he probably lost his leg long before Raph was killed or maybe even before he built the robots of his family (maybe this serves as the inspiration or catalyst for the idea.) My working theory is that he was attempting to detonate a mine field full of some Krang dogs and something went wrong which caused him to get caught up in the resulting blast. He was lucky enough to keep his life, but lost his leg and probably some of his hearing in the process. Naturally, because it's Donnie (and because they're living through an apocalypse), the leg will be more than just a prosthetic limb - it'll have some kind of weaponry or technological capabilities built into it. Just haven't decided what that's going to be yet, lol.

I'm also toying with the idea of him creating some kind of "Ninpo Protection Device" - something to act as a defense mechanism against the Krang's mystic-cancelling (or, more accurately, locking) abilities. He's testing it on himself before green-lighting it to be used on his brothers (which, obviously, never happens.) The problem is I can't decide how to visibly convey this idea, I was thinking something along the lines of one of those medical aid devices that become permanent attachments to the user's body. But most of the visible parts of his body are covered in natural armor, save for his limbs and head. So figuring out the best placement for a thing like that has been a little challenging.

I was considering giving him a mechanical hand along with/in place of the robotic leg, as well. Reason being - he works primarily with his hands and almost never wears practical protection gear (another thing I tried to partially remedy with the addition of the gloves), so if any part of him is going to be lost, his hands would be the logical first choice. I also think there's a poetic element to the guy who relies on his tech becoming more and more "mechanical" himself (but only in the physical sense). It would also imply that there was a time when he couldn't work as efficiently on his own as he normally is able to, due to having one less hand, so there was likely an adjustment period wherein he had to lean into his mystic abilities (and the aid of others around him) far more than he's used to doing. A little background character development for him, because I love that kind of stuff.

These are about all of the definitive concepts I have for him at the moment, but obviously, I'm nowhere near having a finished design just yet. So, all of these could potentially be scrapped or tweaked in the final version.

If you read this far - kudos! And thanks for your interest! :>

#rottmnt #rottmnt donnie #rise donnie #future donnie #donatello hamato #Honestly - I haven't attempted a design for him yet because I feel like everybody has their own set ideas already. #And a lot of them are just...way better than any ideas I've had so far lol. #But I was kinda happy with the Double Donnies sketch awhile back and thought ''you know what let's try'' #And so here we are...trying. I enjoy working out character designs and Don is a fun subject so let's see how this goes. #rise of the tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt future timeline #artrehearsals #character design

[etz-ashashiyot]

About Me/FAQs

This is a new blog for a new chapter of my life. Starting over is both a little bittersweet and very freeing.

You can call me Avital. I am a non-binary traditional egalitarian Jew living in the US. Any pronouns except they/them are fine. (!היא/את בעברית, בבקשה. תודה)

I really appreciate human interaction. That being the case, if you follow me and I don't already follow you, please send me a DM with the following:

What you want me to call you (internet name, username, nickname, whatever)

What brought you here and made you want to follow me

Something random about you that you feel comfortable sharing (pet pics are always welcome too <3)

I had a whole lot of other rules on my previous blog to weed out the faint of heart, but I genuinely don't know how well that worked, so instead I will simply put roughly the same information below as resources and recommended reading. Fair warning: I will operate from a baseline assumption that you've done the reading and therefore will not be explaining anything in them.

I also had a listing of my firm opinions and other miscellaneous information. That got long and unwieldy, but a lot of people seemed to appreciate it, so I will post roughly the same list under the cut.

The current username refers to my current symbol of a tree of lanterns in the starlight. This is related to my desire to create self-symbolism, old school style (like I really want to create a family crest, a flag, a seal, and other heraldic nonsense. Why? Because it delights me, of course.)

This page is under construction and subject to change at any time.

B'vracha,

Avital

Recommend Reading

For followers who are Christian, were Christian, are non-Jews who grew up in a Christian culture and/or have only learned about Judaism through Christianity, these links are very helpful in unpacking some of the antisemitism you were taught:

Better Parables (specifically the article about Pharisees, but read the rest of the site too, it's great)

Antisemitic readings of the Temple table-flipping incident in the New Testament

The current Israel-Hamas war and just המצב discourse in general require a lot of background knowledge to discuss intelligently, and not just propaganda. There is a LOT of antisemitism in the public around this topic and it is having serious real-world consequences for Jews all over the world. The mis- and disinformation is causing problems for everyone involved. Islamophobia in the West has increased as well. If you're going to engage in this discussion, I am respectfully but forcefully asking you to read the following sources. They are useful regardless of where you fall on that political scale.

There Is No Magic Peace Fairy

Ways to help: [1], [2], [3]

Is your pro-Palestine activism hurting innocent people? Here's how to avoid that

A non-exhaustive list of antisemitic incidents, attacks, and pogroms during [OP's] lifetime

An exceptionally long and thorough explanation of antisemitism and antisemitic violence throughout history

Why The Most Educated People in America Fall for Antisemitic Lies by Dara Horn (tumblr link in case the article link gets broken)

An excellent overview of the basics

This is nowhere near complete information, but it's an important start. I will very likely continue to add resources as they become available and would love to create a primer on this topic more generally.

About the blog:

I’m going to try my best to keep this blog to primarily Judaism, comparative religion and theology, with the occasional side sprinkling of queer & trans stuff, BUT it is absolutely a personal blog at the end of the day.

I talked about Israel and המצב stuff a lot on my previous blog and will likely continue a bit over here too. I welcome a broad swath of opinions, so long as they objectively treat all parties involved as human and deserving of safety, stability, freedom, dignity, and peace. That is apparently a large ask these days, and a not-small part of why I keep talking about this issue. Please be part of the voices that give me hope for the future, okay?

Minors can follow and interact but please keep in mind that I’m probably closer to your parents' age than yours if you do want to interact with me directly.

Interactions:

Rude asks will be deleted. Harassing blogs will be blocked and probably reported.

I consider anything even remotely in the vicinity of trying to proselytize to me to be “harassing,” or at a minimum, rude. Just FYI.

Otherwise, nice interactions are welcomed.

Banter is encouraged; trolling will be ignored

If I don't respond to your interaction, there's a strong chance that I (a) have no idea what to say and am thinking about it, (2) totally meant to respond and just forgot after the notif disappeared, and/or (3) got incredibly busy. It's not personal! Please don't be shy about following up with me if you like. I promise that if we have a problem that is fixable, you'll know. If we have a problem that is not fixable, you'll be blocked.

I am currently learning Ivrit and am delighted to have interactions in Hebrew. Please feel free to message me, reply to posts or reblog, submit asks, etc. in Hebrew and I will do my best to read and respond to it. (Responses will be slower, but not for lack of appreciation of your thoughts!)

Anything else, just ask.

Hard stances:

You're not going to change my mind on these things; I've looked at the evidence, my personal experiences, and thought about them long and hard, and I am not going to be swayed by an internet rando. I can (often, but not always) co-exist just fine with people who I disagree with, but if seeing my posts about this is going to upset you, just do us both a favor and block me now please.

I am deeply distressed at how many people are choosing to live in a "post-factual society" where the truth is based on truthiness vibes and the politics are based on the quippiest of slogans. I don't care who's doing it, misinfo, disinfo, propaganda, atrocity denial, and gaslighting are BAD. There is no nuance here; these are bad things. They are bad if they go against your cause and they are bad if they "support" your cause. No cause is better than the truth.

If we cannot have a discussion where we are operating from the same baseline reality of verifiable facts, we cannot have a productive conversation and I will not engage with you. We can agree or disagree on a lot and that is fine, but facts matter.

If you cannot be reasoned with in accepting verifiable facts as reality, you need help. I'm serious. That is cult behavior. Get off tumblr and get help.

I don't know how to tell you that you should care about other people. If you don't see the inherent worth in other human beings' lives, I can't fix that. Go take that struggle to G-d and heal your soul.

Queer might be a slur in the mouths of some people, but my identity isn't. Don't reblog my posts if you're going to tag it with "q slur" or "q word" or censored in some way. I'm not Gay as in "I prioritize cis men over the entire rest of the community" but Queer as in "my personal labels are none of your business but my political stance on queer liberation sure as fuck will be."

I support the right of the Jewish people to self-determination in our ancestral homeland of Israel, the same way that I support other indigenous groups' right to self-determination in their ancestral homelands. If you don't, I'm going to need you to examine why Jews should be singled out of every other group to be denied this right or denied support in seeking it. That said, I definitely do not agree with many of the decisions made by the Israeli government, especially (but far from exclusively) regarding their treatment of Palestinians. I think both Jews and Palestinians deserve to live in peace, safety, freedom, dignity, and self-determination for both. No one is going anywhere; any real solution must recognize that. I tend to favor this proposal by A Land for All as an ideal (and given the grassroots nature of this idea, I think it could work pragmatically too, if the political will exists on both sides.)

I waver between calling myself a liberal Zionist and rejecting the Zionist/anti-Zionist dichotomy altogether because it inherently puts the validity of an existing state up for debate rather than looking at real solutions for the future. Bottom line: I'm a humanitarian and a pragmatist, and I care about all the people who call that part of the world home.

🌻 I stand with Ukraine 🇺🇦

Free Iran from the Islamic Republic // Women Life Freedom

Abortion is a human right and should be safe, legal, available on demand, and shameless. It's a necessary medical procedure and it's completely barbaric that we're still talking about it as anything else.

Birth control, abortion, and no-fault divorce are actively positive parts of society and building healthy families.

Transition care is healthcare and also a human right. Allowing people to transition prevents self-harm and suicide, and has an extremely high efficacy rate with an exceptionally low level of risk or regret. We now have well over a century of data on this.

That said, detransitioners who are still supportive of trans people/aren't transphobic are more than welcome here, as any exploratory process deserves the right to say, "Interesting! But nope!"

Transunity, ace/aro positivity, and just inclusionism in general, 100%. Fuck off with anything else.

If you don't vaccinate yourself and your kids for any reason other than medical necessity, and especially if you promote anti-vaxxer views and the associated pseudoscience, you are actively harming the most vulnerable members of society for entirely selfish reasons and that makes you a bad person. I hope your kids bypass you to get vaccinated.

Wear a mask 😷

[splatsvilles-fashionista]

I Can't Stop Thinking About Mr. Grizz In Space

I'll preface all that I am going to say with the fact that Return of the Mammalians as a story has a lot of problems. Its pacing is kind of wack and basically all of the actual plot happens literally at the end. I think I like it more than most, certainly more than a lot of other high-profile Splatoon blogs here, but there's no denying it has a ton of flaws.

It did, however, leave me with a lot to chew on, and perhaps one of the things it has had me thinking about the most is actually just a little gag in the credits

About three minutes into the credits, Mr. Grizz is shown slowly orbiting around earth, given so little thought that the credits roll right over him, but I genuinely think this is one of the most poignant and evocative images in the whole game.

Now, Mr. Grizz wasn't handled very well in this game, primarily as a consequence of that whole "all of the story happens in the ending sequence" thing, but I think that conceptually he is about as perfect of a villain as they could've made for the supposed "finale" of the story they've been building up to now.

One of Splatoon's primary themes, especially with its villains, has been the dangers of clinging to the past. Octavio is a bitter old warlord stoking the flames of a long-gone conflict mostly to satisfy his bruised ego. Commander Tartar is obsessed with an idealized version of the past and seeks to remake the present when it can't live up to that ideal, even when that ideal never existed. Splatoon 3 even went further, revealing that inklings, octolings, and all the other land-living sea life are in fact humanity's truest successors, and Tartar tried to wipe them all out anyway.

Mr. Grizz continues this trend and takes it maybe as far as possible because he doesn't just want to reshape the present, he sees it as something unnatural and wrong on a base fundamental level, a mistake that can only be resolved by restoring the status quo, giving the planet back to the mammals. Coming as close as possible to literally turning back time. With Splatoon's focus on youth culture and pop media, it's hard not to read this theme as an allegory for the ways that older generations can cause immense harm in rejecting the new and in making futile attempts to grasp a world that once was but never can be again.

But Splatoon isn't trying to tell us that the divides between us are unmendable, far from it. Over the course of the first two games we see how inklings and octolings grow closer and closer until it's a complete afterthought in the third game, and even Octavio, when push comes to shove, is willing to bury the hatchet for the greater good. Calamari Inktantation 3MIX is perhaps the purest expression of this, a mix of old and new, a traditional folk song turned into a pop song, complemented by three artists that each pull from completely different cultures (Frye = India, Shiver = Japan, Big Man = Brazil) all mixed together by a 100+ years old DJ. Calamari Inktantation is old and new, pop and traditional, Inkopolis and Splatsville, octoling and inkling (and manta ray), in a chaotic, messy, beautiful swirl of sheer ecstatic joy. As a song, it is peak Splatoon, clear and simple.

But this isn't about Calamari Inktantation 3MIX, as excited about that song as I am, this is about Mr. Grizz, and after spending so many games exploring the dangers of clinging to the past, Splatoon 3 uses him to show us what happens when you cannot let go.

Mr. Grizz could not accept the present he found himself in. To him it was wrong, it was offensive, and he fought tooth and claw to bring it back with him, into the past, to the glory days, and he fails. Of course he fails, you can't stop time, much less turn it back, and the people of the present will always fight to protect their future. So where does that leave him?

Alone. Gazing down at a planet he was born on but can no longer recognize. From his orbit, he can see thousands, maybe millions, of little lights along the coastlines, each one an entire city, buzzing with life and all of its eccentricities. It's a world that would probably welcome him, if he gave it the chance. But he didn't. He rejected it and sought to return to a time and a place that no longer existed, and in so doing, all he achieved was isolating himself. And now, as he circles the world, all he can do is watch as it moves on without him.

#splatoon 3 #return of the mammalians #mr grizz #return of the mammalians spoilers #rotm spoilers

[ataleofcrowns]

Chapter 11 Progress [14/MAY]

Hey everyone, it's been a minute since my last update on the blog!! Happy mother's day to all the moms out there 💖

By the time of writing this, I have 40k words written for CH11, and I am both happy and mildly horrified to report that CH11 is looking up to be the biggest chapter yet by a mile. It's very likely the total word count will break through 90k words, primarily due to the LI routes.

First, I've finished the first draft for X's route for CH11 and am mildly exasperated by my inability to properly estimate how long these sections will be.

I thought it would amount to 10k at most, but X's route ended up with 18k words. This is mostly due to all the Imperial Court variations in their opening scene, because I'm a masochist. A single playthrough of X's route is more like 14k words, though, depending on the variations you get.

I'm also close to finishing R's route and have 8k words written for it so far. Their and A's routes will be a little less in word count, since they got more content in CH10, but they'll both likely still be 10-12k words. D's will likely be closer to X's route in word count, around 14-15k.

Altogether, this chapter's LI routes alone will likely be close to 60k for all four. So that leaves the rest of the 30k for the main plot, which I haven't started yet. I literally only have words written for R and X, as well as bits and snippets for A and D so far lol.

Please pray for me so that I can release this chapter in July and give you all a summer miracle 🙏🏼

Anyway, enough about the word count!! I've got some preview posting to catch up to, so beneath the cut you'll find various snippets for X and R's routes in CH11 that were posted on the Patreon.

Hopefully I'll be able to post some for A and D soon as well, once I dig into their routes in the coming weeks.

Here's a small preview of a bit you might see occur across all LI routes, though it still depends on who is appointed to your Imperial Court (and the Lord Samal referenced here is specific to X's route as well):

“Chief Minister, is this allowed? There must be procedure for the appointment of officials—” “It is all at the Crown’s discretion,” Chief Minister Karwan states simply, turning away from the representative again to face forward instead. “But this is highly unusual!” The Minister breathes an exasperated sigh. “Oh, quiet down! Were you not using the same technicalities to get your way a moment ago, you insolent dog?” “Do not speak to me that way!” Lord Samal erupts. “I serve Mîr Behram!” “And I was already serving the Crowns of this Empire when your master was still suckling at the teat!” the Chief Minister snaps. “Now be a good boy and come to heel, we have many more matters to discuss.”

Here's a preview for X's route:

“Why do you have that dagger?” You turn to look at $aname, taken aback by how stunned $athey appears. “$xname gave it to me.” “$cxthey gave it to you?” $aname repeats incredulously, glancing back down at the dagger in your hands. “Did $xthey tell you who it originally belonged to?” “It belonged to someone else?” You assumed $xname was the only one who owned it, but looking at it again, you can notice subtle wear and tear despite its well-cared-for state. Little scratches along its sheath, the edges of pearl looking a little worn along the handle. “Whose was it?” “$cxtheir mother’s.” Your fingers tighten around its sheath in shock, then twitch with the urge to put it away. “$cxtheir mother’s? Why would…” You look down at the dagger in complete disbelief. “Why would $xthey give it to me?”

And finally, here's a preview for R's route:

Your hands reach for $rthem, but then halt and hover in mid-air, uncertain of whether you should even touch $rthem while $rthey’s in this state. “It’s alright,” Perjin speaks quietly from beside you. “You can hold $rtheir hand, if you wish. Your magic won’t cause any problems.”  You take a slow, deep breath, calming yourself as you sit down on the edge of the bed and gently take $rname’s hand in yours. “$crtheir fingers are cold.” Alarmed, you rub $rtheir hand, feeling how clammy and cool $rtheir skin is. You turn to Perjin. “Why does $rthey feel cold? What’s happening to $rthem?” 

That was it for this update ✨

I’m posting further updates and CH11 previews on the Patreon for all tiers, as well as all sorts of fun extra LI/Crown snippets, so if you’d like more AToC content while you wait for CH11, consider pledging!!

As always, thanks so much for your patience and support 💖

#a tale of crowns #interactive fiction #progress report #preview

[loving-n0t-heyting]

In a recent post complaining about a certain type of person doing a certain type of take, you listed 'there is literally nothing to be said about housing than "build moar and abolish zoning"' as one such take, alongside other more disagreeable ones, etc.

Could you expand upon your disagreements with this? Is it that you think "homelessness will require active spending to fix", "Housing policy should include improved legal protections for renters(and just building more housing to provide alternatives isn't enough)", or something more fundamental in opposition?

I will say that housing is an area where a lot of my concrete stances are unsettled, i used to more or less imbibe standard yimby views from my social sphere and have grown more agnostic over time. But milquetoast fence sitting aside i will say this:

Building lots of high end housing can, in fact, cause problems for existing local residents that need to be considered when implementing construction. Short term rising rents and displacement, primarily

Idt any amount of market rate housing will fully solve the problem of housing affordability for poorer tenants. Some amount of govt intervention—best of all in the shape of vienna-style public housing projects, plus rent control and other forms of decommodification—is necessary to properly relieve the burden of housing costs for all sections of society. For at the very least the obvious reason that low income housing is just not that profitable

I am any amount sympathetic to preserving and fostering local urban community and culture. This talk gets abused but i think i take it more seriously than most "just build!!!" yimbies. Jane jacobs type stuff

Its petty but gawd the new luxury construction that i see built around here is so ugly. Theres no fucking law saying a high rise isnt allowed ornamentation or colour or anything besides the aesthetic of babbys first minecraft architecture. And the brutalism and hideous masses of steel and glass fandom has gotta stop whining about how persecuted they are. You guys have a monopoly on new devt and yr design preferences are massively unpopular, they should be represented in architecture in proportion to their meagre popularity among the public that has to live around it. Theres a reason the far right loves "retvrn to buildings that look nice" as a foot in the door for radicalisation, its bc most ppl are agreed the buildings yimbies drool over look like shit. Architects are an oppressor class

I am probably a "left yimby" with caveats when all is said/done. More housing and denser housing seem like urgent needs but these are not problems you can fully offload to the market without unfairly screwing a lot of ppl over

#phaeton flier #ask

[sometimes-men-need-help-too]

I wanted to share this reddit post with you. The comments are primarily in his favor so I don't have any screenshots to share. It's just crazy. So this guy was asking if he was in the wrong for asking his girlfriend to use a different body wash. Here's the original post:

The main thrust of this post is, I am allergic to nuts and my girlfriends bodywash contains almond oil. It isn't life threatening for me to come in contact with it but it does cause hives. I asked my girlfriend (Jess) to change the body wash she uses as I am getting hives from residue of her body wash in the shower.

Jess was initially fine with it after a small back and forth but has since spoken to friends and believes that I am being too controlling, as do her friends. My friends are mostly neutral with a couple saying that I need to "nut up" and let her use whatever she wants.

A little bit of added context is that we recently decided we wanted to move in together and decided to do a "trial run" as Jess still lives with her parents and I rent my own place. So it's easy enough for her to move in with me for a few months to see if living together full time works for us.

It's never been a problem before now as I've never had a reaction from touching Jess after she uses it, but I am having a reaction from the residue that is left in the shower, usually on the removable shower head which I need to use to get clean because I'm a big dude and just leaving it up there doesn't reach everywhere.

Jess has always been aware of my allergies, she doesn't eat nuts if she knows we're going to do anything together and the few times when she has, she thoroughly brushes her teeth before seeing me.

And here's the update:

I know that I only responded to like one comment, but the amount that I received was honestly overwhelming. So, thank you to everyone who responded. I did read all of them. I thought I'd post this update to tell you guys what happened and explain a little bit of why I made the initial post. For those who were wondering about ages, I'm 21 and Jess is 25. My friends hover around my age and hers hover around her age.

I wish I could come back and say that I had seen my own value and got myself out of the relationship, but the truth is that Jess broke up with me two days after the post. I was still thinking, and she asked to meet up to discuss things. I went in hoping for the best but was met by her telling me that it wasn't working, and she didn't see a future for us where we're both happy. That hurt a lot.

I've spent the past few days sort of realising how stupid my original post here was, OF COURSE I'm not an asshole for not wanting to come into contact with something I'm allergic to.

I think a lot of you probably wondered why I even had to ask. The truth is that I felt like I was going crazy. I genuinely liked and respected her friends, I thought they were really smart. So, to be told that this was the opinion of my girlfriend as well as theirs made me take it very seriously. When I went to my friends and received no support or validation, I started to convince myself that I was wrong.

I also actually learned from the comments that continued exposure could worsen my reactions so that's handy to know now.

This is so messed up. I have a pretty serious garlic allergy that I have to take precautions for so I get it. The reaction from the friends just screams ignorance to me. It isn't about control, it's about his life. Besides, even if he would never have a bad reaction, it's still something that should be respected.

#double standards #relationships #reddit

[anti-endo-haven]

Tw: slight in depth of ramcoa talk

Sorry i really wasn't to put in black in white but that smth I comly do as well as taking perceived Rejection out of hand.

The reson why I make theory's on things such a CDD or dissative disorders is bc I'm actively studying psychology. And wanting to specialize in dissative disorders, personality disorders and mood disorders. When I am a psychologist. I actively try to open my view on others view but sometimes I come at with with hate due to my own disorders whitch is smth I'm actively working on before I help people with their problems.

With that being said. The whole point of this theory isn't really to say that osdd2 is your system hood to be exact but it is a explanation of why your system formed.

As for osdd2 being ramcoa related I sya this bc in the dsmv osdd2 is defined as "identity disturbances due to prolonged and intense coercive persuasion" the examples it gives is "brainwashing" "thought reform" "torture" whitch I belive is what ramcoa stands

As for why I said the did is formed by truama is a theory. In the dsmv it does not state in the diagnostic criteria that you need truama to be a diasosed with DID but it does state in cormid disorders that DID is very cormid with PTSD. Whitch means that theory is very well supported. all of the cases reported Have childhood PTSD. Whitch is means it even more supported but due to mental health being a under reshered thing I assuming the reason why psychologist still call it a theory that I can only be formed due to truama is bc they haven't look into things such a genics. Whitch if you studied any other disorders is a very common thing that it's also a theory.

As well not only that but I've head people call it a theory multiple times "the theory of structural dissoation" I think it'd called.

Sorry if this comes off rude. Black and white or anything else like that I promise I'm trying not to and I'm rereading everything before I send it to make sure.

But OSDD-2… won’t be the exact reason why a system has formed. Not every system or dissociative disorder will be linked back into OSDD-2. OSDD-2 also doesn’t have alters from what I know.

All dissociative disorders have identity disturbances. Just because OSDD-2 has some related to brainwashing, mind control, and torture doesn’t mean it’s “the RAMCOA one.” It strikes me as getting rid of those that still fit RAMCOA without mind control or torture. It isn’t just programming, torture, and mind control. Even TBMC isn’t just programming, torture, and mind control.

The reason why I don’t like the theory is because it doesn’t seem like every survivor is being seen and is getting rid of those survivors that have DID or OSDD-1 or aren’t systems at all. That’s primarily why I don’t like it.

The DSM-5 is also outdated, here’s a PDF for the DSM-5-TR.

Also… dissociative disorders are NOT comorbid with other dissociative disorders. That’s why there’s OSDD-1, OSDD-2, DID, etc. You can have a personality disorder that is comorbid that also deals with dissociation, but not two dissociative disorders together.

Even if you genuinely are wanting to study psychology or already are, the “theory” can still spread misinformation.

I’d also really like to comment how DANGEROUS asking RAMCOA survivors things for a Google form can be. It’s not something you should do because that can be used against people. It’s wrong.

The brain can only fragment with trauma, which causes alters. PTSD is comorbid due to it being a response to trauma such as is dissociative disorders.

Even with the topic of genetics, I do not see how a fragmented mind can be genetically passed on. It takes trauma for a brain to fragment and have alters.

I’d like to request no more asks from you as I’ve also blocked you based upon the Google forms you’ve made and just in general.

#anti endo #endos dni #did system #system #actually did #osddid #traumagenic system #did plural #endos not for you #actually traumagenic #did plurality #osdd plural #osdd plurality #ramcoa system #tw ramcoa mention

[lovelyney]

───────BREATHE IN, BREATHE OUT──────

DESC: For this Windblume, the Knights of Favonius decide to hold a grand ball, and Albedo decides to ask you !!

PAIRINGS: Albedo x (F!) Reader

SCENT: Fluff with a hint of hurt/comfort

WARNINGS: Panic attacks, Albert being a creep (don’t worry it isn’t anything too bad.)

FLORIST’S NOTE: I need to stop making empty promises, LMFAO. I’m proud of this piece, ngl; it’s 4,000 words long, which is why it forever to edit. . . Let me know if you want a continuation !!

SONG: I Hear a Symphony, Cody Fry.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯2023 !! #©LOVELYNEY

ALBEDO SAT AT HIS DESK, pen resting between his fingers as he scribbled down some notes from his latest experiment. After meeting the others, he wanted to take some time to himself—the silence bringing him some sense of tranquility.

A soft knock on the door burst the silence like a balloon. “Come in, but please watch your step.” Albedo forewarned, gaze primarily focused on the various papers littered on his desk.

Sucrose walked in, quietly shutting the door behind her. “Um, my—my apologies if I’m interrupting something important, mister Albedo. I just found something that I think you might be interested in,” she said. 

He raised an eyebrow, his interest piquing. “Oh? Does it have to do with that paper you’re holding?”

She slid the flyer she held over to him, a confident look in her eyes. “The Knights of Favonius are holding a ball for Windblume this year! I—I know you don’t really prefer social gatherings, but I remembered you mentioned something about wanting to take (NAME) out somewhere. . . So, I figured this was something you could consider.” She acknowledged.

The gentle tapping of his pen against the desk stopped at the mention of you; you were a popular baker amongst Monstandt and one of a few of Albedo’s close friends. He met you when Klee dragged him to your bakery one day and found himself enchanted with how you carried yourself.

The alchemist skimmed through the flyer’s contents while remaining deep in thought. He couldn’t help but smile at the idea of dancing with you—one of the many things he’s dreamed of doing with you.

His fingers drummed his desk as he sighed; “as much as I would love to take (NAME) to this. I am. . . unaware how she feels about these kinds of events herself.”

Sucrose nodded and held back a giggle, not used to her mentor being so love-stricken. “I considered that as well. . . I believe Timaeus is asking his crush to go with him! So it wouldn’t hurt to ask! I know how long you’ve been wanting to confess to her. . .” The girl encouraged.

A shiver crawled up Albedo’s spine at the contemplation of confessing. There was nothing more he wanted than to be with you romantically, but aside from the notes he documented, he didn’t know a thing about pursuing that kind of relationship. What if he screws it up and hurts you in the process? The thought alone made him want to throw up. But then again, Sucrose proved a point; he wouldn’t know without trying.

He exhaled slowly, “alright, I’ll go and find her when I’m finished up here. Thanks, Sucrose.”

She nodded excitedly. “n—no problem! I’m pretty sure she closes at six today. . . Good luck, mister Albedo!”

The rest of the day seemed to fly by without Albedo noticing. with thoughts of you engraved in his head and his research, he never bothered to peek outside his window or check the time.

After locking up the lab for the day, he peered up at the city’s clock, eyes widening when the time read 6:02. “Was I really working for so long? She should still be cleaning up. . . Hopefully, I’m not too late.” He thought and headed to the bakery. When he reached there, he breathed a sigh of relief at seeing you wiping down the counters.

The sound of the doors opening caused your head to turn. “‘Bedo? What brings you here at this time?” You wondered.

He smiled, “hello, (NAME). My apologies for coming in rather late, but I was hoping I could ask something of you.”

Your lips pressed together as you nodded timidly. You weren’t sure what you could offer him since your guys’ jobs were completely different. “Oh! Of course, what is it?” 

Albedo pulled out the flyer and handed it to you. “The Knights of Favonius are holding a dance for this Windblume. . . If you wouldn’t mind, I would like you to accompany me to it,” he requested blatantly.

You blinked in astonishment, the heat of a volcano suddenly soaking you. “A—Accompany you to the dance? Um. . . are—are you sure you’d want me too?” You doubted, voice hushed. It’s not like you didn’t want to go—far from it, actually.

He tilted his head, carefully studying your expression. “I don’t see why not? Is there perhaps something I’m missing in terms of bringing someone along? Or do you not want to come?” Stewed the alchemist.

Your eyes dilated, feeling your heart sink to the bottom of your stomach at his tone; you’ve never heard him sound so deflated. “Nonono! Of course, I’ll go with you! It’s just that I thought you’d want to bring someone a bit more. . . closer to you.” You interjected and fidgeted with your fingers underneath the table. “I cannot believe I just said that. . . I probably sounded so desperate.”

He quietly sighed in relief, sapphire irises picking up your nervous habits. “Well, (NAME). . . Statistically speaking, I consider you the closest person to me in all of Monstandt,” he laughed heartily.

Oh.

“So shall I see you there?” He asked and tucked the flyer in his jacket pocket, eagerly awaiting your response.

Letting out a quiet breath, you wiped your palms against your pants. “Y—Yeah! I’ll be there. . .” you muttered, the sound of your heartbeat plugging your ears.

Albedo grinned, lightly holding your waist and laying a soft kiss on your forehead. “That’s my girl. . . I’ll see you then. Until then, love.”

“Albedo asked you to the ball? (NAME) That’s adorable!” Amber beamed from the opposite side of the table. 

“Haven’t you had a crush on him for months now? why are you so on edge about going?” Eula piped in and swished her drink around before sipping it.

Blood promptly rushed to your face as you frantically looked around town. “Shushshush! He could be around here, you know!” You spluttered and slapped your hands over your face, embarassed.

Eula and Amber were both good friends of yours and knew of both your anxiety and massive crush on Albedo. With the dance closing in, you asked them to meet you at Good Hunter in hopes of them offering some kind of advice.

You clarified, “it’s not him that worries me, Eula. I’m scared I’m going to get overwhelmed with how many people will be there.”

The outrider’s expression slightly withered, but she nodded sympathetically. “Oh, I see. . . Is there a reason you haven’t mentioned anything about it to him?”

You propped your chin on your palms and sighed; “I don’t think so. . . Albedo is really kind and patient with me, so I don’t think he’d make fun of me for it. It’s simply that what if he finds me a nuisance and doesn’t want to go with me anymore?”

Eula scoffed with a roll of her amber eyes. “If he mentions anything even remotely similar to that, he won’t live to see another day.” She threatened and flashed you a smile. 

Amber smacked her shoulder. “Eula! (NAME), from what I’ve heard, Albedo rarely even makes small talk with people. . . So for him to ask you to the ball, he must trust and care about you a lot! And if it’s any consolation, Eula and I will be there, so we’ll make sure to check on you!” She assured.

The corners of your lips tugged into a half smile, your friends’ words bringing down your anxiety a little. “Thank you, guys. . . I really appreciate it.” You said. “Except there’s one more problem. . .”

“And what might that be...?”

“I have nothing to wear. . .”

After what felt like an eternity of shopping, you finally settled on a white and puffy gown. You rarely dolled yourself up, but Amber and Eula insisted that you go all out for this occasion—with Amber declaring, “we have to secure your chances of Albedo falling in love with you!” You had no clue where she got that idea from. Still, it was nice to think about. . .

“You’re going to look so pretty, (NAME)! I guarantee all eyes will be on you!” Squealed the brunette as you three stepped out of the incredibly costly dress shop.

Eula nodded and ruffled your hair. “I second that. if Albedo won’t dance with you, then I sure as hell will,” she affirmed.

“Oh? Out shopping, are you, (NAME)?” A familiar voice said from behind.

You nearly fainted when you turned and saw Albedo standing there, a smile gracing his lips. “A—Albedo? I wasn’t expecting to see you out here. . .” You commented, your voice growing significantly smaller and quieter.

Amber giggled and stood in front of you so he couldn’t get a glimpse of what was inside your bag. “No, no! You’re not allowed to see yet, Albedo! No peeking!” She gushed.

The alchemist crossed his arms, finding your sudden coyness nothing short of amusing. “Is that so. . . How cute, no wonder (NAME) has turned so shy. . .” He expressed, glacial irises observing you delicately.

As if gasoline coursed through your veins, and he lit the match, your skin engulfed in warmth. “Did he just call me cute? Did I hear that correctly? Barbatos, please give me the strength not to pass out right now. . .”

Eula huffed and pressed you forward. “Yes, yes, we know. She’s cute. Now, come on, (NAME). . . Don’t you know it’s bad luck to see your bride before the day of the wedding?” She teased.

“BRIDE?! E—EULA!”

Albedo chuckled as he watched the spindrift knight drag you away, your face rivaling the color of a ripe apple. “Hopefully, one day, (NAME). . .” he murmured.

Attempting to focus had never been so difficult. . . While Amber excitedly talked to Eula, all you could concentrate on was the excessively deafening music that echoed through the room—well, that and your racing heartbeat. You couldn’t tell if it was because of the crowded room or because it longed to see your date. 

“What if he forgot and I came here for no reason?” You panicked internally and rhythmically tapped your heels against the marble floor, fingers absentmindedly fumbling with the pair of white gloves which adorned them. Truthfully, the ball had barely started yet, so you didn’t really know why you felt so doubtful. 

A small figure wrapped around your legs, forcing you out of your withered thoughts. You looked down, only to smile when you recognized a familiar tuff of light-blonde hair. “Oh! Hello there, Klee!” You smiled and crouched down, letting the girl properly wrap her arms around you.

“Big sis! Klee’s so happy you’re here! Your dress is super pretty!” She bubbled and pulled away, the twinkle in her eyes challenging the stars in the night sky.

You giggled, your worries briefly melting away at the girl’s excitement. “And your braids are super cute!~ Who did them?”

“That would be me. . .”

Startled by the familiar voice, your eyes flew up to confirm who it was. Your heart nearly jumped out of your chest when you saw Albedo dressed in a well-fitted white dress shirt, light blue vest and tie, and black dress pants.

He simpered—his cyan irises sizing you up. “I’m very rarely taken aback, but wow. . . You far exceeded my expectations, (NAME). Your glow far passes the moonlight as if it’s but a cheap imitation of you.” He voiced and helped you to your feet, his lips igniting multiple sparks where they lay on your wrist.

You opened your mouth to speak, only for the words to fizz away on your tongue. Did he drink some kind of potion before coming here? Was this the same Albedo you knew? You couldn’t be too sure. . .

“You’re going to have to forgive her. . . She’s a little starstruck!” Amber disputed and wrapped one of her hands around your arm, giving it a comforting squeeze. “Look at you, Klee! You look so pretty!”

The small elf giggled, her small hand enveloping her brother’s. “Thank you, miss Amber! Oh! Oh! Doesn’t (NAME) look like a princess from a fairytale, Albedo? Klee thinks she looks super pretty!” She bubbled and tugged excitedly on his sleeve.

“Oho, so Klee already approves of you guys? Look at you go, (NAME). I told you you had nothing to worry about!” teased Eula as she walked over, grinning cheekily at you. “She wouldn’t stop talking about you on the way here, Albedo.”

“EULA?!” you screeched and hid behind your other friend. You know, the one who didn’t rat you out. 

Despite your impulsive embarrassment, Albedo bit his lip and chuckled softly, amused by it. He cooed, “really now? I suppose I can only hope her lips are as sweet as she is.” He then walked up to you, grabbing your arm and pulling you closer to him so he could see you. “You know, (NAME). . . Klee’s not wrong, now is she? You certainly do look like a princess straight from a fairy tale. . . You fit that role quite flawlessly.”  

You shuffled through your brain for something to say, struggling with how countless thoughts spilled over. Looking away coyly, you spoke barely above a whisper, “would that make you my prince then. . .?”

Adoration glazed over his eyes, oh how he wished you would look at him; he adored your pretty (COLOR) eyes. “Hm? That depends. . . Would you like me to be? I would be more than honored to have you as my princess.” He crooned.

Eula crossed her arms, staring intently at his hand on your arm. “And this princess is irreplaceable. . . So you’d better handle her as if she’s the most treasured glass statue in all of Teyvat,” she quipped sharply.

Albedo nodded and offered a tranquil smile. “Eula, if we were to play with the idea of fragile pieces of art, then I must admit—(NAME) is more akin to a statue crafted entirely out of the purest diamond as her value is boundless. I believe it was once said that diamond was a symbol of eternal love. I will ensure she’s treated as such.” Reassured the alchemist, his fingers smoothing circles on your wrist.

Amber looked over at you, laughing sympathetically as you kept your lips tightly pressed together. “Alright, let’s give these two some alone time, Eula. . . You come too, Klee!” She butted and beckoned the two to follow behind her. “I’ll come back to check on you, alright, (NICKNAME)? You’ve got this!”

Albedo tilted his head curiously, worry casting over his eyes. He wondered, “hm? Why does she need to check on you? Are you by chance feeling anxious or something of the sort?”

Almost resigned to his accuracy, you let out a sigh, dreading how he could get it so right from just one sentence. You felt vulnerable yet comforted that he could grasp you so effortlessly. “Only a little. . . I tend to get a little overwhelmed in crowded places. I’ll be alright, though!” You informed.

He frowned and pressed his lips to your pulse point. “And you still agreed to accompany me here? Your compassion shows no bounds, (NAME). . . I do wish you would’ve mentioned this earlier; I could’ve created a potion that could help numb those types of feelings. Regardless, make sure to take deep breaths to help ground yourself. I promise you wholeheartedly that I’ll take care of you.” He consoled, voice as smooth as the silk he adorned in that night.

As he finished speaking, a pair of voices shouted for him. “Albedoo ~ Over here!” Venti crowed and waved his hands like a maniac, most likely already intoxicated.

With an exasperated sigh, Albedo kissed your jaw, his heart fluttering when you let out a short laugh. He lamented, “I can never get some time alone with you these days. . . Let me go see what they want, and I’ll be right back, alright, princess?”

“Mhm! I’ll be over here if you need me,” you replied and watched him leave your peripheral vision. Deflated, you strode over to the food table and grabbed a water bottle, hoping a drink of water would help alleviate your nerves. You took a few sips and looked around the room to get your bearings and remind yourself why you agreed to come. Where was Amber when you needed her?

“Excuse me. . .”

Your shoulders tensed as you swung around, an overpowering panic settling in your gut when you saw a male with choppy blonde hair standing there. “Yes? Can I help you?” You gulped and stood stiff as a board; you weren’t comfortable with strangers, and the way this guy stared at you made you feel trapped. The feeling was similar to that of a small animal cornered by a predator, anxiously searching for an escape route but none being available.

He smiled, resting his hand near yours. “I couldn’t help but notice you were standing by yourself and thought you wanted some company. . . The name’s Albert; what’s yours, pretty one?” He hummed and reached to grab your hand

Your water bottle crinkled as you squeezed it, retracting your hand and pressing it to your chest. “I feel like I’m going to throw up.” You thought and frantically looked through the sea of people in search of someone you knew. “I’m fine. My date’s just talking to someone at the moment; please—”

“But it’d be a real shame to leave such a pretty woman alone. I bet I could treat you so much better than whoever you’re with.”

“Judging by how uneasy she is and how unmannered you are, the statistics that you treat my date better than me are meager.” Albedo spoke coldly and shielded you away from him. “To treat women with so little regard is quite the pathetic trait to hold; it’s that same reason why you have not got a date yourself.”

Albert’s eye twitched, his knuckles turning white from how hard he clenched his fists. “Excuse me? Just who do you think you are?” He snarled; his face contorted in rage and teeth bared as he glared at Albedo.

Your heart hammered in your ears as you desperately sought to bring yourself down from an upcoming panic attack. You could feel your breath becoming shallow and your chest tightening as you clenched your fists and reminded yourself to stay in control. It was like trying to battle a tidal wave with a sandcastle—no matter how much you tried to resist, the surge of anxiety was almost staggering.

Through the sea of voices and blur of faces, Albedo’s voice echoed in your thoughts. His steady, soothing voice like a beacon, guiding and leading you through the stormy waves of uncertainty.

“(NAME)? Goodness, you’re trembling. . . Focus on my voice and breathe for me, okay? He’s gone now; he can’t hurt you. . .” The boy muttered and cradled your face in his gentle hands, peppering it in small kisses. “You’re going to be okay, sweet one. . . Come on, breathe with me mhm? In. . . and out.” 

Binding his instructions, you followed his breathing, and the tingling in your fingers gradually decreased. One by one, everyone’s voices filled your ears, and you could see clearly again. “Where—where did he go?”

He shook his head and carefully rested his hand on the small of your back, his thumb tracing circles. “The knights escorted him out, love. They’ll probably have him thrown into confinement; you’re safe.” He assured, gently wiping sweat beads off your forehead. His head lifted when a slow song played on the speakers. With a warm smile, he offered his hand out. “Shall we dance? By focusing your attention on something else, it should distract you from the event that triggered your anxiety.”

Your heart catches in your throat at the proposal, eyes glued to his extended hand. “A—Albedo, I can’t. . . I don’t—”

the dance i had in mind !!

“—know how? You don’t need to, love. All you have to do is follow my lead.” He cajoled and took your hand in his, leading you to the centre of the room. “You don’t mind me being this close, do you?” He murmured right above your ear, his hands enveloping your waist. 

“A—as long as you don’t. . .” you uttered breathlessly, struggling to hold yourself together. His touch was feather light, yet it made your heart ram against your ribcage—his slender fingers drawing shapes on your hips. “What if people think we’re dating. . .”

He spun you around so that you faced him, his eyes—deep pools of glacial blue—glazed over with raw adoration upon meeting your (COLOR) ones. He cooed, “oh? Then let them think that, princess. . . When you are as ravishing as you are, I could not care less who stares. I am rather honored to be your date, and to be perceived as your partner is a rumor that I’m far from concerned about.”

You bit the inside of your cheek, your senses infiltrated by Albedo’s gentle touch; his hands seemed to perfectly fit your figure as if they were made for you. his fingers moved lightly across your body, caressing you with a tenderness that left you speechless. “When did you get so daring, ‘Bedo? I’m so used to you engrossed in your research. . . It’s a little jarring.”

Albedo chuckled. “Daring? Is that what you’d call it? I certainly don’t hear you complaining. . . Teasing aside, I’m only speaking from my heart, love. You’re truly captivating; I know I haven’t been vocal about it until now, but I’ve always thought of you as such.” Hummed the blonde, his words like a steady stream of honey to your ears—sweeter than any melody you could recall. He always seemed to know exactly what to say to get your heart beating louder.

Thinking on your words carefully, you rested your hand on the back of his neck and indistinctively drew him closer. You stood in a moment of contemplation, trying to gauge his reaction and measure the weight of your words. “Hmm. . . and what if I told you I felt the same?”

He couldn’t fight the smile that blossomed on his lips, like a blooming flower that had been touched by the sun or a sudden splash of colour in an otherwise gray landscape. “Well, pretty girl, I’d be truly and utterly flattered that you find me as captivating as I do you. However, I believe you to be the very definition of beautiful, so I don’t think my attractiveness quite matches your own,” he swooned.

“Don’t be so modest, Albedo. . . Kreideprinz literally translates to “chalk prince.” Not only that, but you’re incredibly intelligent,” you said. “Many girls are smitten with you, which is why I’m surprised you chose me out of everyone.”

Albedo quietly tutted and tilted your chin up, biting back his desire when his eyes met yours. “And you call me modest? Oh, princess. . . if only you could look at yourself through my vision. My heart isn’t set on other women but on you. you’ve had my complete attention and devotion since we first met.” He professed, watching your pupils dilate with the very same desire held back. 

Hearing the music slow down, he caved in and placed his forehead against yours, his nose gently nudging yours. He closed his eyes and breathed you in, his hunger for you causing his breath to waver. He was starved of kissing you for months, and holding you so close made him tremble. “F—forgive me for being so brash, but my sense of control slips through my fingers the more you look at me like that. . .” He muttered and thumbed at your bottom lip. “Feel free to call me out if this is inappropriate, but can I kiss you?”

Without skipping a beat, you looped your arms loosely around his neck and pulled him flush against you, brushing your lips against his. Electricity surged through your veins as his hands rested on your hips. You tilted your head and gently deepened the kiss, exploring the contours of his lips.

He responded eagerly, pressing his body against yours and letting out a low growl against your mouth. You tasted of strawberry champagne blended with desire, and it intoxicated him more than any other alcoholic beverage could ever do. Resisting the want to poke his tongue through your parted lips, he reluctantly parted from you—heart whirring with desire at your flushed face and half-lidded eyes.

“I sure do hope that whoever thought they had a chance with you saw that. . . Because as your prince, I hereby declare that you’re mine.”

“THAT’S OUR GIRL! GET IT (NAME)!” “Venti, I believe my prediction was correct. . . Now, as for the payment?” “PLEASE, NOT MY LIMITED EDITION WINE.”

#|✿| — 𝐅𝐀𝐖𝐍’𝐒 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐒 #|✿| — 𝐂𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐒 #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact #genshin impact x you #genshin impact x y/n #genshin x reader #albedo #albedo x reader #albedo x y/n #albedo x you #albedo fluff #genshin fluff #fem reader

[decolonize-the-left]

So there's been a lot of stuff going on in my family lately, stuff I don't want to talk about publicly. But one of the knock on effects is that I've spent some time with my mother's brother, who has been a successful organizer of unions in DC for the last 30 years, and he's cultivated some really useful sources on capitol hill to share insights on politics, and he likes talking with his jaded, 28-year-old historian nephew.

So one of the thing he brought up was that among the many reasons DC ignores what young voters tend to want is that as far as DC is concerned, young people vote inconsistently, and therefore are not worth pandering to - they don't come out consistently enough to punish those who vote against their interests, and they don't come out in favor of those who vote for their interests, ergo, why bother?

We began talking about Israel/Palestine and his response was similarly grim. I brought up my ongoing theory that as the world regresses back into essentially 19th century world affairs, and Israel is essentially what the British Empire would have called an American Vassal State, his response was "Kind of, but they aren't acting entirely in our interests" - not a secret, right? Everyone paying attention knows that Biden wanted a multilateral middle eastern partnership with Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon, right before all of this happened, and Israel's...disproportionate response has very much ruined that.

What he brought up that WAS interesting is that while many young people have fallen off supporting Biden because of his support of Israel, a lot of more "likely" voters are more supportive of him because of it, and the current math on capitol hill is that they're trying to court "likely" voters. The other, even grimmer math he told me about is that this conflict is going to escalate to a point that Israel is going to continue to bleed off support until the US government has no choice BUT to pull support from Israel - though Netenyahu is not doing himself any favors by openly disparaging the US state department and US interests, something that makes the US State department at least somewhat more interested in looking at alternative partners to the point that they probably would be willing to force Israel to replace Netenyahu and his party eventually, with or without public demand.

The problem is that those things take time, and that Netenyahu's successor would probably be a more "liberal' alternative to Netenyahu's more openly fascist current reality, and "securing an alternative middle eastern strategy" is more important to the US government than stopping what their current option is doing. According to my uncle who has spent the last 30 years working with DC power brokers, basically all of them assume they have between 2-4 months before the election to force netenyahu to actually stop doing anything (or replace him with someone who will stop when asked nicely) if they're really worried about the loss of support it's going to cause them.

It's a lot more interesting, but what he pointed out was that the only way ceasefire happens sooner is if, frankly, demonstrations get an order of magnitude bigger, and begin demonstrating it actually impacts people's chances. I am submitting this post here because I am primarily a writeblr and for whatever reason my "openly political" posts (despite all my stories being deeply political in deeply political genres) struggle to get as much traction, and this seems worth spreading.

This all sounds very similar to what I've been thinking as well, it's almost a direct parallel of things we've seen before.

#asked #answered #boosting

[stelladess]

On power creep, card games (mostly as an example) and gacha. Also how to prioritize what characters/cards to try and get. Kinda felt the discussion around power creep in the context of gacha is often kind of... incendiary and not very helpful, we are all here to have a good time.

So, this was mostly some stuff I have been thinking about in relation to Arknights, because I do not play Star Rail as seriously and play no other gachas then those two. I have played the yu-gi-oh card game since I was a little kid (some of my earliest memories is learning the game from my brothers or playing Kaiba the revenge on PC) so I am coming at this from a primarily TCG perspective and with the prior background of "has played game which has been made unrecognizable by power creep, and still loved playing it." So obviously, this already predisposes me to not see power creep as the biggest deal.

So... first of all, the incentives that causes power creep! Well this is pretty straightforward, the way a trading card game or a gacha makes money is by making you want to spend money on new cards/characters. You also need to have a solid team or deck as a whole, usually you cannot just brute force your way on a single powerful card or character. As a result to prevent players from just getting one strong team/deck and then never updating again is why we end up with power creep, since the option of just outright banning cards tends to piss people off even more and is straight up not a thing they do in gacha games. As a result, since players will usually not want to spend money/pulls on a character who will not improve their team/deck, especially when its so often chance based what you even get, it means that to make people keep pulling packs you gotta upgrade the power over time of new units. Generally the developers want to keep this at a slower pace, since it feels bad if someone gets a great character/card and then one month later they are weak, and if people feel like what they put in do not pay off they will not keep playing. But occasionally there are bigger bursts of power creep to kind of bring the state of the game to a new level, often brought on by accidentally making something too strong, at least that is how I think this goes from my experience. But for example, if when Typhon came out her damage was worse or just on par with Rosa, how many would have pulled for her? Sure you´d get some who would because they like her story, personality, design, etc. But not that many would have if we are being completely honest here.

This is not to say that power creep cannot be a problem, especially if too severe, as already touched on earlier it feels really bad when your favorites no longer hold up. I just want to highlight that it is an inherent part of the game that cannot really be avoided. It can also add a big pressure to feel like you have to keep up by getting all the new characters or cards, which can cause a lot of stress due to the random nature of who you get. Which is where the other thing I wanted to talk about comes in....

You do not need every strong or limited character. And in fact you wont use most of them because you have finite team space. In a trading card game you focus in on a playstyle you like, or a few if its affordable enough, and then focus on building and enhancing those instead of getting every good card in the game. I think this is the healthiest way to view it in a gacha too. Prioritize who suits your playstyle and your team, or to fill weak spots you got (or you just like as a character of course). You do not need all the top tier characters in the game. You can skip multiple top tier characters in fact and still do just fine, these games are not balanced around the assumption you have *every* single one of the best characters or cards. And in fact, having to slowly make adjustments to better suit your needs is, to me at least, one of the most fun parts. And a lot of the strategy and fun of these kinds of games disappear if you have access to all the strongest options and can just brute force things. It is not healthy for your mental state to fret over having to have all the best options and it makes the game less fun, to me at least. These games assume you only have maybe half of the top tier options, and you can beat pretty much everything with that if you put some effort into strategizing, which is fun~!

#arknights #i think tagging it as arknights is appropriate here at least? #my “gambling preys on people in bad ways” vs how the limitations caused by the randomness adds a fun level of strategy for me opinions clas

[centrally-unplanned]

The Gaza floating pier plan is an odd one, I was doing a bit of research & thinking on its logic. Like obviously you can get more aid in Gaza right now, its just Israel (and also Egypt, who buck-passes on this constantly) refuses to in turn increase aid or admit that aid is being truly slowed. Though also its a function of the fact the demand for aid is much higher than before, both through destroyed stocks, loss of domestic agricultural output (which Gaza had a little of pre-war), and supply needs for the occupation forces. And its not like the US right now really wants to get more involved in this issue, its net losses for the US as far as the eye can see. So it puts a bit of a permanent stake in a situation one would rather not, to solve a problem whose cause is tangential to this solution.

But on digging I do see the logic in it - essentially its a sign of the US - or lets the say the Biden admin, good to be specific - losing faith in not only Israel's conduct in the war, but also its goals for the war at all. It symbolizes that not only does the Biden admin expect them to not overly budge on the blockade issue, but they still will not be overly budging on it several months from now. But that this isn't a part of some Grand Strategy on their part, a strategic play to idk pressure Hamas to come to the table or even like weaponize suffering to cause legitimacy collapse. They just can't get around to a coherent end-state vision here, and things like aid restrictions are just strategy theatre run amok, "can't let in the ~weapons oh no" thoughts running on autopilot while Israel fights with itself over its goals. You can tell this because they are letting the port happen! They could just say no, if Lebanon tried to do this they would bomb it.

But of course while the Biden admin is less than thrilled about increased involvement, it (primarily) knows how badly this issue is damaging rep in the middle east given its stuck with its wedded ally, (secondarily) generally is opposed to famine and human rights crimes in any context and needs a strong reason to ignore them (which, to be clear, does happen sometimes, but this the baseline), and (tertiarily) doesn't love the domestic tension the issue is generating. And it no longer trusts Israel to fix its own mistakes in this regard. So it wants to "take it out of their hands" - now the US can set the tempo of aid deliveries, and Israel can't really stop it. (Like sure if they truly throw down they can block aid, they are going to cooperating on security for the pier, but it would be big leap in spiting the US for them to do that) It bypasses their dysfunction, which they expect to be ongoing. ~2 months from now the US can make sure if/when things have continued to go badly it can start mitigating harm and also control the narrative better.

This is cold comfort for any of the ongoing problems today, which are legion. But the other message of the pier is that those aren't changing. Israel isn't budging, and hey we haven't mentioned em yet but Hamas isn't budging either, they scuttled the latest round of cease fire talks and know that their demand of a permanent cease-fire at this point is a non-starter so I think that shows status quo reigning. Hey, maybe we will see what comes out of Doha in the next few days, but I bet it won't be too surprising (a short term hostage exchange is possible but that won't relieve the big issues). I am low certainty on this but if I am Hamas I think so far this is "going according to plan", certainly they wish they were inflicting more causalities on the IDF but they have a track record of realism on this one, they knew this would happen and politically things have been going well for them. And Israeli's political dysfunction seems stable as long as no elections are called, which is the smart money right now (Unless the Orthodox Jewish Freerider Problem blows the coalition up). So for the Biden Admin, the overton window for immediate action is very small, which means that they think plans that have longer time horizons make sense.

Idk it could just be them flailing and trying to look like they are Doing Something, but generally their track record on this front is pretty solid, Biden FP has been grounded (not the same as universally effective, though I think its been good overall). And Doing Something only works if it isn't a boondoggle, 2 months from now isn't after the election after all. Incompetence is possible, sure, but given their track record not my baseline, and I think the logic here does check out. Time will tell...

#i/p conflict

[lobotomyladylives]

You’re pro gun? I’m not from the USA so I’m just curious. I’d feel so anxious if people around me were carrying a gun.

Is it not scary to have a weapon that could possibly take someone’s life?

long winded rambling answer under the cut, to my many mutuals who hate america with a fiery passion (I get it #ally #hero #oneofthegoodones #pleasedontholdyourapplause) I advise that you scroll past this bc it's just an american talking about american issues & may cause your blood pressure to rise

So, I would say that I'm pro gun under specific circumstances-I carry a glock as a self defense weapon & am trained to use it, and I frequently advise other women to do so as well bc it's by far the most reliable way to stop an attacker that is larger & stronger than you are. Knives, tasers, & pepper spray, while better than nothing, all have significant limitations and downsides & due to being close range. An attacker can usually overpower you and take your weapon away once they get close. The idea is not to allow them to get close enough to disarm you in the first place. Guns are long range weapons and therefore ideal for protecting yourself. I actually feel WAY safer walking around while I'm carrying my gun than I ever did before! It's genuinely empowering imo.

All that being said...I obviously don't like the fact that it's so easy for deranged men to buy weapons like AR-15s, which are designed not for self defense but to slaughter as many people in as little time as possible (there's a reason almost all mass shooters use this type of gun). I also hate the NRA & their lobbying efforts. Gun control is a really complicated issue that I think both sides simplify for the sake of winning an argument when there's really no easy solution to this problem. Yes, other countries have had success with outright bans, but the thing is we already have more guns than people in America, it's extremely easy for criminals to buy them illegally, so what libertarians say about gun control only applying to law abiding citizens is not entirely inaccurate imo.

The other thing is that trying to implement gun control to the level of other countries would legitimately start a civil war in the US. That's how strong gun culture is here. It doesn't help that the right to own a gun is baked into our constitution & that our government was founded on well organized militias overthrowing a tyrannical monarchy that had a more structured military.

Conservatives & libertarians (as well as many leftists, like me) think that there may come a time where we need to ride up against a tyrannical government again, and obviously a well armed population is a less vulnerable population. People say "well, the government has nukes, what are some guns going to do?!" but they're making several wrong assumptions about the nature of guerilla warfare, how civilian resistance operations are carried out, and what governments are generally willing to sacrifice. To explain it all would turn this already long answer into an essay but in short, the US government is not ever going to drop an atomic bomb on one of its own cities to get rid of some insurgents. It would kill their supporters as well, turn more people into radicals, the collateral damage & financial ruin involved is not a price any leader would be willing to pay unless they were actually clinically insane.

If I had to make the decisions myself I would focus primarily on the social problems that lead to violence as well as repairing the broken mental healthcare system in this country. Of course Republicans always SAY they want to do this whenever a shooting happens but they clearly don't give enough of a fuck about it to actually pass any legislature that would make accessing mental health services easier for people in poverty on account of them all being money hungry psychopaths.

#in short-looser gun laws for women tighter gun laws for men #asks

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Connection

I am just thinking, very very strongly, about the reveal today of Tai ‘s parents and their soulmate connection. I had been discussing with some other blogs about what Tai's parents were hiding from Tai, and with the reveal of Lomfon being able to hear them and with the reveal of Tai being able to sever the connection, we thought that it might be something like that.

But I have been wondering day in and day out for weeks now if Tai’s parents could still hear each other AND THEY CAN! And that is so so so important to me when it comes to supporting the story La Pluie is trying to tell.

But I must say that I wasn’t fully expecting that them still being able to hear each other through the rainverse would be a good, valuable, comforting point of connection for Yad and Warun to this day.

 

La Pluie is a writing masterpiece for so many reasons but the one that stands out for me specifically in this episode is the way the writers use Tai’s parents rainverse link to show the difference in how conflict should be handled and how it shouldn’t. 

Tai’s parents have their disagreements, they propose separating, they continue to try for another year, and ultimately, Warun decides that it would be better for the both of them to divorce so they have the opportunity to pursue lifestyles that better suit their own wants and needs. But they still love each other.

And I will hand it to La Pluie time and time again for giving a consistent statement about love being able to persist in a new form when romantic love fades. I love that Nara and Patts remain friends, and I love that Yad and Warun still consider each other soul mates. 

And what I love about La Pluie here is that it uses the rainverse link to compare realistic and fictional love. Yad and Warun maintaining their connection shows a realistic understanding of romantic love, that it is something that you have to constantly be working to maintain. And even when the romantic love fades, the love they have for one another changes and they are able to maintain their soulmate link despite rejecting a romantic relationship and staying primarily physically separated from one another for the past few years. 

But TAI?! 

Tai’s entire life is built on a fictional understanding of love. Tai’s entire understanding of romance is built from the likes of Nora Roberts. He has no actual understanding of the effort that it takes to maintain romantic relationships and he is additionally so fucking conflict AVOIDANT that at the first sign of conflict Tai severs the connection. 

Tai shuts himself away from everyone, he shuts Patts out of his head, and that causes Patts SO. MUCH. PAIN. Patts is devastated at the idea that he has NO connection to Tai anymore. Even when they are separated, even when they are broken up, especially when Patts wants to be in that relationship with Tai still. Especially when Patts wants to talk through what happened and correct the problems they had, Tai with Patts distrust and anger, Patts with TAI FUCKING LYING TO HIM AND REFUSING TO GIVE A STRAIGHT ANSWER EVER. 

Patts wants to work at this relationship, because Patts has been in relationships before, he knows how it goes. Patts wants to work at this relationship because he loves Tai and him misunderstanding Tai and Lomfon’s interaction when he goes to apologize and Tai’s refusal to answer the simple question of who he chooses makes Patts feel like Tai wants absolutely nothing to do with him. I mean, he was literally locked out of Tai’s life last episode. 

Anyway, this is just a very long-winded way of saying that it is so intriguing to me that Yad and Warun continue to cultivate their connection with one another even with their irreconcilable differences and at the first sign of trouble, at the first sign that Tai has to do some work with Patts he loudly and emphatically gives up his connection. 

(tagging @lurkingshan for meta round up reasons :p)

#la pluie #la pluie meta #la pluie analysis #la pluie the series #saengtai #patts x tai