#I will try to answer the accumulated questions more actively

[semisomnosres]

What does the First Ninja do when Chase is pestering him too much?

Let's just say he has an effective solution

the main thing is not to abuse this power

#semisomnosres #ninja showdown #first ninja x chase young #rc9gn #chase young #xiaolin showdown #Wuya could not explain her reason for uncontrollable laughter because she simply could not stop laughing #I will try to answer the accumulated questions more actively #Collar of Shame

[readingloveswounds]

French (teaching) resources

Hi everyone! I've taught beginning and intermediate french at the college level for the past two years and have accumulated a lot of PDFs that may be helpful + made some reading/listening activities that I wanted to share.

if you self-study, this may be helpful as well, especially when it comes to grammar practice.

Here is the link to the google drive folder

I am happy to answer questions as I am able.

Some notes:

grammar:

largely from: Grammaire progressive du français, (niveau avancé) | Contrastes : Grammaire du Français Courant | some (rather old) McGraw Hill French 2 and 3 texts | and various places online

SOME of these have answers. some do not. unfortunately, I don't have access to Contrastes right now to scan the answers. When I do, I'll try to upload them.

Sorted generally by what they are (adv/adj, articles, pronouns etc) however, the file names are NOT the clearest. i'll try to go through and fix those when I have time.

You'll notice that the two named texts are advanced grammar books - I adapted these when I used them in class if I needed to, or just used some of the activities on the page.

I also highly suggest UT Austin's resources here

activities:

WARNING: I created these myself so there may be the occasional error or weird phrasing in questions etc. Phrasing may also be strange due to the level it was created for.

The formatting may be a bit funky because I copied from word so my full name wouldn't be on them.

song activities are fill in the blank or comprehension question exercises. they have the lyrics and some vocabulary translations with them.

song activities - I often showed the music video but you could just play the music if that works better for you

song activities - these are typically excerpts and not the whole song. most do not have the time stamps, but the lyrics should help you figure that out.

video or reading activities are typically comprehension questions. some have my instructions for using them in class, others are just the text/video and questions.

Some of these are harder than others (songs go faster/grammar involved is more difficult) so check before you use.

#french resources #french langblr #french language #langblr #language learning #language teaching #mine #my tips #long post #10n #50n #100n #150n

[gay-dorito-dust]

hey!! i really love your fics for george karim,, do you mind making another one when reader is lazy to get up from bed and george is trying to pull her out ending up staying beside them in bed, maybe cuddling and messy kisses?? if you reply to this, tysm!!!!! <3

“Where’s y/n?” Lucy asked one morning, staring at the vacant chair you’ve claimed at George’s side. “They’re still not up?” Lockwood was the next to ask, also looking over at your vacant chair. “Nope.” George answered, seeing as yours and his room were the closest out of all of you, making him the only person to have seen you in the morning.

“Who’s turn is it to wake them?” The question hung in the air as the trio began to look between one another, awaiting for someone to volunteer in being the sacrificial lamb but when no one does, Lockwood, Lucy and George were then forced to resort to pulling straws; And to the surprise of absolutely no one, George pulls the shortest straw.

“Fuckin- This games got to be rigged, either one of you could’ve had it rigged somehow.” George grunted as he pushed himself away from the table as Lucy and Lockwood found humour at their friends’ seemingly bad luck when it came to their little game. “You snooze you loose Georgie.” Lockwood shrugs, leaning back against his chair, “Now be doll and get up there and wake our beloved y/n will you.” George only flipped him off in response as he let the kitchen door shut behind him, muffling the sound of his friends laughter.

“God give me strength.” He muttered under his breath as he began to trek up the stairs, stopping just short of your room to take a deep breath for dramatic effect before opening the door to see that -surprise, surprise- you were still very much fast asleep within your bed. The latest case must’ve took a lot out of you or you just had a really shitty sleep schedule, George believed it was the latter from previous instances where he would find you awake in the early hours of the day.

George knew he had no room to judge considering the fact that your job primarily consists of burning the midnight oil hunting Visitors who were at their most active during the later hours of the day. So it was only natural that you wanted to find methods to rid yourself of the access energy accumulated. Yet out of the four of you, you were always the last to fall asleep and the last to wake up.

Seeing as poking and prodding wasn’t getting him anywhere, George turned to his secret technique.

“Y/n,” George said, lightly poking your cheek, “c’mon it’s time to wake up.” You only groaned, lazily swatting his hand away before moving so that your back was facing towards him as you drifted back to sleep; bringing poor George back to square one. “Y/n.” He prods his finger in the space between your shoulders, causing your back to inadvertently arch from the contact but return back to it’s relaxed state soon after as you once again showed no actual signs of waking up.

Seeing as how poking and prodding weren’t going to do the trick, George then resorted to his secrete technique. Hitting you repeatedly with a pillow was next on his itinerary but he just knew you too well to know that even that wasn’t going to doing anything advantageous for him. So George moved towards the base of the bed and ripped away the covers so that the cold morning air jolted you awake, stunning you enough so he could grab ahold of your pyjama clad legs and began to pull you off the bed.

“George, you dick!” You squealed, “had you just given me five more minutes I would’ve woken up!” George, halted all movement to give you an unimpressed stare. “Are you even hearing yourself right now? If I were to have given you five more minutes, it would be well past noon when you decided it convenient for you to wake up.” He replied to which you couldn’t lie your way out of that because it would be true.

“Fine, you got me there but I have a proposal, should my favourite researcher wish to hear it out.” You said, pulling back into your own bag of tricks this time. “I’m going to regret this but at this point, I could hardly care less so please, indulge me on this wonderful proposal of yours.” George replied sarcastically as he awaited whatever bullshit that would escape you this time.

“You become my cuddle buddy,” George began to groan until you shushed him, “and I’ll let you tell me all about that kick arse artefact from the last case,” your raised a hand for dramatic effect before continuing, “in full detail.” That last bit must’ve caught George’s attention as his grip on your legs loosened enough for you to break free, scoop up the discarded bed covers before finally delving headfirst back into the comfort of your bed.

Once he came back to reality and saw what had happened he couldn’t help but hiss out a “you minx” at you before sitting himself at the edge of your bed, defeatedly. You looked at him, slightly confused. “Georgie?”

“Aren’t you going to…cuddle me or whatever.” He said awkwardly and you couldn’t help but coo at this as you pulled back the covers of your bed, dragging the boy by his arm until he was laying flat on his back, before pulling the covers over the both of you as you then cuddled yourself into his side; head resting in the crook of his neck and all.

“Sooo you’re giving into my demands? waving your white flag of surrender? Calling a cease fire? Forming a-“ your teasing words were cut off when George, finally having enough of you rubbing your victory over him in his face, pressed a plethora of kisses across your face.

“Okay! Okay! Okay! I’ll stop the teasing, for now.” You said after surviving the barrages of his kisses, feeling a little warmth speed within your chest as you somehow snuggled yourself deeper into his hold, smiling lightly when you felt George get himself comfortable brining his arm over your waist, holding you there.

“Just shut it will ya, I’m already gonna get the piss taken out of me by Lucy and Lockwood about my ‘weak spot’ for you sooner or later.” George said softly as he pressed a kiss to your forehead before then resting his chin lightly atop of your head. “Might as well make the best of-“ he bit back a yawn, “-of this whilst we still can.” He finishes, removing his glasses and putting them on your bedside table before repositioning himself, closing his eyes as he let himself indulge in a lazy morning with you.

Lucy and Lockwood would come upstairs when George hadn’t came down with you in tow, only to shush the other when they caught sight of you and George cuddled up tightly against one another, fast asleep and looking the most content either of you had looked in a long while.

They agreed to take the piss out of the both of you later but right now, they’ll let you have this.

#lockwood and co x you #lockwood and co imagine #lockwood and co x reader #lockwood and co imagines #george karim x you #george karim x reader #george karim imagine #george karim imagines #lockwood imagines #lockwood imagine #lockwood x reader #lockwood x you

[thetwistedrope]

Can you walk us through the ecology of your backyard?

so i have been thinking on this for a few days trying to figure out what is meant by "ecology" in this instance (idk why my brain just doesn't quite understand what i'm being asked). so this is my best attempt at answering the question, but uh, it may not actually be answering it at all.

there are three principles that we try to embody when we make changes to teh land out here. we want to 1. improve water retention, 2. reduce erosion, 3. cover the ground wherever possible. imo, these three pieces are key to making any progress with land restoration.

so i sit on about 3.5 acres of property, and i mention this because i guess i want to make it clear that i don't touch every part of the land under my supervision. i would love to really terraform the place to really improve the land, but that requires money and energy that i simply don't have.

so a lot of the land is just left alone. my grandparents had horses, which denuded the back third of the property, and they got into this habit of cutting down anything that grew in the middle third where human activity was most present. so in the places we can't afford to really improve/change, we leave the space alone. if nothing else, we make sure that nothing is cut down and we let nature take whatever course it wants.

on the fringes of where we work, i've gone to dragging branches and other pieces of wood or stone out onto flat surfaces to allow dirt and sediment to accumulate when it rains. it also allows for water to move slower across the land, which can aid in retention. i forget what this method is called, it does have a name, tho.

for places right up by the house, we've covered every square inch of ground in mulch, which is what has really helped with growing bugs. i had no idea we had so many cockroaches out here until we put mulch on everything. the birds then love to pick through teh mulch to get the bugs. we have a wider variety of birds here now than we have before.

we have also dug the ground out to allow the water that comes off of the roof to go away from the house, but to also stay in teh yard to water the trees. gma used to always complain her trees would never grow beyond a certain size, and i'm almost positive its because they didn't get enough water.

i think photos/video show it better than words, tho:

like, my yards aren't pretty, but i think it's hard to deny that there is more stuff growing. all the dead growth will eventually be taken down by rain and critters, and that forms the layer for the next year's growth.

also keep in mind we have only had half an inch of rain since april.

a good example to see how my land looks compared to most people around us:

you can see right where our fence line ends. and the property next door didn't used to look like this. the barren spot you see on teh left side further away also didn't look like this until someone came and bought it and clear cut it all for houses.

white middle class people seem to really love denuding land, and it's disgusting :)

idk if this answers the question, but this is my attempt.

#asks #land restoration #ecology #permaculture #i guess

[multiplicity-positivity]

this is going to be a weird question, but do you know of any system oriented activities? like, things alters can do together? or do you know any worksheets, or any ways to make the system want to. like. get along? a lot of the system doesn't interact with eachother, and like, i don't want to force them into stuff they don't want to, but i feel like it'd be beneficial to do something fun together, because, long story short, we don't know eachother very well and there isn't much trust between us. sorry for the rambling!

hey, this is a really great question. let’s see if any of our tips could work for y’all…

we have this post which is basically an icebreaker worksheet made by ralsei. it’s designed to help alters and headmates get to know each other better. you’re welcome to copy it into your notes, print off copies for your alters to complete, or do whatever you wish with it to encourage your alters to fill it out.

you could also edit or adjust the worksheet to include more applicable questions for your system. or create your own list of interview questions and leave them in an easily accessible place so different alters can answer them as they like.

y’all also might enjoy answering ask games to get to know each other. note you don’t have to get asks in order to answer the questions, and you don’t have to post your answers, either. you can definitely just write your answers in a document or note just for your system! here are some inclusive ask game posts:

x (<- tw: syscourse mention) x x x

y’all can try to find common interests, and if any are revealed through doing interviews/completing ask games/general communication, you can try to do things together. we’re not sure how capable your system is of cofronting, but if some alters in your system are able to cofront together, y’all can start trying to do activities together.

our system loves playing videogames together. we either work together to play the game, or one of us plays while the others watch. you can also do stimulating “solo” play, like playing pretend, drawing/coloring, blowing bubbles, or building with blocks and legos. cofronting can allow other alters to work together during play and can help build teamwork and communication. (you don’t need to be a child in order to benefit from play! kids and adults alike can improve inner relationships through playtime.)

if your system has an inner world, y’all can try visualizing something fun to do, or create an adventure for you to go on together. if you’re new to thinking about inner worlds/headspaces, this post from dis-sos has some info on building a headspace and the importance of inside safe spaces for folks with dissociative disorders (we’re assuming y’all have one since you said “alters”). remember that you don’t have to be traumatized in order to benefit from a headspace - it may help y’all get on the same page and learn to cohabit your mind together.

once y’all know a little more about each other, a great way to bond is through doing nice things for each other. so doing a chore that a different alter normally does, making a food that you know a particular alter is fond of, accumulating objects that remind you of each other, making playlists for each other, and simply thinking kind thoughts towards each other may help y’all foster stronger bonds and grow closer as a result. some alters may come forward with their own ideas of group activities once they feel a bit more at ease within the system.

remember patience is so important when it comes to working with alters and forging bonds and connections. it may take some time before your alters start listening to you or show any interest in getting to know each other. they may be skittish, slow to trust, or quick to anger. they may struggle to communicate at all at first. all these things are natural for systems - learning to trust and communicate is a skill just like any other, and new skills take time to master. don’t be discouraged if it takes a while before your alters start to come around!

followers, feel free to share the ways in which your system bonds and what sort of fun activities y’all do together.

we hope this helps! best of luck with getting to know your system :)

🐢 kip and 💫 parker

#long post #internal communication #system activities #building connections #building trust #building communication

[horizon-verizon]

Who do you find more interesting as a villain in the greens ? ( Aegon, Alicent, Aemond, Larys?)

Sorry for leaving this question for so long, I had to take a mini break to do this question justice.

Answer to the Actual Question

Probably Larys, just because there is more to be discovered and think about with him and his motivation in joining the greens. We don't know anything about his life at Harrenhal or with his life with Lyonel, Harwin and his sisters or his relationship with his mother before she died. Seeing how he was willing to join the greens, he had to have had something against one of the blacks, Viserys, or all of them, or he favored one/a few of the greens for some idea of them. Or he thought that by banking on them and their greed that he would become a more powerful, fuller version of himself? Maybe he felt that the blacks would offer him nothing, and if so, why?

I feel like under the greens, he would have had a better chance at accumulating power since Harwin, being the oldest and the heir, was in his way and was already Rhaenyra's lover/bio dad of her kids, therefore forever in her favor, even if he lived and she still pursued Daemon. (And yes, I think Larys would have known that they were not Laenor's. One doesn't have to be smart to know that.) It could be as simple as that. Or it could be that PLUS bad blood, a bad perception, etc.

With Alicent, it's easier see what the backbone of her motives is: power and Andal/patriarchal hegemony where she builds her power and sense of validity/superiority from. Because we saw it with Cersei. What makes her different from Cersei is that Alicent is actively attempting to depose a living female royal and many in the fandom believe that she is more licensed to, because Alicent pushes forward the patriarchal/traditionally Catholic values they themselves adhere to, fulfilling their fascist, eugenist, anti-Targ fantasies. Some fans of Cersei are the same, but Cersei had less because she herself engaged in the incest the Targs practiced (sibling) and very much wanted to marry Rhaegar, so she is also an anathema to those same demi-anti-Targ, ableist, Tywin/Stannis-loving, misogynist tradcaths.

Aemond and Aegon the Elder, again, not that complex after putting in some more thought about Alicent's influence on them and the lack of real love and care in their lives, those things being replaced with patriarchal entitlement. All three are interesting in that they all show the overlapping and repetitions of abuse for what they are (even if some fans are damn blind to it).

Which is such a shame that the HotD writers didn't bother with developing a backstory for the Strongs or giving Rhaenyra her Strong ladies in waiting. There is such a lack and negligence of depth in this show that comes from it's showrunners/writer's misunderstanding of the original themes and narrative patterns.

Mini-Rant (not towards anon)

No matter what GRRM says -- or what people think he means -- about not wanting to or intending to not repeat himself in his storylines within the ASoIaF world, the enduring fact is that writers have topics and ideas about those things in mind and create stories out of those specific ideas and conclusions. We can't deny that Cersei and Alicent, and even Rhaenyra or Dany, all have similarities in how they try to gain or maintain power in their patriarchal world, or think about their places in those societies. They go to different results, but the same need to validate themselves and make themselves matter within that context always informs their decisions or are the foundations of how they perceive themselves and the world. Therefore, it behooves the reader to understand how there ARE patterns and that those patterns matter to understand the overarching treatment of love, duty, compassion, and ambition in ASoIaF. It is not "woke" to study the feminist storylines present or acknowledge how classism and religion shapes how Catelyn and Sansa Stark, how Catelyn repeats the Andal misogyny and classist thinking to her daughters (post by ariamariastark1).

Rather it is acknowledging what is already supported in the actual text with how Alicent does with Aegon II and Aemond AND Cersei does it with Joffrey, which is how these boys all get to be so unapologetically entitled and sexually, verbally, and otherwise physically abusive to both relatives and non relatives.l and intimate partners.

Why are the boys different from the girls in how they express misogyny? Because the girls are not given the same privileges the boys are and will never be authorities like those boys, so the boys grow up to be monsters and the girls grow up to support those monsters for selfish ambition or whatever feeling of superiority is left to them, or what they rationalize.

If you cannot see this is what GRRM is doing, you need a lesson in reading comprehension. Several of them in fact.

#fire and blood characters #asoiaf asks to me #larys strong's characterization #larys strong #alicent hightower #aemond targaryen #aegon ii #alicent's characterization #aemond's characterization #aegon ii's characterization #character comparison #asoiaf #fire and blood

[sublime-beyond-loss]

A Long, Interminable Ramble About The Act Of Continuing To Run These Keeping The Narrator Company Livestreams

Something I've been trying to address within myself and finally puzzle out why I feel the exact way that I do is the question of why I feel so foolish for doing these streams, despite enjoying it, and despite being told multiple times by more than one person that they find the act of me doing this inspiring.

I think I might have finally managed to pinpoint the cause and put it into words. I typed all of this up in chat not too long ago, but I wanted to put it out in a slightly more permanent form that won't get so easily lost in the shuffle of the chat.

If it wasn't painfully obvious by now, I deeply admire TSP, but I'm also terrified of it. It sparks the imagination in me like no other and yet I also view it as a deeply cynical, deeply depressing game, and I always feel like I'm just waiting for that cynical shoe to drop and rob me of this joyful spark that's inspired me to create all of these amateur works of mine.

To me, Ultra Deluxe feels like a far more subtle and insidious escalation of the player VS dev violence of the OG game. You are forced to put the narrator through something far worse than the zending and real person ending combined. Something that I consider to be easily the most profound act of cruelty a game has ever forced me to commit, to the point that the only answer I could come up with to the moral dilemma it may or may not pose is to sit in the skip button room forever, refusing to press it even though the game wasn't programmed to acknowledge that choice.

There is inevitably a lot of embarrassment within myself for doing this, because at the end of the day literally all I'm doing is running down the lifespan of my PS4 for no in-game benefit. I've become less insecure about the act of doing this, but that lingering feeling of foolishness is inevitable. Still, I came to realize something over the course of doing this. I could watch a million movies or read a million books about a character meeting a fate worse than death, but only through the interactive medium of video games could someone like me go 'oh, hell naw!' to being forced to put a character through a fate worse than death and decide that I'd rather try to live that experience out with him, even if the outcome cannot be changed. No book or movie could allow me to turn that into a communal activity like the act of streaming this has become.

To continue with my point about player VS dev violence, what follows after is the bucket, and while I personally find the wacky antics of the bucket endings fun and fulfilling in their own right, especially in what they may or may not imply about the narrator as a character, they are seemingly meant to feel like an unfulfilling FU to those who wanted more OG TSP out of UD and thus the discontent from a lot of people who played it.

This all accumulates in the epilogue. While the figurine ending at least seems to give a nice end point to the narrator as a character and for the player to call it quits, the epilogue throws something entirely different in your face and comes off as a final sort of FU as seemingly an end point to the player VS dev violence where you both have ripped yourself to pieces until literally nothing is left. It seemingly ends on a point where the devs have reached total creative destruction and the player themselves is left with nothing but to keep making more soulless content in their place. Thus why it all feels so hopeless and cynical.

And that's probably why I feel so deeply insecure about engaging with this game on this level. I feel as if I've willfully allowed myself to become the butt of some secret joke, and despite the fun and creative joy I get out of it, it feels as if it is only a matter of time before the cynical shoe drops because there was never any hope. I only project hope onto this game.

Depending on how the person viewing the stream themselves view TSP, they can see it as an act of hope and defiance, or they see all of the stuff TSP says about getting too caught up in it and that the best action is to not play it at all and they see someone making an absolute fool of themselves and 'fail' at playing TSP in a profoundly embarrassing long-form content sort of way. Can ya tell why that might make me feel a bit insecure and embarrassed?

Knowing that there are no objective answers to TSP, only questions, mystery, and nonsense, I have been working on trying to let 'MY' truth stand without letting anyone else and their interpretations dictate my own or destroy it, but that can be hard by the mere nature of what I'm doing.

Ironically, you can kind of see the evolution of my thought process about the player/dev relationship through my work, or more like the audience/storyteller relationship. For the longest time I though that the ultimate goal should be for Stanley and the narrator to find freedom away from each other because they seem so inherently toxic to each other, with there maybe being the hope that they can come together again someday in a more healthy way. That was what my first two TSP fics dealt with.

These days I see them more as two halves of the same whole, and for them to try and get away from each other is to deny a fundamental part of themselves. They fall apart not because their butting heads rips each other apart, but because they view it as an act of trying to escape the other, which only leads to a creatively dead land of utter isolation. I see their push and pull not as inherently toxic, but the creative process of being inspired by one another. Thus my newest TSP fic, On The Nature Of Infinity.

And ironically, despite my views shifting over time, that does not necessarily make the two Fate Of The Narrator fics of mine no longer 'canonical' to my current view of TSP. The whole point of those two stories was a reparation of the relationship between audience and author by the author functionally becoming the protagonist of the story for a little while. It ended with the narrator heading off to find Stanley again so that they hopefully can come together again in a far more kinder manner.

And what is the act of these streams if not exactly that? A willingness to be playful with this game in a completely unexpected way the devs didn't even account for. Being inspired and hopefully generating more creative inspiration through the act of doing something so absurd. The problem is, as always, I don't know the true authorial intent behind any of this, and the game is so deeply cynical at its core that where I view it as creatively butting heads with this game and what it presents, I can also see the devs silently watching all of this from the shadows and having a good laugh at this idiot. Thus that feeling like the shoe could drop at any moment, and in that very TSP way, instead of it being a creative butting of heads, it is in actuality still a destruction of creativity where something will happen and all of this creative energy of mine is destroyed just as violently as the epilogue seems to imply that is the case for the devs.

Thus why I keep saying I cannot imagine the game having any response to any of this but a mocking one. Regardless, I'm glad for the non-TSP related inspiration and encouragement these streams have generated. It means the time I've shaved off of my PS4's lifespan has not been in vain lol.

I guess it is a very narrator-like thing to be paralyzed by the choices you can make, but unlike him, I made the choice to do this thing despite the conflicting feelings it causes for me in not knowing if I'm doing something of value or just making myself look like an idiot.

And I should note that I do not view running these streams as a burden. I would not be doing this at all if I did not enjoy doing it. The act of doing this keeps me in a creative headspace. Thus you get things like the skip button room cat cam lmao.

And since the topic occasionally comes up, I really don't want anyone bothering the devs about these streams. It sounds like they want to move on from TSP and these streams could very easily come off as a subtle badgering of them to keep making more new TSP. Would I love for them to go back and add something for waiting in the skip button room? Of course. But I also respect their artistic intent and the fact that I don't know the actual thought process that went into any of this. I mean no disrespect in doing this nor am I trying to bulldoze over the actual artistic intent of this thing with my own.

Thus, I really don't want anyone badgering them to take note of this stream or change the skip button ending merely because I'm doing this stream. These are the people that have literal real world callout posts in their game in the form of stuff like the Raphael trailer and motherfucking Cookie9, so I would very much enjoy it if I did not to end up in that pantheon because the act of doing these streams caused people to annoy them so much they, I dunno, drop a patch personally calling me an idiot or something lol. I'm a literal nobody and I'd like to stay that way than end up acknowledged in such a way that feeds into the deep cynicism that runs through the game.

#the stanley parable #tspud #skip button ending

[leapdayowo]

What about number 8 "does your disability affect how you experience other parts of your identity? (gender, queerness, culture, even hobbies/life goals you're very passionate about)"?

Hm, very interesting question. I know the answer is yes, but my explanation is difficult to explain. I guess the reason for that is because I feel everything I experience accumulates into me as a person, so none of the identities I label as are separate from my experience with misophonia/other sensitivities (+ if I do have ADHD that would be another thing to dissect).

Anyway, I think my misophonia has forced me to try to be kind and patient with others as much I can muster. I can get angry really quickly because of my sensitivities, but that anger does lots of harm in large doses (I do believe anger is healthy and normal, but it can’t be a dominant emotion). Due to this, I try to refrain from making judgments/assumptions about people right away because they may be dealing with something difficult like how I have to deal with my misophonia.

Idk how much my sensitivities impacted my queerness, but I will say my misophonia has caused more issues with people than me being queer😅. I think when I was little I likely made lots of vent art because I couldn’t use my words to describe what I felt. Nowadays, I’m actively trying to write stories with diverse characters, traits, and conflicts because there’s such a lack of representation and thus understanding, not just with misophonia, but other disabilities and identities. That’s definitely been motivated by my misophonia. Being honest, art saved my life and I want to extend this lifeline I’ve been holding onto out to other people through my work. I see all the good it can do for people, and I want to contribute to that good (the communities made, the art created, the discussions held, friendships/connections formed, and the comfort and understanding provided. Also just really fucking pretty artwork).

Also, despite all of the shit (to put it lightly) on this planet, I still view the world with wonder (in terms of puddles make we giddy as do other mundane things. Cities are intimidating and imposing. I like holding frogs and going grocery shopping) and believe in what we as people can be. I want to hold onto that for as long as I can and convey it through my art (trying to translate what’s in my brain to paper is unfortunately not that easy :P).

I could probably go on but I know I’ll get sidetracked haha..

#misophonia #disability awareness #disability pride month #some ranting #This is why when people tell me my art is comforting or reminds them of children’s book illustrations I feel all warm and fuzzy inside #that’s all I could really hope for #also apologies on taking so long to respond😅 #I did not prepare responses in advance but if people want to keep asking me stuff that’s fine I just might be slow to answer

[keydekyie]

You absolutely don’t have to answer this question, and if you do, don’t feel like you need to give literally any details.

So, I’m a writer, and I have a book series I want to publish. The problem is, it’s super niche. G/t niche, iykyk. I was wondering generally how much success you’ve found marketing to the Tumblr G/t audience? I’m sure it’s been accumulative too, but do you believe it’s something worth pursuing?

Thanks so much! (Love your work btw)

Thanks for your ask and the kind words!

I'm going to be totally honest, I have not ever made a profit on my books. I've spent more on my website, author copies, and little experimental marketing forays (ads, blaze campaigns, etc) than I've ever made back. It's why I kept working my day job until recently, and I quit that because (among other reasons) I needed to travel to work on this house we're renovating.

That being said, publishing on kindle is completely free and pretty simple! So I'd highly recommend it to anyone interested in trying it. (As long as you have a stout enough heart to withstand the indignity of someone posting your cover art on a website making fun of bad self-published cover art (yes I'm speaking from experience)). If you need any help with that, feel free to let me know. I think it's a lot of fun and very worth it!

As far as marketing goes, my advice would be not to spend money on it. I might just be downright bad at marketing my specific books (Slow-burn adventure/mystery/romance set in medieval fantasy Russia?? With giant bear monster people???) but I've never had good luck with real "marketing". I've had the most luck just occasionally posting doodles or bits from the story and hoping someone big interacts with it. When they do, I sometimes sell a couple books. Yay!

I do feel really weird asking said big "popular" gt people to reblog/interact with my posts (I'm shy, what can I say), but I think if you did that you'd get a huge audience. Just sending them an ask like "Hey, do you think you could reblog my post about my book that's coming out soon? It's about [blank] Thanks!" would probably go over well. If you're active in the community in any capacity, you will find an audience, I promise.

I guess in conclusion: of all the socials, I've had the best luck on gt tumblr. The community has had its ups and downs, but generally it's very supportive and chill. There are several really nice people who've been here forever and I trust them the most. I'm more wary of talented newbies who jump in and gain huge audiences very quickly. I don't know who you are, Anon, or how long you've been here in gtville, but it's a nice place to be and a nice place to publish books! <3

Just don't quit your day job yet lmao

#grace your face #tmatb #ask

[jyenvs3000w23]

Final Blog Post: My Development as an Interpreter

As we are coming toward the end of this course, my understanding of the work of interpretation, specifically nature interpretation, has accumulated significantly compared to the beginning of the year. Aside from the contents, my skills and ethics as an interpreter also grew; I hold a more substantial value over integrity, respect and empathy. To perform integrity as an interpreter is to show solid principles and honesty to the audience. This can be demonstrated through the firm upkeep of the policies; one example would be the canoe accident at St.John’s School of Ontario (“Parents pray,”1978). The interpreter should still enforce the safety rule that may seem dispensable to the audience, as our responsibility is to guide the process in a safe environment.

Visitors often neglect signs like this, and it is part of the interpreter’s responsibility to enforce these rules, even if it may seem superfluous (@SomersetWT, 2021).

Also, interpretation in other indoor locations, such as museums, has its own set of rules and protocols as well. Additionally, integrity is about honesty and providing the audience with facts that are supported by research, and if there is a question that the interpreter does not know, simply acknowledge and question and try to provide an answer even if it has to be a future response (Beck et al., 2018a).

           In sequence, respect is essential in the work of an interpreter. Respect towards the audience, the part of nature under interpretation, co-workers and one’s profession can help to construct a positive learning environment. Especially when guiding visitors, they should be treated as a new situation each time, and respecting their purposes and expectation is how interpretation should proceed (Beck et al., 2018a). Lastly is empathy, which ties into respect. To deliver a well-considered interpretation, we should understand the audience’s point of view and think about the best way to communicate. As we practiced in our podcast assignment, we need to formulate the “guide” that is best suitable for the target audience and to do so, we need to empathize with the audience. Furthermore, for specific ages, like ages four to seven, an interpreter should aim to foster empathy with nature through songs and stories (Beck et al., 2018b).

            I believe that passion is a crucial factor in the work of nature interpretation, and personally, writing blogs throughout the semester has fostered my passion for the environment. Passion is about the urge to learn about nature and take the initiative to participate and engage within the community. It is about actively reflecting upon experiences and providing meanings to recreate or simulate the same experience to others (Beck et al., 2018c). In an academic sense, practicing essential skills in nature interpretation has given me a fresh perspective on environmental science; it is not all research. It is also about how it is transmitted to the public.

Additionally, interpretation as a profession is a long journey of continuous learning, as new information is constantly being studied and published. Hence, interpreters must persistently update their knowledge and refine the “story” for the audiences. Furthermore, the work of interpretation requires the person to be the “face” of the program, representing whichever organization it is in, so without sufficient passion for the work, it would be difficult for one to perform well in a professional manner (Beck et al., 2018a).

Acknowledging Tildon’s “Principles of Interpretation,” several responsibilities lay on the shoulders of being an interpreter (Beck et al., 2018c). First, interpretation should be related to the visitors’ topic, story or experience, and off-topic discussion should be prohibited (Beck et al., 2018c). Second, simply stating facts is not interpretation, it is a part of it, but interpretation should be inspired by facts and elaborated beyond (Beck et al., 2018c). Third, interpretation should be viewed as a form of art, so to enrich the experience, different art forms should be considered to present the material no matter what topic (Beck et al., 2018c). Fourth, the interpreter must structure the experience as thought-provoking, promoting thinking on environmental topics, not simply teaching (Beck et al., 2018c). Fifth, it is the interpreter’s responsibility to present the material as “a whole” and not “apart,” addressing it with integrity (Beck et al., 2018c). Last, when interpreting to a younger audience, the content should not be diluted; instead, convey the message and story with a different approach (Beck et al., 2018c). All of which are principles that interpreters should strive to achieve.

The approach of interpretation that is the most suitable for me personally is the central route of persuasion in the Elaboration Likelihood Model (Beck et al., 2018c). By definition, it is the approach that involves active reflections and mindful thinking based on experience and knowledge (Beck et al., 2018d). One of my strengths as an academic is that I understand the importance of self-evaluation and reflection, so it is a key component of my learning strategy. Hence, as an interpreter, I can generate stories with depth, refined by experiences, which I can then recreate for visitors in a relatable manner. As Tilden stated, with this approach, an interpreter can grab visitors’ attention longer, help them to make associations with the experience, and give the visitors the ability to evaluate the message and decide whether to accept it.

The diagram above displays the two routes of persuasion. Of the two, I prefer the “central route of persuasion” approach in my experience of nature interpretation (Mishra, 2020).

In short, I have learned and grown as an interpreter through this course and developed a deeper understanding of the ethics and skills required for interpretation. Ultimately, nature interpretation is intertwined with many areas of profession in environmental sciences, and practicing this discipline can help prepare us for future careers in science.

References:

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018a). Chapter 9: Personal Interpretation. In Interpreting cultural and natural heritage: For A Better World (p. 229). essay, SAGAMORE Publishing.

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018b). Chapter 7: Serving Diverse Audience. In Interpreting cultural and natural heritage: For A Better World (p. 229). essay, SAGAMORE Publishing.

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018c). Chapter 5: Guiding Principles of Interpretation. In Interpreting cultural and natural heritage: For A Better World (p. 229). essay, SAGAMORE Publishing.

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018d). Chapter 4: Values of Interpretation for Management. In Interpreting cultural and natural heritage: For A Better World (p. 229). essay, SAGAMORE Publishing.

Mishra, A. (2020). Route of Persuation. Management Weekly. Retrieved 2023, from https://managementweekly.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/two_routes-1-1024x576.jpg.

Parents pray while waiting for names 12 boys, teacher drown on canoe trip 18 survivors due out today. (1978, Jun 13). The Globe and Mail Retrieved from https://subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/login?URL=?url=https://www-proquest-com.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/newspapers/parents-pray-while-waiting-names-12-boys-teacher/docview/387072296/se-2

SomersetWT. (2021). Twitter. Retrieved 2023, from https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E1rQa6iXMAcg_7M.jpg:large.

[sophieinwonderland]

how should i start off with making a tulpa? (first time)

That question is going to depend a lot on what type of tulpa you want. There are a lot of different techniques out there, and making a fictive with a solid template will use a different method than making a tulpa from a seed.

Do a lot of research and get different perspectives because what works for one person may not work for another.

Tulpas.info has a lot of guides to check out. You can find them here:

Read several of them if you can.

For us, what worked was starting with NPCs. When we started interacting with Abby and Almond, they were about 90% autonomous, and we needed to parrot a bit to fill in the blanks.

Within a few weeks of only occasional interaction, they were operating completely autonomously. Shortly after that, Abby developed self-awareness in spite of me actively trying to prevent that from happening.

If you were to use the NPC route instead of growing a tulpa from a seed, the development path should roughly be as follows:

Stage 0, pre-existence: create an inner world NPC with very defined characteristics and inner world memories that make up their identity. You should be able to run mental simulations relatively easily to test their performance. Don't include yourself in these first tests and have them interact with other NPCs instead. Each test should be with a different instance of the character to prevent accumulation of autobiographical memories.

Stage 1, semi autonomy: let this be your first interaction with the proto-tulpa. Introduce yourself in the Wonderland. Their responses should usually come naturally, but you may need to use some executive control occasionally. Try to do this as minimally as possible. Be sure to talk about past interactions in each session, reinforcing the proto-tulpa's experienced autobiographical memories and their sense of self.

Stage 2, autonomous but controllable: by now, the proto-tulpa has begun to act completely independently. You probably can still control it during this stage. Maybe if you say the wrong thing, you can rewind and pretend it never happened, for instance. Try to resist the urge to do this. You want to use executive control as little as possible. You want the brain to get so used to running this proto-tulpa without your involvement that it no longer answers to your will. Encourage them to make choices now that they can do so consistently. Let them decide where you go and what you do. Play games like Simon Says which gives them power over you.

Stage 3, autonomous and uncontrollable: during this stage, any attempt to exert influence will feel like you're facing resistance from them. Even if you can control them in some cases, that control is tenuous and feels like an uphill battle. Contine what you were doing in the previous stages to reinforce both their autonomy and ability to resist control.

Stage 4, awakening: Abby eventually got to a point where we heard her voice intrude in our thoughts when not interacting with her in the Wonderland. We ignored it because, again, I didn't actually want her to be a tulpa. However, if you're trying to make a tulpa and this happens, you obviously want to respond. This may happen before stage 3. If so, take it as a good sign that you just skipped ahead. If they don't arrive at stage 4 on their own, we intentionally woke Almond and it worked just as well.

This isn't the most common way of making tulpas but it's what worked for us. You can use this, use a more traditional method, or find something entirely different that works just for you. Hope that helps, and good luck! 😁💖

#ask box #tulpa #tulpas #tulpamancy #endogenic #plural #plurality #tulpa safe

[alphabetsoup-blogposts]

WSJ and Potomac Watch

...seem to be trying to make the head-spinning case that Clarence Thomas has done nothing wrong. I've been here before—knowing (for once) a bit about the subject, knowing that a normally authoritative publication is building a shoddy argument, feeling wholly enraged—but never when I'm this exhausted and depressed, literally too tired to string a sentence together. Ho hum.

More to the point, though, I've been in ecosystems where the whole argument for moral failure is this flimsy distinction between "potential" and "actual" conflicts of interest. It's not worth a second's credit but it keeps surfacing. It's like a talking point, like propaganda. It makes me think of those soap-making machines...extruders. Someone is pushing out a long stream of absolute tosh into the world of professional ethics and it didn't start with the WSJ or Clarence Thomas.

A couple of things...bullet points, because that's how I think now. 🤷🏻‍♀️

There is an actual conflict of interests for a judge wherever a pressure to act partially—however subtle—arises.

A minimally ethical professional does not accumulate pressures of this kind recklessly, let alone intentionally, and a person of good judgement* does not accumulate them carelessly or negligently.

Influence-peddling is the sacrifice of impartiality to self-interest. If someone is saying that there is "no conflict" in such instances it is because the ethical struggle has already been abandoned and the pass has been sold.

It is no defence to an allegation of judicial influence-peddling to say that the punter who invested so much money does not (yet) have a case before the court.

A judge is entitled to have friends but influential friendships characterised by indebtedness—moral or legal—can only be antisepticized by a robust practice of disclosure.

To say there is "no actual conflict of interests" in such cases is much like saying that port authorities can accept lavish gifts from shipping firms that do not dock in their port. If those gifts come to light, we will infer that the punters thought it an investment worth making for reasons best known to themselves—by way of an insurance policy for the future, perhaps, or in furtherance of the industry's collective commercial agenda.

One of the principal jobs of the Supreme Court is to determine weighty matters concerning the policies of the US administration but the Justices must arrive at their decisions on the basis of the law, not politics.

Harlan Crow is a Republican donor, a founding member of the Club for Growth and he has served on the Board of the American Enterprise Institute. He reportedly collects Nazi memorabilia which—howsoever one might explain it—speaks to a front-of-mind concern with political philosophy. It is safe to say that Harlan Crow not only leans conservative, but wishes—perhaps ardently wishes—his engagements and activities to have a political impact.

It is impossible to imagine a world in which Clarence Thomas' decisions over 25 years have not touched on matters of interest to Harlan Crow, a conservative advocate.

The friendship arose after Clarence Thomas became a Justice. That should cause him to have asked himself as the gifts accumulated: "what, in my friendship, is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to this individual?" There are very few answers to that question that should convince a man of discernment and even fewer that will now convince the American public.

"I asked my colleagues and they said..." is arguably the worst part of this. If Clarence Thomas exercises his judgement by deferring to his colleagues, the entire enterprise of the Supreme Court is in question. He was appointed to be wise, prudent, ethical and scholarly—not to muddle through by phoning a friend on the million dollar question. The Justices are supposed to be the ultimate arbiters of questions before them. "My peer-group said it would be just fine..." is a response most of us are trying to teach our teenage kids not to offer up when we ask, like the American public, "what on earth were you thinking?"

Perhaps some people will read these reports and question whether they themselves would understand how to navigate the ethics of this situation but hospitality disclosure is second nature to people with any public sector experience. I spent 17 years refusing gifts worth more than £25 and disclosing gifts of any value. I got it wrong sometimes—like the time I arrived in Venice to give a talk and realised too late that I was going to be spending a couple of days in my own version of Everyone Says I Love You—but, heavens above, at least I tried.

And, again, the real point here is that "no conflict of interest" is just a silly piece of whimsy—factually, analytically and functionally. A public sector employee does not normally get to have a conversation about actual vs potential conflicts of interest because undisclosed lavish hospitality is prohibited by the applicable code of conduct and ethics—no ifs, no buts. For anyone to suggest that Supreme Court Justices should hold themselves to lower standards of disclosure than ordinary public servants because they have fewer applicable rules of conduct would be, frankly, perverse.

The long and the short of it is that: 1) the way this friendship has been conducted seems ill-advised, but, in any event, 2) there should have been full disclosure of gifts received—to suggest otherwise is ridiculous, 3) if the American people come to believe that political influence has been bought or sold, talk of conflicts of interest will be irrelevant, and 4) if an actual conflict were to crystallise, Clarence Thomas has not given the American people good reason to believe he would err on the side of caution in matters of recusal.

Finally, a word about journalists. I've had dealings with several journalists ("deep background") over the years and, when we met in cafés, I found it impossible to pay for their cups of coffee. The reputable Press has a hospitality ceiling of about $0. The Editorial Board of the WSJ should know better.

*I follow the convention that philosophical or moral discernment is "judgement", spelled with an "e" in the middle, and a legal decision or precedent is "judgment", spelled without.

[tokiro07]

While I’m still on this train of thought (more DBS talk):

I think any satisfying super form needs to answer three questions

Where did it come from?

What does it do?

Why not use it all the time?

And of course, the answers to these three questions need to themselves be satisfying

Ultra Instinct - comes from complete control of the self and freedom from distraction, allows the user’s body to move autonomously to maximize efficiency in combat, but is extremely draining on the user’s stamina without proper training

Ultra Ego - comes from complete indulgence into the user’s desires and battle lust, allows the user to utilize the Power of Destruction and gain power proportional to damage taken, but accumulated damage still harms the user and potentially defeats the purpose of the power gained

These are both really good and interesting super forms because they change the dynamic of any given battle through changing the user’s abilities while also giving them direct drawbacks

Orange Namekian - Piccolo wished to unleash his potential and Shenron gave him “a bit more” whatever that means, Piccolo gets physically bigger and stronger, and doesn’t seem to suffer any drawbacks whatsoever

Did Piccolo always have the ability to go Orange? Actually, he turned yellow-ish and smooth in his Potential Unleashed form, so that was clearly an ability he had within him (that he didn’t unlock himself for some reason), but Orange was the “bit more” I guess? What did it do aside from make him generically stronger? Will he use this form in all future fights, or will he stick with Potential Unleashed because Orange puts a nebulous “strain” on his body like every other super form?

Beast Saiyan(?) - Gohan becomes enraged when he thinks that Piccolo has been killed, he gets stronger, and doesn’t seem to suffer any drawbacks

Did he go Super Saiyan while in Potential Unleashed? We’ve never been told that he can’t, and apparently he did that in Battle of Gods (though I don’t recall that), so there’s not any reason to think that’s the case

Is it related to Oozaru? Probably not, cus he probably would have gone Legendary Super Saiyan then

Did he unlock a form of Ultra Instinct? Does it originate from protective instincts rather than battle instincts?

Is it a Saiyan ability? A human ability? A mix of human and Saiyan DNA? Can Goten do it? Can Pan?

Super Saiyan God - five good hearted Saiyans give their energy to another, the target gains divine ki, but until the user becomes used to divine ki, this is only temporary

Goku getting his power from other people holding hands in a circle is not at all satisfying, but at least he points this out and decides to surpass this power on his own, so at least it’s a character moment for him. Divine ki is nebulous, but it at least lets him sense divine beings, so that’s something. The drawback is temporary, so that’s not very interesting. At this point, Goku and Vegeta have effectively become SSG inherently, or at least have the SSG strength as their base power, so now it’s just a boost I guess? Compared to SSB, it’s physically weaker, so at least there’s a reason to use SSB over SSG

Super Saiyan Blue - Going Super Saiyan while in SSG, hence the full name of SSGSS, the user becomes stronger but also has their heart calmed and energy unified, but the energy usage is extremely high particularly at the moment of activation making switching into it relatively difficult and also speed is reduced

A) If you can go Super Saiyan IN SSG, why is SSG even called Super? B) We never get any indication that Goku or Vegeta couldn’t do this already, so when they get it it’s kind of out of nowhere. C) We never see the struggle to do this, so we kind of have to assume that they just realized “oh, we’re not actually Super Saiyans right now. Let’s try that!” and it just worked. The origin of this power is very boring, but it having utility in strength at the cost of speed makes the dynamic between God and Blue very interesting because neither is technically better than the other, only better suited to different situations

Neither ability answers question 1 very well, but they do at least provide an answer. Question 3 is pretty negligible at this point for both, but both problems can be ignored because the answer to question 2 is satisfying enough

Basically, if Orange and Beast get proper development later, they can easily become more interesting, but right now, they’re boring, and I won’t waste any more of my time praying that they’ll give me a satisfying answer when chances are they’ll just stagnate and be summarily replaced sooner or later with something either leagues better or just as bad

#dragon ball #dragon ball super

[how2fit]

We’ve never had access to more health and fitness content, yet so many of us remain confused about exercise basics. We know where to find videos of handstand push-ups and choreographed kettlebell sequences, but when it comes to figuring out how much cardio to do or what kind of gear you actually need to get started, it’s hard to know who to trust (and who’s just trying to sell you something). For accurate, expert-backed info, we assembled a squad of certified personal trainers and asked them which fitness questions they field over and over again. Here are their answers and recommendations for creating an effective—and enjoyable!—personal fitness routine. Experts In This Article Dane Miklaus, CSCS, founder of WORK Training Studio in Irvine, California Daniel McKenna, CPT, former Peloton instructor and founder of The Irish Yank Society Jen Kates, CPT, founder of Shift Human Performance Marcel Dinkins, CSCS, Peloton running instructor Mary Beth Rockwell, CPT, founding trainer of The Next Fitness Thing app Mathew Forzaglia, CPT, founder of Forzag Fitness Wesley Showalter, CSCS, Chicago-based personal trainer 1. “Where do I start?” This is one of the most common fitness questions out there. For folks who are just starting a fitness program or returning to exercise after a break, Dane Miklaus, CSCS, founder of WORK Training Studio in Irvine, California, recommends starting with physical activities you enjoy. That may mean stepping outside the gym and away from traditional workouts. “Can you put on a set of headphones and listen to a podcast, music, or audiobook while you walk? Do you enjoy riding bicycles? Forget the stationary bike. Go enjoy nature,” Miklaus says. If you create a routine around doing what you like, you’re more likely to stick to it. “Over time, you’ll begin to add on. But the piece of advice I would give to most beginners is to start out slowly and with an emphasis on consistency,” he says. When setting goals, prioritize process-based goals over outcome-based goals. For example, rather than focusing solely on a specific result, like losing 10 pounds or running a seven-minute mile, create goals around the long-term habits and behaviors you wish to establish, like accumulating 15 minutes of intentional movement a day or strength training two times a week. “Goals are great. Goals can help you get started. We can have milestones that we want to reach. But, in time, your ultimate goal should be training for life. Training as a lifestyle and exercising as a product of a healthy, holistic, overall approach to living your best life, as opposed to some number on a scale or body fat percentage,” Miklaus says. 2. “Which shoes are the best?” People meet Marcel Dinkins, CSCS, Peloton Tread instructor and former Division 1 athlete, and want to know which shoes she’s lacing up before a run. “I think this really shows just how much we are over-emphasizing gear,” she says. Yes, supportive, activity-appropriate footwear is important, but sporting the same shoes as your favorite athlete or influencer won’t guarantee similar results. “I think a lot of people new to the space may not realize that the people they are looking to for product recommendations, like trainers and athletes, may have direct sponsorships with those brands, meaning they may not necessarily be their go-to choice but instead a paid endorsement,” she adds. Ads and product placements are designed to get you to buy shoes and other goods, regardless of their quality or value. If you’re just beginning your fitness journey, resist the temptation to spend your entire paycheck on new gear. Chances are, you can use what you already have to get started. (Those old sweats and free promotional T-shirt from the back of your dresser will work just fine.) And if you do decide to invest in a new pair of kicks, seek out expert, unbiased advice. “It's important to focus on what works best for your body rather than relying solely on popular recommendations or endorsements,” Dinkins says.

“Visit a running store to get fitted specifically for your body and goals, ensuring the shoes you choose are the right fit for you.” 3. “How can I lose belly fat?” While this is another common fitness question, research (like this 2022 review in Human Movement) shows that spot reduction, or targeting one area of the body for fat loss, is impossible. No specific exercise (or gadget, tea, or garment, for that matter) will shift the focus of your weight-loss efforts to the belly, hips, thighs, or arms. Where you gain and lose fat is largely determined by your genetics and biological sex, per a 2019 study in Nature Communications. So, the best you can do is aim for overall fat loss. Most people are surprised to hear that exercise alone won’t drive sustainable weight loss, says Mathew Forzaglia, CPT, founder of Forzag Fitness. “People will try and outwork a bad diet. And, in the beginning, they will see noticeable results because they are challenging their body with a stimulus it isn’t used to, so it's forced to adapt,” he says. But unless you address unhealthy eating habits, your progress will plateau. “Eating a cleaner diet and being in a calorie deficit [using more calories than you consume] is the best and most successful way to burn fat and lose weight,” Forzaglia says, emphasizing that you don’t need to go hungry. Filling your plate with whole foods—grains, vegetables, fruits, lean sources of protein—and cutting just 100 to 200 calories a day may be enough to tip the scale in your favor. Resist the temptation to judge your progress according to someone else’s timeline—it’s not a fair comparison. 4. “Do I need to strength train if I just want to lose weight?” Mary Beth Rockwell, CPT, founding trainer of The Next Fitness Thing app, gets this question a lot, especially from women. There’s a commonly held belief that clocking hours of cardio is the best and only way to lose weight, if that's your goal. Rockwell reminds her clients that weight loss is one of the many benefits of resistance training. “I stress how important building muscle is to speed one’s metabolism, so progress comes more quickly than with cardio alone,” she says. Essentially, when you add muscle mass, your body burns more calories at rest. Plus, an efficient strength workout burns a significant amount of calories; the rate of energy expenditure during a typical resistance workout is comparable to that of a moderately intense ride on a stationary bike. Strength training can also bolster bone density (even in younger people), ward off age-related sarcopenia (muscle loss starting in your 30s), improve posture, and help you maintain your functional fitness. (Even if you don’t care about muscle definition, you still need to be able to carry your groceries.) Your goals will dictate exactly how much strength training you should do, but most people will benefit from two full-body sessions per week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 5. “Is it too late for me to start strength training?” Whether you’re in your 30s, 40s, 50s, or beyond, it’s never too late to start strength training, says Jen Kates, CPT, founder of Shift Human Performance. “There is a myth that is circulating that says that you cannot build muscle if you’re over 40 years old, and I’m here to tell you that this is just that: a myth. It’s simply not true if you are strength training and eating ample protein and food to support muscle building,” she says. That said, your body and how it adapts to a training program will not be the same in your 50s as in your 20s. As noted above, we do need to contend with sarcopenia as we age, and our anabolic (muscle-building) response to resistance training gradually declines with time, per a 2020 review in Frontiers in Physiology. However, these are reasons to do more strength training in our later years, not less. Lifting can help older adults preserve the muscle mass they have and potentially improve their strength, body composition, and mobility.

In a 2023 study published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, a group of older adults in their 60s, 70s, and 80s underwent 12 weeks of supervised, full-body resistance training. Researchers assessed participants’ strength, functional capacity, and muscle mass before and after the program. They found that all participants—even the octogenarians—improved in all categories. Bottom line: It’s never too late. 6. “What should I do when I’m not in the gym?” Regardless of a client’s goal, Chicago-based personal trainer Wesley Showalter, CSCS, emphasizes the “non-workout” aspects of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. “People need to be good about their sleep, their water, and their walking,” he says. It’s not uncommon, he says, for regular gym-goers to never miss an hour-long training session or group fitness class but then sit in front of a screen for the rest of the day. These “active couch potatoes” have worse cardiometabolic health markers (e.g., blood lipid, glucose, and insulin levels, as well as body fat composition) than people who accumulate more daily activity at a lower intensity, according to a 2022 study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. In other words, the folks who spend most of the day on their feet walking around may be in better health than those who take a 45-minute HIIT class and do nothing else. As a baseline, Showalter recommends accumulating 10,000 steps a day, regardless of whether it’s a training day or a rest day. As for sleep and hydration, he advises his clients to get between seven and nine hours of sleep every night and to drink about half of their body weight in fluid ounces. So, if you weigh 160 pounds, aim for 80 ounces of water per day. 7. “How much cardio do I need to do?” Your cardio needs depend on your current fitness level and ultimate goals. The person exercising for general health and longevity will train differently than the veteran marathoner who wants to PR their next race. For the average person with no specific performance-related goals, Showalter typically recommends around 90 minutes of steady-state or “zone 2” exercise per week. “You want to be uncomfortable. You could talk, but you’d have labored breathing. But you’re not at your max effort,” he says, describing the level of exertion. He notes that these 90 minutes should be in addition to your daily baseline activity. 8. “Why is it taking so long to see results?” Our culture values instant gratification in all areas of life, including fitness. “I am constantly reminding my community that results take time. You need to be consistent and show up daily, weekly, and monthly to see and feel results,” says Daniel McKenna, CPT, former Peloton instructor and founder of The Irish Yank Society. Everyone brings a unique set of variables—genetics, skill level, experience, lifestyle, stress levels, diet, sleep, age, and biological sex—to the table, so individual outcomes will vary. Resist the temptation to judge your progress according to someone else’s timeline—it’s not a fair comparison. That said, if you haven’t noticed any changes (including your mood, energy levels, and how you feel during workouts), you may benefit from a few sessions with a personal trainer or a nutritionist. They can help you optimize your diet and training based on your goals and unique circumstances. Well+Good articles reference scientific, reliable, recent, robust studies to back up the information we share. You can trust us along your wellness journey. Ramirez-Campillo, Rodrigo & Andrade, David & Clemente, Filipe & Afonso, José & Pérez Castilla, Alejandro & Gentil, Paulo. (2022). A proposed model to test the hypothesis of exercise-induced localized fat reduction (spot reduction), including a systematic review with meta-analysis. Human Movement. 23. 1-14. 10.5114/hm.2022.110373. Rask-Andersen, M.

, Karlsson, T., Ek, W.E. et al. Genome-wide association study of body fat distribution identifies adiposity loci and sex-specific genetic effects. Nat Commun 10, 339 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-08000-4 Endo Y, Nourmahnad A, Sinha I. Optimizing Skeletal Muscle Anabolic Response to Resistance Training in Aging. Front Physiol. 2020 Jul 23;11:874. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2020.00874. PMID: 32792984; PMCID: PMC7390896. Marzuca-Nassr GN, Alegría-Molina A, SanMartín-Calísto Y, et al. Muscle Mass and Strength Gains Following Resistance Exercise Training in Older Adults 65–75 Years and Older Adults Above 85 Years. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. 2024;34(1):11-19. doi:10.1123/ijsnem.2023-0087 FARRAHI, VAHID1,2; ROSTAMI, MEHRDAD2; DUMUID, DOT3; CHASTIN, SEBASTIEN F. M.4,5; NIEMELÄ, MAISA1,6,7; KORPELAINEN, RAIJA6,7,8; JÄMSÄ, TIMO1,6; OUSSALAH, MOURAD1,2. Joint Profiles of Sedentary Time and Physical Activity in Adults and Their Associations with Cardiometabolic Health. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 54(12):p 2118-2128, December 2022. | DOI: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000003008

[boyfrillish]

I was tagged recently by @brainshock-alpha for twenty fic writers' questions — thanks! c: If anyone wants to answer them too, feel free to go ahead.

Alright, here we go!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

As of right now, 22. I had like, 80+ that I orphaned about a year and a half ago, but those shall be disregarded since they aren't linked to my account anymore and I did that for a reason, so...

2. What is your AO3 wordcount?

According to my statistics, it's 22,139. I never expect that high of a number with how short my fics tend to be, haha

3. What fandoms do you write for?

That would be Pokémon, and recenly also started writing for FE💍Engage, though I have yet to post the fic I wrote (as of sending this, it still sits only in the notepad I scribbled it in and I have yet to type it on the computer lol). It'll be interesting to see how the rotation will go, because I don't usually tend to be multifandom when it comes to writing.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Lost and Found (Red/Blue) — 309 kudos

Scale my Heart (Brendan/Wally) — 193

The hero's hero (Brendan/Wally) — 131

Candy Apple (Kieran/Florian) — 101

Apology (Kieran/Florian) — 97

Again I am only counting what's actually linked to my account. Since all of these are pkmn, I contextualised by ship lol the first three are from 2014/2015 so the kudos accumulated over time. I'm still amazed the latter two got so many in just a few months.

5. Do you respond to comments?

I always try to, but sometimes it may take time... Really wish sometimes there was a way for writer's to give a kudos or some other silent reaction on comments on our fics, just so I can silently express my appreciation even when I don't currently have the spoons to respond.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I wrote some angst in the past but I wouldn't remember about a sad ending because I really prefer happy (or at least good enough) endings. I mostly write silly fluff, so lol If I'm Your Boy may count since there's a toneshift between the two POVs and it ends on the pining.

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

My first instinct is to say "All of them" lmao when 99% of what I write is silly fluff, it's kind of tough to assign a "happiest"

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I know I've had at least some persons hate me/my fics, but that's in the past and I left that fandom behind so... in present times, not that I know of.

9. Do you write smut? If so, which kind?

I did before, but the last one was years ago. Dunno when I might give it a try again.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest crossover you’ve ever written?

If it's like a "AU set in the universe of x other fandom" then yes, I guess I've done it before? But not like. full-scale crossovers where the cast of two or more things meet. At least, I don't think I ever did that lol

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I was asked about it, some years ago, but back then I was rather anxious and declined 🥲

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yup, though the last time that I can actively remember was many years ago. I used to do that with friends back in high school where either we'd pass around the paper every other sentence or we talk it out loud and then one of us wrote it down. That's the ones I remember haha. I'd be open to doing it again, now digitally.

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

I'm really not good at nailing down ONE singular all-time favourite in general because intense emotions/feelings are intense emotions/feelings, you know? And I can have them for multiple things all at once and in the same way (but different flavours). But for the sake of it, I'm going to say Hugh/Nate, considering they've been a major comfort OTP for a decade now and are also one of the ships I've written the most. Then there's HopVic which is the same tier of comfort OTP as Hugh/Nate for me and I wrote about as much of them. And as of recent, Alcryst/Alear♂ while I'm literally still in the middle of playing that game haha. Though the fact that I already started writing fic about them says a lot, because I never did for my favourite Awakening ships.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Uhh... I'm drawing a blank here. Because while I have some WIPs since summer 2022 that I have yet to finish, I wouldn't say they aren't like, "impossible" for me to finish? At least I'm telling myself that I am going to finish them one day or another lol well, I guess there's some WIPs from 2014... I guess those aren't going to happen anymore, maybe in a totally revamped way, but will that happen? Not currently likely

16. What are your writing strengths?

One thing you have to know about me is that I am really not good at knowing my own strengths (like really), but if there's one thing that I know I'm good at, it's eliciting emotions & giving comfort. It's what my own fics do for me, and enough people have told me so after reading, to be more confident about it not just being A Me Thing (because I write for my own comfort & fun and all that)

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

...Everything else? :'D Jokes aside, I'm going to say just descriptions because I am not very poetic... Then there's that sometimes I struggle because of the fact that I'm writing in a foreign language, but I don't know if that quite counts here?

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

This is a really nuanced topic with multiple angles and such, and I don't currently have the spoons to try to translate my thoughts into words 😅

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I'm pretty sure it was Pokémon back when I was a kid lol I didn't always write things down (and to this day too, a lot of visions stay in my head), but I've been imagining things in my head pretty much my whole life, and that's one of the first fandoms I can remember actually writing. And it became the one that I would always come back to writing through the years, even if not at every point of my life.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Again, I am not good at saying Just One Favourite lol it's all of them at any particular point of time and I still get excited even about stuff I wrote years back, so there's that. It's all of them (as long as I didn't leave the fandom behind me, that is).

#frillishtxt

[tarnishedxknight]

Since Gylfie wouldn't fight Gabranth at the Pharos would he try to fight her? Would he be willing to listen to her?

{out of dalmasca} Oh gosh, this is such a good question, thanks for asking! And this touches upon some headcanons I have for Gabranth that I've mentioned in messages to some of my writing partners, but I'm not sure how much I've openly mentioned it on the blog in general. And I actually did read Gylfie's mun's response over on @disillusionedjudge, so I have that perspective as well. More below the cut!

So... this is a very tricky question because the answer would have been a lot different earlier in the game. Gabranth has been poisoned by nethicite, from way back when he was a teen in Landis and was exposed to the dense Mist cloud that resulted from nethicite being tested as a weapon there. Two of the symptoms of nethicite poisoning are increased aggression and mental instability. In short, it makes you serious impulsive and pissed off, and it can drive you insane. Keep this in mind as I detour a bit to how Gabranth behaved at the Pharos.

When he confronted Basch, Ashe, & Co. at the Pharos, Gabranth was notably... erratic. Unhinged. Yelling, ranting, emotional, aggressive. Maybe he had a point confronting his brother and all, given what Basch did to him all those years ago, and Gabranth clearly holds a grudge for decades. But... was he that way when Basch was imprisoned for two years in Nalbina? He had two years to rage against him, yell, scream, violently murder him if he wished... and he didn't do it. So why now? What has changes? Two things: 1) Gabranth is under a lot more stress, and 2) he feels like a failure.

Gabranth... has recently had to kill his best and closest ally, Drace, at this point in the game. If you think that didn't contribute to his mental instability at this point, you'd be wrong. The way nethicite poisoning works and the volatility of the Mist that has accumulated in Gabranth's body is such that it responds to volatile emotion. It stirs up the magic, makes it active, makes it... destructive. Gabranth's stress at having to execute Drace, his greiving her loss, grieving for Gramis and feeling like he failed him too with a lack of preventative intelligence, and then combined with a feeling of failure with Larsa... because at this point he has lost track of and control over the threats to Larsa... Whether or not you subscribe to my headcanon that Larsa is Gabranth's biological son or not, he still cared about the boy and recognized him as the future of the Archadian Empire. Yet he's lost control of the situation with Larsa, he's alone and without allies (Gramis and Drace were his biggest ones, and they're both dead).. and frankly... he's losing his shit. His declining mental health is feeding off the Mist and vice versa, and the mental deterioration phase of his nethicite poisoning has finally begun.

What this means is... he's going to be more emotionally volatile, he's gonna be more irrational, make a lot less sense, be more impulsive, and sometimes just seem batshit crazy. The Mist is literally addling his mind at his point. Think of... a rabid animal. Left alone and unprovoked, they're dazed, slow, sleepy, confused, and sluggish. But as soon as they see someone or something near them, they get irritated. They lash out, perceive it as an automatic and immediate threat, and irrationally attack past the point of self-preservation. That's... unfortunately and very sadly... where Gabranth is at this point. I'm not by any means like... being a Gabranth apologist here, haha, and saying oh it's not his fault he's just crazy, but I am trying to stress that mental illness due to nethicite poisoning does play a factor in his lack of rational thought at this time.

SO........ with all of that established.... back to the original question. Earlier in the game, before stress, grief, fear, and other emotions took root and exacerbated his nethicite poisoning, and before that exacerbation led to mental degradation and almost the beginnings of dementia in him, Gabranth absolutely would have been halted by Gylfie if she'd said as much. Like if she'd come out with, "Hey, hey, please, let's just... take a moment and think about this," he would have. He loves her and respects her both as family and someone he's come to think of as a daughter figure and someone he wants to mentor in life, as well as respecting her as a capable soldier in her own right. So yes, her words would carry a lot of weight with him and they would have given him pause.... before. Now? *sigh*

At the point of the confrontation at the Pharos, when he's giving Basch this impassioned speech of, "You confound me, brother! You failed Landis, you failed Dalmasca, all you were to protect. Yet you still hold onto your honor! How?!" Gabranth is... breaking down. He's losing his shit, as I said before. He's conflating things and catastrophizing them in his mind. He's angry, jealous, and confused as to how Basch keeps fucking up yet everyone still loves him, he's still this honorable figure, yet Gabranth has tried.... so freaking hard... to pull himself up, lift up out of the muck, out of the shadow of poverty, being less than Basch, being unwanted by his father... to become Larsa's protector which he is failing at in his opinion... and so... Why... is Basch so hailed while Gabranth is still "the villain"? It's the trifecta of things coming to a head in his mind with Basch, his mental health tanking, and certain stressors like worrying about Larsa and grieving Drace/Gramis... that are causing him to fly out of control.

If Gylfie... at that point... had stepped in to tell Gabranth to stop. Or asked him to wait. Listen. Hold off. That would've angered him further. Because he's like that rabid animal, where he has this irrational perception that the whole world is out to get him. Really, by this point, he is legit having a breakdown. So he's not thinking clearly at all. His usual reservation, tact, calculating cleverness, and intelligent restraint has been replaced with an antsy and aggressive feeling of the world crashing down around him. He doesn't realize at all what's happening to him, all he knows is that he's enraged beyond the point of being able to control himself, and people like Drace and Larsa who usually are the voices of reason for him are not there to help.

So would he be willing to listen to her? He can't. He doesn't have the ability to stop, calm down, and listen right now. He needs to be diffused, brought down, doused, lol, before he would be able to listen. Like I said, if she tried to reason with him at this point it would just enrage him further, and he might accuse her of taking Basch's side because when Gabranth is stripped down to his most emotional aspects, everything leads back to Basch, heh.

BUT... HOWEVER... Would he try to fight her? That's... a different question. He might lash out, yes. That is a definite possibility. A charge that doesn't quite reach her or fully connect. A swing of one of his swords that misses her by two feet. A warning. He'd absolutely do that, yes. As if to say, Back off, this does not concern you. But would he attack her in earnest with true intent to harm? No. Not at this point. He's not fully insane. He's losing it, to be sure, but he still recognizes her as family, as someone he loves, so he's not going to really try to hurt her. But he would bluff, push her away, and otherwise try to get her to stay out of things.

Sorry for the psychological detour in the middle of all of that, heh, but I needed to set everything up as far as headcanons and cirumstance first, but... yeah, that's where I view Gabranth's head being at during that scene and how he would have reacted to someone like Gylfie asking him to ramp it down.

#{ out of dalmasca } ᵒᵒᶜ #alt muse: noah