#I can again have little a mod bias. as a treat.

[wlw-webcomic-bracket]

In celebration of Carla being this tournament's 1,000th post, please enjoy that one time she pied a transphobe.

#I can again have little a mod bias. as a treat. #propaganda #carla rutten #dumbing of age #not polls

[justanothersyscourse]

can you do a debunk on these sources? https://at.tumblr.com/debunkingsystemscringe/mind-if-i-can-get-some-pro-endo-research-from-you/yihxbmcgdly4

I've already debunked all of these, but sure, I can do it again, let's see if @debunkingsystemscringe will actually respond this time

So, the carrd

The card is extremely bad, it's misquoting an incredibly important paper by Ross. His was the first to acknowledge that not just abuse caused DID, but trauma. I hate seeing this one used by endos because it was a MASSIVE step for DID systems, and it's being misused and misquoted here.

"These individuals often did not report abuse history and often reported experiencing little psychopathology."

This was one of the first papers to look at functional multiplicity as a treatment path and "smaller" trauma as a cause. It's not meant for endogenics.

"About 2% of people may be natural multiples who do not have dysfunctional posttraumatic MPD. They may simply have a highly dissociative psychic organization’ (Ross, 1991, p. 510)."

This was a theory that was debunked with the idea of trauma as a cause, and "highly dissociative psychic organization" doesn't mean "alters". I don't even think that's the correct quote, which is hilarious.

What's funny here, is that they're not actually quoting Ross, because his paper doesn't say that shit. They're quoting a college dissertation by McClure, quoting Ross, because you have to double twist it in order to make it work.

McClure's paper also doesn't imply anything about endogenic systems. Here's my debunk on her and Ross.

Next: Transgender Mental Health

I've talked about this one before, and how it's being touted as more important than it is. It's actually a really good book! I support this book and the stuff in it. But a lot of people are blowing it way out of proportion.

First, it has one chapter on "plurals" and how to treat them for gender related issues. Cool. That's true, it happened. I support the book.

However, it's not supported or endorsed by the APA, it wasn't published by them -- it's an independent book and everything in it is the opinion of the author. Same with the next paper by Isler. Like, it's useless, it means nothing. It doesn't talk about how or why, it says, "these people say they exist and it's going to make treatment harder because of the intricacies." That's it. Still a good book, check it out.

Next: Tulpas and Mental Health (it’s a PDF, be careful opening on phones)

I’m trying to find my full debunk on this. Jacob Isler is a practicing tulpamancer and has done some REALLY shady stuff-- Reddit has basically turned on him and disowned him and all of his work. As soon as I find the sources, I’ll add. Just give me a bit.

Alright, we’re going to have to redo it, here we do.

Jacob Isler has a severe nonresponse bias. Survey sent to 365 people and only 68 got back? That’s too small. Negligible read. The entire paper is about how tulpamancers are mentally ill in other ways, and that creating a tulpa has a positive impact on their mental health. Fine and dandy. It discusses how those mental health issues might play a huge role in the tulpamancy phenomon, but purposefully tries to twist the connection between the two to be unrelated on a pathological level. It also states: “Additionally, self-reported data gathered through online surveys, regardless of the care taken to ensure objectivity and accuracy, is bound to be influenced by biases and misconceptions. And, of course, the observational nature of this study means that causality cannot be proven. The intent of this paper is not to provide definitive assertions on the psychology of tulpamancy. Rather, the purpose is to accentuate outstanding associations and suggest further research into them.“

It’s basically admitting it’s own failure as an unreliable paper and simply calls for more research.

As for reddit disowning Isler: Isler is Fordaplot. Here’s the ban note from the mods

Next: Multiplicity: An Explorative Interview

We all know how much I love this useless article. Here’s my debunk. It’s based on 6 people only, admits it’s limited by not being able to verify their claims of functionality to make the point of the article, and then goes on to claim that online spaces for multiples are harmful, doesn’t discuss how and why, and only discusses the fact that they claim to exist and calls for more research, so. Kind of useless.

As for the cultural exclusion in the DSM and ICD, it’s specifically in regards to religious practices in cultures that someone has been raised in. As per the DSM, the difference between DID and these forms of “non-pathological possession trances” is that the non-pathological possession is short-term and occurs in specific cultural and religious ceremonies-- which is the opposite of what endogenics are experiencing (long-term, occurring continuously and not only in ceremonies (which they are not participating in to begin with)). It’s not excluding these experiences because they’re “endogenic”, it’s excluding them because it’s not plurality as we (endos and DID systems) describe it. Claiming that exception is for endogenics is hugely disrespectful to the clinicians and researchers who put an absurd amount of work into keeping religious experiences out of the DSM.

It’s just not for you.

#syscouse #debunk

[k0kichiimagines]

happy birthday saeran choi!! my love!! him!! anyways i did a fluff alphabet for him <3 under the cut

also its technically the 12th here :( sorry

- mod kichi who yes is a 707 kinnie too

A = Attractive (What do they find attractive about the other?)

your kindness, you respect towards him in trusting him and letting him make choices. in terms of physically he likes your lips, and your eyes.

B = Baby (Do they want a family? Why/Why not?)

its canon he wants a baby, either biologically or via adoption :) i feel like he'd want to wait though, he has healing to do and he wants to experience life a bit, and then raise a child. he would be a very gentle father, and make sure they experience everything he didnt get to.

C = Cuddle (How do they cuddle?)

he likes being face to face, getting to see you - sweethearts cradle if im not wrong? but honestly? he doesnt mind

D = Dates (What are dates with them like?)

he has a lot he wants to see, and he'll want to take you everywhere,, a lot of cloud gazing (gave me flashbacks to UP), nature dates,

E = Everything (You are my ____ (e.g. my life, my world…))

"you are my life / soul / world / happiness"

F = Feelings (When did they know they were in love?)

God, he knew when you were both in that damn cult. and he hated it, he wanted to deny it, Unknown wanted to deny it, Ray didn't understand it. but his racing heart and pink cheeks said otherwise

G = Gentle (Are they gentle? If so, how?)

so gentle! especially since he feels a lot of guilt over how suit saeran treated you. even if hes being playful, like tickling you or tough housing, theres always this softness to it

H = Hands (How do they like to hold hands?)

he loves it! he always has his hands brushing against yours, wrapping a little finger around yours. its like silent love

I = Impression (What was their first impression?)

that you were pretty but a bit too trusting, or perhaps you didnt care much what happened to you... you interested him

J = Jealousy (Do they get jealous?)

he trusts you, however there will be moments he doubts himself and his worth. he may stay silent, or he may gently explain his feelings - not in a way to make you feel bad or cut ties with someone but just to communicate

K = Kiss (How do they kiss? Who initiated the first kiss?)

canonly you did! hes not a very good kisser, youre his first, but they're sweet anyways :) and he gets better with time !! there's always this softness to them, like he sees you as something so precious you may wilt away if he's too rough

L = Love (Who says ‘I love you’ first?)

i feel like it was him canonically? it was a lot for him, it may just be words but it was new and it was terrifying

M = Memory (What’s their favourite memory together?)

probably the first while after his after ending, just you him and saeyoung, finding his freedom for the first time. it was a rough time, but his first tastes of happiness

N = Nickel (Do they spoil? Do they buy the person they love everything?)

he's not exactly rich, despite saeyoung insisting they share the money he's saved up, but i feel like he would get you things! little things, flowers, jewellery youve had your eye on, small but meaningful gifts he hopes you'll enjoy

O = Orange (What colour reminds them of their other half?)

probably your favourite colour/s

P = Pet names (What pet names do they use?)

darling, love, my love, sweetheart, flower, petal, different flower names, my hope

Q = Quaint (What is their favourite non-modern thing?)

books, flowers, etc,, honestly he prefers most non modern things

R = Rainy Day (What do they like to do on a rainy day?)

honestly he likes the rain, he'd use his time to find something to do - read a book, watch something. he has so much he wants to experience he doesnt get bored in the rain.

i can see him going out at least once, getting his clothes soaked and having to have a bath afterwards, at risk of getting a cold the next day

S = Sad (How do they cheer themselves/others up?)

he bottles up a lot, tries to seem happy,, he'll slip back into his irritable moods at rare times, and you'll find him hidden away in corners with tear stained cheeks. he has panic attacks a lot too

however, he does get therapy and help, ans he will try his best to explain his feelings to you as well. a few times he may want you or saeyoung with him, or even just waiting outside.

when you're upset he'll take tips you gave him back to you, if you dont want to talk then try distract you and etc

T = Talking (What do they like to talk about?)

everything! seriously! his passions and hobbies, yours, everything and nothing, he loves it

U = Unencumbered (What helps them relax?)

his flowers, being with you, baths, cooking

V = Vaunt (What do they like to show off? What are they proud of?)

his flowers!!

W = Wedding (When, how, where do they propose?)

he'd want to discuss marriage, make sure you want to and you're both ready. he'd take you on a nice date, somewhere you like, buy you ice cream, and he'd ask you once you were alone, with a bouquet of hand chosen flowers, each with a special meaning.

X = Xylophone (What’s their song?)

Line Without A Hook

Mr Loverman

Meant To Be Yours (not healthy but)

Him (james marriott's one!! its one of my favourite songs!! especially reverbed and slowed)

And more i cant think of

Y = Yes (Do they ever think of getting married/proposing?)

yes!! especially since its something his parents never did (i dont even think they dated?), it feels like securing something, a reassurance you'll be together.

Z = Zebra (If they wanted a pet, what would they get?)

,,bias again its a cat. cats are perfect for him, they need attention and care and play at times, but equally not a huge amount and constantly,, especially if its one that likes sleeping on his lap

they might dig up his plants though :(

#saeran x reader #saeran choi x reader #mystic messenger x reader #mystic messenger imagines #saeran choi #fluff

[pomefioreundergroundlab]

Lore Here LH: I wanna make something clear here in regards to my post regarding about having a fem Yuu in a spinoff AU, about my comment to Drace. What I specifically meant is that I hope the female characters don't get fetishized in universe, I don't particularly care about IRL men fetishizing fictional women, but I prefer the girls being treated like normal people in fiction universe.

I hope you understand this Drace, I was too busy with laundry to answer properly. 

I get the whole Twst being a joseimuke game targeted mainly for women and to that they have the right to simp, even if at those times I'm uncomfortable with their way of simping (I used to be like that but I grew out of it). 

Then again, I quite understand the whole concern of the fandom if ever they were to include a female incarnate Yuu due to the whole Otome game misconception, but they aren't the ones who will decide if it'll work or not, only the devs will decide themselves. It would be refreshing to see a fem Yuu who isn't treated like a typical Otome Doormat MC cause we know how Game Yuu is, and some few of their incarnations had some similarities in them (Except for Yuuya, he's rather, too soft with a crippling anxiety, bruh I ship you with Idia. Yuuken is more rough but still compassionate, it's like seeing these incarnations reminds me how some of Game Yuu personality is, sometimes they're blunt and sassy, and times they're soft and kind, too kind to be in NRC) 

Pal, you were starting to scare me with the sending of so many asks ha ha /hj. If you have anxiety, same hat, I get those feelings of 'maybe I didn't express myself Right' quite often.

However, don't you think it's a little weird though, this thing you say, like: "The way real men fetishize fictional women is whatever", but then you say "the way real women fetishize fictional men makes me uncomfortable". I think this is potentially opening a whole other can of worms, but I would invite you to read that again. Are men allowed to "simp" however they want while women have to do it a certain way or they are "cringe"? If you think so, why? Men can have all kinds of figures and memorabilia and make fanwork and obsess over a female character they love, but women can't? I might be reading a bit too much into this, but this wording does bother me a little, yes; it's fair and valid if you feel uncomfortable about it for whatever reason, but the implication of if men do it then it's whatever, that's the thing I have an issue with.

And I say this as someone that get's very excited about characters but ain't out there buying merch and making shrines, but the prospect actually sounds kind of fun!

Also, with these kinds of franchises, it isn't only the devs that will have the last word: With gachas and franchises like these, they try something, if it sticks around and does numbers then the devs will let it be; if it doesn't, if it receives too much backlash, they will attempt to fix it or outright remove it and try to make people forget about it. Devs do care about the opinions of fans.

That all said, again, I don't particularly care much for Yuu, but I do think the idea of a legit well-built Female Yuu character would be an interesting topic to explore and it would be great to see what Yana can come up with for such a character!

~Mod Lag

I remember some asks ago you compare Sebek to a fanatical kpop fan, which, leads me to ask, did you have experience of being fanatical kpop fan? Y'know, the ones who would fight anyone who points out their biases' flaw, insist their biases are the best, fight other fanbases over small matters? Those kind of entitled fans that thinks their biases are their spouses? Those kind of "cringe" fans? Because it's fine, I also have that experience.

And do you think, men is less cringe than them? Oh man, you haven't seen the male idol wotas. They are not any less cringe. Like they will also delude themselves their bias is their gf irl, much like girls did. They will also throw hands if you say their favorite idol group is girlband because how dare you put their pure, cute waifu with those "fake ass plastics" (it's racist comment against south korean because of their use of plastic surgery) because for whatever reason if you like japanese stuff you must hate kpop stuff... Another cringe mindset of the fandom world, that you must choose one of japanese and korean fandom and hate the other.

If your... double standard, so to put it nicely, is because you are afraid that horny women who simp for anime men will be as cringe as those fanatical kpop fan, I can tell you as much, that even yume/self insert kind of people, even if they do self inserts, while still personally i still find that cringe, isn't as fanatical as the most fanatic of kpop fans. And we know not all kpop fans nor idol wotas are the most fanatic.

As much I personally don't like self insert, I think the problem is not which gender simps to which gender, but are they doing it moderately or fanatically , and whatever the case, fanatism was never good. That is the problem.

As I've said in other asks before, it's mean to objectify people. Again, it's really hypocritical that you demand more right for fictional women but deny real women of their right to be horny and voice their horny feeling/opinion.

-Mod Drace

#I don't even know if I should add the fandom tags ha ha #Answered #Anon Lore #Mod Lag #Submission #Mod Drace

[curechocolattymilk]

TES V OC Thingie

[Got tagged by @jessaryss​ ! ]

Pause your game! Wherever your OC is in their game currently, tell me about their story so far.

✧✧✧ General

Current Level: 56

Name: Jeer-Tei Perdes

Name Meaning: Literally got it from a name generator lol. But lore wise it was a name gifted to them in honor of an Argonian who served beside Tei’s mother during the Great War

Pronouns: They/Them

Age: Early 30s where they are story wise???

Race(s): Argonian

Place of Origin: Hammerfell

Pick A Theme Song For Them: oof that's tough... From a Crowded Wound or maybe even Firstwake? If you really played around w personal interpretation/the lyrics that is haha

✧✧✧ Locations

Where Did You Begin Their Game?: Argonian Assemblage, Windhelm (Alternative Start)

Where Are They Currently In Your Game?: Whiterun

What Are They Doing There?: Just finished attending a party held in their honor (Post Blood of Kings)

Homes?: Breezehome, Proudspire, Lakeview & Autmnwatch

# of Locations Discovered?: 274

Dungeons Cleared: 104

Misc. Quests Completed: 87

Favorite Areas and/or Locations: Falkreath / Lakewview Manor. Both areas are where Tei heads off to in order to collect their thoughts/feel some sense of calm.

✧✧✧ Main Quest

Are They Dragonborn / Do They Know It At This Point?: Yes & yes

How Do They Feel About Being Dragonborn: It's...complicated, being thrust into the role of savior by gods of the Cult, which in turn are followed by the folk who see you lesser than them. Tei already has a dislike towards the Divines, this doesn't really help lol

Main Quests Completed: 21

Where Are They In The Main Story Line: Alduin's dead, currently trying to ignore the Civil War as long as they can before the Empire forces its hand into forcing them to join their ranks

Dragon Souls Absorbed: In total overall? 147. The amount currently stored in Tei? 45

Words of Power Learned: 64

Shouts Mastered: 21

Favorite Shout: Firebreath / Dragonrend

✧✧✧ Combat

Most Used Weapon(s): Daedric war axe OR Dragonbone battle axe. Tei technically has both on them at all times during adventuring, alongside a shield, so which they used depends on the situation/which they grab fastest.

Combat Style: Two/One-handed tank. Main tactic is to rush in, cause as much damage/chaos as possible to shake up the opponent, & clean up what the ranged attackers of the party (usually Rumarin, Inigo and/or Lucien) weren't able to deal with.

Armor Type / Level In It: HEAVY ARMOR BABYYYYY (Level 100 + 35 extra points via enchantments)

# of Training Sessions: 99 in-game, lore wise its a lot of self-teaching/keeping their skills learned from Hammerfell sharp. Some of these are magic but lore-wise this doesn't happen cus Tei is not a magic user, save for shouts. I just did those in-game for exp OR so I can help Lucien raise his magic skills :'D

Who Taught Them?: In-game?? Fuuuck so many npcs. Lore-wise? They learned this from their schooling in Hammerfell, going off the canon-lore that it's p much expected for everyone to have a grasp on combat & weaponry! Though they did learn a few things from Kaidan & Anum-La.

Favorite Enemy Type: Dragons! Despite the fact Tei does not have the best magic resistance, it's one hell of a challenge they love to meet.

Least Favorite Enemy Type: Automatons, because of a bad experience with them as a child. Also Undead, because they were raised not to disturb them & it just feels so wrong having to fight them/go into tombs.

People Killed: 945

Animals Killed: 749 (Hunterborn makes hunting fun lol)

Undead Killed: 766

Automatons Killed: 105

Daedra Killed: 136

✧✧✧ Magic

Favorite School(s): None, actually. Destruction is okay though....they guess

Most Used Spell(s): Firebreath or Dragon Aspect. Tei doesn't consider shouts spells though. It's totally different guys shut up they ain't no smelly mage gods

Spells Learned: 9 in-game, mainly due to the spells you're kinda forced to learn for some quests/the ones you automatically know

Items Enchanted: 19 (Tei technically doesn't enchant, and wont next playthrough for sure I wont give in this time >:[ )

College of Winterhold Quests Completed: 8

Where Are They At In The Questline?: Main quest is done bcus i dont like seeing unfinished quests in my journal lmao. Tei's involvement is completely different from canon though in my take. Moreso was hired as a guard for the expedition & was, unwillingly, dragged into the rest of the mess. Is not offered the Archmage position, that went straight to Tolfdir.

Opinions on Magical Guilds (Arcane University, Winterhold, Psijics, Synod, Radiant Dark, etc.): As they get older, they tolerate the guild & magic users more n more, BUT, Tei grew up in an environment that frowns upon the practice of magic, & it shows. They mainly mistrust necromancers/illusionists & still hold onto that belief that reliance on magic, especially for combat, is a weakness.

Bold words for someone with shit magic resistance.

✧✧✧ Crime

Current Gold: 10,640

How Did They Acquire Their Gold?: Odd jobs, selling a lot of the items they made/harvested from smithing & hunting (jewelers are their go-to hirers bcus Tei is great at getting things like ivory), Dwemer ruin diving (they refuse to loot the tombs), also yknow....being part of the Dark Brotherhood helps

Largest Bounty On Their Head: 11,240

For...?: Unfortunately they did not stand down when they were being falsely accused of murder in Markarth. First time Tei called down dragons (Sahrotaar, specifically, Tei managed to get command of Miraak's dragons post-Dragonborn) to absolutely smite some fools.

Current Bounty: None! They're good at not getting caught/threatening and/or bribing guards. :)

Locks Picked: 15 i think?

Jail Time: 1, Cidhna Mine

Jail Escapes: 1, teamed up w the Forsworn lol

Murders: 28

Assaults: 307....In their defense people keep getting in their way during dragon attacks

Items Stolen: 37, most of them from the nobles of Windhelm

Thieves Guild Quests Completed: N/A (wont be doing this storyline unless i cant find a mod that'll let me get the shouts locked behind it)

Dark Brotherhood Quests Completed: 20

Where Are They At In Those Questlines?: DB is completed main arc wise!

✧✧✧ Relationships

Relationship Status: Married to two lovely fellas

Current Companions: atm? none

Housecarls: Lydia & Rayya

Friends (outside of party): Zora Fair-Child, Inigo, Lucien, Anum-La, Morndas, Aela the Huntress, Nazir, Babette, Scouts-Many-Marshes, Isobel, Madesi

Children: Khash, Chases-Starlight, Ram-Ku. (going of where Tei is now - Otero & Mei come around later on in Tei's story!)

Romantic Interest(s): Kaidan & Rumarin.

Sexual Orientation:

GAY

✧✧✧ Religion

Pantheon: Yokudan, with a hint of Hircine worship in there

Patron Deity(ies): From the Yokudan pantheon: Tei mainly views HoonDing as their main patron, but also prays to/pays respect to Satakal.

They are also Hircine's champion.

Daedric Quests Completed: 3 (Hircine, Vile, Dagon - the last Tei didn't really help, moreso pissed off)

Aedric Quests Completed: 1 if you count the whole Alduin thing I guess?

How Devout Are They?: Tei is rather devout, esp to their Yokudan patrons, praying or making offerings daily. They aren't the type to really push it in your face though, but have no issues answering questions one might have.

How Do They Feel About Talos Worship?: Deep down they acknowledge & admit trying to ban worship is terrible, but....Tei also lets their bias/experience with Windhelm, the Stormcloaks & especially Ulfric kinda cloud over this. If the Nords want their old ways so damn much, why fight for a divine from the Imperial Cult? Why not go back to the actual old ways? No, this isn't about worship, not to the men leading this so-called rebellion, they just needed something other than their racist bullshit to fool the common man into throwing their lives away for the nobles sitting comfortable in their thrones.

Also during their whole thing of getting into their role of dragonborn, they get a bonus 'fuck this dude actually' towards Talos, Ysmir, whatever the fuck he calls himself. (tldr; it sucks but good luck hearing Tei say that fully)

✧✧✧ Politics

Gray-Mane or Battle-Born?: Neither, ask them again they will punch you for the love of Ruptga they get asked that every time they enter Whiterun.

Stormcloaks or Imperials?: Also neither, Tei hates em both n think they can all choke. Unfortunately they were forced to join the latter due to, yknow, calling dragons & causing massive damage in Imperial territories during isolated fits of rage and the group being more aggressive in wanting something in return for "letting it slide"....oops

Opinion on the Thalmor?: Oh absolutely despises them, they loudly complained having to work with them during the CW & would go out their way to disrupt their plans/piss them off. Sneaking was an option they did not take during the Embassy quest, if it helps paint the picture.

Opinion Of Ulfric Stormcloak?: Tei doens't say they hate people often...but they sure as hell hate Ulfric. Again, their experience in Windhelm added to this heavily, how both the Dunmer & Argonians were treated like shit, with no help whatsoever from the Jarl or guards when the local Nords targeted them. It's still up in the air if I keep this for Tei's story, but I have it where they knew Chases-Starlight's parents, who were killed. When Tei went up & demanded justice/an investigation, only to be brushed off because it "wasn't a priority," it completely destroyed what little empathy or hope they had left for Windhelm as a whole.

Opinion of The Empire?: Cowards too weak to continue fighting back against the Thalmor, in their opinion, & holds these views they grew up with even when being strong-armed into aiding them. If anything they're at least attempting to use their influence to hint towards a rebellion against the Thalmor, but the Empire could also full-on dissolve & they could give less of a shit.

Civil War Quests Completed: 0

✧✧✧ Personal

How Are They Doing? Need Some Juice? A Nap? A Hug?: The whole event of Blood of Kings has fucked with their head, to say the least. It's the starting point of Tei's eventual spiral. So uh...yeah they're not sure how they're doing everything they knew about reality was kinda challenged & they don't rlly have anyone to talk to about it so its cool, its fine, its all good.

A nap is probably needed, not sure about a hug theough they're super flinchy rn

Days Past In Game: 196

Hours of Sleep: 846

Food Items Consumed: 1833

How Many Playthroughs Have You Done With This Character: Tei actually is an older character from the 360 days so uh...maybe 5 at most? This playthrough & their S:EC one coming up when the mod releases being the main ones focusing on their story

Overall How's Your Level Of Fun: Alright I would say! I just been stepping away from Skyrim more often lately to avoid burning out from it

Must Have Mods To Play This Character (for story or other reasons): Ordinator, Wintersun Faiths, Immersive Armors, Sarcastic Player Dialogue, 3DNPC, Inigo, Lucien Flavius, Kaidan 2, Khash the Argonian, Alternative Start, Leviathan Animations, Beast Race Body Paints, Beast HHBB, Apocalypse Magic, Deadly Dragons, Growl: Werewolf Overhaul, Pronouns, uhhh....idk what else without actually listing my current modlist lmao

----

And that's it for Tei! Anyone who wants to do this go on ahead!

#tes v #tes v skyrim #last dragonborn #ldb oc #jeerteiperdes #tes #skyrimblogging #oc meme #long post #character meme #finished this just in time for me to start registering for my online courses neato #also its almost 12am so if you notice any misgendering of tei (calling them he) lmk im tired haha

[maverick-werewolf]

Modern Dragon Designs - Where they came from

Your regularly scheduled werewolf facts will return soon. For now, we provide this special, because you may not realize this, but I love dragons. There’s a reason one of my protagonists is basically obsessed with dragons.

Once upon a time, there was a movie - I don’t see anyone talk about it, I’m not even sure how many people are familiar with it...

It’s called Reign of Fire.

This movie shaped the modern Hollywoodian concept of dragons. Seriously, it did. Hear me out.

Released in 2002, Reign of Fire was a movie about - essentially - dragons as that age-old trope of “let’s take one monster and turn them into an overpopulated zombie plague so we can use them to tell a story about humans and make the monster just this brainless evil locust swarm backdrop.” This has happened to a lot of monsters by now.

But wait, these dragons aren’t like the dragons you might be used to: these dragons were completely redesigned from the ground up by the filmmaker(s) in order to make a more “realistic” and “animalistic” dragon that was acceptable by Hollywood, who generally views “dragon movies” (like so many other fantasy things...) as cheesy and silly. Market your movie as a film about dragons and you probably won’t get a deal. Well, turns out, coming up with your own gritty dragon designs worked!

Doesn’t this remind you of every other dragon you’ve seen in a movie for the last, you know, 18 years? Although it actually looks quite a bit cooler than those other ones that came after it

Please note that while I may sound sarcastic, jaded, and often maybe a bit scathing, I mean nothing against the creators of Reign of Fire or director Rob Bowman. I watched the movie in theaters when it released. I applaud Bowman for coming up with unique and interesting dragon designs, in order to have a different take on the creatures, so that they fit the story he wanted to tell, instead of doing what so many people do and completely co-opting concepts without trying to alter them to fit anything and... yeah... okay, I’m not going to talk about werewolf things in this post. Getting back on track:

What I don’t applaud is everyone ripping off Reign of Fire for their own dragons, doubly so because most of these people didn’t even take into account the reasons why it was designed that way. They should have left his dragons alone and come up with their own thing, but at least I guess Bowman can go down in history as the man who designed every Hollywood dragon for over a decade to come - with no signs of stopping - even down to the tail shape.

On Vice, you can find an article and interview with Rob Bowman, the director of Reign of Fire, discussing how he came up with this dragon design and how influential it has become. I highly recommend giving it a read.

Please note the Vice article is clearly written with the bias of someone who “can’t take dragons seriously,” so it’s also a good look at the Hollywood mindset about dragons and how much Hollywood treats fantasy in general like garbage (jerks).

It’s impossible to pretend this movie didn’t basically reshape modern dragons. Let’s get to the details...

Animalistic Design

Dragons in popular culture are generally - or at least they were generally - assumed to be powerful, intelligent creatures, often of a higher nature than humans and other mere mortals. They may be good or evil, but one can’t understate that traditional fantasy dragons are regal and majestic either way.

Reign of Fire wanted to usurp the majestic, intelligent dragon image, creating a smaller, hunched, knuckle-dragging sort of dragon that looks more like an animal - like a pteranodon. This is because the dragons in Reign of Fire are not exceptionally intelligent, noble beings that speak and hoard gold and have the wisdom of the ages. They are brutal hunters that set things on fire and eat everything smaller than them. So this design choice was a conscious one and a smart one.

The dragons in Reign of Fire are meant to be more scientific, more plausible, and also simpler, in a manner of speaking. They are not colorful, magical, ancient fantasy dragons...

Trouble is, everyone took cues from this design for their talking wise noble fantasy dragons, and it... doesn’t really work, at least if you ask me.

The dragon design in Reign of Fire looks like an ancestral throwback, an evolutionary ancestor to the intelligent, talking fantasy dragon, although they are smaller. They’re hunched, they haven’t evolved forelegs independent of their wings... you get the idea. Take a look at the “proto-drakes” in World of Warcraft versus the ordinary drakes, which have tiny dangly T-rex forelegs that haven’t fully developed yet, so they walk like the Reign of Fire dragons.

A proto-drake in World of Warcraft - also say hi to my worgen warrior

So many things taking this design for their intelligent, “higher being” dragons seems kind of... odd to me, to say the least. Unfortunately, Hollywood decided that’s the only way moviegoers can “take dragons seriously,” so here we are.

“Wyvern” - Two Legs vs Four

Municipal arms of Stjørdal, Norway

In medieval heraldry, there came to be a creature called a wyvern. Now, the etymology on the term “wyvern” is a little shaky. It originally didn’t specifically refer to a “two-legged dragon.” It is thought to mean/be derived from words meaning anything ranging from “asp” to “light javelin,” and essentially boils down to a flying serpent. It is noteworthy, of course, that the word “dragon” basically just means “serpent” too.

In heraldry, though, “wyvern” came to refer to a two-legged dragon - at least, if you ask the English, Scottish, and Irish; elsewhere in Europe, they may not be so picky. And now, in modern pop culture (such as Dungeons and Dragons), we often use it in the same sense.

Wyverns weren’t really a “thing” in folklore, just as dragons in folklore didn’t look like our modern idea of a dragon. It’s debatable whether the father of our modern concept of dragons, Fafnir (from whom Tolkien drew inspiration for Smaug), even had wings at all; he was essentially a serpent, perhaps with legs. Point is, wyverns come from heraldry, especially the specificity of two legs versus four.

So now you know why you might see a lot of people (myself included) referring to this design as a “wyvern design” for a dragon.

Dull Coloration - Grey and Brown over Red, Blue, Green...

There’s something else - something very important - that Hollywood took from Reign of Fire... the concept that dragons aren’t pretty colors and are, in fact, various hues of grey and brown, and any more contrasting colors are just vague indications instead of bright red scales.

Now, Reign of Fire obviously did this because - again - they were going for the more animalistic, natural look as opposed to the mysterious majestic magical being look. Okay, that’s fine. But then Hollywood decided that fantasy, too, has to be devoid of dragons with bright colors.

The green dragon in Game of Thrones

There are countless examples of this in modern media. Any dragon that was previously brightly colored has been dulled pretty much to an extreme. Sometimes you might catch a fleeting glimpse of them looking like a brighter shade, but it was probably just a trick of the light. Why? Because all dragons are desaturated to the point of being almost indistinguishable by color.

The golden dragon in The Witcher Netflix series

This is also why you see so many mods on the Skyrim Nexus called things like “true red dragon.”

There are plenty more examples of this - I’m sure you can see the difference when you look at those dragons and other modern film dragons over, say, something like this...

Red dragon in D&D

And now we move on to...

The Fire Breathing - Chemicals, not Magic

Bowman insisted on ditching traditional fire breathing (you don't want the audience wondering whether the dragon's mouth is being burnt up with every flame) and again looked to the animal kingdom for inspiration. The king cobra, once again, was a great starting point. It doesn't spray fire, but it can spit its venom. Even more useful was the bombardier beetle, which shoots two chemicals from its abdomen that, once mixed, create a hot, burning spray. Bowman used these real-world examples to inspire his own dragons. They don't breathe fire exactly, but rather spit chemicals from two different sacks in their mouths that, when combined, ignite. "That's anatomy. That's already been designed, so we're going to draw from there," he said.

(quoted from the Vice article linked to earlier in this post)

The Hungarian Horntail in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - fire is streaming from two separate organs in the mouth, but they aren’t chemicals mixing together like in Reign of Fire...

The director of Reign of Fire wanted his dragons to be more natural in that they breathe fire through organic means, based on chemical reactions, instead of the usual dragon magic. But lots of people loved this “mouth flap”/”mouth organ” design with “streams” of fire coming from the mouth instead of fire flowing directly from the dragon’s throat, so now you see it pretty dang often.

Horns? Brow Ridges!

Another thing that is basically out now in dragon designs is the real horns of many traditional dragons, like Spyro, and like the dragons in Dungeons & Dragons used to have.

These days, it’s all about brow ridges and big spiny scales that aren’t separate horns, they’re just big pointed scales or piles of scales or bone ridges - and they aren’t a different color than the dragon’s scales, either, pretty often. And, in general, dragon’s horns have become much smaller and far more numerous, and more like spines/ridges, as opposed to the great, sweeping horns of classical dragons.

Firkraag, the red dragon, in the D&D video game Baldur’s Gate II, from 2000

Firkraag is a very traditional dragon. Now, while Dungeons & Dragons has generally kept more traditional dragons (yay!), they did fall into the brow ridge horn thing - although they, thankfully, didn’t make the horns smaller and subtler and more numerous little spikes, like so many other modern dragon designs. They also went with the brow ridge horns for tieflings (once humans with demon blood, then some weird thing in 4E, and now I think they’re humans with demon blood again), as opposed to the ordinary horns of the tieflings in previous editions of D&D.

Skyrim dragon head concept art

The Desolation of Smaug(’s design)

Here is... a big one. Here, we’ll talk some about the production of The Hobbit films over time, so we’re going behind the scenes.

Alright, so we all know Smaug, probably, by pop culture osmosis if nothing else. He is the quintessential dragon. He’s basically the founder of all Western dragon concepts: he’s big, he’s red, he hoards gold, he’s extremely intelligent and talks, etc. You get the picture. Every dragon that we have borrowed at least something from Smaug. And, in turn, he was inspired by Fafnir, the father of all our dragon concepts, from Norse mythology - but Tolkien took it all a step further and created the concept of dragons that we have today. Or, well, the not Reign of Fire ones. The fantasy ones.

A map drawn by Tolkien: notice the winged, four-legged Smaug over his mountain

During the first Hobbit movie, An Unexpected Journey, we see Smaug attack the Lonely Mountain...

In this clip, you can plainly see that Smaug has four legs. This was actually edited slightly for later editions of the movie, or so I’ve heard (I haven’t watched any later editions).

I can tell you for certain that when I saw the theatrical release, it was like this, too. It is apparent throughout the scene that Smaug has four legs and wings, separately. I know because I was paying very, very close attention, because I was going to be very upset if Hollywood turned Smaug into a wyvern.

Well, they did - later.

Smaug the wyvern looking like just another slightly different take on the bog-standard Hollywood dragon

Apparently, some studio exec decided that having a traditional fantasy dragon, even if this dragon happens to be frelling Smaug himself, would not be okay in this modern Hollywood world. So we ended up with a dull reddish spiney hunching knuckle-dragging wyvern with an angler mouth (I’m sorry; I really am sorry if you like the design, that’s totally fine, it’s a fine design, I am glad you enjoyed it, but Smaug shouldn’t have looked that way IMO and forgive me but I am still in pain over it) in place of a more traditional dragon that held more to things like, I dunno, how Tolkien himself drew Smaug. Smaug’s movie design flies right in the face of that and destroyed our chance to finally see a proper traditional dragon done justice on the big screen.

Tolkien’s art of Smaug - note the position of the forelegs, separate from the wings, like in the earlier map

This is all just one big example why we should be thankful that The Lord of the Rings films were all shot in one go, so no one could alter important things like the design of the fantasy genre’s father of all dragons, in the middle of production. Of course, the production on The Hobbit movies was a nightmare at best, as you can read about in assorted other articles, and Peter Jackson was very unhappy with what the studio had him do to the series. All of that is just another story, I suppose.

Dragons Redesigned by Reign of Fire: Example List

Now that we’ve gone over just a few of the talking points about Reign of Fire’s dragon designs (although I didn’t even get into the flat, spaded tail look in detail), here’s an undoubtedly incomplete list of several examples that have either entirely taken the design and/or were massively influenced by it...

(please note that not everything in this list held entirely to Reign of Fire’s design, obviously; some have the fire, some don’t; some have horns, some have head/brow ridges; but all of them are wyverns and most are darkly-colored)

Skyrim - Obvious influence with the general design, skin/scales and ridges design, as well as coloration; however, it is noteworthy that the Elder Scrolls has had dragons with no forelegs since at least 1998, in the game Redguard - though that dragon was also very brightly-colored (also of note: Peryite, while technically a Daedric prince and not a dragon, had four legs at least as far back as Daggerfall in 1996)

The Hobbit films, specifically The Desolation of Smaug onward - as mentioned before

Harry Potter movies - Wholesale. Two streams of fire from mouth flaps in Goblet of Fire, generally dull greyish and/or brownish colorations, no forelegs, short/simple horns that are mostly ridges...

Gods of Egypt - The giant fire-breathing cobras have the mouth flaps

Game of Thrones - This one’s pretty obvious too.

Disney’s Maleficent - In the new live action Disney movie(s), the dragon falls right into this design (though the fire doesn’t come from mouth flaps)

Netflix Witcher series - Villentretenmerth is very much a wyvern design and a dull shade, and he in fact has no horns at all, even though dragons weren’t portrayed this way in any previous Witcher adaptations

Stargate SG1 (season 10) - In the episode series “The Quest,” a dragon appears and... well, it looks just like all those other dragons, though the fire does come from its throat.

Beowulf (2008) - I try not to ever talk about or think about this film, but I have to just throw out there that the dragon is very much Reign of Fire, especially with that wyvern design.

Seventh Son - If you can call Malkin a dragon  - she was called one, I think - she definitely also has the same kind of dull-colored wyvern design.

Sucker Punch (movie)

Lots and lots of B-movies and direct to DVD/streaming films - Dawn of the Dragonslayer, Dragon (2006), Dragon Crusaders...

Something to note, also, is that cartoons, anime, and other non-film media is mostly - but not entirely - free from this influence. Cartoons especially are free from it, partially because they aren’t influenced by Hollywood producers who want “serious” and “realistic” dragons. Cartoons are allowed to have magical, colorful, four-legged dragons. Unfortunately, we are deprived of those in live action film and television, by and large.

There are still other exceptions - most notably things that were created before this influence, like Dragonheart and its spinoffs and sequels, which have thankfully kept their dragon designs consistent instead of erasing their forelegs.

Of course, why dragons are depicted as four-legged and winged in the first place - and when this depiction arose - is another topic entirely. I’m not going into that right now, seeing as how this post is already preposterously long.

Long story short, I was rewatching the movie Gods of Egypt and, when I saw the giant cobra monsters breathe fire, I was possessed to write this article. Because Reign of Fire’s influence is something I have always noticed ever since its release, and something my brother and I talk about a lot (and everyone who knows me has surely heard me talk about it, too) - because, frankly, it’s always bothered me. My favorite dragons are traditional dragons: four legs, bright colors, wings, horns, breathing fire, the works.

So, although the original creator of these design ideas did something cool and different because he wanted to do his own take on dragons, Hollywood decided that these design cues should be taken to dumb down all dragons forever, the same way that Hollywood has dumbed down so many monster designs so that the only acceptable ones just a bunch of near-replicas of each other, including werewolves.

I think it’s very sad that film producers think you can’t take something like dragons or werewolves seriously unless they are dull, nontraditional, and ugly. And I say ugly in the sense of these are not pretty, majestic fantasy designs - they are, many of them, intended to be ugly. Though I personally also hold the opinion that most of them are ugly regardless of if they are intended to be ugly.

So - now you know! If you haven’t seen Reign of Fire, go check it out to meet the father of modern dragon designs, from the color of their hides to the shape of their bodies, the smaller horns, and - sometimes - even their tails.

(Special thanks to everyone on my discord who helped me compile this list, as well as of course my brother and all our ranting at/with each other on this topic over many years)

If you like this post, maybe you’ll enjoy the rest of my blog, where I post a lot about folklore and all kinds of monsters (especially werewolves)!

Werewolf Facts --- Patreon

#dragons #pop culture #dragon #reign of fire #creature design #folklore #wyvern #wyverns #game of thrones #skyrim #harry potter #the desolation of smaug #the hobbit #movies #film #hollywood #long post #EXTREMELY LONG post

[rpbetter]

I genuinely don’t think the problem is as deep as people are seeing it as, with that whole resource blog and vent blog drama. I was there when it began, and it started because someone sent a submission that was recognizable enough to trace to that resource blog, who ended up calling themself out, and then a bunch of people dogpiling them, and then it turned into the 2021 edition of good old tumblr wank, mocking sockpuppets included. I essentially watched a bunch of 30 year olds call each other doodooheads like a couple kids on the playground, but at least kids forgive and forget after a day or two.

That’s probably why they’re avoiding this situation like the plague. The first time a submission went through about that resource blog, it made people feud like the Montagues and Capulets. Obviously they don’t wanna risk fueling that type of drama again. If it’s true that they aren’t letting these submissions through and it isn’t tied to reasons like tumblr eating the ask, then it’s probably because they don’t wanna be involved in this drama anymore. And I don’t blame them, because honestly, even as an observer I’m tired of seeing it, I can’t imagine how exhausting it must be for y’all who are actually involved. Geez. Who even has the energy for this much drama anyway? I’m tired just getting outta bed.

Sorry, Anon, I really had to!

Anyway, I'm sorry it took forever to get to your message, not only did I need a break from this, I needed to space out things related to it, it had taken over the blog. I appreciate that, despite how over it all you are, you were polite about how you feel. I know that is not always easy, and I do really appreciate it!

I hope that you don't feel I am being hostile to you about anything I say, it isn't meant that way. Differences of opinion, when not expressed hatefully, are always welcome here. I'm just going to try to express some of this situation from another perspective, and full disclosure, I'm pretty pissed off about it whether or not I actively want to be. This did impact my hobby, it did hurt people I care about, and I cannot believe such an unnecessary act lead to shit that is still going on.

On the first point...most things aren't as deep as we're given to feel they are after we've been made to feel incredibly unsafe, targeted, repeatedly let down and lied to, and experienced an astronomical level of sketchy behavior out of muns in a position that one is supposed to have some minor level of responsibility (as well as decent comportment) within. So, maybe it isn't that deep, but at this point, I very much cannot blame people for their concerns and suspicions.

And it was incredibly sketchy. CoaR, I'm just going to say it, everyone knows of which blog we're speaking at this point, did all of the following, breaking their own rules for moderation repeatedly:

allowed an actual, openly stated, callout blog to interact with their posts

allowed a meme blog to use their posts for the point of off-blog drama mongering, callouts, and outing themselves

would not moderate this situation as stated in their rules, when they've a bit of nasty record in the not too distant past of mass-blocking for far less and far more questionable reasons

did bother to post about how they weren't getting involved, as though this did not break multiple rules and absolutely is one's problem if it is your vent blog someone is using to create and foster bullying - simply giving the bizarre statement that blocking won't help anyone, when that isn't the point at all lol the point is being intolerant of people using your blog, that has to operate on a basis of being as safe a place as possible for venting (which is drama), this is about a stance and blog security, not being anyone's parent

just as weirdly vaguely threatening everyone first with all the mods "watching," because that's not actually implying an Orwellian parental role no one asked for, then with Sky once again misunderstanding the difference between being a " disciplinarian" and an ass

consistent lack of transparency on all counts

and then, yeah, there is the choice of publishing submissions/rebuttals combined with all of this and those submissions/rebuttals being what they are - not all related to "the drama," or in violation of the rules either, but the apparent willingness to publish them from one side of "the drama" there for a bit

I cannot blame people for feeling like all of this combined is a legitimately sketchy situation. One in which they've already, again, been made to feel unsafe within because COAR was used as a list for callouts.

When people see someone like Raven getting wildly different treatment by not being so much as warned, they're going to feel suspicion about the mod(s). It makes it so much worse that they chose to make the statements they did instead of a transparent, reasonable one like, "We apologize that CoaR was used the way it was, we should have blocked the callouts blog right away, but didn't. To reiterate the rules we've had in place for years, this blog is never to be used for callouts or taking bullying off-blog. Due to how widespread the problem has become, we will not be publishing anything related to it any longer. Submissions will be deleted so we can begin putting this behind us."

Acknowledge fault, apologize for it, say what you're doing to mitigate it now. That's it. Don't actively make it worse!

About the submissions...I know I'm alone in having tested that out. It isn't limited to things that either break the rules or are related to the issue. It's very select topics that are a bit uncomfortably aligned with the bias displayed, and from very select blogs. That's a problem. It's not selectively publishing based on drama-avoidance or rules, what CoaR has always done and no one here is taking an issue with.

I have 0 interest in things like trackers, they're far too easy/tempting to use maliciously for most people, and at the very best, they foster an environment of paranoia. What I know about them comes from really minimal personal experience (I wanted to see what posts people were most interested in on another blog, but it felt creepy with the amount of information I had, so I dropped that very fast) and what mutuals who use them have told me/questions they've answered.

So, is it possible the mod(s) is selectively deleting submissions from blogs they feel are a problem? Yes, it is totally possible. Do I know that for a fact? No, I totally do not. My point is that this is exactly the sort of paranoia that takes off when too many suspicious things happen back to back. You begin seeking the answers you are not getting, and you're seeking them because every day for a month or two, your experience logging in has been one of what the fresh hell. It's a need to insulate yourself from further exposure to harassment.

It's a very simple formula: act sketchy, people look at you like you're sketchy.

And I'm not going to condemn anyone for that.

I will also say that, unless several people deleted their comments or have me blocked in multiple places they somehow know of and take issue with, I did not see what you are describing when I read over the total explosion that happened...what, like a month, two months ago at this point? It was very fresh at the time.

What I saw was someone having submitted about a meme blog screenshotting their mutual's rules. Raven going off about it in a reblog. Two commentators trying to discuss the issue and finally, just saying they weren't surprised what meme blog it was once Raven outted themselves like a fully hinged individual interested in following CoaR's rules.

One of those s commentators is a friend, the mun whose rules were in the posts is a friend. I've never been anything but transparent about that. I'm also familiar with some of the other parties who ended up going on hiatus, but only from discussions on the vent blog over the years. So, yes, I do have personal investment here, and I do not feel like any of those people telling Raven and the callout blog they were at least involved with that their behavior was bullshit can be equated to immature shit slinging. There were even two muns who repeatedly tried to have a civil conversation with Raven, specifically, and for their efforts, got some of the most wildly juvenile treatment.

The worst things I saw came from hate anons and the callout blog.

The people receiving that treatment were largely driven off tumblr. For a time, forever, it differs with all of them. So, I feel like saying that about the thirty-year-olds thing is a little off. I'm not trying to be shitty, Anon, but the muns who tried to address Raven's bullshit were all of that age range. They're definitely continuing the drama, they're not here. They can't feel comfortable enough to be on their own blogs still.

I also am required ethically to say that we all really need to stop with throwing around ages like this. Again, I'm not trying to be hostile to you, Anon. I've been trying to show other people's perspective in this (it doesn't matter if you agree or not, I just think it's important to understanding, stopping, and prevent problems to have a fuller perspective that we often lack because we are incredibly tired of whatever is going on, and you're right, we are all really damn tired and also Tired), and as it is an advice blog, I try to address problems here. The pervasive ageism in the tumblr RPC is a problem.

It's a problem that gets discussed when it involves adults not wanting to interact with minors and, as I've seen it put several times, "treating them like the plague." There are a billion "conversations" and complaints about that, but there aren't many at all when it comes to the RPC's bizarre ideas about what age constitutes an adult (you're an actual child until around 23, you're ancient and need to die already, you pedo, at 26) and what being an adult actually is.

You do not turn thirty and lose your hobbies. You also do not turn thirty and become an ultra-mature adult, no leveling up into arcane Adult Knowledge and Behavior unlocks when you wake up on your thirtieth birthday. Between the ages of 17 and 27, you go through so many rapid changes in your cognition, but it levels off considerably after that. You're largely the same person at 32 as you were at 27, and you cannot say that about being...17 and 20, 22 and 25. It begins to take longer to see changes in who you are, those changes are less extreme - your personality, preferences, and viewpoints remain largely the same, they just refine a little here and there.

There is no line at which people "should" stop engaging in any hobby, and it's incredibly gross that the RPC seems to think anyone out of college-age should have no interests, let alone passionate ones, outside of going to work, having a family, and paying bills. That's a bit horrifyingly 1950's isn't it? It's also really misogynistic, considering that the primary base of the RPC is female or afab. When you deal in this, you're literally telling thirty-year-old people with uteruses that they should have no interests outside of birthing children and caring for them.

This isn't what you were doing, Anon, but it's part of the tumorous growth of this ideology that we casually throw around things like "a bunch of 30-year-olds" to make a point. We've seriously got to stop doing that, it isn't a message that most of us would agree with. There are other ways of saying "I think these people should behave more maturely since they're adults."

If I said something like, "well, they were just in their mid-twenties lol what do you expect?" I'd get hate anons, pants would be shat in, and more importantly, it would be wrong. That needs to work both ways, this isn't a separate issue.

An issue that repeatedly comes down to the absurdity of finding differences and drawing lines into cages around people in an environment in which we have the freedom to be more equal than in offline reality. We're all just people here, all just writing and interacting and loving characters. That's all we need to be, and all we need to be judged on is our behavior.

I'm sorry that anyone behaved in a grossly inappropriate manner during any and all of this. It was a heated thing that came to involve too many people and too much harassment, and those are factors that will always see people behaving in ways they would not normally engage in.

And like I said, you don't become some wise master of maturity at thirty! There is a problem mun I'm currently dealing with on another blog that is my age who is one of the most immature people I have ever run into. I have mutuals and friends in the early to mid-twenties who I'm confident weren't as childish as this mun when they were literal children. So, do people thirty and over behave in a seriously unbecoming, childish as hell manner? Yes, they so do! Whether it should be this way or not, you can't expect everyone to be at the same maturity level psychologically at any given age. To me, that just says that I shouldn't age-type people negatively. It isn't relevant where their behavior is.

Otherwise, I'm holding people at some nebulous age over thirty to higher expectations than other equally adult-range people. It isn't acceptable for anyone to behave in the ways I witnessed and was subjected to. It's not even acceptable in teenagers, it's just more understandable (not excusable) because they're working with many things they quite literally cannot control at all times. To act this way is telling everyone below thirty that they're just immature, irresponsible, dicks. It's insulting to them to be labeled in this way, too, even if too many of them see it as a free pass and are, thus, okay with it right now. They won't be, eventually.

Anyway, again, I'm not trying to be shitty to you! I don't think you meant anything in your message in a nasty way, and I cannot say how much I appreciate that after the bullshit brought to this blog and that I've been dealing with privately to help some of those affected feel like the RPC is a place they're safe and welcome in again.

I am definitely tired! Everyone else involved is as well. At least, on what I have to term as "this side" of the equation. I cannot speak to the other side, obviously, but I think they got tired enough of it not being tolerated to be quiet at least. When you make it unfun for people like that, that's usually what happens, after all.

So, I don't think it's them trying to continue the drama. Most of the people I know have remained in their corners happily or been obliged to leave for a while. As for the other people with suspicions...like I said, there are a lot more factors going on here than wanting to perpetuate drama. Sometimes, when we try to make ourselves feel safe, vindicated/vindicate a friend, there isn't any other option but to have the topic come up or breed into suspicions, correct or incorrect ones.

It's a situation that CoaR had a great deal of culpability in, and as such, had a lot of power to mitigate this well before it got to suspicions of who was modding the blog. That wasn't done, and won't be. Like Raven's antics, I have to feel like they've brought some of this on themselves. I do not and will not condone any hate messages sent their way, but again, right or wrong, people do have a right to feel the way they are.

If I were you, I'd stay as far away from it as possible. I don't go on CoaR unless I have to in order to answer something. I had a single blog blocked over here until this all went down (hilariously, it happened to be one that was involved, too, sometimes the red flags are legit, folks), now I have a sadly large number of them. It's now added to liberally, and I hate to do that, I like this blog to be open even to people who disagree with me. I can't deal with the constant drama, though, and I'm not going to be in a new callout every month until I die. Outside of being true to my word about accepting any and all vent messages, I don't want to see it, I don't want to be involved with it. I tag the posts so that followers can filter it, but I'm not going to function as a semi-callout blog by telling people who they should avoid. Just that they should avoid anyone who is making them feel this tired and done. Myself included.

I hope things have settled down in your corner of the RPC since you sent this! They have over here, thankfully. I think most people are staying away from the vent blog and hoping a new and better one comes along. It's back to the usual drama of "stop calling muns pedos for aging up characters."

#answered #anonymous #drama cw #misogyny cw #ageism cw #coar drama cw #I think that's all of them... #tumblr rpc

[basicallydanganronpaimagines]

Kaito x trans boy reader pls 🥺 anything is ok!!

Bro AB SO LUTELY! I love Kaito with literally every fiber of my being and i would do probably anything for his smile!! Anyways, you ask so i shall provide. Also this is set in a killing game just because i had an idea for the plot, hope you dont mind! - Mod Mondo

TW! - "lgbt outting/fears of tr*nsph*bia"

Also there are mentions of the trials in the games BUT i didn't specify any blackened/victims in order to avoid spoilers! The motive mentioned doesn't happen in v3 either!

The second trial had just happened yesterday. You thought this was going to be over soon, you hoped anyway.

But hope was a terrifying thing to have right now. Having hope only made you knew how soon it was about to be crushed.

Monokuma had just given the third motive, embarrassing secrets. Your hands shook, realizing that in less than 12 hours from now, either A) a murder would happen, or B) your secret would be revealed. What was that secret? You looked at the paper again, which sat on your dorm table:

"(F/n) (L/n) is actually a transitioned male!"

You didn't want to think about it, you were so scared that they would treat you different, or make fun of you, or even avoid you. You weren't any different from them, you were just born in the wrong body.

But it was either that or someone lost their life. A cruel hope you wished for, but it was the truth. There was no winning in this situation.

You entered the dining hall the next day just as Monokuma told you. The only person there was Kaito, but he was always ready to go. You trembled.

"Hey, you okay? There's nothin' to be worried about, we'll all get over it." He tried to reassure your shaking form. "If we can't move on from our past secrets, we'll never have the strength to look ahead!" He gave you his signature thumbs up. You smiled, hoping that'd be enough...

It wasn't. Nothing could have prepared you for that moment Monokuma announced it. At least nobody died... You felt panicky and flustered; you ran out of the room, into your dorm.

You had been sitting alone for a while until someone pushed the doorbell numerous times. You begrudgingly answered, not exactly surprised to see Kaito there. You gestured him to come in, which he did. Surprisingly quietly in fact. He gave you an audible sigh.

"Ya know, you aren't any less of a dude if that's what you were so scared about. C'mere." He said, holding his arms out for you. You hugged him, maybe with a bit more force than intended. You felt your heart swell at his acceptance.

"Not gonna lie, I would have never noticed if I wasn't told. Not that what Monokuma did was justified! But you're still cute, all the same." He shrugged, giving you a pat on the back.

"Cute??"

"Sorry- erm- handsome, but yeah!" He pulled away from you, rubbing his neck.

"No no, that's not what I was-"

Kaito put a hand against the wall, leaning over you. You hadn't even noticed you backed up into the wall and you instinctively put your hands on his chest, but you weren't exactly pushing him away.

"Dudes can like dudes ya know?" He said, smiling. You gave him a small smile back, cheeks a little pink.

Yeah, dudes can like dudes.

#danganronpa #danganronpa v3 #killing harmony #kaito momota #momota kaito #reader insert #lgbt #lgbt reader #kaito x reader #trans reader #fluff #ftm reader #lgbtpride #kaito momota x reader

[fate-grandorder-imagines]

can i please request my greek men Chiron and achilles with their clumsy master s/o? like she regularly trips over her feet or runs into glass doors thank you

Achilles and Chiron + clumsy s/o

A/n: oof thank you so much for requesting my beloved Achuseless and Chiron-sensei. I relate to this on a spiritual level because my friend regularly trips over her feet as well and by friend i mean me i hope you enjoy this as much as i did while writing!

Requested by: anonymous

Achilles (my bias showing just a tiiiiny bit)

Achilles always knew that you were clumsy but now that you’re also dating him?

hooo you just made his life a million times better as your daily accidents supply him with an endless source of entertainment, it makes him adore you even more

of course he doesn’t want to see you hurt too badly but the way you managed to fall those stairs up instead of down?

it’s just too hilarious, he laughs so hard he almost falls down the stairs as well

‘Hey now, don’t be mad at me for laughing, I will surely defend your honour and fight those stairs for you!’

gets slapped for it but the way he kisses your bruises and scrapes afterwards always makes up for his gale of laughter 5 minutes ago and well, you have to admit yourself, that it was indeed hilarious

falling on him also happens more often than you could imagine, providing him with the perfect opportunity to tease you even more like he knows he’s stunningly amazing but it’s beyond adorable how you still fall for him everyday

it’s hard to be mad at him when he says smooth things like this with that sexy shit-eating grin on his face 

besides all this, your clumsiness also gives him the perfect excuse to always have an arm around your waist, only to prevent you from falling over of course

also proposes that you two should stay in bed all day as ‘it’s the best way to keep you safe from any harm what do you say?’

Chiron

to put it mildly, Chiron would be a little.. amazed that someone with two left feet like you managed to survive for so long

how exactly did you even manage to shatter this mug just by picking it up?

now he kind of worries about your survival skills like this clumsy human is supposed to be mankind’s last hope? Gods of Olympus please help him but of course he’d never voice them out loud as he doesn’t want to hurt your feelings

and if he’s honest with himself, your endearing klutziness was one of the reasons he fell for you in the first place, you wouldn’t be the master he loves and treasures so much if you weren’t so clumsy

instead he simply keeps an eye out for you at all times and stays close to you so whenever you trip over air again, his divine reflexes always help him to catch you in time

Chiron would also make it a habit of always carrying band-aids with him, treating your wounds with the utmost gentleness

or you know, just swoop you up and carry you in his arms because it sure is romantic and flusters you to no ends when he does it, but also effectively prevents you from running into doors all the time

once he tried to move all the furniture about 2cm to the side so you wouldn’t bump into them anymore and surprisingly it worked

too well actually, since now everyone else started hurting themselves but as long as you were safe (from yourself) he wouldn’t tell anyone about what he did

yes even Chiron can be a little cheeky at times ok

- Mod Silver

#first request finished yay #Achuseless for life #try to stop me goldie #Achilles #Rider of Red #Chiron (Fate) #Archer of Black #Fate imagine #Fate Grand Order #SFW #Mod Silver

[mister-tom-a-dildo-lover]

Strive Pt. 14

{PART 1} {PART 2} {PART 3} {PART 4} {PART 5} {PART 6} {PART 7} {PART 8} {PART 9} {PART 10} {PART 11} {PART 12} {PART 13}

Pair: Tomarry

Rating: M-E(depends)

Tags: Mild Language, Homosexuality, Sexism, Obsessed Tom, Time-Travel/Dimension-Travel, Teacher/Student, Eventual Romance, Teacher-Harry, Grey!Harry, MoD(sort of), Death!being,

NOTE: One of my many headcanons is that the Diary Horcrux was improperly made. Since the Basilisk was the one that killed Myrtle, as she doesn’t understand Parseltongue and can’t actually know what was said, there is no proof that Tom Riddle actually told the snake to kill her. He took credit for it and used it as a murder requirement for the Horcrux ritual, but there was no dialogue or order given to our knowledge.

So, Tom did the ritual without a fractured soul(because he didn’t personally murder Myrtle) and ended up ripping his soul in half which caused immense damage to his sanity. It would then explain why he went crazy so fast if the very first one was done incorrectly. And that’s the plot used in this fic.

Professor Potter sighed and removed his glasses, setting them on the desk and folding his fingers beneath his chin. He proceeded to stare Tom down evenly, green eyes flashing ominously. "Albus decided to inform me, 'for my protection' apparently, that you are a Parselmouth. He heavily implied that you are the Heir of Slytherin and that you are the cause for what happened a couple of years ago with the Chamber of Secrets."

Tom would never admit to stiffening. He liked to pretend that he was not worried or scared of what Professor Potter thought of him. He didn't care, even though he really did in a way. And it was so pathetic, that he, Tom Marvolo Riddle, would be so fixated on a single person's opinion of him. He didn't give a bleeding damn what Dumbledore thought, so why was Potter any different?

Because he treats you fairly, came a whispered voice in his mind. Because he doesn't single students out and actually treats everyone the same. Because he doesn't pity you. Because he is different than everyone else in your life.

"Just because Albus is right, doesn't mean there is proof against you, and trying to manipulate someone's view of you was foolish of him. I haven't let myself be tricked like that in a long time and I refuse to let it happen again. I can determine for myself what you are like, through my own experiences with you."

His left eye twitched only just a little bit. He kept a straight face though it was like his body was caught between the need to either frown or smile. Potter wanted to judge based on their interactions and not by Dumbledore's bias. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about, sir." Admit nothing. That was usually the Slytherin mentality.

Potter shrugged, his unearthly green eyes flashing with hidden knowledge. "It's obvious that an Acromantula didn't kill Myrtle Warren. They consume their prey differently, and there was not one mark on the girl that came from a creature. Besides, anyone with a brain knows that only one creature can petrify its prey, and that is a Basilisk. Had she been lucky enough to look into it's 'great big yellow eyes' as she described to me, through another object like a mirror or a puddle, she wouldn't have died and would have just been frozen."

Professor Potter had actually spoken to Myrtle Warren's ghost. He asked her what had killed her and she described the Basilisk's eyes perfectly. A sinking feeling was settling in Tom's stomach. He didn't like how familiar he was becoming with it.

The professor leaned back in his seat and waved his hand twice. A dark book levitated off his bookshelf and opened for him, hovering in front of his almost disinterested face. His eyes roved over the page. "A Basilisk in the school wouldn't make sense normally, if one of the Founders wasn't a Parselmouth. However, each of the Founders placed a creature of their choosing to protect the school. Godric had a dragon that some fool in the 1200s killed for its hide, Rowena had a Sphinx that was sent back to Egypt in the 1600s, and Helga had a Phoenix that seems to have befriended Albus, and goes by the name of Fawkes.

"Anyway, only those of Slytherin's blood can control the Basilisk, as the book states. Which would mean you as you are a descendant of the line through the Gaunts."

Tom's eyes stared intently at the book that he did not know the name of. He had never see any book like it before, so he knew it wasn't from the Hogwarts Library. He never knew that any of the other Founders had creatures in the castle at some point. Perhaps it was a Potter Family artifact? And how had Potter known that he was related to the Gaunt Family? After all, Tom could have just been an unexpected relation that came from a splintered off line of Salazar's.

"Sir, where did you get that book? I've never seen such information in any books about Hogwarts and I made sure to extensively study the history of the school as well as our community." For my own gain, he neglected to add. It was obvious enough for him to not have to mention it.

Potter smiled, and the book slowly floated toward Tom, until he could literally pluck it out of the air. It was strangely soft, and the covering on it was unfamiliar to him. The size was larger than any tome he had ever encountered, and much heavier. Even the parchment was foreign to him. It was so… strangely brittle and solid all at once.

"My friend Mortimer helped me acquire that book. He had the knowledge of its existence and we went and fetched it from its old holding place. Normal magicals wouldn't even be able to read it however, because its author held knowledge of a specific language that is rare in this side of the world and is only connected to one family over here."

Tom turned the book over, opening up to the very first page. All of a sudden, the odd squiggles on the page righted themselves and the words SALAZAR SLYTHERIN stood out in large blocky calligraphy. His ancestor had written the book in his hands. He's written it in Parseltongue?

"Parselscript," clarified Potter, as if knowing exactly what Tom was thinking.

Parseltongue had a written form.

He frowned when he realised. "Professor, you speak Parseltongue as well?" Were they related? Was that why the man knew of his mother and knew that he was a Gaunt? Was he a cousin or something? He didn't look anything like Morfin did. And his surname was Potter.

Were they perhaps brothers and Tom's mother had a relationship with a Potter who then took Harry away? From what he'd learned of the Gaunts, they weren't a family anyone wanted to align themselves with. It would be social suicide, especially for a Potter who was of the Light side.

"Tom, what do you know of the Gaunt Family?" asked Professor Potter, sitting back in his chair as if this was not the most confusing and revealing conversation of Tom's life. "Do you know anything beyond you being Salazar's possible second to last descendant?"

'Possible'?

Knowing it was pointless to lie when he would get nothing from it in this situation, Tom shook his head. "There isn't much about the Gaunt Family beyond them squandering their former wealth and inbreeding too much just to keep themselves 'pure'." He sneered the last word, disgusted at the thought of performing any type of sexual acts with relatives. Especially with how their looks apparently degenerated overs the centuries. He couldn't understand the desire.

The Defence professor nodded and leaned forward until his elbows could rest on the desk. "In the 1600s, Rionach Gaunt broke off from the family and married William Sayre, who shared her ideals about being kind to Muggles."

Tom's upper lip rose in a sneer, but Potter ignored it.

"Their daughter Isolt, was a brilliant little witch, but ended up losing her parents to a fire. Her mother's estranged sister Gormlaith Gaunt 'found her' and 'raised her' with dubious teachings and under Dark Magic to force her compliance and isolation for years. Isolt eventually learned that Gormlaith murdered her parents and had kidnapped her, and came to resent her. She was refused any chance to attend Hogwarts, because Gormlaith didn't like it, and spun tales of why it was supposedly terrible. She decided to teach Isolt all the Dark Arts she knew instead."

Was everyone that Tom was related to, somehow a bloody moron? How could Hogwarts be horrible in any way? Sure, there were some fools here and there and Dumbledore surely tainted the air with his existence, but he would not be around always, and Tom had growing plans to make things follow his way of thinking in the future.

"Isolt learned enough magic by the time she was twelve, to successfully steal her aunt's wand and escape. She fled to England and disguised herself as a Muggle boy, who then sneaked onto the Mayflower that was headed for the New World. Long story short, she met the natives of the land, befriended some magical creatures, and ended up creating the first magical school in the states, which is called Ilvermorny."

Tom's jaw actually dropped. A descendent of Salazar Slytherin founded one of the other large magical schools in the world? And no one thought that the Founder of said school was evil or bent on world domination?

"If you want more information, I have a book that is a copy of her own bibliography. I had to go directly to Ilvermorny and be put through many tests to get it, but I do have it. It'll tell you more about Gormlaith and the Gaunts. You'll be interested to know that the wand that she stole from her aunt was once Salazar's wand. And in the end, she buried it in the ground within Ilvermorny, and it sprouted a large Snakewood tree that has magical properties that are said to heal anything if any part of it is consumed."

Isolt Sayre was a descendant of Salazar Slytherin. She never received a Hogwarts education and was only taught the Dark Arts. She went on to build the most powerful magical school in North America. And no one thought terribly of her? They didn't think she was a Dark Lady? And Salazar Slytherin, who was considered evil by most of Hogwarts for the past several centuries, had a wand that would basically be a Healer's dream come true?

"Isolt is recognised as a heroine in magical America, Tom. And her descendants are spread across the world due to traveling. I'm even distantly related to her through my mother, oddly enough. And through my father, I am distantly related to you because the Potters and Gaunts came from the same line, which are the Peverells, and many Gaunts married into the Potters way back when."

The Necromancer Three. Tom knew about them as much as anyone in Britain would. The family itself wasn't important until the three brothers supposedly created some of the most powerful magical artifacts in history. Then they drew enough attention to themselves and their craft. And they became history. Their rise and fall was described in many children's books.

Potter was nodding. "Cadmus, the middle brother, sired an unwanted daughter who changed her name when she fled his old village. She didn't want to be found and have the stain of her being a bastard following her everywhere. She became the first Gaunt, and settled down with a young and impressionable wizard from the Slytherin Line, who was angry for not being the first born and not getting the privileges of the first born. When the Slytherin Family died out a century later, the Gaunts were glad to let people know of their connection to Salazar."

"And which brother are you directly related to, professor?" asked Tom. Nothing ever said Antioch had sired children, but since he hadn't known Cadmus had any, how would he know?

"Ignotus, and even more distantly, Cadmus. Ignotus moved away from the bad reputations of his brothers and started his own family, passing down secrets and slowly changing the family name over the centuries. Peverell, Povrell, Povell, Potell, Pottel, Potter. Ironically, there are some Gaunts who married into my direct Potter branch and one of Isolt Sayer's children was my mother's some form of great-grandmother from the 1800s, which would explain the Parseltongue."

He had a distant relation who wasn't a bumbling fool. It was like a breath of fresh air in some ways, while in others, it made him a little annoyed. Why wait until now to say anything to Tom about it?

Also…

"How did you know my mother sold the Slytherin Locket?" He still couldn't understand that. That had not been explained yet. Potter had given answers to things he didn't even ask, but neglected to answer the one thing he wanted to know the most.

Potter sighed for the umpteenth time. "Mr. Borgin isn't very good at keeping secrets and it only took some persuasion when I inquired about it. Add on the fact that only one Marvolo ever attended Hogwarts, and it was Marvolo Gaunt, who had only one daughter and one son. Marvolo and Morfin had made a reputation in the magical papers as 'Possible Threats to the Statute of Secrecy' since both had been fined multiple times for casting magic on the Muggles in Little Hangleton. The daughter Merope, was the only one with a clean slate and according to the dwellers of said village, she disappeared around the time you were born, with a muggle aristocrat sharing your exact name. He returned months later, without her, and was screaming about witchcraft and love potions. It really wasn't hard to put together once everything was listed."

Tom's breathing calmed slowly. His professor had actually done some studying instead of being like Dumbledore and just accusing him of unfounded things. He researched and compiled all the evidence he had. And he wasn't treating Tom like a monster despite Tom basically admitting that yes, he was behind the Chamber fiasco.

He didn't come out and directly say it, but his questions and answers gave it away. And still Potter was being fair.

"Myrtle was a mistake," he found himself explaining, and wanting to be consumed by Fiendfyre on the spot. The look on Potter's face was of obvious surprise, but it didn't make him feel any better.

Tom bit his bottom lip for a second, before continuing. "Her death wasn't deliberate. I was simply trying to scare the students. No one actually got hurt or died, despite the bloody messages on the walls. Myrtle was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was the one who found her and it was only because the Basilisk called out to me from the lavatory. I then had to skillfully redirect some students in hopes of them finding her instead, which one of them finally did. Said student was even Myrtle's frequent bully, so it only seemed right."

He didn't send the Basilisk to kill her. He hadn't even been there when the death occurred.

"I did find it strange how they actually carried her body off," said Professor Potter, a look of confusion on his face. "Basilisks consume their prey whole, unlike Acromantula who like to draw out their feasting time so the innards can deliquesce. There shouldn't have been a body, and if you had murdered her, you would have hidden the evidence so as not to have any leads that could trace back to you."

Exactly. Tom was much better at plotting. He'd killed Tom Riddle Sr. and his parents, with Morfin's wand. And he worked some incredible magic to implicate Morfin in the scenario. He would never leave such proof behind, no matter what.

But… just because Tom didn't order it specifically, didn't mean he wasn't partially responsible. After all, he had reworked the wards on the Chamber and the lavatory, which allowed the Basilisk to open the entrances and exits with its own Parseltongue. So the Basilisk came out for another chance to explore the castle under Tom's watch, only to literally kill a student the moment it slithered from the hole beneath the sinks.

As the serpent was under Tom's orders to make such rounds about the castle, he was to blame in a sense. And when he finally learned of the ritual required to make a Horcrux a week later, he used that as his 'murder' requirement to complete the ritual. And now Tom had two Horcruxes.

So yes, it was his fault in a way, but Myrtle would not have been his choice. He would have much preferred Eldrid Avery. Because what good would it do him to pick on the pathetic and weak? Myrtle had nothing when she was alive, but seeing Avery dead and unable to bother him any longer, would have been ideal. After all, Tom targeted those who wronged him in some way, and there was no satisfaction in proving how great he was over a trampled mouse.

Eldrid acted as if he was Merlin's gift to Slytherin, and Tom would have gladly put the other in his place. In fact, he was considering using him as his next Horcrux sacrifice.

While none too fond of Muggles nor how he'd been treated for everyone assuming he was a Muggleborn, he didn't care too much. Those unworthy to be in Hogwarts would have fled upon the opening of the Chamber, and since several had actually transferred out, the school was in fact free of their taint. And no, not all were Muggleborn. Tom simply hated those who worked against him. They were removed first and foremost.

"In conclusion to this hour long discussion," said Professor Potter as he glanced up at the clock on the wall, "let's put it all out there. You are the Heir of Slytherin. We both are Parselmouths thanks to Gaunt ancestry in our lines. We're both Halfbloods who are related to the Peverells. Your mother was named Merope and she was wandering about London on her own in December of 1925 and only got ten Galleons for the Slytherin Locket. You were born at Wools' Orphanage at the end of the month and grew up there. Albus was the one to visit you. Albus doesn't like you at all and is trying very hard to ruin your reputation among others. And it would behoove to refrain from using anything but Light magic in the coming weeks."

At Tom's frown, the man shrugged. "We're dealing with Albus Dumbledore, who has many awards already and a good portion of the Light people in his pocket, no matter what the papers say of his actions. He can and will convince someone to investigate you or me if he feels threatened. A proper diagnostic scan on a wand - that is taught to the Aurors - only shows the last one hundred castings. Practice the Patronus Charm a lot just to cover yourself even further."

And just as some of his questions had been answered, he was left with dozens more. How did his professor know about the training that Aurors went through? Was he formerly an Auror? And why was he so against Albus Dumbledore when half of Britain worshiped the man? Other than gossip, Dumbledore didn't come across as an annoying person upon first meeting, so what could have put Potter off to the man?

"You may borrow that book, though I would see it returned in the state it is currently in," said Potter, drawing his attention back to the present. Yes, the book that Tom was holding was still open. The book written by Salazar Slytherin.

Realising that this was the time for him to depart, Tom stood and closed the book gently. He then slipped it into his expanded bag and gave a small bow.

"Thank you, sir." An expression that was directed at more situations than just the book lending.

The green-eyed man waved his gratitude away. "It's only right that you learn about Salazar from his own writing. Take care of the locket. Perhaps you can get a portrait of yourself put in there."

Potter would not give him away. The man had already known everything and hadn't said a word to anybody. It was strangely comforting to know that. To know that there was an adult - and he used the term lightly since they were near each other in age - who was decent and could actually be trusted to be honest and relatively impartial.

He knew that Professor Potter would do his job, and that was good enough. And when he admitted to having a hand in Myrtle's death, the man hadn't glared at him. He didn't regard Tom with disgust. He simply accepted the answer for what it was and moved on.

It was nice… to have someone that didn't fear him. It was nice to not feel that telltale sign of nausea around someone. Potter was someone that treated him well, not because Tom threatened him into compliance, or because he wanted to get on Tom's good side. The man was just genuinely kind to everyone. Except perhaps Dumbledore, though the old fool deserved if it he kept trying to enforce his opinions and views on everyone he met.

It was halfway back to his dorm that Tom realised something else. Potter's Dueling Club was starting soon. He had to work on his Patronus even more if he wanted to impress the man and the class. A happy thought or memory strong enough to power such a spell.

He blinked for a moment, and in a moment of intense thought, he lifted his wand. "Expecto Patronum."

In the darkness of the dungeon corridor, Tom Marvolo Riddle was witness to the brightness of the very first corporeal Patronus he'd ever summon. It was a large, writhing serpent covered in odd markings. It reminded him very much of Professor Potter's Patronus, which shouldn't surprise him, since it was a thought of the man himself that had fueled the charm.

Tom smiled, enjoying the sight and the proof of his own ability. He felt a little giddy actually.

It was… nice.

A/N: I’m glad to see this chapter finished. 3500+words. Tom did the charm! Harry’s POV is coming in chapter 16, so be prepared.

#Tomarry #Tom Riddle #HP #fanfiction #Watermelonsmellinfellon

[aspire-to-the-light]

Executive momentum 4: Sticky positive loops

(Previous)

Some positive feedback loops are fairly temporary, ephemeral, transient things. I go to judo, so I feel good about that and ready to be productive, so I work and get into flow, so then work feels less aversive and I tick off some tasks fairly quickly, and it’s awesome. But then it’s midnight so I should sleep, and when I wake up I’m no longer in my post-exercise focused-and-good-feeling state, I’m just in a sleepy-morning-state. So that’s a reset on my loop, back to square one, and whether my day goes well mostly depends on whether I have a good start and get through my morning routine efficiently or I lie in bed for a few hours scrolling social media. 

Other positive feedback loops are fairly big and concrete and permanent. I went to a good school, which motivated me to get good grades, and my good grades made me feel good about school which made me more motivated to get more good grades, and then those helped me get into Cambridge, which makes me much more likely to get a job that I enjoy, and that’ll probably have positive effects that last for the rest of my life.

There’s a lot of stuff in between that I’m calling sticky positive loops. They themselves might be temporary, but they make it easier to have more positive feedback loops in future.

Home-base building is full of sticky positive loops. I have a really good day and get a whole bunch of work done, and I notice that one of the things that helped me get all that work done is that I was listening to inspiring music all day. So I take my tab manager (Toby) and insert into my open-these-tabs-every-morning-as-you-start-your-day box (currently containing my google calendar, emails and slacks I should check, RescueTime, my sticker chart, etc) a tab for a YouTube playlist of inspiring work music.

Sometimes this turns into a simple positive feedback loop; I set that up, so the next day I remember to listen to inspiring music and I get even more work done, and the next day I get so much work done that I have time for looking into some gmail mods to make it easier to handle emails, so then email is much less hassle and I have more time for getting work done, and life just keeps getting better.

More of the time, this is a large-scale process that happens in the background.

My individual days might be good days, where I get up in the morning feeling good so I eat a good breakfast and get straight on with work so my mood lifts and I get more focused and make all my appointments on time and never get distracted, or bad days, where I sleep through my alarm and then feel anxious and guilty about that and lie in bed playing on my phone for hours before I realise that I’d be less useless if I ate some breakfast and got some blood sugar and then spend the rest of the day hyperfocusing on rewriting my grocery list.

But in the longer term, my ratio of good days to bad days is increasing, as I build up more and more of my home base - more inspiring music playlists, more easy snacks within reach of my bed, more alarm clocks placed on the other side of my room, more habits of putting my phone out of reach of my bed before I sleep.

The thing about a positive feedback loop, that distinguishes it from just Good Things Which Are Good, is that it accelerates. The more good days I have, the more tasks I get done, the more data I have on how-I-best-get-tasks-done and the more time I have and the less stressed I am, the more I can build up my home base.

I notice ridiculous acceleration, when I build up a new home base.

At first, I’m massively stuck in negative feedback loops. I haven’t got any food because I don’t know where the shops are, I can’t google where the shops are because I’m not connected to the wifi, I’m not connected to the wifi because I don’t know the password, I haven’t gone to ask anyone for the password because I don’t know anyone yet, I’m not exactly focused on making friends because I’m cold and hungry and miserable, I’m cold because I haven’t unpacked my blankets yet, and I’m not packing because I’m busy sitting on my suitcase crying about all of the above and feeling decision-paralysed about what to fix first.

I get lost on the way to my doctor’s appointment so I miss it, so I feel guilty and mad at myself and don’t get my ADHD meds, so I’m even more disorganized, so I miss more appointments, so everything goes down the drain.

Things reverse as my home base builds up. It takes me a couple of weeks to fix the basic problems, but once they’re fixed, they’re fixed. Once I know the wifi password, I search for the shops and then go buy food, and then I’m not hungry so I’m a lot more cheerful, so then I feel more able to go say hi to people, and then one of them shows me how the microwave works, and I very rapidly go from “eating enough and not-dying is a full-time job, sorry” to just doing the self-maintenance tasks on autopilot.

At this point I’m usually still feeling fairly crappy about work, because I haven’t done any yet, and I’m anxious about it all. But then I do some, and that makes me feel a little better and sketch out a better idea of what my next steps are for work, so then I get a bit more done, and then I feel a bit more engaged with the work and so it’s less aversive to do a bit more. This process takes a bit longer, but it’s basically the same as the basic needs, in that once the problems are fixed they’re fixed. Once I’ve gotten stuck in enough to the work that I know my next steps and I have routines and habits, it’s fixed. I might not become a perfect work machine, but I don’t fall into “starting work is aversive because I’m not quite sure what to do and I don’t have a good workflow routine yet” traps.

Only once so far in my life have I hit the stage where I just got my routine work done on autopilot, and then was feeling really good about getting all my side projects done, which gave me more and more energy to successfully complete more and more side projects. It lasted for a couple of years and it was awesome. I worked sixteen hour days every day, starting when I woke myself up at 5am to do press-ups and sit-ups for an hour before school, and working sixteen hour days felt normal and comfortable and easy and routine.

It lasted until I lost my home base, because I moved, and then I became someone for whom eating and sleeping and getting enough extravert points was a full time job.

Of course, all of this is reliant on positive things being stickier than negative things. Sometimes I have bad days where I'm not-focused so I do distracting stuff and then I’m even less focused, but those days end and I sleep and then there’s a new day. On the other hand, when I have good days, there are lasting effects - I have a good day where I get a bunch of stuff done, and some of the stuff I get done is stuff like “set up my extra monitor”, and then it’s easier to get stuff done the next day, and so I get more stuff done, and some of the stuff I get done is “automate some of my inbox-processing work”, and then I have more time to get more stuff done.

I can imagine being a person for whom the world was more like... when I had good days I would be on a productive streak, but then those days would end and I’d sleep and go back to being unproductive on the next day. On the other hand, when I had bad days, there’d be lasting effects - I’d miss a uni deadline and get involuntarily put on an academic mentoring program that wasted my time, or I’d shout at people and lose a friend, or I’d give in to the temptation to install social media apps on my phone and then fall into distractions again more easily the next day. If that was the case I’d be doing the opposite of what I am - instead of trying to build home base, trying to get as many Hard Resets as possible.

I do think you can bias it towards positive things being stickier, though. You can get resets that interrupt bad loops but don’t interrupt good loops - exercise, taking a shower, meditation, anything that feels productive and keeps you in flow and doesn’t break work-mindset but does help when you’re feeling distracted and unfocused and guilty.

You can also pay attention to asymmetries between positive and negative feedback loops. If you feel more guilty-about-not-doing-tasks than you feel proud-of-doing-tasks, that’s something to fix. If failing at tasks means you get behind, but succeeding at tasks doesn’t mean you get ahead because you treat the extra time like bonus time and waste it, that’s something to fix. If it’s easier to start on a negative feedback loop than a positive feedback loop because the easy-default-action is a negative-loop thing like scrolling social media, that’s something to fix.

If home base accumulates faster than problems accumulate, then eventually things will become good. Provided you don’t reset your home base and have to start from square one again. Do not take your home base for granted; the sticky notes on your fridge, reminding you to buy milk on Tuesday, might be all that stands between you and a negative feedback loop leading straight to hell.

(Next)

[viscet-sugar-blog]

Thank you <3

Xayah here, hi everyone!

I’d like to give a big hug to everyone who’s been submitting sugar. Its helped a lot of people, in my case especially.

I’ve been meaning to write this for a while, but due to the fact I wasn’t so sure, I’ve waited till now. I have nothing to lose by doing it though, so here we go, long post journey.

I’d like to explain a little. I’ve had a lot of anxiety issues over the course of my life, mainly social anxiety and confrontation issues. I can’t handle problems and confrontation.  People being understanding and supportive has really helped me ignore the hate, realize that not everyone is out to get me, and learn to take care of myself. I used to put on a largely rude and attitude-filled shield against those who said mean things about me, but in the end it just made people I wanted to be friends with scared of me, and thats understandable.

Some past friends had even begun the believe the crap people spewed about me. It wasn’t smart of me to do, but it happened and I won’t dismiss it. I really am sorry to those people and I don’t have any harsh feelings towards any of those people, even the anons. I actually more have a feeling of “why?” , like why would anyone believe that accusing people of such things as I was is anything but abusive, where they could’ve asked questions to get the proof they wanted, etc? Its hard to believe people on the internet, but its worse to accuse them of horrid things than to be neutral.

I’m sorry to everyone is affected, but that isn’t and never has been me. It was the only thing I thought I could do, as I’ve never had much social experience, until people showed me otherwise.

I’ve since dropped that spiny shield and revealed that I’m really a huge softy and extremely timid, I’ve been done protecting myself for a while now. The best of the community seem to do it for me in a way, by reminding me that nothing anyone ever says can hurt me more than myself changing to please them or giving them a reaction.

I’d love to be adored by everyone and never be hated, but I know thats a big dream that can’t come true as there will always be spiteful people trying to learn their way in life who still haven’t gotten the message I have.

The CS community has put me through a lot over my years (since 2010) but only when I joined viscets had I found any real friends or learned any lessons from it. The golden rule applies everywhere, even in our small corner of the internet, despite the people you’ll find here sometimes that are shrouded in hatred and darkness. The light shining off of others makes it worth all of the time I’ve put into it.

Away from the more sappy bit of me, and onto more viscet related than personal; I’ve cried a few times when people have told me they want me to be an artist, just a little :‘T 

It’d be a huge honor, and yes it’s true I do put my all into everything I try to do for viscets, but I still don’t believe I deserve such a position. 

I am often forgetful, I forgot to transfer one of my last guest artist designs which could’ve royally screwed Mint over, I do suffer from depression which involves random bouts of days where I just don’t want to do anything, I often leave my state to go visit my boyfriend for a couple weeks, I have breakdowns some days where no matter what I make I hate it. I can’t even deal with authority, anyone with any sort of leverage over me terrifies me and unless they baby me I feel like they hate me. This is not a request to be treated like a child, this is an explaination that I feel everyone deserves to hear.

Someone with issues and baggage like this isn’t really… reliable.

I just need gentle reminders to get myself going again, sure, but it’d be more of a burden than I can expect people to take on behalf of me. I’m happy to see people enjoy what I do, and I’d love to one day get there, but maybe for now its best if I just occasionally pop in as guest artist, if mint would like to have me again some day.

I would also like to say a big thank you to those who have been having me make customs for them, tenlittlesoldierboys and cyberdragon to name a couple. Not to call you guys out lol, just, I really loved being able to make somethings you two loved, it feels really great to give someone a character they cherish, and being able to practice my designing helps immensely! 

Another thank you to Grifforik, for pming me something lovely and really solidifying how great the community is.

Anyway, I wont be ready until I truly believe I can be part of a team as put-together and organized as viscet staff, and only then, if the staff would be willing to have me join their team. I’m getting there, just not yet, until I prove otherwise to everyone.

There’s a lot about me I can’t possibly fit in a post, overtime people can learn who I am though, so I won’t waste much more of your reading on that topic. Just message me any time, I promise I can be there for you as others have for me. It’d be my honor. 

Thank you all for reading my rant and I just hope this message helps people understand what’s been going on with me and who knows, maybe I’ll get some pms from people who’ve been uneasy about approaching me, I’d love to give anyone a shoulder to lean on when they need it. I’m sorry this was so long! 

Have a great week everyone!

—————————————————————–

this is very important, and very well written Xayah!

firstly, i’d like to address this as a whole for everyone– this blog is meant to be a safe place for anyone as much as it is meant to be a place to share your sugary goodness about others in the Viscet community. any and all ‘rants’ and large posts in general is welcome, and we’ll never turn it down (provided it isn’t malicious or mean). this is a safe place without bias and without hate. if ever anyone feels the need to chat, feel free to pop into our IM as well! one of us is bound to answer, and i know we’d all be pleased to do so!

Xayah, thank you for being open and honest with us here at viscet-sugar, and with all of us as a community!

anxiety is a very frustrating thing, but you’re making all the right steps in order to overcome it, and embrace new and exciting opportunities! personally, i think your art is fantastic. i’ve loved your designs and i can’t wait to see more of them/your art around the community!

words cause more hurt than some people realise– the salt, whether true or falsified, can hurt absolutely anyone and that isn’t what anyone deserves (let alone a big softy like you!). i’m very proud of you for letting your walls fall - feeling claustrophobic and restricted because you’re uncertain what your actions and words will make people think is a very frustrating thing and i suffer from it myself from time to time, but the fact you’re allowing yourself to let others in is very admirable and i think i speak for all the mods when i say I’M PROUD!

reminder for all: everyone makes mistakes. everyone stumbles and trips and falls once in a while. we’re only human! but what makes you a wonderful, good, kind hearted person is the courage to pick yourself up again, see your mistakes and learn from them, apologise where necessary, let the mistakes go and carry on to better yourself. you’ll feel much better about who you are in the long run!

from all of us here at viscet-sugar, we couldn’t be more pleased to hear from you Xayah, and we hope to see you around more often!

have an awesome weekend!

— mod moxie

#viscets #viscet #chickensmoothie #cs #submission

[gobrandrootweb]

Introduce yourself here • Re: Aberdaron based, very new to this

Oh dear we seem to be drifting a very long way of the original post (probably due to my previous post - and I admit "Guilty as charged"), but as hopefully it could be constructive for any newcomers (as Shoeless was) hopefully the mods will let it run. Here we appear to have 2 members who came on full of enthusiasm. Both did the right thing and got permission for some where to detect before getting the detector, this is never easy for newcomers to the hobby and I suspect the reason that some leave before even starting. Unfortunately Shoeless purchased the C-Scope CS4PI, which I have heard good things about but is probably not the best choice for a newcomer, before getting the views of people on here. Although I hope he is still detecting and enjoying this fantastic hobby I suspect he is not as he last visited the forum in early March about 6 weeks after joining and getting the detector. While Brianc joined over a year before getting a detector and starting out, so was fully aware of some of the downside of the hobby. He got his permission and joined the NCMD But now he has been detecting for a few weeks reality has set in (yes he has found out that we do not dig up gold or a hoard every time we go out ... if only!). So lets see what he has said and see if I can be constructive in a way that would help him, or Shoeless if he is still reading this without signing on or other newbies. "As I have only been detecting for a few weeks after obtaining my first permission, I know the feeling of frustration and the possibility of my detector not being up to the job, or indeed the land that I have is void of any finds of note." 1) Even after years of detecting we all go through periods of frustration when we seem unable to find anything!!. Obviously for a beginner this is much worse as they are not aware of the downside of the hobby and have seen all the great finds on TV, in the newspapers and magazines, and on here. People do not post "out for several hours yesterday and nothing" same with fishing - you never see the front page of a fishing magazine "Joe Bloggs spent 8 hours in the cold and pouring rain without a bite" .... as an angler trust me that is more likely to happen than to catch a specimen fish!. 2) Re detector - see below. 3) Re land - Yes, some land can be devoid of "any finds of note" but until you have given it a good try you will never know. Sadly my main permission is !!. But most importantly it is a permission so I can detect it!. Secondly its right on my doorstep and I can let Horrid Hound run loose on it. So despite the lack of finds I still detect it a fair bit, 2 hours without even a button is not uncommon and yesterday I found a brass stud from a horse harness and a very old 12 guage pinfire cartridge head (over 100 years old) and consider that a good session. But even this land has produced one hammered and the odd item I like. Is it worth the hours I have put in?, probably not! but on the other hand most of those hours would have been spent taking Horrid Hound anyway. For a newcomer even land like this is important for 3 reasons, 1 - It is land and any land you can detect is good land!, 2 - It gives you the chance to learn your machine, 3 - Treat it properly (eg show the farmer what you have found and fill holes) and it will build trust, they might then introduce you to other farmers or when seeking new permissions you can use them for a reference. "I also doubt my own ability to recognise the different sounds that my detector feeds back. For instance, I struggle with confidence when I am in full discrimination mode and I dig a resounding signal only to uncover an aluminium drinks can!" Learning the different sounds comes with experience, if unsure dig it - better a few bits of rubbish than missing good items. Trust me when you stop digging aluminium is the same time you start missing good targets, we all dig it. I see you have the Bounty Hunter Tracker IV, I do not know it but at a quick scan on the web shows it has good reviews for its price range so I would not worry about the machine too much (although obviously you can not expect it to match much more expensive machines). From my experience on other machines, supported by what others have said, is run as little discrimination as possible. The more discrimination you run the higher the chance of missing good targets (eg on the Makro Racer 2 ring pulls are normally 38, a bit back I wanted info on gold rings as I had been asked to try and find one, Mrix kindly checked and it also came in as 38!!), also increased discrimination reduces the depth of the machine. So you might well be running too much discrimination. I always give any newcomer 3 pieces of advice, 1) Read the manual, 2) Read the manual again, 3) Read the manual yet again. It might be that one little line in it that one day makes the difference between finding a good target and not. In the case of the Bounty Hunter Tracker IV http://ift.tt/2xEF8EL ... Reader.pdf "That has reduced my enthusiasm a little bit over the last week or so and I have not gone out detecting as I am thinking that I may be wasting my time. But, the positives of getting out there with my detector are high and the knock on effect of getting home with my finds create an extension to the hobby. I always see a hare running and jumping through the stubble which is a joy to behold, the rusty iron bit that I found sits in my homemade electrolysis bath maybe to uncover something other than a rusty nail, I scrub a disc type object with a little toothpaste in order to uncover an emblem or even a letter that I can investigate further. If anyone is reading this and thinking of giving up after just a few tries, then my advice is to stick at it and enjoy the journey." I fully understand why its reduced your enthusiasm a little bit, but you are certainly NOT wasting your time. Like you say the positives of getting out there with my detector are high and there are the added bonus of seeing things like the hare. Your final statement "If anyone is reading this and thinking of giving up after just a few tries, then my advice is to stick at it and enjoy the journey" sums it up perfectly, and in time your finds will improve. Regarding the Leicester Yeomanry button, that is a good find that anybody should be pleased with (OK admit bias here as I prefer artifacts like this with history that you can research to coins), see my post on your thread related to it. I started with "Oh dear", and fear I need to end with another. Oh dear, that is yet another "Long arse" post which I seem to do much too frequently but I think Brianc raised several issues that most newcomers have and hopefully some of the above might help them. Evan

Statistics: Posted by Saffron — Sat Sep 02, 2017 12:24 am

Introduce yourself here • Re: Aberdaron based, very new to this published first on http://ift.tt/2vLpIR5

[alteriius]

It’s All A Fucking Joke, Right

In the few months I’ve been modding at fuckyeahasexual and touring ace Tumblr, there’s been a very. Steady. Stream of info that detail horrifically abusive situations and overall poor mental unhealth. Two a week in the inbox if I’m lucky, usually around seven-ten.

And there’s been so many, I can officially categorize all 500+ of these kinds of asks and submissions into an extensive bulletlist of Why Asexual Exclusionary Radicalism Is Incredibly Toxic And Shitty;

Coming Out To Family, Friends, And Employers

“My parents keep telling me that I’m something else, and it’s making me doubt my sense of judgement, not just about my sexual identity, but also about everything in general.”

“My family, friends, and co-workers keep referring to me as an inanimate object in a manner that’s clearly meant to humiliate and devastate me. Nothing I say will get them to stop.”

“My parents vocally/bodily forced me to undergo medical examinations, some of them concerning my sexual organs, many of them concerning blood tests and other trauma-centric procedures.”

“My family is intervening with my private life by changing my schedule to include exercise, socialization, friend influences, and whatever they think can ‘change’ me.”

“My friends/co-workers no longer respect my bodily boundaries when I came out to them, because they no longer see me as someone who should be respected. They regularly touch, fondle, grope, and prod me without permission, and/or verbally harass me, and don’t take my objections seriously.”

“My family, friends, and co-workers no longer just harass me, but also anyone I’m currently dating because they view my significant other as pathetic, underserved, or even being abused.”

First Few Days Of Dating

“My date got irrationally angry and confrontational when I came out to them, in a manner that made me fearful.” (SO many of these.)

“My date immediately lost any respect they had for my boundaries, no longer asked for consent, and {tried to} force themselves upon me.” (A lot of these, too)

“My date tried to verbally circumvent any boundaries and issues I confessed to, and it made me feel like I was in danger.”

“I didn’t come out to my date at first, and when they found out, they radically changed their behavior in an attempt to control and manipulate our new relationship to their benefit.”

Long-Term Relationships

“My partner has forcefully and radically changed our long-term relationship after finding out about my asexuality, and I’m now trapped and controlled in a way that I wasn’t before.”

“My partner broke up with me/is fighting with me because of my asexuality, and trying to make it seem like I’m hurting them. It’s made me doubt myself and my ability to trust my own intentions.”

“My partner is slowly changing from what was once supportive of my asexuality, and I’m wondering when I have the right to be worried and when I’d be overreacting. I’m aware of the worst case scenario, but I also worry that I’m being selfish and childish - which are things I’ve been told all throughout my asexual experience.”

Self-Care And Self Development

“I don’t trust my ability to say either yes or no in sexual situations, and this has extended to my life in general. I don’t feel comfortable in my ability to self-determinate.”

“The lack of authority, definition, and schooling of the concept of asexuality has made me very uncomfortable with what I think I am, and that uncertainty haunts me every waking moment.”

“I think it’s too late/too early to tell if I’m asexual, but the longer I hesitate, the worse my mental health and emotional wellbeing gets. I’m effectively stuck.”

“I see no benefit in coming out, or even identifying as asexual. There’s no positivity, role models, or supportive community for what I consider a big and scary part of my overall identity.”

“I think this was sexual abuse, but I’m wondering if I’m just being selfish and childish.”

“I think I was treated badly by my parents/friends/partner, but I’m wondering if I’m just being selfish and childish.”

“I want to believe that I’m deserving of equal freedom and human respect paid to other, not asexual people, but people tell me I’m being selfish and childish.”

“No one encourages this part of me. And that makes me feel forgotten and abandoned in general.”

Shut the fuck up about your petty beef with tumblr bloggers and youtubers and Archie comics or whatever. I literally do not care, I can’t care. I see these messages every goddamn day - this post was written and drafted a month ago, and I very easily compiled most of this bulletpoint list from scratch, just by eyeing what I see in the askbox and what comes across my dash. 

‘Ace discourse’ anger is empty and so meaningless. This is what I see by being part of this one 17k follow asexual ask blog for maybe half a year. I am so Done with all the faux rage posts and all the false positivity about how it’s ok to NOT be ace and all the acephobia that falls perfectly in line with the gaslighting typical of acephobia-101 while also having the audacity to claim it not so.

This is what’s real and I want to bleed it into your goddamn eyes.

#important shit #asexual #acephobia // #long post // #thank you