#or you'll have digestion issues

[trademarkhubris]

thought i was being a little bitch being tired for nothing and just needed to power through but im a full centigrade degree above my normal temperature so fluids and naps i guess

#now is it a cold or is it related to the most stupid injury i have ever experienced in my life thats gonna take 2 weeks to heal #good question #heads up no details but still tmi ig #if you have chronic digestive/intestinal issues #dont fucking. take it lightly #or you'll end up like me and literally break your ass #anyhow #noise.txt #im tired of having a body it's just annoyances after annoyances #i cant even go play mc im too tired

[lixxen]

Idk how well text posts do on Trolls Tumblr, but I have so many thoughts rn and want to talk about feral Branch details.

Feral Branch HC:

Branch has fur, claws on both his feet and hands, his ears move like a cat, and he can see better in the dark

"Feral Trolls" are gray trolls who have adapted from being away from others. Trolls have a built in instinct that recognizes strength in numbers. You see this with rainbow trolls being able to change their colors/auras, and all trolls being able to manipulate their hair. Gray trolls cannot change their aura, but they are around others so they can stay normal

But isolated gray trolls biologically change due to them not being around others. This happens over years, and not automatic. Once a troll changes like this, they cannot undo it. So this is why Branch cannot go back to "normal" physically, even tho he isn't gray and around others

(there's also a psychological/self actualization part. Gray trolls tend to see themselves as the problem and rainbow trolls end up more likely to becoming "feral" looking due to their ability to change their aspects.)

All genres have feral trolls, all presenting differently. Rock and pop are the most similar since they are the two physically closest looks wise

Normal trolls are omnivores, but eat more plants since their digestive systems and body needs focus more on plants. Feral trolls need more meat, but are still omnivorses

If I can get psychological, a lot of their "feral tendencies" are actually just trauma responses and bad socialization issues due to isolation. A lot of responses are stemmed from fear and anger, so lashing out/growling/swiping at others is normally out of fear or response. Plus having to survive in the wild, y'know?

Okay. Done with that part, let's get into Branch!

Branch likes to be in trees and high ground. It comes from living in a pod in the troll tree, but he lives in the bunker because it's safer. So you'll find him in trees normally because he likes being high

Branch normally hibernates during the winter, but ever since he met Poppy he stopped hibernating. This makes him horribly grumpy during the snow season

Not shown: Branch loving his ears to be scratched. Her more sensitive than normal and he loves them being pet. He also loves to lay on top of people. It comes from the need of warmth and him thinking that others need warmth.

He wouldn't lick others, since they don't have fur. But if he's around other feral trolls he'd definitely lick them.

His parents were both half rock and half pop trolls. They both looked like rainbow pop trolls, and the rock parent (dad) did not live in the troll tree. Grandma Rosiepuff was the maternal grandmother and a pop troll

The parents names were Briar and Melody

Branch has the need to burrow all the time. It comes from years in the bunker and from hiding from danger in the earlier years. You will see him burried in someone's bed probably.

Branch is really good at math and science once he starts learning and back into the village. It comes naturally to him. He wants to be a pod architect because it comes naturally to him

Clay and Bruce follow the same thing, where Clay really likes accounting and Bruce loves to run business.

Floyd is the best at performing, with JD behind him. JD though is actually really good at taking care of others and survival. Surprisingly JD can garden and keep a ton of plants alive to feed himself.

Branch and Clay are autistic with different levels of support needed. Branch needs less support while Clay needs more. Thought I'd mention this.

Clay and Viva were best friends before the Troll Tree attack. The others did not know this. Viva and JD are the ones that helped Clay learn better coping mechanisms when the band started to sour

Branch is more sensitive to sound and light. He hates fireworks and doesn't like to be touched unless he knows the person

Ablaze is the one who mainly is teaching Branch coping mechanisms for his PTSD. Poppy is his support throughout everything, but she doesn't know how to help someone heal.

Branch mandates Kismet group cuddles. This dude it touched starved and they’re the only ones he is comfortable like that other than Poppy

Even after Branch is able to speak again, as he was nonverbal when he met Poppy and by Trolls 2 he is speaking again, he prefers to be quiet and doesn't talk as much. It is simply preference at this point

Branch likes to interlock his tail with Poppy's when they're not touching, but close enough :)

I might do more later, but I am about to go into work :)

#trolls #dreamworks trolls #trolls branch #trolls 3 #brozone #trolls brozone #trolls poppy #broppy #trolls broppy #feral branch #feral branch au #feral au

[themedialmercurial]

⭐️Astro Observations pt 3⭐️

I noticed a pattern of a fire dominant parent having a water dominant child and vice versa. Also, parents tend to have children who possess the element they tend to lack

Many people tend to have their moon sign as their parents sun sign (or in the same element)

Aquarius placements tend to have something funky about their technology! They seem more prone to breaking their devices or have something particular about them, whether that be the choice of colour or the case for example 📀👩🏽‍💻

Aqua risings in particular tend to have very unique and mesmerizing eyes 👁️✨

Cancer mercuries tend to sound like they’re reciting poetry whenever they speak, it’s so beautiful (ex: Lana Del Rey) 🎶

Why are Virgo men literally this emoji: 🧍🏽

This is more of a question rather than an observation but does anyone else notice that when a native with a 10H stellium is messed with, karma is dealt to whoever messed with them in a heartbeat? It’s wild

Cancer stelliums tend to have a fuller shaped body and face, with emphasis on their chest.

Maybe I'm an exception to the rule but I, a cancer stellium, don't fancy seafood? Does this reasonate with any other cancers/water placement-heavy people? 🚫🐠

6H moons tend to struggle with digestive issues

Sun conjunct ascendant in synastry denotes a relationship that is easygoing, you both likely think very similarly and have similar habits

Can we talk about how elegantly sag risings carry themselves? So clean so polished and appear so confident (dare I say they seem unapproachable at first lol).

Pisces moons have very distinct eyes. They look round and big and watery. (celeb examples: Erykah Badhu, Dylan O'Brien, Jhené Aiko, etc)

Leo venuses love so hard. They dedicate themselves to their loved ones ❤️‍🔥

Virgos are unhinged behind closed doors! They know how to present themselves classily in public and let loose behind closed doors. It’s great to see honestly and this is not meant negatively! The more comfortable a virgo is around you, the more you'll see their unfiltered realness

Leo mercuries tend to be great storytellers but also not the best listeners! I love you guys but please, in a conversation, let the other person have their turn!

#themedialmercurial #astro notes #astro #astrology #astro observations #astro placements #astro community #astroblr #astrovations #zodiac

[greenwitchcrafts]

Lavender

Lavandula officinalis

Known as: Elf leaf, nard, nardus & spike

Related plants: A member of the mint family Lamiaceae, there are genus of 47 known species of lavender. It includes well known plants such basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory, marjoram, oregano, hyssop, thyme, lavender, and perilla, as well as catnip, salvia, bee balm, wild dagga & oriental motherwort.

Parts used: Flowers

Habitat and cultivation: This flowering plant is native to the the Mediterranean

Plant type: Perennial

Region: Most are hardy from Zones 5 to 9 | Spanish Lavender (L. stoechas) is only hardy in Zones 7 to 9.

Harvest: You can harvest all the budding spikes or flowers on your plant during the growing season but avoid cutting into woody growth. Don't want to take more than 1/3 of the plant at this time & limiting your harvest to flowers and buds should keep you within recommended limits. As first frost approaches, snip off woody, leafy stems & branching. You can safely take up to 2/3 of the plant at this time. Harvesting too early can stimulate more growth which you don't want since the lavender is moving into winter dormancy.

Growing tips: To grow lavender successfully it needs well-drained soil, full sun & may be a good idea to check the PH beforehand because soil too acidic may kill off your plants. It survives well in dry conditions, so you'll only have to water when the top 2 inches of soil are dry. Plant lavender in spring, once all chances of frost have passed. This beautiful, fragrant herb is a great addition to raised beds, in-ground gardens, and growing in containers spacing plants 12 to 18 inches apart.

Medicinal information: Taking lavender products by mouth, including teas and a specific oil supplement or inhaling lavender oil as aromatherapy, seem to reduce symptoms of depression & anxiety. Lavender oil is believed to have antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties, which can help to heal & burns & bug bites. Some studies suggest that consuming lavender as a tea can help digestive issues such as vomiting, nausea, intestinal gas, upset stomach, & abdominal swelling. A study published in the Journal of Medical Microbiology found that lavender oil could be effective in combating antifungal-resistant infections. Using it as aromatherapy can also reduce colic symptoms & menstrual cramp pain.

Cautions: Lavender essential oil is possibly safe when inhaled as aromatherapy, but applying products that contain lavender oil to the skin is possibly unsafe for young cis males who haven't reached puberty. The oil seems to have hormone-like effects that could disrupt normal hormones & in some cases, this has resulted in breast growth.

Lavender might cause sleepiness and slowed breathing. Taking lavender with sedative medications might cause breathing problems and/or too much sleepiness.

Lavender might slow down the central nervous system. If used with anesthesia and other medications given during and after surgery, it might slow down the central nervous system too much. Stop using lavender at least 2 weeks before a scheduled surgery.

Magickal properties

Gender: Masculine

Planet: Mercury

Element: Air

Deities: Aradia, Elves, Faeries, Hecate & Saturn

Magickal uses:

• Place in sleep pillows to encourage peaceful sleep

• Wear as a perfume to attract a new love

• Rub on paper when writing love spells or notes for added power

• Add with rosemary to a satchet for preserve chastity

• Scatter around your home to invite protection & purifying energies

• Use in a ritual bath to lighten feelings of depression or sadness

• Wear or use in an amulet to discourage cruelty from a spouse

• Drink lavender tea before bed to aid in astral travel or dream magick

• Burn as an incense for meditation or spirit work

• Use in spells to strengthen friendships

• Purify your ritual candles & tools with a drop of oil to release any negative energies contained within them

•  Hang above your door protect against evil spirits , for home blessings & to cleanse all who enter

• Rub the oil on to the base of the skull or temples to help cure the nervous exhaustion that sometimes happens after intensive magickal workings

#herb of the week #magical herbs #herbalism #lavender #witchblr #wiccablr #paganblr #witch community #witches of tumblr #witch tumblr #witchcraft #spells #spellwork #grimoire #book of shadows #spellbook #tumblr witch #witch tips #beginner witch #baby witch #beginner witch tips #witchcore #correspondence #green witchery #GreenWitchcrafts #green witchcraft #traditional witchcraft #witch #witch guide #green witch

[strwberri-milk]

Being a bit indulgent (bc I'm sick) and asking for a sick fic Kae, Diluc, and Zhongli please. It can be either his s/o or the boys themselves I don't mind! :)

oh i hate being sick i cant fucking breathe and nothign tastes good its jawoefjawofa god

Kaeya is the most miserable man alive when he's sick. The less severe the illness the more dramatic he is. If he's actually so sick he should be staying home he feels so guilty for being useless that he'll do everything he can to get work done and avoid being useless.

However, if he's just down from a cold and just coughs every so often he's got more than enough energy to rain hell down on you for not cuddling him enough for being a sad, sick man.

He isn't good at staying in bed either way. He walks around constantly or tries to bother you or be a busybody. Staying in one place isn't really something he's interested in doing, and him being sick just makes it significantly worse. He gets even more restless when confronted with the fact that he really should be resting. Telling him what to do makes him want to do the opposite, so it can be very counterproductive.

Whenever you're sick he does his best to take care of you! He's pretty good at it too and you do feel yourself getting better but you can't help but worry about Kaeya's well-being since he holds and kisses you so often despite your illness. You don't want to get him sick but he swears up and down he doesn't care.

His food is definitely...medicinal. He's great at cooking unless it's to make you feel better. Something awful happens and he makes stuff that is good for you, and definitely tastes like it too.

Diluc is also awful at being sick. He's a little better in the sense that he will stay at the winery and focus primarily on paperwork. However, the issue is indeed that he is too focused on paperwork. He doesn't remember to eat or take any sort of medicine. You'll end up having to force feed it down his throat if you want any chance of Diluc ingesting anything that could potentially make him feel better.

This means that sometimes, Diluc stays sick longer than he should since he refuses to eat food. His body is working on fumes at this point, even more so than usual. He's simply a shell of a man when he's sick, mechanically working through his things and somehow finishing them even though he'll have no recollection of actually doing the work once he's fine again.

Diluc also gets very spacey. He isn't all there and sometimes, if you're lucky you get to see the very real effect that fatigue has on him. He easily curls up on anything and falls asleep, inadvertently getting enough rest to the point that it could negate the consequences of not eating.

When you get sick Diluc becomes very anal about making sure you stay rested and eating. He'll feed you himself, finding easily digestible things that can satiate you without turning your stomach.

You might feel like he's suffocating you a bit with his inability to leave you alone but he's working so earnestly to make sure you feel better that you can't mind. He's putting in all his energy to making sure you're alright, and somehow it does work. You think you get better faster thanks to his attention and devotion, something he's very proud about.

Zhongli is the only good patient to have when sick. He's willing to sit back and relax, take his time and really ensure that he gets better quicker rather than later. He doesn't exactly toil through work, but he will get some light tasks done before trying to get fresh air to better his constitution.

He is very particular about the medicine he takes. He just wants to make sure he does it right to avoid any complications, making him again, the ideal patient.

Thanks to all of this, he gets better pretty quickly. Illnesses don't knock him on his ass but he does take some preventative measures after being sick to avoid getting sick again.

When you get sick he's good at taking care of you and giving you space if you want it. If you don't, then he'll be concocting some herbal remedies to help cope with your symptoms in addition to the medicine you take to actually help with the illness. He knows the symptoms are generally the worst part, which is why he tries to manage them as much as possible.

He also likes to just quietly spend time with you in the day as you get some rest, gently running his fingers through your hair as you nap peacefully in the afternoon sun. He wishes that your breathing wasn't so laboured, but seeing you at peace calms his heart just a little.

#genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #kaeya x reader #kaeya alberich x reader #diluc x reader #diluc ragnvindr x reader #zhongli x reader

[space-blue]

Sad Astarion realisation

I'm doing DnD research for fic setting and have come to a pretty horrifyin realisation I wasn't aware of while playing the game.

You'll notice if you play elf or drow, or have Astarion sleeping at camp, that you have a different pose, with a certain finger shape. Larian's way of showing elves meditating, I guess.

So elves/drow don't need to sleep. Instead they enter a sort of meditative trance. The content of this trance is how they actually tell what stage of their life they are in!

Before around 30yo, as a child, they dream of their past as a pure spirit basically frolicking with their god in heaven. Another fun fact, elves are on a perpetual reincarnation roulette and never get to stay in heaven because of past issues. So they all come from a small pool of original elf souls, and hardly get a pit stop in heaven before being sent back. And elven children basically see visions and experiences of their very first era as a unique soul.

Then from 30+ they begin to see memories of their life as well as those early heaven days. This marks adoleascence.

Then from around 100yo, they can ONLY dream/view moments of their lived life. Supposedly explaining why elves can be so focused on some stuff (create good and useful memories that you get to relive in trance!)

Then from 400+ they begin to see memories of their past lives or even other elves lives and become an 'elder', as well as tending to get more concerned with elf business in the grand scheme of things.

Anyway...

Astarion

Babygirl.

He got snatched at 39!!!!! This means it hadn't been many years at all since he began dreaming of his personal memories. And we all know he was a raging asshole. And then he dies...

And we meet him around 200? This means that every night of his life, he enters a trance for about 4h per night, and gets to only revisit memories of LIVING WITH FUCKING CAZADOR.

He gets *maybe* 9 years of him being an asshole magistrate, and 161 years worth of memories of being tortured, abused, controlled, and made to seduce people for Cazador.

No wonder he's haunted as fuck! I mean, besides the horrors. At least we humans get sleepless nights and abstract nightmares. Astarion gets 4h of Cazador digest. Every. Night.

Until he meets us. And then every memory he makes with us is a memory he gets to revisit instead.

#babygirl needs to be given pretty flowers #and hugs #astarion #bg3 #bg3 astarion #astarion ancunin #elf #dnd lore #baldur's gate 3

[zerofuckingwaste]

Easy zero waste tip no. 6: Find out what caffeinated beverage you actually want/need, then learn how to make it; aka "The Starbucks Lie"

Tl;Dr: You may be misinformed about how coffee actually works, leading you to purchase beverages that you may not actually like, that may not serve the purpose you want them to serve, and you can save money (and the environment!) by learning to make something you'll actually like at home.

Last week, I went to Starbucks to get a pumpkin chai latte, because I'm not perfect and needed to fulfill a craving on a bad day- but at least I used a reusable cup. Anyhow, while I was there, I witnessed the following conversation, not for the first time, nor the last, which I'm sure is commonplace:

Barista: What can I get you?

Customer: Do you have a dark roast? I like my coffee dark.

B: We just have a medium roast ready, but I can do a dark roast pourover.

C: Nah, that's not going to be enough caffeine for me, and I need drip coffee, not anything fancy. I'll have an Americano, then- espresso beans should be high enough in caffeine!

Now, if this seems like a reasonable exchange, that's ok- you're likely not a trained barista, and even if you are, there's a chance your training was at least a little bit wrong. Let's walk through it point by point, to explain why this exchange made me want to tear my hair out of my head.

"I like my coffee dark!" Most likely, this is false- studies have shown that people are most likely to say they want dark coffee, when they actually most enjoy a lighter or medium roast. Darker roasts are bitter, partially due to having more tannins- which is why they can cause more side effects, like headaches and digestive issues.

"Not enough caffeine" In fact, the longer (darker) you roast coffee, the more caffeine it loses. If you want a highly caffeinated beverage, you should opt for the lightest roast available.

"I need drip coffee, not anything fancy (pourover)" Pourover is essentially a method of making drip coffee one cup at a time. No machine or anything, it's the least fancy coffee option possible.

"Espresso beans should have high enough caffeine" The beans used for espresso are the same as the beans used for the drip coffee- they're just ground more finely before going through the machine.

"An Americano [...] should have enough caffeine" An Americano is a double shot with hot water, about 160 mg of caffeine if you're getting a 'grande'. A drip coffee that same size is over 300 mg.

This man claimed to love coffee, but didn't understand anything about it, leading him to pay $4.39 for 160 mg of caffeine instead of $3.28 for almost double that- keeping in mind that number could easily have been doubled again had he opted for the lighter roast. So, let's fix that.

1. Light or Dark Roast?

Have you ever wondered why Starbucks has a medium roast, the Pike Place, as their go to roast all the time? It's because it's the most middle of the road, bland option, completely inoffensive- not very good, but also, not too bad. It's a blend from a bunch of places, so there's no overwhelming flavor besides coffee with a slight hint of being burned. That burn taste everyone complains about, btw, is a result of the roast being too dark for them, hello tannins!

A lot of things happen to coffee as you roast it. Let's go through each point one by one:

The color changes. The darker the roast, the darker the roast- literally. This is best gauged with ground coffee, where you can see the average of the whole bean, not just the outer shell.

The mass decreases due to a loss of moisture. However, the bean actually expands in volume due to the strength of the cell walls. In essence, the density decreases.

Oils seep out from inside of the beans, coating them, and protecting volatile chemical compounds that give them flavor.

The caffeine content is lessened the longer you roast.

With high heat, the Maillard reaction occurs. While this reaction is responsible for the lovely color and the viscous, dark flavor notes, it's also responsible for breaking down the citric and tartaric acid, which causes the sweet and fruity flavors to dissipate. It also breaks down chlorogenic acid, creating caffeic acid and quinic acid, aka bitter, bitter tastes.

High heat also causes caramelization of sugars- but at a certain point, those sugars start to burn away.

Taking all this into consideration, we can begin to figure out what kinds of coffee you'll actually like. One quick note: always get single origin coffees. Each region has its own flavors, and if you're only getting coffee from one spot in your cup, then those notes will be amplified for your enjoyment.

A dark roast will have less caffeine, a stronger coffee bitterness, and very simple, up front flavors: chocolate, nuts, smoke, wood, etc. (My favorite tastes like dark chocolate with a hint of hickory)

A light roast will have more caffeine, a lesser amount of bitterness, and very complex, more nuanced flavors: citrus, caramels, fruits, florals, etc. (My favorite tastes like blueberries and white chocolate, with notes of almonds)

No two coffees are alike. My recommendation is that you purchase a bag of whole beans from your favorite local cafe or roaster based on your caffeine needs, and try out different beans until you find one- or two, or five, or a dozen- that you really love.

One quick note- a much, much greater flavor difference can be found in aerobic v. anaerobic roasted beans. I recommend reading into this process on your own, it's fascinating- both of my favorite coffees are anaerobic roasts, as it happens.

2. How should I make my coffee?

I'm a big fan of the affogato. I'm a dessert for breakfast kind of gal, so it makes sense; a hefty double shot over a scoop of ice cream. Absolutely divine; I pretty much only do espresso for myself, although my partner greatly prefers French press.

The overall rule for caffeine in your coffee is that the finer the grind, the more caffeine you're going to get out of the bean. That being said, that doesn't mean the final product will actually have more caffeine than another method, as different ways of making coffee require different amounts of coffee grounds. Keep the ratio of grounds to water in mind for this reason. However, you must remember that the perceived strength of the beverage- the concentration of flavors- is not necessarily correlated to the amount of caffeine. I'll now go over a few methods of making coffee which can be 100% zero waste (assuming you compost those coffee grounds!).

Cold Brew- You either let grounds freely float in water, or let them steep inside of a little filter bag. Let it rest overnight, up to 48 hours. If you like your coffee cold, and not a lot of effort, this might be your best bet.

Pourover- You put grounds into a little filter over either your cup or a pitcher. Pour water over the filter and let it drip down. If you like having a calming morning ritual, this might be for you. Essentially the same as drip coffee, except you don't have to care about a machine.

French press- You put grounds in the bottom of the press, then fill with hot water, and let it steep for a few minutes, then press the grounds down. If you don't mind a little work every morning, waiting a few minutes (when you could prep your breakfast, perhaps) then give this a go.

Moka pot- You pour water into the base, then put grounds into the basket, then screw on the top. Place on the stovetop, and remove as soon as the coffee begins to come out of the spout within. If you like a strong cup but don't want to invest in espresso, this is a great option. The pressure is too low for it to be true espresso, but it's very good.

Manual espresso- This is a bit more complex. It will be the same as automatic espresso, except there's no chance of the machine failing for any electronic reason. You fill a little basket with grounds, then tamp them down. Water is brought to temperature, then pressed through the espresso at a relatively high psi. If you want espresso, this is the way. You can get an entry level (Flair makes several that are fantastic) or you can get something high end with a built in boiler (I have a La Pavoni with an attached steam wand, great purchase).

Automatic espresso- Essentially the same as manual, but the machine does the pressing for you. If you love espresso but don't want to do a lot of work for it, this is a great investment! If you can buy used, do- just make sure the brand is one that offers replacement parts.

There are plenty of other options, but these are a good place to get started, when figuring out what works for you.

3. Why do I want my coffee?

Are you looking for a caffeine boost to get through a rough workday? Do you want something sweet to accompany your breakfast? Are you just bored?

Figure out why you want your coffee, then tailor your morning experience to your needs. If you need a caffeine boost for a rough workday, maybe don't do anything time consuming- prepare a middle of the road medium roast cold brew for the week on Sunday, and go ahead and grab a glass in your hurry out the door each morning. If you want something sweet with breakfast, get a light roast and a French press, and make it part of the routine for the meal. If you're bored, do pourover with a dark roast into a funky mug, or learn to steam milk to make latte art.

Really, coffee is something lovely, that you should enjoy, without mindlessly spending money on something that's not even good. As a bonus, you can support local businesses (coffee roasters and cafes), develop a new skill, and better the environment.

#zero waste #sustainability #anti consumerism #anti consumption #sustainable #eco friendly #environment #cooking #food #kitchen #coffee #cafe #barista #coffee maker #coffee machine #espresso

[wannab-urs]

The Spreadsheet Digest - Vol 16

Howdy folks,

I went into a state of psychosis this week and read a truly absurd amount of fics... again. I don't even know where I'm finding the time, truly, but here we are. I didn't spend as much time keeping up with the WIPs I'm reading, so honestly that's probably it. Also I had a lil monsterfucking moment one day this week. I'll highlight those green so if you want to avoid reading the summaries/thots on those they're easy to spot.

You can find my Spreadsheet here and all my previous recs here! Do feel free to tag me in your works and I will happily give them a look and most likely you'll see them here the next week!

Recs below the behind the scenes Joel!

SNAFU - a Frankie series by @theywhowriteandknowthings

The Triple Frontier boys as Shifters!!! This honestly makes so much sense? Like they work SO well with this dynamic. I adore Pope and Reader's bond like right out of the gate. What I really, really fucking loved though was Reader and Frankie, of course. I love how they characterized him and I really love the way that Frankie and reader bonded over time. Frankie being grumpy is so fun lol. A lot of the little details in this fic are what really make it good, ya know? The pack dynamics, the bonding moments, the badass reader, reader's uhhh issue (spoiler, I think, so I'll be quiet here) but yeah. Just. Wonderful. Can't wait for more.

only daddy that'll walk the line - a Joel one shot by @millerscoffee

So this request was sent to two different blogs and I read them both and loved them both. I read this one first. I really fucking loved Reader's dynamic with Joel in this. Joel is such a dick lmao. I thought the situation with reader's dad was done well and I also loved the hinting at Joel's trauma. And of course... the smut. God that was hot. Joel is so fucking dominant. The spitting? please. and Reader keeping up the brat thing just really fucking makes it. She needed Daddy Joel to make her behave lmao. SO GOOD

Little Bee - a Joel one shot by @atticrissfinch

And this is the other version of this request that I read. I related to the specifc brand of Daddy Issues in this one lmao. Dad who doesn't want you so you look for a protective older man (why am I like this). I loved the way reader antagonized Joel in this. The denture comment is hilarious. The bee motif is fuckin great, also. I like that Joel kind of initiates things in the mess hall. The smut is so god damn hot man. Like jesus fucking christ. And then the post nut clarity really made me giggle. "should not have done that" PLS

Closer - a Joel series by @beardedjoel

Hot neighbor!joel!! This is a smut marathon style fic with a good bit of feelings. The smut is sooooo good!! I really liked her friend Sofia too. I'm about halfway through this and I can't wait to see how reader and joel's relationship develops!

Rises the Moon - a Joel one shot by @psychedelic-ink

(monsterfucking, but you're the monster! also monster is being used very loosely here) mermaid reader x lighthouse operator joel!!! I really enjoyed this. The mermaid reader was super interesting. I wanted to know more about her background, honestly. And the way poor lonely Joel so desperately wanted to care for her UGH. It was seriously lovely. I also really liked how reader didn't commit to like... giving up being a mermaid for him (even just once a month), and he didn't ask her to. The ending is really lovely. (And the smut is hot idc if I couldn't quite imagine how it worked, it was perfect).

Playing with fire - a Joel one shot by @beskarandblasters

Super hot smutty lil dad's best friend one shot. I love when Joel gets all pissy. Makes me want to tease him even more lmao

Cupid's Chokehold - a Din one shot by @deathwife

I haven't read a body swap fic before and I must say the dynamic with it being Din, so reader can't see his face even though it's her face, and also the smut was just like... really good. I was fascinated the whole time + the smut was hot as hell. It's really fun to read it from the perspective of the dick owner lmao. I really adored their relationship and just overall thought this was lovely. Reader calls Din "Djarin" so if you're like me and marrying Din would give you an awful name (Din Gin....), you're not alone. <3

I think i know - a Joel one shot by @pascalisbaby

OMG Reader's sister is so mean in this she fucking deserves Joel cheating on her. Yes this is Sister's Husband!Joel. And yes it's really fucking hot. Reader is a menace to fucking society in this prancing around half naked and seducing a married man and I support every second of it. I know what Joel said at the end but I think he'll be back for more....

close your eyes, pay the price for your paradise - a Joel/Tommy series by @ozarkthedog

Raider (?) Tommy and Joel are so fucking hot. Read the warnings on this one kids, it's gonna be a rough one. Nothing happens in this part though, really. Basically you're stranded on the road (post outbreak / pre tess) and Joel and Tommy roll up in their truck and take you to their cabin.

a day in the filth - a Joel one shot by @toxicanonymity

This is pure filth, as the title implies. It would seem you're Joel's little sex toy, essentially. Brat tamer!Daddy!Joel. There's a lot going on here and it is all unreasonably hot.

Bodily Exchange - a Pero Tovar one shot by @absurdthirst

I finally caved a read a mafia fic and somehow it wasn't Joel. I really loved how much of a fucking dick Tovar was and how bratty reader was. The end was so much sweeter than expected, which was a nice surprise. Such a filthy fic with a sweet happy ending!

New York or Nowhere - a Joel series by @beskarandblasters

BODEGA JOEL!!! I love when you're trying to help your friend come up with a fic based on a very specific request and somehow you come up with a completely different fic altogether. New York transplant Joel owns Beldro's Deli. You think he's really hot but your friends think he's a creep. I personally think if he's a little bit of a creep that just makes it better, but then again I'm a little insane <3

Shiver and Shake - a Joel one shot by @multiversed-daydreamer

I have ADHD and literally do the thing where I have thought spirals during sex. I loved this take on that experience and mean ol dom Joel being there to bring your focus back where it belongs (on him). Super fucking hot ugh. And it was their first TLOU fic and I thought the QZ Joel characterization was spot on <3

Roads - a Joel series by @milla-frenchy

Baby's first fic!! So you grew up with Tommy, best friends and all that. You get to know Joel as an adult and there's a spark right away. The first installment here takes place 3 years before present day, after Joel breaks your heart and you literally move to get away from him. The promise of so much angst has me salivating almost as much as the really hot smut.

Promise - an Ezra one shot by @criticallyacclaimedstranger

MONSTERFUCKING! I had a little binge this week.. you'll see. Anyway Ezra is a literal actual dragon in this with a big ol dragon dick and everything. This fic includes so many wild ass kinks I simply do not (or did not know I?) have. And yet I still loved it. Thought it was super fucking hot. I really liked the imagery of the castle and the bedroom. Also the end was kind of sweet?

Common Courtesies - a Din one shot by @juletheghoul

More monsterfucking -- demon!din! I fucking love Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen in general. Mr. Darcy is one of the literary loves of my life. This little Pride and Prejudice-esque Demon!Din fic hit every mark. I loved it so much. Din is so charming and mysterious and sexy ugh. I would marry him in a heartbeat.

Solum - a Dave York one shot by @ezrasbirdie

You guessed it! Monsterfucking. Demon!Dave York!!! I really enjoyed the blending of the movie plot with the demon arc! It was so well done!! Dave was super sexy in this ugh. I too feel a strange pull toward extremely dangerous men covered in blood. Reader gets me. I am her. She is me. Demon!Dave can take me as his little human sex toy any day, idc. I also kind of loved that he was so sweet on Carol in this? Like usually in Dave fics he kinda hates her or cheats on her or she's his ex, but in this one the whole catalyst was keeping her and his girls safe. Very sweet.

Sell My Soul For You - a Marcus P one shot by @absurdthirst

--monsterfucking-- Marcus is so sweet. So sweet that Reader is getting a little aggravated he can't be a less sweet in bed. (Girl have you tried like... talking to him about it?) Anyway, sweet, impulsive, reckless Marcus finds out you feel this way via buttdial and does he like... work on it with you and slowly learn to be better? No. He goes out and sells his soul to a demon to be a better Dom. Idiot. He's cute tho, so I'll let it slide. The smut is super fucking unreasonably hot, of course.

Bad Moon Rising - a Jack series by @wardenparker

--werewolf!Jack-- This fic is actually so fucking sweet!! So part one, Reader doesn't know Jack is a werewolf and he just kinda shows up on her ranch and they hit it off immediately. There's lots of lovely animal references and stuff and it's all really hot. I love the plot too!! this is not just werewolf porn! Shit is incredible! I love the characterization. But anyway if you're not into monsterfucking just read part one. Part two tho... oh boy. Full on werewolf sex. And reader has a kink for it! She's just like me fr.

Kudzu - an Ezra one shot by @beskarberry

--weird alien hybrid ezra-- I have lots of emotions about this fic. First of all, read the warnings. They're extensive and they're there for good reason. I love a good horror fic, which is kind of what this felt like? Like the weird tension and unknowing and the freaky way Ez is talking and that arm. I was thoroughly freaked out (and I love that!!). There were so many clever and interesting things going on in this fic AHHHH, Oh and the ending is just like super sweet and wonderful and so good? The end balances out the kind of horrific nature of the rest of the fic. Also if any of that sounds insulting I really don't mean it that way, I promise. I went in to it expecting to be freaked out and it delivered so well.

Yes Father - a Joel series by @chloeangelic

Your boring catholic husband doesn't fuck you right and you really want to leave him, so Father Joel helps you satisfy your needs so you don't destroy your marriage and go to hell. I love blasphemy. It's hot idc. I think my favorite thing about it is Father Joel randomly admonishing you for foul language and taking the lord's name in vain while he's literally got some part of his body buried in yours. I giggled. I really adore this. It was super fun and super hot.

Pillow Talk - a Joel one shot by @theboredinsomniac

Joel is soooo the jealous type. This fic is basically y'all having an adult conversation about him being an insecure jealous little bitch and it's got the most adorable ending.

Born to Run - a Marcus Pike series by @whataperfectwasteoftime

Penny's Marcus is just perfect. Every damn time. Unless I'm mistaken, this was her first Marcus fic? I was in the mood for a sweet multichapter thing with some hot smut and I was sooooo not disappointed by this. I'm on chapter 8 now, so about halfway through. Marcus is so sweet and precious and still impulsive as ever, but unlike Theresa, reader is right there with him. I really adore that this fic takes place in KY (and it really captures the vibe of Kentucky too) since I'm from there! I very much do not relate to the fact that reader is a marathon runner, but that's okay. I think it's really cool and I love the way they meet and that Marcus isn't fully a white knight? She can take care of herself. Super fucking cute fic ugh. Oh yeah and the smut is to die for jesus christ Marcus is hot.

----------------------

Happy Reading!

#fic recs #the spreadsheet digest #fanfiction recommendations #pedro pascal #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro fics #pedro pascal character fanfiction

[crehador]

wanna talk a bit more about reverse 1999's english tl because i think in my last post i didn't emphasize strongly enough how good it sometimes is

and i think the fact that it's sometimes quite good may make it even more difficult to digest, because some players might struggle to distinguish between which bits are just plain wrong and which bits are deliberately written in a dated/old-timey/regional way

like here's an example of a few lines that have grammatical issues, not the worst example but just one i had a convenient screenshot of

there are unquestionable tense issues here, ones that can't be written off as stylistic choice. these lines should read:

"What's that smell? You just gave it out before we sampled them? The press will be here in no time! You'll have to take full responsibility for any accidents. [...] Aren't you the ones who wanted a press conference? Just to show off what the arcanists can do to provide relief!"

like sure it's readable as is, but looks far from professional

so that's an example of the bad, now here

here's... well, there's a bit of not-so-good here, unless it's a british english thing that i'm not familiar with we should have "finally we caught up" or "we finally caught up" here

but i want to focus on cream crackered

to me that's a great detail! cockney rhyming slang for regulus says a lot about her voice, but it might look baffling to anyone who doesn't know it's knackered. so to some players it might look like more mistakes, even when it's (imo) a great line and absolutely not incorrect

here's one more example of good

the words here are clearly deliberately mispelled in a very consistent way that makes the text come alive, i can hear it just from reading it

like this is an excellent bit of text, which makes the frequent errors in the main story a bit more of a bummer because... it's clearly possible for them to do better?

credit where credit is due, i think writing a game like this is inherently difficult. there are lines that may seem "wrong" just because the speech is deliberately dated, there are lines that may seem hard to parse just because they're hyper-technical. and the writers/editors/translators absolutely deserve credit for that when it's done well

but there are many places where the text is just plain wrong, and that really detracts from the good (and there is good! even in the writing there is good!! i do want to emphasize that strongly)

anyway tl;dr hope the issues can be fixed because there are some gems in here that deserve better

#crab plays #reverse 1999 #sorry to still be going on about this lol #but as i continue making my way through the story #i keep seeing parts that are GOOD and going man #man we could've had it all

[crescentfool]

so you want to use OBS

hello! i’ve decided to compile information on my OBS setup and some resources that have helped me along the way.  this is mostly for personal reference, but maybe others can make use of this information!

some notes before i get into it:

i use OBS for both offline recording and (twitch) streaming. any footage i record is edited using DaVinci Resolve 18, which is free.

most of my OBS captures are of video games (through a USB capture card, specifically elgato), and the occasional screen/application capture (like clip studio paint, and sometimes PC games).

as such, the information here is reflective of these experiences. this post is not comprehensive to all of OBS’s features- this is just an overview of the settings and configurations that are most relevant to me.

with that out of the way, all the information will be under the cut!

Basic Setup

file format:

how to change: settings -> output -> recording -> recording format -> press “apply” once finished!

I save most of my recordings as .mkv files- it supports multi-track audio! i prefer .mkv over .mp4 because if your power goes out, you still have a recording to work with. 

.mkv files can be read by DaVinci Resolve without an issue- but for Adobe software, they'll need to be remuxed to .mp4 within OBS! (file -> remux recordings -> press the … to select a file -> press the “remux” button)

video resolution and framerate:

how to change: settings -> video -> output (scaled) resolution

my obs canvas is @ 1920 x 1080p (16:9)

i switch between 720p and 1080p as needed! if you're concerned about space, you can probably just go for 720p. i also record at 30 fps, simply because that’s what my capture card supports.

video bitrate:

how to change: settings -> output -> encoder settings (located in both the streaming and recording tab) -> press “apply” once finished!

bitrate is a bit of a doozy to explain, but the most important thing to know is that bitrate affects your video’s quality. lower numbers = lower quality, while higher numbers = higher quality. 

generally speaking, you'll want higher bitrate when you're recording things with high depth of information (e.g. you’d want a higher bitrate for something fast-paced like splatoon, compared to a slower-paced game like animal crossing).

my video bitrate is either set to 3000 or 4000 kbps! and here's some of my other (related) settings while i'm at it:

you can put your bitrate at much higher values than me if you're a stickler for quality- but keep in mind that a higher bitrate means:

bigger file size

more information to upload (when streaming)

your computer will need to encode more

i’d recommend reading twitch’s guidelines on encoding, bitrate, resolution, and framerate to get an idea of what values to pick. for people who are doing offline recording or streaming on a different platform, i suggest googling the appropriate resources!

multi-track audio:

this is mostly applicable to anyone looking to do video editing!

multi-track audio basically allows you to separate your audio sources (e.g. discord, game audio, and your own microphone) into different tracks. 

this is an immensely helpful tool because it lets you adjust audio levels in post-production (editing). some examples of how this can be used:

increasing someones microphone volume if they speak too softly

increasing/decreasing game audio

muting swear words/sensitive information

completely muting voice call + microphone if you want to upload a no commentary video

and more!

to set this up, take a look at your audio mixer panel, and press the ⚙ icon. this will bring up advanced audio properties.

by checkmarking a track box, it puts the audio on that track. to make the above screenshot easier to digest:

track 1 consists of ALL three audio sources- desktop, elgato, and microphone.

track 2 only has the microphone audio.

track 3 only has desktop audio (i use this for voice calls)

track 4 only has the elgato capture card audio (game audio). the volume has also been lowered so that any speaking voices can be heard clearly.

tracks 5 and 6 are unused.

you might be wondering, “why do all three of these have 1 checked off?” this is what i call the universal audio track. i recommend having a universal audio track for a few reasons:

when you stream from OBS onto twitch/youtube- you have to select ONE audio track.

it’s also a nice backup in case you didn’t separate your audio correctly.

if for whatever reason you need to move around your individual audio tracks in editing, the universal track acts as a nice reference point.

mark off your audio tracks for each audio source as you see fit! once you’re finished with the advanced audio properties, go to settings > output.

for the streaming tab, you’ll want to have the number of your universal audio track selected. in my case, that will be audio track 1.

for the recording tab, checkmark all the audio tracks that are applicable to you (in my case, audio tracks 1, 2, 3, and 4). by default, only audio track 1 is selected.

if you don’t check off the additional audio tracks in the output > recordings section, you will not have access to those audio tracks in editing, and you won’t be able to edit your audio tracks independently of each other. so don’t forget to do this! 👍

custom browser docks

custom browser docks are a great tool for when you’re streaming and want to have access to your twitch chat and/or activity feed! (or if you wanted to have some other web browser on OBS).

to create one, go to docks -> custom browser docks.

you’ll be given a table interface that asks you to put the dock name and URL. for streamers who want to have chat and alerts available, do the following:

on twitch’s homepage, go to the upper right and click your icon

then, click creator dashboard

once you’re on your dashboard, go to stream manager

click the vertical “...” on my chat OR activity feed.

press “pop-out chat” OR “pop-out activity feed”

copy and paste the link into the table back into OBS

press apply once you’re done

click and drag the docks around at your leisure to put them where you like!

if you ever decide you don’t want to have something on your OBS dock (or want to bring something back), go to the toolbar, click “docks,” and click the appropriate dock!

third party things

a section of optional things that you may enjoy having.

streamlabs alerts

this is basically for anyone who streams and wants to have their chat and/or follower notifications visualized on screen!

streamlab alerts can be added to OBS by adding a browser source into your scene, and the specifics can be customized on streamlabs itself. it’s pretty self-explanatory, so i’ll just leave a link to streamlabs website, where you can log in using the streaming platform of your choice: https://streamlabs.com/

discord overlay

this is a browser source that can be set up to show people who are in a server's voice chat and who speaks. i recommend this to people who make multiplayer content- it can help viewers distinguish who is who but also it can be helpful in editing.

to set this up, go to https://streamkit.discord.com/overlay, click “install for OBS,” and after logging in with discord, go to “voice widget” and click the server and voice channel you want.

you are able to apply CSS if you'd like more control over the visuals, but the standard layout tends to work fine for me! a search of “discord overlay css” on youtube can help you get more information.

veadotube mini

this is a pngtuber software that a friend recommended to me! no webcam is required- mouth opening and closing is based on your microphone input!

you can download it here (it’s pay what you want!): https://olmewe.itch.io/veadotube-mini

for a proper tutorial on how to use it, i recommend checking out the app's documentation, which you can read here: https://veado.tube/help/

source record

have you ever wanted to stream something with a chat overlay/layout, but wanted your recording to ONLY be the gameplay? or maybe you wanted to record BOTH your gameplay AND your webcam so that you can have a crisp zoom-in on your webcam!

source record is a third party plugin that can help you with that!

the general gist of source record involves applying the “source record” filter on either a scene or source, and customizing the encoding settings accordingly. the exact details of how to set it up is beyond the scope of this post, so I'll just direct people to this video instead (it was very helpful to me):

⚠ a quick note about source record: this plugin can be intense for your computer. be sure to do test recordings and the like to see what your computer can handle (and see if the recordings come out the way you like). it took me a few tests before i settled onto something i liked!

you can download and install source record here: https://obsproject.com/forum/resources/source-record.1285/

vdo.ninja

have you ever wanted to do a collaborative video or stream where you feature someone else’s video on your stream? or maybe you’re doing a multi-person streaming event! vdo.ninja is the perfect tool for you!

vdo.ninja turns your OBS virtual camera into a browser source link- which your collaborator can add on their stream! this is a new tool that i’ve added to my arsenal recently- since my friend and i are planning to stream a side order challenge together! i’ve still got to iron it out a bit more, but i like what i’ve used of it so far.

try it out for yourself at their website here (with documentation and demos available on the homepage!): https://vdo.ninja/ (no downloads required!)

ok! i’m set up! what now?

and with that, that’s all of the settings and tools that i thought would be worth mentioning! while most of my setup was written with video games in mind, some of these plugins and setups may be applicable to other types of videos (e.g. tabletop gaming with a physical camera)!

now that i’ve outlined all these settings, i have one more thing i have to say: regardless of what you're using OBS for, do a test recording before doing anything “official” with it. this recording can be as short as 30 seconds. it’s a good habit to develop that can make sure your streams/recordings turn out the way you want them to!

here are the kinds of things i like to check! it’s not an exhaustive list, but this can be a starting point:

video:

does my video look the way i want it to (and can my computer handle that)?

can my computer handle the load of encoding? - OBS will note in the bottom if the encoding is overloaded. if it can’t handle it, turn down your bitrate or adjust other encoding settings (e.g. i had to toggle psycho visual tuning OFF because it was causing lag)

this is especially the case if you're recording PC games- you don’t want to have slowdown on either your game or the recording!

audio:

are my audio sources (e.g. desktop audio and microphone) correct? - if you plug/unplug devices a lot, be sure to check this (settings -> audio).

are any of my audio sources muted? - make sure you don’t have anything on 🔇 if you don’t want it to be muted! otherwise the audio will be lost forever… (i lost my friend’s VC audio once… it was sad)

are my audio tracks separated properly? - requires you to boot up your editing software, but it's worth doing! for the test recording, just have something from all your sources playing at once, and see if your editor has things separated into tracks.

can i hear the voices clearly? or does the music and/or game overpower them?

if for whatever reason your OBS crashes, or you want more information on anything “critical” or “warning” worthy in your set-up, you can go to help > log files > upload current log file > analyze. crash logs currently can’t be analyzed by the log analyzer- but they’re a valuable tool when asking for help on the OBS forums!

and that’s all! for real, this time. i hope that some of these tools and settings can help anyone wanting to get more out of OBS. there’s definitely other things i didn’t touch upon (e.g. audio filters for noise compression, suppression, etc.), so i suggest doing your own research and trying things out!

happy recording/streaming, and thanks for reading! ✨

#lizzy speaks #this was a fun little write up!! i've been slowly getting some of my friends into video making teehee and its SO FUN!!! #(digital) video is like one of my other passions next to art. everyone say thank you splatoon for getting me back into it again <3 #i've been using obs since like 2018 so i wanted to share some of the things i learned for funsies... i really love video... #but also i like having reference posts like this in the case people have questions they want to ask me... #because i don't always remember what video tutorials i watched and it's nice to document that somewhere... #warning to anyone who reads it this is like 2.1k words. i do want to stress that this isn't comprehensive but there's still a lot of info #that i wanted to put for this post...! that said topics like designing your own stream layout + assets for it are NOT in the scope of this #post and nor is this a beginner's guide to obs (i wrote this with the assumption that you know how to record and/or stream and that- #people already have an idea of how to use scenes and the different types of sources obs can use). #i hope everyone's had a lovely march 5th! i would love to look at the fanart but im still not done with reload... #but im hoping to finish it by the end of the month!!! yipee!!! #Youtube

[queerstake]

As a queer drawn to the faith and trying to deal with the messiness of entering into everything, I've been trying hard to read more of the Book of Mormon because I only have a very vague understanding of it's Whole Deal, but executive dysfunction, ADHD, and honestly, a million other excuses are making it very difficult. Are there any good resources for walking through the fundamentals? Childish but I feel like I'm disappointing the Lord if I'm not more on top of this.

Hi anon! I totally get it and yes, I can think of a few ideas!

If you're looking for ways to understand the BoM (or even just general doctrine) from more of a bird's eye view:

I hope you don't find this silly, but when I was a kid, the church published an illustrated children's version of the BoM that's obviously way quicker to flip through. It might be harder for you to find those exact editions I read as a kid if you don't have ready access to a church library, BUT I found this!! It's (almost) the ENTIRE BoM illustrated and summarized and it's online!

Looks like they put out videos too that summarize the BoM beginning to end. Here's a link to the video series. I haven't seen these, so I can't vouch for them, but they might be helpful! Similarly, there's a BoM in 60 seconds video you might find helpful.

If you'd benefit from a schedule, the church is currently studying the BoM in sunday school! The past few years, we've been using a study guide called Come Follow Me with weekly assigned reading chapters. I've actually been working on posts about CFM as they relate to queer mormon theology, but I haven't had much posted yet since I've been having a rocky start to 2024. As things improve, I'll be able to hopefully even establish a schedule on this blog!

I'm not sure if missionary lessons is something you're interested in at this point, and it's definitely not something you ever need to do, but the missionary lessons themselves are a pretty good doctrine intro if you're looking for just Mormonism 101 in a digestible way. The missionaries teach out a book called Preach My Gospel, which is available right here. You'll be interested in the lessons, which are found in Chapter 3. If you just scroll down, you'll see some of the links are labeled Lesson instead of Chapter--just click on those bad boys. And if you have any doctrinal questions, I'm always MORE than happy to talk about the church! You'll probably get a faster answer DMing me personally at @logans-mormon-blog, but I'll always answer asks here as soon as time permits.

If you're looking for easier ways to finish the BoM from beginning to end:

The BoM on tape. The church has an audiobook version available on the Gospel Library app and other audio apps like Spotify.

The Reader's Edition. If you can get your hand on a reader's edition, a lot of people find this is an easier way to plow through the BoM. What's special about this one is that it's formatted not like scripture but like prose, and it really does change the reading experience!

I don't know if this helps any, but I struggle with some of the same issues as you and I'm always bitterly disappointed when I'm not able to move mountains. If I had my way, I'd be the most well-read scriptorian of all time and this blog would be updated constantly. But life often doesn't shake out that way. I spend way more time than I want to with my brain entirely burned out of my head. So you're not alone, if that's any comfort. I think God gets it--he made our brains, after all, and knows how hard it is to wrestle with. It's easier said than done, but don't beat yourself up. God loves the both of us and he's the most perfectly patient person who's ever lived. He's not frustrated or disappointed with our efforts. Religion exists, in my opinion, to help improve and enrich our lives, not make them more challenging OR even to make them perfect if we only could just run fast enough. I too wish I could be more diligent and on it, but shit happens, right? And we're not on earth to be perfect, we're here to be happy and to learn. When Joseph Smith was translating the BoM, God told him "Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength and means provided to enable you to translate; but be diligent unto the end." D&C 10:4. We're doing our damndest, and that's all God even wants from us.

If anyone else has more resource ideas, please let us know!

-Logan

#queerstake #tumblrstake #lds #mormon

[seafoamreadings]

week of july 23rd, 2023

aries: welcome to north node life. things start pinging off these new nodal placements and suddenly everything seems so dreadfully serious. it's fate, and it feels serious because it's real. it's not a game. just embrace it, it can still be fun. but it's never shallow or coincidental.

taurus: things become more earthy, less uranian, but still with an intensely weird vibe that's unusual for such a grounded period. this is how you know that weird things happen all the time, from disasters to miracles, and sometimes they are simply just as they seem in all their bizarre glory.

gemini: mercury moves this week into virgo, the most mercurial place it can be outside of your own sign. it's stimulating and yet has you buzzing and puttering around your own home, or perhaps hosting a lot or looking for a new place.

cancerians: most likely you'll be spending this week feeling that you have a lot to say but aren't sure how, or can't convey it quite as you mean, and this suggests you might try expressing feelings, especially when it comes to love, in ways that don't involve words. there's also a bit of a financial challenge present, so spend only wisely.

leo: this is an extremely fiery week, even with mercury heading into virgo later on, and yes even with a retrograde venus. she's still in your glamorous sign after all! spend at least a good chunk of one day this week soaking in a bubble bath with a moisturizing mask on, or something. it amplifies your natural hotness and suits her currently passive nature.

virgo: mercury, one of your (co?) rulers if you don't just go completely with ceres these days, conjoins retrograde venus for a charismatic but wyrd time, and then heads for your sign. by next week you're a lot chattier, perhaps even divulging strange secrets you got from this little venusian encounter. be careful who you tell. the consequences are likely lasting, for better or worse.

libra: the south node in your sign, just as of recently, gets lit up this week by a mercurial encounter. it's got big mercury retrograde vibes, but only for a few days this week and mostly only in positive ways. try to make something out of it!

scorpio: kick things off with an intensely emotional scorpio moon, perhaps fraught with drama or old secrets. but then, from the ingress into sagittarius onwards, it actually proceeds to be a pretty chill period for you.

sagittarius: a week of significant fire vibe bodes very well for you, especially if you have academic or philosophical pursuits on. there's not much to work against you, so take the opportunity to press forward; rest later, and if you need breaks now, take quick ones at intervals.

capricorn: first the week seems to pass by uneventfully or at least slowly. by the time mercury reaches virgo, it begins to speed along. plan accordingly! mercury in virgo can be a productive time, which suits you, but it can also be frenetic and associated with some digestive issues. love your gut. it is called a second brain for a reason, after all.

aquarius: while it's a calmish time for many it's probably NOT for you, not with all this leonic activity. if you're interested in partnership at all, it gets a little chaotic the longer venus is in retrograde, and as mercury heads for virgo you veer into strange realms of intimacy, or you at least talk about it if you don't quite go there.

pisces: sometimes rumors are just rumors. sometimes they are omens. today they are rumors, by the weekend, they will be omens. start to listen for the difference.

#weekly horoscopes #horoscope #astrology #transits #weekly horoscope #horoscopes #signs #zodiac #aries #taurus #gemini #cancer #leo #virgo #libra #scorpio #sagittarius #capricorn #aquarius #pisces

[hraopt]

Seriously though, weight gain as a show of strength is the hottest thing to me. Really? you were able to put away that much food~? and you'll be able to digest it without any issues? What a strong cow you are! and I bet that you'll be able to do it again wont you~ I bet that you'll be able to eat as much as you did today whenever you want! Don't you find that impressive? That you're able to eat at least twice as much as the average person and grind it down into nothing~? I know that gut of yours really likes the challenge, and I bet you do too~ I bet that you're very proud of the fact that you can handle being stuffed to the brim so often, I would even go so far as to say you want to flaunt this talent of yours~ You don't have to be shy about it: it's becoming more and more noticeable every day, so why don't you flaunt it? I know I'm very proud of your newfound ability~

#queer feedism #queer nsft #bloating kink #fat belly #feedee encouragement #praise k!nk #tummy kink #wg #belly expansion

[wheresmymilliondollarman]

WAIT THAT ANON WAS ONTO SOMETHING. I NEED MORE BRAT TAMER AARON 😩😩😩. Also your work is gold. finding you after sm time scouring for warner fics felt like i won the lotto. love you!!

-🪷 (i’ll use this as my anon emoji)

HI ANON! omg my first anon emoji LOVE IT !!! and always makes me so happy when someone says they love my blog TYSM!!! happy to provide more brat tamer aaron so here are some quick & brief hcs that are canon bc in my aaron warner universe while i finish pt 3 of the other piece :D (very short so won't label it as a full hc thing)

aaron warner is naturally a brat tamer, it is basically in his genes. he was raised by a supreme commander, how could he not ?

big part of his casual dominance thing.

helping you dress, even choosing your outfits most days, if you’re wearing a dress he’ll make sure it’s not too short, helping tie shoes & strap on heels, making sure you wear a coat if its cold, holding your hand on walks, stopping you when he feels you’d had enough drinks at parties, etc.

you’re normally not bratty, aaron dotes on you so much, it’s hard to want to push his buttons. –but there’s always a time where your brattiness makes a show, intentional or not.

brat tamer aaron is pretty patient, not too strict if you act out a little. it takes quite a bit for him to get fed up with the way your acting.

gives him a little sass? he’ll just smile or even give a quip back. if you complain about something, he’ll accommodate to satisfy you. rolling your eyes would get you a stern look, but he wouldn’t verbally call you out on it.

you get major princess treatment so aaron can easily let a little of your brattiness slide.

he finds it entertaining when you try and rile him up, on the contrary it’s very annoying to you and more you act bolder in your brattiness.

what really makes aaron go full brat tamer mode on you is when you deliberately disobey him.

you ignore the dress he laid out for you and change into one that definitely will have your ass showing if you bend over too much? you’ll get at max five steps into the room before aaron lifts and carries you on his shoulder out back to his room. (he’ll you his coat over you to ensure you dont flash anyone on the way out).

or when you’re really upset at him for an issue he caused, you’ll ignore him. if you see him coming your way - you’ll walk the opposite, you act deaf anytime he calls your names, and show him no form of attention.

this will definitely bother aaron the most, especially since he’s the clingy type. he’s devises a sneak attack plan, and catches you off guard when you’re alone. before you can even digest the situation — he has you against the wall.

he'll apologize for whatever he did, beg for forgiveness, then scold you for ignoring him. you'll get away with little punishment if you end your behavior there, but if you're bent on pretending he doesn't exist - aaron is going to fuck the silence of you. and to be the extra person he is, he's going to handcuff you two together for a day, so you're essentially forced to be with him. leash kid type treatment.

there's even times when you're not even trying to act bratty, and you accidentally set him off.

one particular day you were just looking extra pretty, according to aaron. you were talking to your friends and just doing what you usually did. however, aaron saw it acting out behavior and you obviously were trying to get his attention. he actually just wanted a reason to call you a brat and punish you.

aaron’s punishments vary. he always starts with a warning for you to starts behaving good again. usually it’s enough for you to act like a good girl again. if it exceeds that, then get ready to be dragged back to his room, somewhere private if you’re not close to it. then, you start getting a realization of what you just did.

if it was a rather simple punishment like giving him attitude the entirety of the day, you’ll get bent over his lap and spanked, aaron will keep making you apologize for acting like a brat the entire time.

if it’s something like the dress stunt; you’re going to get ailed on the nearest surface available. you’ll be in teary-eyed and empty-headed by the time he’s done with you.

either way, you won’t be able to sit properly the next day. or even rest of the week.

#𝐳𝐢𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬 #aaron warner x reader

[nekropsii]

You said that your formatting method is an accessibility device, can you go little into it please? Atleast for text color, cause im not getting that part.

It's intended for people with ADHD, or trouble processing long-form text. As an ADHDer myself, I often found myself and people like me struggling to connect with lengthy text without any difficulties- most people wound up accidentally skipping around, looping, or were generally unable to process it due to density. Long, wholly unformatted text- meaning without paragraph breaks or anything- tends to read as nothing more than a particularly unapproachable cloud of white noise. It's a common but frustrating issue for those that have it, and it's one that's often left entirely unaccommodated, even in circles where accommodation is a very big deal. This seems to be because difficulty digesting text, especially of an informative variety, tends to be labelled as a symptom of laziness rather than that of a genuine disability.

Formatting text as heavily as I do- with the italics, bold, color, and so on- gives what I write more visual intrigue and separation. Text is made more distinct that way. It becomes compartmentalized. It's easier to approach, even within people who don't have trouble with reading. The text color functions similarly to how highlighting a passage in a book works, and frequent use of it guides your eyes along the page with much more ease than if it was never there to begin with. If you lose your spot, you know generally where to look because you'll probably remember its formatting.

ADHD is a disability that requires a lot of things to be broken up into smaller, distinguishable chunks for you to be able to process the full picture, or even just register it as something approachable. This isn't a part of the disability I see acknowledged often, but I intend to work with it. It helps me a lot, and it does help many others. This method has seemed to work very, very well so far. I've received many, many asks saying how much easier things are to read with that formatting style, as well as seeing a handful of people adopt it for themselves. If it doesn't work for you, that's perfectly fine- that's the nature of accessibility, no singular method works for everyone- but it does seem to work quite well for what I'm going for.

#adhd #accessibility #nekro.sms

[clarabosswald]

I've been reading your posts about the Israel-Palestine issue and I'm messaging you without going on anon to show that I have a genuine desire to understand. You've said you don't support apartheid and you're not a zionist so I want to ask why you believe the issue is that complicated, and get your genuine response. I'm from Pakistan, a country created in the name of religious protection and it has been at the helm of several genocides and displacements to this day. I lived in South Africa where the settler population coexists after the abolition of apartheid. I'm now a settler in Canada and I support the fight for land back and the dissolution of the colonial state even as I reside in it because I would prefer to be welcomed on this land after Indigenous sovereignty has been returned. I am just curious if you really do feel such an attachment to Israel's existence knowing that from its conception it has been a settler colonial apartheid state. Certainly Netanyahu has worsened it but the ethnic cleansing, ghettoization, displacement, imprisonment without grounds, and torture of Palestinians has been ongoing for decades. I do believe that most people currently advocating for Palestine's liberation and the dissolution of Israel as a state don't want to kill or even displace all Israelis, there is just an understanding that Israel's existence depends on the subjugation of Palestinians. And as for Hamas, most people would not want Hamas as a governing body but Israel has backed all Palestinian resistance efforts especially peaceful ones into such a corner that at this point Hamas is like any violent resistance force such as the ones in Ireland, Algeria, Haiti, Vietnam or elsewhere. Would you disagree that the violence they enact is rooted in Israeli violence? Decades of brutal oppression can only lead to radicalization in this way. I hope that you will understand I'm genuinely trying to gain your perspective on these issues and not trying to attack you. This situation is personal to me because the loss of lives is heartbreaking and I've lived in so many countries where violence not only paints the history but the present and I wish we lived in a world where borders and militaries did not exist. But I've come to learn that unfortunately peace is often achieved when there is violent resistance to oppression.

I already sent follow up direct messages so I'm SO SORRY for spamming you but I guess I'm nervous about you misreading my tone since it's easy to do that online and people have attacked you regarding all this. I just want to reiterate I make no claims to knowing everything and certainly not to knowing you and your allegiances or politics. I can tell you care about people and that's why I want to have a genuine conversation, if you'll engage with me

hi - first of all, you seem to be coming with good faith and nowadays that's not obvious at all, so thank you for that

the first thing i want to address is that yes, i'm not a zionist. at the same time i've got no fucking idea what constitutes "zionism" in western eyes at this point in time. but i don't believe jewish people have got some super special holy right of "owning" israeli lands or whatever, just because they're jewish and it's the people's ~promised land~. that's zionism how i understand it. and i don't believe in that because i'm a secular (non-believing) jew.

"why you believe the issue is that complicated" is a question that on the one hand seems extremely weird to me, and on the other hand... really makes complete sense. i say that it's complicated because there are literally decades upon decades at the very least of history behind the events that started on october 7th. and i've found that westerners seem to be desperate for some easy-to-digest, eli-5 version of it. they want fairytale morality where they can say that one side is 100% good and the other side is 100% evil. they don't want to think, to have mental/moral struggles. i think it's... naive at best, to expect something that involves decades/centuries of history and millions upon millions of people, to be that simple.

"I am just curious if you really do feel such an attachment to Israel's existence" - because it's where i was born, where my family was born, where my friends were born, the only place i've ever lived in. it's my home. it's hot and humid, the people are often rude and inconsiderate, every time it rains there's a stupid amount of flooding in the streets... and it's the only home i've ever known. is that really that hard to understand?

"I do believe that most people currently advocating for Palestine's liberation and the dissolution of Israel as a state don't want to kill or even displace all Israelis" - you know, i believe so too. that's why it's so flabbergasting to see many of the same people repeat the speaking points of different organizations that for many years have called for exactly the killing/displacement of all israelis (or at least all the jewish ones). the absolute lack of critical thinking and source-checking is infuriating. or just... the general ignorance. 99% of the people who are involved in the recent protests have probably never even heard of hamas before october 7th. honestly, considering what i've seen and heard, some of them probably still are ignorant of its existence. for fuck's sake, i've seen people think that the gaza strip is the west bank because it's located to the west.

"And as for Hamas, most people would not want Hamas as a governing body but Israel has backed all Palestinian resistance efforts especially peaceful ones into such a corner that at this point Hamas is like any violent resistance force such as the ones in Ireland, Algeria, Haiti, Vietnam or elsewhere." - can you give examples to the most recent peaceful palestinian efforts? the most recent attempt at the peace process i can think of off the top of my head is the oslo accords... possibly camp david? and i assume i don't need to explain what those were and what happened after them? but i might be missing something more recent. your mentions of other locations in the world are an excellent shout because i do believe the israeli-palestinian conflict is nothing like them. i do believe it's a unique conflict in global terms. i do think the ongoing comparisons in the west to other historical conflicts is part of the same western attempts to simplify it and make it more palatable (?) to the western audience.

"Would you disagree that the violence they enact is rooted in Israeli violence?" - to be as thorough about it as i can? no, i don't, because this (arab-jewish tensions/clashes/violence in the region of palestina/palstine/israel) goes way before the state of israel was declared. at the same time i think this is infantilizing towards palestinians. neither side's violence is just reactionary or devoid of responsibility and choice.

"Decades of brutal oppression can only lead to radicalization in this way." - what's maddening to me about this specific argument point is that the exact same thing can be said of israelis in particular and jewish people worldwide in general. (my point being that i do not accept any kind of excuse for violence against civilians and innocents, anywhere.)

"This situation is personal to me because the loss of lives is heartbreaking and I've lived in so many countries where violence not only paints the history but the present" - i appreciate your sympathy and sense of personal connection. from my perspective i can tell that since october 7th i've had to start paying a lot less attention/ignoring western opinions, or i'd have gone mad weeks ago. (not just as a form of speech. i'm so thankful for going back to therapy a few months ago.) it probably started back when i started following the russian invasion of ukraine. i've seen western reactions to the suffering of the ukrainian people and there was something very... disconnected, about those reactions. i realized that you can't... just make someone understand what it's like to live under rocket/missle/drone fire. the sound of them hitting around you. or exploding overhead. feeling the shockwave hit your body while you hide in shelter and can only hope that the roulette won't land on you this time because it was, 100% directed at you and your family and friends, at civilians, openly and unapologetically. to live in war in your own home. it's the exact same now with the current war (which is far from being the first war i've lived through). i've reached the conclusion that the only opinion that really mattes is that of palestinians and israelis. the rest just cannot begin to comprehend.

"But I've come to learn that unfortunately peace is often achieved when there is violent resistance to oppression." - and after over 75 years of violence (if we're only counting since the establishment of israel, which, i repeat, is really not the starting point of any of this, neither is the current war since october 7th), where did that get us? what did that achieve?

to which i can segue to one of my main opinions: the whole reason this conflict has been going on for so long, and only gets worse, is because more importance is being given to the past than to the future. the heads of both israeli and palestinian leaderships are stuck in the past and up their own assholes (either alternatively or at the same time, it's a true biological miracle). the only thing that will truly make a change is when people will realize that the wheels can't be turned back and we can't replicate what used to be. the only way to create a sustainable and peaceful future for both israelis and palestinians would be to give up the glorification of the past. but to be clear, i'm well aware that i'm an idealist and the chances of my ideals actually happening are nonexistent.

this post is long enough as is but i want to touch on a few more points and attempt to paint a slightly more complete picture here.

the old yishuv (if you're interested, the hebrew version of this wiki article is a lot more comprehensive, and google translate should do a good enough job on it)

Expulsions and exoduses of Jews

Jewish exodus from the Muslim world

Mizrahi Jews in Israel

Ethiopian Jews in Israel

Arab citizens of Israel

The Hamas Networks in America: A Short History

fuck bibi, fuck ben gvir, fuck smotrich, fuck levin, fuck their coalition of religious nutjobs and rightwing extremists, fuck the west bank settlers, fuck jewish terrorism, fuck jewish supremacy.

#asks #belligerentbarbie