Empress of Mars: Undisputed @zebratron2084@awoo.space

Nobody Whatsoever Is Afraid Of Virginia Folf.

Peg is KILLING IT on Parallax boards (you are gonna freakin' LOVE the Slamhound), my flu is nearly over -- and it's lost me nearly eight freakin pounds, I have a neat project at work, and I have a glimmer of new hope about old friendships. And a chance of getting to tabletop/structured RP again for the first time in years. Things are going great, and my mood is unshakeable.

...

*looks skyward for the anvil and immediately sidesteps JUST to be on the safe side* c_c;

#preylogic

Oh, geeze. Here I was in the last stage of the flu, all drained and grumpy about having to focus on hours of boring geo annotation this evening.

Nope. We have a new project: "Go into this spreadsheet and offer the other annotators advice on how to recognize different kinds of world cuisines <s>from quite a long way away</s>."

GEE I THINK I MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO THAT, BOSS. ^__________^

If this isn't romance, I just don't know what is.

(CAPTION: "I should never have bought that boat. What a night." XD )

#moodsnapshot

(i.e., calm and contemplative, but a tad nonplussed by life and a bit in need of a drink; also, is a cat)

https://awoo.space/media/VwZId0PrSFHQC-4J4Nk

(and yes, Reddit has assured me that these are happy, excited birbs seeing someone they really like, not stressed-out understimulated birbs or anything n.n; )

I'm probably not the only one who needed this video: https://www.reddit.com/video/q2t11wuv19c01

(CW: adorable little flappybirds)

And to be fair, I DO realize this is not always an achievable, or even approachable standard for all people. It's... not a small feat to step up to a growling kitty the size of a Buick, jingle a collar at him, and say, "Is it time for me to fetch the superglue?" or something. Paradoxically, blatantly fake condescension GOOD, real(/perceived) condescension BAD, and... that is not an easy judgement call to make, especially because rawr. =n_n;;;=

Which also reminds me: "zen" approaches work well. i.e., DON'T ACCEPT THE FRAMEWORK. Distraction, humor, paradox, abrupt changes of frame... and if you're going to tell me that you don't feel like my feelings are valid, I CAN TAKE IT, but only in proportion to how much authority I feel is being copped over me. You'd be amazed how far you can get with me with "Kin? Do you need to go walkies?!?" Less clinic, more schoolyard. Smile when you say it.

(Naturally, if you're Neptunian, you get a free pass, because the most alienating thing I've ever seen an otter do is form a hugpile. And being mutated by weird deep-sea symbiotic spores is not *technically* "alienation.")

For those of you who follow L5R continuity, here's my most concise advice for dealing with me:

Less Dragon. Less Phoenix. Less Crane. More Crab.

And of course, in 12Fold terms, that's "Less Mercurian, More Martian." How much do YOU think tigers like being caged and analysed? Even when they deserved it? At least have the decency to roar and bop our noses a little. :)

The next person who I hear tell someone else "your feelings are valid" or some other wishy-washy line of buzzwords instead of actually engaging a friend's feelings in a non-HR capacity is going to end up pondering the positive, empathetic peer-choice-orientation goal of a zebra-hoof-peer-face-encounter situation. :)

Believe it or not, this is not a subtoot. Just a frustration that came up in an outside conversation. I'm sure it's not the last you'll hear from me about it.

I'm still in a foul mood, but at least I can offer you three new(ish) minutes of Don't Hug Me I'm Scared. Sort of.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-XJ2kjE8Gk

#moodsnapshot: e honda trying to hyakuretsu harite a 5 meter tall pillar of biscuit dough

Brain is about to lock up completely from an unresolvable social dilemma.

If you happen to find me in the morning, please jab the hex wrench in the top left drawer of my desk into my right ear as hard as possible, then crank clockwise until you hear a pop.

Then throw me in the trash and get a new zebra. -_-

On a sunnier note:

https://www.furaffinity.net/view/18437075/ is surprisingly good (minimally sexual) TF kink _and_ surprisingly good Oz fanfic.

in short, i wish i were well enough for gin

#moodsnapshot:

that animated gif of nathan fillion as captain mal raising his finger to object to something, then thinking better of it... with graham's number written in tidy sans-serif superscript to its immediate upper right

god damn it

say what you will but it used to work like gangbusters on LJ for making anti-furry trolls chase their own tails >:D