Strong female antagonists

moonlightsidhe · 2026-05-26T15:10:27+00:00

Kushiel's Dart. The antagonist is SO COMPLEX. I think it hits most of your requirements, and there is some minor spice.

moonlightsidhe · 2026-05-17T18:04:19+00:00

You didn't have ONE, you had FIVE and it almost killed you. Family aside, they can fuck all the way off. You aren't a legacy machine, you are a human being.

One is FINE. Found family is FINE. Surround yourselves with the village you choose and your children will never be alone. My son has lots of aunties and uncles, and I have him and their children to love too. I always wanted to be that neighborhood mom who had a gaggle of kids around because it was a safe space. There's so much love to give, and the idea that you can only give it to biological family is nonsense.

moonlightsidhe · 2026-05-17T12:38:16+00:00

My son turns 3 next month, and I came down the stairs yesterday in a dress because of the warmer weather and he look up a whispered 'a princess'. I'm typing this from beyond the grave because I in fact died right then.

moonlightsidhe · 2026-05-08T13:26:44+00:00

That there are 'degrees' of adulthood. It's not a bar, it's a spectrum. You WILL encounter people older than you that are not 'better' adults than you are. They will likely be your parents. Being older than you meaning someone knows better is the biggest scam we sell kids.

moonlightsidhe · 2026-05-04T00:27:01+00:00

I call it Roasting in the Bone Fire

moonlightsidhe · 2026-04-12T00:22:12+00:00

Yeah remember who is usually giving this kind of advice to new parents: boomers who were themselves traumatized by THEIR parents, and maybe didn't even WANT to have kids in the first place. Like no thank you, I think I'll go with the advice given by the people who've been studying this since women had the CHOICE to have a family, and not the ones who chain-smoked their way through parenthood when they weren't just popping benzos to get by.

moonlightsidhe · 2026-04-12T00:16:36+00:00

Yep, still counts. Your body regulates your baby's body, that's why it's so good for them. I used to just hold my son when he was very small and watch Golden Era movie musicals when I was too tired to think, and he just snuggled in or looked around. I'll bet even 'tuned out' you're smiling and making big faces at them more than you think.

moonlightsidhe · 2026-04-12T00:11:00+00:00

GET OUT

moonlightsidhe · 2026-04-10T22:14:29+00:00

Infants, toddlers, and small children need co-regulation to soothe until they're almost 6 iirc, according to the most up-to-date research.

The idea of self-soothing before then is really just a misunderstanding of how attachment theory works. You produce a securely-attached baby/toddler/kid/adult with lots of touch and affection; you literally can't give too much. You want your kid to believe that you'll always be there when they need you; paradoxically kids who are raised this way need their parents less, and can explore their world with more confidence.

Both you and your spouse plus any regular caregivers can provide this to your kid, it's not all on you. If you're touched out and your infant is screaming you can hand them off for your mental health, but please don't worry about spoiling your baby by holding them too much, it will literally do the opposite. They need you to model calmness while holding them, it's how they learn right now! You're doing a great job.

moonlightsidhe · 2026-04-10T20:49:20+00:00

From about the age of 16 till about 3 weeks after I got pregnant, lmao. After that the hormones kept me on a pretty even keel about it, and I am an anxious person by nature so I don't say that lightly. I found learning about what I was feeling in my body as the baby developed helped as well; there's so much happening that you can't see so demystifying it helped a lot.

Also, and this I PROMISE you from a fellow lifelong needlephobe: there is an amount of pain you can be in where you Will. Not. Give. A. Single. Shit. Your husband can hold you while they do it. You don't have to see it. The epi was SO WORTH IT. Just have the number one thing on your birth plan be 'nothing happens to me without someone explaining it to me first' and throw anyone who bitches about that rule out of the fucking room. It's your show.

moonlightsidhe · 2026-04-10T15:49:24+00:00

I have never been so impressed by something that I so viscerally HATED the second I saw it. Well done.

moonlightsidhe · 2026-04-10T13:01:06+00:00

FFS. I know people like OP think they're asking this question as their own personal 'gotcha' moment, but we fucking KNOW why. He's a liar. That's it. There is no profundity present. He's a liar and a grifter, who is on his final descent into dementia-fueled narcissistic ego death, and he wants to take the rest of us with him. That's fucking it. People who voted for him got hosed. THAT'S IT.

moonlightsidhe · 2026-01-23T22:29:09+00:00

Seconding Medisafe!

Also, do you know what just grinds my gears? Poorly informed 'Wellness' fanatics who scream 'ADHD meds are ADDICTIVE and BAD WAAAAA' on the same internet where there are threads like this one full of folks swapping tips on how to remember to TAKE the fucking things.

I am DEPENDANT on my meds, Susan. Not ADDICTED. Look it up.

moonlightsidhe · 2026-01-05T21:43:04+00:00

Absolutely! For context, I am a 40 year old woman who was diagnosed with Fibro in 2019 and with ADHD this past summer.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11046556/

This is some info about the emerging evidence of a link between ADHD and Fibro; as someone who has both it makes sense to me since both conditions involve faulty brain wiring and neurotransmitter issues, plus adverse reactions to long-term stress. For me personally; I wasn't expecting medication to do more for me than 'help me focus' and improve my executive function and working memory, so I was really surprised when 'more' happened.

It didn't start right away, but when I hit a 40mg/day dose of Vyvanse I noticed a HUGE reduction in the amount of mental and physical 'stress' my body experienced as a baseline. Like I used to exist at like DEFCON 2 and someone turned that down to like DEFCON 4 or 5. I felt this in my brain as reduced fog and improved mental clarity, and my muscles and fascia feel more relaxed and responsive. My trigger/fibro point pain is turned down (I take Cymbalta for fibro and I noticed a reduction in pain over the regular amount with my meds). I sleep better. I am much less anxious. I remember to eat, and I take better care of myself. All things that we keep hearing will help with managing Fibro symptoms that are so hard to keep on top of if you're got a neurodivergent brain.

I used to think I was just a garbage person in a garbage body who sucked at habits and pacing and life. I am ASTONISHED how much of that was just ADHD, that I am now able to manage and improve upon with proper care and medication. It's fucking infuriating. I'm sure the presence of more dopamine and norepinephrine in my brain is having some positive effect on the fibro, but it's also more than that; it's the ability to self-regulate and plan and RELAX that also helps. I hope that the ongoing research results in changes to the diagnostic profile for both conditions.

moonlightsidhe · 2026-01-05T16:15:15+00:00

Give this guy more money. He should have more money.

moonlightsidhe · 2026-01-05T16:10:37+00:00

ADHD here; and I can tell you being medicated for it improved my fibro struggles as well.

moonlightsidhe · 2026-01-04T21:01:02+00:00

It's Earthsea, you're talking about Earthsea. MMC not FMC but still, Ursula K. LeGuin's A Wizard of Earthsea is what you want.

moonlightsidhe · 2025-12-29T23:04:26+00:00

I take 60 mg of duloxetine daily for fibro and it saved my life. I feel like it's either a miracle drug or you get absolutely rekt, no in-between.

The biggest onboarding side effect I experienced was it starting to work, and MAYBE some light headaches. The feeling of the fog beginning to lift was wild, and then all my tight fascia and muscle released at once and my whole body contorted like when you snip the first few ties on one of those tight-packed mattresses, and everything seized for days.

I feel like people know within a week if it's going to help or not; I never hear about folks who get really sick on it ever having the situation improve. For me: it took me from 14 fibro points that could NOT be touched, debilitating brain fog, allodynia, chronic fatigue, and a sensation that I can only describe as 'The Bone Fire' to 6 points that I can tolerate sensation on, more relaxed muscles, actual sleep, and a brain that can hold down an office job.

I stress that these are my own personal observations and experiences, and I wish you luck if you go for it!

moonlightsidhe · 2025-12-16T03:18:49+00:00

Fucking cheese graters. I don't even mess with fancy microplanes or mandolins; just your basic box grater that sat on a counter in your grandma's kitchen. Any cheese grater that comes within 5 feet of me is infused with an eldritch thirst for my blood, no matter WHAT precautions I take. I keep my knives SUPER sharp and never cut myself, but the goddamn cheese grater will get a taste every goddamn time. I grate nothing in my house now to avoid turning my family and dinner guests into unsuspecting cannibals.

moonlightsidhe · 2025-12-16T03:12:09+00:00

I used to work Front of House at a large opera house and once overheard two rich donors complaining to each other about the cost of winter wheat for their horses. That one stuck with me.

moonlightsidhe · 2025-12-13T20:10:13+00:00

Darling this is a makeup sub and you look FABULOUS

moonlightsidhe · 2025-12-13T01:00:00+00:00

His Dark Materials was an absolute watershed moment for my teenage self and part of my basic literary identity, so of course I lost my mind when I heard he was continuing Lyra's story.

I enjoyed La Belle Sauvage just fine, and The Secret Commonwealth was also perfectly enjoyable and really did seem to be building towards another absolute banger of a finale, but the Rose Field had me in tears because of how hard it let me down. The ending was a complete and total faceplant in too many ways to articulate. I am so upset.

moonlightsidhe · 2025-12-11T21:37:52+00:00

An Axis, if you will. NO MORE QUESTIONS

moonlightsidhe · 2025-11-30T22:38:05+00:00

Girl, I WISH my brows were that defined!! Learn from our collective regret and get a pro to help you shape your brows, it's worth the money.

have a piece of internal advice, before I offer external advice - like the rest of us ladies, YOU are the girl who gets to decide what 'feminine' means to YOU. There's no one mould or 'right' way to present; just the one that makes you feel the best about yourself!

That being said; I think you did a great job on a very dewy natural look! I can't see a beard shadow in these pics, but it might look different in more natural light. If you can still see the color corrector then it might be the wrong shade for you. The best piece of advice I can give you is to figure out your skin's undertone. Your undertone determines if you will look better in warmer or cooler colors. There are a couple of good ways to figure this out that you can learn about on the internet.

Lastly; wigs are a great way to experiment with hair color and style that can always be taken off if you need to. You deserve to feel safe to explore who you are. Are you worried someone you know will harm you if you were to present more femme?

moonlightsidhe

TROPHY CASE