#(ex they just make you more susceptible to suggestion)

[squidkidnerd]

Man, with how vague Splatoon is about its lore/plot points sometimes, I’m very wary of people who claim there is One Definitive Interpretation of this that or the other thing. Like no, just because the game uses they/them pronouns for Captain 3 doesn't mean giving them any other pronouns is misgendering. Like, unless you have something from actual canon (ie. the games themselves or dev interviews) to back it up, then I don't think it's fair to expect people to Universally Agree With You or Else. Going "This is how I see things, I really don't like it when people see it this other way" is fine but "This is how I see things, I am RIGHT and anyone who thinks otherwise is WRONG" is not. People have different opinions. You are not obligated to agree with them, but at the same time, they are not obligated to agree with you.

[honey-flustered]

Kinktober Day 18: Aphrodisiac + Oral Fixation + Body Hair

Eddie Brock | Venom x Ex!Younger!F!Reader

Summary: Venom uses honey from your purse to whip up some tea for you and Eddie while helping you study. Little did he know, that honey has some…interesting side effects.

Warnings: dub con elements, exes to friends to lovers, accidental aphrodisiac, sub!eddie x horny!reader, consumption, teratophillia, not lore accurate, oral fixation (licking, biting), some scratching, oral through underwear, premature ejaculation, body hair kink, some hair pulling, threeway kiss, venom and reader are in cahoots, french kissing, some dry humping, age gap +18 reader, bimbo!reader, basically whole lot of tongue action

To this day, 7 months later, Venom still curses Eddie for letting you go. Blah, blah…she’s young and going to university…blah blah…new experiences. If long distance is really that hard, why is it that it only took Eddie 3 hours to drive to your dorm? If he was committed to your throupling, he’d make the commute everyday to see you.

But Ole Venom supposes he shouldn’t be too hard on Eddie. After all, he’s attentive enough to Venom where he notices his changes in mood. Especially when Venom’s in one of those depressive states where he desperately misses you; with the occasional breaking of items to cope with his pained feelings. Whenever he’d get this way, Eddie would take them up go a trip to you and you’d be the three musketeers.

This weekend being a three-day weekend excited Venom for things he had in store. He’s determined to win you back even in spite of what Eddie says because sometimes he just needs a push in the right direction.

Venom likes to think he’s become that of an expert at romance, having read enough gossip magazines and advice columns to say as such. He knows the love languages and he’ll be sure to use his tongue precisely for speaking them to you.

Yeah, he knows Eddie’s been suspicious of his saint behavior since their arrival—the rules were clear not to make any plans of winning you back—but Venom’s entitled to a little bit of rule-breaking. He hovers around, content as he watches Eddie and you laughing during your study session. If he sets the mood just right, things would get more intimate.

He then recalls a fact he’d gotten from an issue of Chic Heat Magazine that explains how tea can make people more susceptible to suggestion because it calms you. If you’re relaxed enough, you might take them back.

So he excuses himself to the kitchen, preparing some rose tea for you all to enjoy. You’d just run out of honey but you had some packets he’d noticed in your bag earlier, hopefully you don’t mind.

Once he returns to the circle, you beam at his gesture. “V…you are such a cutie. Thank you so much.”

“I wouldn’t say that too soon,” Eddie says in a tone that is both jest and serious. “We’ll check the state of the kitchen in a minute.”

You shrug. “No worse than the state I left it in.”

“You’ve gotta be more responsible, babygirl.” He frustratedly sighs.

“I’m studying. That’s pretty big for me,” You defend. “Usually I’d just flirt with the T.A. for the test answers or cram the day of. But I’ve been trying because you said I could do it.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry. Really proud of you, buddy.” He says, patting your knee and earning a smile from you.

Then, you’re taking a sip of your tea wanting to give Venom the praise he deserves. Your eyes brighten soon as the first sip stains your tongue and goes down your throat . “This is really good, V. Seriously. I couldn’t have done this better myself. What’d you put in it?”

“Honey…” He begins.

“Oh, I could’ve sworn I ran out—”

“…the ones in your purse.” He finishes.

Your eyes nearly leave your skull. “H-how many?”

“5,” He answers proudly. “Wanted to make it extra special for you.”

“Oh, it’s extra special alright.” You say with a nervous laugh.

“Everything okay?” Eddie asks in concern.

“Mhm,” You hum between a strained toothless smile. “L-let’s go back to studying, yeah?”

“What’s in those things?” Eddie questions, his investigative nature getting the better of him.

“Nothing to be concerned about…” Your words escape you when you see that Venom has already retrieved the emptied packet for Eddie to review.

“Sweet Honey Rush? You said you wouldn’t intern with these guys,” Eddie says. “Didn’t you read my story on them secretly being behind these campaigns for increasing the national birth rate. I sent you a link on Facebook. We’re like breeding stock to them.”

“No person younger than 35 uses facebook anymore, Eddie,” You argue. “And besides they were offering some really good benefits if I interned with them.”

“Like getting free honey packets?”

“They aren’t for me…they’re for me to give out to some college students. It’s the new craze. Everyone’s talking about. There’s even a challenge of it on TikTok. You wanna see?” You’re about to pull out your phone but he stops you.

“Don’t you see that they’re purposely targeting the younger population?” Eddie scoffs.

“No, I think I gave one to my pervy old maintenance man,” You justify but Eddie shakes his head in disbelief at you. “Oh come on. It’s not like they’re as good as you think them to be. Venom said he’s added five and you don’t see me on all fours with my tongue out, do you?”

“I guess you’re right.” He says.

“Good. Now pretty please read me the next chapter.”

He smiles. “Of course.”

Venom is stumped. This is not at all going the way he’d planned. Instead of relaxing, it’s only made things more tense between the two of you. He was going to need to intervene internally.

“It’s taking effect.” Venom says from within.

“How are you so sure?” Eddie answers back into the mindscape.

“Come on, Eddie, I know it’s been months. But tell me you haven’t forgotten the way she looks when she really, really wants you,” Venom purrs. “Look at those eyes glossing over, darkening when she rakes them over you. She’s biting her lip—ha! She isn’t paying attention to your words.”

“You’re wrong. It’s nothing like that.” Eddie says trying to maintain focus by reading to you.

“I’ve been inside her once,” Venom continues. “I can sense the changes in her body even long after we’ve separated.”

“She’s just fine.” Eddie says in clear denial.

“Then ask her if she heard what you just said. Better yet ask her anything, she’ll probably say ‘yes’ to it all if it meant having our cock inside her.” Venom chuckles wickedly.

He’s reluctant, not wanting to embarrass you, but Eddie tests Venom’s theory anyway in hopes to quell his curiosity. Why on Earth would you want them back when you had so many different options at college? The sooner Eddie could disprove his claims, the sooner they can put aside that hopeful part of them that thinks the relationship could work.

“Hey, um, by any chance do you wanna share a jar of olives together?” He asks.

“Yes.” You sigh dreamily.

He perplexedly blinks at your reply to his absurd question. You hated olives.

“Babygirl, are you paying attention?” He asks.

“Mhm.” You nod still looking at him as if he hung up the stars. And now that Venom pointed it out, Eddie, too, could see your telltale sign in just the way you clenched your thighs together alone.

“Oh, really,” He asks, cupping a hand under your chin; his fingertips dimpling your cheeks. “What did I just read to you?”

“The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell?”

“We’re studying American History, angel.” He smirks.

“Sorry, daddy,” You say, taking them completely off guard. Eddie hates how he instantly hardens at thought as if he’d taken the aphrodisiac, too. “Can I make it up to you? Taste you.”

“Yes!” Venom says.

“No,” Eddie protests. “You’re not in the right state of mind, missy. You’re going to bed, if you decide to take care of yourself on your own that’s your choice. In the morning if you still feel like you want to, then we can—”

“It’s only an aphrodisiac, dude. Not a drug. I’m not out of my mind for wanting you inside me. Both of you.”

“We’re in!” Venom says ready to reach out for you but Eddie smacks his dark tendril from your reach.

“No, we’re—” Eddie’s cut off by your lips on his. Somehow, Venom was able to sneak his mischievous tentacles around and bring your heads together.

You immediately get to work french kissing him passionately and tugging the hair on the back of his neck. His beard burns your face from the rough friction of the make-out session but it doesn’t deter you from being more forceful.

Venom’s tongue joins into the entanglement flicking and gliding between you and Eddie’s tongues, gathering a mixture of your salivas.

When Eddie breaks the kiss, you’re at his thick neck licking and biting away while Venom’s eager tongue, slithered and constricted around your body like vines.

“Stop. You don’t…” Eddie’s interrupted by yet another one of your lingering wanton kisses, finishing his sentence once you break apart. “…want this.”

“I’ve never stopped wanting you,” You suck on the space connect jaw and his neck before dragging your teeth along the vein. “Please fuck me.”

Eddie’s still too afraid to answer, cradling the back of your head while your lips and tongue continue their assault on his body.

“Fuck, babygirl,” He groans, missing this feeling of you devouring him as if he were a buffet. You and Venom were always big tongue enthusiasts wanting to put your mouths around anything that attracted you including Eddie.

His eyes flutter shut and you crawl into his lap, grinding your hips down while you tasted what you could. You pay special attention to his plump lips, licking and biting them.

“Can I go further?” You ask him.

“You heard Venom—”

“What do you want?”

“I want you.”

At his admission you moan, not being able to take it anymore. You and Venom work in sync. He begins to remove Eddie’s clothes while each sink that’s exposed you go over it with your tongue.

Eddie’s really hairy so occasionally your tongue would run over a patch of hair and you’d give it special attention.

“Fuck, I think I might actually cum from this alone,” He laughs bashfully, surprising himself. “I’m so sensitive for some reason.”

You dip your tongue into his belly-button, swirling it around before your tongue finally trails down to his throbbing bulge. It jumps in his khaki shorts the moment you place your tongue’s pressure directly on it. He shudders, his fingers through your hair.

The feverish heat of the effects take over you just as you pass the first barrier, bringing his pants down around his ankles. Venom lifts you by the waist for a moment, adding a pillow underneath for your knees. You run your fingers along the underside of his tentacles—where it’s most sensitive for him—as a thank you.

You’re not gentle at all once you spot the wet spot on Eddie’s underwear. He’d cum already and had been too ashamed to speak up. He could already see you making an old man joke about him needing the honey packet more than you but instead you went for his soul.

Immediately, you clamp your mouth around the clothed tip to suck at the sticky essence. It’s so sensitive he could cry, it’s as if the aphrodisiac is giving him a contact high.

He tries to pull your hungry mouth from him but is thwarted when Venom wraps a snaky limb around his wrists, pinning him down.

“Oh god, fuck. Baby…please.” Eddie whimpers.

You drag your nails along his little belly, gripping and pulling the tiny hairs of his happy trail while you sucked him off. Another one of Venom’s tendrils finds their way between your legs, teasing your little nub. You let out a shuddery gasp, your warm breath skirting over his now exposed veiny length.

You trace your tongue on the lightning-patterned cock, tasting the addictive earthiness of him. You’re gushing wet and ready to their cock and Venom could very well slip a wriggling tendril inside of you this instant…

…but he’d rather Eddie get first dibs.

[astrobiscuits]

Chiron: where is our physical (and mental) wound?

I'm currently reading a book about Chiron (did you know it's actually half asteroid, half comet? me neither), which inspired me to make this post. I'm in no way an expert in medical astrology, just a curious owl that wants to learn more about every branch of astrology out there (my Sag Venus loves it!!🤭)

DISCLAIMER!!! I'm not a doctor. If you've been feeling any symptoms described here, TALK WITH YOUR DOCTOR, NOT WITH ME

Observation: Before we dive in, i'd like to mention that the position of Chiron in the houses is important. Not every house placement suggests having a poor physical condition. The most prominent Chiron placements when it comes to having a medical condition are: Chiron in 1st house (house of self, visible illnesses), Chiron in 5th house (illnesses since birth/early childhood), Chiron in 6th house (house of health, if Saturn is also sitting there it points to chronic illnesses), Chiron in 8th house (house of death, may point to severe diseases or poor reproductive health) and Chiron in 12th house (house of the unconscious, deals with mental illnesses)

Honorable mention to Chiron in 3rd house and Chiron in 9th house as they represent accidents while travelling. If Chiron is heavily afflicted in these houses (unless it's also conjuncting Jupiter), it may point to...let's just say you're gonna be in a hospital bed in a vegetative state, but remember, nothing has a 100% possibility of happening, you're just more susceptible to it happening. I suggest checking the position of Chiron in Solar Return charts for the possible timing of it happening (look for Chiron in 3rd house/Chiron in 9th house as it activates your natal Chiron)

Without further do, let's dive in⚕️

Chiron in Aries: frequent headaches, frequent nose bleeds, teeth problems (sensitive teeth, tooth decay), deafness, skull fractures, cerebral anemia, brain tumours, hemophilia, epilepsy, BPD

Chiron in Taurus: frequent colds, frequent voice loss, thyroid problems (goiter, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidis, etc.), tonsilitis, OCD

Chiron in Gemini: lung problems (asthma, tuberculosis, pneumonia, etc.), speech problems (stuttering, cluttering, mutism), alzheimer's disease, ADHD, OCD

Chiron in Cancer: frequent stomach pain, prone to lactose intolerance, (for girls) breast lumps, breast cysts, breast infections, nipple discharge, depression, anxiety

Chiron in Leo: prone to insolation, frequent heart palpitations, chest pain, hypertension, hypotension, arteriosclerosis, scoliosis, kyphosis

Chiron in Virgo: frequent bloating, prone to gluten intolerance, chronic allergies, diabetes, rabies, autism, ADHD, OCD

Chiron in Libra: prone to acne, frequent lower back pain, disc herniation, spondylolisthesis, chronic kidney disease, kidney stones

Chiron in Scorpio: frequent pain down there, chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV/AIDS, depression

Chiron in Sagittarius: frequent pain in the hips, prone to hips dislocation, cirrhosis, sciatica

Chiron in Capricorn: prone to knees dislocation, osteoarthritis, bone problems (osteopenia, osteoporosis), gout, depression

Chiron in Aquarius: electrical injuries, shin splints, osteofibrous dysplasia, ankle sprain, ankle fractures, poor blood circulation, schizophrenia

Chiron in Pisces: prone to break toes, athlete's foot, bunions, addison's disease, hormonal deregulation, aphantasia, psychosis, schizophrenia, anxiety

Yes, i'm aware of the fact that it's a generational planet and it moves very slowly through signs

BONUS: It's important to take into consideration all planets that conjunct, square or opposite Chiron (regardless if they're personal or generational) + the Ascendant for additional info about our illnesses

Ex. Let's take me as an example. My Chiron is in my 10th house in Capricorn squaring Saturn in 4th house (so double Capricorn energy) and Aries Ascendant. Guess what? I've got TMJ (basically a jaw disorder affecting the joints) and i've got it from my fam -_- (Saturn rules tradition i love my fam)

I also believe that having a heavy afflicted Chiron in general makes someone prone to having a medical condition, even if it's not in the houses mentioned previously (like in my case). However, these people are more focused on the main meaning of the house, not their health problems. They tend to ignore their health problems or they just don't care

I hope you enjoyed my post and found it insightful :)

What's your wound? Lmk in the comments your placements and your illnesses

Kisses xoxo

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for joining my girlfriend’s cult & killing my friends?

I know this sounds bad, but I swear I can explain.

I (18F) go to a high school for gifted students; I was accepted for my talents in the medical field. I come from an abusive home and have been bullied and sexually harassed most of my life so because of that I’m kind of a people-pleaser & have some really bad self-image issues, but my new school was actually pretty nice & I ended up making a lot of friends while I was there. Apart from my friends from my old school who joined with me (except this one girl who bullied me, I still tried to be nice to her though), our class president was genuinely one of the sweetest girls I’ve ever met, and we also had a really nice teacher; for once, it felt like I was actually being treated like a human being. In particular, though, later on I met these two guys from my class; one was sick & needed me to take care of him, & the other was assuming his identity so he could focus on his work. No one had ever treated me so nicely before, so I became friends with them, but one of them went missing so I went to look for him and ended up getting kidnapped.

I found my friend, and it turns out he was working on a secret project with this girl from another class; the one who kidnapped me was her sister. They showed me the project, and at the time it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I started hanging around this girl more often, and ended up falling in love with her. It felt like she was the only one who truly understood me and accepted me for who I was…but looking back on it now, she was almost definitely a cult leader, because later on she showed me another video that I’m pretty sure was meant to brainwash me. Our relationship was toxic, too; she abused me physically and verbally, but to be honest I was kinda into it because at least she was paying attention to me.

While I was under her influence, I did a lot of things I’m not proud of; I tried to seduce my friend when he was clearly not into it, and I led the rest of my class into a trap that got our class president killed (I actually pushed her into the trap, I apologized for it though) and everyone else brainwashed as well while they were forced to watch. I didn’t want to do it; I think the video didn’t work quite as well as she wanted it to because the whole time it still felt like I had this little voice in my head telling me to stop, but when I tried to listen to it I just heard my beloved’s voice overpowering it. Everything after that is kind of a blur, but we basically ended up bringing about the apocalypse; all you need to know is that I did a LOT of illegal stuff and a lot more people died. After about a year of this, though, my girlfriend’s crimes came back to bite her and she got herself killed. We all took this pretty badly; a lot of the other cult members killed themselves, and I’m about 90% sure I surgically implanted her uterus inside of me so I could bear her children. It’s all still kind of hazy right now.

After that, the rest of us were rounded up and sent to a rehab facility in the hopes that we could be deprogrammed, and as part of the process our memories were erased. What they didn’t know was that my ex had preserved her consciousness in an artificial intelligence and before we were detained we planned to let her possess our bodies so she could continue her agenda, so she hijacked the rehab program and tried to encourage us to kill each other. I managed to avoid killing anyone for a while, but then a few of us got sick and while I was tending to them I ended up contracting it as well. Whatever disease I got, it caused me to remember everything and go back to being brainwashed. While I was in this state, I ended up strangling my best friend to death (she was infected and her strain of the disease made her more susceptible to suggestion) and later slit my bully’s throat after she walked in on me during the first kill. I covered my tracks the best I could, but the rest of my class was still able to find out what happened. I felt really cornered in the moment, so I kinda lashed out at everyone and blamed them all for everything that had happened to me and I also went on this weird rant about how my ex was the only one who truly loved me and “forgave my existence.” That didn’t really help my case, so I was voted out of the program and executed.

Except not really; it turns out the program was just a really immersive VR simulation & no one actually died (except for our class president, it turns out they also placed an AI modeled after her into the program but she got executed too; long story). The ones who made it to the end were able to defeat my ex’s AI self and rehabilitate the rest of us, so now we’re all living on the island the program was modeled after since we’re all technically fugitives. But now that I have my memories back, I feel so horrible about everything I’ve done, both in the program and out of it. My friends have been pretty understanding since they also did a lot of terrible things in the cult, but I still can’t help but feel like it was all my fault since I was the first one to get brainwashed and got everyone else brainwashed in the first place. Maybe if I wasn’t such a people-pleaser, or if I had fought harder against it, or if I had just minded my own business and not gone looking for my friend…oh, there’s so much I could have done…maybe it could have been different. I could have prevented all this from ever happening. I should have.

Please, forgive me…

AITA?

[hotarubi-alums]

(There is a stack of documents stapled to your front door. They read,)

Hellloooooooooo ex-students!!!!! Everyone's super duper favorite number one bestest exorcist Kamitani here!!!!!! I'm conducting a survey for aaallllll the staff and students and some super special alumni, so if you're interested please fill out these forms and attach them to the first bird you see!!!! If you're not, just burn them!!!!

Do you like humans?

Do you like ghouls?

Do you like anomalies?

Do you consider ghouls to be anomalies?

Do you consider yourself to be an anomaly?

If you consider yourself to be non-anomalous (e.g. human, etc), do you like living as such? 6a. If you were to become anomalous, would you like living as such?

If you consider yourself an anomaly, do you like living as such? 7a. If you were to become human, would you like living as such?

If your friend became an anomaly, would you like them to keep living as such?

If you were cursed (non-specific, anything you consider a curse), would you want to find a cure? 9a. If so, why? 9b. If you could cure your/Nakami's illness, but in return he gains a random non-lethal curse, would you? Why or why not?

Do you want to live forever? 10a. If you could, what would you do?

( @aii-staff-tani )

Akira saw the papers as he returned from work and brought them in with him, glancing over them. Most of it seemed survey-like enough, but... question 9 mentioned Nakami and his situation by name. His brows furrowed.

"How was work?"

He startled slightly, turning around. "You're up early."

"Once upon a time I was a morning person, remember?" Nakami smiled and stepped closer, placing a hand on Akira's cheek. "I'm feeling pretty good this morning, though. Just got up to get a drink." He took notice of the papers, peering at them curiously, and Akira tilted them so he could read the text better. One of Nakami's eyebrows raised curiously.

"If you want you can answer these while I make breakfast, then I can answer them while you eat?"

"Sounds good," Nakami took the papers and grabbed a pen from the counter, carefully settling into a chair at the table.

*🦌 answers*

Do you like humans? Yes.

Do you like ghouls? Usually.

Do you like anomalies? Not particularly.

Do you consider ghouls to be anomalies? I suppose by definition they are.

Do you consider yourself to be an anomaly? I don't usually think of myself as such, but in concurrence with the last question I suppose I am, to some degree, an anomaly.

If you consider yourself to be non-anomalous (e.g. human, etc), do you like living as such? N/A

6a. If you were to become anomalous, would you like living as such? N/A

If you consider yourself an anomaly, do you like living as such? I do usually like being a ghoul. The benefits outweigh the drawbacks. If I were still human, I almost certainly wouldn't have survived this long in my condition.

7a. If you were to become human, would you like living as such? That would depend on whether I still had this illness or not. If I did, I'm sure I'd be more miserable living like that, more susceptible to pain and ailments. But if becoming a human again also got rid of my illness, I'm sure I'd enjoy life just as much as I did before becoming a ghoul.

If your friend became an anomaly, would you like them to keep living as such? That would depend on the anomaly's nature, of course. Are they aggressive? Did they retain their sentience and personality? If they're not themselves anymore and are harmful, why would I let them live?

If you were cursed (non-specific, anything you consider a curse), would you want to find a cure? Of course.

9a. If so, why? Who would want to live a cursed existence? If it's truly a curse, then that suggests there's negative repercussions on the cursebearer or those around them. Therefore it would be beneficial to cure it if possible.

9b. If you could cure your/Nakami's illness, but in return he gains a random non-lethal curse, would you? Why or why not? No. In my current state, I am deteriorating but at least I am solid in my humanity and can continue to live alongside my partner as I please until my time is up. Only a fool would take on a curse with uncertain or undefined terms. Think of the cursed ghoul still at the Academy, Obscuary's vice captain I believe. If he touches any living thing, it dies nearly instantaneously. What would the point of living be on the off-chance I could no longer hold or kiss or sleep next to Akira, and if I had to live in fear of accidentally erasing someone's existence?

Do you want to live forever? I can't say I haven't thought about it. Were I to let a vampire turn me, for example, my body would be able to heal itself. But, vampirism of course comes with its own set of drawbacks.

10a. If you could, what would you do? I suppose I'd travel around the world rather than living in one set spot for very long, at least for a while. Forever is an unfathomably long time, I'm not sure what I'd do with myself after a while.

*🦊 answers*

Do you like humans? Of course!

Do you like ghouls? Yeah

Do you like anomalies? Generally, yeah. There's a pretty wide range of them, but I do believe I like most of them.

Do you consider ghouls to be anomalies? I mean, yeah.

Do you consider yourself to be an anomaly? I guess so, since I'm a ghoul.

If you consider yourself to be non-anomalous (e.g. human, etc), do you like living as such? -

6a. If you were to become anomalous, would you like living as such? -

If you consider yourself an anomaly, do you like living as such? Being a ghoul's pretty great, the only real drawback is the after-effects of using my stigma, but I don't use it very often anyway!

7a. If you were to become human, would you like living as such? I mean, maybe. I was never very strong as a human, and I like being able to manhandle Nakami effortlessly carry and support Nakami when he doesn't feel well. My stamina is also better than it was before becoming a ghoul, which helps because I don't need as much sleep, so I can get up early to go to work, come home and do my remote job, and then stay up late to work on commissions (when I have them). So, I'm not sure I'd like going back to living as a human, no.

If your friend became an anomaly, would you like them to keep living as such? Probably? Between Jabberwock and Mortkranken, I'm sure there's somewhere that could take care of them and keep them happy and safe.

If you were cursed (non-specific, anything you consider a curse), would you want to find a cure? Yeah?

9a. If so, why? Who wouldn't? If it was plausible to cure a curse, I think it would be a no-brainer to try and find a cure.

9b. If you could cure your/Nakami's illness, but in return he gains a random non-lethal curse, would you? Why or why not? Yes. If there was a way I wouldn't lose him, of course I'd take it. And it hurts, watching him in pain almost constantly. If there was a way to fix that? It's not even a question.

Do you want to live forever? No

10a. If you could, what would you do? I don't even know. I feel like I'd be... lonely, if I had to live forever.

[bnhaquirkideas]

hi !! do you have a name fitting for like a conman /scam quirk? it's not very serious, but the basic rundown is that the user can manipulate peoples sense of worth (towards themselves, others, or items) and exchange items that have the same (or the same percieved) worth easily!!

i was also thinking of adding perhaps like a telephone scam part into the quirk (if that even makes sense) but idk how that'd work as of rn

thank you in advance !! <3

so theres a lot of routes you can go! there might be something where whatever the user says suddenly becomes true in the mind of the person they're interacting with (ex: "christmas sweaters in july are all the rage!") and they'll like. buy into that so long as it makes some sense? so the amount of trust the user builds with the victim may be important to the efficiency of their quirk so they'll keep their guard down and be more susceptible to suggestion...?

an alternative is something like making objects appear differently than they are, but things like weight and texture may be unaffected? so if you're trying to get someone to buy your super expensive diamonds you'd have to use something that felt like a diamond even if it was just a rock. effect fades after they leave the users proximity or after a certain amount of time :3

[sflow-er]

^This.

The term 'redemption arc' is problematic because it often gets used for appallingly simplified fixes, and those aren't going to work in August's case. I'd be very disappointed indeed if the solution was to make everyone forgive him due to some deus ex machina good deed (e.g. saving someone's life or taking the fall for the drugs) or to make him apologise without genuine accountability. In fact, I don't particularly want to see people forgive him at all.

However. If we actually mean a rehabilitation and accountability arc that eventually leads him to a place where he stops hurting himself and others, I'm all for it.

August is still a teenager and very far from mature - not only because his characterisation screams emotional immaturity, but also because the human brain only fully matures in the first half of the 20s. Young offenders are cut more slack in restorative justice systems (e.g. in all the Nordic countries) for good reason. They experience any kind of consequences more severely, are more susceptible to the right kind of help than adults, and have higher chances of avoiding a 'criminal way of life' or whatever you wish to call it. In fact, thought patterns and behaviours that would be considered highly concerning in adults often fall within the scope of age-typical excesses that will even out later on (which is why the bar for diagnosing teenagers with personality disorders or the like is very high, at least in my corner of the world). So no matter how terrible some of August's patterns are at the moment, he still has a chance to outgrow them.

To loop back to the original question, anon said "it would have to be a well thought out redemption arc." In my opinion, that would have to entail August getting counselling for issues and trauma, internalising how and why his actions hurt others, and learning accountability through consequences (consistently reinforced by the community as Blue emphasised above). Note that none of these boxes were ticked in S2, so I wouldn't say he's beyond saving just yet.

Anyway. It's a long and winding path, and I doubt it would be possible to show us more than the first steps in the final season, but I definitely wouldn't mind seeing them.

[Full disclosure: I voted for 'like it', not 'love it', because it would need to be done very well indeed.]

[ETA: Just to clarify: I am not suggesting he be let off with a slap on the wrist. He does need to face consequences for the crimes he committed, that's an essential part of learning accountability.]

I suspect August may have a redemption arc in season 3 and I'm curious what the fandom would think of it?

And I want to specify that it would have to be a well thought out redemption arc, he'd still have to face consequences and own up to his mistakes in a realistic and convincing way.

If that's the case, would you hate it, dislike it, be meh about it, like it, or love it?

[markantonys]

time for my end-of-tfoh post!! this one is LONG but i just had so many thoughts on the last few chapters

i LOVE nynaeve nerding out over healing and elayne over making angreal. they are so cute and powerful!! it’s nice especially to see elayne develop her Thing™ the way nynaeve has healing and egwene dreaming

min and elayne reunion! interesting to finally see 2 of rand’s gfs acknowledge to each other that they both like him. and good for them for not wanting it to affect their friendship and for trying to make the best of it, though elayne is understandably less than thrilled at the prospect of sharing rand (when as far as she knows she’s still the only one of the 3 who’s had any sort of actual relationship with him)

“i saw that you’d fall in love with him, i don’t know what he feels for you” wow min no need to make elayne feel more insecure than she already does. min is just not buttering my bread this book i have to say.

“who was the third woman? aviendha had better be keeping a close eye on him” that’s some delicious dramatic irony and my first reaction was to laugh, but also, it really hits home how scummy it was that aviendha and rand slept together. like, elayne has put so much trust in her! at least aviendha is very aware of the wrong done and plans to make amends for it, from her mention of having toh to elayne now. and elayne’s conflicting letters give rand juuuuust enough plausible deniability regarding her feelings and intentions towards him that it MAYBE doesn’t count as cheating. still, doesn’t sit right with me and my elayne-loving heart.

back to cairhien. poor rand, he’s got so many problems, and to top it all off everyone in cairhien (still) wants to fuck him. the show better have some cairhienin lords as well as ladies thirsting over rand or else it’s a coward

“moiraine smiled. ‘you learn quickly. you will do well.’ for a moment she looked almost fond.” MOMRAINE 😭

“[mat’s] green coat hung open, and his shirt was half unlaced, exposing the silver foxhead dangling on his sweaty chest” someone get rand a glass of water, he’s thirsty

rand intentionally letting mat be scared by the 3 aes sedai (well 2+aviendha) to make him more susceptible to what rand needs to order him to do 🗡️💔 1x06 rand “pulls a sword on moiraine to protect mat from her” al’thor would be horrified. oh it hurts to see who my sunshine boy is being forced to become

mat insulting elayne and in the same breath saying he’s glad she’s not here to hear the news of morgase’s death. matlayne rights!

i never believed even for a moment that she was really dead, but rand’s guilt over it hurts!!

mat straightaway advocating for finding elayne and putting her on the throne. matlayne rights!

“i will see you tonight or i will see you dead” rand you can’t just summon asmodean for a bootycall right in front of your girlfriend and your boyfriend and your ex-girlfriend and your mom

“you will never choose what risks i take, rand al’thor. never. know it now.” obsessed with this line, i want it tattooed on my brain

“‘i said, shut up!’ rand drove the foxhead against mat’s chest with a hard finger.” mat internally: [chanting] top me top me top me

“the stormy meeting with rand had gone on till the sun set” i wonder what happened in mat and rand’s fade-to-black stormy meeting that lasted until sunset 👀

melindhra is evil [pretends to be shocked] (i’d already been spoiled on it but i’m certain i would’ve been able to guess even if i hadn’t) poor mat is so traumatized from having to kill her :((((

“i am the car’a’carn, remember.” “you have shaving lather on your ear, rand al’thor.” they are so married

aviendha defending her brother-husband when asmodean suggests that mat killing melindhra is the reason the maidens are mad 🥰

“amazingly, [moiraine] gave mat a warm smile” MOMRAINE

“you have changed from the boy i first saw outside the winespring inn” MOMRAINE

lanfear really said If I Can’t Have Him No One Can

“he could end it. only, he could not. he was going to die, perhaps the world would die, but he could not make himself kill another woman.” interrupting my bullet list because only a picture can express my feelings about this:

thank god moiraine has a braincell and yeets lanfear through the ter’angreal

i’m 100% confident that moiraine is fine. no body no death! and i’ve heard about things she does that have not happened yet therefore she’s still alive

lan and rand’s reactions though 😭😭 but please lan, i know you’re Going Through It but please don’t give rand your terrible “you and i bring nothing but pain to the people we love, you should push everyone away” relationship advice as your parting words, the boy is emotionally fucked up enough already

moiraine’s letter to rand 😭😭😭 MOMRAINE!! and rand crying 😭😭😭😭

sulin’s verbal ear-boxing to rand over his dumb hangups over women in battle was much needed, but sadly it didn’t really change his opinion, only convinced him there was no point arguing with the maidens. rand’s concern for the maidens and valuing their safety over the other societies’ would be so touching if it came from a place of them being his Family and the aiel he’s closest to instead of just being because they’re women

“i thought maybe they were going to go in one at a time and kiss you out of your miseries” mat you’re projecting, i know you’re the one who wanted to go in and kiss rand out of his miseries

mat saying “i like canoodling as much as the next man but don’t you think there are a few too many people watching” when rand and aviendha are having a Moment jdkfjg he really said “are you serious? right in front of my salad?” and this from mat of all people who you would think wouldn’t give a shit about other people’s pda. he’s totally jealous

there are some sort of matrandlayne rights here in the fact that mat and rand are breaking into elayne’s palace together the same way they both did separately in the past

“now i find i truly like the sight of you on your knees” moghedien that’s gay

“nynaeve took hold of the silvery leash where it joined the collar and pulled the forsaken’s face close to hers” nynaeve that’s gay

fat little man angreal my beloved. if rand ever loses that little guy i’ll be devastated.

so rand can enter tel’aran’rhiod without a ter’angreal? and i believe mat will eventually reunite with elayne and nynaeve who have ter’angreals that can be used even by someone who can’t channel. are you thinking long-distance cauthor because i’m thinking long-distance cauthor! no i don’t care if nynaeve says rand loses part of himself by entering tel’aran’rhiod this way, how else is he supposed to call his boyfriend, nynaeve?

i was so convinced rand was gaslighting me when he kept insisting he’d entered tel’aran’rhiod back in tear because i had 0 memory of any such thing, but as i was typing out my complaint i remembered that must’ve been what he did in his final battle with ishamael lmao fuck man too much Stuff happens in these books, my memory cannot possibly retain it all. also that battle with ishamael was confusing as hell to me and i don’t think i realized that entering tel’aran’rhiod was what had happened, i was just kinda like “all right rand left this plane of existence somehow, cool, moving on”

nynaeve and rand’s reunion healed and hurt me at the same time. they’ve both changed so much since they last saw each other 😭😭

i already made a post weeping over rand reuniting with not-dead aviendha and mat but i simply must reiterate how much it made my heart swell!!!!!

also, certain book readers were seriously complaining about nynaeve’s “fakeout death” at the end of 1x08 when the entire ending of tfoh is the way that it is LMAOOOO possibly the best example yet of “turns out things book readers criticized the show for were already present in the books but so much worse” (not that i’m bothered by fakeout deaths personally, if i had it my way no characters i like would die ever) (the other biggest example is certain readers saying that the relationship drama in the show was petty and immature. how someone could say that with a straight face after reading the way LITERALLY EVERY RELATIONSHIP IN THE WHOLE BOOK SERIES is written is beyond me)

rand protectively watching over mat and aviendha chatting by the fountain together ❤️❤️❤️ randwich rights!

rand granting amnesty to male channelers and deciding to start a lil school! this is going to be a fun plotline

ASMODEAN!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

oh asmodean we barely knew ye. gone far too soon. rip king. i’m genuinely so pissed off about this actually, there is so much wasted potential!! he had the potential to be SUCH a fascinating character with SUCH a fascinating relationship with rand, but it was barely explored. URGH!!! curious to know who killed him tho, you would assume it was another forsaken but that almost seems too obvious............

[romchomp]

nana rewatch notes-episode 14

- “i had thought tokyo was a warmer place” in contrast to the previous “it never snows in tokyo” comment. i cannot keep doing this

-so the snowstorms were normal where nana lived

-“compared to my hometown tokyo is like a tropical forest” is nana enjoying herself? it’s hard to know how nana feels during this period of the story lol

-nana says she “hates cunning women like that” suggesting that she prefers more straightforward ways of communicating- but this isn’t entirely true. not to mention that this is clearly hachi overthinking and worried about upsetting shoji. nana has already recognized hachi as a sincere+earnest person before. nana views hachi’s attempts to please shoji as dishonest, which isn’t?? all that fair??? i guess you can see it as hachi trying to manipulate the situation but i just…idkkk

- i think nana’s comment comes from hachi’s usual willingness to put herself in vulnerable situations and seeing hachi hesitate purely to please shoji- rather than being forthright in her affection, bothers nana.

-nana giving hachi her jacket and hachi giving nana her scarf. a literal exchange of warmth. (i also think you could add that hachi wishes she could offer more/ feels that she didn’t help nana as much as she did her)

-“she seemed to fit better with the snowy mountains” oh boy. the snow metaphors never end

-hachi says she IS a cunning woman. this line immediately follows “i was no longer the pure woman who would continue dating shoji expecting nothing in return. but i pretend to be. because i didn’t want nana to hate me”

-nana’s idea of a cunning woman was someone who wasn’t honest/forward about what they wanted; and wanting something is exactly what makes hachi feel impure- or better yet, realizing when you don’t want something.

-we’re finally seeing hachi acknowledge her own wants+needs in a relationship. and this is (kind of?) the second time we see her admit that she isn’t happy with the ways things are going with shoji and she obviously has some guilt attached to those thoughts.

“i didn’t want nana to hate me” so nana’s words got to her a bit lol. but i think hachi would’ve thought this no matter what bc of her internalized guilt- she thinks she should be happy with shoji as is.

- can i also say how susceptible this line is to a queer reading? hachi slowly admitting to herself that she isn’t happy with her boyfriend, feeling impure and guilty bc of it, and afraid that it will cause her girl best friend to hate her??? sounds really fucking gay to me.

-this is def one of my favorite episodes lol

- i am OBSESSED with how the characters are positioned in this scene. both hachi and sachiko looking away from shoji (and each other), while nana is right in front of him and the only one verbally confronting the situation. the pain shoji has caused both hachi and sachiko is laid right out in front of him, as he avoids looking at anyone.

- “i don’t want him. i don’t want to look at his face.” and she physically can’t. her perception of shoji has been shattered. he was someone she expected to never hurt her.

-the way everyone is now highly saturated compared to the background indicates how unreal this feels to hachi.

-this is also...a moment of growth for hachi. i think in the way she rejected shoji.

-“i wasn’t mature enough to forgive his betrayal” im sorry you feel that way. hachi you have so many ideas abt relationships that concern me pls see a therapist

-“i had too much pride to cling onto someone who had just hurt me.” hachi i think you could use a little MORE pride. also, wanting to be treated decently isnt just pride? it’s sad that hachi doesn’t feel that she deserves to end things with shoji or be upset about getting hurt.

-god hachi’s character offers so much good commentary on modern womanhood though.

-i still to this day have conflicting feelings abt the scene between hachi and junko. i wouldn’t call hachi crying over her ex-bf she just caught cheating “playing the victim”. while junko is applying this to how hachi behaves generally (and in a general sense it holds some truth), this is...literally not the time.

-it’s also unfair to suggest hachi was the only selfish person in the relationship. shoji was hardly willing to meet her halfway. hachi was careless and not very observant but shoji straight up didn’t enjoy her company. shoji was selfish too.

-i get that a big part of hachi’s characterization is that she always faces direct consequences and no one makes excuses for her, but this is literally not her fault lmao

-so far my favorite nana eps are 1,9, and 14

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[astarriscus]

# 50+ followers milestone event !!

— ft. ASTARRISCUS. thank you so much for 50+ ! i appreciate you all lots and lots /gen <3 ——— navigation. announcement post.

thank you so much everyone! i love you all /p hehe, here's my small event i'll be working on in my free time! tysm, it's quite a small number to some, but nonetheless, it means that you thought enough of my blog to give a follow. that means a lot, tysm. <3

send in two characters or fandom/s and i will pick one character to write a drabble for. specify genre, send in 3-5 emojis, and optionally any one word/phrase. pls check actual steps down below, and also the rules utc! ⤵︎

INBOX : 1/10 (i am accepting 14 more requests!)

REQUESTS ARE NOW CLOSED FOR THIS EVENT. tysm to all those who participated !! <33

(followers before this event started / my mutuals, new or old, can disregard the slots! feel free to request anytime until the event is officially closed, even after the above inbox slots are full <3)

——— steps to follow ! <3

000. to get a drabble of around 400 to 800 words (approximate number of words is susceptible to change, but expect around 700 usually!), follow the instructions below!

001. send in any two characters from any fandom/s that i write for in my list (different fandoms ok!). feel free to specify which character from the two you'd prefer! or if you'd like, just send in one or two fandoms in my askbox! i'll pick the characters myself, if that's the case.

002. please specify what genre you'd like! fluff, angst, hurt/comfort, specific au you'd prefer, any specific details (but not relating to racial-specific appearances such as skin ; stuff like height, specific relationship w/ character, occupation, etc. are ok)...

003. send in any 3-5 emojis (ex. 💘💤💭🌼🍃) + optionally, any one word or phrase! any at all! (ex. pick-up lines)

004. with all required elements, i will then write you a short-ish drabble! of one of the characters/fandoms that you sent! that is based off the emojis and the genre/s you specified!

— sample request: hello! for your 50 follower event, may i please request a drabble for kazuha, with thoma as my 2nd choice? 💘💤💭🌼🍃 + the phrase "pick-up lines". thank you so much!

notice. — pls make sure to send 2 (or more) characters for me to choose from in case i cannot write the drabble well enough fr your 1st chosen char! (unless they're bolded or not italicized in my list)

——— rules to follow ! <3

... it is very very very much appreciated if you are actually a follower before requesting for this event ^^ new followers are always welcome! tysm, if ever, for being here!

... here is the link to my general rules / character list. i write for genshin impact, haikyuu!!, jujutsu kaisen, tears of themis, kimetsu no yaiba, and my hero academia.

... those who are not followers of mine but are joining this event, it's okay for you to join! no worries at all hehe <3

... anonymous ok! y'all are more than okay here <3

... i only write sfw, as i am a minor. so no nsfw requests at all, please. slightly suggestive is alright!

... i am a student! please bare with me as i may take time with getting your request out. so, please be respectful and patient.

... feel free to ask questions !! tysm again to everyone hehehe <333

... requests may be extended beyond 10, but that depends (unlikely tbh)! event will last for as long as i like maybe, but expect at least a week? ^^ tentative date ; nov. 25 - dec. 17. NOW ENDED.

[hermitcraftheadcanons]

Former Hermit!Skizz anon here

Personally I really love your suggestion of something in his code making him more susceptible to mind control.

During Evil X’s last attack on the server, he figured out pretty quickly that there was one weaker Hermit in the group whom he could use against them. The idea was too irresistible to EX so he decided to try it out.

The seven hours Skizz was under EX’s control was by far the worst time of Team ZITS’ lives. The other three had to endure their best friend attacking them and evilly laughing about how he was going to destroy the server. He even managed to kill Zedaph and severely injure Impulse to the point where he begged Tango to kill him to make the pain stop.

Luckily, Xisuma figured out what was going on very quickly and was able to find a way to defeat EX and bring Skizz back. Skizz was horrified when he saw what he had done. Even though his best friends reassured him over and over that it wasn’t his fault, that he’s just as much of a victim of this as they were, it takes a long time for Skizz to believe them. And even then, he knows it wouldn’t be safe for him to remain here any longer, knowing that next time, they might not be so lucky.

That’s also part of the reason why Skizz asks for their memories to be wiped fully. He wants to erase the pain they experienced of having their close friend attack them. And it certainly is a bonus that Skizz himself won’t be able to remember the gut-wrenching feeling of waking up and realising he had hurt and/or killed all three of his best friends.

First of all, OUCH. It's fine, it's fiiiine, I didn't need my heart today -

Second of all...I can totally see why the memory wipe would be wanted. That type of thing digs into your brain, even if on a logical level you KNOW it wasn't your friend's/your own fault, seeing a friend's face or your own hands connected to so much destruction and bloodshed just loops over and over again in your mind until you can't think anymore.

So, it was necessary. That much Xisuma can be sure of, but it can't ease the pain of being the only one left who remembers. After all, it was his evil self that wrought this. He was the one who made some oversight that allowed him back again. And now he has nobody to support him, nobody to tell him that he is wrong in believing it was his fault. I wonder if he ever considered memory wiping himself? I wonder if he can?

- Mod Shade

[plaidbooks]

Can I request something short & fluffy with Nick? You two are secretly dating so finding ways to secretly show your love (ex: secret hand squeezes, kisses in blind spots, whispers of sweet nothings, giving each other looks, hand on your back...) while on the job.

Quiet Evenings

A/N: Hey Anon, I slept like shit last night, so I’m 100% sure that Nick could convince me to rob a bank with that soft, deep voice of his right in my ear. Idk about you, but when I’m tired/nodding off, I’m a thousand times more susceptible to do what I’m told if it means sleep and comfort.

Tags: none, just tired fluff

Words: 761 (you did say short)

Taglist: @the-baby-bookworm @beccabarba @thatesqcrush @itsjustmyfantasyroom @stardust-fray @permanentlydizzy @infiniteoddball @ben-c-group-therapy @glowingmess @whimsicallymad

It was late at night, and you were halfway through a triple shift. You struggled to keep your eyes open, typing in keyword after keyword, trying to find other victims in your pattern 18 rapist. Every now and again, your fingers would stop working, your eyes shutting, and your head dipping forward before you awoke with a start, shaking yourself and going back to typing. You were just starting to nod off again when a coffee cup plopped down next to you, strong arms draping around your torso.

“You look tired, mi amor,” Nick murmured in your ear, kissing your cheek. He sounded just as tired as you were—he was just finishing a double shift and heading into a triple.

You glanced around the precinct, making sure you were alone; there were some officers milling about at their desks, but they paid no attention to you or Nick. “Babe, not here; we don’t want to get caught,” you whispered back, even as you melted into his touch. He had taken a shower recently, his hair smelled nice, his cologne familiar, his arms safe and secure….

You were nodding off in his embrace, his deep voice purring into your ear, “no one’s around, baby. What if we just took an hour in the Sleeping Quarters? Cuddle you against my chest and just sleep for a little.”

God that was tempting. “What if someone sees? What if someone walks in on us?”

Nick’s lips pressed gently against the skin under your ear. “Who cares if they know? I love you, hermosa, and I wanna scream it from the rooftops. Let everyone know how much you mean to me.” It was hard to argue against him with that soft, deep voice in your ear, his mouth on your skin, and his arms pulling you against his chest, letting you feel the vibration of his voice.

Instantly, he was off you, instead leaning over your desk, pointing at your laptop screen. “So, is that one of our victims?” Nick asked, voice normal, albeit tired.

Thankfully, this had happened enough times before that your half-asleep brain knew to play along. “It’s hard to tell; she matches some of the pattern 18, but not all of it,” you replied.

A few seconds later, you saw the reason for Nick’s abrupt change as Olivia came into view. “[Y/N], Nick, why don’t you two go take a few hours? Get some sleep. I’ll take over on the search for now,” she said, smiling. When Declan had suggested you and Nick work throughout the night, Olivia had offered to leave the precinct in the early evening so that she could sleep and then come relieve you at 1am.

“That’s the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me,” you groaned dramatically. Nick shot you a look, and you grinned sheepishly at him. Olivia raised an eyebrow at the interaction but said nothing as you a Nick headed towards bed, your coffee forgotten on your desk.

Once the door closed, Nick tugged you against him, kissing you gently. Then, he pulled you towards a bed, both of your exhaustion palpable. “I still wanna hold you,” he murmured, climbing into bed and rolling onto his side, patting the spot next to him.

You wanted that too, very much so, but… “what if Olivia catches us?”

“I don’t care. Why should 1PP be able to tell me who I can and cannot love—”

“You do care, Nick. You’re just tired,” you sighed. “Look, we’ll talk about this more after we sleep—a real sleep—but for now, let’s not compromise our jobs.”

He grunted, shifting to lay close to the edge of the bed closest to you as you took the bed next to him. Nick reached out his hand, letting it hang between your two beds. Smiling softly, you reached yours out, interlacing your fingers with his.

“Even if we have to hide what we have, I still love you, with all my heart,” Nick murmured, rubbing the back of your hand with his thumb.

“I love you, too, Nick. With all my heart,” you whispered back, smiling softly at him. You both fell asleep, hands clasped, unable to truly hold each other here but knowing that once you were home, you’d be able to hold each other as much as your hearts’ desired, your whispered confessions turning into proclamations. You’d tell 1PP eventually, once them and IAB stopped hounding Nick as their scapegoat for the department, but for now, having quiet, private moments together would have to suffice.

[demonologist-in-denim]

What if in earlier seasons, Crowley was written as an amiable ally for the boys, rather than them disliking him. Imagine Crowley being established as “not as bad as other demons” in the Winchester’s eyes, as a semi-reluctant ally who – yeah, on occasion, puts his own interests first, but never directly threatens and even occasionally helps the boys. He’s still snarky, and he can still be an arse. But the boys know that as long as they don’t cross him, Crowley won’t mess with them. From Crowley’s end, that’s because keeping good relations with the infamous Winchester brothers is to his benefit. But then, they start to grow on him. And maybe he’s a little more lenient with the flannelled nightmares than he should be, a little indulgent, rolls his eyes and does a few favors for them. Which only further encourages the Winchesters, and later a less willing Castiel, to view him as a frenemy.

The rest of the early seasons is the same, except now, moving into season 6, the boys are willingly working with Crowley and Cas. They don’t like the idea of opening up Purgatory, but they understand that Hell and Heaven really do need to be taken in hand – and who else are they going to trust to do that? As things start to look really dark throughout that season, the boys start pushing back, start testing their relationship with both angel and demon, and Cas still betrays all of them and takes the souls for himself. And now there’s season 7, with Crowley working with the boys to stop Cas – Dean wanting to save him from himself, Sam and Crowley unhappily planning to kill the angel – Sam because he doesn’t think Cas can be saved, and Crowley because he wants his share of the Purgatory power. Unleash the Leviathans, and now we’ve got the King of Hell working closely and willingly with the boys to stop this new threat. Demons at their disposal, even. Which doesn’t put Crowley in a very good position in Hell, but he pushes on because it’s this or let the Leviathans eat the world. The Winchesters plus Crowley and a now restored Castiel manage to defeat the Leviathans, just as the demons rise up and dethrone Crowley. Hell is a free-for-all, and demons are loose in the world.

Then have all of season 8 be about demon in-fighting and the human casualties along the way. The boys work to get Crowley back on the throne, so he can restore some order. But that also means he’s temporarily dependent on them, in hiding with them from his former minions. Leads them to the Men of Letters legacy, which in turn leads to the bunker. Bring the British Men of Letters back in seasons earlier, alerted to the awakening of one of their old establishments in the States. Throw Abaddon into the mix, providing a competitor for Crowley laying claim to the throne, which would make him more susceptible to the help offered by the Winchesters, and unfortunately to the supposed support of the BMoL as well. By now, Crowley’s an unofficial member of Team Free Will, the boys well aware he chose saving the world (and them) over giving his full attention to Hell, leading to all this. There’s the sense that the four of them – plus Kevin and Charlie, at this point – are all in it together. Maybe even Meg is still around, maybe she’s trying to lead one of the demonic factions, and there is this whole I-care-about-you-but-we’re-on-opposite-sides between her and Cas. Crowley has softened, the same way Cas softened over time with exposure to humanity and the Winchesters.

Of course the tablets and Kevin came into play with the Leviathans. The BMoL reveal they have the demon tablet, and suggest Kevin might be able to find something on it to control demonkind and restore Hell. Big dramatic reveal to the Winchesters only, the BMoL admit that there is a means of closing the Gates of Hell permanently on the tablet – learned from a previous prophet whom, ahem, did not survive their duty – and now the Winchesters are torn between sparing the world from demons and betraying Crowley. Crowley, who is counting on them to help him get his throne back. Crowley who has begrudgingly and then more willingly worked cases with them while they’ve tried to find an answer to all of this. Crowley who led them to the MoL and the bunker in the first place. Who isn’t as bad as the rest of his kind, who Dean likes to go for a drink with and might even consider a friend. And just as the Winchesters decide they can find another way to close the Gates, Kevin discovers the necessary spell, and the BMoLs take advantage that there is a demon close at hand, and snatch Crowley to perform the demon trials.

And by the time the Winchesters race to his rescue – torn, because ending the trial means not closing the Gates, but damn it, he’s had their backs, so they’re going to have his – Crowley is in the last hour of the cure. Tells them to let it happen, let the trial be complete, the Gates slammed shut. His own soul restored. But there’s that whole thing with Metatron and Cas and the angels going on, so of course this is the moment the angels are cast out of Heaven. And Abaddon bursts in, maybe Meg comes to challenge her. And in all the chaos, the cure is never completed, time’s up, too late. The boys defeat the BMoLs, rescue Crowley, escape. Cas is lost somewhere in the world, human after what happened in Heaven.

Season 9 would be almost completely the same – Crowley’s blood addiction, searching for the Mark and the Blade, Abaddon, the angels, all of it – except, the Winchesters actually sympathize with Crowley. They express concern, ask after him, say maybe having regained something of his soul is a good thing. And Crowley is torn, because he can now really feel that affection he has for the boys, and he might very well have the option of a place among them, but also he knows Hell needs a ruler to keep demonkind in line, and he still likes power. The boys help him overthrow Abaddon, help him get clean of his blood addiction. Maybe there’s a scene where Crowley and Meg compare notes – he who went through the cure, and she who cares for an angel, neither of whom really fit with demonkind anymore. And by the time the season reaches the later episodes, with Crowley back on the throne and the boys working cases while trying to figure out what to do about Metatron, Crowley is an acknowledged, secret extension of Team Free Will. Makes changes to Hell, keeps demonkind under tight control, helps here and there on cases.

All of this, all of this headcanon, just to get to the point where the boys are always making side comments to Crowley about, you know, how if he wanted to give up Hell and join the three of them full time, he’d be welcome. Come on, just work one more case with us. Just this one about hellhounds. Just that one with vampires. Just one more, one more, one more. And Crowley acquiesces more than he knows he should. Cares about the boys and Cas more than he knows he should, hates Hell and demons more than he knows he should.

So that by the time the Mark takes Dean and turns him into a demon, it’s not only Sam and Cas that are hurt by it. It’s Crowley, too. Crowley who sees Dean turning into something truly evil, something worse than Crowley himself is now. And he agrees with Sam and Cas that he’ll take demon!Dean under his wing as his second-in-command in Hell until they find a cure, a cure for the Mark as much as for being a demon. Season 10 is all about Cas (who’s grace is fading) and Sam working to find a cure while working cases, and Crowley trying to keep Dean occupied with hunting down rebel demons and the like. He even sends the Knight of Hell after angels, to capture more grace for the fading Castiel. Throw Rowena – as Fergus’ ex-wife – in there, attempting to convince Crowley to share his throne with her, causing mischief. He would feel this deep sense of loneliness – demon!Dean isn’t the companion he was before the Mark, Rowena only wants power for herself ultimately, demonkind hates and is in open rebellion against him – and Crowley is beginning to admit to himself that he just doesn’t have this in him anymore, to be the kind of monster it takes to rule Hell. Maybe Dean even tries to take the throne from him, with Rowena’s help, and the acceptance by the demons of this alternative ruler is everything Crowley needs to finally break from old loyalties and the desire to rule, from demonkind entirely.

Realizing the situation is entirely out of control, Crowley, Cas and Sam work to capture Dean. They convince Rowena, who has now taken the throne of Hell for herself, to remove the Mark, thus removing a threat to her reign. Crowley makes an oath that if she will do this, he will never seek to retake the throne. An enraged demon!Dean is forced through the demon trials, in which he says the most horrible and hurtful things to Sam and Cas. And to Crowley, cuttingly demanding to know why the former king will put Dean through this, restore the hunter’s humanity, but not his own. Crowley doesn’t have an answer. He doesn’t have an answer because he realizes that, once, he would have said it was important he hold Hell, or that he wanted the power that came with being a demon, or that he was scared of facing what he’s done as a demon. In light of everything that has happened – the complete rejection by demonkind and the loss of Hell, the revulsion he feels after the aborted cure and Dean’s own time as a demon, and knowing he has a place here on Team Free Will – Crowley realizes he no longer has a reason not to complete the cure.

And in the last hour of the cure, with Dean almost entirely restored to himself, the hunter understands the demon better than ever before. Tells him, one of these days, it’s going to be Crowley in this chair, the cure coursing through him, the three of them gathered around him, supportive. And Crowley knows he’s right. It’s no longer a question of if – only when.

Once they’ve completed the demon cure, the boys set about removing the Mark, with Rowena’s help. And removing the Mark unleashes the Darkness in the world. In season 11, the Darkness should have been something much more insidious, and dangerous. A force which slithers into people, bolsters the innate darkness that is in everyone, turning people into their worst selves. And it controls demons utterly. They are mostly formed of the Darkness, after all.

And for Crowley and the cure, “when” is now. It is that, or fear turning on the people who used to teasingly ensnare him in “just one more case,” who would embrace him as one of them if only he’d allow it. And now, he’s finally ready for that.

[nouvelis]

continued from here, ft. tida chiang @shimmerseas.

dumbfounded. for a few short moments, he wonders if he missed something– something very major; more than a little bit important. ( how could it be possible: to miss not just Seoah falling in love with him, but also, out of it? could he go through life not noticing any of that– ?! only he could be that oblivious... ) but finally, he gets ahold of himself: shakes the stupor of confusion out of his last braincell. it clicks: she was a WRITER, after all. what did song-writers write about more than anything else? love, of course...   

he stumbles into an answer, finally, no longer staring at Seoah wordlessly with a furrowed brow, brain playing the Jeopardy Theme Song as he desperately tried to make sense of her words – the how, the why, the specifics of this timeline of love and loss, the complete impossibility of her liking him, all of it – no, surprised curiosity takes over instead. “ oh. what’s that? a song? ” lyrics, probably: not some kind of sad confession of fading love...

but damn. even knowing that now, he finds himself oddly shaken by words that weren’t even meant for him. the true mark of a skilled writer: she almost made him believe in – and grieve for – someone else’s love story; whatever poor soul inspired this song. or maybe he’s just too scared, at the thought of hearing those words from someone for real, more susceptible to the mere suggestion of them than most... a quirk of a relieved grin, as he jokingly sympathizes.  “ 'kinda glad I’ve never dated someone whose a singer. imagine the song everyone’s bumping is about how much your ex is over you, and you have to hear it like two hundred times a day. sucks to be that guy. ”  but, if they did something bad enough to earn a Taylor-Swift-style callout through song, maybe they deserved their fate.  “ but I guess there’s worse ways to get broken up with – like a text. ” at least they had to put effort into a song...

“oh, sorry — did i scare you?” seoah lets out an abashed chuckle once she realises what she has done, pulled out from the trance by tida’s string of questions. it is a strange habit, though perhaps one shared by many writers. scribbling songs in her head as her mind drifts past the sea of memories and half-finished conversations, uttering words that she doesn’t mean to divulge to listening ears. “it is, i was just thinking out loud.” astonishing her company when they are in the middle of preparing for dinner probably isn’t the best idea, not when chopping boards and knives are being used. 

her gaze drops the the pieces of vegetables on the chopping board from the ensuing ramble, she listens intently and offers a faint nod in response. while it is not a rare opinion, she cannot explain the twinge that twitches in her chest as he says it. or maybe she can, she just doesn’t want to admit it. not to him, not even to herself. why bother starting something that can never stand a chance? she likes them enough like this, him with his silly jokes and her with her mouthful of thoughts that he hasn’t grown tired of. it is better this way, for them to remain friends when the alternative has the potential to be so devastatingly ruinous. 

“right — it does suck to be that guy.” another nod as she bites her bottom lip and buries the words unsaid. words that are better left unsaid. she wonders, for a second, if tida can spot the nuances in her song on a hopeless crush that is far beyond her reach. her gaze continues to avoid his, she picks up the bowl of carrot slices and throws them into the pot of boiling water. she watches as bubbles rise and dissipate in the water, swallows the feelings that bubble at the base of her throat. “but isn’t it kind of nice, in a way? to matter that much to someone, enough to have your love immortalised in a song?” she says in defence of all songwriters and blinks away all personal sentiments regarding the matter. “then again, i’m very biased.”

[consacro]

♫ ♫ ♫ ♫

Hey, I found some funny looking plants in the grove. Elmine said I should give them to friends.

Ru’s [Choral Mandragora] @unmaskedchimera​ A fat bulb that seems to burn when exposed to sunlight, it seems to need full shade in order to survive. When music is played in close proximity to the plant it seems to jiggle, the fleshy petals of the bulb become plump during this period.. If you listen very closely at night when the moon’s out, you may be able to hear whispering. Rahi has mentioned it sounds “happy” when it’s jiggling.

Beau’s [Bone-Eater Protea] @ex-rockxtgrunt​ A seedling that took root in a damaged skull. It seems to glow brighter at night after being fed bonemeal. Perhaps it’s a calcium rich plant? Judging by the state of the leaves it seems to do best under bright, full sunlight. It doesn’t smell or behave like a carrion plant, but the long leaves do react slightly when pressure is applied to them. I wonder what happens if something stays long enough for the leaves to enclose fully. According to Rahi, this plant sounds “hungry” and says “more” when given bonemeal.

1 [Glimwood Fern] @unmaskedchimera​ A semi-buried, massive bulb with silver leaves, the luminescent lichen growing on the bulb seems to be a natural reaction. Cleaning it off or replanting didn’t seem to affect the plant itself, but the lichen will regrow after a few days.It seems to require nutrient-rich soil, heavily watered in partial sunlight. It’s been doing best in moist soil and a light misting on the leaves. Covering the bulb fully also results in the leaves losing their glow, Rahi has mentioned that the plant “cries” when this happens and sounds “scared”, so leave half of it exposed.

2 [Blackwood Willow] @fadingchance​ A stubby, black-barked sapling? It seems to have a growth anatomy similar to a standard tree at the moment. It needs soil that drains well, as it seems especially susceptible to rootrot. It seems to be able to recover fine so long as it has at least one healthy rooting tendril, we’ve been keeping it in gravel and sand with no problems. It’s seems to enjoy all level of sunlight or shade so you can probably keep it anywhere. According to Rahi, this one likes quiet, “singing” when there are no loud noises present.

3 [Silver Knifeleaf] @swordsandfeathers​ Full sunlight, keep the bulb only partially submerged in water. It can be planted with soil but it doesn’t seem to grow as well. Take caution when handling the plant itself as the golden leaves are incredible thin and sharp. It doesn’t seem especially concerned with the size of the vessel as long as it’s big enough to contain the bulb, but the roots seem healthier when they’re longer and the ends are able to expose themselves to the air. Rahi has commented that this one doesn’t talk to them like the others to, but it seems thankful.

4 [Suncatcher Bamboo] @cerfdelavie​ An aquatic bulb that needs to be fully submerged and needs full sunlight. It seems the only parts that are strong enough to be out of the water are the green shoots. Any other parts will crumble by the end of the day. It doesn’t seem to need anything besides clean water. Suggestion is to leave it in a windowsill and maintain water levels. Rahi said this one likes being inside and doesn’t “talk” like the others either, however it does “sound like a windchime” whatever that means.

* Notes are provided by Elmine

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

Rahi’s got some funky flowers to give away. They don’t know what they’ll grow into, but they are confident that as of right now they’re all alive and healthy! Elmine’s tentatively given them unique names based on characteristics for ease of cataloging.

In order to ask for one you just gotta literally ask Rahi. If they don’t get any weird vibes from you there’s a 9/10 chance you’ll get one. Elmine will periodically check on the plants to make sure they, or the “caretaker” aren’t dead but otherwise leave you alone, for the most part.

The tag used for the plants will be [Where the Wildfae Grow] and can be tracked on my blog that way

[thehundredplusone]

Infodump: The Satanic Panic & Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA)

GRAPHIC CONTENT AHEAD! STRONG CONTENT WARNINGS FOR THE FOLLOWING:

Child abuse

Murder

Police abuse

Satanism

Mental illness

Cannibalism

TL;DR at the bottom.

I'm autistic and my "focus" or specialist subject is extreme religion, cults, and religious abuse. The subset I've been most interested in for several years is the satanic panic of America in the 1980s and 90s. This is the period of time which the idea of satanic ritual abuse comes out of. For those who don’t know, satanic ritual abuse or SRA is purported to be an organized form of child abuse and murder conducted by underground rings of “satanists”.

An important bit of context around these events: it was around this time that the fact that child abuse existed first entered the public consciousness. It's weird to think that child abuse wasn't considered a 'thing' at any point because we're so aware of it today but up until the 1970s, at least in the USA, no one really considered it. People ignored physical, mental, and sexual abuse in the home, considering it a private matter. "We believe the children" was such an important mantra during this time and so key to the SRA movement precisely because they were coming out of a period in which children were never believed about abuse at home and there was a major push to be aware of the symptoms of abuse.

The first ideas of SRA initially came from a book called Michelle Remembers, which is purportedly true account of a woman surfacing memories of SRA with her therapist. The book was a cultural hit and spread like wildfire, leading the authors, Dr. Lawrence Pazder and Michelle Smith (soon to be Dr and Mrs Pazder, as they both left their spouses and got married), to go touring the country to speak at psychology conferences, to newspapers, and on TV shows. They claimed that there were underground rings of satanists going around abusing children.

Interestingly, as people dug into Michelle's history to make sense of how this horrible abuse had happened to her, some inconsistencies showed up, like the fact that she had perfect attendance at school during the periods which she was supposedly being held captive by satanists. Michelle also claimed to have been directly healed by religious figures like Mary and the Archangel Michael, which was why she bore no physical marks from her abuse. Some have speculated that Michelle’s trauma was actually related to repeated miscarriages and the medical procedures she went through surrounding them. There are a number of elements which make the story suspect but they were brushed aside during that time.

Soon enough self-titled experts on SRA with no real qualifications other than attending a conference began to offer training sessions about recognizing the signs of satanic activity and abuse to police departments and teachers. Among their claimed signs that satanism was active in a community was one particularly dangerous suggestion. These experts, who often had little training in child psychology, claimed that while children never lie about being abused, children who were victims of SRA may lie and claim that they weren't abused. It was important, they said, to keep asking and make it clear that they didn't have to protect their abusers.

If you know anything about about psychology, your red flags might be going up right now, and with very good reason. Children are highly susceptible to suggestion and pressure. If they are asked a question over and over again by an adult who is pushing them to give a certain answer, they generally will. Adults are susceptible to this as well but to a lesser degree, which is part of why you see people confessing to crimes they never committed. Hold a person in a room for hours and hours, asking them constantly about something they want you to confess to and many people will eventually confess falsely just to get out of the room.

This is exactly what happened once things really took off. If you ask Americans about the satanic panic, those who know of it will often point to one key trial set right in the midst of the most frantic part of this cultural hysteria. That would be the McMartin preschool trial. So the McMartin preschool was a daycare in California run by a family, the McMartins. They were well regarded in the community and had quite a few kids attending their center. One day, a mother noticed an odd mark on her son's bottom and became concerned that he was being abused. After questioning him repeatedly, he finally said that his father, who was a teacher at his preschool, had hurt him. She contacted the police, and the police, seemingly knowing exactly what would send the community into a fervor, sent a letter to every parent at the preschool urging them to talk with their children and find out if they were being abused. More parents insistently questioned their children until they too confessed to abuse of all stripes. Another interesting note here: The mother who initially made the complaint had a history of mental illness and of suspecting others of abusing her son. She checked him for marks regularly and questioned him about possible abuse. While we can't say for certain this is what led to his confession, knowing that he'd had this line of questioning before makes it more likely he could have been coerced into a false confession.

The daycare teachers were arrested and all of the children were brought in to be questioned by social workers and police. They used the same tactics as described above, holding children in rooms for extended periods of time, asking them over and over about the same things until they agreed, telling them that other children had confessed to acts which they hadn't confessed to, and describing explicit, leading scenarios. The children questioned were very young, as young as two in some cases, and they were being prompted to agree with trained adults.

The adults also took any fantastical statement the child made as fact, going on the premise that they should believe the children. Claims taken seriously included dozens of babies being butchered and eaten, being flushed down a toilet into a secret room, and flying through the air. The daycare's entire building and property were dismantled and searched for hidden compartments or rooms and remains of the children supposedly killed. Nothing was ever found. The parents and children also met with Dr Pazder and Michelle in the run-up to the trial and it's believed that this influenced their testimony. SRA claims were also heavy in the medial around this time through a number of other cases and it's likely that children picked up on the stories and them subconsciously used what they'd heard from the TV or their parents in their own accounts. Ultimately, most of the charges were dismissed due to a lack of evidence. The few which went forward were eventually reversed, in some cases after the defendant served time in jail.

That's not the end of the story on SRA though. Remember the kids going through this? The kids who were trapped in rooms, separated from their families, forced to confess to graphic details of abuse which no child should ever have to hear, not allowed to leave until they told the police or psychologists what they wanted? That is scarring for a child. While some kids had enough of a sense of self to realize that none of it happened, many others had their very fragile sense of self ripped to shreds and tainted with the ideas people pushed onto them. They developed false memories of their childhoods. Normal scenes of happy families, playing with friends, going to preschool, were tainted by the anxiety and fear they were put through by people who should have been protecting them.

One story highlighted in a podcast I listened to highlighted a young man named J and his father, M. M was accused of satanic abuse by his ex-wife and ended up in jail. J and his siblings were sent to a therapist who convinced them that they were abused. The therapist told him he'd never be able to hold down a job, that he'd be stalked all his life by the satanic cult, and if he tried to be normal, he'd wind up abusing children the way his father did. J wound up depressed and involved in drugs but did eventually stop therapy and managed to pull together a life for himself.

When he was in his 30s, still fully believing that his father had abused him, his younger brother made contact with their dad. M sent the brother a long letter explaining what he remembered of the events and apologizing for them, which was forwarded to J. The letter ultimately helped J find cracks in the abuse memories which his mother and therapist had created and he began to question everything. He had been traumatized as a very young child into believing he was abused, but that itself was ultimately the abuse. Nothing had happened to him but a mentally ill mother and a manipulative, unethical therapist, but those were enough to leave him with years of scars and problems to work through.

I want to be clear that I’m not trying to discredit or harm people who have memories of SRA. While the acts never happened in nearly every case, the pain and trauma inflicted by being made to agree to graphic descriptions of abuse is very real. Their suffering is real. The blame for that suffering should be placed where it belongs. The only way we prevent something like this from happening again is to have accurate accounts of how it happened the first time. If you believe yourself to be an SRA victim, my heart goes out to you. I hope you’re able to heal in time and piece yourself back together.

TL;DR: SRA came out of a weird period of botched child psychology and hysteria. It's not likely anyone was ever ritualistically abused by satanists. People with memories from SRA cases have had false memories imprinted on them through repeated questioning by police, social workers, therapists, and parents. These people were their abusers, not satanists. They are abuse victims and they may have very real mental illnesses due to trauma.

If you want more info about this topic, I recommend checking out the podcasts "Conviction" (Season 2), "You're Wrong About" (Michelle Remembers episodes) and "The Satanic Panic".