#Correct Sort Of Crutches

[wheelie-sick]

going to just... dissect the whole "glasses make me disabled" thing as someone who is moderately disabled and mildly visually impaired because it annoys me to death. I know this is going to be controversial but if you have vision that is fully corrected by glasses then you are not disabled by your vision nor are you visually impaired.

Visual impairment

let's begin with the definition of visual impairment according to several universities

"Vision impairment means that a person’s eyesight cannot be corrected to a “normal” level." - University of Pittsburgh Department of Opthamology

"‘Visual impairment’ (VI) is a term used to describe a loss of sight that cannot be corrected using lenses." - University of Oxford

the US EEOC also answers the question of whether all people who wear glasses are disabled:

"No, not everyone who wears glasses is an individual with a disability under the ADA. When deciding if an individual with a vision impairment who uses (or used, in the case of a past impairment) “ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses” is an individual with an “actual” or “record of” a disability, the ADA directs that their impairment should be assessed as it is corrected by the lenses." - US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

visual impairment exists as a category for people with uncorrectable vision loss or other vision related conditions. most definitions of visual impairment also include eye movement disorders (e.g nystagmus) and other eye conditions that are not correctable but do not necessarily cause traditional vision loss. these are exceptions, but again, are not correctable with glasses.

if your vision is correctable with glasses it is not visual impairment. period. full stop.

Disability

there are two different ways you can look at disability and fully corrected vision fits neither:

the social model

the social model of disability looks at disability as it is caused by society's lack of access. let's start with a fact: 81% of adults wear some sort of corrective eyewear! that is the vast majority of people. people who wear glasses are just simply not facing structural barriers in the world because the world is built for people who wear glasses by people who wear glasses.

and, no, being bullied in the playground is not a form of structural disadvantage. children bully each other for any and every reason.

"but I can't drive without my glasses!"

I can't walk in hot concrete without shoes. that doesn't make shoes a disability aid nor does it make needing shoes a disability. plenty of things require something else to allow you to do something, that doesn't make needing those things a disability. not all forms of support for an action are disability aids.

the medical model

the medical model looks at disability through the lens of impairment. wearing glasses with fully corrected vision is not an impairment.

people often point to hearing aids and say "well deaf/hard of hearing people are disabled despite hearing aids!" and it makes it clear you have never worn hearing aids. disability aids do not correct they accommodate. glasses mean you get to see at 20/20 vision. hearing aids are imperfect accommodations. wheelchairs are imperfect accommodations. feeding tubes are imperfect accommodations. the list goes on.

glasses mean you get to live your life exactly how someone who doesn't wear glasses would. someone wearing hearing aids does not get that. a wheelchair user does not get that. etc. because those disability aids are something you have to live your life around. they define your day to day routine. the day to day routine with glasses is 1. wake up in the morning 2. put them on 3. take them off at night 4. possibly clean them somewhere in there. you get to forget about glasses. I do not get to forget about my hearing aids or FM system or crutches or wheelchair because they are ever present in my life.

* just a note: this post is not referring to people who wear glasses and don't have fully correctable vision

** OP wears glasses with a high prescription, his vision is just not fully correctable

[altf4d3lete]

So I have some thoughts about the teaser that I want to post here.

First off, it looks like Tyler is going to be in what looks to be Willowhill for at least part of the season

You’ll notice the same CGI suit, and the same crutch-like contraption to make the arms longer. The reason why I think they’re in Willowhill is because of the bright red light around them. Seems to me like an alarm of some sort. That and the metal door behind Tim that is reminiscent of a prison door. So we know Tyler is most likely in Willowhill Psychiatric Hospital for at least part of the season.

Enid looks great. I love the new hair and the black polish on the ring nail is beyond adorable. I do wonder about this werewolf statue. My first thought was that it was a tribute to Enid for defeating the Hyde, but someone mentioned it looked too weathered. I still don’t want to put that theory to rest though, just because I don’t know of any other locations where there would be a werewolf statue. Plus I like the thought of Enid being commemorated for what she did.

I have some theories about this shot, but most of them rely on the Reddit leaker being correct so I won’t voice them right now. However, I do want to say that I don’t believe it’s the stalker that she is torturing in this moment.

With this one, it looks to me like she is either in or just came out of a vision. I’m not entirely sure though. That’s just judging by the messy hair and flustered look.

Pugsley enrolled in Nevermore :) super excited for this.

My best guess with these shots is that Wednesday, Bianca, Eugene, and Enid are being heralded as heroes of Nevermore. If you look closely you can see four figures on the poster behind Wednesday. One of them is clearly Wednesday herself, with the other clearly being Bianca. I think Eugene and Enid are featured on there as well.

I’m pretty stoked for season 2. It looks really cool so far and I can’t wait for when they release actual trailers. Anyway, those are most of my important thoughts about the teaser. Just thought I’d point some things out.

[cripplecharacters]

Alright, I'm just gonna bite the bullet. Worst that can happen is I make a fool of myself. I've been working on superhero stories, versions of the same universe since I was in 8th grade and what I want more than anything is to modernize superheroes, create a world where they act for all people's social good and take representation to the highest level I can think of. From your position of expertise, what can I do with the creation of disabled characters that would buck the trend, do some good, and show a good side. The non-prosthetic and non-corrected for disability rep in the genre is basically nil, I have no ideas and nothing to draw on. I guess I just wanna know what disabled audiences might like to see for once in their lives.

Hello!

Disabled superheroes are awesome. There's really few of them but the ones that we do have are often really important to us - you can look at the reactions to Sun-Spider being first introduced to the Spiderverse, back then I couldn't open my fridge without seeing that one panel where she explicitly says she has Ehlers-Danlos.

Here are a few suggestions of what I'd like to see in the superhero genre:

Superheroes with facial differences. Comics love to use us for their ugly disfigured evil villains but not much else unfortunately. I'd kill for a superman type hero who saves people with a smile and a facial difference on his face. Especially for superhero stories that are geared towards kids and teens, we just desperately need something to help with shifting the public perception of people with facial differences from "evil and ugly" to "people that can be awesome". A hero with burn scars, with Treacher Collins syndrome, Bell's palsy, neurofibromatosis... anything.

Superheroes who use disability aids (and still need them when doing their job!). Sun-Spider is an awesome example, she swings from her crutches and has a spider wheelchair. That's cool as hell. But even a less in-your-face aid would be great. A superhero flying above the city with her ankle-foot orthoses visible would go really hard. Also, superheroes who are concerned on how much these things cost and try their best to make sure they're still functional while they save the city.

Heroes with different causes of their disabilities! The vast majority of morally good disabled characters were involved in An Accident or some sort of Attack that disabled them. That's not bad or wrong at all, but I think in media is kind of oversaturated with this specific portrayal when a lot of people have progressive or congenital conditions. We need more stories that show those who were born disabled as heroes equal to those who were born abled and spent most of their lives abled. Superheroes with cerebral palsy, chromosomal disorders, congenital rubella, achondroplasia, all the disabilities that tend to get ignored despite so many people having them. Same for really common chronic illnesses, diabetes or COPD are criminally underrepresented.

Disabled superheroes that aren't saints because of their disability. This is the whole "disabled person can do no wrong" trope that appears sometimes. I'm mentioning it since superheroes are more "perfect" than most characters in other genres, so try to not make it so the disabled ones can do no wrong. Disabled people can still make mistakes that are their fault, make poor decisions, or just simply be angry sometimes.

When there's no active superhero action going on, show the normal human parts of the disabled experience. Depending on the demographic you're writing for it would be different things, but there are some fairly universal concepts like inaccessibility, microaggressions, or just boring things like the prosthetic leg no longer fitting well after the character gained some weight. If your characters are from the US, don't be afraid to mention that their insulin costs are barely affordable with their superhero pay. Show how the common everyday kind of ableism affect them when they're in civilian mode. This will make it much more authentic to disabled readers.

These are my suggestions, and I hope they are helpful. My last advice is to have multiple disabled characters, and in different roles. Maybe a character with late ALS can no longer do superhero fighting, but he can still be a wonderful parent. Maybe the character with Usher syndrome is more interested in the hero than being a hero themselves (disabled heroes in relationships!). Maybe the character with phocomelia can't be a hero yet because she's six, but she can train hard to be one when she's older. Keep it varied, have them come from different life situations and have different goals just like abled characters do.

I hope this helps!

mod Sasza

[luvnami]

not a glory hole! - chapter 6

an | tendou appearance in the next chapter!! wee bit of filler this chapter / mlist cw | mdni (18+)

you and ushijima make a mutual agreement to not use the hole in the wall without first announcing your presence. there’s multiple issues when your private living spaces spill into each other’s, after all. 

you’re less concerned about ushijima stealing your credit cards and more guilty for the poor man’s thigh dislocating. the night spent at the hospital after the sheet mask incident was difficult to explain to the emergency doctor, and you really don’t want to have to haul a 90kg man around again. the white-knuckled grip he had on the hospital bed while they corrected his hip was terrifying. you swear the bed frame cracked. 

as a result, ushijima is excused from training for a month. you feel awful even though it’s off season for the volleyball league. you’ve apologised countless times, only for ushijima to let out a tired sigh and tell you “it is what it is”. somehow that makes you feel worse. the crestfallen look on his face makes you want to fall on your knees and touch your forehead to the floor. 

ushijima fell through your wall, and you scared him so badly he dislocated his hip. in some way, it’s almost comical. you tell him he doesn’t have to do the interview anymore as a sort of recompense. he seems more relaxed after that. 

ushijima spends the first two weeks hobbling around on crutches. you offer to cook and clean his apartment, but he refuses and insists on being as independent as possible. sometimes you still make an extra portion of dinner and bring it over, anyways. 

one night, you knock on the wall and duck through the hole (newspaper and masking tape now replaced by a cheap, adjustable curtain rod from daiso). 

“ushijima-san? i made some fried rice, if you’ll like to have some.”

he’s seated on his sofa, thumbing through a paperback. the title suggests some sort of self-help book. 

“oh, you can just leave it on the counter. i’ll put it away later. thank you.”

“are you sure? i can just put it in the fridge now to save you the trouble, if you aren’t going to eat it anytime soon.”

“you don’t need to treat me like i can’t walk. look, i can do it perfectly fine.”

you stand awkwardly as ushijima puts his book down and struggles to his feet on the crutches. even with some practice, it’s still a little difficult and the skin under his arms is rubbed raw. he hobbles over to you and the crutches thud against the hardwood flooring. 

ushijima stares at the plastic box of fried rice in your hand. he has both crutches under his arms, and if he tried to take the box from you, he would have to give up one crutch – but letting it fall on the floor would be an issue, he’d need help picking it back up. 

his eyebrows furrow. 

you feel a little intimidated with how hard ushijima is staring at your fried rice. you swallow, forcing on a smile.

“i’ll just… put it in the fridge for now…”

you side-step away from him and dash to the kitchen. his stare burns into your back. 

prideful men are such a pain, but of course you don’t say that to ushijima’s face. he watches you scurry back to your apartment before he allows himself to wear a troubled look on his face.

you hope your neighbour doesn't hate your guts, but you can't be too sure about that, all things considered.

[fantasy-anatomy-analyst]

hello! sorry to bother you but i am currently working on character designs for my next d&d campaign. i am creating a winged elf inspired by avariels, and he will have some form of physical disability which causes them to be unable to fly. however, i am not very educated about physical disabilities, so do you know any which might affect limbs such as wings and any ways i could portray life with them and accommodations for them in a respectful way? any tips are appreciated. thank you :)))

Wing disabilities are a bit harder to research than regular human limb disabilities, but you might be amused to learn that the very first thing i found upon a quick search for bird wing deformities was something called "angel wing", found in many different bird species. I've linked the article I found. It develops over time and can be corrected, but obviously when it happens in wild birds they have no means to fix it on their own and it becomes permanent.

Angel wing is a deformation of the wrist area, making it droop and then turn outwards. Once it's permanent, the crooked shape of the wing makes flight impossible. If a winged humanoid had this problem, they would need to worry about things like how far the crooked wing sticks out, maybe bracing it to alleviate chronic pain. I'm sure something like that would cause pain, even if it wasn't mentioned in the article. It may be helpful to clip the feathers on that part of the wing, so they're not in the way. Finding a comfortable sleep position may also be a bit tricky.

Other possible wing disabilities which I have not researched at all but sound like plausible congenital issues for people with wings:

- underdeveloped wings. They never get big enough for flight, maybe the feathers never grow in properly, possibly they're also shaped wrong for flight. Could come with chronic pain, weak muscles/atrophy, etc.

- missing wing. Somehow just didn't develop a wing, or developed a nub where the wing should be. Could also be missing just the "hand" part of the wing.

- general feather growth problems. Weak feathers, feathers that come in short, chronic molting that causes a lot of unhelpful bald patches, etc.

- chronic joint pain. Wings appear to be normal, but the joints hurt a lot and movement is difficult.

You can also go the route of disability by injury, having a wing broken or amputated or otherwise harmed in a way that is difficult or impossible to recover from.

Overall, the accommodations needed could include pain relief, a brace to keep the wing in a comfortable folded position, feather clipping, massages, etc. Mobitiy aids to let this character fly without the use of their wings is easy to handle in fantasy because you could give him an enchanted flying device of some sort. Magical prosthetic wing might work, but that depends on the disability you're working with and also wing prosthetics are pretty tricky. It would not be as functional as a real wing. If the wings are fully grown and intact, but the problem is something like joint pain, then a flight brace to steady the wings could be useful. They'd only be able to fly for short bursts though, probably. But it would be akin to giving someone leg braces so they can walk, while also having access to crutches or a wheelchair. You can work with your dm on figuring out what's allowed in the campaign setting.

As for being respectful in how you portray the character, I think the most important thing is to let them be a full person. The disability is obviously a major part of their life, but they ought to have more personality than that. Hobbies, interests, attitude.

They're also allowed to be sad about the disability, but this should not be their main defining trait. I think it is pretty normal to be sad that you have a physical difference preventing you from doing something other people can easily do. The problem in fictional characters who are sad about their disabilities is that it often becomes Their Entire Thing and then the character arc is either "so I became evil about it" or "and then they died" or "but there was a magical perfect fix!" all of which obviously don't respect the reality of being disabled. But making them totally happy go lucky about it also doesn't work. So you just need the middle area there, as that's the most realistic one. How does it feel to have a permanent disability? Well, it ends up feeling pretty normal when you're used to it. Sometimes it sucks a lot. Sometimes you hardly pay attention to it. Focus on making your character emotionally varied and give them an interesting personality that makes their interactions with other characters more fun.

Roleplay games are great for that, because you'll have to mesh with the group and really flesh out your character relationships as you go.

Anyway I hope that was all helpful! No illustrations to show, because I'm sleepy today. But good luck with your character! And maybe go check out @cripplecharacters for extra advice on generalized disability rep if you haven't already!

[antlerkitty]

Me: Wants forearm crutches due to leg weakness and pain, especially with longer walks, fantasizes about it because I know it would relieve so much pain.

Also me: "Ehhhh, I don't think I'm disabled enough, I mean, I can still walk, I just have to sit every 2-5 minutes, I'm in a ton of pain, I struggle keeping up with everyone else, and have to take multi-hour naps after walking due to how much it exhausts me. But no, I'm not disabled enough, I need to be in excruciating pain to be worthy."

Not trying to throw shade (is that correct term?) at those with more severe disabilities and excruciating pain by the way. It's just sort of what goes through my head due to internalized ableism and being on the milder end of chronic pain and the moderate end of chronic fatigue. I don't really see anyone with mild-moderate (but still disabling) chronic pain.

[ferociouslycreativemystery]

1 min 30 sec of every Ghosts clapper board from the bloopers (in chronological order) Notes and observations:

I was able to tell the date from most boards, then sorted the rest by slate number (which was also how I knew the correct order of shots taken on the same day). The dates with question marks after them are best guesses, and just a question mark means the date cannot be made out at all. The series 3 blooper video was particularly poor quality, so that's why there are more question marks for that. Near the end of series 5 there were two angles of the same clapperboard, hence why I decided to stack the videos.

The more advanced artsy clapper boards seem to be reserved for slates that are even hundreds. I especially like the one from the second series where Robin has broken 3 light bulbs into the shape of 600. Another highlight is the Alison edition of Edvard Munch's The Scream (slate 1000 in series 5) which has entirely consumed the board part, forcing the actual shot information to migrate onto the clapper itself. Priorities, people!

For listeners of the Inside Ghosts podcast, you'll recognise the first episode shot in series 1 (and therefore ever) is episode 4, Free Pass, before they moved on to shooting the actual first episode of the show. Then in Woodworm Men, series 3, Alison, Cap, Pat, and Thomas setting up the tent and cooking dinner (Spaghetti Napolitana) was shot in sequence over the course of a single day (18 feb 2021) for the sake of capturing the progression of the natural light.

And as for Carpe Diem, if you remember Ben saying he was grateful the emotional scenes were shot in the morning followed by more physical stuff in the afternoon, with the latter he was referring to the scene where Cap broke in-tru-da-window (both shot on 27 feb 2023, and yes, I'll see myself out). Luckily for us, the former also coincided with slate 800, which is how we got the slate art of The Creation of Adam James.

Another more production-nerdy thing I noticed was for some shots in series 5 they used boards where the clapper part is not striped in black and white, but in the (digital) colour primaries, as well as including a greyscale. Maybe the purpose of this is to combine the functions of the ColorChecker and the clapper board, to expedite production? It still lacks most of the proper reference colours though, and the texture looks too glossy to make a good substitute. So maybe it's more of an additional crutch than a replacement?

Anyway, this was really interesting to compile, so I hope you enjoy it too!

[cootcutebatkat]

Ford MBTI: INTP or INTJ?

This has been the fucking crutch of my existence for a while as I still desperately trying to understand Ford completely. Rather than do my very important homework, I wanna explore Ford’s MBTI type as it is all I can think about. Who is this man? How exactly does he operate? Can people, including fictional characters who feel so damn real to me, be sorted into personality categories so easily? Am I overthinking this? And, something that I haven’t even considered, is he another type altogether?

Well, I can start with what we do know about Ford.

He relies far more on logical reasoning and decision-making over emotional ones. While both types do feel emotions, obviously, feeling functions are decision makers that value morals, beliefs, and feelings over logic. The difference between INTJ and INTP is how such decision functions operate. And before I bother explaining them, I would rather observe Ford some more. Or, more accurately, write about him to get a clearer picture.

He’s heavily introverted, preferring his own company over others, and is even a bit anti-social, considering his disdain for the general populations, such as the people of his hometown and of Gravity Falls. He believed them to be very small minded, simpletons even, and either needlessly stupid, cruel, or both. While we have seen him attempting to branch out and desire socializing, the results aren’t usually pleasant, thus encouraging isolation. Still, the quantity of them is considerable, such as the lightbulb for the family (requiring him to notice its absence and to consider solving the problem, even if it doesn’t affect him in the basement), coaxing Stan to join a game of DD&MD, and even his ruminations about talking to girls if he succeeds in building the portal.

He’s extremely inventive, often taking unusual paths such as using fire to shave his face or concluding that Gravity Falls’ weirdness concentration is the result of something outside of their dimension. 

The more I write, the more certain I feel that Ford is an INTP and I will explore why. I might explore him as an INTJ but not now. Not when the former is more fitting. I should also explore how Ford depicts an unhealthy INTP and is often in a Ti-Si loop. Not to mention, we’ve seen him the most in stressful situations, such as the fights between him and Stanley, the reopening of the portal, getting kidnapped for nefarious reasons twice (Probabilitor and the Security Drones), and Weirdmaggedon. Considering that MBTI is all about tendencies and preferences, it makes it difficult to consider Ford’s functions. But as I’ve explored his character, I am still confident.

Dominant Introverted Thinking: Accuracy, Logic, and a Wealth of Knowledge

Relies on multiple premises before finalizing on a decision. This one is seen best in The Book of Bill with Ford’s pro-con list about calling Stan to him. Whereas Extraverted Thinking (Te) is more about efficiency and heuristics (general statements), Introverted Thinking (Ti) opens up to possibilities, preferring to not assume right away what the answer is. Just because it has happened several times before doesn’t mean that it’s likely to happen again. There is always the risk of inaccuracy, something that Te isn’t entirely opposed to as it is more flexible. This is why Ti is often associated with extraverted perceiving functions, which are more adaptable. However, such reasoning in this function stack only applies to logic, not ethics and morals. Another way to overcome this rigidity, however, is to move past the binary… by creating more categories! Hey, it’s better than the all-or-nothing approach!

Those who use Introverted Thinking are often very precise with their words, which is seen in Ford’s writing and use of abstract language (“Sometimes the strangest things are right under our noses… And our feet in this particular instance!”) and his corrections on grammar (that Weirdmaggedon scene still feels more out of pettiness rather than a true desire for correct grammar to me, though. …Eh).

Ti Users are also prone to literal thinking, looking past context, or assuming that their conclusions are truly accurate and/or shared by the common populace. Not only did we see this when Ford comically assumed that “Batch out for Will!” was absolute nonsense (who is Will? And batch isn’t a verb, it’s a noun!), but also, tragically, when he assumed Stan’s actions at the Science Fair were intentional. 

Over all, Ford’s most natural function is his judgment of probability, accuracy, and reasoning, desiring above all else to understand the world and beyond.

Auxiliary Extraverted Intuition: There’s an infinite amount of possibilities and they’re all valid!

To bypass the rigidity of Ti, extraverted perception functions come in to give counter arguments, to encourage exploration. In Extraverted Intuition (Ne), this type of thinking is very divergent, exploding with a million ideas that almost appear random, even though they truly aren’t. Rather, via the use of Introverted Sensing (which we’ll get to), Ne is constantly inspired and eager to explore the unconventional and improbable, no matter how illogical they seem to be. While both Intuition Functions connect things on an abstract, metaphysical level (such as word play or analogies), Ne doesn’t settle on only a handful of ideas the way Ni does. Ni is more profound yet narrow-minded while Ne is more explorative but flaky. 

Ford’s Ne is best seen in his twelve PhDs. While a PhD is more about depth of insight in a subject, like Ni, the sheer amount of them lends to Ford’s need to explore all the ideas, especially things that are statistically improbable and, therefore, challenging his Ti. He adapted to the weirdness of Gravity Falls quite easily and, in a childhood flashback, Ford offered strange and wonderful ideas about ghostly pirates or mesoamerican gold in a shipwreck he and his brother founded. Not to mention his own quirks and rather out-there behaviors, like he switched from one thought to another. This is also seen best in his journals, full of rather unorganized ideas and observations and jokes, and in his hobbies such as DD&MD (it’s full of risk and imagination!)

Tertiary Introverted Sensing: The Details and The Past

A perceiving, learning function, introverted sensing (Si) is all about reviewing past experiences and comparing them to the present, favoring the tried and true over the unconventional (unless you’re an intuitive type). INTPs use this function as a way to support their frameworks and decisions, to play, to balance things out, and to correct what their more natural functions have noticed or created. This function is best seen in nostalgia, noticing fine sensory details and changes to the environment, recognizing physical patterns, perceiving bodily sensations, history, yoga and similar exercises. Unhealthy Si can often manifest as obsessive and perfectionist, or alternatively, extremely absent-minded or difficulty holding onto information on seemingly minute details. It’s no wonder that ENxPs are often associated with ADHD.

Unlike Extraverted Sensing (Se) which is in the moment, flexible, and adaptive, Si is less so as it keeps an internal record, hence why those with strong Si often have good episodic and visually detailed memory and consistent schedules. In fact, Si users tend to navigate through life via nostalgia as each and every sensory experience reminds them of previous ones, another reason as to why they favor the past and the familiar. Si users are also quite good at drawing on detailed connections between sensory inputs, such as comparing how the red of an apple is like the red of a shirt their old friend wears or how it’s not as red as the other apples they’ve eaten so far or as juicy. 

Nostalgia is seen in every type, but is valued and expressed differently. And, as someone who personally lacks in my top four function stack, I have difficulty understanding it myself, hence why I had written so much about it.

That’s why Ford’s examples are starting here, so hopefully you, dear reader, aren’t too lost. Ford’s Si is best seen in, again, his journals, helping to reorganize information to later review upon and ruminate, but also in his tendency to hold grudges (aside from his Inferior Fe, which we will get to, I promise). Ford also exhibited this in his exercise routines, use of yoga and meditation, and rather quick recovery of injuries. He didn’t seem all too opposed to having a metal plate installed in his head nor tattoos, both of which sound rather uncomfortable. Not to mention how he was willing to hand over his body to Bill during their friendship. It’s clear it wasn’t always this way as he was much clumsier and unathletic as a child, but as he grew older, he developed his tertiary function (quite typical in mbti typology!) and became comfortable with the sensory world, although not fully wisened to it the way more expert Si users are. His loathing of sleep and absent-minded tendencies best exhibit this. In essence, Ford gradually became more like Mabel as he grew.

Inferior Extraverted Feeling: The Needs of the Many (Can’t Stand People, Can’t Be Without Them)

Inferior functions are so damn hilarious if they didn’t sabotage us at nearly every turn. Many times, such functions are likened to that of a toddler. We love them, but we also hate them and are extremely annoyed by them. We hate the specific function within us, within others no matter their position, the general concept of it, but occasionally, it will bat its big, wet eyes at us and coo in its most enticing, adorable lisp ever. We let our guard down and wham, we’re burned out again. But unlike a toddler that needs an adult, we need the inferior function. This results in constantly repressing the function like a spring, until stress demands our attention and distracts us, causing the spring to be let loose and bounce all over the place, inwardly and externally.

Feeling functions, as I’ve said before, is best associated with how we decide upon moral or ethical decisions. Introverted Feeling (Fi) is similar to Ti in that it prefers accuracy and consistency, but it is directed to the self and to what is felt right. As an introverted function, it is also narrower but deeper, less flexible but more withstanding, and is a very loyal function, refusing to compromise or back down in the face of opposition. In short, Fi is about long-term satisfaction with the self and the heart, not wanting to live with regrets because they sacrificed their morality for something.

Extraverted Feeling (Fe), on the other hand, is more adaptive than Fi, willing to conform to social norms for the sake of harmony. Relying on heuristics of the introverted perceiving functions, Fe will approach people with a general attitude (typically, people want to be treated this way), unlike Fi which prefers a “treat people how you want to be treated” ideal. As you can see, both are actually quite fair and empathetic.

Fe users also tend to value belonging the most, often defining themselves by an external role such as a job or relationship title (ie. husband, student, teacher, etc). And while it’s a judgment function and not a perceiving one, Fe users are often easily influenced by others when it comes to emotions, resulting in a difficulty to understand their own unless it’s laid out externally. This is where Ford’s journaling and outbursts come in. (note, this is a general observation in mbti typology!)

For inferior Fe in Ford and emotional regulation, it’s best seen in two clips; when Stan interrupts Ford’s game with Dipper and when Ford tries to reason with Dipper who is panicking about his past association with Bill. In both, Ford is visibly attempting, and struggling, to keep calm while his emotions are reaching their tipping point. He yells at both Stan and Dipper and then attempts to gather himself for both his own and the other’s sake, trying to keep a calm atmosphere in the room. 

As for his desire for independence from Stanley, it may be due to how emotionally loud he is, overriding Ford’s Fe radar and muddying his own feelings. Not only that, but as an intuitive with no Se in the top four and a tertiary Si, Ford could only read himself through his bodily cues, something that had to be accrued over time to fully understand. This may also explain his need for isolation as well.

But the biggest crux of them all, the most withstanding theory on Fe, is Ford’s prioritization of humanity and others over the few/the self and his high concern with his image. Both of which he flip-flops between and struggles to find a middle ground. 

For his self-image, Ford has been well aware since day one that he is not like the others, that he is a freak. While an Fi user in his situation would also feel incredibly alone, they would also relish in their uniqueness, making it a point of pride and feel at ease within their own authenticity and consistency. Rather than being understood, what’d they rather have is validation and acceptance for who they are, even if no one gets them. For Ford, an Fe user, he truly does want to be understood and, more importantly, belong. He has often wondered if there is a place where weirdos like him fit in, not something an Fi user would really desire. But as this function is the lowest of the bunch, and Ford has also been bullied and ostracized since day one, Ford holds an incredibly low opinion of humanity, defying logic for the sake of pure, nonsensical conformity. 

And yet, he still puts in a huge amount of effort to polish his self-image, making it accurate to himself and his best qualities, but also palatable to outsiders. This has more than likely resulted in Ford’s obsession with being worthy enough to become part of the patron of sciences, just like Nikola Tesla and Einstein. And his obsession with burying his journals instead of ridding them entirely (as well as his Ti demanding that such knowledge must stay preserved no matter what).

It’s late and I want this posted. So I might edit this later or better yet, reblog it with some editions. Or create a separate post as a continuation. I ain’t gonna proofread this because I’ve planning and putting this concept for a longggg time and I wanna kick that habit rn. Fuck it we ball!!! Sorry if it's not organized well

[therhythmafterthesummer]

Chris and pretty prior to to being together except pretty had some form of injury that reduced some form of mobility (maybe hurt her shoulder on her dominant side or a really bad knee or ankle sprain requiring a walking boot and/or crutches

Chris would have gone into overdrive, he’s follow her everywhere and I mean everywhere. Like this man would commute to work with her even if it the opposite direction to make sure she didn’t struggle with transit or just drive her to work every day

They would be at the grocery one day and an old lady would have praised him “oh such a dutiful husband” and he is NOT going to correct her

But also maybe pretty’s bathroom is like a combination shower and tub but Chris’ is just a shower. So for that duration of that injury she has to use his bathroom to shower. So all her delicious smelling things linger into his room 💕💕💕 but also naked wet pretty in his shower👀👀 big restraint there

-🥝

stoppppp (don't stop....) because Chris would be SO attentive and a bit overprotective the entire time.

"baby you don't have to drive me to work. i can take the bus just fine", she'd say, to which Chris would tut and be all like "nuh-uh, no way. you're injured. it really is no problem" even though it kinda is because he's been late for work every single day but he doesn't CARE because his pretty roommate NEEDS his support!!

he'd be doing all sorts of things around their home just to ensure she's as comfortable as she can be. he'd follow her everywhere like the overprotective supernatural canine he is☝ and he'd do it very diligently☝☝

tbh although i haven't specified it, in my mind they've always shared a bathroom? idk why sdfjhsjkdhf. maybe there's a main bathroom and a smaller one somewhere in the flat?? idk idk, but in this scenario you're describing Chris would be going Through It 100% of the time. the floral scent both from her and her products would be just so overwhelming but also not enough at the same time.

he'd be laying in bed tense and stiff as a board while he waits for pretty to be done with her shower, with all his focus on the sounds inside the bathroom just in case she needs his help!! no other reason!! not because he wants to hear her hums of content when the warm water helps her muscles relax, nor her quiet singing in the shower. he especially doesn't even imagine the way the water would hit her naked body... her body... soft... right there inside his bathroom.... no, he wouldn't be thinking about that at all!!

he also wouldn't struggle one bit when she comes out wearing a bathrobe (one he totally doesn't want it to be his own.... totally not....). nah, he'd be doing juuuust fine.

[thedisablednaturalist]

Okay I'm actually feeling confused and upset by this. I don't know what I should've done in this situation:

I'm at a goodwill in a nice outdoor mall. My (physically abled) bf is with me. I am using my forearm crutches. My bf pushes the cart with our items up to the cashier. We are paying separately and bf lets me go first. I pull out my wallet, struggling just a little to get my card out bc, well, forearm crutches + hand impairment. I hand my card to my bf so he can go through the payment process for me since he saw I was already struggling.

The cashier then looks at me, then looks at my bf and says "What's her problem?" and I can tell by his voice he's probably severely autistic and/or developmentally disabled (he asked it in the way my brother usually asks questions). He then says "Can't you walk?"

Im conflicted. I WANT to tell him to fuck off and storm out but I'm tired and I just want to pay for my items (we found some good deals). Also, I felt bad because my brother asks questions like that sometimes (and we are usually there to gently correct him and apologize). My bf is looking at me for signals on how to handle the situation.

I just use my neutral cop out answer and say "I have a spinal condition". The cashier then says what like he didn't hear, so my bf repeats my answer. That gets him to be quiet and we just pay and leave.

I didn't want to get him in trouble by reporting him to the manager, because I know how hard it is to get a job as a disabled person. He also reminded me of my brother. But I know that being disabled isn't an excuse to be ableist to others, and I was genuinely upset and felt embarrassed by his questioning. I don't like discussing my disability with strangers when I'm just out existing. There's a time and a place for those sorts of questions (I prefer when I talk to groups in educational settings or where I can filter out shitty questions/ones I'm not comfortable about like I can online). I'm not there to be questioned, I'm there to buy a used monitor.

He could've just been worried or unable to filter out his curiosity like my brother, or he could've genuinely seen me as an invalid who shouldn't be allowed to go out in public (autistic people aren't exempt from being extremely ableist about physically disabled people). He did kind of refuse to acknowledge me and only spoke to my bf.

Idk what would've been better for me to do. Should I have stuck up for myself and other physically disabled people by telling him to fuck off (possibly costing his job or started a fight)? Should I have taken the time to educate him (continuing my embarrassment and divulging personal information)? Or did I do the right thing by giving a vague answer?

[titisorriso]

Chapter 10/ Savage Seas (Wild Skies AU)

  Quick steps that were a bit too clumsy, constantly looking around corners to find some sign of life. For a headquarters, this place was scarily empty. Hiccup made an educated guess that he was in the center of the island, the steel and stone that surrounded everything making him feel smaller the more he explored. He tried to listen for anything other than his breath, only being met by the distant clanking of metal and machinery coming from the walls.

Krogan disappeared way too quickly, there had to be some secret door, some mysterious opening wall or cryptic puzzle that reveals an entrance, but the rider was having no luck. His current leg situation also didn't help. He tried to find some sort of crutch or replacement, but was angered to find nothing but rats and abandoned sheets of paper in languages he didn't understand.

He almost fell forward, his fingers burning as they scratched against the rough stone of the walls to find a grip. He wondered if Toothless was doing any better than him, if maybe he was safe in a cell, far away from trouble or any sort of danger.

Hiccup hopped towards a tall "window", the hole on the wall littered with thick bars of metal stopping anything from getting in or out. He saw the steel city, the tall pointed buildings who threatened any winged creature to fly above them. His suspicions were proven correct, on the barren streets of the huge city, he spotted hunters carrying uncut Razorwhips scales, the blood on its edges showing they had been freshly harvested.

 - Bastards...

His voice was low, raspy. His knuckles turned white as his fists clenched around the bars. This was way too programed, too methodical to have been a coincidence. The city was large, well-built, it hadn't spawned in the span of days, it had been here for a long time.

Hiccup remembered Johann's words. He planned this for a long time, the rider wondered how long.

He backed away, looking around to find he was still isolated in a random, abandoned hallway. His rashes were itching, hurting more than he thought they would.

 - I hope your scales are having an easier time with this acid, buddy.

Keeping his pace, he went deeper into the castle. Until finally, clunks and booming laughter echoed from the far end of the hall. He jumped towards a dark corner, his eyes darting around the space, the realization that his camouflaged armor was ruined with holes and stains made his confidence falter.

Footsteps became loud and creeped closer; he could feel sweat pooling on his forehead as he tried to merge with the wall.

  Astrid resented her own inattentiveness. Stormfly seemed unwilling to attack the woman, and that just made the situation even clearer.

 - Heather? - Astrid observed the markings on her face and symbol on her belt- You're a rider from Berserker Island.

The woman smiled, cocky.

 - I'm impressed. Did Hiccup speak of me during your time together? Or are you just that good at connecting the dots?

Hiccup? What did he have to do with anything?

 - What do you know about us?! Who are you to him?!

That sounded way more emotional and less tactical than she intended. The rider laughed.

 - Relax, blondie. He's just a friend. Almost a brother really.

To that, Astrid felt a sting in her heart, remembering all the times Hiccup said he never found family in Berk; she quickly shook those thoughts away. She widened her stance, making sure the woman would know that the new information didn't really ease her mind.

 - Why are you here? If you're looking for Hiccup--

She was interrupted, a grave tone on the rider's voice. An aggressiveness that was not necessarily directed towards Astrid.

 - I know where Hiccup is. What i'm looking for is... Backup. To be honest, i was reluctant to even come here, but after seeing... Her...

And she pointed to Stormfly.

 - ... Let's just say i'm more willing to trust you now.

Astrid prided herself in the ability to prioritize. She considered it to be a good commander's greatest ability. To recognize when something was a threat or an opportunity. She put her axe on her back, Stormfly clicking in joy; Heather's whole body relaxed.

 - What happened to Hiccup that is so urgent you need help from a dragon hunter?

She wouldn't consider herself a hunter anymore, but something about Heather just made her want to be hostile. Maybe it was still some leftover prejudice and hurt towards the fact she was a dragon rider, maybe it was the fact she knew Hiccup was in danger while Astrid had no clue. She couldn't stand the thought of everyone knowing how Hiccup is doing except her. It felt... Rage-inducing.

 - He was captured by one of your allies. Johann.

 - Johann is no ally of ours. We turned him away.

 - That's even worse.

Heather pulled some loose pieces of parchment from her bag, showing them to the valkyrie with caution.

 - That confirms that what i found is a war machine to be used against the arquipelago, and believe me, it's a war machine you don't want to mess with.

Astrid grabbed them, studying the projects diligently. Stormfly stared at it over her shoulder as if she too could read the drawings and scribbles.

 - ... This is... Madness.

 - It is, but i stopped doubting what the people outside the arquipelago are capable of a long time ago.

The papers described spouts of fire; long cylinder shapes hollowed out that could shoot small flasks of energy. That energy was bottled dragon's breaths. It described the beneficial utilities of such tools, how they could be used for protection and restraining of dangerous individuals and enemies.

Astrid kept looking through the pages, they had plans ready for Deadly Nadders, Death Songs, Flightmares and the last one...

  It bared a huge symbol that read out "unfinished", but right under it, in perfect runic, was written "Night Fury". Astrid's face shot up.

 - ... And you had doubts that this was a war machine?

She mocked. Heather clicked her tongue, annoyed.

 - Unlike you, hunter, i like to remain optimistic about people's intentions.

 - Clearly. It's what got your dumb friend captured though, so i'd exercise caution with that "optimism".

She gave the documents back. Hesitant to ask the next question, her voice was barely a whisper.

 - What... What do you expect me to do? I'm basically grounded, you know? The chief is tired of my dumb decisions, my friends think i've turned into a dragon lover, and the village is getting ready for war as we speak.

Heather mounted her dragon slowly, as if demonstrating how it is done.

 - Well, all of that doesn't matter because i need to rescue my stupid friend and you're coming with me.

Astrid scoffed:

 - Oh, really? And what--

She was interrupted.

 - Astrid Hofferson, consider yourself officially kidnapped. Get on top of your dragon and come quietly. Or else i'll... Eat your ears or something.

Astrid caught on to the girl trying to give her an out. She laughed, ready to brush it off, to ignore it and demand something more solid, a location, some more information about what they were going to face. Then, she felt it.

  She felt like a door had been opened, the dark unending hallway that her life had become suddenly branched into an open window. She looked at Heather, a smile played at her lips, it dawned on her what was being offered.

Freedom.

Like all those years ago. Like when Hiccup ran away to never be found again. To live the rest of his days as the Night Stutter. This was the leap that needed to be taken just once, a call to adventure and things she had only dreamed of, all of it beckoning to her like mysterious music hidden in the forest. Her heart thumped in her chest as she turned to Stormfly. They could be freed together, after all, Stormfly wasn't planning on going anywhere without her and she had made that very clear.

She swallowed the knot in her throat. Astrid was responsible, she had family in Berk, she had friends and duties and missions. Her fate was here, every single thread of it led back here; but for some reason, she had a feeling, a voice in the back of her mind saying that so did Hiccup's.

Determination flowed like a river through her soul. She wondered if this was what these riders felt every day. Everyday making the choice to lift off the ground, leave things behind, abandon all logic that called them to stay walking and simply fly.

The valkyrie turned to the rider.

 - I will go. We will rescue Hiccup and Toothless, but then, when we guarantee he's safe, he comes back here, understood? He will come back to Berk.

She felt hesitant to add the last part, but staring deep into Heather's eyes, she just said it. Like it needed to be heard, to be said out loud for the spirits and gods to hear. Soaring in the air like a promise.

 - He will come back home.

Heather seemed angry, but also mournful. Emotions Astrid tried to understand but couldn't. Not without knowing their whole history.

 - So be it... Maybe then... Maybe then he'll be safe.

 - Then let's go.

  The guard was coming. He leaned further back into the wall, feeling the shadows not accepting him as he failed to be concealed. This was it; this was how Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third would die. It was better than he imagined if he was being honest with himself. "Died trying to escape the enemy's steel fortress with nothing but his determination" is better than "was crushed by a Night Fury's ass while sleeping".

He palmed the walls, wishing for the rashes and wounds to reveal chameleon abilities of some sort, but having no luck. Suddenly, he pushed a rock too hard and felt it move.

  The wall quickly opened and closed when he fell inside the secret hallway. The darkness made his eyes practically useless as he tried to feel around for things. He stilled when the footsteps reached the spot he was before. Muffled voices came through the wall:

- See? I told you. You're imagining things, idiot.

A click of a tongue.

- Whatever. Let's go check on the prisoner already. I've been dying to see what a viking looks like when scared.

Laughter that slowly went away. Hiccup let out a strangled breath of relief.

  His eyes slowly adapted. Everything was still hard to see, it was like having a thin layer of falling sand in front of your eyes. The tunnel was ragged, the stones uncut and ancient; no cobwebs or any sort of creepy crawly seemed keen on existing here. Only dust and odd indiscernible drawings on the walls beckoned him to move forward. He pondered if Johann even knew this place existed. He hopped further into the tunnel, the claustrophobic walls giving him plenty of leaning spots when he felt his leg tire.

He tried to focus on some of the paintings. They were ancient, but still somewhat secular, and the depictions on them were clearly dragons. None of them were species Hiccup recognized, no defining traits or characteristics that could draw his eye, just shadowy figures of dread and fire.

Hiccup tripped. A burst of dust making him cough and burning his wounds. He needed to keep going, he needed to find Toothless. After all, it was as Krogan said: No one was coming to save him.

  Astrid yelled as she grasped Stormfly's neck tight. The dragon was hard to control. Heather had given her one of Hiccup's spare capes, so that if someone saw them flying away from Berk, they would think Astrid was the Stutter, and the warrior couldn't help but wonder how he used it without having it slap against his face constantly.  

At first, she thought it would be a piece of cake. Watching Hiccup do this, it was almost as if the dragon simply knew what to do, you just needed to give that initial push and everything would fall into place, and of course, because of the bond Astrid felt with Stormfly, she imagined it would go the same way.

So, she was wrong. Stormfly had lost her ability to fly, her atrophied muscles flapping in unnatural ways as she always almost dove into the cold relentless sea.  Heather was enjoying it, laughing and giggling like a child whenever Astrid yelped with a wind too strong hitting their face and the cape flapping forward to cover her eyes.

- Gods, this is golden. Really wish i could keep this moment for the future, when i teach new riders what not to do when mounting a dragon.

Astrid finally caught some balance, Stormfly making more of an effort to stay up.

- Haha. You're so funny. Are we almost there? I've never been to this side of the arquipelago before.

Heather pulled out a map, scribbled and with a familiar handwriting.

- Well, according to Hiccup's notes, he hasn't been to this side either. The last writing says "might be dangerous. Call Bayana to help.".

- Bayana?

- He's a friend. Don't worry about it, hunter.

Astrid scoffed. Annoyed, but unable to judge her too harshly for the aggressiveness. It's not like she was enjoying this either. Hiccup better prepare his ears for the lecture awaiting him when he's safe and sound.

- Alright, whatever. What's the plan?

She was met with silence. Stormfly struggled again and Astrid pulled her to fly closer to Windshear.

- Heather. What's the plan.

She sighed.

- You're the war woman. You tell me.

Astrid's frown was enough to shake some sense into most people, but for some reason, Heather simply smirked while staring at the befuddled warrior. Astrid's words came like razors.

- You want me to make up a plan on the spot to invade a place i've never seen while completely UNNARMED and facing a whole ARMY of DRAGON HUNTERS?!

The berserker laughed, amused. Astrid had been forced to leave her axe behind, Stormfly's muscles still a bit too weak to carry both her and the heavy metal, so whatever plan she scrapped together, she'd have no way of protecting herself if it backfired. She felt powerless, and Heather noticed.

- I mean, it's not like you have much option.  

Astrid covered her face, laying against Stormfly's neck, frustrated, planning to stay like that until they reached the place. But then, Heather's voice reached her ears, a loud whisper of shock and bewilderment. The rider sounded terrified.

- By Odin's beard...

Astrid lifted her head immediately, Stormfly yelping in surprise at the sight.

  Green waters. Green sky. No light could be seen. The smell of rot and acid made Heather gag. Astrid's brain made the connection instantly; this was the green ooze she and Hiccup found back in that cave. Her brow furrowed, stitches being re-stringed in her mind, as if connecting pieces of a tapestry.

- ... Heather, what's the story with Johann? What is his connection to the dragon hunters?

Heather still seemed shocked, stopping in the air and taking a while to answer the warrior.

- Oh... I... I don't know. There was... - She covered her mouth and nose, the stench getting to her - There was a man, named Drago. He... He had a Bewilderbeast and was an ally to some enemies of ours. We had a hard time, some people were lost, but we did end up defeating him. Maybe... Maybe Johann had something to do with him? I don't know, i... I can't think with this smell.

Astrid nodded. Motioning Stormfly to keep going without saying another word. Heather observed, curious of what went on in the valkyrie's head. The blonde didn't keep her in the dark.

- Do you know the Finns? The hunter-gatherers that lived in this land without voyaging?

- I know they exist further into the continent, out of the arquipelago. What about them?

Astrid spoke while observing the space. She studied the color of the water and clouds, looking for movement or signs of life.

- Before we were vikings, these people already existed, working the land and adapting to the weather. We might have occupied the arquipelago, but there are... Stories. They say the Sámi interacted with the dragons in more harmony than us, before something happened and they all disappeared from this place. There are stories about a ghost island, where these people used to live before they were wiped out by the dragons. Stories about that island being filled with secrets on how to control dragons, how to domesticate them as cattle, how to push them away from your home and how to lure them.

Heather covered her face with her cape as they kept going further in.

- Don't you think that if that were true, they wouldn't have been killed by them?

Astrid scoffed. Teasing the rider.

- I thought you were smarter than that. Stories are stories. Sometimes reality doesn't get retold properly because it isn't convenient. Maybe a viking tribe found them and killed them, maybe the dragons did kill them, or maybe they just moved away when the land stopped giving what they sought. The point is: If it is true that they have writings and studies on dragons far more detailed and advanced than ours, i wonder if Johann found it. He doesn't seem smart enough to create this on his own.

Heather smiled, staring at Astrid with certain admiration.

- For someone that "has never seen this island", you sure know a lot. I'm impressed.

Astrid wasn't expecting a compliment. That was not something she often got; many people were too afraid to even interact with the woman unless absolutely necessary. She felt her face burn and wondered if it were the toxic gas or just pure embarrassment. She tried taking the attention off herself.

- ... Well, if anyone is impressed, it's me. Can't imagine taming a Razorwhip was easy.

Heather smiled, scratching the dragon's head as she purred to the loving pet.

- Windshear and i have a lot of history. She saved my life many times, i can't imagine a world without her by my side.

Astrid felt the need to remind her of what these creatures could do, remind her about the danger and brutality that they had inherent to them, that these beings were nothing short of monsters and devils... But something about the way the rider talked made that need go away. She spoke of the razorwhip with such love that it felt wrong to deny their bond for the sake of ideologies she didn't even know if she still believed in. Astrid looked at Stormfly, the beast carried her in her back like it was the most natural thing in the world; with trust and stillness that Astrid had only seen between shield-siblings. Heather's voice broke her out of the contemplation.

- Did you name her, by the way? The Deadly Nadder that is.

Astrid blushed, pouting. She didn't want Heather to know that yes, she named the dragon, but it wasn't a conscious thing! It was out of necessity. It's not like she liked the dragon or anything.

- It's... It's Stormfly.

The rider smiled from ear to ear, lowering the fabric covering her mouth just to show Astrid how happy she was. She clearly interpreted Astrid naming the beast in the same way Hiccup would have, which is "You like dragons now! You understand!".

- That's a great name. - She looked at the creature - Do you like your name Stormfly?

The dragon did a happy screech, shaking itself in excitement.

They remained flying for a while, Astrid's eyes and body quickly adapting to the environment while Heather still had a hard time with it, occasionally coughing and covering her face to recover. Eventually, they found the Steel Island. The initial shock at the appearance of the place was immediately replaced with worry. Hiccup was in there somewhere, and there was no way to approach the fortified village. The clouds were toxic so they couldn't go from the top, the shore was filled with warships and guards, so they couldn't go too close to the ground either.

They observed an island a bit further after the fort, deciding to land amidst the trees for cover. Astrid was troubled, the place looked impenetrable, and they couldn't even surveil the area thanks to the thousand defenses on the space. This felt too difficult, like they had been here for years, training, preparing and building this place, but for what? It was hard to imagine Johann would just do all this to destroy the arquipelago. No, bigger things were at play, and not knowing made Astrid's heart uneasy.

- So... What's the plan, Hooligan?

- Be silent, you're distracting me.

Astrid answered immediately, a slight teasing tone to her voice. She grew serious, approaching the edge of the cliff they landed nearby. She looked for some sort of sewer system, these types of islands normally had tunnels and tunnels extending all throughout the underground of the place. Stormfly loafed near her, as if also keenly observing the village.

Heather sat beside the warrior, her legs dangling from the cliff.

- ... How was Hiccup like back in Berk?

The question caught the valkyrie off-guard. Astrid snapped to look at the woman, who stared back with curious eyes.

- What... What do you mean?

- It's just... He never talks about it, you know? And i always assumed it was because you guys sucked or treated him like shit, but...

Heather looked mournfully towards the island.

- ... I've never seen him happier than when he started your cat and mouse chase. He always cared very little about himself, going so far as to almost starving to death sometimes because of how focused he would be on saving dragons. He always looked more like the dragons than us humans, in fact, when i first met him, he was borderline feral. It took him so long to open up, and even then, he would leave as quickly as possible just to avoid interaction. Then your ship wreck happened...

She got up, turning to look at Astrid eye to eye. There was a certain heaviness in the air, as if Heather blamed Astrid for something she had no knowledge of.

- I just want you to know that he... He likes you. Like, really likes you, and i know that to you he's the enemy, but Hiccup is a good person. His selfishness, his awkwardness, all of that is the result of growing up without people in his life. He's not mean on purpose.

Astrid scoffed.

- Ah, are you here to excuse his actions?

- No, i'm here to tell you he wouldn't have left someone just because they were mean and bullied him. He left Berk, but it wasn't to get back at you all. In his head, that was the only way to keep both things he loved safe. He saw no way of making you two get along, so he got you both out of each other's path. If that is cowardice to you, so be it, just... Don't blame him for not knowing how to--

Astrid turned away, interrupting the woman.

- I see a way in. Windshear can float, right? Her metal scales are resistant to the acid, we might have to use her as a raft.

There was a moment of silence. Astrid didn't want to hear this. She didn't want to hear about how Hiccup was doing the right thing. She didn't want more reasons to blame herself for the things she did. That was the real issue. Hiccup could have stayed, taught her how to love these creatures, and so many of them would have been spared. So many dragons that she killed and tortured could be taken off her conscience. She didn't need Heather making it clear that she was a monster.

Heather frowned, but resigned.

- ... Alright. Is that the whole plan?

- Windshear will not enter with us. The moment we get close to the tunnel, she will serve as a distraction and drive at least some of the sailors away from the entrance. When we go inside, we save Toothless first, he needs to be ready for a quick escape for when we find Hiccup.

- You're forgetting we don't know where either of them is.

- Well, lucky for you, i'm a tracker. I'll find Toothless no matter where they put him.

Astrid got up, approaching an already shaking off the dust Stormfly. She touched her forehead to the dragon's horn.

- ... i'll be back in a couple hours, okay? Just... Wait for me.

  They hugged Windshear's neck, huddling close to her scales, trying to avoid touching the acidic liquid that coated the ocean. Windshear slithered like a snake through the somewhat calm waters. Heather and Astrid pulled their hoods up, trying to hide from the sudden sunlight that would sneak its way from behind the heavy clouds. Windshear seemed unbothered by the concoction. Heather whispered to the valkyrie.

- Hiccup was investigating razorwhips disappearing at the request of the wingmaidens. Maybe they were using their scales to coat the bottom of their ships.

She pointed at a faraway ship, it's hull covered with the steel plates. Astrid shivered.

- This is... madness.

They came close to the tunnel, Astrid leaping forward to hide in the shadows of the earthen cave. Heather followed, turning around to wave Windshear goodbye as she slithered away and then flew in front of as many sailors as she could, distracting them far away from the tunnels.

- So, does the Berserker have any light?

Heather smirked, the back pouch on her belt being emptied as she pulled a lantern from it, lighting it up with a twist of a handle on the bottom of the metal.

- Hiccup made these a while back. Never had to use them until now.

Heather was leading with the light, Astrid paying attention to every dribble and drip, listening and smelling as she tracked the Berserker's footsteps, trying to not make two pairs of footprints. There were holes on the ceiling with small grates to stop big debris from falling in. Heather coughed.

- Ugh! Are you not bothered by this smell?... It's fucking dreadful.

Astrid let a reluctant smile shine through her concentrated expression.

- ... You get used to it when you live in a village with Snotlout and the twins. They... Have a unique aroma.

- Hah! Tell me about it. I have a brother that enjoys the "fine game meat of street rats". It's bonkers! This one time, Dagur--

Astrid was quick to cut her off.

- I'm trying to listen in to any sign of Toothless. I need silence.

The warrior didn't mean to be rude, but by the woman's reaction, that was how she was interpreted. Astrid wanted to reassure her, tell her that it wasn't personal, but something within her stopped it. She wasn't here to be friends with her, she was here to save Hiccup and then figure out what she would do about this "no longer wanting to kill dragons" phase she was having. The valkyrie went back to focusing on the sounds, metal on metal, dragons screeching, none of it fitting Toothless's growl.

The tunnels were getting more and more claustrophobic, Astrid felt some nostalgia with the tight space they soon found themselves ducking and jumping through. One of the openings beckoned to her, a light whimper that made her eyes widen and heart skip a beat.

- ... Hiccup?

She spoke onto the darkness, Heather also turning towards the dark as a hopping, completely battered figure approached. Hiccup's eyes took a moment to adjust, but he already expected Heather to be the one he saw.

- Heh, i thought you said i was on my own this ti--

He cut himself off when he saw Astrid. His mouth dried up; his body fell to the side against the wall as all the strength disappeared from his leg.  Astrid dove forward, helping him stand and hugging him by the waist as she laid his arm on her shoulder. He felt as if the name was knocked out of him.

- A-Astrid?....

He quickly looked at Heather, expecting an explanation, the woman only giving a shit-eating grin from ear to ear as she bobbed her eyebrows.

- Are you okay?! What happened?! Did you fall in the acid?

Astrid frantically asked, a worried look as she tried her best to not touch any of his wounds. Hiccup pushed away all the things he wanted to say, all the "i'm sorry" and "we need to talk" giving way to the more pressing matter.

- I'm fine. I need to find Toothless, i don't know where they took him or what they're doing to him.

- Lucky for you, we were doing the same thing. Astrid's plan was to find him before finding you.

To that, Hiccup looked at the warrior.

- You... You were going to save Toothless first?

He looked way too happy about being the second priority. Astrid cleared her throat, turning to Heather as she changed the subject.

- We don't have much time. If Hiccup is gone, they'll associate Windshear's appearance with it and connect the dots. Let's get moving.

- Where? That was one of the only adjacent tunnels we have seen in almost an hour of walking, and i'm guessing by Hiccup's eagerness to go away from it that Toothless wasn't there.

Hiccup tried readjusting himself, awkwardly afraid of having too much skinship with the warrior.

- They wouldn't put him here at all. They knew an awful lot about Toothless, enough that they'd know these stones might be thick, but they're not strong enough to resist his blasts.

Astrid started moving, basically dragging Hiccup forward as she moved deeper into the island.

- Well, we can't go back and there are no dragons to help us escape. We either find Toothless, or the hunters find us.

She turned to look at him, her mind clearly focused on the mission as shown by her serious expression. Hiccup, on the other hand, let his brain wander as Astrid flipped her hair off her face to better stare at him, he could swear there were sparkles that left her eyes whenever she moved, her breath touched his cheeks as she asked:

- Do you have any idea where they might keep him? You seem like you got a better view on the island than us.

Hiccup immediately changed to his usual tactical self; he knew exactly where he would be.

- Johann... I saw an extraction unit walking through the streets earlier. I'm guessing he took Toothless to it straight away, he clearly wanted something from him, otherwise he wouldn't risk so much just to have me locked here.

Heather gasped:

- The plans i found! Hiccup, they're going to--

- There will be time for catching up later, we need to move, NOW!!

Astrid cut her off. They started bolting through the tunnels, as fast as they could with Hiccup's current state. The rider gave directions when he felt necessary, until Astrid's sharpened ears finally caught the familiar screech of the creature echoing across the tunnels.

- He's there... What's the plan? - Heather spoke, approaching the hatch on the ceiling and lowering her voice.

- I'll take the left; you take the right. When the room is clear, we pull up Hiccup and let Toothless loose. After that, we just run the closest we can to the back of the island and take flight from there.

Hiccup leaned against the wall as the two women counted in sync. As they opened the hatch, the attack was immediate, four hunters jumped forward to grasp Astrid, the warrior spinning as she kicked the feet off the first two, them falling in front of the other two as she grasped a sword from one of the fallen and, with two deflections, knocked the third one out with the pummel of the blade, kicking the fourth one on the chest and making him hit hard against the brick wall and pass out. She turned to aid Heather, only to notice the woman had already handled the single guard on the right. The berserker had a shit-eating grin:

- Do you have a sense for picking the most difficult task or was it just a coincidence?

Astrid smirked:

- If there isn't at least a small chance of dying to an enemy's blade, i don't even get out of bed.

They both smiled and pulled up Hiccup, the rider looked for the dragon:

- Where is he? Where's Toothless?!

Heather grabbed a key from the guard she knocked out, walking towards a heavy metal door and unlocking it, and as it opened, an immediate plasma blast flew from inside the room. She ducked just in time. Hiccup yelled, once again using Astrid as a crutch:

- Toothless, buddy! It's us!

A few seconds of silence before a coo could be heard followed by the rattling of chains. The two moved to look inside the room, Hiccup pushing forward immediately as he saw the dragon's situation.

There were chains strapped to his tail, legs and neck. A thick wooden plank with a hole just big enough to fit his stomach threatened to close tighter with a lever positioned to the side, most likely controlled by the hunters when the dragon got too rowdy. Hiccup clawed at the contraption, pulling it off piece by piece, clearly not worried about efficiency. Astrid walked towards the lever, pulling it against the grain, making the wooden plank open, the dragon huffing in relief.

Toothless was free, battered and clearly hurt, but still found it in himself to coo at Hiccup's missing prosthetic. Hiccup glued his forehead to Toothless's, a single tear falling from his eye as he spoke gravely:

- I'm sorry, bud. This is all my fault, but i'm gonna fix this.

He got up, using the dragon's neck as support. Astrid approached the night fury, the beast looking at her with huge eyes, expecting something.

She softly put her palm to the creature's head.

Heather moved to the exit.

- Great family reunion, but we need to leave. This isn't over yet.

The warrior turned to Heather and Hiccup:

- Toothless will move faster than us and clear the path, he will go first and we will follow. I'll carry Hiccup.

They all silently agreed, moving to the original room as Heather got ready to open the door. Hiccup smiled to the dragon, reassuring him as he coyly got ready to bolt.

The door was opened and all hell broke loose. The thousands of hunters jumped out of the way as Toothless came out blasting, jumping and running forward followed by the three humans. Astrid carried Hiccup rather easily, the man was scrawny and mostly showed no resistance to her pace. Heather, on the other hand did not seem used to running. As they snaked their way through the claustrophobic alleys of the steel island, Heather started falling behind, making Astrid and Hiccup constantly check back to make sure the berserker was still following.

- HEATHER, YOU GOT TO RUN FASTER!!

- I'M GOING AS FAST AS I CAN!!

An arrow missed her by a meter. Astrid and the berserker shared a look as they took a moment to observe the sky behind them. A rainfall of arrows was coming their way. Astrid got more determined, pulling Hiccup even harder towards the back of the island; Heather was panicking. She started tripping as the arrows got closer and closer to her. Hiccup started yelling, Astrid was not paying attention to any of the words, too focused on following Toothless and listening to Heather's footsteps, making sure she was still following them.

That's when she noticed them suddenly stopping. A nauseating sound of arrow piercing meat and the blood curdling scream of Hiccup on her ear.

- HEATHER!!

Astrid kept running, her heart tightening and her body shivering as she recognized this feeling. The feeling she had in so many battles and wars.

The feeling of leaving someone behind.

- NO, ASTRID, WE NEED TO HELP HER, PLEASE, PLEASE STOP! HEATHER!!!

Astrid did not listen, she did not look back, allowing her vision to get blurry with tears as they reached the back of the island. Toothless had stopped, confused and waiting, looking at Heather and at Hiccup with clear panic. Astrid put Hiccup on his back, taking the lead from behind him, having to restrain him from jumping off the dragon and going towards Heather. Astrid opened the dragon's backfin. Ordering him to fly.

And so, he did.

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

This one was really hard for me to write. I really dislike sad stuff happening so i just felt A HUGE writer’s block for a while. Curse past me for doing this. Anyways, hope you enjoyed <3

[cripplecharacters]

Hello! I'm writing a character in my story who is a disabled vampire and I need some help.

His (human) mother was bitten by vampires while she was aprox. 5 months pregnant but she didn't become a vampire. Instead, the vampirism was transmitted (idk if it's the right word) to the child. That child's form was changing from human to vampire like (in my story, vampires look like humanoid bats/gargoyles).

I want the character to be disabled & intersex, NOT because he's a vampire, but bc he was going to be like that even if he was born human (minus the appearance). Is this okay to do?

Also, (if I end up making my character disabled/if it's correct) I've always wanted him to use crutches. What sort of disability would he have? Is Cerebal Palsy (monoplegia/diplegia) okay?

In the image that I'm linking, how rare is it for my character to be the example no7? And would it be possible for him to reproduce?

TW//image shows nudity/genitalia

https://images.app.goo.gl/DHTDWtKWGwE6EW5BA

Feel free to split it in two posts if the questions are too complex.

(Sorry if I made any mistakes, English is my 3rd language & I have ID, autism & ADHD).

Hi! Don't worry about any mistakes, your ask is very clear.

I don't see any issue with a vampire who happens to be disabled and/or intersex. I think it's very cool! But I do think that it could be interpreted as the vampirism causing the disability (which I personally don't think is inherently bad if vampires aren't considered evil or monstrous in your story), so if you'd prefer to avoid that, it would be a good idea to have a human character with cerebral palsy and/or a vampire who became a vampire in the womb who's not disabled.

Cerebral palsy is a very common reason to use crutches, probably the most common for non-elderly people. This post talks a bit about reasons to use crutches if you want to look at other options.

As for the intersex factor, I'll admit that I'm not an expert by any means despite being intersex, so take my explanation with a grain of salt.

The variation shown is called "ovotestis" (or Ovotesticular syndrome) and it's easily the rarest kind of intersex out there, I'm talking maybe over 500 documented cases. I don't know anyone with it despite being somewhat involved in online intersex spaces. This doesn't mean your character can't have it, but it's very very rare.

Reproduction is tricky because it depends which way. Pregnancy could technically happen (if uterus is present) as the ovaries are much more likely to be the functioning gonads, but is still really rare, and with anatomy like on the 7th drawing, it's even less likely.

If you're looking for a variation that's similar but more common, you could research congenital adrenal hyperplasia, it's one of the more common kinds of intersex you can be. Fertility is still reduced, but less so than in someone with ovotestis.

I hope this helps!

mod Sasza

[irenetherogue]

I just found your blog a few minutes ago. I don't know how, but you showed up in my BDSM feed. I love what you're doing and I love your recent suspensions and aerial dances, however I don't know your story so I don't really understand everything that's going on. I'm guessing that once you were a dancer and that some sort of illness, say MS, has made dancing impossible for you. If this is the case, then I truly appreciate your joy and wonder at discovering you can dance while suspended. From some of your comments I assume that you are lesbian but they're also hints that you could bi or pan. I hope you don't find my questions to intrusive. I love that you live in Santa Cruz which is not very far away from San Francisco. I think that's kind of cool. I loved your reference to the aquarium.

Long post alert ⚠️

Aww, welcome! Tysm for reaching out, I probably got pushed to you bc of my shibari content, and interaction w other kink accounts lol. Ty also for your kind words, I appreciate hearing them so much.

You're correct, I have some serious physical & mental health issues, and was actually bedridden for seven years. I thought I wouldn't walk again, let alone something like ride a bike (which I also now do!) or dance, which I did from very young childhood thru getting sick in my mid20s (now late 30s). It is incredibly liberating and gets me crying every time, that I found a way to dance again, and I find it tragically romantic that I can dance in literally no other way. The cherry on top is that I sprained my ankle very badly right before those pics were taken, and am on crutches now, but not even that is enough to make my dancing stop.

I actually did finally admit to myself literally yesterday morning that I'm a homoflexible lesbian, if not also caed, where I'd been kind of clutching to bisexuality like some kind of security blanket for the last several years. I also identify as trans nonbinary femme, she/he/they pronouns.

For the record, I felt nothing but care and human kindness from your questions, it feels wonderful to be invited to share these things about myself. It's not something I have much experience with yet, so tysm for asking ❤️

I'm a community organizer down here in Santa Cruz, I host a "NonMonogaMeetup" in town, and am getting established in the kink & queer communities as well, not sure how often you make it down here but feel free to check us out on Plura/Fet😊

P.S. I love that aquarium so much ❤️😭😭

[ahorsenamedphoebe]

Ride 1

We tried something different for the first ride of the year. I realized during our last (very spooky) ride of the year that I can be too reliant on my hands, especially during tense moments. So I decided to take away the crutch of my reins. I did pop a makeshift neck rope on, as I wanted to have some sort of fail safe in case of emergency, but I didn’t use it much. I ground drove the route first, to show her what was expected, and then hopped on. Luna was brilliant. She walked the entire edge of the arena, and even trotted the long edges. It was very slick, otherwise I would have done more trotting. The only issue we had was because of a group of dogs and kids across the hay field. She saw them a few times out of the corner of her eye, and tried to turn off course once when she saw them, but was easy to correct. About a mile in Luna decided she was about done, and kept trying to angle back towards to exit and mounting block. Rather than push our luck, I did a few halts for good measure and called it a day. I’m very proud of both of us for this ride, and I’m excited to add more bridleless rides to our roster.

[lesbianp1lled]

as a fellow gold star who's never been lucky enough to experience reciprocated love and has been led on by many bi women, I probably do read more male gay fiction than lesbian fiction tbh. because I obviously don't get anything out of straight romance, osa makes me nauseous or feel nothing at best, however every time I even watch a video of a lesbian couple or read lesbian fiction I get so deeply envious and sad, not in a toxic hateful way ofc, just flat out crying out of loneliness like an idiot.. so m/m fiction is the only emotional relief for me to relate to homosexual love while also being completely detached from any personal feelings since I'm not male nor into males.

I have no trauma with men, have thankfully never even had to pretend to have any romantic feelings towards any in my 25+ years and have never had any self-insert thoughts about any of the gay fiction I've read other than the occasional 'I wish I had a lesbian version of that relationship'.

I want to make it clear that it's not about internalized misogyny, just plain lesbian solitude and the feeling that no woman is really attracted to women (I know it's ridiculous but that's my trauma) and specifically to me. which is all the more upsetting since as I guess a conventionally attractive feminine woman I have to beat straight men off with a stick.

although I do realize now that this sort of escapism and detaching yourself from your own sexuality to get secondary emotional fulfillment from fictional relationships completely unrelated to you isn't healthy in the long run. it's just very hard to find a gf in my homophobic country so I've used fiction as a crutch to not deal with my own personal life.

I do think most so-called 'fujos' who actually fetishize gay men are bihets though who think thirsting after fem gay men makes them qweer, when that's literally ultimate het behaviour. just saw one call herself a lesbian while openly lusting after a gay man, saying she wishes she wasn't a lesbian and that he wasn't a 'man kisser' so they could be together because 'she needs him bad'. girl, you never were a lesbian, probably not even bi, also actually consider ki!!ing yourself, these homophobic fakebians have 0 shame nor logic denying the existence of homosexuals of either sex.

no lesbian would ever conjure up such a homophobic double 'conversion' fantasy, I'm enraged to the point of wanting to hurl. the gen z larpers are so unhinged now that they genuinely don't even respect homosexuality existing, all they do is fetishize opposite-sex homosexuality while spouting actual 'corrective' r*pe level hetero fantasies which I've noticed a lot of bihets from either sex have. a lot of this obsessing over 'p3gging' and feminizing men is born out of their fetishization of gay men, doubt any of them would even enjoy any of that, they just want to 'queerify' their zesty straight sexuality to look subversive, they even pretend it's 'feminist' somehow.

and ofc they either support the homophobic tiffies who larp as gay men of eventually become them, straight up admitting to wanting to r*pe gay men under the pretense of totes being men as well while wanting to have het aka piv sex with males.. it's sinister how every gay fandom is overrun with transhets or normie hets, don't even get me started on the yuri hentai fetishizing het male 'transbians' invading 'lesbian spaces' made up mostly of bi women anyway.. it's just way too personally offensive and painful to even witness.

what should be the only safe haven and a joyous source of entertainment makes me spiral with rage against the hetero machine instead. so often I see sb seemingly decent, exclusively posting about gay topics only to eventually reveal they are a bihet thirsting after opposite-sex homosexuals and my heart drops again. where are the real lesbians?

so while I know from personal experience that people can enjoy fiction that doesn't relate to their sexuality, it is rare and usually related to some sort of trauma. I know het women who never consume het romance because it's so unrealistic/ insulting to their experiences and only read f/f fiction. whereas for me I do now admit it stems from loneliness and trust issues with women, fearing all women will turn out to be hetero and leave me to the dust again. my ex told me I was the perfect woman for her and that she'd never date a male again only to ghost me randomly and get married to a male who looks like he could be her uncle within a year or two lol.

I was just happy to see a lovely post from a woman about her wife only for her entire feed to be about obsessively thirsting after a ton of famous men. imagine just getting married to a woman as a same-sex attracted woman only to write insane s3xually harassing comments like a het coomer towards a grown strange man (who at least presents stereotypically gay btw, common denominator), saying bs like he's 'her pwecious pwetty boy' whose abs give her an aneurysm.. and it's just some skinny twink, no offense. I've never even met het women this male-crazed. bet her wife's the same if she tolerates that. they genuinely think calling a vaguely 'pretty' man their 'girlfriend' justifies their hetero attraction towards males as a supposed 'lesbian'. they truly are our worst most insidiously evil enemy, they're the ones who embolden trans-identified het males to believe they can be included in lesbianism. I'd rather stay single and loveless forever than humiliate myself by dating a bihet like that..

I would never trust sb is actually a lesbian if they have a dedicated account for posting about men, fictional or not, obsessing over a particular man/ men. nah, I'm a fan of some male singers etc but having an account for posting about everything they do is simply not lesbian behaviour even if they pretend it's platonic admiration. no lesbian is that obsessed with a man/ men.

that’s the main sign to look out for, it's one thing to root for a gay couple and completely different to have any ideation about inserting yourself into that relationship or fantacize about the men in question. which is so disgustingly homophobic as well, idk even if the characters are bi, having het thoughts about people in a same-sex relationship is gross peak bihet behaviour. I'm also generally heterophobic to be fair, spare me of any mention of osa.

so it does bother me that anyone female who consumes any male gay fiction/ media is automatically associated with these homophobic osa lunatics, however as mentioned, it is unfortunately often justified. there is ofc gay fan fiction in particular written by hetero-attracted women which fetishizes gay men but a lot of it is just general escapist romance from a female perspective, reading more like a lesbian relationship which is why it's relatable to lesbians as well while retaining that sense of detachment. I truly just need one good woman to fix me lol and bring me out of this self-destructive denial of myself as a romantic/ sexual person who deserves love.

I have hope for you anon that you will find the woman of your dreams one day, even in a homophobic country it’s still possible 🙏

I get why you read m/m fiction. It’s just when these women are SO OBSESSED with m/m fiction and nothing but m/m fiction that I side eye them. Like I said before, I have read books with m/m characters in them, even though it’s not my first choice, i’d go for a sapphic book first, but I think there are good m/m stories too! I read Maurice which is one of the first classic gay books by e.m foster a few years ago and it’s really good even though mid-way through to the ending it’s quite sad.

[decadentpandawasteland]

Hello! Here is the next entry into my Revenge Series (I really need to come to with a proper name for it). Anyway, please feel free to leave any and all comments! I appreciate your time, and as always, thanks for reading :)

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

After a brief respite of sunshine, the downpour continued unabated. Damien felt a little lighter getting his story out. It gave him an eerie feeling deep in his gut. If his hatred could be cooled just from speaking a few sentences then it wasn't enough. 

“Have no fear, for the fire in your hearth has not diminished,” Wryn said without looking back. 

“How di-, never mind. Where are we going anyway?” Damien asked. They had walked following the wall they had been standing on earlier. This had them walking through the poverty stricken outer ring. These people, known as ‘ringers’ lived in something almost like a tent city. It was so densely packed with people, that some had begun to risk it, sleeping out in the Emerald Sea, the grassland that led up to and encircled Evansguard. 

“You and your wife arrived from outside the Sea, yes?” Wryn asked, pointing to approximately where the little village of Wandering would be. Damien nodded. 

“Why do you think this place was chosen to settle Damien? They easily could have cleared the grassland around here to settle or even climb higher into the Hallowed Mountain. Instead this was chosen. Why?” Wryn asked.

Damien thought as the two continued walking. Beggars would start to approach them, only to see the hooded woman and scurry away. It was kind of unnerving. Normally it took fetching a guard to clear them away from you, but then the guard just shook you down instead. There was an old wives tale about the ringer who could smell a mark twenty strides away, but the moment these guys eyed Wryn they sprinted away. One man was even on a crutch and he picked it up and hopped away. 

“Friends of yours?” Damien asked. He figured he wasn't going to get a response, but he could feel a ghost of a grin hidden in her hood's shadow.

“Of a sort,” she said. Damien wasn't even sure if he had heard her correctly. Before he could fully process it she asked “Have you figured it out yet?”

“It has something to do with the minerals inside of the mountain, right?” Damien asked. 

There was a crowd of ringers in front of a massive board. An armored guard stood off to one side of it, calling out names. Damien recognized it as a jobs board. There were hundreds of papers tacked to the board, some bone white indicating they had been put up very recently, others were a sickly yellow and the ink was barely still legible. The guard standing on the left was only there if the ringers got too rowdy. A man was standing to the right, plucking off papers and reading them out to the crowd.

 

“Twenty bodies needed by the Comstock Farm! Two weeks of work guaranteed! 2 gold pieces per day! Possibility of continual seasonal work!” The crier called out. Four dozen hands shot up. 

Damien knew it wasn't the pay that they were after. Two gold was the equivalent of handing them scraps for dinner. The real prize was the seasonal work. Each hiring site worked differently, but the general rule of thumb is that if a contract was offered for the next five years, your pay would double for each full year. Two to four, four to eight, eight to sixteen, sixteen to thirty-two, and thirty-two to sixty-four. Those hired could choose to freeze the pay raise at any time, but if payments got too high, they'd be too expensive to keep and they'd be let go. 

“Correct. The minerals deep within the mountain are highly sought after for one big reason, they are able to hold highly dense amounts of mana,” Wryn said. Even as they walked through the crowd rushing towards the job board, everyone within a five foot area gave them space. It was eerie.

“Okay, and how does this come into our plans?” Damien asked. Up ahead, he could see a gated off area with a sign. The sign read ‘KEEP OUT BY ORDER OF THE BROOD. ANY TRESPASSING WILL BE MET SWIFTLY BY VIRTUE OF ARREST OR WORSE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED’.

“Our plan is simple at the moment,” Wryn said, in a tone Damien had associated with her plotting and scheming. “We are striking against them, correct? In order to do so, we must bolster our own numbers, and in order to do that, we must deliver a blow that will hurt them without getting caught.”

She gestured with her thumb at the gate. 

That's when the plan mostly clicked in Damien's head. Since they had been in public, the two of them were speaking in vague and ambiguous terms, but now it made perfect sense. There were at least twenty mining operations going on throughout the city at any given time, but this one was the most secluded. It also involved hiring exclusively ringers, which meant mining safety was the last thing on the employers mind. Who cares if a few poor souls get lost in an accident, when cutting corners saves you thousands? 

“Who is it?” Damien asked through gritted teeth. He wanted to know who their target was, who was going to pay the price that he and Wryn were setting. He hadn't noticed it before, but he did now. Almost all of the ringers that were nearby were missing a part of themselves. Fingers, hands, whole arms or legs. A man limped by using a pickaxe as a crutch. Some had burn marks from explosives used in demolitions. A boy walked by missing three fingers on his left hand, blood was seeping through the fresh bandages on him. The boy was crying, not because of the lost feelings, but that day's pay having been deducted to cover the cost of the treatment.

“Callum Moren. He owns this mine. Turns a pretty good profit, considering two thirds of his income is snatched away for The Brood. He strictly only hires ringers for the grunt labor, inner-city people make up most of his guards that drive the workforce,” Wryn said. 

The two walked for a bit more, taking a left at the end of the street before reaching the gate. Another left and a right, suddenly there was a warehouse. Wryn produced a key and unlocked it. The door swung open revealing a table, a few chairs, a stove top in the corner with an ice box beside it, and a few scattered bookshelves that were almost bare. The rest of the space was so empty there was a slight echo when they spoke. 

“Welcome to our base of operations, Damien. By the time we're through, we'll have this place packed with those just like us, ready to burn it all down.”

Wryn showed Damien around the space. A hallway led down to sleeping quarters and a bathroom, which thankfully had a shower. “Won't they notice people conning in and out of here?” He had asked after claiming a bunk for himself. The sleeping quarters were big, but with about ten beds in the room, there wasn't much room for privacy. “What about noise?”

“You have no knowledge of magic, do you?” Wryn asked. It looked like she had claimed a bunk for herself, but sure hadn't slept on it. Damien silently wondered to himself if the woman ever did actually sleep. 

“Not even a little,” he said honestly. 

“There are two main enchantments on this building and the grounds surrounding it. Obfuscation and Silence. Obfuscation not only hides, but gently pushes those not granted its protection away.  To most people, it's almost an uncomfortable or eerie feeling in the air, something in the back of their minds telling them to run. Silence does exactly what it sounds like, dampening any sound in the area. 

“You've actually seen both of these in use before you came here.” Wryn said, turning her back to Damien.

She stood there for a moment and something in the air changed. The back of her cloak was dark, but then suddenly, the fabric itself shimmered. An intricate circle formed with crisscrossing patterns filling it in, underneath all of it though was what almost looked like a music note. When Wryn turned around, it almost caused Damien to take a step back. 

Her normal vast amount of darkness that hid her face from him was gone. Long white hair flowed out. Her skin was the shade of alabaster and her face had all soft features, except her eyes. Her eyes were hardened by a loss so vast, it made even the stars look diminutive. The softness of her face was marred in three spots. Three identical lines went from the left side of her face down to the right side of her jaw. It reminded Damien of a claw mark, each line passing over her left eye, her nose, and her right eye.

“Obfuscation rune is placed on the inside of the cloak, silence on the outside,” she said simply. Wryn took the cloak off and shook out her hair. The long white hair was mostly straight, parting down the middle and framing her face. She wore a leather jerkin and simple pants and boots. The woman was much smaller than Damien had realized. The cloak had given her a presence to compensate for her slight build. After fussing with her hair for a moment, the last little detail popped into place. Poking out of her white mane, two elongated and pointed ears poked out. Wryn, Damien realized, is an elf.