#I researched as much as I could without overdoing it

[susivoi]

Some wholesome drawings that I made to relax and get myself back into doing art after settling down in my new place.

[lizdive]

I saw your requests were open so, Could you make a dr ratio or Aventurine x reader who's a kid but very bossy and smart for their age? and ofc platonic!! :3

I did Veritas, but if you want an Aventurine version just tell me !! Requests may be closed but I can make an exception for this :3 Thank you for requesting and if you’re unsatisfied just tell me !!

notes 𐙚 gender-neutral reader — "you" used to refer to reader ,, reader is a child ,, reader is a child genius and from the genius society ,, reader is implied to be parentless / guardianless ,, platonic relationships ,, not proofread ignore typos

⭑ Really? You? A little kid? You’re the newest addition to the genius society? VERITAS feels like he’s being mocked by Nous at this point. Well, whatever. Not like he was going to interact with you or anything. He has no reason to do so.

⭑ You spot him walking outside your space and, assuming he was the one supposed to get you your lunch, yell out at him annoyance. He ignores you until you call him the purple haired one and then he realizes you’re talking to him.

⭑ You don’t even care that he’s not the one who was supposed to bring you your lunch as you boss him around, looking up at him as he gives you a flabbergasted and almost offended expression.

⭑ He tries to scold you but you just try your best to push him out of your space so he can get you your lunch. He goes eventually just to get it over with but he dislikes you now.

⭑ But it’s not like he can completely despise you, because you’re actually tolerable when you’re not bossing him — or anyone, really — around. You can hold up a pretty good and deep conversation for a child of your age and you’re willing to listen to others’ views (well, unless it’s about your personality.)

⭑ Soon enough, VERITAS actually finds himself warming up to you and vice versa. You’re a good kid. Bossy, sure, but he tries to blame it on you being a kid and not having anyone to properly guide you since you’re always busy with research. You’re influenced by those around you — it rare to find a researcher that actually cares about anything other than their research.

⭑ You both refuse to acknowledge it properly, but you both accept that maybe you both enjoy each others’ company.

⭑ VERITAS will help you out with your research, be it inventing something mechanical or creating something organic. If not physically helping you out, then supervising you and giving you ideas or suggestions.

⭑ Some of the researchers dread it when VERITAS comes to the space station because you both are insufferable together, especially when your goals align and suddenly there’s a silent agreement to help each other achieve that goal.

⭑ But at the end of the day, you’re a child. Which why whenever you act childish and immature, huffy or happy, VERITAS will do his best to be there for you. You’re young, and you didn’t have any support system before him.

⭑ He’ll try to be understanding — it’s hard for him since he’s used to being so focused on spreading knowledge and he has made people cry before without much comfort. But he’ll try, especially because you tend to seek him out for comfort. You trust him to comfort you and he’ll do his best to not disappoint.

⭑ He knows some kids burnout after time, and he doesn’t want that to happen to you, so he’ll make sure you don’t overdo it with your studies and research, as well as make sure you’re in a healthier environment. He’ll make sure that the researchers don’t put pressure on you — most of them are too busy shoving their noses in their own research however some of the researchers at the space station can be less than pleasant.

⭑ If you ever want to leave the station, VERITAS is more than willing and happy to take you with him. It’s a nice opportunity to expand your research and perhaps invest in another field. Also because it’ll give him the chance to take you out to some nice places and if you’re extra young, then maybe some fun play places and specific parks.

⭑ VERITAS wouldn’t mind having you give special lectures to his students if you ever told him you want to do so. He’ll stand to the side as you teach, getting you a stool for you to be able to write on the chalkboard.

⭑ Also, he’ll try to improve your bossy behavior. He doesn’t mind it too much as long as you’re not bossy to him, but he also knows that your bossy behavior can develop into an unhealthy need for control and he doesn’t want to risk it.

[sneakysnowmannightshade07]

RAFAL in Relation to Other People

Warning: I won't be woobifying Rafal here or really putting him as a victim, so this may offend or bother people who stan him and forgive all his faults. Additionally, this has some toxic stuff here so if that is a trigger then I recommend not going through with it. And if you will go as far as to AGREE with it just because "my blorbo could have possibly said it", then I'm afraid you are missing my point and would rather have you click off.

So we already know how Rafal is as a brother, but how could he act in different familial relationships, like being a lover/spouse or a father?

As a lover/spouse: I'm sorry, but whether Rafal means to or not, he would easily be that toxic person in your life. He always is right (and you are wrong), and he appears to be the type to disregard one's feelings. If he hurts someone, he hardly ever apologizes, but you have to apologize to him. The closest he'll come to is a bullshit excuse. ("It wasn't my intention.") He makes you question yourself and the validity of your opinions, because, again, he is right. You can never get through to him or call him out, because at the end of the day, you are the problem, you are inferior, you have a childish mind, you are too sensitive. He slowly picks away at your self esteem, which was already low when you met him in the first place. (People drawn to him tend to have confidence issues??)

You don't leave him maybe because he doesn't have bad intentions, because he instilled in you codependence and now you don't know what to do without him, or maybe Rafal somewhat regretted hurting you, so you accept that. And ultimately, you trusted him, you believed in him, so, stupid you has to face the consequences. Everything that happened is your fault because you should have seen Rafal wasn't a good person!

Rafal just seems wayy too sheltering and overprotective and he'd take away his lover's ability to make most of their own choices or have their own lives-- slowly but surely, and perhaps, unintentionally.

Not to mention, he is possessive af! Red flag right there.

I hope that any lover of Rafal leaves him and they see their own worth, instead of running back to him. Because to be honest, he seems like a hypocritical, arrogant, and insufferable jerk. (most of the time) Either that or Rafal gets his act together and has some self reflection. He isn't a vampire for crying out loud!

As a father: oh. The father who is very, very, VERY overprotective and sheltering. A helicopter parent, even. He makes you think sometimes, "why do I have this curse of a father??" and sometimes you wish something could happen like a virus doing its job and you are "free." (Please don't actually wish this on your difficult parents unless they are really shitty!) Rafal embarasses his kids but being rather ultrastrict and old-fashioned and they probably don't know much of the world because of him. Everything has to be "educational" (which isn't a bad thing in itself but for the love of whatever please don't overdo it and make it corny) so no video games, etc. Also if Rafal reads an article with research on how veggies can give cancer, your salads will be taken away!

Rafal will also go like, "I'm your only friend. You don't need friends because you have me," and he may break up some friendships you have. Oh also: no boys.

I feel like Rafal fits dad energy more, though even there he would be WAY too much. (Go away Rafal! Go adopt orphans and make their lives miserable instead of bothering other people.) But who knows? Maybe as the years go on he would cool down, or back off when they become adults. Unless they form a codependent relationship with him and he has to be the center of their lives, which is very possible. Let's watch Rafal slowly destroy a home because he's in the way! And of course, instead of giving his children's household space, he defends himself and puts himself in the right. His kids may call Rafal every day in a modern context and totally neglect their family. Or the family is going out? Rafal has to be there too, and his kid says nothing.

If Rafal comes home from work in a bad mood, I'm sure his kids try to run off because if they don't he will find something to criticize and they will get hour long lectures. I also feel like he'd lecture on other occasions and then get mad when his family doesn't care and they want to get back to what THEY have to do??

[crusty-chronicles]

hiii! i hope im not bothering youu but i really like your airheaded s/o hcs and i was wondering if you could make one with urahara from bleach!

Yessss! I love this dopey science man with my whole heart!

BONUS AIRHEADED S/O HEADCANNONS: Kisuke (Bleach)

Absolutely enamored by you.

Everything you do is just so fascinating to him

One of the few brainiacs who absolutely doesn't mind you can't formulate a thought without hurting yourself

You lost a whole shipment of new candy?

Aww, it's okay. He can always order more, so don't be upset.

You damaged your Gigai?

Clearly it wasn't strong enough. He'll just have to make better ones. Thanks for letting him know.

You broke open the shop door because you lost your keys?

Baby sweetheart, you should've just called him. Maybe wear a key around your neck next time.

It isn't physically possible for Kisuke to be mad at you.

More than anything, he likes cooing at you when you make a mistake.

You're just too precious to him.

Loves testing out inventions on you because you're so resilient.

But he's always careful the chances of it actually hurting you are low. Mostly.

He's known you from way back since he was in the Soul Society

And even back then, he was completely smitten with you.

Requesting you be a part of The Department of Research and Development just so he can keep an eye on you.

He knows you tend to be accident prone.

He used to love explaining how some of his inventions worked while you sat and nodded along.

Having no clue what he was talking about, but were just happy to be there.

Kisuke realized he loved you when you followed him to the world of the living.

Not believing for a second he was testing out hollowfication on other soul reapers.

It made him feel all warm and fuzzy to know you had so much faith in him

And ever since then he's been trying and failing to court you.

About a century and he still can't tell if you're dating or not.

He's not gonna bring it up just in case you aren't.

I mean, he's taken you out on several dates.

That has to count for something right?

This man doesn't hesitate to baby you.

In fact, he overdoes it.

To the point where even you're like, 'No, I think I can handle it from here.'

"Do you want me to carry that box for you? It's got some glass and I would be DEVASTATED if you got a paper cut. Might even close the shop so you can recover 👉👈"

He's dead serious about it too

"I can carry it just fine, but thank you."

And he's pouting in the corner, sulking because you didn't want his help.

It's all for show though, so don't feel too bad.

Mostly to embarrass Jinta and Ururu

Maybe Ichigo if he's around.

Kisuke also has the most embarrassing and outlandish nicknames for you. Also for show.

Calls you: Sugar Bear, baby, pookie, shnookums, apple of my eye, ect.

But, in a serious atmosphere, in complete privacy, he'll call you love or angel.

Jealousy?

He'll make a big deal if you're giving someone else attention

Sighing dramatically or draping his arm over your shoulder. And once again, it's mostly for show.

But does Kisuke ever actually get jealous?

Not one bit.

You followed him from the Soul Society after all.

If that doesn't prove you love him then he doesn't know what does.

Yorichi loves your presence.

She thinks you're a great match for Kisuke because you're both so easy going.

That and you're about as strong as a captain.

Taking out an espada with a single punch.

If anything, she's the one telling him he better not break you're heart.

"You've got a great thing going on with them, don't ruin it."

"I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF WE'RE TOGETHER!"

"Then figure it out or else I'll take them."

MASTERLIST

[astralartefact]

Placeholder Name for Atarase's Media Diary

Entry 002 - Dragon's Dogma 2 <<Prev: 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

Synopsis

A prolonged camping adventure with the loyalest boys and a mage prodigy who gives me sass only often enough to make me paranoid she has the evil guy disease that kills everybody (might just be puberty)

Special Shoutout to whoever I stole Zoe the Beastren Healer Girl from (Your character name is/was Melina), she was a regular fixture of my party and is mine now.

How much did I know before playing?

I didn't play the first one, but I kept up with the marketing somewhat, and I was hyped to finally play it.

Did I like it more than I expected?

I fully expected to like it and I did. From what I've seen from the game before I bought it I knew its approach to an Open World would be my kind of game - and it was.

But seeing the discourse (and we will get to the discourse) this feels like a daring statement to make lol

Since I liked it, here's what I hated about it

Okay, this is the weirdest criticism to have about a game I completed in 113 hours, but it wasn't big enough. When I unknowingly made my way to Battahl and realized it wasn't as big as the other biome my reaction was a sad o: face and that feeling stuck around until the end, everything was just "I wouldn't mind if this was bigger :/" and it did impact my enjoyment of Battahl as a whole (Agamen not as much).

The game as a whole is really cool - I really loved it, I'm having to stop myself from starting a NG+ right now, and I think given an endless stream of new content I could literally play this game forever - and to some degree I feel like its size was calculated pretty well by the devs and shouldn't be bigger (if it was a lot of other minor details would suddenly become much bigger problems) but I guess it feels unexhausted.

I disagree when people say the open world is empty and one note - I personally had a great time exploring the entire map and I think the variety inside of the biomes is realistic and nuanced, I think if they just rethemed what's there into more different, but smaller biomes that wouldn't have done it for me either. The world might not be "new and exciting" everywhere you go, but every space in a given biome has some nuance in its topology and context that makes it stand out from the rest and it really feels like this world could be a real place exactly the way it is.

And since being grounded and 'realistic' is kind of this game's entire deal, having beef with that is to me kind of pointless, that just means you should have researched better what you're buying into (and we'll get to that!)

But I guess it feels like they could have done more, that all of these systems slotting in with each other would have benefitted from more stuff. Take the pawn specializations and classes for example, I think all of them are pretty neat but there aren't that many so running into 'one of that type' doesn't really change anything, especially since situational ones like the Elvish Speakers are coded to appear where you need them and you only "need" them in one specific place so you don't ever really have to think who you take with you. Same with environmental hazards like those water dams.

I guess that's the good thing of being able to expect Capcom to overdo it on DLC - I think adding more stuff like that in for example an expansion would really benefit this game, even though I will say that I think for the game that we have right now, the stuff that is there is enough.

Because in a fit of madness I don't even mean stuff like the enemy variety with that? I thought for the size of the game world the enemy variety was fine, not great but fine, even if it was on the smaller side at least the variety of their placement was really well thought through so I didn't really fight two of the same enemy groups in a row (the only problem i had with the enemies was that the enemy groups spawn way too densely and too frequently, you can't move an inch without aggroing another hassle of a fight and it also happens with paths you just cleared half an hour ago so map movement starts to become a chore at some point)

Finally: Men. But we'll talk about that.

What did this game make me think about?

We can only change the world by wanting to change it :) I love that as a theme, I'm really glad this is becoming a contemporary staple

Specific Impressions that will stick with me

THE TITLE SCREEN BEING DRAGONS DOGMA (NOT 2!) UNTIL THE THING HAPPENS i noticed that and it made me fall in love with the game so much more, it being a stealth remake and how it plays with that is so fcking cool i love that (again, I haven't even played the first one)

The coastal path to Bakbattahl. As I was randomly exploring I was wondering what the red waymarkers along this cave path were, so of course I followed them until at the end of this seemingly endless pilgrimage I finally realised what they were leading to. The entire experience of travelling along the cliffs and having to watch out for the harpies and the griffon was just really beautifully crafted. That whole journey will defo stick with me for a long time.

CHARACTER CREATOR OPEN WORLD RPGS ARE THE BEST Character Creators are my VisualNovel where the general audience seems to think they're cheesy but no, you don't get it, it's just that devs don't use them right because barely anyone has thought about their artistic merit yet. i can add so much visceral character development to my journey by changing hairstyles, adding scars, making my pc more muscular after training a new class, etc.

the day one of these games shaves a pc's head when they're imprisoned or adds scars when losing to a monster instead of a Game Over (all optional ofc people would scream if they forced that on their waifu) without me having to do that on my own is the day i will die happy

Outstanding Audio

The boss themes were cool? I did like the music and didn't just feel ambivalent about it but I couldn't tell you any specific piece :(

Favorite Character

Well, my character and my sweet pawns of course.

Aside from that I really liked Nadinia, even if she didn't get to do all that much, I just really love characters like her.

Also I guess the Smith Girl in Battahl, I liked her :)

Favorite Arc/Story Line

I liked Sven and Ser Menella's quests, but more than anything I loved seeing how doing quests impacted evacuating the cities after being baffled that the quests just ended without a conclusion. So I guess the entire final arc? (btw get good guys, i did the colossus quick kill without the arrow and seeing that pay off afterwards was amazing)

Favorite Set Piece

Travelling to Battahl along the coast

Watching my Pawn fight as the colossus

Everything that had to do with the capital-D Dragon

also having a healer with a child-like voice around and being paranoid about the dragon plague any time she gave me sass (she has like two or three lines out of nowhere that felt very pointed and i was so scared)

Favorite Scene

The ending scene with your pawn turning into the plague dragon. something about that did it for me.

Best Performance (I played with JP voices)

Kakuma Ai of Edelgard fame gave Nadinia such an edge that I really appreciate, she really made that character for me. For some reason I thought she was going to be a well-meaning but helpless pacifist priestess type character and thankfully she was not just that, she knew full well what she was doing while still also kind of being that pacifist priestess.

German Localization Notes

I thought the Localization was great! It fit the setting (I think Vasall is a better term than Pawn, fight me) and there were barely any blatant mistakes (I remember one spelling error and one time I was referred to as female, but that might be a programming error instead)

From what I did understand from the JP Pawn Dialogue I think they changed a bunch from the "original Japanese" though (might be an EN issue though, we don't have our own DE Voice Over so it would make more sense to keep with the 'default' language's text instead of JP) but also I don't really care since 90% of the dialogue is just Pawn Chatter where the phrasing of the content isn't particularly narratively important

--- ENTERING THE PRETENTIOUS SECTION OF THIS ENTRY ---

What about this game gives me Hope for the future of gaming?

This game is so fucking cool. I love this game for how weird it is. The stuff people complain about? Glorious. I love every single thing.

I loved having to have a physical fist fight with the save feature every time I was scared of making the wrong narrative choice. Yeah, it's kind of dumb and annoying, but from the devs' perspective, from the game they wanted to make and the overall vibe they were clearly going for it just makes sense. You're suppossed to roll with your wins and your failings - and if you can just always win then what's the point. You're not supposed to save scum as "un-quality of life" that may be and this is one way to kind of limit it to preserve the vibe they were going for.

Only having one save state and limiting character makeovers (they already fixed this one) makes sense because you're not supposed to play this game 'in parallel', you're supposed to play this game in succession - in a cycle, even. Your character isn't supposed to suddenly be an entirely different character, you're supposed to connect with the story through this character that is yours and to that goal, continually letting you change them completely would hinder that.

And since clearly this is actually a stealth remake of the first one I also really respect them not changing the shitty Beloved system? For some reason it's much more interesting to me that they kept it exactly the way it was, despite being stupid.

I guess I love stuff like this because it forces you to interact with the game as a piece of software engineering to make your own goals in this game come true. And yes, to me that's a good thing, because Video Games are pieces of software engineering - They're pretty much the only type of media that can do this.

Let me, the person who needs to make Self-Inserts for Maximum Escapism, be the one to tell you that I'm with Brecht when I say that in all sincerity, Immersion is a skill issue. Fuck Immersion as an aspirational trait of a piece of art. Especially capital-G Gamers have no clue what they're talking about when they use the word Immersion - and I get to say that, because I know that Presence exists beside the two popular buzzwords Immersion and Suspension of Disbelief - and this shit gives me so much Presence, I can't even begin to tell you.

I had to read the phrase "This game not maintaining 30FPS is breaking my immersion" about a game that made me pick up a child that had developed a crush on me, run in circles until my stamina ran out in order to drop it in a way that makes it crash into the stone floor, spraying blood everywhere because it was the only way I could make the child like me less - and I had to do that multiple times all so I could ensure I wouldn't end up kissing a child in the ending.

And while doing that, I did think "It's stupid the game works like this", I did feel fucking bad for the child I was abusing all so I could romance... well I romanced a random guy off the street because the men in this game were kind of boring - and yet in hindsight I was completely immersed into what I was doing because I was unironically engaging, grasping for agency in the systems put in place by the game's developers. I am rummaging through the rules of this universe all to spite god by making a child hate me a little bit more - and if that's not in the spirit of Dragon's Dogma II then I don't know what is. (this is only like 20% sarcasm btw)

To say it like this: Video Games aren't just to immerse you into a story better. Arguments about Immersion also always make me wonder what people think books are doing. But Dragon's Dogma 2 certainly is first and foremost a video game.

It feels like the people working on this game thought about what they were doing and during my journey through this world I got the feeling of understanding what exactly the devs went for in all aspects of this piece of software engineering - It's not trying to be a movie, it's not trying to be a book. It's trying and succeeding to be what it is and I really appreciate that.

I just wish there was EVEN MORE of it!!!

What about this game makes me scared for the future of gaming?

It grinds my gears that this keeps coming up so here it is, another round of idiot Gamers making me defend capitalism for something it didn't cause:

It's great that you all have awakened to corporations squeezing you out of your money, that's very anti-capitalist of you and I applaud that communist thinking (i'm not a communist but a lot of angry Gamers aren't either so let's make them mad by calling them that)

And yet I'm so sorry to inform you that even in Utopia people would still try to scam you.

It's not a Video Game Company's fault that you believed what they told you. I'm empathetic that it's hard, annoying and most of all stupid that we have to interact with a media landscape that is constantly trying to scam us for our money and attention, but even a genuine and well-intended artist is going to sugarcoat their product - so why would you ever believe what CAPCOM of all people is telling you without seeing physical proof first?

And even if they're point blank lying - which, straight up, for the most part Itsuno wasn't - if someone tells you they will sell you a green mug and the mug they hand you is red and you ask "but this is red" and they say "no it's green" and then you still buy it and at home you're upset that it is indeed red then you're the idiot!!! Yes, why did that person tell you that? Did they think you`re stupid? Why is Capitalism uniquely rewarding scamming people like this? All valid questions to seek answers for! But you can fall to the ground crying capitalism all you want, it's still your own foolishness that caused this!!! Don't buy shit if you're not adequately sure that you will enjoy the product!!

You have to - and will always have to - make your own informed decisions about what you invest both your money and your time into. 95% of problems that not only this but pretty much any video game discourse these days is critizising could be solved by simply researching what kind of game you would be buying into before buying it. And in this case, you have luck, this game existed before and you can try that game out for literally 5€! You know how I knew that? Because I fucking googled it.

And you can too! Thanks to YouTube, Twitch, some shitty wikis and some good ones it has never been easier to identify if a game is up to your standards before buying it - you just can't do that before the game is even out, which is why Pre-Orders are such a big problem to some people (I personally don't care, because I have to think about what I'm doing with my money anyways)

So just. Think about what you're spending money on before spending money on it! Maybe try being poor and having just enough money to buy one game every three months - that taught me to do that!

But with that out of my system let me get to the other problem this game has, one I think is really fucking annoying and stupid and really the core of my grievances with the game and not just the audience....

The Ramble Section where I get to actually talk about what I thought about

To introduce the second? third? Ramble topic of the day, here are a few moments from my playthrough that we will use to illustrate my main "problem" with this game:

I, a gay man, was forced to kiss the Sexy BrothelLady for literally no reason.

When daring to have a full male party, my main pawn mentioned that he hoped I wouldn't make not having women in the party a habit. (paraphrased)

You can buy a very revealling Mage Armor in Battahl. Naturally, after reaching Battahl around 75% of Pawns I encountered were barely dressed women.

I guess to add to that, the only black skinned Pawn I ever saw was one that Capcom made. Isn't that heart-warming.

I don't even know if there are romanceable men on the level of BrothelLady (I'm too lazy to look her name up, that's what she gets for sexual assault) or Ulrika

The Yeti Monkey Ogre gets horny for female pawns which felt very weird. I don't think there's an equivalent mechanic for male characters.

The Beloved Animations are all expressedly feminine. And I love me femininity, but it says a lot about who the devs thought would more likely be beloved and who would do the loving.

There's a summoning stone that only shows you petite women (which isn't necesarily bad, but it did raise my eyebrows)

imagine FPS being the only thing between you and that oh so hallowed immersion.

I guess to put it this way: For most of its runtime, the game gets away with pretending to be Gender Agnostic. Your Beloved can be Everyone even children! There's almost no mechanical difference between genders! You could argue that there is no intended demographic in mind for this game - that everybody can play it and therefore it's made for everyone.

Until, of course, one of those things I mentioned above pops up and serves as a harsh reminder that No! At some point in development, the devs came down hard on "This game was made for heterosexual men and everyone else can just also play it."

And with some of this shit I felt gross about having to witness it and that's really the gist of it.

I remember vividly when my main pawn no homo-ed me about my All Male Party and how just utterly ugly that felt. And I know it was phrased weirdly (at least in german) so maybe it's just me, but it was vague enough that I could interpret it as him saying he needs women in the party so he had something to look at and that's an extremely wild and frankly inappropriate thing to have your blank canvas NPC Follower say out of fucking nowhere. Like, Imagine being a woman liking men and hearing that.

It's in moments like Wilhelmina's forced kiss (i remembered her name are you proud) where the only reason it happened was that the presumed player would find that shit hot. It's in Ulrika being clearly just romance option Nr.1 and I couldn't just tell her no and continue to do her quests, I had to throw her into a wall every time I saw her to the point I completely avoided her instead of talking to her. I'm pretty sure I missed quests because of that. Like, Imagine being a woman liking men trying to do these quests.

Related, there's also something in them trying to circumvent Depicting Real Racism by transposing it onto the Beastren - which I guess didn't not work, I don't have any big feelings either way, especially since the devs at least tried to keep the cast somewhat diverse; I certainly didn't find it as appalling as whatever FF16 did. But it also makes stuff like Nadinia not being an equivalent Romance option despite being on the cover of the game questionable, because now it's like... Yeah, that was a decision you made for a reason. You didn't think your presumed audience would find the cat lady hot, right? (I certainly did and I'm gay)

I also mentioned before having strong feelings about Character Creators - because I do feel they are a very, very strong tool to make your own story telling part of the game in a tangible way. And sure, I use them mainly for self-inserts, sue me, but what I'm trying to say is:

It feels crazy to have 75% of Pawns I run into be someone's waifu and they all look one certain way. Other than that people either make some joke pawn or a bad version of a popular character - but from what I've seen the waifu they can presumably goon over was certainly the biggest pawn demographic by far.

And I know that gets into "Let people have fun!" territory, but it definitely lessened mine and I'm not even one of the people this is about. It was less fun for me not just meeting somebody's unique pawn, but - well. An Army of Women Objects. Not even objectified women - these are Women born as Objects. (and yes while these women aren't real, the treatment of fictional women is still indicative of and impactful on real women - so yeah, you can objectify women even if they're fictional) A world supposed to be filled with myriad unique pawns is uniquely filled with Women Objects - and given what the Pawns are in universe, that's kind of massively fucked up and every time the Game acknowledges that - by including very revealing armor, making it easier to filter certain types of women and by telling me to recruit more women because why would you ever have an all male party??? - it just feels gross.

Again. Try imagining being a woman that dares to like men. I keep repeating it because it feels like nobody thought about this niche group of people that's just about 50% of the entire population on earth.

And I guess I can't fault the devs too much about it, for the most part I actually really like the female characters in this game (nadiniaaaaaa) and the Pawns they themselves made are pretty diverse so clearly they cared at least a little about it; I certainly didn't find what they did as appalling as whatever FF16 did. I can only side eye them for knowing that all of this would happen and kind of enabling their players to do that.

It's just sad. It's sad and it's gross and an active reminder that despite it all a majority of people still treats women, 50% of humanity, like property, deliberately or not. It stains a really enjoyable video game with interesting mechanics to think about that I really connected with - and all because capital-G Gamers and "standard" masculinity is fucking gross and yet the devs either didn't think that far or think that's fine and good and dandy.

[outoutdamnspark]

💌I meant to sent this earlier but then I got busy but Reina for Rawst and Hina for Pecha??

<3 0w0b (sorry this is kinda late)

from the ask game here

Reina x Rawst

Reina is predictable in that at least part of her gift would be food of some kind. She knows some baking (like the xmas cake), but it's not her forte - however! she is from Kanto, so she might very well try and teach herself how to make homemade chocolates. (They might not be the prettiest, but by the legends, she will try! She'll even probably rope Pecha into being her quality control, with the promise that Pecha can take any of the less-than-perfect offerings she wants.)

If she suspects that Rawst would like it, she'll probably also give him a little potted plant (with symbolism, of course) that she grew just for him - possibly something like the Sweetheart/Lucky Heart Plant, that doesn't require too much attention and won't be chore for him to keep alive.

Hina x Pecha

Hina is a mix between wanting to go all out because Pecha is amazing and deserves all the nice, romantic things, and not wanting to overdo it. She'd probably do some stealthy field research all through January - invite Pecha to watch movies together so Hina can make notes of what romantic tropes Pecha responds best to, etc - and then plan accordingly.

All in all, it would probably be more of a whole experience than a single material gift - and it would absolutely be an all-day thing, too. Hina would probably show up with Pecha's favorite coffee order a then take her out for brunch somewhere they serve heart-shaped pancakes topped with little strawberries.

After that would probably be a walk through a park or maybe a little open-air market or something, especially if there was a stall where Hina could buy a dozen pink and red roses. (She'd have 100% scouted ahead the day before, with a backup plan for flowers if there weren't any left.) Later in the afternoon, Hina would take Pecha to the amusement park and try to win her the biggest bug-type plushie prize they had. No cheating or bribing the carnies, either - she needs to do this right!

And, of course, you can't have an amusement park date without a ride on the ferris wheel~ Gotta kiss your lady on top of the world, after all.

[starwell-tarot]

Hey there!

If you wish to take a glance at my birth chart 🥺 Can you please tell what I need to heal and how I can find my life's purpose? Anything that jumps out to you.

Thanks in advance, and much gratitude ✨

Hello! I once again apologize it took me so long. I had to research quite a bit due to some unfamiliar placements :))

But alas it is done. I've tried to point out everything that could ever manifest in a detrimental way towards your mental health and provide some advice or comfort about it.

However! Full disclaimer I am not a mental health professional nor do I know everything. Perhaps with some issues, you will find better suited ways to solve than what I offered.

Also I am not a professional astrologer so things will be wrong. This interpretation is done based off of my own personal experience and research I've done so far. I do hope you will leave feedback and do not feel afraid to correct me 😀

What to heal + life purpose

Taurus Sun 8th house - Tough and resilient with incredible willpower. Will rebuild themselves up from the ground whenever they fall. Reliable and trustworthy but might have a need for control or the upper hand in deals and situations. Smart in a financial sense. Undying loyalty that might result in grudges, interest in the occult. Must not fall victim to the vicious circle of material possessions. In some cases, natal might also run away in fear from their 'dark and ugly side' instead of facing it. Can be very private and silence is abundant but calculated. People outside your social circle might even find you secretive or hard to figure out.

Aries Venus  8th house - Heal boundaries and keep them stable. It's okay to crave for deep rooted relationships and it's okay to crave passion and intensity. Just make sure to not overdo it, and avoid trying to rip passion out of people when it's not there for you. Find YOUR people. Find the ones to truly love you and respect you, that can offer you what you need in a healthy manner, without judgement. Please avoid living in the past of failures and disappointments, let go and explore new societal opportunities. Avoid chasing after danger just for the thrill of it. Relationships can greatly change you, as well. You could find yourself a different person when you're dating. If you're about to go through a drastic, permanent change about yourself make sure you DO want it. Make sure it's worth it.

8th house stellium in Aries - You might have a hard time with control. You want to have the ability of trusting both you and everyone around, in every domain, will do well and just according to plan. Unexpected changes are not very welcome. You hate it when things are out of your control, when it's just a matter of fate and you can't influence it. Relationships could also make you feel like you're losing control. But weirdly enough, you might have the most luck when taking chances. Life is all about balance in this domain too, practice risk and trust in moderation.

Libra Moon 2nd house -  It might be hard for you to maintain a healthy self esteem without external validation. By external validation I mean, the approval of others around you. You might care too much of how you're being seen, what others think of you. You might want to be liked by all and might bend over backwards for people just to please them. But remember, other people's opinions could never limit how beautiful and lovable you are. Only you can limit that for yourself.

Taurus Mars 9th house - Might be torn between the fear of drastic changes and the unknown and a deep desire for adventure. Try to see the wisdom that would come out of trying things out. You often want to be a supportive pillar to people, but don't stretch yourself too thin. Don't cuff yourself down - freedom could be a great motivation for you. Try to avoid getting attached to people just to feel some resemblance of warmth (I mean that in the idea that sometimes we hurt ourselves just to have people around, no matter how bad or fake their love is) Be careful to not be way too loyal to the wrong people.

Venus ruled sun. moon, mars, mercury - Natal has some of their biggest issues surrounding their self worth. Most often their self worth is tied to others around them, and they desperately search for knowledge and philosophy that will allow them disengage the idea of self worth from outside sources (aka have their self worth be self defined). Might have made many decisions which led to the loss of self freedom. I recommend self-love and shadow work for natal because I strongly feel they need to learn to acknowledge their beauty. (both physical and spiritual). Spiritual rituals which include admiring your body sound good. Dress up and feel beautiful. Don't hold grudges against your body or people from the past. Instead, celebrate all your strength and sacrifices, and admire the history the skin of your body has been through.

Virgo Ascendant - Perfectionistic in your craft. Good with your hands. Very hard worker. You don't put something down unless it's been polished perfectly. But you're probably also really hard on yourself. Self compassion is necessary so that you don't roboticize yourself in life. It's alright, people will love you even when you don't work like a machine and don't offer them absolutely every single thing you think they need. Protect the fragility of your humanity, never forget about it. Might be attracted to partners/friends who are in need of their help (Like you being attracted to people who need to be fixed, or only feeling loved when you are useful to others.)

Gemini Main House - My intel on this is pretty basic. You're a very intelligent individual. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise. You definitely have a gift for teaching and linguistic things. The world is full of opportunities for you. Maybe sometimes you might feel lost or confused because of all the information you carry with you, scared even. Don't let logic take over when you in fact need self compassion. Make sure you feel your feelings, not just analyze them. You are most comfortable when in a career that uses your smarts and creativity to its fullest. Always keep an open mind, that is good for you. And of course this doesn't have to apply to you necessarily but I'll mention it, make sure to not be aggressive about knowing better than your peers. Take everything in consideration, there is no universal truth, perfect opinion, words or life path.

Pisces Fortune 6th house - You strive when you can use your imagination, creativity and soulful persona in work too, not only in closed spaces.  Working in an art department / making art could be healing for you. Dream big and follow through with those plans

Pisces Descendant - You might desire to let go of rigidness in order to indulge in fantasy like dreamlands often. Perhaps you wish you could live in a more artistic and soulful way than you do now. Art could be healing for you.

Part of Fortune conjunct Descendant - Dreaming big can bring big results.

Sagittarius IC - Keeping your mind open is healthy for you. Avoid being too judgmental on yourself and others. Big dreamer, secretly in search of adventure, thrill and never found before treasure. You want more out of life, there simply must be more for you to have, especially in terms of information and experiences. Allow yourself to be free and chase these desires so that your inner child will no longer feel so constricted by responsibilities and perfectionism or the effects of other people in your life.

Sagittarius Lilith 3rd house - Heavily oppressed growing up in terms of identity, especially intellectually. Maybe forced into being an academic or taking up an impressive job that doesn't fit your taste. But no matter how oppressed you never believed the world was as black and white as people made it out to be. You see things differently, believe in different things. Listen to the way you understand the world. Listen to the way you understand yourself. Free yourself of outside voices. Trust your own judgement and stop searching for ways to prove yourself wrong. What you think matters, lay it out on the table. Your inner genius is not crazy, just free-spirited.

IC conjunct Lilith - You're the most powerful when you're completely authentic to yourself. Shamelessly.

Scorpio Pluto 3rd house - The environment you grew up in might have been one where it wasn't safe to voice out things, whether it was opinions or feelings. It's alright, it doesn't have to be the same anymore. It's safe to speak.

Scorpio Chiron 3rd house - Intuitive and empathic, you have a deeper understanding of this world than most of your peers. Might have grown up as 'the different one' due to a very developed intelligence and emotional stage. You have a gift of teaching people see the truth, teaching people to look deeper than the surface. Realistic mindset is good at problem solving. You bring life changing perspectives to people's lives.

Aquarius Vertex 5th house - You have a talent or skill that could put you above other people. Maybe that's given you too much unwanted attention or maybe you've tried to hide to avoid the spotlight. People might have been envious of you or tried to exploit your talent or intelligence. But your talent is not here for you to be singled out like this. Your talent is here to bring light and joy into the world. Find people who will have good teamwork so that you won't be above or beneath anyone ever again. Be equal and appreciated for what you can do.

Cancer North Node 10th  / Capricorn South Node 4th house - Natal needs to avoid overworking or forging a career that is distant, detached or too systematic in ways that could catch them in repetitive vicious cycles; natal must take care of themselves especially in work related departments because they tend to forget about their own humanity when they work;; treat their minds and bodies in more gentle ways so they won't get exhausted;; try to not have too much of a business-like mindset when it comes to family, as well, be careful to not rule your family like a business or become harsh on them because of too much stress, or push expectations onto them. The same don't let family boss you around in inhuman ways or break you with too many expectations

Extra notes:

I noticed a few planets at 26 degrees which is a Cancer degree. My initial thought about his is that empathy is in fact a great aid to you in the way you navigate through life.

Pluto, Lilith and Chiron are all three in the 3rd house so what I'm thinking with that is you could teach people to speak about about the things you personally felt oppressed by and never got the chance to speak about.

Freedom is the most intense theme I see in your chart. I think it's the most relevant to your question of healing and life purpose, too. You can try learning to have freedom in everything you do. Freedom even when working, even when with family, friends, lovers. I can sense you're a very dedicated individual too, but perhaps you need to learn dedication is a choice. You can choose to end your dedication to something if it constricts you in unfair ways.

With Taurus in the 8th house I definitely have to mention sensuality to you. No, it's not overrated. Listen to sensual music and please your senses. You deserve all the royal treatment you desire.

Assumptions I have about you based off of your natal chart: [Just for fun 😜] You're a tortured soul who prefers artistic expression over anything else that was fed to you growing up; you're a theatre kid, you like the acting world, I'm getting something like doctor/teacher/ HR (or some place where you can pitch in ideas). You like writing.

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

I'm not 100% happy with everything I've written but if I continue to keep this in my drafts to perfect it you'll never get it 😂 excuse me if some paragraphs seem a little lackluster or if I overlooked something

That's it! Hope it was useful. 🖤

[mangodestroyer]

This is going to be heavy...

Last night, I think I finally came to terms with how much being a part of so many m*nority groups has impacted my life. For one, I'm AFAB and naturally have a very curvaceous body type. So I've pretty much dealt with the depressingly vast issue of m*sogyny my whole life (most people have not done their research on how deep this shit goes...) I'm also part N*tive. Whenever people find out about it or sus it out, it isn't uncommon for them to start acting strange over it. Not to mention... it comes with generational tr*uma.

I'm also n*urodivergent. I've heard countless times how much I suck because of it. I've done so much work over the years to learn how to fit in enough to get by. I'm also qu*er. People aren't exactly accepting of that either, and it's so hard to relate to the c*s, h*t experience. It's awkward because people just assume that's what I am. But then get weird and sometimes hostile when I show signs that I'm not either of those things.

It doesn't matter if I'm hanging around more l*beral people or not. It doesn't matter if some people happen to be a part of the d*mographics I'm a part of. People can still be full of unchecked b*ases and get passive-aggressive, avoidant, or straight-up nasty toward me. I've been a social outcast in so many settings. I've been harassed in public so many freaking times! I get overlooked a lot. Some people who share some of my struggles will reject and distance themselves from me because I have these other qualities that make me "undesirable" (even if I was formally close to these people for the longest time, although "close" is a strange term to use here because looking back, these people were still sometimes hostile while I was still apart of their lives). I've had so many people get angry if I happen to have anything going for me, or if they find me enjoying myself in any way. As if I just don't deserve that. I've had people with more pr*vlege than me downplay what I've been through or even blame me for my life struggles/smirk if they find out I'm miserable. I have to work so much harder to get anywhere in life. At best, I feel like I am tolerated/just happen to be useful to others so they'll barely have the decency to let me exist around them. I've had people assume so many weird things about me. And when it comes to things like dating... I've been hit on and all and have dated someone in the past, but people don't really put any effort into courting me or trying to get to know me. They just act like I should be grateful that they pay attention to me at all. And with my only relationship, along with my friendships, my partner acted like I should just be delighted to cater to them and shouldn't expect anything in return. Lots of people just assume I must be some desperate loser who will accept any companionship and will do anything to have it. Because "it's the best I can do."

There were times in my life when I wondered if I was evil and just didn't realize it. Times when I wondered if I was born cursed. I learned early on to make myself as small and pleasant as I could possibly be to protect myself. I've had to learn to try and grey-rock and overlook as much of this shit as possible so that I don't go insane or "lash out" and make it worse (and since I seem to be a magnet for t*xic individuals, it's inevitable if harassment happens constantly). On the flip side, I've also learned to try and assert my boundaries and speak up for myself as much as I can without "overdoing it." And like I said, I've learned to seriously work at things to get anywhere in life. Funnily enough, I've had people take one look at me and say, "You have the patience of a saint!", "How can you look so serene while doing that unpleasant task?", "You seem like the type of person who is very self-sufficient." among other things. Like, yeah. No shit! Learning to be all these things is just a matter of survival for me! It isn't just some virtue.

And on top of all that, I grew up in a d*sfunctional family, in p*verty, in an area that has some issues. And yeah, no shit I'm also m*ntally ill after putting up with all this my whole life. Ofc I'm not an entirely functional individual myself. If anything, after thinking about all this last night... I'm kind of surprised I'm not worse. But I'm not off the hook for my m*ntal health either. I've also gotten shit for having an "unmanaged" m*ntal i*lness. For not "putting in the effort." Pft, I have tried therapy and I currently take things to help manage my mood. I've done so much work coming to terms with my tr*uma and practicing healthy thinking patterns. But it can be extremely challenging when you take everything else into consideration. It's not like I can easily put myself in a healthy environment or anything. I can do what I can to avoid t*xic people. I've still come to find that even the healthiest, well-meaning individuals won't be a fan of me on a subconscious level. They've still been conditioned to not like certain aspects of me, or they can smell that I have some issues and baggage. They might not appreciate that I've learned to be more careful and guarded around others. Again, as a way to protect myself because idk if you're going to end up being another POS.

It's not like I wasn't aware of these things when I was younger. I just thought we'd moved forward since the c*vil rights movement of the 60's. Then I grew up and entered the adult world... and I'm devastated to find out that we're still very behind. And like I said, even people who think they're super pr*gressive... actually aren't as kind and accepting as they think they are. The world is actually pretty messed up and hateful.

And I think the thing that really woke me up once and for all: looking around and seeing the people around me have fulfilling and authentic relationships with each other. Seeing the people around me be able to have deep conversations with others and express more vulnerability without it coming back to bite them. Seeing people be forgiven for some HUGE flaws. Seeing stupid adult children get babied by other adults. Just... people having a much better life than me where they feel comfortable and validated as human beings. Each and every one of these individuals is more privileged than me. Even if they do share some of my struggles, they're still able to find social acceptance SOMEWHERE.

So... I hope to one day recover from all this a lot more and learn to cope with it better. I hope to one day find some people who genuinely seem to like me and who aren't at all bothered with who I am as a person. I hope to find a career and lifestyle where I can exist and thrive in peace. All I ever wanted was a comfortable existence where I connect with someone and enjoy my hobbies/indulge in the beauty in this world. That's IT. It's not like I enjoy being a jaded m*santhrope who can only afford to look out for themselves.

And worst of all... I know there are people out there who can relate to all this. There are plenty of people out there who have it worse. And that's it. That's their existence. It's heartbreaking...

[fmpmelissa]

Week 09: Wednesday Productin and Research

Production:

With our deadline approaching for implementing our work, I began preparing any additional information needed for the cinematic. We currently can't begin as of now as our environment artist is currently finishing up their progress on the final levels of the cinematic. My goal today is to focus on how we can approach the cinematic, including rendering in Unreal Engine 5 and applying post-processing techniques. Researching this now will save a lot of time later when trying to figure it out when we gather a group to begin implementing.

Post-processing volume is a tool within Unreal Engine 5 that adds various camera effects to the scene, enhancing its overall quality. However, we must be careful not to overdo it, as it can end up detracting from the cinematic experience. When researching them I came across a video by Royal Skies (2023) which provides a clear video breaking down each effect. Some interesting tools I found include "chromatic aberration," which creates a red, blue, and green separation—a common effect in horror. We can also add features like fog to reduce the camera's view distance, building suspense about what lurks ahead. Other more common tools, like vignette, can subtly darken the edges of the camera, which would work well with the fog. There's also bloom, but we might want to avoid using it, as it could affect the torchlight and make it too bright. Finally, adding Ambient Occlusion will provide natural shading, allowing elements in the scene to interact more naturally and giving the scene greater depth. A combination of these post-processing effects will significantly enhance our cinematic. Another feature that can improve the overall cinematic is applying subsurface scattering. I recently added this to my own work to render the spider in Blender. While these changes are very subtle, they can significantly impact the character's visuals. We can apply these changes by creating basic materials with expression nodes, allowing us to control the colour and intensity of the subsurface scattering. A very useful video we can follow is by All Is Play (2023) where he provides a simple step-by-step for adding these features.

When it comes to the cinematic, we have two options for recording. One is to use the track camera, which we’ve used before. This option provides a steady camera but goes against our "first-person vlogger" concept. We'll likely keep this as a fallback option in case other methods don't work, as Zoe has experience using this tool. However, using the first-person camera will give us easier control of the cutscene, allowing us to naturally position the character without having to animate everything by hand. To achieve this, we would need to use a separate tool in Unreal Engine called "Take Recorder." It's pretty simple to use—just activate it, and when you press play, it records the entire session until stopped. If we can get this working, we'll be able to create a much more natural cutscene for our cinematic.

Research:

Subject 1)  Today I want to explore more on environments in preparation to get a better understanding of how to set up the lighting for the cinematic. Whilst exploring the 3D scenes created in Unreal Engine, I came across a project done by Jorge Luz (2023) called "Enteral Darkness". I really appreciated his remake especially the effective use of dull yet soft lighting, which avoids strong or bright colours, creating a sombre and atmospheric mood. The point lights were placed around the scene to draw attention to key areas, guiding the viewer's gaze to points of interest. The use of grunge and dirt textures effectively enhances the scene’s sense of wear and decay, contributing to the overall feeling of neglect and age. Additionally, the vintage effect applied to the scene softens the view and helps direct focus as well. However, the scene could benefit from a broader range of colours just to add a little more depth to the scene. Also, Introducing light flickering could enhance the unsettling atmosphere and contribute to the storytelling.

Subject 2) Another scene I took inspiration from was a piece done by Chris Ramos (2023) where they created a scene inspired by FallOut in the theme of a submarine. Exploring this scene, I was struck by how the colours created a cold, unsettling atmosphere, which worked well in hand with the flickering lights that gave this sense of unease. The post-processing effects, including the vintage filter and depth of field, are well used to focus attention on key features, adding a layer of narrative depth. The fog adds an air of mystery, while the dust particles are a nice touch, subtly adding some storytelling. God rays were also used through the centre which worked particularly well for this specific setting—a crossroads in a submarine. However, the centre of the scene feels notably empty and could benefit from additional elements like dirt or a puddle to create visual balance, as the surroundings were cluttered. This became even more prominent by the god rays which suggested a focal point but wasn't there. Additionally, introducing more ambient light could help break up the single light source from above, adding necessary variation in the scene colour pallet and enhancing the overall atmosphere.

References:

All Is Play, 2023. UE5 : Materials for beginners in Unreal Engine5- 15 Subsurface scattering, Skin and Wax material. [Online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1IBNLKlpUo [Accessed 01 August 2024].

Jorge Luz, 2023. Eternal Darkness - Roivas Mansion - Unreal 5 Remake. [Online] Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/JvRmdm [Accessed 01 August 2024].

Chris Ramos, 2023. Trapped in the Deep. [Online] Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/RyYQny [Accessed 01 August 2024].

Royal Skies, 2023. Unreal 5 - Post Process VOLUME (3 MINUTES!!). [Online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InSXTn3QVr4&t=9s [Accessed 01 August 2024].

Gantt Chart

Light Red highlights marks the day

This is in place to keep me on track what has been or needs to be done this day of the week.

[terielle]

Heal the Scars 11/?

As usual, full Story on AO3 and in the original on Fanfiktion.de

We’re gonna increase leaps in time. But There are things I have to do now, otherwise they won't make any sense later. And I think, we have to picture the marines as the good guys every now and then. And, yes, I know, it is the wrong month, put I want co cover more than a year's time and I hope I’m done until October, so it will happen now. And since I loved our north blue guys being nerds, the end had to happen like this. 

Elizabeth was on board of Drakes ship for a little bit more than a month. And she really liked it. In the beginning she thought an expressive face just wasn’t his thing. Now she guessed, there was just barely anything to break his calm. Despite they spent a lot of time together, she still barely knew anything about him. Despite discussing the current course and what to expect on it, they trained together. Well, it was more him training her than together. She wasn’t quite sure if he drew any benefit from it, but he insisted on calling it training together.

Landing was outside of Wind Rose far more relaxing. They had only been on two other different bases, each after they caught pirates on isles without a base or between isles. But if the were at land, she took over the typical duties of the first officers: making sure, Drakes orders were fulfilled, collecting intel and advising him with it. Since she tended to overdo it with her research, he didn’t even read her files by now, but let her just report the short version with the hint to add additional information if it became relevant at some point. When he told her that, she beamed the whole fay. She was happy he trusted her enough to make this judgement herself.

And the out of necessity solidarity of the three women on board became a friendship, much to the pleasure of Liz.

Currently they were on a rather small Island, a few villages and a bigger city in the inner of the island. In the beginning they didn’t want to stay that long, but the small town at the port got currently attacked by pirates. Chasing them would have been fruitless, they have been to long gone by now. The small town was still in ruins, so they decided to help with the repairs. The crafmansship was limited by most members of the crew, but the citizens were grateful for any help. After a week of support of the Marines the small town looked a lot better.

Elizabeth was a bit shocked, that she - despite her love for investigation - found out about Drake's birthday due to the crew’s more or less well sung serenade. It became clear, how little she actually knew about him. And the fact she didn’t have a gift and limited possibilities to obtain one. But she found a solution for that rather soon.

„Captain Drake, do you have a moment?“ she stepped beside him to the railing.

„Sure, what’s the matter?“ she focused his gaze on her.

She put on her most charming smile „I would like to take you out for dinner“

Silence. She lifted one eyebrow and tilted her head to give him a questioning look. She could swear he blushed.

„That…“ he cleared his throat and sounded a bit embarrassed „… is very flattering but inappropriate. I don’t think this is a good idea“

Now she remained silent and maybe it was audible how the gears in her head turned. How could dinner be inappropriate? She looked at him confused, until the pieces fell together.  her face displayed her changing emotions, from confusion to realization to embarrassment. Now she was blushing.

„Oh. Oh! Captain Sir, you are an intelligent and handsome man, but I don’t want to go out with you. I just thought, I wanted to get you something for your birthday but I don’t know enough about you for a personal gift but I thought: everyone has to eat“ she paused and grimaced „But now I realize, I didn’t think this through enough. I‘ll give the restaurant a call and cancel. I‘m sorry if I made you uncomfortable“ 

„Dinner sounds good“ he interrupted her nervous babbling.

„I made reservations for 19.00 o‘clock, if that fine with you?“

He nodded and an awkward silence stretched between them. She reality didn’t think he could get the impression of her asking him out. Not that she denied him any attractiveness, she wasn’t blind, and a young marine captain was a good match. But she just didn’t see her superior that way.

„I‘m sure i have… places to be“ It was obvious to her, that this was a flight attempt.

„Sure, sure, go“ he still seemed d a bit uncomfortable.

—————————————

Elizabeth stood ten minutes before seven at the restaurant. Of course this was a private occasion, but since she invited him, she deemed it more than appropriate to be here earlier. Nervous she played with the end of her braid. She didnt put the hair up and only braided it. She was still a bit embarrassed, that drake thought she wanted to ask him out for a date. She didn’t have to wait to long to him.

„Captain Drake“ she wanted to give a salute but stopped in the middle of the motion and decided to do a wave instead, paired with a smile to distract from her embarrassment.

„Elizabeth“ for half of a second a thin smile was visible, before he held the door open for her „Please, after you“

„Thanks“

Immediately a waiter came and greeted him „Oh, the marines. Welcome to the Munch Cove. He prepared our best table for you. If you‘d like to follow me“

The best table was a bit of an exaggeration, after all the restaurant was severely damaged, and even before it wasn’t very chic. But due to the repairs at the Munch Cove was at least back in shape to welcome guest. The promoted table was next to the only window with few on the town square and it had the only still intact tablecloth. Obviously, they put in a lot of effort, to show their gratefulness for their support.

„Thank you“ the blonde was very surprised, when drake pulled out her chair for her. After both ordered her dinner, they remained silent. She let her gaze wonder through the room. It wasn’t like there was something worth looking for, it was just something to help her think. Afterglow the dinner was not only a gift but also an opportunity to get to know him a bit better.

„You seemed to be very fascinated by the swamp lizard the other day Do you know as much about many animals or was that just your favorite?“

„Flying swamp dragon“ he corrected „I like reptiles“

„Is this because of your devilfruit?“

„No really. Dinosaurs are more related to birds than reptiles“

„Oh, I didn’t knew that“ she shot him a surprised look „so, if I ask you anything about reptiles, could you give a compatible detailed answer?“

„That depends, on what you ask. Are you interested in animals?“ he seemed to be surprised.

„To be honest: no.“ she gave an apologetic smile „But I enjoy to listen if someone talks about something so passionate. Under different circumstances your excitement would have been infectious“

„You looked more frightened“ 

„To. My defense: I had no idea, what was sitting on me“

Her excuse was cut short by the arrival of the waiter.

„Is there anything you are interested in?“

„I know the marines behavior handbook by heart and can quote it“

„I has talking about something besides work“

„Well…“ she cleared her throat and took a sip of her red wine to win time. Elizabeth hoped to distract with that answer, but her face must resemble her drink by now. „There is a series of romance books. Not the deepest lecture but a nice distraction from reality“

She hoped with all her heart he didn’t ask any more. This’d was putting it very mildly. Tides of Passion really deserved its name. Erotic romances would have been more fitting. And if that wasn’t enough , man you the books followed one of the following patterns: A main character fell in love with  an incredibly attractive marine, the only variation was if she was the damsel in distress or the tempting underworld Beaty, wrapping the poor marine (usually officer) around her finger, or the classical workplace romance. And since all books of the series fell under the categories „not safe for work“ she really didn’t want to admit this to her superior. Then the saving thought crossed her mind.

„I also enjoys the Sora Comics in the world economy news“ she added quickly. It was a harmless topic and she really liked them.

„You like Sora?“

„You too?“

„Oh corse, everyone from north blue knows Sora!“ I have an autograph from the author“*

*this is from the Spin off series „One Piece Party“, chapter „Offline Meeting“. Drake, Law and Hawkins have a Sora Fanclub. And it is hilarious.

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

So I (finally!) bought a pair of really good noise cancelling headphones, and it has changed my life! It's the fanciest thing I've bought in years, so to recoup some of the cost, I’ve researched & written a little essay based on my experiences with extreme noise sensitivity.

Hypersensitivity to sound is something I’ve dealt with all of my life, but I only recently found out it's medically known a Hyperacusis. (Please note this is a separate condition from Misophonia.) If you consistently struggle to cope with noise, the info below could be helpful! I’m including a link to my ko-fi, and I will be answering questions in the notes.

(skip to the bottom to read fun facts about my tax return and/or street organs vendettas!)

DISCLAIMER: I am not a professional, this is based solely on my experiences as a patient, and on what I have read and been told by professionals. Please notify me if you have corrections or concerns about accuracy!

BACKGROUND: Sensitivity to sound is a common type of sensory issue. While anyone can experience such issues (most people, for example, might be bothered by loud music in a crowded restaurant), some people are more sensitive than others, to the point it becomes a quality-of-life aka a medical issue.

If you consistently struggle with environmental stimuli that other people aren’t bothered by (background noises, bright lights, certain textures and tastes, etc), to the point it causes daily discomfort or limits the environments you can be in, I recommend reading about Sensory Processing Disorder.

SPD and sound sensitivity are both super common in autistic folks (like me!), but allistic (non-autistic) people can experience them too. Weep, ye prisoners of mortal coil, for none are safe, nothing sacred, not in this thy most accursed tomb of human flesh!

Anyway.

SOUND SENSITIVITY or HYPERACUSIS: Noise issues are particularly difficult to navigate in a world that is increasingly...noisy. The relatively new phenomenon of constant overhead music in restaurants, grocery stores, shopping malls etc—all of this means that public spaces are increasingly inaccessible to people with auditory issues.*

As a kid, nothing quite triggered sensory overload/meltdowns for me like the constant exposure to noise I couldn’t control—the background chatter of other kids in the lunchroom, the constant noise in public spaces, being trapped in the car with the radio on.... I had so many fights with my siblings about the car radio, and who got to choose the music.**

But it’s not just loud sounds that are the problem. As an adult who lives alone and works from home***, I’m lucky enough to be able to avoid loud environments most of the time. This does wonders for my general levels of anxiety and discomfort. But even in a mostly controlled environment, I still experience problems. Because part of sound sensitivity is that even normal or quiet sounds can feel loud and intrusive. Here are some “normal” sounds that can cause me discomfort (ranging from annoyance to outright pain, depending on the day):

refrigerator/AC/ceiling lights humming

dishwasher/washing machine noises

ceiling fan making that damn ceiling fan noise

faint sounds of traffic

riding in a car

other people having a normal conversation in the background

someone talking to me in a perfectly normal inside voice

Unfortunately, even in a “controlled” environment, many triggering noises can’t be controlled. And many parts of life can’t be lived in a controlled environment. This presents...some incredibly freaking annoying problems. Luckily there are solutions!

Sorta.

There are sorta some solutions.

They are imperfect, but they help.

TREATMENT: And now I have something rather shame-faced to admit. In all the years of managing my symptoms, it never once occurred to me to see a hearing specialist for my issues with sound. I wasn’t even aware that treatment options exist, because none of my other doctors mentioned it. Instead, I’ve spent years finding my own coping mechanisms and tools, with help from therapists and psychiatrists, but without ever consulting an audiologist/ENT. It was only while researching this post that I found out that was even an option, holy shit.

So it turns out I am going to be making an appointment with my local ENT practice. shit.

Apparently treatment options include sound/acoustic therapy, systematic desensitization/exposure therapy, cognitive behavior therapy, sound machines, and other options that I had no idea even existed, goddammit.

MANAGEMENT: In the meantime, here are my current coping mechanisms. I’ve relied rather heavily on hearing protection, which is very useful when used in moderation. Unfortunately, it can cause its own problems: it’s important not to overuse hearing protection, because in the long-term this can increase your sensitivity. So again: a useful tool, but be careful not to overdo it.

With that in mind, here are some of the coping strategies I’ve used over the last decade to manage my symptoms. This is not a perfect system and you should contact your local ENT clinic for better, long-term solutions, but in the meantime here are some tips I use to just get myself through the damn day:

Regularly spending time in a quiet controlled environment, to allow my nervous system to decompress.

Wearing earplugs, (I use two different grade, depending on the level of noise prevention I need), and always carrying an extra pair in case I need them unexpectedly. I bought a 50 pack for $7 and put spares in all my bags and jacket pockets.

(I mostly use Mack’s Ultra Soft, but there are so many types and materials and brands, including foam, silicone, wax, custom moldable etc. Even if you have trouble wearing things in your ears, you might be able to find something comfortable.)

Similarly: hearing protection earmuffs, the kind used in gun ranges and on construction sites. I bought mine online for $10. they look like normal wireless headphones, so I've never gotten comments when wearing mine in public (other than “cool heaphones” bc i added skull glitter stickers).

Sometimes I wear the earmuffs on top of earplugs, when life is just too damn LOUD.

Listening to music w/ earbuds or headphones is a great way to balance out background noises, especially if you can find soothing playlists that help you concentrate. Also useful to put in just one earbud when you need to pay attention in class/at work.

Pro tip: if your hair is long enough you can wear wireless earbuds without anyone knowing.

White noise, rain noises, ocean noises etc can be helpful! Some people like whale songs although personally this activates my primal fear response

Active noise cancelling headphones: the reason I wrote this post to begin with—I finally bought a pair! As in, a really good pair! As in, a depressingly expensive pair with noise cancelling technology that actually WORKS, holy shit. I probably need to wear them a little less at home (bc overprotection causes problems in the longterm) but they have absolutely transformed my ability to go out in public and i never ever want to take these suckers off again please take a power screwdriver and nail these to my head, bury me in the sweet sweet shroud of silence. holy canoli and cream puffs I want to marry form a civil partnership with these headphones. Plus they have a bunch of features, like being able to control the level of noise cancellation, so I can hold a conversation or be aware of some ambient noise for safety reasons.

Oh, and also they play music I guess?

Sorry sorry I promise this post wasn’t supposed to be me shilling for Big Electronics. I’m just excited, I’m an excited flabby little ball of expired flubber. ANC headphones aren’t a perfect solution, and I still sometimes wear earplugs underneath, and I will always be uncomfortable some of the time, but for me it’s been a big step.

Unfortunately the cost of good quality ANC technology means this isn’t an option for everyone, and the (much cheaper) gunshot protection earmuffs I mentioned earlier still provide an impressive amount of protection and bang-for-your buck (maybe even an equal amount of protection, if you can find ones that fit well). But if noise consistently prevents you from enjoying public space and life in general, and you’ve already tried earmuffs & earplugs and find they don’t offer enough comfort/convenience/protection, and if you’re in a position to save up for a one time non-necessity purchase of $150+, noise cancelling headphones are an option to be aware of. (Please always check the return policy so you can try before you buy. I ended up buying and returning 2 pairs before finding what worked best for me. And please look for a retailer that offers an extended warranty. You want those motherforkers to last).

There are cheaper options available, including some under $50. The ones I tried didn't work as well as my hearing protection earmuffs, but some people report good experiences, so that is something to consider. it's always good to know your options! Passive noise canceling is another affordable alternative.

Medication: A final tool in my toolbox, which for me personally has helped as much as every other method combined. Like, a lot, it’s helped a lot. It turns out some anti-anxiety medications can also help sensory issues. There’s not much research on this, and I only discovered it firsthand when a medication my doctor prescribed for anxiety ended up significantly helping my sensory issues. I no longer need medication for anxiety, but my psychiatrist still prescribes that same medication off-label for my sensory stuff. Ask your psychiatrist to research your options (they will probably have to do some digging to find relevant research, but you deserve to know all your options, even the obscure ones). Fyi, the medication I use is in the benzodiazepines class, but there are other options for those concerned about dependency or side effects.

(I'm also told anti-anxiety supplements may be helpful, though I haven't tried this yet. If you're on prescription meds, always talk to your doctor about contraindications before taking anything over-the-counter.)

So there you have it, my main coping strategies for sound sensitivity! They are not a replacement for medical treatment (except that last one which is in fact...medical treatment), but I find them helpful and I hope some of you will too! I’ve struggled for a long time, and I’m very pleased to have reached the point where I can just do things in public. Eating out in loud restaurants? I can do that now, and even enjoy it, holy shit! I can comfortably travel in cars for hours at a time, and walk around shopping malls and grocery stores with overhead music, and, and —and just exist. It is so so freeing, to feel like maybe, after everything, you are actually allowed to just exist in a world that wasn’t really designed for you.

Again, be careful not to overuse hearing protection—the goal is to allow you to be less uncomfortable and to function better, but if you find you are becoming more sensitive to noise, it is time to dial it back a notch. Or maybe consider listening to music (at a reasonable volume) to block out background noise instead.

*(This also includes people with hearing loss and related issues, btw. While that’s not my area of knowledge, I would welcome it if any of my HoH followers want to share their experiences.)

**A sign of sensory issues that parents often miss is when a child complains about music being too loud—but has no problem listening to their own music at high volume. This is because music that is already familiar to the listener (and that the listener enjoys) is much easier for the brain to process, since it knows what pattern of sounds to expect. Loud music that they get to control can be soothing for people with sound issues, especially when it blocks out background noise and sensations. This is why repetitively playing the same songs can be a helpful form of stimming.

***(working on this blog, actually. since it’s my only source of income, my 2020 income tax return literally lists my occupation as ‘Tumblr Blogger.’ Oddly, my parent didn’t feel this achievement was worth including in the holiday family newsletter.)

bonus fun fact: Charles Babbage aka “father of the computer” may have been autistic and hypersensitive to sound. He definitely had a huge problem with public noise pollution, and spent his later year waging a war on street musicians (and organ grinders in particular).

(bc like, yeah. screw organ grinders.)

Sometimes when I’m out in public and the overhead music is particularly unbearable, I’ll take a moment to look up to the sky and scream out: “HE TRIED TO WARN US! THE FATHER OF COMPUTERS TRIED TO WARN US!!! we should have listened, sweet heaven we should have listened!”

except i don’t scream it, i say it very quietly under my breath

(i have issues with noise)

so yeah that is my short essay. and here is the ko-fi goal

k ciao i gotta go pick out glitter stickers for my headphones

[moonlit-sunflower-books]

writing muscle sprains

[@/moonlit_sunflower_books on ig]

i'm a trained dancer and amateur runner, and suffice it to say, i think i have significant experience with muscle strains, be it immobilised shoulders or sprained ankles. and all too often, these are written into books completely unrealistically, whether it's the quick recovery or over-estimated physical limits.

i'm not a professional writer or a health professional, and most of this is based on research and personal experience, so make sure you do your own research as well. but i hope this helps!

when they happen

there are plenty of ways that one can get a muscle sprain. it could be twisting an ankle if it gets caught on something, or if you overdo weights at the gym, or if you use the wrong form. it's essentially over-stretching a tendon in the wrong direction, and can cause a ligament tear of different degrees. depending on how it happens, it can be of varying seriousness - for example, a twisted ankle may not be as serious as a third degree ligament tear along the calf.

there’s often immediate pain and a soft popping sound, depending on where and what degree the injury is, but sometimes you don’t even notice you’ve strained something until you try to use the muscle later on.

immediate treatment

rest, ice, compression, elevation, and a whole lot of painkillers are very necessary with muscle strains. it's probably unlikely that your character can pull their hamstring and hike to a waterfall the next day without passing out six times - with an injured shoulder i struggled a lot writing a two hour exam paper; i don't want to imagine sword fighting with one.

they're usually the most painful in the first 72-96 hours, and provided they're given adequate rest and not overexerted at all, they will get less painful gradually. but keep in mind that the slightest exertion can be very harmful and can make an injury even worse. they need a LOT of rest, a diet with enough protein to rebuild the muscle, and painkillers so that you can function.

long-term treatment

the most recommended treatment is physiotherapy, which both strengthens the muscles and improves mobility. especially when people tend to repeatedly injure the same muscle, this can be really helpful. for example, i used to keep injuring my ankle when i danced or ran, and i saw a physiotherapist who helped me strengthen it!

but every muscle strain takes quite a bit of time to heal - 2 weeks in the best case, but rest for 4-6 weeks is essential for a complete recovery. rest doesn't necessarily mean full immobilisation, and it's recommended that you ease yourself back into exercise after 2-3 weeks, but g e n t l y. so if your character sprains their ankle, they can definitely not win a fight the next day without some serious assistance.

long-term effects

most major injuries are simply minor injuries that aren't given time to heal. if the injury is ignored, it's going to get much worse. you can use this in your story, because if your character is injured really badly in chapter four, they can suffer in a fight in chapter twenty-five because they didn't give it the time to heal. not only does it make your writing more realistic, it provides your character with more obstacles and makes their life hell :D

in extreme cases, it could even be harmful for the rest of the person’s life and they may never be able to use the muscle the same way.

[astaroth1357]

Hi there, congrats for the 1500 subs. How about the bros reaction to an MC who's an empath?

Brothers with an MC Who is an Empath

This should not have been as hard as it was but maaan, my brain just wasn’t working. Finally got it done though!

Intro:

An Empath is essentially someone who is highly sensitive to outside stimuli like sounds, personalities, energies, emotions, or just hectic/chaotic environments. They tend to absorb the emotions of others into themselves because of this. Though their sensitivity can grant deeper understanding for others, it comes at the price of the Empath’s own emotional and physical health if not given enough time to decompress which can lead to feeling drained, irritable, depressed, or overwhelmed.

Lucifer

Oh boy, if there was ever any demon not in tune to his own emotions…

He started out legitimately not knowing what an "empath" was and frankly he didn't care to know. His main concern was just keeping the MC alive.

Though that didn't seem to be too hard because they apparently get tired quickly… or at least they had to take extended periods away from most of his brothers.

He wasn't sure why, he first assumed it was because they found his brothers annoying but that didn't seem to be the case either...

He'd see them grinning with Mammon after a jackpot, relaxing with Satan in silence, and even crying with Levi over things so niche and pointless he couldn’t imagine that they actually cared...

It wasn’t too long until they set their sights on him. 

They always seemed to know when he was stressed or when he needed to talk to someone. He'd even be embarrassed to admit there were days when he’d just hover somewhat close to them, face more or less slathered with "I really need to talk right now" but too proud to make the first move.

After some time, he decided to look up what an empath was again and it all clicked into place. They probably knew when he was tired because they could just sense it off of him.

And who knows how exhausting that must be for them...

After that little revelation he actually started paying more attention to his own health to keep it from spilling over to them, but he would still go to them to talk from time to time. He honestly never expected a human to become his closest confidant.

Mammon

Mammon has BIG energy. He’s one of those personalities that just brightens a room he walks in but damn… if he’s not a little exhausting to be around sometimes…

Truthfully, he was kind of into their whole “I know how you feel so you don’t have to say it” vibe though it was really confusing to start with...

On the one hand, they never made fun of him for his sensitive side. Not once. And they seemed pick up on the days where he wasn't feeling his best as well, which only made him happy and want spend more time with them.

But on the other hand, he'd be lying if he said that their need to recharge away from him didn't catch him off guard a lot... Hell, for the first few weeks of getting to know the MC he thought they didn't like him at all!

It took the MC sitting him down and explaining to him that they're more sensitive to things like lights, sounds, and emotions for him to kind of get the picture. It wasn’t that they didn’t like him, they just needed to be somewhere calm.

Cue a lot of “Okay human, I’ll be calm. Promise! Ya won’t even now I’m here!” in a well meaning, but pretty loud voice and not getting much better from there, bless his heart...

Even after he eventually gets the picture and stops hanging off of their leg, it does bum him out to be separated for however long it takes for them to get better (at worst, it can be days).

But he really gets excited like a puppy whenever they finally come back again! Big grins and lots of hugs (good luck peeling him off now).

Levi

Levi is... best taken in short bursts.

Though his personality isn’t big like Mammon’s, he does have a lot of lingering negativity around him. Not exactly his fault, being Envy and all, but not great for someone who’s sensitive to emotions.

In truth, Levi genuinely loves being around the MC because they “get” him even if they don’t get what’s happening.

While his brothers may roll their eyes or struggle to understand how he can put so much emotional investment into an anime or a character, the MC would always seem to feel and respect that his emotions were genuine and let him experience them without question.

… But at the same time, that sensitivity meant that they got carried in with him through his every emotion, good, bad, or somewhat erratic depending on the situation… 

Add to that his higher than usual need for validation, investment, and feedback due to his insecurity and unfortunately he’s easily the most emotionally draining person in the House...

It took some time to explain to Levi what an empath was and that their desired space wasn’t because there was something wrong with him or anything, they just needed breaks. Thankfully, being an introvert himself meant that Levi understood this a lot quicker than Mammon.

In truth, being with Levi could be fun and rewarding for both parties. During his high points, his happiness truly does shine like no other, just… don’t overdo it.

Satan

In the beginning, Satan was honestly pretty impressed how quickly the exchange student saw through his fake smiles. They’d know that there was no actual joy behind them and thus avoided him for the most part.

This was before they formed their pact so he was perfectly fine with that. Let them hide, that’s the smart idea.

But after getting to know them and going through the body-switch, he started to see that it was deeper than just some good intuition on their part. Something about them… reflected the people around them...

They appeared to be acutely aware of the emotion in a given person or a given room and reacted like they were soaking in the atmosphere they found themselves in. Taking it into themselves…

It truly confused him.

Satan is the picture of emotional control, it’s been taught to him again and again to always keep a good handle on himself because things go flying when he doesn’t. The idea of being so open to others just didn’t make much sense to him… 

Why would anyone want to live so dependent on the emotions of others? It sounded chaotic just to hear about it...

But after he opened up to them about his own inner doubts he started to think it wasn’t such a bad thing. They appeared to be equipped to help him navigate his own emotions, especially the new ones he didn’t have the best grasp on yet.

He later did his own research into human emotions, discovered empaths, and that put it all into perspective. Like Lucifer, he did his best not to overwhelm them after that but there was little worry about that anyway. Satan is, again, emotional control at its finest.

Asmodeus

Oh, Asmo picked up on their human’s little quirk relatively quickly compared to his brothers. Being emotionally observant is just part of what makes him so good at what he does.

Honestly, he enjoyed just watching them from afar… Watching the way their eyes lit up when talking to a cheerful Simeon or how huffy and frustrated they’d get along with Mammon when things weren’t going his way. It was cute to him, like a child playing “Pretend.”

Eventually, though, he started to notice that it went a lot deeper than mere imitation...

One day, Levi came home distraught about the tragic death of some voice actor he fancied and the MC was right along with him, crying as if that loss was theirs...

On another, Satan had spent the whole day silently fuming and the MC was a complete wreck, tense and on-edge for no other reason than the feeling of aggression in the air…

And crowds… crowded rooms seemed to be the death of them. So much noise and constant input, they’d have to leave so quickly…

Asmo saw all these things himself, without having to be told, and he became a refuge for them when things became too much. He has a big personality himself, but he could tone it down for a time and offer them a place away for a while.

If school, parties, or the brothers themselves just became too much, the MC could always go to Asmo’s room to vent like they let everybody else to with them. He’d keep the place quiet and calm and just help them sort things out...

Thank their father for Asmo’s observance.

Beelzebub

Legit the calmest, sweetest, nicest person to be around. Truly the best companion for an empathic MC to have.

Beel’s personality is positive, sweet, and (most importantly) stable. He’s not too bombastic nor too withdrawn, he’s not riddled with hidden stress or self-loathing, and he’s not even manipulative in any way, he’s just… Beel.

Am I saying that Beel is the MC’s emotional support demon? Yes. Yes I am.

Being around Beel is like hooking them up to a walking battery recharging station. Something about him just exudes warmth and comfort… They could be wrapped up in his arms for days and never say a word yet still be perfectly content...

Beel doesn't really mind them coming to him when distressed either because he likes being able to help them when they’re feeling drained. It makes him feel kind of special, they don’t seem to go to anyone else in quite the same way.

Usually, one of his brothers will be in a bad mood and the human will flock to Beel like a protective barrier. They'll hug him or trail along behind him like a lost puppy, which he thinks is very cute.

If they’re feeling really out of it, he’d carry them around on his back while they rest like he does for Belphie sometimes. Any time his brothers try to get too close to them or look like they’re going to bother them, he’ll just carry them away to some place quieter.

Though, the MC did pick up the deep sadness he felt for Lilith and Belphie (while he was gone) from time to time.... Which, considering how kind and comforting he usually is, just makes that dip in mood all the more painful and distressing for them. Poor baby… 

Belphegor

Belphie is another calm personality to have around, kind of similar to Beel, but since he's more prone to sadness and irritability he doesn't make the best companion…

If Beel is comfort, then Belphie is repose. Relaxed and peaceful, but also languid and sluggish… When Beel isn't around, then he makes a decent second, but only on good days.

Belphie has a mixed opinion on their uncanny ability to pick up on his feelings… He tries his best to be “mysterious” so having someone who can read him like a book gets under his skin just a little…

But he also really likes how much it helps them get to know him and understand where he’s coming from (being the youngest, he isn’t as used to being heard by anybody other than Beel). So, he’s very conflicted…

It didn’t help at all when it came to light that the MC could legitimately tell that he felt very hostile and angry towards them while he was still in the attic. When he asked why they helped him anyway, they told him so that they could make Beel happy again, regardless of how he felt about them which... ouch...

As if he could feel any worse about that particular incident… They could feel how guilty he was about that… right?

Even if they can’t he makes sure that they know that he’s sorry and he won’t do it again. Probably the lil’shit.

[shotorozu]

hiiii! i was wondering if you could write some headcannons for kirishima, bakugou, and kaminari with a s/o with braces? i got mine on a couple days ago and i’m in quite a bit of pain🧍‍♀️

their s/o gets braces

character(s) : kirishima eijirou, bakugou katsuki, kaminari denki (bnha)

legend : [Y/N = your name] they/them pronouns used (gender neutral), quirk not specific

headcanon type : fluff, crack if you squint, mainly comfort (x reader)

note(s) : ahh i feel bad for you. it literally felt like my jaw got ripped off by a wendigo when i got braces for the first time. anyways, it’ll feel so satisfying once you can eat again!

»»————-　♡　————-««

kirishima eijirou

he was told to get his teeth fixed when he was younger, but he heard how painful it was— so he never actually went through with it.

moving aside that, he immediately goes to find you when he finds out that you’re out from the dentist

and oh— you have braces now.

“does it hurt?” he asks, when he glides through the soup isle. he doesn’t know why it hurts, but he heard that it helps.

“nope.”

but it did hurt. precisely, it felt like your jaw got bashed in by power similar to midoriya’s quirk.

he’s alarmed, because one, he hates seeing you squirm in pain, and two he made the foolish mistake by giving you one french fry when you asked him to

and your reaction wasn’t very pleasant

so, what can he do? he has no knowledge on this!

but wait, youtube exists. eijirou ends up binge watching on a bunch of braces videos, and he practically comes back a natural expert at taking care of new braces

eijirou lets you at all the ice cream he wants, at the same time- he manages to make yummy, but healthy and chewable meals for you for the rest of the week

when he sleeps in your bed, he makes sure not to turn in sleep— surprisingly cautious of his movements

trust me, when my brother didn’t have his own room yet, he almost elbowed my jaw in his sleep— and i only had braces for 6 hours then. so he’s surprisingly?? cautious.

fawns over the fact that your lips looked really swollen because of the new braces, “are you comfortable, cutie?” is what he says when he checks up on you

reminds you to brush your teeth, AND floss. sometimes he’ll do it for you just because he just so happened to walk in when you were flossing LMAO ITS SO WEIRD BUT 💀 its eijirou

has his way of keeping you away from foods like popcorn and bubble gum “Y/N! if you put that down, we can eat this OTHER chewable thing together!”

anyways— he’s the perfect caretaker in my opinion. but eijirou ends up overdoing the research

“have you ever considered buying a water floss?”

... “eijirou, regular floss is fine, y’know?”

bakugou katsuki

this man- omg. [que shiny teeth and me]

his teeth are perfect. he has no history of cavities, and every single tooth grew in correctly. he brushes, and flosses regularly too.

if you don’t tell him you’re getting braces AT LEAST the day before, he’ll be really mad

he’s probably the one that accompanies you to the dentist. he’s willing to inhale that oddly satisfying and weird dentist office smell, and sit in a chair for a hour, staring at a weird soap drama

just so he could accompany you back.

listens to the dentist’s instructions, because he must. know. everything. and besides— you’re probably too bugged out to pay attention.

he knows that it doesn’t hurt around the first 20 minutes or so, but he’s still going to take some extra precautions.

first of all, no more begging for the usual food cravings, because if you do— oh boy.

he’ll stare at you like you’re crazy “what? and you think you can eat that shit? no.” he says, as he gets a spoonful of soup, blowing on it, so it’s not too hot

second of all, he’ll watch you brush your teeth. he might even scold you if you brush too fast.

watches you floss, and smirks when you finish

“don’t be so down about it,” he’ll say in his usual manner “you can have all the disgusting meals you want after the first week”

that makes you smile

“,,just no more gum, popcorn—”

oh, and he’s really strict about that. he’ll yank it out of your hand if you dare to eat anything that’s in the list of ‘the forbidden’

he’s a mean caretaker :,) but he does an excellent job at being one. on the good side, he’ll kiss those lips for yours after the first week has been completed

“don’t be so down about it. your teeth will be perfect just like mine in [insert year of braces removal]”

kaminari denki

denki probably had a few cavities here and there, but his teeth are okay.

he was sort of left in the dark about it :,) because you thought it would be a great idea to surprise him.

you told him you were going to the dentist again which was weird to him because who goes to the dentist 3 times in one month??

denki’s appalled when he sees your eyes tearing up, as he happily waltz into to your room.

“oh no! what happened?” his expression falls, “are you hurt? what can i do?”

“surprise?” you show him your teeth, now fixed with braces

and he’s just :0 what’s that on your teeth?

“you didn’t tell me!” he whines, since he was left in the dark, and while you sheepishly smile at him— he observes your teeth

you open your mouth to answer him, but he shakes his head “don’t answer! i’ll go fix something up for you, even though i’m mediocre at best with cooking— oh well, want anything?— oh wait, just nothing chewable, right?”

similar to kirishima, he doesn’t know why it’s so painful— but he can imagine the pain with the way you’re describing it.

he distracts you by making you laugh, since laughter is the best medicine— but he makes sure not to go too overboard (because he thinks stretching your jaw out would be too much)

ends up replacing your toothbrush with one that had softer bristles, as he tends to get side tracked with the monitoring thing rip

oh, but he does watch you floss your teeth. y’know— what if you accidentally bump your hand against your jaw? he’s thoughtful of that.

for once, it looks like he actually knows about taking care of your braces, even more than you (it looks temporary but hmm.. we dont know)

but after that excruciating week, he DEADASS asked you if he could touch them 💀

“pleasee? what— it doesn’t hurt anymore, does it?”

“denki, don’t even try—”

when you get your braces adjusted, he’s always the one that picks your colors (if you could pick the colors., if that makes sense.)

gets sad when you don’t choose the color he wanted because they ran out of that color. its not even your fault whkdwks

denki was really sad to hear that yellow made your teeth look yellow, and black made it look like you had cavities :,)

overall, he might’ve had some moments where he absolutely missed on the care taking part. but he did his very best! please know that.

the bakusquad is surprised to see his search history— which namely had the keywords ‘braces’ in all of them. they teased him for it

»»————-　♡　————-««

likes and reblogs are appreciated, thanks for reading!

i do not own bnha/mha and it’s characters. boku no hero academia/my hero academia belongs to horikoshi kohei, i only own the writing and i do not profit off of my hobby

do not plagiarize, reupload, translate, or use my works for audio readings without permission

[constantlyunlightening]

Do you take requests? I loved your Mirio x Reader fanfic and wanted to read more! <3

Yes, if you're willing to wait (like I know you did cuz this ask is wayyyyyy overdo). Also, there's somethings I probably just won't write or don't have the motivation to write but I like ideas >~<

Anyways, here's Mirio!

Disclaimer: 18+ years older to read/interact. All characters are 20 years or older.

Content/Warnings: a little bit of crying, a little bit of edging, a little bit of teasing and a whole lot of Mirio

Look at you… You were dragging your hips back and bouncing on him like one more second of waiting would be the end of the world. Depraved… It was a word that floated around in his head for a moment, but he was quick to shake it off. Depraved may be somewhat appropriate, but it sounded much too harsh a word for how pretty you looked right now, even in your current fervor. Your pert rear up in the air with your face planted directly into a pillow, trying desperately to chase your own high. Mirio wouldn't even have to move if he didn't want to. He could simply just watch your body quiver and shake as you pushed back on him over and over. He could do absolutely nothing but stay in place and would still get to listen to the tiny mewls and whines leaving your parted lips during each and every shakey jerk. He just had to be here and enjoy the show but…. Mirio was more of a giver. Always had been. So sitting back and just letting you take what you wanted didn't sound nearly as nice to him then getting you there himself; even if you did look oh-so-delicious. 

"You know exactly what you want, huh?" He asked, voice bright and cheerful as always, even with the rough lacing of lust hidden within it. He liked to be sweet - liked to be gentle - but it was hard with your pretty cunt squeezing him for all he was worth. You were positively sublime. Mirio wasn't sure if there was an actual heaven or not, but he certainly found one when he was exploring the inside of you. Your greedy grinding created a symphony of wet sounds intermixed with the smacks of skin hitting frantic against skin. Your moans we're the melody that Mirio would be replaying over and over in his head later. Desperate and utterly captivating. "I loooove how you sound."

The neediness was cute. Adorable, even. He was on the verge of fawning really (as if he didn't already on a regular basis), but that neediness of yours ignited him from inside out. It was too hot to fawn when heat was consuming every nerve ending in his being. You made him feel molten on the inside; drove him crazy with the desire to erupt.

A big hand traced over the curve of your spine, ending the trail right as he reached the back of your neck. He didn't grab - though the thought danced in his mind. Would be fun to grab on like a handle and ride you out, but you were being such a good girl right now - you were such a good girl all the time- gentle was the only way to go, right? Well, as gentle as he could actually be.

So he didn't grab you, no, but he opted for letting his hand linger, thick digits sprawling over the skin. Not pressing, nor grabbing, but just a gentle hold as a reminder he was right there behind you. He forced you to still. He made you stop your riding and opted to keep you in place, impaled on him.  Didn't want you getting too far gone without him, now. He had to keep you grounded somehow until he actually got you to your release. A slow build up would lead to a more overwhelming climax for you and he absolutely adored when he had you fucked out beneath him. That come down of yours as you sat in the afterglow of a mind-numbing orgasm was always something he looked forward to; blissed out and ready to snuggle. So obviously he wanted to get you there. He wanted you to feel overwhelmingly good and he was confident he could get you there. Just had to work you up some more first. And it was going well, considering he could feel how hard your pulse thrumming under his fingertips. Your heartbeat was as frantic as your movements. Sweet little thing.

"Slow down there a little." That's  when there was the faintest bit of pressure on your neck, nestling you deeper in the pillow - get your focus back on him and his voice rather than the way he was stretching you out. "I know you can do this all yourself, but let me help anyway, alright?" It was almost a coo, a bit odd coming from your chipper boyfriend. He was always kind and gentle with you but his voice currently had a tenderness to it that had you full on whimpering into the fabric in front of you. Figures the man would only whip out a voice like that when he was fully sheathed inside you. But as full as you felt, it was a tone of voice that you wanted to listen to - a voice that made you weak. So you at least tried to slow down. Well, at least as much as you could but no amount of controlled breathing was going to stop the way your velvety walls fluttered around him.

Mirio thought it was a good effort and he rewarded that with more of his sinful sort of sweet.

His hand dipped away from your neck, tracing the curvature of your shoulder and down your arm before resting his palm at the back of your hand and interlocking fingers, pinning it to the bed as he pushed in closer. His chest pressed in, flat against your back and keeping you caged in as he sunk himself deeper, further. Buried himself to the hilt as his free hand wrapped around your waist, pressing a heavy palm against your lower abdomen and making you feel the weight of him inside - make you struggle with it. More pressure. More pretty little sounds coming from his little ray of sunshine squirming underneath him. "See? Nice and-" his words were accented with a thrust that went so much deeper and left you feeling impossibly full "-sloowww." So darn pretty, even with you trying to push your face further into the satin of the pillow case. His hand was squeezing yours tightly now - more assurance, more grounding to keep your mind stable all up until he could send you flying over the ledge. But in the meantime, right now, he wanted you present - wanted you feeling every single touch, every thrust, every inch. And right as you seemed to force your breathing to steady out a little adjusting to the way he fit, that's when he moved again, starting at a slow pace to wind his sweet doll up, teasing you further. Practically daring you to start up your squirming again. "I'll get you there, I promise. Patience."

"But, M-Miri-" your voice was practically a sob now, tears welling in your eyes while your body begged for relief. You were pleading - both physically and vocally. And Mirio just chuckled at you. You knew him well enough to know that laughter was his main form of expressing good emotions and you knew he wasnt actually laughing at you, but the way your achy body was shaking for more sure made it feel like it was at you. You're here crying while he's practically splitting you apart tortourously slow and he's laughing.

Mirio found a way to make your almost-sob turn full out anyway. Your little plea ended with another staggered pound. He continued to press his chest further against your back until his lips were brushing against your ear. His usual upbeat tone was now low and husky in your ear and that was what made your tears finally start to leak down your face. "What, you don't trust me?"

"Y-you k-know I do-"

"Then shush and let me take care of you."

It was just enough to tempt you into being complient and you tried to keep still; you really did. He could feel it in the way you were shivering, thighs trembling and quaking against his own. But you only lasted so long before you caved. Caved into the desire, your body was trying to bounce back again, trying to speed up the pace before Mirio was ready to let you take it there. And you were going too fast, once again. He already knew that. He knew how to read your body better than anyone - even better than yourself. Of course he did, he studied you like it was his life's research. He reveled in every needy reaction you gave him - he ate that sort of thing up when it was you. He knew exactly what sort of plot you needed for the best sort of climax. And even if the ride there wasn't what you wanted in the moment, Mirio was going to make sure you got an even better ending than you were hoping for. It would be worth the wait. And unlike you in your haziness, Mirio was so very patient. And he was more than willing to give you all the reminders you needed - and this time the reminder came with another heavy thrust the bottomed out inside  you once more and made the head board slam against the wall. "Slow down."

[atticsandwitch]

Obey Me! Characters and an MC with chronic pain

More self indulgence

Lucifer

Is aware, thanks to Barbatos, but also respects your privacy.

Probably won't act like he already knows if you decide to tell him.

Can't stay by your side as much as he wants, but he works hard behind the scenes to make sure you're taken care of.

Makes sure the first aid cabinet is always stocked with pain meds.

Calls you in sick when you need to miss school.

Schedules your doctors appointments

Often tutors you to make sure you don't get behind.

Makes Mammon bring you your homework, Has Satan pick up your meds.

Still wishes he could do more.

The first to check on you in the morning if you wake up in pain and are late to breakfast.

Mammon

The first to know after Barbatos. He's always in your room going through your things, so he found your medications, aids, etc and tried failed to find a subtle way to ask you about them.

Is honestly amazed that you have to deal with that every day and still manage to do everything that you do for him and his brothers, and all with a smile.

Thinks you're a badass.

Whenever he goes on shopping sprees with Goldie, he buys you anything he sees that he thinks might help.

He doesn't know what it is, but it says its for pain, so MC might be able to use it!

It breaks his heart to see his human in pain, and he feels helpless, so he'll stay by you and stroke your hair during pain flare ups.

Hovers a little.

Always willing to lay in bed and have a Harrison Porter marathon.

Gets really good at wrapping your joints in compression bandages, braces, or kinesio-tape.

Leviathan

The resident Akuzon addict will actually research all the best products for coping with pain. He'll sort through reviews and find whatever sounds the most helpful.

He finds out when he invites you to an anime/gaming marathon and you decline, saying you're in pain.

Boy doesn't run, but he's at your door in three seconds flat and out of breath, trying to make sure you're okay.

Video chats, live streams, and other technological ways to hang out become a common option for the two of you, but he also sets up an area in his room just for you, where you can lay down and access anything you'd need to feel better. Tens unit? Check. Pain meds? Check. Heating pad? Check. Braces? Check. Ice packs? Check. The list goes on, MC.

Knows all your comfort characters/series, and incorporates them into his comfort strategies. "'You're amazing! I don't know anyone who could handle what you do every day!' That's what the die-hard gamer from your favorite anime would say in a situation like this, right?!"

Satan

Makes a point to do things for you before you can even ask him to.

Will get things for you, bring them to you, put things you've left out back in your room or where you'll easily find them so you don't have to go looking.

Always offers to carry things for you.

Reads up on whatever he can that might help.

Should we get Cerberus certified as an emotional support/service animal?

Obviously a good tutor when you need help with school.

Reads to you or sends you cat videos when you're having a bad day.

He's really good at reading people, so he's one of the first to notice when your mood starts to change due to the pain.

Makes the others aware whenever he realizes you're having a pain flare up.

The Devildom Museum of Art is suddenly offering virtual tours of all their new exhibits. Hmmm I wonder who could be responsible for that.

Asmodeus

The king of massages and back rubs.

Seriously, it makes Mammon jealous, so Asmo's always giving you back rubs in his room so Mammon can't butt in and demand that he takes his hands off you.

Always there to offer you a hot bath

Learns all about aromatherapy, and knows all the best scents for relaxation and pain relief.

Always buying lotions and massage oils to use on you, especially if he thinks they'll help.

Knows about all of the newest super food trends and encourages a healthy lifestyle and diet without being pushy.

Drink lots of water, MC!

Encourages you to take it easy, and to never feel guilty about taking care of yourself.

Seriously, Asmo will force you to take self care or mental health days if he thinks you need it. (Much to Lucifer's chagrin. Guess he's calling you in sick again.)

Beelzebub

Along with Belphie, he's very good at being able to read your mood and tell when you're starting to feel bad.

Likes giving you piggy-back rides and always offers to carry things for you.

Seriously, between Beel and Satan, you don't ever have to lift a finger if you don't want to.

Checks in with you often, but tries to make sure he's not hovering. He wants to help as often as he can, but doesn't want to take away any of your independence.

Gets really into physical therapy and learns all the best stretches and exercises to help you, but still knows that sometimes only junk food can make things better.

Takes it upon himself to bring you all your meals. He'll even pack you lunches, or go get your food for you in the cafeteria.

Knows all your favorite comfort foods.

Really just wants to hold you when you're not feeling well.

Probably the second best at massages after Asmo.

Belphegor

Prides himself on how well he knows you, and can tell when you're starting to feel run down almost before you can.

Takes it upon himself to learn your limits so he knows when you're pushing yourself and can distract you so you don't overdo it and wind up in pain later.

A little bossy, but his heart's in the right place, "Don't sit like that, MC, your back will hurt later"

Canonically already carries around stomach medicine for Beel, so he's definitely carrying pain meds around for you too.

Snuggle buddies for life.

As much as he enjoys/needs sleep, if you're having a pain flare up, he'll make sure to stay awake to stroke your hair and comfort you until you fall asleep first.

Tries to make jokes to make you feel better.

Doesn't seem like it, but he's a pretty good tutor too. He's used to cramming at the last minute.

Diavolo

Makes sure you have any accommodations that you may need. Online classes, extensions, extra sick days, you name it.

Checks in with you often, but won't say anything about your condition unless you tell him first. Will act like he doesn't know until then. But will sheepishly admit the truth if you find out and apologize.

Does anything he can to help magically as often as possible, but there are rules and limitations even for him.

All he really wants to do is take care of you and treat you to things. Anything at all that he can do to help, really.

Would pamper you within an inch of your life if he could.

Has the Little D's help you out with things all the time, but tells them to act like it's just coincidence that they're there and have time to help.

Lucifer and Barbatos both have to remind him that you need rest and he can't constantly be checking in on you. They roll their eyes whenever they see the Little D's approach you.

Barbatos

Was probably the one in charge of all the details of the exchange program, like transportation and background information, so he would have been the first to know.

Made Diavolo and Lucifer aware as part of his duties, but respects your privacy and wouldn't offer any details without permission.

Seriously admires your strength. It takes a lot to deal with pain every day.

Always has pain meds, braces, or other small helpful items on hand.

Does more for you than anyone besides Diavolo.

Diavolo and Lucifer both think it's sweet, and may tease him a little.

Solomon

Always has magic ointments and creams on hand, and gives them to you often.

Knows that weather can affect pain, and checks in on you when it rains.

Will take notes for you in class and bring them to you at the House of Lamentation.

Worries more than he lets on.

Does extra medicinal magic on you without your knowledge, but only if he knows it'll help somehow. Normally he has no problem experimenting on people, but he cares too much about you, and you've been through enough.

Simeon

Likes to cook for you when you're not feeling well and brings meals to you when you miss school sometimes.

Is really good at taking care of people.

Always there to listen, and very sympathetic.

Has to hold himself back from hovering, but having to remind Luke helps him.

Loves playing with your hair while he comforts you.

Forehead kisses.

Like Beel, he just wants to hold you and make things better.

Luke

Worries about you a lot when you miss school.

Simeon and Solomon have to remind him that he can't constantly call or check on you because you need your rest, but if one of them visits you, you can bet that he's tagging along.

You're so strong MC!

Making you desserts as we speak.

Would share his comfort items with you.