#and as a white person i deal with the same things and its stressful

[f0point5]

"Max's comments about British bias is so weird. I really like Max, and I think he is a talented driver, but his behaviour over the past few weeks hasn't been okay. You'd think, from the way he's acting, that the points gap between him and Lando was only a few points. Yes, mathematically, Lando still has a chance to win the wdc, but realistically, we all know it's a stretch- even lando admits this.

For Max and red bull to feel so threatened that they're talking about landos mental health, claiming Oscar dosen't deserve to be second driver (discussion already heated as it is without Maxs comments on it) and even admitting to crashing Lando out to prevent him from winning ... for what?

I get that to win, you need to be ruthless, but this feels unnecessary and unprovoked because Max driving alone would be enough and also he has his whole team helping him to win wdc without a doubt. It's not like Lando is out there in the media claiming he's the best in the world. In fact, the media often uses every opportunity to criticise him or protray him in a negative light.

Contrary to max's comments about the media and FIA being biased towards British drivers like Lando, this just isn't true. maybe after Miami there was optimism, but with all the missed opportunities, the media narrative shifted quickly, focusing on Lando's bad starts.

After Hungary, every media outlet was discussing how Oscar doesn't deserve to be second driver and how good he is compared to Lando, and how mclaren is refusing to prioritise lando. they questioned his championship mentality, despite his consistent performances. And aside from Zandvoort and Singapore, there was more talk about his mistakes and narratives being used for clickbaits.

media bias in sports isn't new. durch media will focus on Max, Australian media on their drivers, and british media on theirs. this is expected. you could argue that British media has a larger international reach, but thats beyond any athletes control.

example: sky Germany constantly talks about Nico Hülkenberg, or the chances of Mick Schuhmacher, and sometimes even missing race action to cover him.

However, using "british bias" as a defence when he was clearly in the wrong, and in the same breath throwing lando to the wolves and disregarding real bias against other poc driver on the grid, is just not okay. Not all drivers have the privilege of being white male with a dutch passport. maybe I'm exaggerating, but as poc myself, it really weird that Max used this as a clap back for something he himself admitted to doing - trying to prevent Lando from winning.

everyone talks about British bias and how "unfair" it is for Max and it is, the British media talked bad about him especially in the being of his career and him winning and Im not denying that but a few acknowledge the racism and bias faced by other drivers. I don't think these comments are funny or make a good clapback. and for a fact I know that if Lando said a similar thing, the reaction would have been entirely different.

Because Max is a little bitch who lashes out every time he's under pressure. As is a staple of his career. But since his "lashing out" is being overtly aggressive and an arrogant asshole, it's viewed as "woooo that's why he's a champion" instead of weakness."

I honestly do not understand how people cannot see that there is a clear bias towards Max. For a fan base that says the hate towards Lando needs to stop but has absolutely no issue throwing it towards Max the hypocrisy at its finest.

Oh lorddd.

First, no one talked about Lando’s mental health. Your competitive mentality is NOT the same thing as your all around mental health. You can be the happiest most well adjusted person in the world and a competitive environment and pressure can just get to you. Sure, your psychology influences and impacts how you deal with stress and failure and success and all that. But saying Lando cracks under pressure is not the same as ragging on his mental health.

Oscar is a good driver…what was the harm in recognising that? Also, Max doesn’t owe it to McLaren not to share his opinion so as not to upset whatever disaster they have potentially simmering over there?

And Max did not admit he crashed Lando out because he didn’t crash Lando out. They did not make contact. Lando finished second. So…that just straight up didn’t happen. But that “for what” 😂 for…the championship? Please god open the schools.

British bias is real, every single driver who is not British and winning has talked about it. The fact that everyone just accepts it as standard because the brits have basically a monopoly on broadcasting rights is actually mental. And yes it’s the same in every country and in my opinion it’s moronic in every fucking language. But it’s exponentially worse when Sky Sports is the main broadcaster, and when the F1TV pundits are all incredibly biased. F1TV is not a National channel, no it should not be “expected” that they border on unprofessional in the way they talk about certain drivers. they should not be allowed to be biased, in my opinion. I should not know that Jenson Button wants to lick the soles of Lando’s shoes. And mind you, I think both Sky Sports and F1TV presenters have been unprofessional even when they talk about British drivers, at some points, but to nowhere near the extent of the way they talk about Max. That’s why the only one I respect is Nico Rosberg because he is genuinely an equal opportunity hater.

Also, Max can talk about whatever the fuck he wants. The microphone is in front of him, not anyone else, so while you don’t have to agree with his opinion, it’s a take it or leave it thing, there is no third option to demand he say something different.

And in conclusion, yeah when Max is Max people say “he’s a champion” because he fucking is. In 2016/17/18 they were calling dangerous and crazy. And then it turned out what he does works for him. See how when you succeed you earn the right to do what you want, because people trust your process? (Brits don’t get it because for some reason they think their way will always prevail in the face of reason and results that say otherwise) “lashing out under pressure is a staple of his career”…so is performing under pressure. Not everyone can say the same.

He requires no defence, just look at the record book.

Maybe it’s just me, but despite the hate against Max being awful and just as uncalled for as the hate towards Lando…I kind of find it so much less impactful. You can’t really gain ground hating on a guy who has done exactly what he wants to do in the sport. So you think he’s an asshole…and what? Is that a crime? Is that relevant? Who even cares? Certainly not him. They just look so bizarre to me. I can’t fathom thinking someone should care what I think about their behaviour any more than I can fathom caring what someone thinks about mine.

Lol that quote was a deep dive into the mind of a parasocial for sure.

[menaceoffandoms]

LMK analysis rant: Mei

I said I was gonna do this and I'm keeping to my word! The only thing that may stop me is my procrastinating... and the fic I'm slowly writing but uhhhhh-

ANYWAY- We're here to talk about Mei, our favourite white horse dragon pepper girl!

Mei stands out as the most different from her inspiration, something the writers perfectly portray in the yellow-robed demon episode of s4, which is likely to do with how little they had to go off of. Despite being one of the pilgrims in jttw, Ao Lie dose very little in the novel. His most notable chapters being when he's introduced and when the group faces the yellow-robed demon, which is why we met him in that memory in the scroll. Combined with my belief that Mei isn't a reincarnation of Ao Lie -- just his descendent -- means that Mei is one of the most unique characters in the entire show.

There's just less source material for her to draw from, it let's the writers have more fun and do more things. It's not that they don't make the others characters unique -- they like to play very fast and loose with things over all -- but Mei feel like her own complete and original character. She's inspired by Ao Lie in the same way Mk is inspired by Monkie King basically and she all the better for it.

Being the female lead (isn't it interesting how most of the female characters in this show are villans?), Mei is a refreshingly strong, confident girl who begins the show as the most powerful cast member. Being a descendent of the great dragon gives her amazing powers that no other cast members have, a birth right that leads to her being the most protective of her friends and the first to help out in any fight.

What she has in power, however, she lacks in experience. Mei has no mentor -- other than her parents, but I believe its safe to assume they weren't very focused on teaching her combat -- which leads her to trust her gut more, rush into things and learn through observation, like when she mimics what her great x1000 uncle did in s3.

Overall Mei is an excitable, energetic and loving person with a "You only live once" kinda attitude, for lack of a better explanation. Even still, she has her own insecurities and flaws which make her all the more interesting. Due to the shows run time, Mei and many of the other main characters don't really get explored as much as Mk, however what we do see of these struggles and fears is incredibly interesting even on a surface level.

Her tendency to rush head first into danger without first examining the situation or creating a plan, truthfully, tends to work out for her, but it can't always. It's something shown perfectly in s4, when Mei is the only member of the group to not get a star from Master Subohdi, however what a lot of people seem to miss is how Mei actually did earn that star eventually.

When they leave the temple and head to the celestial realm to try and stop Azure, Mei leads them there with no plan at all. As such, they fail and need to be saved by Mk. Faced with proof of Subohdi's criticism, Mei makes the more important amendment to Mk's plan in the s4 special. I don't think we've even seen Mei make a serious plan until this point, which feeds back in to another one of her flaws: being unable to take things seriously.

This isn't something I see said about Mei often, but when watching her character I think it's externally obvious. Don't get me wrong, Mei can be serious, but usually only in moments of vulnerability or high stress. For example: when talking with her pearents, after she gained the Samahdi fire and whilst imprisoned by the Yellow-robed demon.

I think this flaw is Mei's own version of Mk playing dumb. They both behave this way to lessen the emotional impact of serious things, to protect themselves and help those around them deal with trauma or difficult topics. Mei and Mk really are two sides of the same coin and I'd love for them to do more with that in the show.

Going back to Mei's parents, one of her biggest struggles is reconciling who she is with who she's meant to be. She is a noble dragon, a descendent of the great dragon of the West Sea and practically the successor to Ao Lie. It's a lot to live up to and -- evident in episode 3 of season 1; Welcome home -- she doesn't believe she dose.

Mei is confident in her abilities, she's sure of her strength and quick to help those around her, but in the face of her legacy she stands uncertain. It's another thing her and Mk have in common, though in vastly different flavours, and it's interesting how this legacy colours Mei as a character.

She wields the dragon blade, proving herself as a worthy part of her family and gaining the approval of her parents, however the stark difference between her and the rest of her clan is more blatant than ever. We see this perfectly in season 3 when they visit the great Dragon of the East Sea, Mei being put into fancy clothes she instantly ruins in order to have a place to hold her sword. She fights against her uncle, fights against her family, because she knows they'll never understand her. But even still, she knows she's still one of them and she's so proud to be.

Becoming the vessel of the Samahdi fire is only more proof of Mei's legacy and connection to her family. It gives her a moment of pure vulnerability where she vents her frustrations and fears before rushing away, wanting nothing more than to protect the people she cares about.

When Red Son finds her she's still serious, but even with just a basic understanding of the fire within her Mei falls back to her normal nature; a silly excitable girl not taking things seriously. We see this after Red Son attacks her with the spears and when she's eating later on, but even if her attitude doesn't show it, she's still listening and taking the training seriously. She just needs to be silly so she won't freak out again.

Since we're on the topic of the Samahdi fire, I think most people can agree that the way it was handled post s3 was very poor. With only one mention of it in s4, by Master Subohdi no less, I assumed that the fire had been resealed, this time correctly. Something that dangerous should be locked up, even if a capable wielder is around. It would also prevent power creep and stop the show from having another Wukong predicament, by which I mean a character so powerful they need to find a way to prevent them from trivialising whatever threat they have to face in the plot. Wukong will get his own post soon don't you worry...

Instead, we learn in s5 that Mei still has the fire, she just kinda forgot? She learned to fully master it when breaking out of LBDs mech, so since the fire was no longer a raging uncontrollable inferno she just didn't realise it was still there... for an entire season. Yeah it feels lazy and honestly is probably the worse written choice the show has even made. Even still, it dose lead to a very interesting and in character moment for Mei.

When attempting to seal the willow wisp with Red Son, Mei loses her confidence, believing that she lost the Samahdi fire and thinking she's lacking. Mk getting Monkie Kings powers was one thing, but the rest of her friends now having cool weapons and magic? If their all so strong and only getting stronger, then what's the point in Mei? She was the strongest but now she might be the weakest, and that terrifies her cause if she's weak she can't protect people. How can she act when she's powerless to do so?

This dilemma is quickly resolved by Red Son telling her she's had the fire the whole time, amending it's use to Mei's lightning motif she's had since s1 -- I know fire benders in ATLA use lighting but come on -- and basically saying she's been using the fire the whole time. It takes away from Mei's whole struggle to be honest, but I do think there's potential for her to relearn this now tamed Samahdi fire so she can better use it. Just depends if the show wants to do that...

Moving on from my thinly veiled complaints about season 5 (I like it I swear but it is the weakest seasons to me so far), let's talk about Mei's role in the group a bit. Aside from being the token girl, she's also Mk's best friend and the only other character his age and acts around the same age as the shows target audience. Mk's the main character and leader, Tang is the lazy historian smart guy, Sandy the loveable giant, Pigsy the cynical brute and Mei's youthful and silly power house.

I would love to go into some narrative tropes, specifically the 5 man band since jttw is one of the primary bases of the trope, but I've realised I have far too many thoughts about that to fit here. This is the 21sh paragraph and I'm sure at least some of this is a mess, but I hope I'm getting my point across! Overall, Mei is an extremely compelling character how often gets side-lined due to run time and other stuff, but is honestly one of my favourite characters in the show.

[lavenderterra]

𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐃𝐄𝐄𝐏𝐒𝐏𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐁𝐎𝐘𝐒

𝐁𝐔𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐔𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃𝐋𝐘 𝐀𝐓 𝐀 𝐊𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐎𝐊𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐑

Content; Absolute floof and chaos

Usage of alcohol

Nothing suggestive

Pre established relationships

Xavier

You had been invited out by Tara for a night of drinking and karaoke after the last influx of Wanderers in the no hunt zone, you were three drinks in, and it was your turn to sing, it did not bother you when you had picked Supernova by Aespa. You were there to have fun anyways right? Though the last person you’d expect to run into on a night like tonight was Xavier. You seemed shocked and he seemed surprised, though he was half asleep (sleepy boy) he had taken a moment to look at you.

“Y/N?” He seemed confused as to why you were grabbing a microphone and why he heard the instrumental to a song he heard through your headphones before while you’ve come back from missions and can’t comprehend words to speak what so ever. [thisboywillliterallyusehisevoltoputonalightshowwhileyoursinging]

“I’m like some kind of supernova.”

You don’t realize he’s there until you notice his evol surrounds you in a pretty light show. Despite how drunk you are you still wander up to him to give him a big hug.

He ends up carrying you home. Good thing you’re neighbours right?

Zayne

Mans was not prepared to see how drunk you were especially when you had chosen to sing Super lady by G-Idle but you wanted to let the stress of your last mission go, and this is how you were going to let off the steam you needed to let off wether you could handle your alcohol or not. “Y/N is there any reason that you’re so inebriated?”

You wave him off before you start singing. “ I am a top Super Lady, I never lose yeah. (‘Cause got a super power) I am a god, super lady” Cue the second hand embarrassment from the doctor, part of him is intrigued though.

Secretly being the little shit he is, he’s filming you so you can witness your drunken shenanigans when you’re hungover. He definitely enjoyed watching you let loose. You are a hunter after all, of course in the end you walked up to Zayne regretting everything you’d had to drink. “Please take me home-“

“Sweetheart, you did this to yourself.”

“So mean.”

Rafayel

Girl you are not living this down, he’s going to embarrass the hell out of you the next day. You two had bumped into each other walking into the bar the same time. You were meeting up with Jenna and Tara and the rest of your hunter squad to celebrate your success on your latest discovery in terms of dealing with Wanderers.

“Y/N is this what you do when you’ve decided not to be my bodyguard” You let out a laugh before speaking slightly. “C’mon me having a little break after killing this last mission? Yeah I’m here to let loose.” You let out a soft smile and its a smile you know he can’t resist because he loves seeing you happy.

He puts his hand on your head before telling you to have fun. You nod before running off where the rounds of shots and soju begin. You’re a very giggly drunk so you’re always laughing.

“Hey Y/N I miiight have put your name in to sing next” Tara had drunkenly admitted which caused you to laugh again before getting up to grab a microphone

Sticky by Kiof had started playing.

Everything was a blur and you had started singing. “How long before we fall in love—“

Raf is already live streaming your drunken antics

Sober you is going to k*ll him.

Sylus

Leaning back in his seat seemingly amused its not often you see the leader of onychinus outside of the n109 zone let alone in the very karaoke bar you frequent. You almost act as if you don’t notice him and the twins watching you.

You feel his amber eyes on you while you’re with your friends but also you notice Mephisto watching you at a distance. You scoff slightly before taking another shot. You got up out of your seat, and made your way over to the white haired male.

“Juuuuust what do you want now?” You huff looking at him. “Sweetie, I’m not sure you’re rambling on about now. I’m just enjoying my night like you are.” You raise an eyebrow before hearing your name called up next to sing.

You turn on your heels before heading toward the stage grabbing a microphone. Were you extremely wasted? Yes. Did you give a damn? No.

Purple Kiss’ Pretty Psycho started playing.

“I’m a freaky Purky.” You spoke into the microphone before beginning the song.

Sylus was amused. Luke and Kieran were filming.

You weren’t living this down.

[massiveharmonytiger]

No, iwtv fandom. I won't be tagging my opinions about Marius as "Marius hate," to "avoid stressing people out."

Why? Because this fandom is not made up of people that are just "Marius lovers" and "Marius haters." Lots of people have mixed feelings about him and I take that into consideration when I post about him. Even as a so-called "Marius hater", whatever the hell that means. I mean, some people just straight up peg you as an anti or a self-righteous prude if you have one ounce of distaste for Marius, which hardly seems fair because a) Not once did I call for shaming, censorship or say that Marius shouldn't exist b) Have you SEEN my ao3 history.

I happen to think that Marius is a really important and complex character and I can't wait to see them portray that in the show. I just think so many Marius stans are so in denial about who Marius is or driven by repressed guilt because they know who he is and can't handle liking him despite that because they think it makes them a bad person (it doesn't). Ergo, they have to see him as this perfect father lover archetypal figure, which is depressing because we're all out here dragging every other vampire on the show, but please no dissing Daddy Marius. More so because of the associations tied to his blondness and whiteness and Roman-ness - god, I can't wait for the show's portrayal - I'm foaming at the mouth here. Ergo, they can't handle any negativity about him. I mean, we saw the same thing when Lestat slam dunked Louis through the clouds. Everyone on this website who couldn't handle the mark on Lestat's perfect white ass had a complete meltdown. There isn't half as much drama when Louis, Claudia or Armand get criticized for their shit behaviour.

I try to make my posts fair and balanced but I think a lot of the more hardcore stans that couldn't even handle that much. You know, because they weren't posts about the sun shining out of Marius' pretty golden ass. So many wouldn't be seeing my posts all that much anyways on account of them having blocked me after engaging with my posts or vice versa.

I just feel that my posts should be accessible to everybody and then they can decide how they feel about it. Whether they want to reblog it or hard block me. And that's not going to happen if my posts are excluded from a whole portion of the fandom that's simply trying to avoid drama and vitriol by blocking a hate tag. Furthermore, why should my discussions on slavery, pedophilia, racism, abuse, genuine themes in all iterations of Marius' story be classed as "hate" because some people are uncomfortable acknowledging that they are in fact, genuine themes in the media.

Hearing other people out is healthy. Creating boundaries and deciding to remove people from your curated tumblr space is healthy. What's not healthy, however, is splitting the fandom down the middle into this "Marius loving/Marius hating" binary and expecting people to cultivate an echo chamber where everybody shares your opinion and you won't have to learn how to deal with people that might disagree with what you think. TVC has never been the type of media for making people comfortable and I think it's weird that people would want to interact with this specific media in all its rapey, murdery, slavey, racist, colonialist glory and then be all surprised and butthurt when people engage with those themes like its a personal affront to them when nobody is actually personally attacking them. To the point that they don't even want to acknowledge the existence of the part of the fandom that engages with those themes. And you call that etiquette?

Although etiquette was pretty much associated with societies that would host lavish, "polite" parties on the one hand and colonize, enslave and discriminate on the other, so why wouldn't online etiquette follow the trend? Let's just say nothing negative about any complex or problematic characters, themes and issues and then we can all have a good time and pretend that everything is perfect.

[clangenrising]

Month 9 - Leaffall

Prev | First | Next

Scorchplume wasn’t speaking to Yarrowshade and it was driving him crazy. It was over the stupidest thing, too! The night Aldertail had come to camp and Yarrowshade had tried to wait up for her return, he had woken just in time for her to slip into the leader’s den with Nightfrost and Goldenstar and she hadn’t come out. 

Nightfrost had explained to him that Scorch had been withholding information about Ghost and the city cats, information that might have put everyone in danger. It was clear that Nightfrost’s opinion of Scorchplume had tanked overnight and that sucked, but he was still determined to make sure Scorch was alright. 

The next morning, he’d sought her out and said, “Hey, Scorch, how are you doing?”

“As well as I can be,” she’d said, eyeing him with the same cool gaze she had used when he was visiting her in the healer’s den. 

“Yeah?” he’d asked. “I was really worried about you.” 

“Why?” she had turned her face away. “Weren’t you busy looking after Scrap?” 

“I can worry about two things at once,” Yarrowshade had frowned. 

“Hm.” 

“Did you want to go hunting? Maybe we could talk about it?” 

Scorch had turned to him and said, “What is there to talk about?” in a way that felt like a claw to the face. 

“I… I don’t know, I just…” 

At that point, Nightfrost had called out, “Yarrowshade! I’m going hunting, did you want to come?” Scorch had stared at him with her bright blue eyes for a good long beat and he'd realized this was a test. 

“Scorch,” he’d started, but she’d cut him off.

“Go.” She’d said, “Don’t let me stop you from fawning over Nightfrost.” 

And so he’d left in order to respect her wishes, but for some reason she’d only seemed to get angrier with him as the weeks passed. He didn’t get it! He would have gone to Smokyrose for advice, but she was still on kit leave and, besides, he knew that Scorch wasn’t exactly her favorite cat right now. 

But something had to change. He and Scorchplume weren’t even on patrols together anymore and he couldn’t tell if that was because Nightfrost had decided to separate them or because Scorch had personally requested it. Either way, it was a bad sign. 

He contemplated which option he would prefer as he followed in Nightfrost’s paw prints through the snow. It had come down hard that morning and while the wind had died down for once, a light dusting of flakes continued to flutter down over them as they patrolled the southern border. 

Pantherhaze, walking behind him, said, “What are the odds that they just aren’t coming back?” 

“They’ll be back,” Nightfrost said without looking back. Pantherhaze sighed and shook his fur. Yarrowshade studied the back of Nightfrost’s head, thinking. Was it just him or had she been colder lately? He wished he knew how to help her with all of the stress she was dealing with. If you wanted to stop stressing her out, you’d leave her alone, said a part of his mind. That was nonsense, he reasoned, but the thought had its hooks in him and it wouldn’t let go. 

He sighed and let his gaze wander. The snow was starting to pile all up so high that he and Pantherhaze were belly deep in it, another reason why they were following in Nightfrost’s wake. The horizon had turned a foggy grey-white, obscuring the mountains and the farther reaches of the forest. Ahead of them, he knew the border stretched on for a long while even though he couldn’t see it. He tried to trace it with his eyes, but paused when he spotted a white shape in the snow moving in their direction.

“Is that the EarthClan patrol?” he asked, pointing with his muzzle, and Nightfrost stopped, squinting into the snow.

“Who goes there?” she called.

“Bogmist!” the white shape replied cheerfully, “And Dawnbird.” A moment later, the two EarthClan cats reached them, Dawnbird’s tortoiseshell pelt appearing suddenly from behind Bogmist’s fluffy white fur. After the gathering, Orangestar and Goldenstar had met to discuss the city cat threat and how to combat it and had come to the conclusion that they would put a temporary hold on patrolling the border between their territories and instead send those patrols to jointly watch the southern border. This was the second or third patrol of this kind Yarrowshade had been on and there was almost always at least one deputy or leader present. It seemed that both Clans were taking the city cats very seriously.

“Hello, there,” Pantherhaze smiled. “Congratulations on your warrior name, Dawnbird!”

“Thank you,” she smiled and dipped her head politely, but the smile fell off of her face shortly after. She must be disappointed her brother wasn’t there to sit vigil with her, Yarrowshade thought, once again kicking himself for his part in Toadpaw’s disappearance. 

“Any news?” Bogmist asked, grey eyes sparkling. 

“Not yet,” Nightfrost said. “Let’s hope it stays that way.” 

“StarClan willing,” Dawnbird nodded and Pantherhaze echoed her prayer. 

“Well,” Yarrowshade said, trying to sound cheery. “I hope you’re ready to walk back and forth in the snow!” 

“We don’t mind,” Bogmist chirped, shaking the snow from her fur. “Whatever keeps the kits safe, right?” 

“Aw, are there new kits in EarthClan?” Pantherhaze asked.

“No,” she laughed, “I don’t expect we’ll be having any new kits for some time. But I heard Smokyrose finally found herself a beau!” 

“Ah,” Yarrowshade and Pantherhaze exchanged awkward glances. “She did but its… probably over between them.”

“Oh, no!” Bogmist asked, “Why?”

“Because he’s one of the rogues,” Nightfrost said curtly. 

“Oh,” said Bogmist. 

“Come on,” Yarrowshade said with an awkward laugh. “Let’s get to patrolling.” And so they did. It was cold and boring work, but it needed to be done. Bogmist did her best to keep up the conversation and he tried to oblige her but the longer they went the more he started to worry that Nightfrost was getting sick of it and he found his desire to respond slowly waning. They walked back and forth over the border for most of the morning and into the afternoon and found no signs of intruders, just like all the other patrols like this he’d been on. The snow at least made it easy to know if anyone had passed through. Still, Yarrowshade found his paws were starting to grow num from the cold. He thanked the stars when it finally stopped falling. 

“The next patrol should be coming to relieve us soon,” Nightfrost said eventually. 

“I hope so,” Bogmist said, “I’m starving!” 

“Look,” Pantherhaze said, pointing up ahead, ��that must be them.” 

Yarrowshade looked and saw a small group of cats standing around in the track they had worn into the drifts of snow and frowned. Something wasn’t right. One of the cats turned to look at them and as he did, the bright snow glare glinted off of something around his neck. 

“Those aren’t Clan cats,” he hissed and the energy changed. 

“What do we do?” Dawnbird whispered. “Should I run back to camp?”

“No,” Nightfrost said, “You would show them exactly where we live. Only run if I say so.” Dawnbird nodded. The cats ahead of them had risen to their feet and were walking towards them at a leisurely pace. 

“This might not be a fight,” Pantherhaze said softly.

Nightfrost started walking to meet them. “We can only hope so.” 

The cat in the lead was a large, blue-grey and white tabby with an impressive stature despite his slim cheeks. He sported a blue collar with a softly tinkling bell that Yarrowshade thought clashed oddly with the claw scars on his muzzle. Behind him was Ghost - Ghost and two other cats, the brown tom that had fought with Floodpaw and a burly ginger tabby with a kittypet collar of his own. 

Yarrowshade felt his hackles starting to rise. How dare Ghost show his face here? How dare he bring that mangy scoundrel back with him? He was so angry that he only barely registered that the kittypet in front seemed to be in charge. 

“Hail and well met,” called the big grey tom, smiling jovially. “You must be the cats of RisingClan.” 

“We are,” said Nightmist, squaring her shoulders to match his height. Yarrowshade was glad that at least one of them was as physically imposing as the stranger. “What business do you have being on our territory?” 

“Not on your territory,” the kittypet corrected. “I know we aren’t welcome there, that’s why we waited on the edge of it.” Ghost glanced over his shoulder at the sable pelted tom who ducked submissively. His dark blue eyes stayed fixed on Yarrowshade though, burning with something similar to what Yarrowshade himself was feeling. 

“What’s your name, my darling?” the kittypet in charge asked Nightfrost. Yarrowshade had to bite his lip to stop himself from demanding he speak to her with more respect. 

“Nightfrost,” she said cooly. “Who are you?” 

“My name is Razor,” the tom purred, stepping closer into Nightfrost’s space. A growl leapt to her throat, ears flicking backward and Yarrowshade took a step forward too, baring his teeth. Razor only chuckled and stepped back, although Yarrowshade noticed that he was still closer than he had been before. 

“Well there’s no need for that kind of behavior,” said Razor. “I was just being friendly. Do they not have that out here in the sticks?” 

“Razor,” Ghost said, and Razor glanced back at him, his smile fading for a split second. Ghost lowered his gaze immediately. Apparently he had said all he needed to say.

Razor sighed. “You’re right. We’re here on business.” Turning back to Nightfrost, he said, “I wanted to come down personally and apologize for my underlings’ behavior. I understand they got distracted picking on some of your young ones, yeah?” 

“Picking on is an understatement,” Nightfrost glared. “They’re lucky they got off so easily.” The tom in the back scoffed and Ghost stepped towards him threateningly, which immediately silenced him. Razor’s ear twitched but he didn’t look back. It seemed to Yarrowshade that he was used to Ghost handling the rogues for him. 

“And I am grateful,” said Razor, still smiling. “It was more than they deserved, on that we agree.” He shifted his weight to lean in again and lowered his voice as if he and Nightfrost were having a private word. “To tell you the truth, they were out here looking for a cat named Scrap who I’m eager to find. She’s a bit… unwell, you see - in the head - and I’d love to find her before she gets herself hurt. You cats wouldn’t have happened to see her anywhere, would you?” 

“What does she look like?” Nightfrost asked, striking Yarrowshade again with just how smart she was. He would have told Razor to go shove something unpleasant up his rear but that would have given their position away, confirmed that they had taken Aldertail in, or at the very least caused a fight they probably didn’t want. 

Razor tilted his head in Ghost’s direction. He didn’t look at him, only cast his eyes over the snow over the shoulder closest to Ghost, but Ghost received the signal all the same and said, “She’s young, a spotted brown tabby with a notched ear like this one,” he flicked his tail in the sable tom’s direction. “I believe she has blue eyes.” Razor smiled, satisfied, and looked back at Nightfrost. 

Nightfrost hummed thoughtfully and then shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. Have you checked the thunderpath? Most cats don’t survive crossing it.” 

“The 'thunderpath',” Razor laughed, sounding like he was amused by the novelty of it. “I assume you mean the road back there?” 

“If that’s what you call it,” shrugged Nightfrost. “The stone path the monsters prowl.”

“Monsters,” chuckled Razor again. “Yes, yes, we’ve checked the ‘thunderpath’ plenty. I’m quite certain she came this way. You’re sure you haven’t seen her?” 

“I’m sure,” Nightfrost said. “You can go back to your city now.” 

“Don’t be rude,” Razor said, a dangerous edge slipping into his voice. “I’m just trying to help a cat in need. We’ve been perfectly civil, haven’t we?” 

“You’re not welcome on our territory,” Nightfrost said, stepping into his space this time. “Leave and don’t come back.” 

“Careful, girl,” Razor rumbled, and the cats behind him tensed. “I’m not the kind of cat you should threaten.” 

“I’m aware of your reputation,” Nightfrost growled back, “but I don’t care. Leave.” 

“Who told you about my reputation?” Razor grinned. “Scrap? Because she’s quite paranoid, thinks everyone is out to get her. She’s not exactly the most reliable source.” 

Nightfrost rolled her eyes. “I told you, I haven’t met this Scrap cat.” 

“Then why don’t I believe you?” Razor purred lowly, leaning even closer to take a deep breath of her scent. Yarrowshade’s back started to arch aggressively. Behind Razor, he saw Ghost shuffle, but the older tom said nothing. Deceitful coward, Yarrowshade thought. 

“She told you to leave,” he snapped, tail bristling. “If you’re smart, you would listen.” 

For the first time, Razor’s eyes fell on him and suddenly he felt extremely small. Nightfrost’s jaw clenched and she closed her eyes for a frustrated beat. Had he made a mistake? His gut twisted with anxiety. If things got violent it would be his fault. 

“Quiet, whelp,” Razor snarled, then smiled and said, “the big kids are talking.” 

“No,” Nightfrost said firmly, “We’re done talking. Either leave now or stay and make an enemy. It's your choice.” Razor chuckled darkly, swinging his gaze back to her in a slow arc. 

“Oh-ho-ho-ho, you are just adorable,” he said. There was a pause, as he looked her over with a gaze that felt deeply disrespectful, predatory even. Then he stepped back and said, “Fine. We’ll leave. Don’t let it be said that I am quick to make enemies. If you find Scrap and feel inclined to return her, I would make it worth your while. I’m sure food is hard to find this time of year, right?” When none of them responded, he shrugged, and said, “I could see you fed until spring, maybe after. All you have to do is help me out. I reward those who help me, don’t I?” One ear turned back towards the cats behind him.

“Always,” the tom with the notched ear said eagerly.

“Handsomely,” said the ginger kittypet. 

Ghost simply grunted. 

“See?” Razor said. “Think about it.” With that he flicked his tail and turned and started back through the snow towards the city in the distance. The kittypet followed closely behind him and the sable pelted tom slank after them about a tail length behind, keeping a respectful distance. Ghost stayed where he was, staring for a moment, and Yarrowshade glared at him.

 Eventually, he spoke. “Is Smokyrose alright?” His voice was low and tense

“No thanks to you,” Yarrowshade scoffed. 

“And the kits?” he asked. 

“They’re fine.” Nightfrost said curtly. “Two baby girls.” Yarrowshade frowned. Why was she telling him? If he had cared about the kits he would have been there for their birth. He watched as something like relief flashed across Ghost’s face. 

“I’m glad,” he said. “I would have-”

“Ghost,” barked Razor, having halted in his tracks to look back at them. “What are you up to?” 

Ghost smirked and lifted his voice to say, “Oh, just familiarizing myself with the local delicacies.” Yarrowshade wanted to hurl. The ginger kittypet and the tom with the notched ear snickered, but Razor just rolled his eyes.

“We have girls in the city. Much less angry ones. Come on.” 

“Alright,” Ghost called back reluctantly. Then, under his breath he said, “Tell Rose I’m sorry,” and strutted off after the other city cats, the same clawable smirk on his face. Yarrowshade was bristling until they were starting to disappear behind the snow banks. 

“So that’s Smoky’s beau…” Bogmist said with a bit of a grimace. “I’m gonna be honest, I don’t get it.” 

“I’m sure he was a lot more charming around her,” Pantherhaze said weakly. 

“What was all that about?” Yarrowshade grumbled, “Asking about the kits, saying he’s sorry? If he had been actually sorry he wouldn’t have abandoned her in the first place.” 

“Maybe Razor has some sort of leverage over him,” speculated Pantherhaze. “Maybe he couldn’t come back even if he wanted to.” 

“That’s wishful thinking,” scoffed Yarrowshade. “Did you hear what he called Nightfrost? And none of them blinked an eye. No, he’s a scumbag through and through.” 

“Yarrowshade,” Nightfrost said suddenly and he realized that she had been lost in her own thoughts since Ghost had left, “go back to camp and make sure that the other patrol is on their way. Pantherhaze, you too. Make sure you tell Goldenstar about everything that was discussed. Bogmist, you and Dawnbird can head back to EarthClan too.” 

“Thanks, Nightfrost,” Bogmist said. 

“StarClan light your path,” added Dawnbird, and the two headed off toward their camp. 

“What about you?” Yarrowshade asked her, lowering his voice. “Are you gonna stay here?” 

“Yes,” she nodded. “I’ll make sure the next patrol is prepared and see to it that Razor and his ilk don’t come back.” 

“They’re not gonna come back tonight anyway,” Yarrowshade said. “You should come back to camp. Maybe we can get some prey and unwind a bit.”

“Please, Yarrowshade,” she sighed, “this is not the time for flirting.” 

“I’m not flirting,” he promised. “I just think you’re pushing yourself too hard. You need to relax.” 

“I’m the deputy,” she said. “I’ll relax when we’re safe. Now go back to camp.” 

“Promise me you’ll be back before dark?” he asked, ears wilting. 

Nightfrost sighed. “Sure. I’ll be back before dark.” 

“Okay,” nodded Yarrowshade, disappointed. “I’ll be looking forward to it.” He stepped forward to butt his head against her shoulder but last minute he decided against it and stepped around her instead. Pantherhaze joined him, and they started the trip back to camp. 

“You okay?” Pantherhaze asked after a while. 

“Yeah, I guess…” he replied. Was he okay? He didn’t really know. 

“Do you wanna talk about it?” 

Yarrowshade sighed heavily. “I just… I don’t know where I stand with her, y’know? I can’t tell if she’s just stressed or if she’s getting tired of me.” 

“I’m sorry,” said Pantherhaze. That didn’t make him feel any better. 

“Thanks,” he said, bumping up against his old friend. “Let’s go get out of the snow, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Pantherhaze agreed enthusiastically. “I’m freezing!”

[cubesandblobs]

My thoughts after watching the good doctor (dropped it halfway through s1)

Context: I stopped around when Shaun and Lea's roadtrip.

Being autistic myself, I thought it would be interesting to see how the show handles its representation. The white cis (straight?) genius dude seems to be by far the most common autistic representation in media. And though I wish other experiences were represented more, I don't think having your main character be a white cis man with savant is a bad thing in a vacuum, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

What I appreciated was the show let Shaun struggle with work and life in general instead of him being a cool dude who just can't socialise. I also like how chill(?) they are with Shaun's savant. Like it isn't a case of "LOOK GUYS! An autistic supergenius!" but more like he's just really really competent and that's cool. Some media representation felt like they wanted us to gawk in awe and the guy being a living megacomputer and it's very very uncomfortable.

That said, there are a lot of really uncomfortable parts of the show: like I hate Glassman's speech to the board about Shaun. Him comparing autism to discrimination against black people or women felt...not good. Can't you just say he's competent? He IS competent! There's something very incomplete and uncomfortable about that episode with the autistic kid. I think it's because the kid, according to his parents, doesn't seem to have savant and struggles with a lot of stuff, to the point where his parents had a bias against autistic people's ability to do their job. Having the show focus on shaun being great feels like a very missed opportunity for the show to broaden its representation of autistic individuals a bit. On another note, although I generally liked Lea's character, I don't like how the way she talks to Shaun borders on how a person might talk to a kid, like oh he's so naïve and cute i need to show him the world :3.

(my post got chopped for some reason so i'm editing it back in): what really sealed the deal for me was finding out that they hired someone who isn't autistic to play shaun, and also they're associated with autism speaks. I had written off a lot of the weird parts as mistakes made in good faith, or even otherwise ok segments that I found uncomfortable because of my own experiences, but finding out those details made me stop giving it the benefit of doubt.

Also, the plot got boring for me fast. The constant tension of 'ahhh the patient's heart is failing in the middle of surgery again helphelphelp' made me both stressed and bored at the same time. Same goes for the repeated plot point of 'the organ/patient needs help RIGHT NOW so i'm going to do an impromptu surgery with a decidedly un-medical equipment right in the open air'. I don't know if this is accurate. Now, I don't really know how a medical show can build tension other than these, but they did make me bored. I think it's because the medical cases themselves do not shape character development/arcs. The character arcs happen in the gaps within cases or in-between cases. Compare to other examples of workplace shows like...ace attorney. or the many sport mangas. if you get what i mean. I think that's why it got boring for me, but yeah. That said, I relate to shaun a lot (way more than sheldon, adult or young) and really really root for claire so I would sit through a lot of boring stuff if not for the whole lack of autistic representation in cast and the autism speaks thing.

[heavensthorn3]

Bruh, if I had any sympathy for dysphoric, filthy, perverted crossdressing m*les, gay or otherwise, it definitely got stomped to death last night. Working at fast food is a trash job, ignoring the shit pay and also having to deal with scumbags all day. Yesterday though, was something else, and I was doing a double shift, and this has been the SECOND time something bad has happened when doing a double shift. I was also on my period and already stressed out, and I'm saying this because I do believe it played a part on how I reacted much later. Ok, so as you may know, there tend to be two registers in most walk-in fast foods, and I was working on the one on the left side. There was a line on my side (on the left) because I was mostly alone taking orders while the other cashier was doing food behind me (sometimes she jumps in and out to take orders or make food). So, get this, the tr*nny freak was standing on the right side, literally in front of the right register, and I take the order of the m*le on my side and I do it pretty quickly to the point that when that thing started complaining about "him" being "first" the m*le had already put in his card to pay. I look confused momentarily because that guy was definitely not on my side. Then I just tell him that I was almost finish with him and for him to just wait (literally the interaction with the m*le client didn't even take ten seconds cause I did it that fast, but the freak wanted to be first, (who's surprised?), then he repeated the same thing but more aggressively (as if that's going to make me stop from finishing) and I repeated that I was almost done, and that's when that thing started insulting me. He was black, btw, so you can understand my situation. I've had a lot of encounters with rude customers, most are more subtle about their passive aggressiveness, others more blunt, but I've dealt with them either way. Most are hispanics, like me, the rest are black, and then some white, and before you knee-jerk and start calling me racist, half my family (on my mom's side) is black, my father is white, keep in mind, they are also religious and reserved, and most of my relatives have shared going through some discrimination or bullying from nigerians in the area (mostly women) and black people in general. If you follow me by now, you know I speak my mind. Most of my bad interactions have been with both black m*les and women. They have a lack of respect for workers, they are far more demanding than anybody else, and are rude about it all the while, and don't have any self-preservation about getting in your face. This has always struck me as strange. I'm quiet when I'm out, reserved, that's how my mother raised me. So this has always struck me as strange.

Anyways, the degenerate was calling me stupid, insulting my looks, literally called me an alien (he was projecting, I know) and saying ugly-ass bitch, ass - then another insult about ass - and whatever else. They do have an obsession with ass, I found, but anyways, I was literally just standing there, quite apathetic to the parasites hollering, and then, you need to understand that its words didn't effect me, but the confrontation seem to tip my emotions over. And I can't stress enough that I've had some customers and people in my life imply the same thing, so its words didn't affect me personally, but I wasn't feeling well, and I honestly had to step back and tell the other cashier that I wasn't going to take its order and then I continued to the next person, and that thing just kept going, insulting me, saying how stupid I was, and I felt such unadulterated RAGE inside of me, I wanted to tell him so many damned things, SO MANY, but at the back of my mind I still needed this job and I was sure I would get fired if I said what I wanted to say, and I was just stuck in the middle of those two emotions. I felt at the edge of exploding, and what usually happens when I'm frustrated and stressed from weeks working at this job, I cry. And that was literally the nail on the coffin for me. Not only did I feel like a coward, but I cried at work. I also have to add that I've had a couple of uncomfortable interactions with black m*les trying to get my number or more information about me (it became a problem because one of them wouldn't order and kept harassing me for personal information), so I'm not so unattractive to the BLACK M*LE, I guess, so it had nothing to do with the insults. I had to step to the back then, and people I worked with, mostly hispanic, asked me what was wrong, and I just kept telling them, I was fine, it's nothing, and I just felt so tired and angry. The second manager was there, a woman that I'm kinda negative-neutral on, and she asked me what happened while she was making food in the back, and I didn't tell her, but the others did, and I almost laughed when she said "was it the person that looked like a man", cause lol, bruh, she was at the back and even she could tell a m*le when she saw it. The m*le thing wore makeup and everything, it would've passed for a black woman, but the voice and the build gave it away. It was an uncanny thing.

The encounter was truly strange. But I do believe it was a lesson, and yeah, I'm not religious, but a part of me does believe I'm being taught something here. At this point in time, it's too coincidental not to.

[boogiewoogieweeb]

4, 10, 19, 39, 55!

hello nonnie! thank you very much for the asks - i hope my answers will be satisfactory! 🌹🌹🌹

4. Where do you find inspiration for new ideas?

as cliched as it sounds, everywhere really. all it takes for a fic idea to form is for me to see or experience something interesting and apply it to whichever characters i'm currently obsessed with. a good example of this would be my joplittle sexsomnia au - it was born from reading an article posted to reddit about how extreme stress or emotional trauma can induce this condition, and what the partners of people who suffer from it have to deal with. my brain extrapolated on this by going, "neat! now let's apply that to edward little and see where it goes!". and so now i'm a quarter of the way through a wip about the first lieutenant of hms terror getting up to sexcapades in his sleep :D

10. Cltr+f "blinks" on your WIP & copy paste the first sentence/paragraph that comes up

you would not believe how many of my wips i actually had to dig through (eight, it was eight) before i actually found one where i've used the word "blinks". anyway, here's wonderwall the snippet:

“Then I should hope to always be fortunate enough to have a Second so steadfast in his dedication as you have proven yourself to be, Lieutenant Little.” The words settle over Edward like a warm weight; an anchor dropped in calm waters, and he blinks harshly to stem the prick of tears that burn suddenly at the back of his eyes.

19. What is the most-used tag on your ao3?

the filters on my works page tells me that apparently, it's #humor. followed in short order by #angst, #drama, and #drabble in combined second-place. which really tells you everything you need to know about me as a person, probably.

39. Share a snippet from a WIP

this is one i've been sitting on for more than a month now, following some conversation with two of my favourite people, lily and helen, on the topic of the parallels between little and crozier in the terror. it's a fic that's almost as close to my heart as my "ned quits the navy" au, and it's coincidentally also the same fic where i pulled the "blinks" snippet from:

He’s going to lose the fingers, at the very least.

What had started out as frostbite has grown into something far, far more insidious; the rigid blue-white of hardened flesh having first given way to purple bloating, then to leathery, blistered brown, and finally to black decay; variegated streaks of reddish-grey striating from the tips all the way down towards the line of his knuckles.

Worse yet is the smell whenever he peels the bandages off; a faint, nauseating, slightly sweet stench that reminds him of the time when, as boys, he and James had once come upon a dead fox while out riding one afternoon - flyblown and baking in the stifling summer heat, its noxious and festering body bloated with gas and rot.

The first time he’d seen – truly seen – how bad his hand had gotten, he’d rushed outside to empty his heaving stomach into the fine fresh dusting of snow that had settled over the outpost like a blanket.

It hurts to use, nowadays. He can’t properly make a fist anymore for how swollen his hand’s become, and every touch now is its own bright, stinging agony.

Edward stares dully at his left hand in mild disgust before wrapping it again, tight enough to send pain coursing down his wrist and all the way up to his elbow; rolling waves of needling fire that beat in time with his pulse. He’s taken to doing this alone in one of the woodsheds on the outskirts of the fort, though if pressed, he wouldn’t have been able to answer as to why.

He’s shaking by the time he finishes, trembling as if palsied, breathing hard as if he'd just run a mile. But his hand is bandaged once more, and the damage is hidden from sight. In time, Edward knows, he will need to see to the matter of its removal.

He will lose the fingers, sure enough; if not more. It doesn’t matter. There are worse things to lose in life than a hand.

55. Of the characters you write for, which is your favorite? Has that choice been swayed at all by your followers/readers’ reactions to certain ones?

oh, i'd have to say it's my best boy edward little. he's far and away the character i've come to empathize with and relate to the most - probably ever - and so that makes it easier for me to get into the headspace required to write things from his perspective. as for being swayed by the reactions of others to how i write him, i don't think i am, not really. i certainly greatly appreciate and enjoy reading comments that praise my characterization, but i like to think i have a pretty clear and well-defined enough grasp of my blorbo whenever i do manage to bang out a few words on the old keyboard that i'm quietly confident in my ability to portray him relatively faithfully and accurately.

and that about covers it! once again thank you so much for taking the time to get to know a bit more about me and my writing process, nonnie! it was a lot of fun coming up with answers to your questions!

[opossumonashelf]

🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀

Hello! Well it seems I've been found, I'm Shelf, and uh welcome to the trash can I call my blog! You probably found me liking a post, rebloging, or just happened upon a post made by me.

I use She/They but really any are fine.

My birthday is May 29th!

I'm Panro Ace (panromantic asexual)

Also I'm Autistic (ADHD)

My Discord handle is somewhat the same as my tumblr name but you remove the "on a"

Here is my Bluesky > here

🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸

I also take commissions and art requests!

Comms----> Link to post (4 slots open)

Ko-fi ----> Link

Art requests (just drop them in the ask box)

Art trades (open)

🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸

I have quite a few interests but you will mostly find pokemon here, and the train conductors twins from pokemon black and white, they're my favorites.

I like to archive stuff so every now and then you will see old art. Sometimes it not easy to archive everything but hey just got to move on I guess.

I also have two side blogs. which I'm still getting use to.

@old-submas-archive - a blog that just has old submas art be it from 2010 to 2021. @sillyeeveelutionsdaliy - its a eevee and eeveeluation drawing blog what can i say.

🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸

I tend to have a lot of anxiety and can be quite nervous, so please don't pull me into something that can possibly cause me stress. I want nothing to do with internet drama/discourse, don't bring it here.

I'm quite nervous and might not always talk and can go inactive every now and then if I'm overwhelmed and need a break.

I don't have a dni i do my own curating also if you found that i have you blocked well... lets say I have my reasons, this is my blog and I choose how I run it.

🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸

I have a few tags that I use for stuff you can find around my blog:

#opossumrambles - my talk tag, I will basically talk or ramble on about stuff.

#opossumscribbles - my art tag

#asks for the opossum - asks

#the personal life of shelf - you get a small peak into my irl life.

#rebloging my likes - basically rebloging the stuff from my likes.

#old submas content - I love the subway bosses so I have a need for content I will sometimes look at old posts and blogs that have been around for ever even inactive blogs (some being 2 years to 12 years of no activity) I do this as a way to archive which kinda makes me want to make a blog for this stuff.

also spam like to your hearts content, i don't mind the notifications. oh and one more thing

BE KIND TO ONE ANOTHER NO MATTER WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT PEOPLE ARE DEALING WITH BEHIND THE SCREEN!

okay thanks for coming to my ted talk :)

🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸🍀🌸

[fluffs-palace]

Mc questions;

All Mc's, if allowed, if not the same as Tai; #9 is the greatest fear.

x

(Since its all 7 of them, im just gonna do lil blurbs minus Samuels instead of the longer short stories like his)

CW: Mentions of eating disorders, PTSD like behavior

Question 9

Greatest Fear

Lyari

White hair. Honeyed complexion. Half lidded eyes. Bright colors. Barely an inch under his partner. The same partner she was constantly being mistaken for. Always a "Oh, Asra! It's been so long. Did you grow out your hair?" or "Have your eyes always been that color, Asra? I could swear they were different." It wasn't until she spoke, most times, that they finally realize she was a completely different person. She is, isn't she? They aren't going to just live the rest of his life in his better half's shadow, right? Yeah. Yeah. Eventually they'll find his familiar. She'll figure out what magicks she specializes in. Make his own gate one day. Things wont always just stay the same forever.... right?

Marsom

The city in general makes him uneasy after everything that happened but the palace is a whole other level of freaked out. He's afraid to ever step foot back in its halls, but he sucks it up since he still has to sometimes— even if he still wakes up in a cold sweat after the nightmares it's given him or still has to go hide in a closet to avoid a meltdown. If you asked him, though, he'd say his biggest fear was possums.

Osanna

This little lady doesn't exactly have the best relationship with food. Being the Court Magician isn't always what its cracked up to be; she's got a lot of stress resting upon her shoulders. Not to mention the burdens she tries to carry for Nadia too. Meals or snacks could easily be summoned at any point, where ever and whenever she wanted them. She knows she shouldn't, but for some reason she cant bring herself to stop... so she eats and eats to the point of making herself sick. She worries one day she might not be able to stop from eating herself into an early grave. Of course Nadia would never let that happen but its a slow process.

Samuel

X

Seli

She'd always felt uneasy for some reason she could never put her finger on. Asra would never tell her anything, obviously. It stayed in the back of her mind, though. A constant nagging feeling. Then she'd start to get bits and pieces from outside sources, or things Asra would let slip absentmindedly. Something was catching up to her, and, from what she could tell, it wasn't good. The last thing Seli would ever let happen is her own fuck-ups cause pain to those around her. She had to make sure whatever it was either never finished their leg of the race or that it was dealt with before they could.

Tai

They've always had a simple life. Asra even corroborates that from their life before. With memories. One set of clothes for as long as they could remember until Valerius. A little garden all to themselves until starting to share with Portia. They were content with that, too, until him. Until being swept away by sass and hidden feelings. Until they started doubting. They weren't fancy. It was obvious Tai didnt exactly belong at the palace. How did they end up with the biggest snob in the joint? Honestly. They can't meet up to his standards at all. He puts them in pretty clothes now, but they're still that same little country bumpkin underneath. Are they even good enough for him? Does he actually care about them or is it just some stunt? It cant be. Nah. They're fine. Everything's fine.

Vaura

They love Lucio with all their heart, but they also know he wasn't the greatest man before they met. In fact, he still isn't. Everyone has their flaws, right? Regardless of that, they would fight tooth and nail to make damn sure his past never caught up with him. Whether that be deals unpaid or a corrupt return to past actions, they couldn't care less. Maybe that made them a little morally grey, sure. Should he get his comeuppance? Probably— but not while they have a say in it. They would keep what they had taken.

[keyboardinpain]

news flash: "racism is bad!!!" Doesn't work against a racist. They don't give a single fuck 💀

if you're trying to change a fandom by attaching yourself to every drama and complaining about the racism and putting everyone who doesn't draw a certain character in the same category, I'm sorry to tell you, you ain't doing shit for representation!!! You want to change the fandom? You want to see more poc countries being depicted? Do it yourself!! Post!! Talk about whatever!!

"oh but people don't pay attention to poc countries :(( my account won't grow if I do that.. is because everyone is so racist"

1- that's the same reasoning big companies have for never depicting minorities, so let's immediately start this by saying, bullshit. People who care WILL find your account and isn't that what matters? The people who care? Not 20000 people that look at your posts in annoyance because they don't actually care and were guilt tripped into following you

2- who....who are you posting for?? Yourself to have fun and interact with people who have similar interests or to get famous?? Who cares if somebody posting Twink Italy gets more followers, post about Nigeria with passion and peace and have fun!!!

3- not everyone who doesn't pay attention to your account or poc countries is fucking racist omg. Yes, ofc, racism in geopolitics and history has caused lots of people to not have access to a full picture of the world and this will show in the interests but also .. maybe they haven't found your account? Most poc countries have to be ocs and finding hetalia ocs is hard. Even harder finding them interesting when they're barely posted about or if they are drowned with drama. It's not racism, it's not knowing it could even exist! And still, if they don't care that's ok. It's still not racist. And same thing if they are canon. Not everyone has to care

Shit I have a bunch of mutuals who don't reblog my Venezuela art, does that make them racist?? No! They don't care and that's fine!!! It's ok!!! I don't care about the Nordics they don't care about Venezuela, it's chill! Not everyone has to have your same interests in the same way

And also, constantly posting about drama instead of actually working on your goddam OC's makes people immediately be turned off by your account.

People don't need extra negativity "it's not fair white people get to ignore this while we suffer constantly" MF you were the one that posted that!!!! You can block people!!! Fucking Tumblr makes bubbles specifically to create echo chambers of yes man, you don't have to deal with the negativity either!!! And also the whole point of wanting equality is so nobody has to suffer, not so everyone suffer the same!!! There are multiple ways to keep yourself safe that I myself use because my own country gets treated like shit 💀 this is a fandom, you don't have to interact with everyone you don't like or correct them nobody out there will stop dying if you do.

You are fighting a random person behind the screen not actually dismantling centuries of racism. This just makes it stressful for poc people or non poc people who want to draw poc characters, you know why? Because it feels like we constantly need to interact with drama and we can't look at tags that aren't filled with it. I hope nobody in this fandom has anxiety or OCD cause the way so many posts are formatted is nauseating!

Its the same bullshit as "if you listen to this song you're a bigot" 🍅

You are drowning in a drop of water. Racists exist everywhere but if you constantly go looking for them and interact with them, guess what? More racists will find you. The algorithms will literally bring them to you 💀💀

I am not saying racists don't deserve criticism, obviously they do. It's important to hold people accountable (especially in this fucking fandom) but once you see they won't start changing... block them. Don't base your content around calling racists out cause every racist who has been called out is still posting and being racist. Your time would be much better spent doing the content you like and creating a safe place for others who wish to do the same, even if it's only 5 people.

I know I sound very angry in this post, frankly I am. It's not targeted at anyone specifically tho. There is a lot of imbalance in this fandom but making huge rants (like this one lol) won't make up for the lack of a certain country, only making content with them will, and guilt tripping other people into making it will give you shitty results.

This rant was all over the place and if you read it that's great, it's probably nonsense. I am not expecting anyone to change their mind, I do not care, I just needed to get this off my chest. Once again, this is not targetted at anyone and if you feel targetted, talk about it with yourself cause I'm not going against you. Have a great day/night and remember to have fun

[saiwola]

Thinking about them. A lot.

How at first, I just thought it'd be fun for them to swap the usual aesthetics and traits associated with life and death.

Alys being associated more with black, fire (usually associated with its destructive capabilities), and horror. While Fenryr is associated with white, water (usually coupled with healing in most things), and flowers.

Alys is distant, merciless, and cruel. Fenryr is kind, affectionate, and forgiving.

Even the way they fight. Fenryr has a blade and his venom. He fights in a rather efficient way. He goes for the quickest ways to get to what he wants, to end the fight. And due to studying anatomy for both survival and artistic purposes, he's got a pretty decent idea of where to strike. Even when he has to kill, he will go for that killing blow immediately. And with his venom, it's quick. It's painless.

But Alys' artifact is a staff. Good for channeling magic, but not so much with dealing damage. What she does have though ... are claws and teeth. When she seeks to kill, she rips and tears at the flesh. And given how she'd usually be in an enraged state, she doesn't care where she claws into them. It's slow. It's painful.

But what I'm wondering lately is that ... are they really going against the nature of their Gifts?

I mean, in a way, it's not too much of a stress to go like "Life is cruel. Death is a mercy." But now I'm even thinking about their general demeanors and personalities.

Like Fenryr is the most forgiving and merciful of the Blessings (not including Theo because baby). He's the more go-with-the-flow sort, the one least likely to hold grudges or kill someone because of something they did. A rather "life-coded" way of doing things, right? But if you think about death, it's "the end". it's all accepting ("everything dies"). Even the supposed final stage of grief is Acceptance. And Fenryr's lax and forgiving nature could just be seen as him "accepting" things as they are, right?

Alys, however, is the cruelest and most unforgiving of the Blessings. While she may not have the same body count as Zandros, Taylor, or even Fenryr (if you count the plague he accidentally starts), she is the one least conflicted about murder. About the kills she has committed. Because she saw them as necessary, whether it be self defense or ... other reasons. Not really suiting of her role as a healer, But like, you could see it as "survival". She kills to preserve and protect life. That instinct to cling to life, even if it means taking down whatever stands in the way of that.

Even Fenryr's main element, water, while many times is associated with healing, people drown in water. Bloats corpses. Yoo much water causes cells to burst. Water erodes and breaks down stone. It can be destructive.

Alys' fire is still destructive. But heat also kills bacteria. Cauterizes wounds. And low intensity fires (Alys' flames, except when fueled with intense rage, actually burn less than most people's fire) can increase soil fertility.

So anyway, that's my word vomit.

[chaosverseline]

Imu likes and dislikes

Likes

Bubble baths (surprisingly to a lot of people , but yes, Imu enjoys bubble baths because it’s relaxing.)

Gardening ( they grow a lot of flora from all over the one piece world.)

Raising butterflies ( their favorite butterflies species are the poisonous ones, their top pick are the zebra long wing butterflies because they have black and white wings.)

trolling in laws (I don’t need to elaborate any further)

Spoiling their descendants with gifts (there are yachts full of gifts “ yes, I know you don’t need any extra clothing but they just jumped into the cart on its own.”-imu)

xebec (in their own weird way)

trying new things ( Hey, they are like 800 something years old, 800 years to kill boredom, you might a well as have done everything at this point.)

collecting things ( what else they can do? So far , Imu has collected: coins, gemstones/jewels and precious metals , art pieces, luxury magazines, books, stamps and heck, even real estate and bounty posters. All of this is nothing compared to imu’s one mansion-like building dedicated and full of their collection of their designer wardrobes and outfits. There are wings for shoes, dresses ,coats , tops and bottom wear, and various accessories and jewelry. The building is connected to the main residence ,that imu lives, by a corridor skyway.That is not counting the clothing and outfits in the main residence and in imu’s vacation homes, they are the doubles of the clothing in the wardrobe building, the ones that imu actually wears.

their free/personal time ( the main reason why Imu kept their existence and identity as absolute secret from the world ,is not to maintain the lie that there is no singular ruler of the world.(even though that was debatable) but really so they can have their own privacy. It would be terribly annoying to have cameras flashing at them at every second of their life. They are also quite paranoid of their life. However, contrary to this, they still like looking cool and wanting to show it like a typical fashionista, so they run a luxury fashion magazine called lady N in secret, it is easy since only a handful of cipher pol agents, the world elders , some world nobles and relatives knows what they really look like. )

spas and pampering themselves with various spa stuff. (Same thing with the bubble baths, dealing with celestial dragons is super tiring and stressful )

having the power ( to do whatever they wanted and as a get out of jail free card, Imu did a lot of crazy wild stuff on their vacation days)

finding new entertainment (800 years can get people pretty bored out of their minds)

gourmet food and drink ( it can be tea time, coffee, multi courses meals , going to restaurants and critic them, and… there is a basement full of alcohol barrels and bottles.)

playing games (whether it’s sports or board games. If arcades,video games or mobile games existed, they would play those too and troll other players. They have a lot of time to kill.)

DISLIKES

99% of the current generation of the celestial dragons. ( imu thinks of them as annoying, whining and stupid children. They hated the fact the celestial dragons can’t control themselves and their behavior. Imu think it is because of the inbreeding problem of the celestial dragons since they can only marry each other to keep the bloodline “pure.” Another thing they dislike is slavery, contrary to what everyone thinks, no,imu does not like it. It makes their skin crawl.they are still joyboy’s child after all. However, this was only made possible by imu’s colleagues (the ancestors of the celestial dragons) during the void century war. imu just have to tolerate it and follow the motto of “mind your own business”)

the taste of alcohol gone bad ( what a waste of wine!)

the smell of cannabis in cigarettes (it stinks -imu)

in-laws (despite this, Imu doesn’t want them to die.)

Bad taste in fashion (imu is appalled at most of the people fashion choices)

marshal d teach (now this time ,imu really hates him enough to personally execute him)

pirates (this is due to hatred of xebec running off to continue his career as the main factor, along with other reasons.Imu was disappointed when yraif ran off to join the rocks pirates and furious when she married a pirate. They are only mildly disappointed when crocodile wants to be a pirate and they finally gave up when their great grandsons wanted to be a pirate.)

the incompetence of majority of the marines (we do not need to elaborate,just look at the one piece marines and now see how many actually captured criminals, sengoku is on the thin ice for not arresting teach right away.)

spoiled brats (ex. Celestial dragons)

absolute justice and passing sins of parents to children (it makes no sense to imu, by that logic, imu would have to kill themselves for being related to joyboy )

Discrimination (it’s pointless in their opinion)

psychopaths (ex. Doflamingo, it still ironic, since one can argue imu was one themselves )

sociopaths (ironic, since they are one themselves)

hypocrites ( arguably ironic)

potential in laws( people who seemingly to have a crush on one of imu’s family)

people who don’t work for their dreams and expect everything to be handed to them. (Ex. Celestial dragons)

will of the d? ( that is what it appears to be to separate themselves from the d clan, they personally don’t have a vendetta against them, unless you are Blackbeard)

nefertari family? ( no grudges against them, only tears up vivi’s poster cuz they thought vivi can be a potential in law , only mad at queen lili for writing embarrassing stuff about imu in the poneglyph and her actions causing poneglyphs scattered around the world, one of them contains the embarrassing stories of imu as a baby all recorded by dad joyboy. Imu is not happy with cobra for helping crocodile’s plan that got crocodile landed in jail (to get the world government to stop spying on the netfertari family and off of cobra’s back with out asking imu for assistance) but crocodile and cobra are still friends, so imu have to let it go.)

shirahosi? ( no personal vendettas against her other than her being a potential in law to worry about.)

[dhampiravidi]

hot take: I relate to Carmy Berzatto in S2 of The Bear

putting this under a read more bc of the topic (mentioned in tags):

so The Bear wasn't my favorite in S1, but S2 is very well-written, especially when it comes to its portrayal of mental illness(es). I want to start by saying that ofc not everyone experiences the same mental illness the same way. But I really relate to Carmy, so much that it hurts. I realized that I related to him when it's the focus group scene--he says something akin to, "I try to act like there won't be another shoe to drop, but there always is." Then, there's the whole X-Mas episode. And finally, the day the restaurant opens.

I have generalized anxiety, clinical depression & mild C-PTSD. Here's how I viewed the aforementioned scenes:

Focus Group: let me start by saying I've never been to group therapy (& I don't think I will; I just prefer 1-on-1). Still, I talk to myself a lot, which allows me to confront most of my inner feelings/thoughts. Anyway, it was a sad thing to realize that, over the years, I, too, have stopped believing that I have time to enjoy good moments...because there's always some new shit, some new problem to deal with.

X-Mas: if I had to be in a real-life situation similar to that episode, I'd definitely have an anxiety issue (I say "issue" to differentiate from a panic/anxiety attack). I'm a perfectionist who cares about pleasing people, even if I dislike said people. So to see Carmy in such a stressful place where nowhere is quiet enough to relax...that was hard. I desperately wanted the mom to get some mental help while someone else ordered in. I wanted Bob Odenkirk/Uncle Lee to shut up because to me, Jon Bernthal/Michael seemed to be both depressed and developing anger issues. I wanted to tell Abby Elliot/Natalie that she doesn't need to worry about her mom. & then the whole time I'm hoping that Carmy doesn't have some kind of a breakdown or anxiety issue, because then everyone will fuss over him to the point of starting a fight.

Opening Day: I knew the moment Claire was introduced that she was going to be the third point in a Claire-Carmy-Syd love triangle, one where Carmy ultimately has to choose between taking time off to cultivate his own happiness (something he doesn't do) & making sure that the restaurant is a success. I was glad that, overall, the opening night was awesome. But 1) I was scared for Carmy because apparently you can die within a couple of hours in a walk-in if you aren't careful, and 2) they had Claire be the one to hear his self-destructive rant. I'm not mad at him for ranting. He's a mentally ill/depressed person who works in an unforgiving industry. Despite the customers' happiness, he didn't have a great night. His brother, who was also in the food business, is dead (which I think adds onto Carmy's desire to be successful). Keep all that in mind. Carmy gave Claire the wrong number because he (in my opinion) didn't think he could juggle his commitment to the restaurant with a romantic commitment...& he doesn't think he deserves to be loved/happy (which he admitted in the fridge). If he doesn't end up with Syd by the end of S2, I think the writers will let him be with Claire because nothing he said was actually blaming her for anything. Depressed people love blaming ourselves.

Anyway, kudos to the writers of the show & to Jeremy Allen White.

[pickledpascal]

You're Not Alone in This World

Chapter Two

Warnings: android gore, blood, anti-android sentiments, minor violence.

Word Count: 2.5k

You're Not Alone in This World Masterlist

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Unfortunately for Connor, Andrea was busy most days. They were both slumped in what felt like millions of anti-android cases that weren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Connor and Hank would solve one and almost immediately be handed ten more to deal with. Andrea had a similar problem, except she was getting the cases done with the same efficiency as him and Hank all the while not having a partner to lighten the load. There were times Andrea would ask for a second or third opinion on something. She wanted to judge a situation as fairly as possible.

However, there would be times Connor would catch a glimpse of her. When getting a coffee for Hank, Connor saw Andrea in the break room eating her lunch whilst going over a few pictures of a crime scene. Her hair was in a haphazard ponytail, pieces sticking out all over the place. She didn’t seem to care until the strands got in her face or near her mouth. With these simple few seconds, Connor could tell the white in her hair was natural. The color went all the way up the root. It had to be poliosis. The moment didn’t last long after his analysis. Soon, Connor left the break room with Hank’s hot, plain black coffee in his hand.

On a particularly hard day, Connor needed to let off some steam. The basement of the DPD building seemed to be just the place. It was an old training room that almost no one used because most of the officers and detectives they had were on the force for quite a few years. He folded up his blazer and tie, setting them off to the side as he calculated if his choice of footwear would cause him any trouble. They wouldn’t. Just like that, he started punching at one of the dummy’s. Not at full force or else the equipment would run the risk of breaking but just enough for him to feel the stress leave his body. He didn’t stop until his LED went back to its calm blue. He could feel a single bead of sweat roll down the side of his face.

“Didn’t know androids could sweat or is that just a you thing?” Startled, Connor turned. Andrea was leaning against the archway to the stairs that led to the main level. She looked noticeably different. She wore a tight sleeveless turtleneck and some leggings. She must have had the same plan he did. “You almost beat that dummy to death.” She laughed quietly, making her way inside the room.

Connor remained silent, observing the woman with careful eyes. Even in the summer, this was the first time he’d seen Andrea without a jacket or any sort of long-sleeved shirt. Most humans complained about the heat and Connor was glad he could simply turn off his ability to feel temperature. But Andrea… She was incredibly muscular. Any police officer had to maintain a certain level of fitness, it seemed she took it to any entirely different level.

Andrea turned to Connor. “You should spar with me, a little less predictable than the dummy. Don’t you think?” She set a hand on her hip and cocked an eyebrow at him.

“I won’t go easy on you.” Connor admitted. While he didn’t want to wrinkle or accidentally tear his clothes, he couldn’t pass on the opportunity to know what Andrea was like in a fight. If it ever came to it, it would also be helpful to optimize his fighting style to better fit hers.

Something dangerous flashed in Andrea’s eyes. Something that had excitement pooling in Connor’s stomach. “I wouldn’t have it any other way, fílos.”

fílos

/fee–li–ous/

The Greek word for friend.

—-------

Around ten PM was when most officers went home for the night, including Captain Fowler himself. Connor and Hank have grown accustomed to that tradition as well. Connor was cleaning up his desk and putting away a few files when he noticed Andrea hunched over on her desk. Asleep. Her face was cushioned by her arm while a missing person's case was up on her terminal. The missing person was an android with black hair and green eyes, a small scar on the side of their face.

It should be easy to track them down once Andrea was fully conscious. Most kidnappers didn’t like when their kidnappee had any identifiable marks including scars, tattoos, dyed hair, the usual. Connor knew this was light work for Andrea but she was working herself to the bone ever since she came back. It seemed it finally caught up to her.

Connor glanced around the office. There was no one else, Hank had already left to wait in the car. He pursed his lips and wrapped his blazer around Andrea’s shoulder before he prepared a hot coffee to her liking and set it next to her. He smiled softly at the sight before he left. He just hoped that she’d wake up soon or that coffee would go cold.

Once in the car, Hank gave Connor a weird look. “What happened to your jacket?”

“I gave it to Lieutenant Cartier.” Connor admitted as nonchalantly as possible. He thought it was normal to give someone his jacket when they were cold. Or asleep. Or was that just in the movies he was watching?

Hank cocked an eyebrow at him, amusement in his eyes. “Oh, I know what this is about. You like her.” He teased softly as he started up the car.

“Would you not do the same?” While his LED went yellow, Connor tried to not sound offended. He wasn’t sure if it worked.

Hank hummed, thinking about it for a moment. “I would. But I’m like her dad, you’re doing it for different reasons. Reasons we both know.” Maybe Hank did have dad instincts after all. He had some form of other worldly knowledge Connor was not attuned to yet.

Connor sunk in his seat and crossed his arms like a child pouting who so desperately wanted to prove his father wrong. They both knew the truth. Connor couldn’t prove him wrong. Andrea was an attractive woman. Physically and intellectually. She could hold a conversation with him about android biocomponents. Unless he was talking to a mechanic or technician who worked at Cyberlife, that was rare. Her case cracking rate was nearly identical to his and, as far as police officers go, she’s had no victims or suspects die on her. Which is nearly unheard of in this line of work for someone who’s been on the force for so long. Connor may or may not have snuck a peak at her record…

That night Andrea awoke to a nearly fresh coffee and a warm jacket on her back. She yawned and looked around the precinct. Whoever left them must’ve just left. She took a sip of the coffee, surprised it was made just the way she liked. Then she shouldered off the jacket. It was Connor’s. Unmistakably Connor’s. No one besides Fowler wore blazers to the station and she was pretty sure this size would be way too small for him. The design of it as well. A black blazer with thin stripes of gray and tailored to fit him just right.

Weirdly, it also fit Andrea.

—------

The day was already stressful, but of course there just had to be an anti-android protest that included a bomb at an android safe house. It was concluded this was some sort of counter-protest because of a gala Markus was holding to fundraise for his cause. The proceeds would go to acquiring parts and more thirium to help androids in need. The DPD was already on their way but it all went to hell. Debris was everywhere, humans and androids alike were injured. Thankfully, none were killed as far as Connor could tell. His main focus was helping androids out of the building and guiding them to emergency med-stations.

Andrea, on the other hand, tasked herself with taking down the protestors. Or terrorists, as she’d call them. She, and other officers, were instructed only to use her stun bullets much to her dismay. Connor knew her stance on androids simply by observing her for the few weeks she’s been back. She’s always seen androids as human and anyone who didn’t, and went to extremes such as these, deserved more than just stun bullets. On her way to arrest the protestors, she dodged a few bullets almost as cleanly as an android would and helped a few injured androids find police officers nearby.

In an instant, she was in front of the bombers and shot them down. There were three in total responsible for the bombs, other protestors seemed to have dispersed as soon as the DPD got there. “Cowards.” She breathed as she handcuffed each of them, waving down other officers in the process. “Get these guys in detainment.” She huffed.

Connor’s LED finally went from red to yellow then, finally, to blue as he exited the crumbling building with Andrea. The aftermath was just as horrible to see as the bombing itself. Connor knew he was lucky he was taken in by Hank or he wouldn’t have anywhere to go. This safehouse was a lot of these android’s home. Hopefully Markus could rebuild or give them another place to stay. Andrea left his side to go to one of the more wounded androids, talking with the mechanic about what could happen to them. Connor could hear the words shut down. He let out a shaky breath.

Andrea cupped the android’s thirium-ridden cheek. “What’s your name?” She asked softly, not even caring that there was thirium pooling in her hand.

“M-Monica…” Her voice was glitching out and her skin was unstable, creating a water-like effect. “I-I got the name fr-from a-a-a comic book store I li-like. Am I going to di-die?” She asked.

Andrea’s eyes went sad, her lips pursed as if she didn’t want to say it. But she did. “Yes, dear, I’m afraid so.” She whispered, not taking her eyes off the android for even a second.

“I do-don’t want t-t-to die. There’s going t-to be n-nothing.” Monica’s eyes started to water, leaning into Andrea’s touch . It would be the last thing she would ever feel. She wanted to savor it as much as possible.

Andrea shook her head, “No. There will be something, Monica. Your friends will be waiting for you. I promise you that…” She whispered. The words were absorbed by Monica’s audio processors just before she finally shut down. Her eyes went blank and her body stiffened. Andrea let out a breath, removing her hand from Monica’s cheek.

Compassion.

Connor had never seen such compassion from a human to an android before. He loved Hank deeply but never in a million years would he see the old man hold onto an android till their very last moments. Unless something happened to him, he’d assume.

Andrea was unlike any human he’d ever encountered before.

Connor went around helping as many androids he could, giving them thirium, suggesting what the mechanics could do. They didn’t like that much. But he did help quite a few androids come back from the brink of shutting off. It seemed Monica was just too far gone. There was nothing he could do to help just as much as the mechanic. Andrea, though, she was helping them emotionally. Something even Connor couldn’t do at the moment.

“Alright!” Andrea addressed all the officers and mechanics on site. “We need to get these androids to New Jericho, only they have the proper materials to fully fix them! Anderson!” Connor and Hank looked her way. “Lieutenant Anderson… Call for emergency vehicles to get here as soon as possible. And detective Anderson, make a call to Markus. I’m sure his team would like to be prepared for thirty or so androids arriving.”

Hank and Connor nodded and immediately went on their respective calls. Hank informed them that there were going to be three other emergency vehicles to add to the five that were already there. Andrea paced back and forth near one of the trucks loading in androids.

“We need to take trips. Hank, I’m gonna need you to watch over everyone while Connor and I go with the first few trucks to get everything ready.” She explained before she climbed in back of the truck with the other androids. Connor quickly followed.

It was a good idea to have Connor go with her instead of alone. While Markus had no ill intent against humans, a lot of inhabitants of New Jericho weren’t the most welcoming unless the guest was an android. Fair, considering the way they might’ve been treated by humans thus far. The ride to New Jericho was calm compared to the chaos of the bombing sight. Eerily so. Most androids wanted to conserve as much energy as possible to not cause any accidental malfunctions. The truck went to the back of the tall building of New Jericho to unload its passengers into the garage-like section where Markus, Simon, and Josh were waiting.

Andrea and Connor got out first in order to help the other androids inside. The garage seemed to be their repair room. There were all kinds of state-of-the-art repair stations inside. They must have a lot of androids come in for repairs. There were android repair shops but they charge money most of the time. At New Jericho, it was free.

As Andrea sat an android in their proper repair station, another android came to check out what was wrong with them. She turned to find Markus in front of her. Blue and green eyes and all. “Mr. Manfred.” She acknowledged.

“Please, call me Markus.” He was humble. Not something Andrea encountered often when dealing with famous people. “When Connor called me, I was surprised. Considering that he was calling on behalf of a human. You certainly are an interesting one.” Markus hummed, eyes carefully taking in Andrea’s face. “I see why Connor likes you.” He glanced over at the android in question. He was scanning over a few androids to tell one of the medics what was wrong.

Andrea watched Connor as well until she blinked, thinking about Markus’ words. Likes her? That could mean a million things. Most of them are friends related, but she's also not stupid. She’s seen the way Connor looks at her when he thinks she doesn’t notice. It’s distracting. And adorable.

“Are you going to do anything about it?” Markus cocked an eyebrow, a pleased smile on his lips. While this disaster was just one of many, he couldn’t help but feel the littlest of hope when near Andrea. And, as far as he knew, an android-human relationship was unheard of. He wanted to see them flourish.

Andrea glanced back at Markus and let out a chuckle, “All in due time.”

“Not too much time, I hope.” Markus nudged Andrea with a knowing smile. It was like he’d known her forever. He liked that about her.

[practicingbushiho]

Sorry, but I have to get this off of my chest-- because being told that I am romanticizing something that I chose for myself in order to offer some perspective to minds that tend to hyperfocus on labor vs capital is to me, pretty insulting. But I will do a read more, to spare those of you who don't want to see me grandstand about art and the creation of media, something that is extremely important to me on principle whether or not it is divorced from out current economic hellscape.

To me it seems strange that people can't seem to wrap their heads around the ideology that there are some artists who, contracted for manga publication or no, work more happily or productively in long crunches that sometimes result in sickness or hospitalizations, and it's easy for the media to sensationalize that to promote a talking point about unfair labor practice and in recent events I can understand why people would kneejerk about that.

People deserve to rest when they feel they want to or need to; but the thing is, that everyone has a different threshold and opinion about what that means to them. I think creatives should be able to have more control over that, obviously! I do not like the idea that the average manga ka has to produce 20 pages a week; even with assistants, that is extremely taxing! I am not claiming that the act of overwork is inherently good or bad by virtue of its conceptual existence by default, which may be why I was dismissed-- we have to see overwork as bad because it kills people unequivocally, but I have KNOWN artists that died young but still gave me the impression that they would NOT have taken it another way.

So, to be CLEAR, what I was SAYING is that I myself have DEFINITELY gotten sick from overworking on art, but it's not so cut and dried! I didn't do those things for an employer or for poor pay, and mental/artistic labor does not function in the same ways as overworking on hard labor, or overworking for bad benefits or poor capital-- I VERY transparently criticize Capitalism wholesale for PRESSURING people into overwork but I cannot stress enough that for some artists they don't SEE IT as being pressured into overwork, because for some artists we feel a great deal of emotional distress when we feel like we can't do something (or that we are not allowed to)!!

The sickness I sit through when I overwork with art is sickness that I accept because I am doing work that I am happy with and proud of. I am NOT implying everyone that does art needs to feel this way. Most people never even get an opportunity to produce a serial comic, and if they do get that opportunity, for some artists the overwork can feel like performing an act of gratitude in their personal and artistic lives, and it is not romanticization to make your own choices about the amount of time you spend actively working-- especially if you are making the distinction that it is a choice you are actively making.

It becomes a problem when you feel FORCED to by an outside force, that is true of ANY labor! That isn't up for debate! But to say that overwork would (or even should tbh) just disappear for artists the second they are given more breaks is naive-- because even on days where I'm not working on client projects I am STILL DRAWING for hours, and I am not the only one by a WIDE margin! And that is considered to be overwork! And when I burn out, which is an inevitable fate you will experience as an artist no matter what your workload is, I take my few days to recover before going back at it!

and if you can't grasp that concept because you are knee jerking on the labor vs benefits element of the discourse, then praxis can't be achieved, and I will disengage. People shouldn't have black and white stances about these subjects, and saying so shouldn't be a point of contention, alas

A public forum is no place to have a contrary opinion about labor and work ethics, but with art and making comics/animating/time intensive mediums in particular I will merely accept that most people who weigh in on these things usually are not themselves contracted working comic artists full time, or they do not comprehend the idea that sometimes the compulsion to tell a story just outweighs to health risks for some of us. Shrug.

Guess I'll just romanticize it for myself. That is my choice. I think every artist should at least be able to choose how they feel about it. Because one day for me, I will die; but I will die feeling like I was doing something instead of just rotting and waiting for my life to change or resolve itself in some way. That is my right just as it is anyone else's to NOT want to work 50 hours a week on art lol