#apocalypse lesbians doing something right

[actual-changeling]

This post is something that can actually be so personal and no I am not done talking about it. There's a whole concept behind it and the fucking hair ties are just one way of channeling it but oh boy is it a good one. This works so well with the hair braiding too and i cannot think about it to much or i will spontaneously combust, but I had to so I hope you enjoy the result of it.

-

Joel has a hair tie on his wrist because Ellie forgets to take a spare and when the first one breaks or she loses it somehow, he can offer it to her before her hair becomes an annoyance.

He has one because she gives it to him sometimes when they're laying on the couch and her ponytail makes resting her head on a pillow or against his chest uncomfortable. At times she also takes it out simply because her scalp is especially sensitive that day and the constant pull becomes painful after a while. There's always another one in his jacket pocket, too, so when Ellie asks him for braids afterward or allows him to do her hair he isn't limited to simpler styles.

It starts with hair ties in Jackson but there are months of different acts preceding it.

Joel carried whatever he could for her, taking more than necessary sometimes because the slim line of her shoulders being weighed down by her backpack made his heart ache even when he couldn't admit it to himself back then, not at first at least. There are water bottles, sweatshirts she cannot quite fit into hers that day, all of their food, whatever first aid materials he can find, even a spare bar of soap.

Then he starts carrying hair ties once they get to Jackson and suddenly he needs to keep a brush on him, too, and with the brush comes a comb and with the comb comes a hat and with the hat comes a homemade creme he traded for since her hands are uncomfortably dry sometimes (she never said so but he knows her), and after that what started as a small piece of twisted fabric turns into him carry a bag around that is filled with everything his brain thinks Ellie might require at some point. Sure, maybe he is being a little bit overprotective and maybe Tommy jokes about getting him a purse several times, but he can offer her sunscreen and a bottle of water during summer, he gives her gloves and a scarf in winter when she doesn't remember to put them on before leaving, there's always one of her books in a side pocket, too, and as soon as he finds her a new one, her Walkman gets an especially safe place in his bag.

And yes, he fusses over her a little bit too much, maybe even to the point of being smothering sometimes (she always tells him to back off when that happens and he does without complaint), but Ellie grew up utterly alone and without someone to look after her for fourteen years, she deserves to know what it is like to be cared about by someone. Whatever she asks for, whatever she needs, he gives it to her even when she could walk home and come back with the thing in question in less than ten minutes. There's always a snack, a spare sweatshirt in case she gets cold, space for the one she takes off when she gets too warm, a small sketchbook and a pencil both as a distraction and so she can draw whenever she feels like it.

No one pays any attention to it, and while Tommy softly teases him about it from time to time, the smile that blooms on Ellie's face when he quietly gives her something she needs based on nothing but hardwired instincts before the words leave her mouth tells him everything he needs to know.

Joel might not be good with words, but he continues to carry a bag and hands her little pieces of his love time and time again, hoping she can put the puzzle together, hoping she knows.

Ellie does the same, hoping Joel notices it, hoping he knows what it means, that with every time she tells him to rest, every cup of coffee on his nightstand, every night spent in his bed when she wakes to the mere suggestion of a nightmare and brushes them away before they can settle so she can put herself in their place instead, every trashy action movie she borrows from the library for their weekly movie night, every handmade guitar pick she gifts him, every single gesture she does not have to do but does regardless because she wants to, she is saying I love you, too.

They notice, they care, they willing hand over carefully chosen parts of themselves and the puzzle they piece together is one and the same, because paying attention to things is how they show love and it is oh so easy when there is nothing to look at but each other.

[clefairysoup]

What yours and Ellie’s apartment would look like and why

All the photos are from Pinterest not mine! Reblogs and comments are very appreciated. I come bearing fluff. No apocalypse and I’m not sure if someone has done this idea, I haven’t seen anything but if someone has please tell me and I will delete this

The kitchen

This is the most average broke uni student kitchen I have ever seen, and it fits you two. Ellie bought magnets that say 'eat pussy all day' and stuck them on the fridge, she told you it’s a reminder for her to come get her other meal. Anyways ellie gives of vibes that the most cooking she can do to her abilities is sticking a nasty ready meal in the microwave. More under cut

dining area

your dining area is the most boring and small place in the apartment, you both simply have no care for it. Its just a table with 2 chairs that sits in the most random spot (your fucked when people come over). Usually you eat in the living room, only ever used when you feel bad for neglecting it, cluttering things on the table of random objects that you forget about or for stealing one of the chairs for something else. ultimately useless.

Bathroom

Simple but still shows sign of use. some cute plants and odd posters and stickers ellie insists of having on the wall. Ellie definitely manages to get water all over the floor when showering, even with the curtain and your like ??? Just me thatlikes those toilet rug things but then its also gross at the same time, because thats where you shit why do you have a rug on it. Ellie has a mug that says, 'Keep calm im a lesbian' on it that holds your tooth brushes.

Bedroom

Ellie’s lazy ass would NEVER make the bed, she just rolls right outta there. Got a whole shelf and drawer to your cds and vinyls, and the many different head phones and players. Shelves of all the comics ellie loves and your things. Cringy ass pillows all over the bed. Ellie also keeps her guitar on the wall.

Living room

Once again ellie removed the ceiling lights from the living because it didn’t match the vibe. You now have over 12 lamps scattered around the room, that you find in little thrift stores. 100% have a mini fridge because you guys can’t be bothered to take 4 steps to the kitchen. 100 pillows and the throws that you try to fold up but somehow just end up pilled in a ball back to how they were. You guys own tons of board games that Ellie keeps from her childhood.

bonus

Ellie owns a freaking plakat beta fish because I said so, and she’s also an autistic nerd (someone had to say it ). She loves her fish called Hester which is an astrology term for star, that she also is nerdy af about

I hope you enjoyed me talking about my wife of 3 years, Reblogs are very appreciated

[most-datable-datable-bracket]

ROUND 3 MATCH 3

Edelgard propaganda:

“to summarize, she started a war but she was right. maybe her means weren't the best, but I'll always support my wife to tear down the church and end fodlan's reliance and discrimination on Crests”

"FODLANS MOST ELIGIBLE LESBIAN BACHLORETTE"

Alistair propaganda:

“this man is my first love and i was heartbroken when he lost </3 i believe in you baby”

“Alistair and the player are the last known surviving members in the country of an organization sworn to save the world from the recently reappeared apocalypse. You travel together to gather allies and he is very sweet and adorable if you choose to romance him. Depending on your choices he can become king and make the player his queen, or you can stay side by side in the organization. If you try to sacrifice yourself to save the world at the end, a romanced Alistair will take the killing blow in your stead if he’s by your side in the moment”

“He's the sweetest pun-iest man and it is so hard not to fall for his goofy charm, especially since he is the first companion you meet. He has a tragic backstory as a bastard child of royalty who was sent away to protect the heir. I always try to go in to date someone else when I restart the game and I always give in and pick Alistair.”

“I love his puns and sarcasm. He may be kinda dumb and like the epitome of boring white boy to some people, but i just love the humour he brings to the party.”

"alistair was literally forced to live in the stables growing up because the man who had stewardship of him remarried and she didn't like him; he's a bastard prince and tries to keep it secret but is almost identical to the king and you meet those two within 5 minutes of one another; he finds a rose in the middle of a battlefield and thinks how impossible it was to find something so beautiful in somewhere so terrible and it reminds him of finding you - so he saves it to give it to you; he's 20 and if you tell him to he will take the throne (even though it's always been his greatest fear - he'll do it if you're at his side); he doesnt know he's a half elf and its possible for him to live in the same castle as his mother later; he notices she looks at him strangely but he never finds out why; he's doomed to die young and so are you"

[fastcardotmp3]

Steve is the first person Robin ever comes out to.

And it's good, it goes better than she ever could have hoped, it goes miraculously well considering just how reckless she had been about it in hindsight, how nearly accidental and vaguely self-destructive a choice it had been to wield Tammy Thompson's name like that in front of a boy she'd learned to trust within the past six hours.

The thing is, it's good, but she realizes later on that she never actually says the word. The big one, the identifying one, the one that gets thrown around as a slur as often as queer or dyke do towards any girl who dares not present in a specifically feminine way.

It's a bad word, a scary word, a word that drips off tongues like acid and drips drips drips a corrosive hole in Robin's chest every single time because if it's being said in her vicinity that means-- just at any moment-- anyone could figure out--

Robin doesn't care for the act of coming out either in theory or in practice. She believes that anyone she trusts enough to know gets to learn from context clues and anyone she doesn't trust will just never get to know her fully and that's good enough for her.

She doesn't sit her parents down and say, "Mom. Dad. I'm a--"

She doesn't sit her little apocalypse posse down and say, "Just thought you guys should know I'm a--"

She didn't tell Steve.

She doesn't say the word.

Because as much as she's able to accept who she is, it's so hard to claim a word that has been used like a weapon her whole life. Because as much as even her parents and her friends love her for who she is, there is something about saying it like that that makes her wonder if it could sully the support.

As if they'd realize oh, you meant like that...? and change their minds.

It's not until IUPUI, a little house in Indy with Steve, and a little record shop next door to the deli where Eddie got a job slicing meat that she starts seeing that word, feeling it anew.

There are zines at this shop, the ones behind the counter that she's offered after a few visits and a few conversations that she later recognizes as coded and questioning in nature.

There are stories and art and poetry and that word is all over them.

And the thing is? The thing that has Steve finding her crying in their living room one afternoon as she reads through the stack like it holds the answers to the universe?

Is that it is written and spoken and displayed like the most beautiful word in the world.

It's a compliment and a blessing and a brag. It's a little bit of magic and a great deal of history.

It's her, in the end. It's her and it belongs in her mouth, deserves to be spoken, because too many people are out there misusing it like a disgusting thing when it is divine, fucking love incarnate.

Robin tucks into Steve's embrace, his instinct to hold her even as he tries to understand what has her sobbing in the middle of the day, whether or not he needs to fight anyone about it.

He holds her and she holds him back and it only feels right that it happen like this when she takes his face in her hands, shaky but oh, so certain.

Steve was the first person she ever came out to.

If she's going to let the scary word become her favorite the way it is for the people writing it out so proudly, this is probably the place to start.

"Steve Harrington," she beams at the furrow in his brow, those big concerned eyes that she knows will be confused about this, but she knows will only hold her tighter once she explains. "Steve. Stevie. Guess what?"

"What's up?" he laughs, gathering the joy in her tears like she knew he would, and Robin feels something click in the moment before she says it to him.

Out loud and real.

Very nearly holy.

"I'm a fucking lesbian."

[cranberryjuice-posts]

Sarcastic lesbian! Man hating! Y/n if she was in tlou

Pairings - Abby X fem! reader, the Salt Lake City Crew X platonic reader

Tw - one of the comments makes a self harm joke

PT 1

———

Manny - hey is that your gun?

Y/n - no, it’s someone else’s gun I just happen to have it and use it and it also happens to be the one I normally use

Manny- …

Y/n - OF COURSE ITS M—

———

Leah - do you think there’s gonna be infected on this route

Y/n - were in the apocalypse, your gonna find infected outside!!

———

Abby - *hands y/n a Package from issac*

Y/n - I don’t want this shit, where the hell is my knife I need to cut it so we can match.

Abby - ??

Y/n - get it cause I’ve cut mysel—- *pretends to look intrested in whatever Issac gave you ignoring Abby’s face* “all right all right

———

Owen - *saying something stupid*

Y/n - hell.. is filled with people like you

———

Y/n - *walks into Abby’s apartment*

Abby - ??

Y/n - so apparently I’m fucking dramatic

———

Owen- y/n what the fuck! You broke my nose

Y/n - *sighs* men are such babies

———

Leah - *sees dead WLF members* OH MY GOD THEIR ALL DEAD!

Y/n - ARE THEY NOW?!

———

Abby - we need a new plan for this route

Y/n - I—

Abby - a good plan

Y/n - damn..

———

Owen - We’re being circled by infected!

Y/n - no we’re being squared — WE CAN SEE WERE BEING CIRCLED

———

Some WLF member - *telling you about some club their making.* and I—

Y/n - *making a sarcastic interested face*

Some WLF member - your being sarcastic

Y/n - *nods and leaves*

———

Mel - y/n you can’t say stuff like that to Owen

Y/n - ok but it was funny he got all in his feelings and took it to heart

———

Y/n - right because I would rather hangout with Danny than you

Abby- oh..

Y/n - I DIDNT MEAN IT 😭😭

———

Manny - *saying good bye to the group for a long assignment*

Y/n - right and if I say I’ll miss you do you promise not to come back

Manny - haha your funny

———

Mel - I really think owens gonna change especially for the baby

Nora - of course he will

Y/n - oh bless your poor delusional heart

———

Abby - *being pinned down by you* oh you think your Funny huh?

Y/n - nah i think I’m adorable

———

Owen - someones Moody

Y/n - someone needs to fuck off

———

Y/n - hey you were in my dream last night it was an—

Abby - no Nuh uh don’t freak me out

———

Alice - *barks for a few minutes at you*

Y/n - .. I think I just got cussed out

———

[nowoyas]

koi no yokan 42: this is the work (nishinoya yuu/reader)

First - Prev - Next - M.list 1-30 - M.list 30-60 - Ao3

A/N: and today's update! this chapter is like half chat and still has a fuckload of footnotes. amazing.

Summary: The point and problem of therapy is that it asks you to be someone different from what you are.

Warnings and Tags: blanket series warnings

Words: 3400+

"So… this only works if I like, open up and be vulnerable and stuff, right?"

Dr. Mifune⁶¹ suppresses a smile.⁶² She looks like she was created in a lab just to sit in this room—she wears a black and pink dress under a white lab coat, and black, chunky glasses like she should have been an extra in an apocalypse film where the scientists have to do chemistry until they defeat the zombies or something. Instead, she's sitting in an enviously comfortable-looking armchair, her feet tucked underneath her and a laptop perched on her lap. You have to wonder if all the Hello Kitty and related merch around the room—decorating her laptop, lighting up her shelf of psychology manuals with character-faced string lights—is her interest, or something she chose for her office to appeal to younger patients.

Piled up around you are plenty of stuffed animals. There were chairs you could have easily pulled up, but you took the beanbag for its novelty. You're starting to regret it, a little. You wish your seat had arms to lean against.

"Ideally, you would, but we can work up to getting there. Do you think it'll be difficult for you?"

"Yeah," you say, "kinda. I'm gonna do my best, but I don't really know how to do that."

You'd gotten lucky. Your father had reached out to make an appointment with the first therapist on your list, and she'd had a last-minute cancellation. Barely half a week since you sent in the list, and now you're sitting in this office.

You should be relieved that it's getting done, that you got in so quickly. As it is, you had no time to prepare.

"Then your time with me will be a lovely chance for you to practice. Why don't we start with introductions?"

"But we already met," you point out. "We had a whole introductory conversation on the way from the waiting room to your office. You even met Otoo-san."

She huffs, unfazed by your cynicism. "Humor me. I can start, if you want."

"Okay."

"Great! I'm Mifune Aiko, your treating psychologist. I specialize in teenagers and young adults—" There goes the "younger patients" theory. "—especially patients with concerns regarding trauma, grief, and LGBT issues. I'm not married, but my long-term roommate and I recently adopted a cat, and we hope to get married when it becomes a legal option for us."

Oh. She's a lesbian. That wasn't listed on her website, but it does allow you to relax a little.

"A cat?" You perk up a little. "What's its name? Do you have pictures?"

Her smile twists a little wider. You begin to suspect that the mention of her cat may have been a trap. "I do. His name is Concrete, and I'd be happy to show you pictures of him once we've gotten through our little introductory exercise. Do you like cats?"

You nod. "I, uh, sort of have a cat, too. His name's Tsuyu. We couldn't keep him 'cus I didn't trust Otoo-san to take good care of him when I'm away for club stuff, but I have full visitation rights."

Her smile softens. "He's in a friend's care?" It occurs to you that she feels like she's making progress on that alone, and that this doesn't sit right with you. It also occurs to you that this is completely stupid—you requested this. You want to be here. You don't know why you feel like you're fighting her.

"Uh, yeah. My, uh… my senpai lives down the street from me. They told me where they keep the spare key and stuff so I can come visit whenever I want."

"That sounds like a really good friend."

"He is." You cough. "You wanted me to also introduce myself, right?"

"Right."

"Okay. Um, I'm [full name]. I'm a first year in high school, sixteen years old. I manage for my high school's boys' volleyball team, but I'm not a very good manager. I don't really have any strong passions of my own. I guess I like reading and playing video games when I have the time, but I barely have time anymore."

"It's nice to meet you. Can I call you [name]-chan?"

You shrug. "You're an adult. You can call me whatever you feel like."

"I'd like to call you something you'd prefer."

"…[name]-chan's fine."

"Alright, [name]-chan. Why do you say you're not a good manager?"

"I keep having, like, legitimate reasons to not show up to practice, and yeah, they're legitimate, but the other two managers never miss practice. And now I have even more legitimate reasons with therapy."

"Like what?"

"Like… recently, I got suspended from club activities for three days because I broke my then-boyfriend's nose. Before that, I spent almost a month unable to be at practice because I got a concussion. I guess I wasn't paying enough attention in the gym. I'm told one of our middle blockers was trying to sync up with the setter he doesn't normally play with and he spiked the ball a little out, but I barely remember most of the month, so I just kinda have to take everyone at their word. I try to go out of my way to be as good as possible to make up for it, but it never feels like enough."

That's good. This is good. You're talking, which is what you're supposed to do in therapy.

She hums thoughtfully, typing away at her laptop. "Do you think it's more important to want to be good, or to do good?"

"What? Do good. Obviously. Who cares how much I want to be there if I'm not actually there?"

"I'll put it this way: I think I'd rather be in a club with someone who wants to be there, but sometimes can't be, over someone who's showing up, but doesn't care about what's going on. Do you think the quality of what you do when you are able to be there isn't up to par, also?"

You shrug. "Well, I make sure we stay on top of everything, and I'm usually the one to carry stuff because I'm a little stronger than the other managers, and I don't think I do a bad job. But Yacchan, the other first-year—she's amazing. She gets along super well with everyone, and she made these really professional-looking donation posters for the club, and I try to like, bring gifts and stuff to make up for the fact that I didn't have anything to do with that, and during the summer I brought bento for everyone that I made when I wasn't able to stay for full practices, but it just doesn't feel like enough. She says we can both have our own things that we're good at, and that she looks up to me, but I think she probably just doesn't really know me and doesn't really like herself all that much."

"If you do a good job at being a manager when you can be, then I think it's less important that sometimes you can't be."

"Maybe," you mutter.

Dr. Mifune tilts her head as she studies you. "[name]-chan, do you mind if I ask what you hope to get out of being here? You seem to be defensive, though you told me on the way in that this was your idea. I'd like it if we could get on the same page."

Inhale. Exhale. Tug at the edge of your skirt, pick at the hem. "I think I'm fundamentally a messed-up person. There's something about me that's rotten and bad, and I think I was that way even before I got Okaa-san killed. I don't want to be like this anymore, because I keep hurting people I lo—I care about, in small and big ways. I don't know how to trust people to stay without focusing on the fact that they can't stay, and forever doesn't exist."

Typing fills the space between you for a moment. "You've thought about this a lot, haven't you?"

"Sometimes I think it's the only thing I think about."

She nods. "Then we're going to work on that, one step at a time. You did good by saying all of that outright, and there's a lot of little details I want to circle back around to, but first—how did it feel to say that? Have you ever told anyone else any of that before?"

"Only one person, and only part of it," you mumble. "Senpai, because I was trying to get him to give up on me before he got hurt. He didn't, and I was right, and he got hurt, but he still won't leave. I don't like to talk about this stuff, but I feel like I owe it to people to let them know how awful I am. Like if I let them believe I'm a good person, it's because I don't really care about them."

Dr. Mifune leans forward, eyeing you over her glasses. "I'm going to tell you something, and if you take away nothing else from today, I want it to be this. Okay?"

You swallow thickly. Nod.

"You are not a bad person, and there is nothing rotten about you. You are sixteen years old and it is your first time being alive. No one ever gets it right on their first time, and you are not an exception. Anyone who expects you to be that exception is not being fair to you. If you continue to see me, we will work on identifying when something feels bad because it's wrong, and when something feels bad because of growing pains, because it will feel bad sometimes. It's going to be uncomfortable, but this is the work. Learning to accept that you are wrong and that you are not bad will suck."

You sniffle a little. "That's a lot of things."

"It was enclosed in one set of dialogue tags, so it counts as just one."⁶³

A startled laugh. "What?"

"You heard me. It's one thing. I want you to absorb that, even if you deflect everything else. Can you do that?"

"I, um—yeah. Should I—should I take notes?"

She smiles all over again, settles back into her relaxed position. "Why don't you make a note on your phone, and I'll find you some pictures of Concrete for the trouble?"

Maybe this might work out, after all.

~

[name] to Noya at 19:02

[name]: hi

Noya: omg the prettiest girl in the world is texting me

Noya: I must have saved an entire schoolbus of children in a past life to deserve this

[name]: omg stop

[name]: you totally would've tho

[name]: how was practice?

Noya: good! Spent time helping the guys with their serves

Noya: hisashi's getting better but can't get past me yet 😎

[name]: like anything could get past you

Noya: how was therapy?

[name]: nothing getting past you, exhibit A

[name]: it was… rough

[name]: I almost came straight to your place but otoo-san had to come with for the first appointment so we stopped for dinner instead

[name]: mifune-sensei's like, REALLY into sanrio and her office is filled with plushies and like, hello kitty string lights and shit like that

Noya: she was your top pick on the list you sent your father, right?

[name]: right

[name]: turns out she's got a girlfriend which is cool but I still didn't tell her I was bisexual or anything

Noya: why not?

[name]: I dunno. She could probably tell otoo-san?⁶⁴ She seems to be on my side but idk

[name]: at some point I'm gonna need to tell her about kasumi though and the way my mom died so

Noya: do you think you'll keep going?

[name]: yeah. Every other week. I don't want to miss too much practice for this

Noya: aw you do like us

[name]: shut up

Noya: yes ma'am

[name]: usually people go once a week I guess but we're just gonna do extended sessions every other week and she sent me home with homework

Noya: even THERAPY gives homework??? Damn that sucks

[name]: yeah. I gotta start a stupid journal for my stupid mental health

Noya: oh! I started a journal recently too!

[name]: YOU? :o

Noya: yeah! Mei suggested it when uh

Noya: you know

Noya: anyways she gave me a notebook and I've actually filled up a few pages. I'm sort of only using it when I have something I want to get off my chest but I think it's helping??

[name]: …

[name]: im really sorry

Noya: hey, none of that

Noya: you've thoroughly made it up to me with the new lockscreen ;)

[name]: if it's any of the pictures the girls took on monday I swear to god

Noya: they're so good though!! Kaede had been mentioning wanting to get into photography and I can tell she'd be GREAT at it

Noya: your bedhead <3

[name]: omfg anyways

[name]: mifune-sensei also wants me to do "something small, just to let people in a little bit"

[name]: I have absolutely no clue where to start on that one

Noya: hmm. I'm guessing anything to do with me is probably out of the question

[name]: I mean you can probs BE there but it's not like I can let you in much more than I do

[name]: at least not in a small way

Noya: (o/////o " )⁶⁷

[name]: SHUT UPPPPPP YOU KNOW THATSNOT WHAT I MAENT

[name]: I HATE YOUUU

Noya: (  -᷅ ⤙ -᷄ ) no you don't

[name]: omfg quit with the kaomoji⁶⁸ tough guy

Noya: not until you take it back -_-

[name]: fine fine you're very small

Noya: (˃̣̣̥ᴖ˂̣̣̥) [name]-san!?!?!?

[name]: you SAID take it back

Noya: (つ╥﹏╥)つ I didn't mean thattttttt

[name]: omfg you're so annoying

[name]: fine I don't hate you and you're not small

[name]: you're very big and manly with your kaomoji and 500000000 cat photos and 158cm of height

Noya: 159!!!

Noya: almost 160 thank you very much!!

[name]: you're welcome ( ˘ ³˘)♥

Noya: !!

Noya: omg…

Noya: the prettiest girl in the world blew me a kiss (⸝⸝๑﹏๑⸝⸝)

Noya: it's not even my birthday for another week

[name]: absolutely impossible this one

[name]: ANYWAYS I'm still not really sure what to do for my homework :/

Noya: what about yachi-san and kiyoko-san?

Noya: they seem like a good place to start

Noya: or don't you have a group chat with the fukurodani group managers?

[name]: …yes but I don't remember telling you that

[name]: why do you know that

Noya: you definitely mentioned it before but I think it was during the concussion haze

[name]: this explanation is amenable

[name]: I don't hate the idea either

[name]: I've been working on something recently. maybe I'll… invite them over…?

Noya: that's a great idea!

Noya: you're gonna get such a good therapy grade

[name]: and uh

[name]: thanks for lifting my spirits a little

[name]: therapy was really draining so. Could I maybe have a soba or a tsuyu for my troubles?

Noya: [Image attached. Image description: Noya's living room. There is a black and orange blur in the middle of the room that might be a suggestion of a cat.]

Noya: he moved :( hold on

Noya: [Image attached. Image description: Tsuyu being held up in one hand. He appears to be screaming.]

Noya: [Image attached. Image description: Soba sitting in the center of the hallway, some distance away from the camera. The angle has caused the lighting to reflect off her eyes.]

Noya: oh god she's charging up

Noya: remember me fondly there will be no body

~

[name] to Satsuki at 21:32

[name]: hey uh

[name]: so I started therapy today and she gave me a bunch of assignments?

[name]: and like one of them was to like. Try to show my appreciation for someone important to me even if it makes me wanna crawl out of my skin

[name]: and noya's birthday is coming up so

[name]: could I maybe ask you for some advice?

Satsuki: come to my classroom for lunch tomorrow lovergirl

61. Japanese doesn't really have a specialized honorific for medical professionals the way we would call a doctor "Dr. Mifune", for example, in English. I waffled over how I wanted to refer to her in the text for a while—typically, doctors are also "sensei" the way teachers are "sensei", and I tend to stick with the transcription over the translation for moments such as these, like having the reader call her father "Otoo-san" in speech instead of "dad" or "my father". I eventually settled on "Dr. Mifune" in narration and "Mifune-sensei" in dialogue, which is about consistent with how I handle titles like "Otoo-san".

Dr. Mifune was originally a BNHA OC, the first of over forty for the fandom. Honestly, Dr. Mifune has diverged so much from Aiko that they're basically different characters with the same name at this point, though it still feels a little weird calling her Dr. Mifune in this context. I still consider them to be aspects of one another in some sense, though there is a very clear divide between the high school-age mind reader in her many timelines and the late 20s-something (27 1/2) bisexual clinical psychologist with a very different backstory.

63. I very nearly cut this line. I feel like it should be cut for the sake of maintaining tone and for the level of seriousness I want Koi no Yokan to take itself at, but quite honestly, I couldn't bear it, and I couldn't think of a better line to go here. Luckily, this is our first meeting with Dr.  Mifune, which means I get to establish her being Like This as a character trait.

64. I looked into Japan's data privacy laws for this one. While they do have the Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI) that is apparently modeled on America's Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in terms of language but is different enough that it doesn't afford all the same protections. Since the reader is 16 here, she's considered a "minor with the capacity to consent", basically, in terms of consenting to medical procedures.⁶⁵ 12-15 year olds are defined by APPI as minors without the capacity to consent to disclosures of their medical information and their legal representatives (eg. parents) are able to do so for them.⁶⁶ I couldn't find any specific language regarding whether or not a healthcare professional could potentially divulge information to a parent of a minor with the capacity to consent (not defined in the act from what I can tell but presumably including 16-20 year olds, as 20 was the age of majority in Japan at large as of 2012, when this fic takes place. Nowadays I assume it'd be 16-18 year olds, since the age of majority was lowered in 2022) which implies that this wouldn't be expressly forbidden.

65. Jane Kim. "Japanese and American Privacy Laws, Comparative Analysis." UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law 32, no. 1 (Fall 2015): 1-14. https://repository.law.uic.edu/jitpl/vol32/iss1/1/

66. Yuko Kawai and Matthew Ono. "Japan: Regulations Relating to Children’s Personal Information". Data Protection Newsletter. (January 2025). https://www.nishimura.com/sites/default/files/newsletters/file/data_protection_250108_en.pdf

67. This was originally the following emoji: 😳 but unfortunately the autism was REALLY winning when working on this chapter, if the other six footnotes weren't an indication. That emoji wasn't added to Emoji 1.0 until 2015, so Noya wouldn't actually have been able to send it to our dear reader at this time </3

68. Did you guys know that emoji lookup sites have drama? I didn't before this. There's drama.

Tags: @deeplightgarden @idonthaveanameideayet @dusstory @kazunish

[fulltimesapphic]

Ok so I just finished season six of supernatural and I’m having so many thoughts now that I’ve actually seen all the shit I’ve heard about. Also thank you to @sparrow-the-tired-lesbian for putting up with this shit I’m so sorry I send so many words that you don’t understand. I also have to do a part two cause it’s that much I’m so sorry.

Cas needed help in heaven and he went to go ask Dean but he saw that Dean was happy. Dean got out and Cas just couldn’t bring himself to ruin Deans peace. Crowley used this vulnerability and Cas’ love for Dean to manipulate him and convince him to open purgatory. Cas only started down that path because he loved Dean too much to bring him into his issues.

Then throughout all of season six Sam and Dean call Cas for help and he always goes even when he’s literally in the middle of a battle. Like dude is so dedicated. And whenever Crowley tells Cas that it would be easier to just kill them Cas refuses because they’re his friends.

The Winchesters and Bobby are the first people to actually enjoy Cas and the first humans who actually like him. He’s so dedicated and loyal to them but when they find out he was working with Crowley wanna know who was most upset? Fucking Dean. Dean didn’t want to believe it either, he wanted so hard to believe that Cas wouldn’t work with Crowley cause it’s Cas.

But then of course Dean finds out it’s true and they both are just so hurt. Even after they’ve trapped him Cas tells them to run and he stalls so that they can get out. From that point on he is trying so hard to not hurt them and to get this done without them being involved. He finds out that Deans ex gf and “not his son” get kidnapped and he just about kills Crowley. But he still need Crowley to open purgatory cause he needs the power that is there. But he only needs that power to stop Raphael and he only needs to stop Raphael because Raphael wants to start the apocalypse back up but Cas doesn’t want that and he tried to stop the apocalypse the first time. But he only stopped the apocalypse the first time because he rebelled and fell in love with Dean.

Cas only needs Crowley to open purgatory because he couldn’t bring himself to disturb deans peace. After Dean finds out that Cas was spying on them and working with Crowley Dean is obviously pissed. But Cas keeps showing up and he keeps asking Dean to be patient. He talks about how he does everything Dean asks, he always helps them, and yet Dean won’t believe that he knows what he’s doing solely because he’s working with a demon. Cas keeps trying to tell Dean that he is doing this for a reason, because he needs to stop Raphael so that the world doesn’t end again but Dean won’t listen.

So eventually Cas opens purgatory and he gets all that power in there and then what does Dean try to do? He try’s to use the “I would’ve died for you, you’re family” and Cas calls him out on his bullshit. Cas knows now that he is only loved by them because he is useful. He is tired and done. He had to kill his favorite brother because he told Dean and Bobby where to go, he killed Raphael because he was too stubborn to accept that God is a douchebag and now he knows that the man he is in love with, the man he risked everything for many times, the guy whose become his father, his brother they only care about him when he’s useful.

They only call for him when they need something and he is done with it. If they won’t respect him he’ll become god and make them. And he does, he becomes god. He has tried and tried to get Dean to see it his way, he tells Dean that he only is reasoning with him now because Cas was right about the power from purgatory and Dean is scared. And Dean is scared, he’s terrified. Cas has so much power and he’s not acting right but Dean it’s kinda your fault. Dean refused to listen to believe that maybe this incredible being knew what he was doing and Cas wasn’t left with any other options.

Pt two here tumblr

[teenycat]

I saw your post requesting lore!!

So, basically; a healthy amount of years after the apocalypse, everybody settles down with their partners (if they end up having one), right?

Well, in Jack's case; him and June have a daughter that I'm deciding the name of right now. Her and Zyndrii end up being close friends in school, and their Freshman Year; they end up dating (LESBIANS!!! EW /j). For later clarification; Jack isn't homophobic, or racist (obviously; his best friend's a black dude :skull:), he just doesn't like the woman his daughter chose to date! Why? Because of who her father is.

Due to trauma resulting from what Thrull pulled during the Apocalypse (tryna summon Rezzoch n all that; which Andrea DEFINITELY beat his ass for), Jack despises anything having to do with him, and wishes to eliminate any threat of him coming back to power. Now; he normally wouldn't go to such extremes, but the cosmic hand DOES have its influence!

Later in the storyline; he calls his daughter off school, saying she's "sick". Zyndrii was bummed that her girlfriend didn't come to school that day, but as far as she knew; her partner actually was sick, so she wasn't gonna bother them as they "recovered" from their "illness". That's funny, because that SAME day; the school's boiler-room had a problem in it.

The school staff had told students to stay away from the area as they worked, but being the curious little shits they were; Zyndrii and Caspian decided to (at least) look into the room. THAT was (probably) the worst decision the twins ever made. Hell; that was Jack's plan all along.

The two were JUST outside the lethal blast-range, but the injuries still cost Zyndrii the right half of her face; Caspian, a leg. With what little she could see; Zyndrii made an attempt to carry her twin to a safer location, and hopefully do something to slow down the bleeding (if not stop it entirely). As soon as they settled in the chemistry room; where Zyndrii thought she could find something to disinfect their shared wounds, the gas pipes in that one blew up as well! The injuries from there sliced away BOTH of Caspian's eyes, and begin the wound that would later help Jack sever Zyndrii's right arm at the elbow.

..As the twins SOMEHOW managed to make it back down to the first floor of the school; they saw him. The bastard that did all of this; Jack, even if he wasn't in full control. The Cosmic Hand had taken up all of his right arm, and the right half of his face; coincidentally, the parts the attacks maimed on Zyndrii. Her voice was hoarse, but she still found the strength to yell; to ask why the hell he was doing this. As if, in a VERY fucked-up way, he wound up answering her question. When the question fully left her mouth; he grabbed her by the throat, grabbed the lower part of her right arm as well, and then (via the Cosmic Hand) began showing her twisted visions of what her father did in the past. By the time the visions closed off; a brutal melody of bone-snapping, and flesh ripping ensued. This left her with a bloody stump of a right arm; bone jutting out of maimed flesh. As this mauling ensued; a scream left her body that resembled the King Wretch (a reference to Thrull's ability to mimic Blarg in the show), this shriek of death being the only reason Jack stopped at the lower part of her arm. The screaming had shattered the first floor's windows, and alerted the first-responder's vehicles, that were about to leave, that there was still SOMEONE alive..

Jack then ran off; still under the influence of the Cosmic Hand, as he knew that THEY (Thrull and Andrea) were coming. Even if being used (partially) as a puppet by an interdimensional parasite; he knew better than to fight a couple of pissed-off parents without a blade and prayer. Plus; he still had a soft-spot for the woman that acted as his mother (Andrea) during the apocalypse.

Once he left; Zyndri (somehow) managed to ignore her own injuries for a moment, and scoop what was left of Caspian's (somehow not dead) body onto her back, and limp her way to the front door. As soon as she managed to push that door open though; she passed out from blood loss. It was an honest wonder she didn't pass out sooner!

At the sight of their children half-dead, Andrea simply fainted; the emotions hitting her body too quickly to react in any other manner. Thrull, however, was far more.. boisterous; with his reaction to the situation. He hadn't cried this hard since the twins were BORN; a symphony from yowls of terror and fury left his throat, as he tried to wrestle his way closer to the scene. He had almost killed a couple people HIMSELF, as he tried to get closer to his and Andrea's children. He made demands to be allowed to see them as they were loaded up into respective ambulances, and cursed threats to whoever did this (understandably so).

(hmu if you wanna yap about and doodle concepts together!!)

jack on his JD arc planting bombs in the boiler room

veronica del toro kinda has a ring to it... /hj

ok in all seriousness this is. so ffxjdisksing good the ANGST. i have known these half monster kids for less than a month and already im attached

i feel like the years leading up to this mustve been WILD

with jack like. literally fighting off demons through his adolescence and eventually as he tries to settle down with a family?? AND he wants a guy who lives in the same neighborhood dead??

have a lot of stuff to work on this week, but this weekend i will probably wipe the dust off my discord acc and use it

[gorbalsvampire]

V:tM at the Movies: a film rec list

THE UR–EXAMPLES

The Hunger is about as close to the Platonic ideal of Vampire: the Masquerade as you can get. Nightclubs! Gratuitous Bauhaus! Lesbian kiss! The aesthetic is spot on: it looks and feels like early Vampire art, or rather early Vampire art looks and feels like this film. V:tM may have come out in 1991 but it's rooted firmly in the 1980s and the vampire chic this film defined. The Hunger will dump the vibe of the game right between the eyes and it's as close as I dare come to "must-watch."

V:tM's Gehenna concept is heavily mirrored/inspired by the novel Queen of the Damned, which was filmed around the time Gehenna was actually happening and the line was coming to a close. The Hunger defines where V:tM came from, all Eighties post-punk writhing - this chuggy post-industrial apocalypse-glam perfectly sums up where it's going.

Although they have no real connection to each other besides parallel evolution, Night Teeth absolutely nails the "rival conspiracies" energy of Hunter: the Reckoning and Vampire: the Masquerade, as well as the burnout, the irony, the neon and the party-at-the-end-of-the-world vibe of V5. It is a perfect fifth edition Vampire movie and it must drive Paradox mad that it had nothing to do with them or their IP.

THE META TAKE

Shadow of the Vampire is about a vampire playing a vampire in the first vampire movie ever made. In a weird way I think that's perfect for the sense of the Masquerade, hiding in plain sight, preying on the worst instincts of humanity and encouraging them to let you get away with all the awful things you want to do. In microcosm, it's the perfect analogy for the "vampires secretly run society" vibe.

YOUR FLAVOUR OF BASTARD

Depending on what type of vampire you want to be (and I'm going with V5's categories here), I recommend at least one of the following:

Thinbloods lend themselves well to the What We Do In The Shadows conceit of vampire flatmates (or The Carmilla Movie, I guess, but I haven't seen that one). They're millennial vampires; all the power and resources are concentrated in the hands of previous generations, so they pretty much have to bind together and find something else to enjoy in life, 'cause they're never going to be powerful in the conventional sense. Thinblood games are low power, a bit domestic, and often the closest to "normal life but we happen to be vampires and bigger vampires try to kick our heads in occasionally."

Neonates are your classic Gen X eighties/nineties vampire movie - The Lost Boys. Still weak enough that they're better off standing together, strong enough that they can afford to be a bit cocky around humans. Probably share a sire, mentor, authority figure of some sort and should probably be working on his agenda once they've finished prowling the boardwalks and clubland at night. They're a step further removed from society, but they can pretend to be human for an hour or two if they really try. Also, this is the other one that was in the air and influential when V:tM first came to be - along with The Hunger, I'd recommend it as the closest to a must-watch.

Ancillae (the upper reaches of age and power offered by the V5 corebook) are more your Interview With The Vampire  kind of deal. You've lived a long life, your adventuring days are behind you, and now you're something of a mover and a shaker - you're probably permitted or at least not prevented from siring and you're looking to give someone the choice you never had. Modernity gives you a headache but at least you can work a smartphone four times out of five. Ancillae games are a nice balance between "you're powerful" and "you still have to answer to someone".

If you're extending into Elder territory, settle down with a small glass of something and enjoy one of my favourite films ever, Only Lovers Left Alive. It's a slow story, and not a lot happens, but that's elders for you. They become introverted. They fall into a groove. They keep to each others' company. It's beautiful and haunting until some clueless childe comes along and screws it all up for them and they have to admit what they really are.

Want to figure out the Sabbat? Watch 30 Days of Night and thank me later. The vampires there are getting away with something horrible because they've fallen through the cracks in the world. They act alpha-predator but they still live on the fringe or civilisation, the little savages. (I am told that Near Dark is basically Sabbat: the Movie, but I haven't seen it, so I'm going to have to take that on trust.)

REFLEXIVE ACTION

It would be deeply remiss of me not to talk about Underworld, the film series transparently inspired by V:tM,.to the point where White Wolf as was took the producers of the original to court over it. Underworld reflects V:tM at its most "gamery" – all custom weapons, trenchcoats and corsets, fighting werewolves in the dark, flashing back to the Middle/Dark Ages and preoccupied with impenetrable why-does-this-matter world-building. It sits at the end of that unfortunate tendency toward Desert Eagles, katanas, Dragonsbreath rounds and C4 appearing on every character sheet that found its way into V:tM's DNA from Shadowrun, along with the penchant for double handfuls of d10s and wearing sunglasses indoors. I dislike that sort of game and I'm not mad keen on Underworld either, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that this sort of thing is also peak Vampire.

WAIT, THIS ISN'T VAMPIRES!

V:tM is synonymous with politics and backstabbing, and there isn't in my opinion a vampire movie that really hits that. Thing is, Rein-Hagen also loves Mafia movie and cites them as an influence. Vampires exist as organised criminals, after all, and the concept of omerta is atomic to that of the Masquerade. This is why, to grasp how a Prince or Baron holds court and influences people, you really should just sit down and watch The Godfather. Pretty basic recommendation, granted, but I don't know if anyone else is here for my "Guy Ritchie's V:tM" style of action storytelling...

YOUR OWN PERSONAL JESUS TASTE

What are your top three movies? Why? That'll give you an idea of what you, as Storyteller, are most interested in running. Now grab some friends and ask them the same question. Wherever you find an overlap in your tastes, that's something that's worth focusing on in your actual game. Try to make sure there's a couple of vampire-themed answers in there, but also something else, because "being a vampire" in and of itself doesn't make a story (unless it's a quiet, short one like Only Lovers Left Alive, but that's a one-off, not a chronicle). 

People often expect an RPG to come ready-made and ready-to-go ("We're playing the Lost Mines of Phandelver") and Vampire, at its best, is a bit more bespoke. Asking players about their taste in media is one way to start that tailoring process, making your V:tM something a bit different from everyone else's and getting into that transformative stuff that makes RPGs so gosh-darn amazing.

Mine, discounting the one I've already gushed about up the line, are a nebulous "pick one from Guy Ritchie's early career" and Franklyn. My games run on generally have a couple of seemingly indestructible SPCs nobody likes and a dark secret that can absolutely take them down, someone WILL have an impenetrable regional accent, but there's also a layer of exaggerated Gothickry over everything, neuratypical characters will perceive the world very differently, vengeance and trauma will drive the major players and love may conquer all but you'll have to lose a lot to get there. None of this is essential to V:tM but it's what makes my V:tM different from A. N. Other Storyteller's.

[moofahdrome]

In regard to your pin post, what games do you like to play? I'm always a sucker for hearing about other tabletops people enjoy.

Ooooooh thank you for asking!!! I'm a big sucker for easy to run character focused games like Thirsty Sword Lesbians or Masks: A New Generation, but I also love love love games with potential for really cool and creative combat like Eidolon: Become Your Best Self, Gubat Banwa, and LANCER.

My primary experience is with Powered by the Apocalypse games, but I'm looking to expand my horizons a bit in the future! Blades in the Dark is super cool, but other Forged in the Dark games appeal to me a lot, especially Brinkwood - The Blood of Tyrants, a super cool game about organizing a revolution against colonialist capitalist vampires.

There's really so many amazing games by queer indie creators out there - Apocalypse Keys recently had its full release, as did EXTREME MEATPUNKS FOREVER the TTRPG! There's really something for everyone. I really need to play more Ryuutama for its lovely adventure vibes, Hard Wired Island for a return to true anticapitalist cyberpunk, as well as Flying Circus for amazingly accurate WWI-era plane action in a miyazaki-inspired setting! Other stuff I've had for a while but need to play are Monster Care Squad, Heart: The City Beneath, and Comrades, a Revolutionary RPG.

There's also plenty of nice, charming, slower paced games as well. Wanderhome is a beautiful pastoral journey game, where everyone comes together to heal a land and experience wonders. Our Traveling Home is inspired by Howl's Moving Castle and has everyone play a unique role as a queer found family. Yazeba's Bed and Breakfast just released, and it's an amazing episodic experience packed full of beautiful content!

One of my favorite game creators is Dinoberry Press, creator of fantastic titles like Justicar, What Waits Beneath, and GUN&SLINGER, a cool 2-3 player game where one person plays a magical gun and the other their haunted wielder. It's got a couple great extra modes of play, too, like SWORD&BEARER or MECH&PILOT !

And there's even more amazing games in development. Dinoberry's You're in Space and Everything's Fucked just funded, as did HELLPIERCERS: TACTICAL HARROWING ACTION. Guns Blazing and Wetrunners are really close to being funded, too, check them out! Some other great games that aren't fully complete but you can play right now are ICON, Bloodbeam Badlands, Red West, and In the Time of Monsters, all of which are some of the COOLEST things I have ever seen.

Feel free to ask more questions about any of these! I love talking about them and I'm thrilled to see interest in indie ttrpgs!!!

[vomits0cutely]

My opinions on Marauders era ship names (my opinions no hate)

— Wolfstar - 7.5/10, I really like it it’s like a wolf howling to the moon but expect to a star, which is strange but beautiful. I’ve heard it sm it’s kinda normal for me idk, it doesn’t strike me that much. ~ Moonstar - 8.5/10, I love this also, I prefer this one tho. This one feels right and just seems more like engaging ig?

— Jily - 8/10, very cute name. Jily is the og name and I love it but.. ~ Flowerpot - 9.5/10 i love this name SM better, it sounds more iconic and rare idk, Flowerpot does different stuff to me. Gives me more love and home-y vides which fit them sm

— Pandalily - 9/10, it’s reminds me of a sunny day with rain: the perfect mix of warm and cooling down. It’s so cute ‘panda’ and ‘lily’ is such a cute mix and I love it

— Marylily - 5.5/10, very cutey I love lesbians friends to lovers. It’s such a beautiful fun name and I think the ship dynamic changes my opinion but I still love it

— Marlily - 6.5/10, sound smooth, I get kinda confuse this with Marylily cause they look similar but they’re still both very cute, I still like this name.

— Dorlene - 5/10, love this ship sm but this name is so weird, it doesn’t spell, sound or look nice. Just gives me weird vibes idk. The ship >>> the name

— Jegulus - 3/10, sick ship, the most known name even though I very much dislike the name. This name doesn’t sound or look that nice, it’s just weird to me but.. ~ Sunseeker/Starchaser - 8/10, much better, more iconic, more unique, more interesting. I like this sm better. It’s also real cause James be down bad for his lovers and is definitely chasing them. I think I like Sunseeker better tho, like Regulus seeking out James and making him fall inlove with him, makes me feels thing

— Rosekiller - 8.5/10, very luck fits their vides it’s just so perfect and I love it. I think it is kinda basic because it’s been around so long, but I don’t think anything else can fit their relationship so well into a name

— Bartylus - 2/10, I don’t really like this shop but the name just makes it worse, it’s just sounds dirty and messy and idk how to describe it idk ~ Starkiller - 8/10, that’s such a better name and is savage asf. I don’t really like this ship but this name is amazing, I don’t why but this name reminds me of flames for no reason and I think it’s real fitting

— Sunkiller - 6/10, sick name, sounds like something that would be a bad guy name like deadpool or smth. Like damnn, this ship is growing my and I think this name is helping. It’s a sick name and it kinda fits their vides, Barty’s part of his ship names being ‘killer’ always fits, and this is another one that shows it so well

~ Darksun - 5.5/10, savage, reminds me of an ellipse or like an apocalypse movie idk why but I ain’t complaining

— Moonwater - 8/10, I don’t like this ship cause I prefer them to be platonic but it sounds good. It’s such a great and smooth name and it’s calming and I just like it. Reminds me of the moon reflecting on water and it look so pretty and I like it

— Rosewater - 4.5/10, it sounds smooth and reminds me of rose petals in a bath with candles and stuff, but I don’t like the ship

— Rily - 0/10, so bad, sounds like that annoying boy that was in your class called Riley and ew ~ Moonlily - 3.5/10, sm better, reminds me of a waterlily and it’s so pretty. I don’t like them together but their friendship >>>

— Jeverus/Princechaser - 1/10, ew, that doesn’t look, sound or spell nice. It looks like it would be like green mold for no reason, I do like Princechaser a lot better than Jeverus tho, but.. ~ Stagposion - 8/10, like something that a person would drink and die from. Like a poisonous drink that you’d find in a bottle with the skull on it. Don’t like the ship, love the name

— Rames/Jamus — 0/10, also ew, I don’t like it at all. It doesn’t look appealing at all, it makes me feel gross. Just looks uncomfortable ~ Moonchaser - 9/10, 10x better, I love friends to best friends and lovers sm and they would be so cute together, I don’t really ship them tho. This name is very cute tho icl

— Jeter — 1/10, reminds me of that saying some white people say after something dramatic happens “jeepers!” Idk why but I think the J is throwing me off. It’s just a funky name ~ Prongsfoot - 5/10, much better, just give me a hella tall person with a tiny person for idk why. I don’t like this that much but it’s sm better

{idea from @jiangyanlissidepiece )

[kvalenagle]

Okay, I've been summoned to Tumblr by cute Satra and Lei fan art, so I should probably introduce myself and my books. Hello! I'm Vale, and I write creature fantasy as K. Vale Nagle. If you like interesting gryphons, you're in the right place: aquatic diving petrel/fishing cat gryphons, poisonous hooded pitohui/tiger gryphons, pretty gyrfalcon/snow leopard gryphons, intimidating Haast's eagle/saber-toothed tiger gryphons, soggy sandgrouse/sand cat gryphons, and a lot more. My series are epic fantasy using mostly real (though sometimes extinct) animals, free of humans but full of queer characters, intrigue, large battles, and ecological apocalypses. My cover art is by Jeff Brown, with interior graphite pieces by Brenda Lyons and gryphon chapter headers by Kittrel (whose chibi hearts you may have seen). I also have a short story collection (best read anytime after Starling, book three) with a beak-cute lesbian gryphon love story with terror birds, a Gryphon vs. Nature blizzard apocalypse tale, a Christmas-y story, and something pretty close to zombies. I've also written a full novel set in the world of Dire by John Bailey called Coldbright which can be found in the Tales of Feathers & Flames anthology. If you like GryphIns but you want something with more mystery, almost horror, as told through the eyes of a snarky little opinicus and his dire gryphon ex-boyfriend, it's a great read this time of year. I love and appreciate all the fan mail, fan fiction, fan letters, and people reaching out about this series. I'm a little slow replying, as I started writing the series right after getting diagnosed with a catastrophic autoimmune system. The treatments are pretty intense, and it's easiest for me to spend my time and energy writing. I used to have a few pen names across several genres, but for the most part, all of my energy goes into finishing up GryphIns. I'm married to dragon author Glenn Birmingham, so if you've seen us posting pictures of our cats and thought it's strange they share a name, they're the same cats. And that's about it. Just a queer author writing gryphony books when I'm not walking my cat. A few common answers to questions: Q: There are sometimes typos in social media, why is that? A: Catastrophic APS means I've had a stroke (and associated memory loss), so when a copy editor isn't coming up behind me, there'll be doubled words and typos from time-to-time. I used to worry about them, since they don't look good if you're an author! But I'd rather reply to fan letters and kind posts. I think if you've read my author notes at the back of my books, you know to expect a few doubled words here and there. Q: When you say a queer author, what do you mean? A: Since people ask about own voices and I have a lot of lgbtqia+ characters in my books, I'm pan, demi, trans, and genderfluid. I'm lucky enough to have a lot of queer friends and first readers who make sure I don't mess up any characters. Q: When's the next GryphIns novel coming out? A: Some years, I spend a lot of my time fighting health insurance battles, and it slows me down. Pridelord (#8) is currently in line edits. It's twice as long as Eyrie and three times as long as Coldbright, so it's a pretty big book! It shouldn't be too much longer. You'll know it's just about time because you'll hear James Scott Spaid talk about narrating the audiobook. Q: How many books will there be in GryphIns? A: I'm famous for underestimating how many books it takes to finish a series. My other pen names all wrote short stories and standalone novels, so my proposal for GryphIns originally had five books. Jeff Brown is wrapping up the cover for Saberbeak (#9) and Nighthaunt (#10). If I end up needing one more book to finish, though, don't be too surprised.

[heartsopenminds]

Vico and Nathan, highlights #2

Q. If the zombie apocalypse were to start right here, right now at this convention, which of the five guests would be first to die, and who would be the one that survives?

Nathan said well, I think you’re basically looking at your answer. He said he’d smack his head into a wall and pass out and wouldn’t even give the zombies a chance to attack him. He's been rewatching the first season of The Last of Us and is in awe of just how much will to live everyone has - he wouldn’t want to die, but also couldn’t really get on board with all the running and hiding and never getting to have a proper shower.

Then he turns to Vico and says what about you? and Vico just shrugs and says I would survive. They said they’d build a compound and be like the Ron Swanson of the scenario, then Nathan suggested Vico would be leading an uprising like the Melanie Lynskey character and Vico totally agreed.

Q. Out of all the pride flags, which do you find the most aesthetically pleasing?

Nathan says the lesbian flag is pretty fabulous, and that he obviously loooooves the lesbians. He says sometimes the original rainbow flag can come across as just a little bit tacky on occasion, but the progress flag is a lot cooler. Vico said the most pleasing one to them is the bear flag, and said it’s pretty badass and also kinda lowkey so iykyk, and then Nathan was like ooh, pirates and lesbians and bears, oh my!

Q. [to Vico, as Nathan had answered previously] What are you a fan of?

Vico said they love Star Wars, they’d fallen a bit behind with all the content but had just finished watching Andor and thought it was beautiful, and something they’d recommend to anyone, even if they aren’t familiar with Star Wars. Also they have a hyperfixation on dragons, so those are their two biggest obsessions.

my other posts about this con

[the-lark-ascending69]

Small continuación of this post

Maybe Nancy left Jonathan because things weren't working out. Maybe she was distracted, or she realized she didn't feel the way she did before. Whatever it is, it's something that frightens her. Jonathan once said she tried to rebel by doing the same things as everyone else. He would feel hurt sering her return to Steve, but most of all, he would be disappointed. Because all Steve did was to be right there when Nancy got scared, and she clung to him thinking he could be her proof that she still had a normal life waiting for her at the end of the apocalypse.

So when Robin - oh so intelligent Robin - saw the signs (a breath held for a little too long, a glance adverted just a little too quickly), she thought she understood. She thought that, maybe, she wasn't alone, that she wasn't creepy or wrong or unloveable, and she approaches her one rainy night - maybe in front of her house, maybe in an empty parking lot - and she tries to talk to her. She gets nervous and scared but she's trying to be brave and she tells her she thinks she knows how Nancy feels, or something like that, that she sees her, that she sees her dreams and her genius and magnificence, and Nancy is just tense as a bow, wanting to run away, softly saying Robin, maybe this isn't the time to talk and I think you should go home, and Robin doesn't understand until she sees Steve come out from behind Nancy, and she thinks this must be the moment they stopped being friends, because his eyes are hard and cold when he says what are you doing here? And she told you to go home, Robin, so go home. And Robin so desperately asks for just one more minute, one more second to let them explain herself, when Steve steps forward and roughly places his hand on her chest and pushes her back.

And while it may sound odd, Robin never so much like a lesbian before. Or what her mind told her it meant to be a lesbian sometimes, when she felt particularly alone. Something that appeared to be a normal woman at first sight, but was not quite one. Something deceitful. Steve would never lay hands on a woman. He barely touched her, really, he just pushed her back, but the way he did it - it felt so much like he was fighting another man who was trying to take his girl. And Robin hated herself for it.

Steve looked at her with disappointement, maybe said what is wrong with you? or just go home, but he definitely said don't come near her again, and then he left - not before telling Nancy to come with him. For a split of a second, the back and forth of Nancy's eyes almost made it look like she considered staying with Robin - her boyish charm, her brilliant mind, her adorable mannerisms, her earnestness, her bravery, the hurt in her eyes - but then she got scared again, and gave her one last apologetic glance before joining Steve, leaving Robin alone in the rain.

[nochi-quinn]

exandria unlimited: divergence: episode 2: be the change you want to see in the world

pfft calling themselves out for the marathon ad read

the dragonbjorn

"this is where the belt goes"

A PAPER

either they have backups ready for when these guys die or they somehow survive

"crokas is a creature of legend" correct

I'm torn on the split screen bc I like being able to see their expressions but I miss seeing everybody else's expressions

"you don't have to worry about me" "s'my job" I love him

tall people privilege

liam getting to experience the full spectrum of dice rolls

FIVE?

roll for pneumonia

crokaaaaaaas

not to get distracted from everybody dying to death but matt looks really good in that shirt

"unless you're throwing something at us" always a possibility

gond :(

LIAM

"SIX :D"

brennan don't DO that

not the letter opener

what did brennan do to liam's backstory

he made liam's backstory a refugee camp

I mean even the slapdash medical training nia has would probably be a godsend

…no pun intended

"that one I can stop. I can't stop this." listen I'm already emotionally compromised you can't make me cry

I need art of this hobgoblin immediately

I need art of both of them

"miracles abound. we're all about to die!"

"we can put her on a shelf!" wild robot vibes

"you are family to us" what did I just say about making me cry

is brennan mean enough to kill the mom and make those crokas' kids now

every word that comes out of everyone's mouth is a death flag

"fiedra thinks she might have died and this is the line to get into hell"

"in which case she would also be looking for the other members of her gang"

not the fever hallucinations

"the ill-advised kindness of strangers"

fiedra goes in the overhead compartment

"unfortunately that pillow's a rock"

who's siri went off

oh god it feels like home

what did I JUST SAY

lmao the hunt for the booze

the dice said get fucked up

dwarf thanksgiving

where's grog

YEAH roll for meat

matt who u textin

wild how after one episode I'm more deeply invested in these characters than I was after 50+ episodes with bells hells (or whenever I quit watching)

(the crown keeper members don't count, I loved them already)

erro :(

crokas :(

"or if it simply clarifies a gift he already had"

go find fiedra, she needs protein

TIGER TABAXI

idk what non-copyrighted name they came up with for tabaxi, they're tabaxi

oh right I forgot about his arm

"just an old drunk" "well I LOVE this old drunk"

roll to prevent a riot

"congratulations, you didn't die!"

can you use ale to sterilize? is that a thing?

"let's not think too hard about that"

brb I have to go fight alex for his mug

…..is Nez's name a play on "pince nez"?

crokas is a Good Boy

fiedra threatening bitches with a boozy scalpel

medical dagger

"what?"

oh no it's cute

THE BOYS

not all the boys?

"I think keph might be like 200 years old"

keph joined a cult?

"we simply left"

"he's still out there" "don't say that. makes me feel bad."

crokas making sure nobody trusts that motherfucker

"your coterie" immediately looks at alex

"this fucking guy"

alex does such great faces

I hope this guy gets eaten

why couldn't he get fantasy pneumonia

fucking carpetbagger

quality ink and paper you say

"you say anything and I'm on him. that's my whole job."

"fuck! that! fucking! guy!"

I love when brennan says a lore thing and matt just nods approvingly

PHRASING, brennan

apocalypse lesbians

oh no, she's a bitch

"we thought it was the right thing to do, so we done it!"

bluray, got it

I mean if you've already been branded for it you might as well own to it

not the battlefield earth reference

"don't just give 'em to your friends!"

"the oxen are in it with us!"

he rolls like a beast when hammers are involved

marlath I don't know what you're doing but I know you need to fuck off

"he cheered too hard! he passed out!"

great now I'm crying about the bugbear

well. shit.

VOMIT WEAPON

MAP

everybody being so excited for their minis brings me such joy

he's old, it happens

"one of the kids" alex no

fuck yeah shovel guy

I need an anime-style crokas Battle Activating

yesssss put that shit in my VEINS

yes use the mug as crokas' mini

"he gives excellent piggyback rides"

"grotesque. I love it." matt gets me

how. how many hitpoints does erro have.

kenku!!

I'm love

"when they drop get their shit!!"

"kill that dick! take his sword!"

emotion-based power incontinence my beloved

GODZILLA BREATH

double it bc he's wearing metal armor

the godzilla laser charge noise

alex's dragon noises my beloved

THOR HAMMER THOR HAMMER

"we'll unpack this later!"

they get color art when they get their first level AHHHHH

"what do tens look like?!"

"nia is the ten!"

BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD

god I missed enjoying critical role

"miracles, when they touch the real world, get dirty"

nia you're a cleric now, fix him

kiri no

erro no

brennan he's not deAD YET

LIAM YOU'RE NOT DEAD YET

STAB YOUR WAY INTO YOUR FIRST LEVEL

RIP THE LEVEL OUT OF HIS GUTS

crokas saw fiedra do a stab and just sat straight up out of the dirt

MONK?

I did not see that coming. absolutely thought he was going barb

BITE HIS FACE OFF

roll chomp damage

"get karate chopped by godzilla"

I am pleased that the "guest gets hdywtdt" trend continues with all three of them

stonks

"be made again"

"that's what I get for getting cocky"

"he gets a plus three" "for why?!"

(I am not satisfied with that "they're soldiers", BRENNAN)

hey if we could stop this that would be great

ranger!!

"what's a spell?!"

vex'ahlia whispers across the eons: "hunter's mark"

tail attack TAIL ATTACK

MATT

CELIA

liam o'brien spellcasting flair my beloved

the way the skyrim level-up sound played from behind me just as nia came back up

otto!!

"I will never be brave again. that's the last time."

luz :(

I mean I love the narrative but. luz :(

matt.

crokas rumbling the water

(please look up alligators rumbling the water it's wild)

fiedra get your boy

what is on alex's cup that he can't have it on the table

or is it just Big

CROKAS

"…..WHAT."

the kids!

the kids have names!

celwyn and celdria!

what did I say about the crying

that's his mom now

"it means you saved us"

I was okay until I saw alex tearing up

(that's a lie, I've been a mess the whole time)

MARLATH

marlath over here trying to invent organized crime

they're gonna kick his ass

marlath

celia's little stabbing motions under the table

"it's too heavy to flip"

you can't flip The Table matt

I take it back matt flip the table

is liam gonna find a way to romance matt again

fiedra hatched him?!

nia don't do that

"don't let her leave"

garen's secret stash sdfjslk

tail-slap marlath

"gigantic monk shiiiiit"

well crokas and marlath don't have lips, so

matt don't punch brennan just bc he's being marlath

the stabbing with the pencil

not standing on the tail

FUCK YEAH FIEDRA

fiedra said cut capitalists' tongue out

"you should get that looked at"

smother capitalism in the cradle

"well. you're very frightening."

garen level??

alex settling in for Matt Storytime

"tough as nails. old as dirt."

[liquidstar]

Ok so, I have only ever watched one episode of Adventure Time, and it was on a hotel room TV, in terrible hindi dub, and I barely remember it on account of being 10(?) but it horrified me.

I remember the MCs trying to get Ice King a girlfriend or something, but he keeps being a gross asshole so they take him to a lake and point at some swans to try and explain love to him. They point to two swans kissing like ':D' and he's like 'ewww' and then the male swan suCKS IN AND EATS THE FEMALE and IK's like ':)))' while the boys stare in horror.

IDR how the episode ended or how much I watched, but I remember thinking 'wow american cartoons are hardcore. I'm sticking to pirated pokemon from now on.'

And you are telling me that show had lesbians in it leter????

oh my god im so sorry but imagining you watching that swan scene as a 10 year old is so fucking funny, i can understand why you stuck with pirated pokemon LOL

adventure time is absolutely very fucked up in a lot of different ways. the early seasons leaned into that type of absurd shit you just described a lot more especially. while the later ones actually started getting more existential and building on the worlds lore.

there wasnt exactly a focused plot, per say. i mean, there was, but it wasnt something methodical and planned out, it was played by ear. and i think it really worked. the way they did it turned out a really cool magic system (based on the idea that reality is just collective perception, and magic users are aware of this and can manipulate perception ergo reality. but the more cosmic knowledge you have the more insane or depressed you become etc especially if youre mortal), and also cool world building (it takes place in a post apocalypse after a nuclear war, now far into the future the face of the earth has completely changed but the horrors unleashed still impact it today), and also a lot of really amazing themes (the world is always changing and nothing is ever permanent, but no matter how things change things also stay the same, in a different way. especially where bonds and love are concerned. everything stays.)

and YEAH there are lesbians (i mean i always hc marcy as bi but still). and they also come from the shows improvisational nature. theres a lot of genuinely really amazing relationships and plotpoints born out of that to me. like, as the show starts to get a lot more thematically dense later on it can seem like a weird shift. some ppl say it got pretentious over time bc its not as goofy (its still pretty goofy lol), but i think it worked... like... perfectly.

because its a coming of age story where the main character actually ages, it actually feels so right that the world around him begins to seem different too. it makes sense that when he was 12 we were doing stupid goofy adventures, when he was 15 we were watching him deal with a lot of really fucked up trauma, and when he was 17 we watched him learn to grow as a person who thinks beyond simple terms of good and evil.

i know im tottaaallly rambling at this point but theres really an insane amount to talk about with adventure time. the timeline alone is ridiculous. but mostly i think my passion comes down to the fact that i was also growing up with the story, always around the same age as the mc going through similar stuff... even now, the story is focusing on a depressed 20-something trying to find whimsy in her life again. and technically the last episode timeline-wise is about accepting death lol

so like idk how exactly id recommend it to a new viewer, its really possible that a lot of ppl wont be able to really tolerate the early seasons as adults (i mean, i think theyre charming, but i have nostalgia goggles lol). that being said i think that its a series totally worth a shot for everyone... eventually. if it sounds interesting you just gotta accept the goofiness at first and trust that youre in for something wild in a totally different way later on. and totally unique and cool and special in a way nothing else has really been able to capture for me since.

TL;DR: no yeah the show was incredibly fucked up and that swan did eat that other swan. but it does have themes and also lesbians.