#because misinformation IS harmful

[margaretkart]

I've been reading some of your posts about greek mythology retellings and let me tell you you have no idea how wrong you're on so many levels!! You complain and whine and yap about how the gods are portrayed and how every single man is awful and your rantings showcase the fact that you haven't even read the retellings, you just want to attract attention. Take "Circe" for example. You complain that every single man there is a rapist pig, when in the book there're a handful of male characters that are portrayed in good manner, like Daidalus, Telegonus and Telemachus. Or how "boo hoo hoo Ariadne and Dionysus don't end up together because Miller wants only Circe to be happy" when Circe 90% of the book is "boo hoo hoo whyyyyy me" and the fact that Ariadne was killed by Artemis was taken from the Odyssey, the very source that Circe originates from states clearly that. You whine about how authors don't read the original sources, but when they do (like Miller's case) you still find a reason to cry on the internet. The only retelling you seem to like is Disney's Hercules, which proves how hypocritical you are. I know what you're gonna say "but as Greeks love Hercules, so that proves my point" but no! Hercules when it was first premiered was criticized by Greeks for the way it handled the original myth, regardless if it's considered a Disney classic now. Face it! Just like Hercules reputation was restored, so does the same for a lot of modern Greek mythology retellings you now bash, like Lore Olympus, Circe, Ariadne etc!!

Let's clear some things you mention. When i mention that Miller and other authors in retellings make the men awful doesn't dismiss the fact that in those same books there are male characters with good personalities.

However what those authors do are taking modern concepts and intentionally writing to make other bad stereotypes negative about men in Ancient greece. There's a difference between making a character complex who happened to be a man and another to purposely make a man bad to prove a point.

Because in my posts I have said countless times that life wasn't all black and white and both men and women are complex humans not defined by their gender. The original myths treat those characters as such. The retellings? Barely.

And the reason i complain about it is because many people comment on those exact aspects I pinpoint. People make posts with little value such as men were bad and savages back then, without stating any proof. It's harmful without them realising it.

Liking Disney's Hercules isn't a proof that i am a hypocritical. This movie was made for fun and joy. No matter the inaccurate things they made, the characters are fun, the mentions in the myths are there, the art and music is beautiful.

The difference between them is one was made with the intention of showing the love of this myth without any controversy and the other to exploit and profit of modern ideologies made by Anglophone people.

What's the issue of me as a Greek commenting on an issue regarding my culture? So many years of staying silent and just enduring an obvious hypocrisy of people taking said myths, put some cliche tropes that trend and calling it progress. Oh even better "fixing" those myths :)

You can like those books but as I said before there are my opinions, don't go anonymously saying mean stuff about me to prove a point. Have a nice day.

[cybergothvox]

At the end of the day, is kin just someone who identifies as their kintype or not? Is it anyone who actually identifies as their kintype, or do they have to perform all these 'correct' behaviours and social dances to prove that you kin- pardon, that you are kin- correctly?

[womenaremypriority]

Radblr! I know people on here have rightfully brought up how trans activists use people with DSD’s as political pawns, but the alternative is not to do that ourselves, and only bring up them when we can use them to criticize trans activism. I see people do this a lot. Intersex people are regularly medically abused and there is a lack of knowledge of their DSD’s even among professionals.

[the-crystal-femmes]

Admittedly sometimes we let people be incorrect cause we don't think they're worth our time. I'm gonna be petty and let you stay uneducated 'cause I frankly don't give a shit

[hilacopter]

not sending this as an ask to them because I think it might violate one of the blog rules, but it's pretty telling how even though @jewish-vents is a politically neutral vent blog where jews of any political stance can rant, it never ever gets asks from token antizionist "as a jew"s who apparently suffer oh-so much and feel so alienated and attacked by the rest of the jewish community. almost like they don't actually have as much to vent about.

[chuchayucca]

Discussions of implied fictional CSA & SA

I recently been wondering if there’s a chance Richard thinks Roy’s aggressive and distant behavior is normal and not a sign of CSA because he acted similarly to Roy when he was younger

Reasonings in the tags

[baronessofmischief]

Tag vent. Don’t mind me.

[singinginthecar]

let's talk about the phenomenon of so many right wing, casteist, prejudiced bootlickers wanting to write the indian civil services exam. i pray from the bottom of my heart that these fuckers do terrible in their exams, never get into a government position where their actions actually impact the lives of people... and i hope they stay unhappy forever.

[justplainsalty]

This is generally my intuitive reaction (looking something up), and has been since I was tall enough and strong enough to pull my mom's complete Merriam-Webster down from the bookshelf without dropping it (and subsequently, when AOL search became eclipsed by AskJeeves and Google for usefulness).

I was an innate question-asker, though, who constantly got in trouble as a child for asking adults "but why?" ad nauseum. My curiosity was encouraged as an adolescent and tween. As a teenager, I was taught to "trust, but verify" authority figures & sources (ironic, given that phrase's provenance and the topic at hand).

So I unreservedly agree with OP that it's important to train yourself to admit you don't know everything and seek out further information.

However, I have three points about why telling people to "look it up" is not a helpful response on its own in this day and age:

Most people don't actually know how to look things up, really. Not in a way that enables actual verification of information. When I was in middle school, we literally had a special class session where we went to the school library, homeroom by homeroom, and were actually taught how to use search engines, how to structure a search query (e.g. using boolean operators), which search engines were reliable & for what information (this was back when search engines were still developing & decentralized and Encyclopedia Brittanica was still a valuable resource), and how to evaluate the reliability of each internet source. A modern day version of this would probably include a lecture on ChatGPT not being a reliable source of information, with examples. I was very, very lucky that I went to a fancy private school that year, which had the resources to teach this lesson. Most current schools probably do not, and I'd wager the majority of adults in this world also never had this lesson.

Google is so, so fucking shitty these days. Like so unbelievably shitty on its own, even if it were possible to turn off its even shittier Gemini AI, which you can't reliably do on mobile (and mobile web traffic makes up for the majority of web traffic these days). The UI is ass on mobile. The quality of its search results are poor if you aren't being specific and granular with your search (and sometimes even if you are, it just ignores your specifications in favor of broader search terms). If you are careful and specific and granular, the results it returns are largely pay-to-play, unless you're going to the effort of restricting it to a specific site (e.g. Reddit, AP News, a specific hobby forum board, etc). It also artificially restricts the amount of results you get (remember when a search would return 13+ pages of results? Pepperidge Farm remembers). And, it no longer allows you to view the cached version of web pages.

The alternatives are even worse. In spite of how shitty Google is, they still imo have the best and most comprehensive web crawlers of the lot. Bing is an exercise in stupidity and frustration (terrible search algorithm). DuckDuckGo is missing search results that should be there (no surprise, its primary index is powered by Bing, though it does allegedly pull from other sources). Every other possible search engine is much more limited in indexes, or has other major issues (e.g. Yandex is Russian, Kagi is paid, StartPage uses Google, and also good luck finding a Facebook post you saw once if you want to double-check something for misinformation), and they all require someone to be informed and aware enough to know about small alternative search engines. Informed and aware people aren't the type of people who need to be told to look something up.

It's a shitty problem and I have no good solutions. If anyone does have a good solution, I would welcome it, because by God I am so fucking tired of this modern internet hell.

It is incredibly important to train yourself to have your first instinct be to look something up.

Don't know how to do something? Look it up.

See a piece of news mentioned on social media? Look it up.

Not sure if something is making it to the broader public consciousness, either because you don't see it much or you see people saying nobody is talking about it? Look it up.

Don't know what a word means? Look it up.

It will make you a better reader and a better writer, but it will also just make you more equipped to cope with the world.

So often, I see people talking about something as though it is the first time anyone has ever acknowledged it, when I've been reading reports about it on the news for months or years. Or I see someone totally misinterpreting an argument because they clearly don't know what a word means--or, on the other hand, making an argument that doesn't make sense because they aren't using words the right way.

Look things up! Check the news (the real news, not random people on social media)! Do your research! You (and the world) will be better for it.

[obeymeluv]

Being Clever with the Fae (Malleus x Reader, Lilia x Reader, Sebek x Reader)

Pre-established relationship implied. You tell the Diasomnia boys that your world planned for ways to outsmart faes. You pull your trick but you're not sure who won.

Warning: Pepaw Bat's gets a little spicy so be careful.

I'm taking liberties with Sebek's part because he's a neutral for me and I don't know that much about him.

You and Malleus had talked about fae folklore more than once. He was delighted to know fae had something of a presence in your world but was wildly horrified at the misinformation. Out of everything you told him, only a handful were correct:

Don't give your name unless you trust that fae because names have power

Iron will hurt some fae but not all. Iron is more harmful to nocturnal fae than day fae.

Being rude to fae may be the end of you altogether

Partaking in fae food means you open yourself up for a wager

Yes, fae like to play tricks. Expect them and be wary.

Stepping into a fairy circle will summon the fairy who made it.

Just about everything else was wrong. That's why he and Lilia were teaching you what not to do if you came upon the various fae in Twisted Wonderland. Thus far you'd only managed to memorize what herbs kept smaller creatures at bay and how to curry the favor of the various faeries that helped out at NRC. Your current assignment from Lilia was filling out a map of different fae territories and classifying them as 'safe' for humans or 'unsafe'. Each territory had a tree they would love to craft from or loathed to be near and you were expected to know that, too.

Strange stuff but apparently it was important.

They liked to break up the bigger chunks of information with smaller, digestible things like etiquette so it felt more manageable. Malleus was currently instructing you on how to part from a fae in a formal setting as to not incur their wrath.

"Again, Child of Man," he's bowed down until eye level with you, one hand holding yours.

"Light shake, eye contact, nod, slide foot back, squeeze the hand, turn." he's parroting your motions until you turn away. He, instead, draws himself to his full height and observes as you pretend to walk away.

"Excellent," he nods. "But ensure you don't slouch while leaving. It will make some feel as if you don't hold them in high regard."

"That's so--" you roll your eyes. He simply lifts his brow as if to question your mild frustration. You puff your cheeks out and he laughs.

"We can be a bit particular." he agrees.

"To a fault." you smirk.

"Oh?" he's intrigued, eyes twinkling.

"Yeah," you smile. "In my world the fae were known for being literal with their word so you always had to keep something clever in reserve."

"Do tell," Malleus' grin goes from practiced and polite to genuine. A hint of fang shows.

"It's kind of specific though. Depends on that old joke about fae wanting to come for the first born."

"That's not really a joke," Malleus crossed his arms. You can't tell if he's offended or not. "We like the younglings. We're always looking to bring more around to the fae ways. In fact, fae make fantastic guardians because--"

He had a lot to say and you felt the beginnings of a lecture creep up. In some way you felt like you were in trouble. To save yourself, you said, "Just pretend. Then I can show you what we do."

Malleus pretended to make a deal with you. It looked a bit intimidating and official with the magic pulsing in the rickety floorboards of Ramshackle. They were groaning. Shadows danced along his face as pieces of his signature thorned briar wove around your joined hands. "In exchange for the repairs around Ramshackle, you will give your firstborn to me."

You pull him in, his green eyes searching curiously for any hint of what's to come. "Sure! How soon do you want to start working on that? Or do you want to wait a little while?"

All at once the floorboards fell quite. The hum of magic died with a rattle that broke the briar into tiny pieces. A few fell at your feet, the others shooting off into various directions.

Oh. Did he not understand? You thought it was clever! Maybe he was too sheltered to--

His laugh is kind of a snort at first but then you hear it honest and lilting. The hand holding yours slides up your arm and snakes around your waist. You're lifted until your hands find purchase on his shoulders and your legs wrap around whatever they reach. Your heart goes from your chest to your throat when his gloved hands slide down to your thighs as he walks you to your sad couch.

"Now is fine," he's careful to hold his weight above you, silky hair spilling around you and tickling your cheeks. His eyes are bright and boyish, a deadly compliment to his kissable lips.

Well, that technically backfired but if this were a real situation you'd make out just fine because he'd chosen to make out with you instead of curse you.

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

Lilia wanted to focus on physical protection as much as written knowledge when it came to handling fae. You still couldn't wrap your head around the idea of him being a general but he had old photos, a weird mask, and a massive magearm to prove it. You'd picked up quite a few self-defense moves and practiced them regularly. He wanted them to be second nature to you. So here you are, in a designated training room within Diasomnia.

"You just want to cuddle me," you teased, in the familiar position of him being behind you with an arm around your neck. One elbow was planted in your shoulder, the other clasping it at the forearm to make a little prison for you. He gave a reprimanding squeeze, ever mindful of the pressure since you were fully human. Lilia gave a huffy laugh, trying to relax his smile into something more stern as he wove his fingers into your hair. You flinched at the tug and slapped his arm lightly.

"Focus," he couldn't deny himself the simple pleasure of whispering into your ear. If you asked him, it was to throw you off balance and distract you. "What could you do now?"

You thought about just leaning back into him, pressing against him, but you knew that wasn't what he meant. Capitalizing on this moment of closeness, the stillness, to huck him over your shoulder and into the floor crossed your mind but then you'd have to give him a back rub later.

Not that you minded that, either.

"We could make a deal," you leaned back to whisper in his ear even though it hurt your neck a little. You could tell by the way his bangs fluttered that he'd jerked in surprise. Was that a little pink on his cheeks? Before you could nip his pointed ear, Lilia leaned you forward and took his elbow off your shoulder, opting to hold you in a bearhug instead.

"Acceptable in this situation," he managed, clearing his throat when his voice cracked a little. "Although this exercise is supposed to be combat related."

"So make the terms. I can't negotiate a deal that doesn't exist." you try to break his hold, shimmying your shoulders and sliding your feet to see if you could slip away. He lifts you off the ground with an ease that doesn't seem possible with his short, lithe body. You hang there against him as he thinks.

"Your life for that of your firstborn."

A bit dark, wasn't it? Kind of rude, really, you thought. But, your train of thought continued to ramble, he did find Silver somewhere so it didn't seem too unusual that he'd want a kid. Either that, or he was messing with you because you told him that whisking away kids was something fae were known for in your world.

"You can't have a firstborn with your clothes on." you joke.

"That's not true because I found Silver with my--" Lilia drops you when he realizes what you've said. You weren't expecting him to drop you and didn't catch yourself, hissing as you land on your knees. Before you can start complaining or poke fun at him for being an old man he's locked the door. You're bowled over as he rushes over to you, pinning you on your back as he peppers kisses along your throat and collarbone.

He's several bites in and you’re halfway undressed when you think you hear a knock at the door. Lilia begrudgingly peels himself off of you, licking blood from the corner of his lips.

"Father? Are we not going to train today?"

"M'fraid not, my boy," Lilia turns his attention back to you, opening your legs to slip between them. "But you'll be getting a new sparring partner in about nine months."

His red eyes are glowing. They're absolutely beguiling.

"Do they come with therapy?” he hears Silver mumble as you look up at him through your lashes.

He pounces on you again. It was a brilliant, filthy tactic. He's not exactly mad about it. You've earned favor with one fae, at least, and he will protect you from the others.

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

Sebek is a hard worker. He's a product of his environment; he has Baur's straightforwardness, Lilia's dedicated regimens, and his mother's impressive teeth and jaw strength. Lilia thought the best way for you to learn some of the self-defense tactics was to fight someone your size.

Sort of. Sebek seemed to be the better choice since Silver was too sleepy to be a constant threat. And, in Lilia's mind, you should have an easier time fighting a half-fae versus a full fae.

You never noticed how muscular Sebek was until you were under him. He's got corded arms and you can see the muscles of his shoulders flexing under the Diasomnia shirt he chose for the exercise.

You've never seen him in casual clothes! He actually looks very nice. Not as buff as Jack but sturdy in his own way; his chest is broader than you imagined. A solid man.

More than capable of being Malleus' body guard.

You groan as he knocks the air out of you a little. He's on top of you, pressed into your back. He's got one foot braced against the floor, leaning his weight into you. Your arms are pinned at your side courtesy of the one he's snaked underneath you.

When did he flip you over? Asshole, you scrunch your nose in frustration as your cheeks begin to burn. He's an asshole that means well and won't go easy on you, though. He makes sure you learn. You try to inch out from beneath him but he angles his shoulder down and grabs his own wrist, dragging you back to him.

"You're supposed to do something in this situation!" he grumps, "You know how to break this hold!"

You do, but he's heavy and it probably wouldn't work. And he's had a literal lifetime of training versus your handful of months. You've tangled your legs together and used his half-lean to put him on his back. Your kicking like a tipped-over bug and almost free when you remember that his fae half is crocodilian and you might have triggered his death roll tendency.

Out of the corner of your eye you see Sebek's pupils change, the dark of his eye slitting and boring into you. His throat strains like he's growling but you don't hear anything. It trembles against the back of your neck and you're reminded in that moment of just how much bigger he is than you.

How he folds around you and encompasses you.

He opens his mouth, teeth glinting and sharp. "You've bested me," you admit, swallowing thickly as his teeth hover near your shoulder. "Make your deal."

You somehow turn yourself around in his unrelenting squeeze.

Sebek huffs as if he's insulted and you swear you see his teeth dull. His pupils begin to fill out. He's usually loathe to acknowledge his human side, as he'd much rather be full fae, but it serves him in this instance. "I'm not a true fae. Such a thing wouldn't work on me!"

"You have to pretend! Lilia's teaching me how to deal with the fae! You just won't hurt me as much. Maybe." you dare to flash that teasing grin at him and Sebek nearly tears into his own lip because he doesn't know what to do with that wiggly feeling you give him.

Him? Hurt you? Not on purpose. It would go against the core values his grandfather AND Lilia taught him! Any fae caught abusing their spouse would be drawn and quartered, made a public display of. Any human man who chose to do so was no man at all!

Sebek's face feels almost painfully warm. He can feel the heat spreading from his cheeks to his ears. "In an act of benevolence inspired by the great Prince Malleus, I shall spare your delicate human self in exchange for a child. Is that the cliche rubbish you desire?"

Some of his once slicked-back hair has fallen down on his forehead, between his eyes, as if it's disappointed in you too.

"You think our child would be cliche rubbish? Cliche Rubbish Zigvolt? That does NOT sound good! I'm naming the firstborn, you're just helping make it."

"Wha--but I--that's not!" Sebek doesn't know what to say and he hasn't been trained for this. He's careful not to shove you away but untangles himself like a thrown ragdoll. He rolls over sharply, totally fine with hiding his face in the floor. His green hair is in disarray and his arms are limp, stretched out to either side of him.

You laugh, climbing onto his back and raking your nails down it gently. He makes the noise. You're not sure what it is but you've heard it before. It's deep and somehow soothing. He relaxes underneath you as you continue to scratch his back, throwing in a squeeze to his muscles every now and then.

It's not until you're in what would be the small of his back (if he wasn't build so solid and thick) that he raises his head, folds his arms up, and rests his chin on his hands. "You're safe." he can't bear to turn his head and look at you right now. If he did, you'd see how...how...weak and mushy he looked. Sebek snorts through his nose, arching his back in surprise as your hands slide all the way up until you flop on his back and your arms hang off his shoulders.

"Thank you, o' kind Zigvolt!" you hug his neck. "This delicate human appreciates it!"

"And I...appreciate...you." he mumbled slowly, the words a little foreign to him. More scary than foreign, honestly. That heartwarming shyness evaporated in an instant when he pinned you and began a stern lecture about how you should NOT offer to conceive a child with ANY OTHER FAE and what YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE INSTEAD.

You weren't surprised by this. Sebek lectured Silver all the time and Lilia said he was a very informed pupil. You, too, would be informed as it didn't seem like he was letting you go anytime soon.

[etaleah]

I think a lot about the fact that the real genius of Hbomberguy’s plagiarism video was not just the exposé aspect of it but the fact that it so effectively demonstrated WHY plagiarism is bad.

When teachers warned against plagiarism in school, they made it seem like the reason it was bad was because it got you out of doing work. Plagiarism was bad because it was lazy. And that is (1) not a very strong deterrent to students who are only taking this class and writing this paper because they’re forced to and therefore don’t care about the work, and (2) missing the real harm behind the action.

On some level, yeah, plagiarism is bad because it will prevent you from learning how to write well on your own. There’s a real fear that a generation of kids won’t know how to write (which means they won’t know how to think) because they’ll be so used to having an ��AI” machine do it for them that they’ll be helpless without it. That is very much a concern. But it’s far from the only issue. Harry laid out the other problems really well:

1. Plagiarism is enshittification. When you have to reword stuff to hide that you’re stealing it, the writing will be clunkier, wordier, more awkward, and less natural-sounding. This makes the piece worse, which isn’t good for anyone. Who needs more bad writing in the world?

2. Plagiarism spreads misinformation. Again, stealing stuff usually requires having to reword things to get around plagiarism checkers. That can make it very easy to (accidentally or purposely) rewrite a sentence to now be false instead of true. This is made worse by the fact that hiding the source of the information makes fact-checking impossible.

3. Plagiarism is anti-educational. If the audience doesn’t know where something came from, they can’t go visit that source to learn more about the topic. They’re prevented from finding any additional knowledge, which makes research—and therefore progress—difficult.

4. Plagiarism makes it impossible for creators to earn a living, thereby making it impossible to create. Funnily enough, this means less material for plagiarists to steal from, so the whole scam is really just a snake eating its own tail. Like all scams, it can’t last long. When plagiarists can make huge profits by stealing and putting out content faster because they’re stealing, the real creators who actually do the work have no chance. They can’t compete because they can’t create as fast as a plagiarist can steal. So they don’t make as much money, which means they can’t live off their work, which in turn means they can’t create anymore. This keeps going until all that’s left is stolen garbage.

There’s a lot to love about that video, but this part in particular is my favorite by far.

[therichremember]

Friends, I think this might be misinformation. I could not find any studies backing up the fact that vitamin c affects absorption of adhd medication (if anyone has found any please send them my way). Also, I personally question how vitamin c being present in the stomach would interfere with the meds but stomach acid wouldnt. That being said it wont harm you to not eat any of the foods mentioned in the screenshot for a few hours a day but you might just be depriving yourself of delicious lemonade for no good reason.

(some online articles mentioned that vitamin c lowers the pH of your blood or just 'lowers the pH of your body', which prevents absorption. this is not true. your blood contains buffers to keep its pH within a narrow set range)

There are a lot of articles online repeating this information but they either provide no scientific sources or only reference the document linked above (which in itself provides no sources which is frustrating as hell). This becomes obvious because a lot of them mention the 1000 mg vitamin c dose. The daily recommended intake for most adults is <100 mg.

All that is to say, please don't take medical advice from tumblr at face value (including this addition. Im not an expert either). If your medications are having inconcsistent effects your should discuss this with a doctor or pharmacist if at all possible. Vitamin c is an important micronutrient and one of the easiest to obtain please dont stop eating fruit ok <3.

i know vitamin c basically neutralizes adhd meds but lemonade good

[wulfbones]

therian confusion/misinformation makes me irrationally angry.

just saw a tiktok of someone saying they would disown their child for identifying as an animal (weird thing to post by the way) and it just irked me.

all the comments were attempting to defend therians by saying things like, “i'm a therian and all of us know we're humans,” “only insane people truly believe they're animals,” and, “the only therians i've seen are teens and kids!” ...

hi! i'm an adult therian who fully believes that it's a canine. i'm not a human in any way. vague and blanket statements such as those shown above are extremely harmful to the community.

physical therians are valid. “insane” and “delusional” therians are valid. adult therians are valid.

respect those within your community, you're one of us. you are not better than us just because you accept being a human.

[cosmic-dust-poltergeist]

Pt 5 of forever teen Danny adopted JJ Tim and Red Hood. Damian finally gets to see his Akhi again.

[Pt 4: Here] [Ao3 with more]

Damian only got glimpses of the second group of vigilantes in Gotham over the year and a half he's been with his father before he realized how fallible his Father is. He feels woefully misinformed by his Mother, who only sang the man's praises.

At first, it was because the Bats trust him not to use deathly force as well as the last two Robins' being a fresh wound for Father and Richard. And it stung to hear them make plans to convince a meta child to join them so that the crazed lunatics that loyally follow him will follow suit. Sure, it was because one of the lunatics was the second to last Robin who went crazy and refused their help, but it felt like his Father and supposed big brother simply found him unacceptable and burdensome.

Eventually, he decides to break into their files to learn everything they have on the non-Bat Gotham vigilantes, only to discover that the Bat version of events that he was told was incomplete. Horrendously incomplete.

He found camera footage of how terribly they treated Timothy Drake from the moment he entered the Waynes' lives to the moment he ran away. Damian would stay far away from them, too, if he endured half of what Timothy did. Damian already wasn't planning to help his Father and Richard to bring him back into the fold, but now the reason for why is completely different. Damian shall aid him if the moment arises.

The second "lunatic" Damian could recognize anywhere. It's his Akhi from the league! Mother must have sent Jason to Gotham ahead of him. He's using the name Red Hood and became significantly less violent since being adopted by Timothy and the Meta. Damian didn't know pit madness was curable, but the reports prove they did something and helped his Akhi. He wonders if he could ask at some point. Healing others with the affliction before they have to be put down would be amazing! Damian had been terrified of the day Akhi would be next, but now he doesn't have to worry.

Obviously, he's not going to help the Bats arrest his Akhi.

The last person of the group, the meta called Phantom is a complete unknown to him, and the Bats apparently. They estimate him to be 13, or a small 14, year old, but he's the clear leader of the group if the trio has to make a decision together. They've seen him use superstrength, fly, turn himself invisible, and turn himself intangible. He can transfer the last 3 abilities to other people or things so long as he's touching them. He seems to have a rigid moral code, but it isn't the same as Father's. Phantom is perfectly fine with murdering those he deems unacceptable, like the now deceased Joker or Black Mask (both were killed after a Robin was harmed. Which makes him feel a little safer.) or the random serial killer or rapist they find.

Father believes he can sway Phantom to his way of thinking, but Damian is not so sure. Phantom has made his hatred for Father and Richard well-known. And anytime they attempt to corner Phantom, or Timothy, or Akhi, the other two come in swinging.

Damian isn't sure what tonight's plans had been, but he had a bad feeling when he saw them taking John Constantine with them. He already figured out Phantom was a supernatural. He hasn't aged a day since he was first documented, and he's fairly sure Akhi counts too. He's just not sure what Akhi is. Damian is going to be pissed if Father and Richard have Constantine kill Phantom and Akhi just so they can get Timothy back. He'll personally break Timothy out of wherever they decide to lock him away and get them both out of Gotham if the hypocritical Waynes hurt the odd group.

He was forced to take the day off because of a sprained ankle. Which is ridiculous, he's done more with worse injuries, but decides not to argue so he can watch through their mask cameras. Damian seethes at the lies and half truths his family feeds to Constantine to get him to comply.

The trap they set works perfectly, unfortunately, and just as Constantine is about to try to exorcize Jason, the teens breakout into their own chant. The video feed becomes nearly completely static and voices cut in and out, but he can understand what's happening. Damian feels hysterical as he realizes what kind of fire these idiots were playing with and can barely scrape together sadness and guilt for them. He stares at the screens long after Phantom and his adopted children leave, only getting up to prep the med bay after Constantine moved Bruce and Richard to the batmoble. Gordon already called for the doctor, so there's nothing else he can do.

This stunt has broken any trust or safety Damian may have felt in the men he's supposed to view as family. He thinks about his options. He refuses to go back to his Mother or Grandfather, but he's not sure he wants to stay with the Waynes either. It feels like being stuck in a rock and a hard place.

Then he remembers how Timothy got adopted by "The Ghost King" after he tried to go to the Bats.

As much as he hates to leaving behind what feels like his responsibilities, he can't live here. He found plenty of recordings, from different Bats eavesdropping, of usually Phantom telling his sons that just because you can do something doesn't mean you have to. So just because he can help Bruce and Richard, doesn't mean he has to or should. Phantom was very clear on what he wanted THEM to do. Damian isn't part of the equation, and honestly doesn't want to be, he already was walking on egg shells when they weren't going to be belligerent.

When the batmoble barreling in, Damian decides his last act of service to the Waynes will be to help Constantine and Pennyworth get them to the med bay. He doesn't leave the cave until everyone is settled or left, and Pennyworth ushers him to bed. He glances at the peacefully sleeping Bruce and Richard (they were drugged to make setting their bones easier) one last time before complying with Alfred's order, sort of. He goes to his room.

While in his room, he pulls out the bag he arrived at the manor with. He packs 2 changes of clothes, his sketchbook, his pencil case, and his "allowance". He doesn't take more than that. He doesn't want to be indebted to the Bats anymore than he already feels he is. He feels like this will be an unforgivable betrayal in their eyes, but he finds he doesn't mind as much as he feared he would.

He decides to leave them all notes.

[Dear Pennyworth,

Thank you for your hospitality. I shall remember your lessons and think of you fondly, but I can no longer be in Father's care. His dealings with Poltergeist, Red Hood, and Phantom have been unacceptable. He rather kill an undead than reassess his ways. An undead that is my Akhi. I won't be returning until I feel they've actually changed.

Warmest Regards,

Damian Wayne Al Gul]

[Richard,

You preach of brotherhood, but I found the recordings of how you treated Timothy and Jason. I don't see why I would be treated differently. I suggest you figure yourself out and apologize to both of them before trying to "big brother" any other strays Father attempts to bring into the fold.

Damian Wayne Al Gul]

[Father,

I can no longer stay under your care. You have proven to be just as unsafe as Mother and Grandfather. I shall be staying with my Akhi until you are less of a danger to mine and others' safety. Hopefully, this is a wake-up call, but I don't see it being anything more than another excuse for you to punish and push everyone who cares about you away. Your track record is telling.

Damian Wayne Al Gul]

They're not much, but he feels better for writing them.

Damian has outgrown the LoA gear he came in, so he dresses in black jeans, combat boots, a dark green, almost black (Richard said he needed more colour in his wardrobe) hoody, and a surgical mask. He knows Alfred shall be retiring soon and that all the windows and doors leading outside are alarmed. He'll have to sneak out of the cave and use Bruce's codes to get out without an alarm immediately going off. Richard's go off, so Bruce and Alfred know he's been there, and Damian's are so he can't leave without a Bat with him.

It took him two weeks to see enough to piece it together and was infuriated when he realized it was Jason's death date. It's completely disrespectful to Jason and clearly just another form of self flagellation, plus it's like using a birthday as a code, someone IS going to guess it eventually. It killed a lot of whatever respect Damian may have held before tonight.

When the time comes, he doesn't hesitate. It feels surreal to him as he escapes the Manor for probably the last time. He doesn't linger on the fond memories that seem to dig their fingers in as he sneaks away and makes his way to Crime Alley. He swallows the bitterness of realizing his blood relatives have never made him feel safe, only his Akhi. A man who willingly lives in the worst part of Gotham when he deserves the best.

But Damian knows how Jason's heart works. Crime Alley has always been his home, and he'll guard its people till his dying breath.

He climbs down a building and tries to not spook the pair of sex workers, "Excuse me?"

Mission failed, they both startle. The one with mostly straight hair and colourful makeup yells. "JESUS, KID! Ya tryin' ta scare me inta an early grave!?"

"Sorry." Damian mumbles apologically, "I was wondering if you could call Red Hood to pick me up?"

"Sure, kid, but why? Someone try ta sell something to ya?" The other one, with dredlocks and white and black makeup, asks.

"He's my brother, actually... I, um," Damian decides to lay it on thick, wobbling his voice and forcing himself teary-eyed. "I ran away from our relatives. They kept me trapped, and I haven't been able to contact him to tell him I wasn't as safe as we thought I'd be. I ran away, but don't know where he or Poltergeist live..."

"Shush, kid, alright," Black and white sighs, pulling out her(?) phone and hitting call on a contact. "Don't make me regret this!"

Damian nods and stays silent during the phone call, only speaking once she(?) hangs up. "Uh, where should I wait? I don't want to disrupt your business more than I have."

"Ya a doll! Just like our Hoody!" Colourful coons.

"Ya know how to get to the roofs?"

"Yeah?"

"Then wait up there. A kid hangin' about is definitely bad fo' business and Hood will be comin' from the roofs anyway."

"Okay. Thank you for all your assistance." Damian bows slightly towards her before climbing up to the roof to wait. He can't be sure how long he waits, it feels both like hours and mere minutes have past when he hears Jason's familiar footsteps.

"Dami?" Jason sounds confused, which is valid. Last time they spoke Damian was willing to do anything to prove himself to his Grandfather and Bruce. "What are you doing here?"

"I have found both sides of my blood relations to be lacking." Damian admits. "I feel unsafe and wish to stay with you. If your new family would be amenable to it."

"Uh, dad?" Jason asks, tilting his head to the side. A voice coming from open air is very odd to witness in person.

"I don't see why not, but we'll have to ask your brother first." Phantom fades into view and drifts closer to Damian. It feels like the (APPARENTLY) Ghost King (??? Damian is still processing that detail to be honest.) can see Damian's soul. Who knows, maybe he can? Will he find Damian lacking?

"Right, okay, one second." Jason pulls out an odd looking phone and dials a number. "Don't get me wrong, Dami. I would love to have you, but it's a family decision to let you live with us. I cou- Oh! Yeah, so funny situation! How do you feel about adopting another bird?... Yeah...pfft yeah, okay, you have a point...And it'd be funny! .. Sweet! See you soon!"

"He said yes?" Phantom sounds amused and looks fond and unsurprised.

"Yup!" Damian can hear Jason's grin. "You're bunking with me until we upgrade our apartment again!"

"Very well." Damian easily accepts. Phantom tilts his head, eyeing Damian as if trying to get a read on him about something.

"Do you plan to continue being a vigilante?" Was not the question Damian thought he was going to be asked.

"I would like to. I left the Robin costume in the cave, though, so I'd need a new one." Phantom nods in acceptance. Damian doesn't know what he'd do if Phantom said no.

"I will allow it and help you make a new identity IF you promise to stay with me or your brothers when you go out. I won't have any of you dying before you're old and gray." Phantom looks like he will burn the city to the ground at the thought of his children dying. It's comforting. Damian can see why his throughly traumatized predecessors were drawn to him.

"I accept these terms so long as I have more independents as an adult."

"Hm.. we shall revisit the issue when you're 19." Phantom concedes, which is good enough for Damian. "I shall fly us home now. It's getting late and it's faster than parkour."

Damian barely has time to process that before they're rocketing through the Alley. Phantom's strange powers protecting him from wind resistance and gravity. It's the oddest thing he's ever felt, but not bad. Phantom simply phases them through the wall when they get to their apartment.

The frontroom is colourful. Furniture is random, but not clashing, colours. There's pillows and throw blankets of every colour folded to the side or scattered like someone pulled it off in a hurry. Books, games, and puzzles are crammed on multiple bookshelves. It's bright and chaotic, but also lived in and cozy.

Timothy skips in from the kitchen with a tray of 4 steaming mugs of hot cocoa, somehow not spilling a drop. "Hi!"

"Hello, Timothy. Thank you for letting me stay." Damian bows at about a 45 degree angle to show his respect.

"Oh! Um, no problem." Timothy's wide, but calculating eyes show he understands the significance of Damian's bow. "I made everyone hot chocolate. I wasn't sure how you liked yours, so I made it how Jason likes his. Yours and his are the navy and red cups. Dad's is the Nasa one, and this one is mine!"

Timothy says, holding up a rainbow cup with unicorn impaling someone on it.

"Thanks, Tim." Phantom says with a fond smile before something unexpected happens. Phantom turns into a human as he reaches for his cup. After a sip or two, he notices Damian's confusion. "I'm a halfa, kid. My name's Danny Kronoyios in this form. Still legally a dead guy and a ghost. I can just digest things easier in this form and access my powers in the other, can still do both in both, though."

"It's weird, but you get used to it." Jason says while ducking into a hallway. Damian awkwardly grabs the blue cup and sips at it. There's a lovely mix of spices in the cocoa, making it slightly spicy. Jason returns in pajama pants and a band t-shirt Damian doesn't recognize and plops on the couch Timothy has curled up on. "It's been one hell of a day!"

"Indeed." Phantom (because what kind of name is "Danny" for an undead king?) hums, "Want to watch an episode of something before bed?"

And that's how Damian's surreal night ends. He and his possibly new family, drinking cocoa while watching an episode of some show Damian doesn't really understand, but found amusing anyways. Timothy gives him some of his pajamas when they realize Damian didn't bring any. And Jason using him as a teddy bear when they all go to bed. It's nice. It's the safest he's felt since arriving in Gotham. He is positive he made the right choice.

[autopsyfreak]

Homicidal Ideation

homicidal ideation is the term for having active thoughts about murdering others. these thoughts can be intrusive, however they can also often be voluntary.

misconceptions:

‘people who have these thoughts either have killed someone or will kill someone in the future’ - this is false. most people who have these thoughts usually have disordered behaviours (most commonly as a result of personality disorders) and struggle to find healthy ways to cope with their emotions, therefore provocation and stress can easily cause thoughts of inflicting harm onto others. this doesn’t inherently mean these people are dangerous, nor does it mean that they’re going to act upon these thoughts. most people who experience homicidal ideation never act on it and use it more as a way to process their distress/frustration internally.

‘having these thoughts about people in your life means you can’t possibly care for them’ - also false. caring for someone doesn’t make them an exception to mental illness and it doesn’t stop your mental illnesses from existing. to think that someone’s love for you is only valid as long as they’re not displaying traits of mental illness is unfair and is hugely misinformed. to love and be loved by someone who is mentally ill is to accept that they will display symptoms of their mental illness. you are not the exception and they do not love you any less by showing traits of being unwell.

‘so you endorse murder’ - no. that’s not at all what this means and if you seriously think this then your grasp of severe mental health issues is too limited to be commenting on such topics.

‘you’re evil’ - for being unwell? don’t be a cunt. if you seriously think that having a disordered manner of processing emotions internally makes someone ‘evil’ then that sounds more like an issue with you being too sensitive and having a lack of understanding, not an issue with the mentally ill person experiencing these thoughts. don’t make your inability to understand mental illness into someone else’s problem.

as someone who does experience homicidal ideation, it’s also important to not make the mistake of assuming everyone who is mentally ill experiences these thoughts either. i had an anonymous ask earlier today that directly associated the fact i’m mentally unwell with murder and homicidal thoughts, to immediately make this assumption just because someone is mentally ill is disgusting.

[flawseer]

Hi! I’m a big fan of your art and work over all

I’ve been wondering, since I’ve seen you give your thoughts on some other dragons, what are your thoughts on Clay?

On Clay...

Clay. I’ve talked about him for a bit in a previous post somewhere. He is the first protagonist in the entire series and thus serves as our introduction into this world. While he enters the story with his own emotional baggage, he pretty much resolves all of that within the first book and mellows out from then on, fading into the background as a quiet support character.

Because of that it is maybe easy to dismiss Clay as that big guy who talks about food a lot and doesn’t do much else. But I do think he’s a bit more complex than that and is a well-rounded character with things going on in his own right.

CW: Discussion of physical abuse.

Formative Years

Clays early years were molded heavily by his belief that he almost killed Tsunami while she was hatching. He believed this because his guardians, mostly Kestrel, insisted this is what happened. Of course at the end of the first book we learn that this wasn’t the case and that they were just misinformed about how Mudwings work.

To us, this may all seem absolutely ridiculous. We look at Clay and see this obvious gentle giant without a malicious bone in his body angsting about being a blood-crazed monster. But for Clay himself, this was a very real, very horrifying situation. Suspend your disbelief for a moment. His entire childhood was marred by the crushing guilt of almost having murdered his surrogate sister at birth, and he couldn’t remember why he did it. He understood nothing about this situation, and didn’t know if this secret violent side could even resurface one day. Basic things like going to sleep would become terrifying; he may have laid awake, wondering whether his body might act on its own as soon as he fell unconscious. Just like back then, when it acted before he could even form coherent thoughts. The fear of losing control to the monster and waking up on top of a loved one’s mangled body was always there.

This perception of himself as a violent killer was at odds with his social nature as a Mudwing. He loved his surrogate siblings with the same intensity that any Mudwing would love their own, and thus he hated the part of himself that threatened them. As a direct response to this dissonant view, Clay developed a desire to protect them. If he willed himself to shield them from getting hurt with all of his strength, he would never be able to harm them again. This was his way of coping with the fear.

It is pretty apparent from the text that at least Kestrel was physically abusive towards them. Dune was possibly too, Webs I don’t think so, but he also didn’t do anything to stop it. As Clay grew older I think he began to recognize the patterns. He would start deliberately acting in ways so that most of Kestrel’s ire would be redirected towards himself instead of the others. This is why all the Dragonets of Destiny have such deep respect for Clay; they remember him always standing between them and Kestrel, even as he ended up with more and more scars for it.

Luckily, he is able to reconnect with his Mudwing heritage at the end of book 1 and learns that he never was that blood-crazed murderer the guardians insisted he was. But even so, the scars and memories would never fully fade, and he’d never lose sight of the need to protect his loved ones.

Personality and Interests

Clay’s love of food and eating is well-established, to the point where it sometimes seems like it is his only character trait from book 2 onwards. This is normal; he’s got a big body and I assume the self-regenerative properties inherent to Mudwings burn a lot of calories, so he needs to eat a lot to refuel them. I think there’s a bit more to him still though.

Clay is at his happiest when he can either prevent someone else’s pain, or take it away. Conversely he becomes distressed when he sees someone suffering. I believe he is incredibly earnest and built close to water. He cries easily, though never in response to his own pain or suffering. He feels positive emotions very strongly and can get overwhelmed that way, especially when he sees his loved ones happy. When he cries, he does so openly and without shame. It is very unsatisfying to tease him because he will usually just take what people say to him at face value and thus make them feel bad.

He’s also very physically affectionate and huggy.

People who meet Clay often get the impression that he is book dumb, or just stupid in general. This is not the case, as Clay does have a capacity for learning even complex subject matter. I just think he struggles with subjects he can’t see a practical application for, or aren’t relevant to things he wants to do. He has little interest in memorizing ancient figures or learning how to measure the sides of a triangle

When Glory fights Deathbringer in book 3, she makes mention of a “dragon anatomy class” which I assume was taught by Webs. Clay, as much as he struggled with history and numbers, excelled at this particular class because its insight could be used to keep people safe. As such, whenever the need for it arises, Clay is usually quick to act as the group’s primary healer/medical advisor.

(Excerpts from WoF graphic novels 2 and 3, censored for blood.)

This notion is further supported by the fact that, once they all become teachers at the Jade Mountain Academy, Clay is the one to lead an anatomy class, just like the one he attended before.

In conclusion

Clay is pretty much everyone’s big brother. While he isn’t as eccentric and colorful as the people he is surrounded by, his earnestness and general benevolence make him the backbone of the Dragonets of Destiny. Whenever anyone has a deeply-rooted, serious problem they are hesitant to bring up with others, Clay will usually be the first person considered as a confidant. Tsunami and Starflight know he would never judge or shame them no matter how ridiculous the thing they approach him with. Glory trusts him with her emotions whenever her stoic facade cracks. And Sunny has an incredibly strong bond with him.

I think that makes him pretty cool, even if he doesn’t really have much to do anymore once he overcomes his personal demons. I’m happy that he gets to be happy in the end.