#but first and foremost he is the batch baby

[here-comes-the-moose]

Does your brain ever put information together just to hurt you?

Because mine just did.

I was thinking about how much Crosshair values loyalty and how much betrayal hurts him. Then I was thinking about my headcanon that he has awful taste in men and my other headcanons that he feels very deeply and falls for someone super fast and super hard…

Then my brain was like “wow if one of his exes ever cheated on him he was probably DEVASTATED.”

So now I’m sad.

[loudclan-clangen]

The healer kits are all pretty close! They are often left to their own devices while their parents tend to an emergency, so they're used to entertaining/distracting each other. Dogwoodpaw and Rosehippaw always take turns playing with Cavekit and keeping an eye on what's going down, and Cavekit knows to back off when Rosehippaw starts having a coughing fit.

C'mon guys give him a break. They only flirted like... a couple of times. Plus, she's so cool, she's like THE reason the clan found the Black Water Pool. Who could blame him for having a bit of a crush on her???

You are not dumb. It's just that a lot of people think it's Owlstar... Like a LOT of people.

I am sooo (╥﹏╥). She may not have been starclan's specialest little girl but she was mine! Honestly though those kids would have been SO messed up if she had been allowed to raise them. Like yeah this is definately psychologically scarring but maybe its for the best tbh. Isn't he handsome? The sweet one with the white on his face? He's the oldest of the batch.

Okay, I know that you retracted this but, DON'T BE SORRY YOU'RE SO RIGHT??? Like YES. Being Rosehippaw and getting screwed over at every turn despite having two devout parents who did everything the way they were supposed to, and then to see Eklutna just carelessly endanger herself and her kits because they're "special" and "starclan will save them" would be AWFUL! Like is she not important enough for starclan to save her??? It could easily push someone over the edge.

First and foremost, Fiercestripe is worried about the well being of the kits. Once they're out of the woods then she'll turn her attention to the culprit.

Very well thought out theory, I wonder when would the kits' parentage be revealed? When they are old enough to take over as deputy or when Owlstar dies and they need to take his place?

[lewiscarrolatemybrain]

Took a glance at the Canon Jiang Cheng tag today out of curiosity and got a free blocklist for my trouble but I did notice something really interesting

That is to say: Most of the stans “reclaiming” the tag literally outright admitted that their main reason for liking Jiang Cheng was that he’s attractive. The vast majority of the stan posts that I saw talked about his appearance first and foremost, and the other batch admitted they were woobie-fying him. Art was either hypersexualized or soft chibi shapes and all of it focused on either his suffering or him raising Jin Ling (specifically in a way that seemed Milf-y. He was drawn with exaggerated hips a lot.)

Most interestingly, almost none of the fanart was of CQL Jiang Cheng. Almost none of the gif sets showed CQL Jiang Cheng. This was Manhua and Donghua design Jiang Cheng, sexually exaggerated and squished into an UwU Woobie Baby Sadboi shape, palatable for consumption.

I’ve long had issues with the way fandoms — and the world at large — rank characters based on visual appearance. Wen Ning is to Wei Wuxian what so many fics depict Nie Huiasang as being; his best friend and closest confidant, the person who is in his corner no matter what, who sees and supports him and stands up for him even when it’s scary. But it’s hard to picture Wen Ning as the booty-shorts-wearing white-girl-wasted gender-ambiguous party friend, so Nie Huiasang gets that roll. If Wen Qing shows up at all, she must be The Mean Lesbian, because if she’s straight then her crisp no-nonsense attitude (which is literally just the way every trauma nurse in the world acts) isn’t attractive, it isn’t fun. And of course if she IS the mean lesbian, then her vulnerability and her fear and her deep compassion and desire to help people needs to be shoved to the side, because the mean lesbian doesn’t feel those things. That’s not sexy.

I don’t really know where I’m going with this. This problem isn’t unique to MDZS or Jiang Cheng Stans or anything like that. It’s a pervasive issue I’ve seen everywhere for as long as I can remember; beauty exclusively means fuckability. There are no versions of attractiveness that don’t lend themselves to sexual consumption. Beauty also means morality and value. If someone is not beautiful — that is, if you don’t want to fuck them — then they are unworthy. Characters that are extremely important to a story get either erased (if the fandom doesn’t think they’re hot) or rewritten (if the fandom does think they’re hot) because hot people can’t do bad things, or at least they can’t do bad things that aren’t kind of thrilling and exciting. Because they’re hot.

It reminds me of people who are into Slashers, actually? Although from what I’ve seen slasherfuckers are more self-aware than Jiang Cheng Stans.

Boy was that a sentence.

Update: the fun thing about this post is that it also comes with a free blocklist

[eriexplosion]

hunter badbitch (sic) 🧵🗣🐈 

God Bless Hunter BadBitch. I can't think of him as anything else now.

🧵- Hobbies

So Hunter has like, a stress inducing lack of hobbies. His team is basically his life, he's in charge of keeping them safe and so that's his primary goal, and they're all high maintenance as hell so he doesn't exactly get a lot of free time while managing them all. He doesn't resent them for that, they're everything to him and all he's had for as long as he can remember, but he doesn't exactly get a lot of alone time. Taking on a Child has not helped that at all, he's now got a whole other person to focus on and this one takes even more energy and he understands even less because, well, she's a little kid and unlike everyone else he knows she wasn't raised for the military. So his already critical level of self care has now dropped even lower to the point that he basically is figuring out how they're going to eat, where they're going to go, and sleeping unless someone drags him into something. He needs a break but wouldn't know what to do with one if he got it.

🗣 - Social

As the leader, he plays the Face of the team most of the time, but that doesn't mean he's any good at it. Interacting with other clones, sure that's pretty easy. The Batch isn't always accepted by them, but they all had at least similar upbringings and they can usually get by, even though when he tries to be friendly he sometimes ends up being kind of rude instead. Outside of that though... he has NO idea what he's doing. He'd like to let someone else take it over but everyone else ends up being worse at it. Social interaction needs at minimum a several hour nap afterwards.

�� - Pets/Animals

Hunter is a survivalist first and foremost and. Obviously by his name, he's a great tracker and hunter. Normally not a problem, except, when they got Omega she's never been outside in her life and is fascinated by ALL the animals they encounter (that aren't trying to eat her anyway) and has a gentle baby heart. This doesn't go well the first time they're camped out and she's watching a fuzzy little space creature with her binoculars just in time for Hunter to shoot it for dinner. He'd like to make it clear that if he KNEW she was watching he wouldn't have taken the shot. (He feels guilty for a week especially because Echo and Wrecker are giving him Reproachful looks)

[twistednuns]

August 2024

Munich Micro Burn. First and foremost, learning my lesson: EMBRACE THE CHAOS. After all the planning and hustling and stressful weeks, nothing really worked out. First I was pissed, then I cried myself into a tiny nervous breakdown and eventually I just accepted it and went with the flow, enjoying myself. I didn't even do any workshops myself and completely gave up control. Acid Friday was magical on the dancefloor with my kaleidoscope and prism glasses. I went on a little trip through the universe and ended up in a cuddle puddle with Luna, Patri and David. Rainmaker massaged me. I was so happy to be reunited with Luki and loved hanging out with him in the pool or cuddle space. He shared a baritone sax fantasy with me. I also connected with Makelove (playing bingo) and Marjolien (following a black cat together, then I drew one of her heart notes - "there is no right or wrong"). I got buffed. And drank a lot of cherry slushie. Played with the ball pool equipment in the pool. And started a mud wrestling event. I reunited with Frank after months of hardly any contact. I made a delicious batch of creamy coconut porridge. I performed in the Consent Cabaret and initiated the Sonic Sound Experiment with C. (humming and tuning in together with an electric toothbrush). I happily ate Pombären in my tent and wrote down everything I wanted to get rid of into the old book we'd burn in Katharina's and Alex's temple on Saturday. I played on the swing and enjoyed watching my boyfriend's DJ sets. The opening ceremony was cute this year, too. We all got little keys and symbols for our archetypes.

A personal little decompression with C. I don't even know what we did all those days. All I know is that we started watching Twin Peaks.

Holding Charlie in baby pose. He even snuggled up to my chest.

Homemade pizza.

Getting a cheep red dress that is so comfy I wanna live in it for the whole summer.

Devouring a whole, moist mozzarella ball. Alone time. Dopamine mode with strange food, gaming, even smoking a few cigarettes. I don't really like myself when I'm like that though. I appreciate a pinch of control in my life.

Board game night with Margit and Ansgar. Having three kids around was a little too much though. Spiel des Wissens nostalgia.

Swimming in Klostersee during Golden Hour after L.'s sport event. Going to the other side of the lake. Watching the dragonflies (thinking of my mum whenever I see one after Ash's comment) and water lilies.

Test-driving e-bikes.

Cuddling with L. and C. on the sofa. With lots of blankets and pillows.

Having Kanako, Uli, Gyan and Jana over for a campfire BBQ and stargazing. Kanako shared a lot of stories and the next day we sat around in the kiddie pool together.

Riding the rollercoasters, water slide and boat swing with C. and L. at the amusement park. More cherry slushie. Discovering the Nordic theme world with obvious Midsommar vibes. There was a triangular church and eerie music playing. Inside the church you could ride around a tree in walnut halves and shoot at creepy little animals. Lian was super scared of the buffalos with the giant horns. In the evening, we drive through a medieval village and had delicious pizza and ice-cream. C. researched its history and came up with stories about witch trials.

Flutschfinger popsicles. So fruity.

Getting to know Christian's parents. They're pretty much exactly as he described them. It's creepy to see how he changes his personality completely when he's around them.

Getting to know Maike and Simon. Such wonderfully open, engaged, intelligent, easy-going people. She used to be a feminist porn director and now works as an art teacher. He used to be a climate activist and cuts movies. I loved their home (the green bathroom with yellow and pastel pink accents looked delicious), the conversations, dinners with their friends and daughters. We stayed in Ala's room. Of course I connected with her. Little girls always find me.

Mediterana Therme in Bergisch Gladbach. I've never visited a more beautiful spa. I especially enjoyed the Indian and Persian saunas, pools and courtyards. There were events every 30 minutes and there was so much art around. No kids allowed either. What a fantastic experience.

Richard Seewald's Surrealist painting Katze mit Salamander (I didn't even find the original - I bought the postcard in the gift shop before I even bought an entrance ticket). Walking through Museum Ludwig with Christian, calming down after a sensitive mood with tears and overwhelm in the morning. Taking photos in a far-off corner of the photography exhibition. Being inspired by the Surrealist paintings. I probably liked Ursula's Dunkle Messe best.

Only touching, no talking during the train ride. Earplugs. C. already knows when I need them and offers them to me.

A tiny corner of Cologne (my first time there): lighting a candle in the cathedral. Gift shopping on our way to Brüsseler Platz (I bought a glass straw, a Hamsa bookmark made from brass and a postcard as a thank you note for Maike and Simon). Balinese food. Chocolate coconut popcorn. Going home early, enjoying the night outside on the terrace after everybody had already gone to bed.

Cute children's books in Ava's room (one about a little girl going on a nightly stroll through the city with her dad because she's afraid of the dark) and in the museum shop.

Staying with Ludo in Eibelstadt. He let us stay there the first night even though he wasn't there. On our way back to Munich we stopped by again and went to his cabin in the hills behind the river with him, his partner Sophia and his son. He built everything himself! Such a cozy and cool place. We had a decadent barbecue and hopped into the warm jacuzzi after the boys had gone to bed. I performed a witchy little ritual on C. in the morning. Then we went to Ludo's other property to visit the old building there. Lost places.

Bubblegum pink nails.

C. sending kiss emojis and 111(1) reminders.

Guessing correctly which year a movie came out.

Late summer/early fall vibes. I can already feel a slight urge to bake zucchini cake and pumpkin quiche, watch whimsical autumn movies, read gothic novels. I started reading the first Practical Magic book and even found a copy of the Book of Shadows on the street in Leipzig. And when I bought a drink at Marie's Hoffest, the bartender girl tattooed a little magic wand on my wrist! It's the season of the witch!

Going to Leipzig for my Gestalt therapy training. Meeting my group. Observing my process. I'm very happy with my decision to ditch my yoga module and do this instead. I got the feeling that my empathy and intuition is very well-suited for the position of a therapist. I even managed to make someone cry because I helped him realize an important need in one of my first training sessions.

Learning about my role as a leader / how I want to be lead in an exercise with Tillmann.

Going into plough pose to help my back pain. Deep stretches. Recovery measures after hours on those tiny meditation pillows.

All the mirroring and the little insights it produces: that I'm hardly able to sit with a feeling. I always want to move on, find solutions, go deeper. Movement comes easy, stillness is hard. Which is quite fitting to someone's recent observation about me: I tend to avoid stillness and rest. / I can't feel myself very well. Which is why I push my boundaries. I don't even notice them until it's too late and at that point I draw a very strict line and establish tight boundaries. Too tight, of course. But I need to protect myself because I haven't taken good care of my needs before. / I can't tolerate weakness very well. Not in me, not in others. I want to learn how to lean into my own fragility more and allow it to come to the surface from time to time.

Listening to NOUK and Anna's beautiful voice. I adored her edgy haircut and the long white dress she was wearing.

Sitting outside on the balcony with Franzi and Marie, talking in the dark. / Drinking beer outside Marcus's camper van after class on Saturday.

(Vintage) shopping. I got a cheap yellow plastic ring, a wooden ring holder, a hair clip, and a funny postcard for C.

I got a copy of Psychologie Heute for the train and was surprised to find articles about the topics most relevant to me now: Gestalt Therapy, eating disorders, and especially boundaries.

C. picked me up from the train in Munich. It was lovely to see him but felt a little unfamiliar at first. On the way home he filled me in on his exciting weekend. We had a chat with his neighbors who gave us fresh produce from the garden and plum cake - which was fantastic because the fridge was empty so now we were able to make a big pot of creamy lemon-zucchini pasta. I loved touching each other's warm, naked skin. Reconnecting, tuning in. Going through an elaborate pop-up book together.

Hearing about C.'s very cinematic dream in the morning. Toasted bread with butter and honey for breakfast. Encouragement to become some sort of touch therapist. Apparently I've got magic hands.

Learning about Ursula Schultze-Blum and her fascinating Surrealist art.

Two harmonious, beautiful days at C.'s place. Journalling, drawing, making a shadow frame for the Hilma Af Klint altar piece. Visiting Tobi one evening, creating visions for the cabin and the forest lot. Pizza and a long evening walk with Marcus. Caring for the scared little red cat they caught to bring him to the vet. Watching a spider catch a fly, devouring it violently. Embracing my crazy urges. Eating scrambled eggs on cheese toast. Watching The Broken Circle Breakdown together, researching Bluegrass bands in Munich. Singing together. C. said I should find a Bluegrass band and sing with them instead of my gospel choir.

A summer afternoon outside. Ripping out vines, picking blackberries behind the vegetable garden. Memories of the brambles we had behind our house when I was young. Huge tomatoes, an abundance of beautiful butterflies everywhere. Biting into a ripe plum; vowing to make zucchini cake and plum dumplings when we get back from France.

C. carrying my backpack for me, entertaining me during the wait at the train station. Waving cheerfully after the train doors had closed and I was about to leave.

Drawing the Page of Fire, Playfulness - along with Adventure (Page of Rainbows). Writing about it. And the dream I had about feeling unwanted and criticized at home, trying to leave in overwhelm and chaos. And then there was C., smiling at me, embracing me, not even aware of the perceived hostility.

Emotional release on a physical level. This is new for me. I felt so nervous, was hardly able to hold the feeling in my body. It was unbearable. I ate some granola with almond milk and an apple. Lay down. And then my jaw started shaking uncontrollably. I was crying, grasping for air. I already felt better afterwards.

A hard massage from Pani. Coming back into my body.

Starting our roadtrip with a deep talk about having children. Visiting Kerem (I loved learning about his travels and diving, playing and drawing with his daughter, confusing the cat, looking at his design furniture), Makelove (our afternoon by the river was gorgeous; eggs and mayonnaise, land art, insightful conversations, learning something new about him), and Marjolien (eating salad on her balcony, learning about her passion for constellation work, her love for Tobi). Then we drove all the way over the San Bernardino pass. Enjoyed the view of the austere landscape and even saw a true cowboy up there. Dinner in Torino. Well-deserved sleep.

Making an excellent 90s Ethno-pop playlist on our way over the mountains between Italy and France. And the view from the top! What a lovely road we took.

Try not / to expect / anything - in this way / everything / will open up / to you (Buddhist teaching)

Arriving at Villa Josalie. Buying the most delicious snacks at the French supermarket. The friends dropping in one by one. Drinking wine and eating cheese outside, watching fireworks together.

[destinylordoffreaks]

Batch number five

first and foremost we have a picture of Benjamin and his biological older brother Tobias remember how I mentioned last post the Benjamin starts heaving to deal with some tough shit that hast to do with his life prior to the yuki’s. Well, this is part of it due to convoluted reasons Benjamin was separated from his older brother, and believe him dead, and Tobias believed vice versa so reuniting with each other was a big deal also you may notice in the sketch it lists Benjamin has having another name Theodore Liam Anderson. This is actually incorrect. His Last name is supposed to be Davidson. Also, the heights are listed wrong. They’re both an inch taller than they’re supposed to be. 

next we have infinity and Benjamin interacting. I’ve always kind of thought that this picture is just fin info dumping about dinosaurs on him. I don’t know how many of you guys have experience with Nuro divergent’s, but I grew up in a house full of them, so I’m no stranger to the Neuro divergent info dumps, and this picture just embodies it in my opinion has mentioned an earlier post. Fin and Benjamin are best friends, so this is probably far from the first time this has happened to Ben and he’s probably done it to fin in turn.

Then we have some sort of bizarre. What if that I don’t even really remember what Spond it but it was kind of almost like a dark universe were they both had a more monstrous design I think? I really don’t remember but I do you think Ben turned out to look pretty cool.

And we have yet another picture of baby Benjamin this one having been based off of one of my own baby pictures cookie at all my little sisters absolutely adore this picture

And finally, we have yet another pony Sona for Benjamin. I never did come up with a my Little Pony name for him, but I do have a couple ideas, one of which being coral treat, and another one being ocean sweet you guys have any ideas feel free to let me know I really like the way the overall design turned out but I do think I’m gonna change up his cutie mark thinking, perhaps something with a cookie in it

for the record I use the old My Little Pony name generator through from deviant art through flashpoint, to try and help me come up with a better name, which hasn’t worked yet, but these were some honorable mentions I thought were funny

Cookie blanket

Quirk smirk

lighting light

[whoree321]

I am not sure if you have done this already, (if you have, you can ignore it) BUT... I'd love to see some NSFW headcannons for Tech...

i have not done this yet but i am frothing at the mouth at the opportunity! the lust that i feel for that man is indescribable

nsfw tech headcanons

warning: if the title wasn’t clear, these are literally just dirty dirty sex thoughts. X rated shit. if filth of this nature is not suitable for you plz don’t read<3

first and foremost it is very very important for me to say that i know, with 100% confidence, that tech is the best at sex of all the bad batch members

i understand this may be a controversial take. some of you may disagree. i don’t care.

the reasons that tech is the best at sex are threefold

1) tech does not tolerate being anything less than exceedingly proficient when it comes to his knowledge and abilities in any given subject of interest. regardless of the occasion, he won’t accept a below average performance from himself. tech has put in the hours, on and off the field (if you will), to ensure he is well versed in anything and everything to do with sex and pleasure. and he’s always anxious to experiment and learn more

2) tech is not hindered by shyness in the bedroom. when he knows what he’s doing, tech is confident (borderline arrogant), and as stated in reason #1, he KNOWS what he’s doing. tech may be a blushing, bashful mess when it comes to the emotional aspects of a relationship, but once y’all start getting hot and heavy he loses pretty much all of that. he knows he’s gonna show you a good time, and he’s excited

3) tech is also not hindered by pride in the bedroom. he has a very holistic view of sex (seriously he did a lot of research, he knows every school of thought regarding sexual intimacy), and he understands it in both a physical, theoretical way and also in a more emotional way. his main concern is mutual satisfaction by any means necessary, but if you’re in a relationship he’s also very interested in using sex has a way to like strengthen your connection. tech has no interest in being some kind of macho, alpha male that can conquer you or something. he’s not gonna limit himself to certain positions or methods to try to preserve his sense of masculinity. he wants you to feel good, and nothing is off the table. he will explore anything to enhance the experience (like seriously anything- we will get into that in a bit)

so for those reasons, i think tech is lowkey a sex god

whether or not you’ve had sex before when you and tech get together, sleeping with him for the first time might as well be your first time ever

because you did not know sex could really be THAT good

and that’s before he has the opportunity to really learn your body and figure out the best ways to pleasure you

i think that for a hot second, sex with tech is always a little bit of an experiment

he’s obviously focused on you and the moment, but he’s also doing research. (with your permission) tech will literally take detailed notes, he’ll record you so he can watch it back and analyze his performance like a professional athlete or something. he’s keeping track of how you respond to different things, how fast he can get you hurtling over the edge with different positions, paces, toys, etc.

side note: he loves toys. tech will modify toys (or fully build his own) based on both of your specific needs, so that even the toys yall use are designed with maximum efficiency

that’s really the only flaw with tech in a sexual sense: he’s really really methodical in the beginning, and it can sometimes take away from the genuine passion of the moment

once he’s satisfied with his research and feels confident in his knowledge of your body tho, it becomes wayyyy more natural and intimate rather than a science experiment. he’s solid in his physical knowledge of you, so he’s more focused on enjoying the moment and having fun

it’s almost like he needed to memorize the best way to fuck you and do it over and over until he didn’t need to consciously think about it before he could fully let himself go with you. there’s a notable transition when sex goes from being a technical mission for him to achieve your orgasm, to being a mutually/equally passionate, erotic experience

tech is a switch and you can’t change my mind

he usually assumes more of a dominant role, enjoying having you begging and whimpering beneath him, but he also loves when you take the reigns and have your way with him

i don’t think he’s the horniest of all the batchers, but he most certainly has a plentiful sex drive

when y’all haven’t had a chance to fuck in a while tech is secretly incorrigible

to the untrained eye, he’s good at keeping it to himself, but it’s very obvious to you. he goes out of his way to be just a little too close to you, his eyes linger on you just a little too long, his hands find their way to be touching you more than normal

he’s usually really easy to tease, but especially when he’s like this

literally you just stroke his forearm and whisper something lightly seductive in his ear and he’s pulling you into the nearest private space and absolutely rearranging your guts

circling back to what i said about tech becoming less scientific and more passionate during sex as time goes on with you, i think that also applies to dirty talk

i think he’s generally pretty vocal in bed, but it takes a little bit for him to nail the sensuality of dirty talk

at first, it’s not something he can really do that sounds very natural, like it comes out just a little too technical sounding

but once tech gets comfortable with you and really lets himself be fully vulnerable and open to you, he’s actually really really good at it. it still sounds just a little formal, but in an endearing and sexy way

he loves to tell you how sexy you are, how beautiful you look, how well you’re taking him, how good you feel

this man def has a degradation kink (specifically with intelligence)

like he doesn’t even really realize it himself until one time he’s testing out his newest toy on you and he asks you how it feels and you can’t even string together a coherent thought, much less a sentence, and he notices and starts asking more and more questions just to see you struggle to think of a response

and then he’s putting the toy down and going absolutely feral on you, pounding into you and saying that you’re just a cock dumb slut, that you’re so desperate and horny for him you can’t even think, that it’s so easy to just just absolute filth and he’s so condescending and arrogant about it

you both finish almost synchronously and after the aftershocks have passed and you’ve caught your breath, the two of you can’t help giggling a little bit as you comment that you weren’t expecting that to be as hot as it was, and he agrees

and omg if you uno reverse card it and do the same thing to him? he’s a fucking mess

like you’ve been torturously edging him, and every time you get him to the brink you ask him some sort of complex mathematical question or something, and he’s so wrecked he can’t spit the answer out so you say something like “aww i guess you’re not as smart as i thought, that’s ok baby at least you’re still pretty”. he’s a whining, shaking mess by the time you let him cum

(once he pulls himself together he definitely gets you back for it too)

also i think tech really really likes to leave hickeys on you exactly in the most precarious places. like he knows the exact measurements of where your clothes cover your skin and he loves to leave marks like right on the edge so that it’s mostly hidden but if anything shifts it’s visible

if any of the the other boys notice and tease you, he gets the most smug little grin on his face. once you have a second to yourselves, he saunters over to you and apologizes, but you know he’s happy to remind everyone that you’re his

overall i am just so fucking horny for this man like i just know tech is a phenomenal lover, he’s so focused on you and is just so good at all of it i would give anything to take him to pound town

[sergeantgoggles]

Things I would like to see in season 2 of The Bad Batch:

First and foremost, I want Cody. I don't care how, but I want Rex to get the closure. *I* need that closure.

Find Wolffe. We've already gotten Gregor, now we need our Commander.

A story arch on Lothal featuring The Bridgers and baby Ezra.

In the same vein, give me story arches for Zeb on Lasan and Sabine on Mandalore.

The Havoc Marauder is getting rather small for the people they keep collecting. Maybe they're forced to get something new a bigger. Maybe The Ghost? Maybe at the end of the series, Hera inherits it?

Crosshair slowly helping the Bad Batch as he struggles with himself. Have him tell Rampart they're dead. No one would be any the wiser. Could it eventually be discovered that their bodies weren't recovered and their ship is gone? Sure, but for at least a moment, let Crosshair help keep the heat off of them.

I want Tech to lose his cool. He's so calm and composed that it must take something really rattling to make him snap. Let me see it.

GIVE ECHO AN ARM.

I want to know more about Omega. I still have so many questions about her existence.

Speaking of, let her meet Boba. Let them bond.

I'd love to see more Fennec, but maybe helping TBB.

Crosshair coming home.

FLASHBACKS. GIMME BABY BAD BATCH.

[jenstar1992-2]

Alright y’all...

*Spoilers for The Bad Batch ep. 7 below*

Okay, so I don’t usually do this, but after last night’s episode, I don’t know how to be right now. I’m a complete mix of emotions.

First and foremost, I am beyond happy that our boys have finally removed those damned inhibitor chips. Not only does this mean they are no longer “ticking time bombs”, but Wrecker can ,hopefully, stop hitting his head every friggin episode, poor baby. But also, now that they know how to remove them, it gives me a little more hope for our favorite sniper... 4 down, 1 to go, fellas, save ya boy. Save Crosshair!!! It’s already long overdue in my opinion.

Second, I love the relationship between Wrecker and Omega, it reminds me of the fun uncle and his niece, and they just love each other so much. Their scenes in this episode had my heart melting, and I’m looking forward to more of it. Now they just need to give us more Omega and Tech moments.

Third, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, I’m a little upset with Echo’s reactions, or lack thereof, in this episode. So, he was all “Rex? Where’d he go” in episode 2, and when he’s finally faced with his brother, who btw was the main catalyst to his rescue back in season 7, all we get from him is a “Where’ve you been?” Like, huh? Granted, the way he said his name upon first seeing him seemed to be a mix of surprise, and maybe happiness, and his overall reaction could’ve been subdued because he seems to have a habit of suppressing his true emotions, which would also explain the lack of reaction when Rex mentioned Fives, which also irked me a little, but I don’t know. I couldn’t help feeling a bit, well, gipped. Maybe that’s just me being selfish though. However, none of this makes me love him any less, if anything it has me feeling sad at the fact that he doesn’t feel comfortable enough to express his emotions around his new comrades, and that he constantly has to put up this front of indifference and a certain level of toughness. I get it, I’m just not happy about it. Baby boo needs someone to sit down and let him vent, just get it all out, is that too much to ask for him? Ugh, but anyway...

Last, but certainly not least, because I wanted to end this on a high note... REX!!! OMFG, I lost my ever loving shit when he showed up, even though I  knew it was coming and had been saying he was going to show up in this next episode all week long, it still got me. This man’s gorgeous face gracing my screen again was the highlight of my week, and I hope we get to see him again before Rebels. I believe we will, given his and Hunter’s last interaction, but yeah... fuckin’ Rex beech. I was so happy.

Overall, great episode, and even though there were moments where I wasn’t too happy, I still enjoyed it by the conclusion, and can’t wait for the next episode. ☺

[cyberrat]

41st Batch Of Fics: 2nd Fill

McCree/Hanzo – cont B40F2 – Alpha/Alpha verse; rimming; gaping; dirty talk; (fake) pregnancy (talk); as in, they can’t get pregnant but McCree loves to run his dirty mouth – right what it says on the tin, baby!

---

When Hanzo’s awareness starts to swim back to the surface he is first and foremost aware of a big warm tongue patiently pressing into his aching, puffy hole. It takes a few tries – as if trying to start an old, rusting lawn mower – to figure out that it had to be Jesse. He’s not completely sure, but the rasp of a beard and the coolness of a metal hand on his thigh are telling enough that he does not try to rouse himself to anything more than sleepy half-awareness.

The past few days are a vague awareness. A lot of fucking. A lot of McCree being an animalistic bastard; holding Hanzo down and making him take it again and again. Pressing knot after knot after knot into his over stimulated, over enduring body to make him keep it nice and hot while the rutting Alpha geared up for yet another round.

It’s as much of a nightmare as it is a dream. Hanzo’s mouth twitches into a smug little smile. He’s fantasized about something like this since he presented. Being just another hole for another Alpha to use. Being just the perfect candidate for someone to push load after load into…

His body is vaguely protesting of its weird use but the dull ache radiating through his body only really registers as ‘triumph’ in his brain.

The overbearing scent of a rutting Alpha has simmered down to a more palatable degree. McCree probably is still on the tailends of his rut, but the brunt of it has moved past them finally. In all honesty, Hanzo doesn’t know if he could have taken another day of brutal rut fuck.

What he is getting now is so much better… McCree’s big slobbery tongue pushes into him softly, tonguing against his loose rim and rubbing up against his hot intestines. He wishes he could have more of it, honestly.

As he thinks it, McCree pulls back – of course he does. Hanzo grunts in annoyance; but at least the other Alpha stays close enough that he can feel the hot puffs of air against his ruined hole as he speaks.

“Never seen a hole so goddamn sloppy.” McCree’s usually smooth drawl has become rough from the rut and too little liquid. It feels like it is scraping right against Hanzo’s nerve endings, setting his body into a confusing bout of tingles. His nipples become hard peaks against the bedding, causing him to vaguely squirm just to feel the pleasure shoot through his body.

“S probably why Alphas aren’t made for it…” he sounds more thoughtful now. As if barely talking to Hanzo anymore. There are thick fingers at his rim, slowly pushing against it. A short picture flashes through Hanzo’s head: McCree staring intently into the red ruined gape with that sleepy, heavy lidded gaze of his. He flushes and ducks his head some, but keeps listening to the low, rough murmur.

“Could prolly fist you right now… but I won’t. Can’t be too rough with a new mommy can’t I? ‘Cause there’s no way that didn’t take… pumped it so deep in your belly, don’t think we’ll ever see that again. Just need to work it into a cute li’l pup, right?”

Hanzo is a bit shocked about his own reaction, the low groan seemingly ripped out right from some depths he hadn’t known existed. He’s never had a breeding kink – being an Alpha who likes getting pounded by other Alphas – but damn… damn if McCree’s lewd filth slowly dripping over him isn’t doing it for him.

McCree is a weirdly gifted speaker. It’s honestly a little disturbing.

“Hmmm but what if it didn’t take? Maybe I should really make sure…”

Hanzo doesn’t really process the words until he can feel McCree starting to crawl up his body, blanketing his back once again. His breath hitches, hands curling into the bedding into fists. He feels like the coarse hair covering McCree’s front must have given him some second degree burns by now. His back feels about as tender as his hole.

He also can’t believe Jesse has yet another round left in him… but the big warm cock sliding against the insides of his thighs tells a different story.

“Hey there,” McCree rumbles right against Hanzo’s ear as he slowly lies down on him, crushing him into the bed. “Ready for another round? Wanna make sure it takes…”

Hanzo wheezes low; there’s not much more he can do when McCree is lying on him like that. The Alpha is big and goddamn heavy. He does not seem to require any real answer anyway. He is humming low and happy as if Hanzo had given him a whole-hearted yes, and starts to move his hips in a slow twisting motion to find the ruined gape of his hole without having to reach down and help his dick along the way.

It doesn’t surprise Hanzo when he manages the feat.

“There you go,” Jesse breathes on a long, satisfied exhale, breath tickling Hanzo’s ear and the small hairs on the back of his neck. Jesse’s cock is wet as if he had thought of smearing it in lube beforehand. The glide is smooth and easy and prickles right along Hanzo’s spine, settling at the base of his neck.

“Gonna put the prettiest pup in ya,” Jesse keeps murmuring. It’s slow and indulgent just like his hips pushing that big Alpha cock into Hanzo and rubbing it along his aching insides. “Gonna have your hair ‘n eyes ‘n stupid li’l smile…” He lowers his head, pressing his forehead against the back of Hanzo’s shoulder.

It’s a weirdly soft moment that makes him want to squirm and elbow McCree off of him – right until he suddenly continues: “Gonna pump your belly so damn full with my cum… can’t wait for ya to waddle around with it, show everyone how ya let a mut knock ya up. Can’t wait to fuck you with your big stomach…”

Hanzo gasps out half a laugh, his ears burning. He’s pretty sure McCree’s mumbling would have made him want to strangle him if he weren’t high on the dull ache of a rut mating and the renewed tingles prickling up his spine from the slow, intense fuck now.

The mix of sweet-and-filthy is giving him whiplash.

“Can’t believe ya let me do this,” Jesse mutters. It sounds a bit more… sane than his other ramblings. “Can’t believe you’d let me mount up so fuckin’ often. You should see your goddamn’ hole, Shimada. It’s a fuckin’ ruin. Fuck, you’re so stretched… Wanna… wanna take my knot again? Huh?”

Hanzo wouldn’t be able to get a word in edge-wise even if he had been able to speak, buried beneath the thick bulk of the other Alpha. Jesse’s hips are fucking marginally faster now, slapping against Hanzo’s backside. He is vaguely aware of the swell of McCree’s knot, but it does not feel as impossibly huge as it has at other times. He really must be stretched out…

“Do it!” he croaks, his own cock stuck in the bedding, weeping into the fabric and making it cling to the slick, hot crown. Tears of overstimulation are burning the corners of his eyes. “Do it! Damn you!”

Jesse does do it.

It’s the perfect finale to a frankly embarrassingly perfect set of days spent in a fucked-out daze.

[justasparkwritings]

Merry & Bright {21}: Santa Baby

Previous: I Could Care Less

Pairing: OT7

Genre: Fluff

Rating: PG13

Warnings: Swearing!

Summary: Bangtan plays Secret Santa. 

            “Alright, we have to draw names,” Namjoon says, glancing from member to member.

           “Aye, why are we doing this?” Yoongi asks, sipping on his iced coffee.

           “It’s fun!” Jimin replies.

           “It’s annoying,” Yoongi mutters.

           “Well you don’t have to participate, you can get nothing for Christmas,” Seokjin says.

           “Everyone write your name on your piece of paper and fold it in half,” Namjoon sits down next to Ho-Seok, who nods, eager to play.

           “Are we doing three small gifts or one big gift?” Jimin asks.

           “One gift,” Taehyung picks.

           “Any words for three gifts?” Namjoon asks.

           “Are we doing a price limit?” Jungkook asks.

           “No?” Taehyung questions.

           “We’re only getting one member a gift, I don’t think we need a limit,” Ho-Seok responds, folding his paper.

           “I agree,” Seokjin says.

           “Nothing too extravagant,” Yoongi says.

           “Whoever Yoongi gets should prepare to be disappointed,” Seokjin says laughing.

           “Can we draw?” Namjoon says, gathering all the papers. He takes the hat of Jungkook’s head and drops the little secrets in, scrambling. “Youngest to oldest.”

           Jungkook claps his hands together, laughing at the annoyed look on Jin’s face, and Yoongi’s eye roll.

           “If you get yourself, put it back,” Yoongi says, “That’s cheating.”

           “How?” Taehyung asks as he picks his piece.

           “You can buy yourself something any day,” He explains.

           “It’s no fun if you pick yourself,” Jimin adds. He quickly picks his paper and opens his paper, smiling instantly.

           “Jiminie’s giving it away!” Seokjin yells.

           “No I’m not!” Jimin yells.

           “You are! That smile!” Jin points his finger at him.

           “I’m just happy,” He shrugs.

           “Oo!” Ho-Seok says as he reads his name.

           “Alright, everyone got a name?” Namjoon asks, sitting down to look at his.

           “When are we exchanging?” Yoongi asks.

           “After the MAMAs and MMAs, and our performance on KBS world,” Taehyung says.

           “When’s the last day we’re together?” Jungkook asks.

           “The 23rd?” Yoongi asks.

           “I think so,” Jin agrees.

           “Okay, the 23rd at the dorms,”

           “Dinner?” Seokjin suggests.

           “Yes,” They all nod, agreeing.

           Without further delay, they moved on to other matters of business and eventually rehearsal for their numerous stages.

           Yoongi was the first to find his secret Santa gift, a watch that instantly reminded him of the Namjoon. It was something Namjoon would stare at, making calculated decisions whether to buy it or not. It was a bit extravagant in its platinum face and leather band, the moon phase a touch he knew Namjoon would appreciate. Yoongi had noticed the leader’s affinity for time pieces and was sure this was going to hold a special place in his collection.

           Yoongi smugly carried the package to his apartment, hiding it away in a drawer he knew no one, meaning Jimin or any of the Maknae line, would look in. He’d opted for gift wrap, making it nearly impenetrable to their sly fingers.

           Namjoon was beyond thrilled when he pulled Ho-Seok’s name from the hat. Shopping for him would be easy, Ho-Seok was excited about all presents, and any amount of thought would go a long way with him. Taking the easy way out with gifts was never Namjoon’s style, and as he sat in his room, writing an email to Bang about what he wanted to do for Ho-Seok, he was happy to know that this thoughtfulness was being put to use. Joon wanted to get Ho-Seok a set of classes with a few different choreographers that were big in Korea and the States. He was constantly pushing himself but finding time to actually meet with a choreographer outside of their usual set was rare. Namjoon knew it would push him out of his comfort zone, and that is exactly what he wanted. That, and a new pair of sneakers for Ho-Seok to dance it, maybe with his nickname on it, in neon…

           Ho-Seok knew exactly what to get Taehyung. He’d been planning it for months, hoping that when they pulled Secret Santa names, he could enact his two-part Birthday plan. The first was a stunning Gucci coat that Taehyung had looked at, but never purchased. Its ostentatious green velvet mixed with delicate pink and brow flowers would look striking against his features, and Ho-Seok had diligently watched for his size to come in. Not only had he purchased the coat, but he’d found a seamstress who could make a matching jacket for Yeontan. Not of the same Gucci fabric, but a green velvet that coordinates. Taehyung was going to lose his mind when Ho-Seok gave him the companion on his birthday, as well as a special Vinyl of his first mixtape that he had asked Bang to make.

           Taehyung had struck gold. Who was easier to buy for than Jungkook? No one, except maybe Namjoon. The problem with Namjoon was that he had an idea for what he wanted, a level of thoughtfulness that he hoped someone would match. No matter how thoughtful, it wasn’t enough. Jungkook, though, was happy to be included, happy to feel seen, grateful that any of his hyung’s would take the time to spend money on him and take the time to find something thoughtful. Taehyung kept a list of ideas in his phone for each member’s birthdays. September-December were always rough, an ungodly number of performances and stages, and 5 birthdays, his included. It became easier to just keep a list, organized by member, which he could return to for any gift giving holiday. When he had an idea, he jotted it down, as to not forget it. This year, having drawn Jungkook, he was happy that his list of ideas for his only maknae was too long. New work out gear, his favorite Korean books in English to practice his reading skills, beginners guide to cooking, a pair of silk pajamas, a commissioned piece of art that Taehyung knew wasn’t going to be ready in time, and numerous other items. Thinking about Jungkook’s growth in the last few months, Taehyung optioned for the books and a few new pieces of work out clothing. Practical and thoughtful to match Jungkook’s sensibilities.  

           Jungkook was beyond thrilled to pull Seokjin’s name, simply because he had one too many gifts from Jin’s recent birthday, and he was blessed that he hadn’t had to go out and hunt something down in the midst of their rigid performance and rehearsal schedule. Instead, he re-wrapped the gift, a new set of cooking knives and a fancy cutting board with his initials engraved, in Christmas wrapping and set it under the tree in the dorms. Namjoon had placed labels with their names on them, which said:

To: Jin

From: Secret Santa

He had had them printed at the office, a foolproof way of ensuring no one knew who picked who and left them precut and ready to be placed on the present.

           Jungkook’s was the first gift to be placed, making the already pathetically dressed tree look a little less pathetic.

           Seokjin spent the next ten days trying to find something perfect for Jimin. What could he possibly purchase for the man who gave some of the most thoughtful gifts? He’d racked his brain for something new, exciting, that Jimin would like. A coat? A bougie sweatshirt? Tickets to an event? What possibly could he find that would appeal to Jimin’s sensibilities? Why hadn’t Namjoon requested everyone make a list? That would’ve been more helpful. A list would give him an idea, a direction to go in… Instead, Seokjin wandered the mall after hours, his team having rented space for him. It was by chance that he stumbled into the bookstore, and pure serendipity that he found a display of coffee table books. Looking through the stack, two books stood out: Revelations about the Alvin Ailey famed piece, and The Art of Movement by Deborah Ory. Jimin was a dancer first and foremost, and Jin was excited by the prospect of his reaction to these presents.

           Jimin had paid a little too much attention to Yoongi in the last nine months, not enough that Yoongi had noticed, but enough that Jimin knew the minutes he pulled his name what to get him. A new electric guitar, top of the line. Yoongi had been spending the last year or so learning acoustic, on a fairly new all black, simple, to the point, guitar. No frills, no flares, nothing. While Jimin knew Yoongi loves the guitar, he wondered if a little nudge would help him get into electric guitar. Jimin used his resources to scour the world for a perfect electric, before settling on a small batch, vintage piece from the 1950s. In good condition, strings new, the guitar was breathtaking. Jimin bought a new case for it, lined in crushed black velvet, with Yoongi’s name embossed on the side.

           As the 23rd approached and more gifts filtered under the tree, the seven men looked grateful. Grateful that they’d each taken the time to purchase something for one another, grateful that they believed in one another to find something special for them, grateful they believed in themselves and the love they shared.

Next: Golden Days

[drblueneck]

Massive Genderbent AU - Rookie 9 edition

Ok. I should really NOT be writing that, but that little shit of a story wouldn’t leave me alone and I couldn’t focus on my studies and I was going CRAZY. So, here. It’s written. NOW LEAVE ME ALONE BRAIN, LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!! I decided to post it, because I want people to enjoy the beauty of genderbender. This will turn into a fullfledged story. Maybe. Probably. Certainly. But not right now. Because I don’t have time. I NEED TIIIIMMMME.

As spring was in full bloom, it was time for Hideo-sensei - Head of the Academy - to peruse the new application forms for the upcoming year. Going through each of them and smiling at the familiar clan names, he took him a moment to notice the higher than normal percentage of girls being enrolled. As he took a closer look, his surprise went up a notch. The heirs of the most prominent ninja clans were to be in the same year class, and all but two were females. It had been a long time since such a thing happened! Hideo-sensei idly wondered if the girls would be up to par with the boys, and winced at the ludicrous idea of Genin teams made up mostly of kunoichi - their strength would never amount to that of their male counterparts, science said so. Or, well, science said so before Tsunade-sama gave it the finger... Hideo-sensei shook his head and snorted. Frankly, what were the chances for all these girls to end up like the legendary Sannin? Prodigies were a fluke, not the norm.

With a rueful sigh, he closed the files and signed them, already mourning for this future batch of Genin who would more likely than not bring down their forces’ strength for months, if not years - that is, if they ever graduated instead of mooning over boys like so many were wont to do in their debute... Hopefully, these kunoichi would have a wake-up call sooner than later!

Years later, looking back on this biased oversight, Hideo-sensei would berate himself for dismissing so easily what Konoha saw as its new rising stars and the best ninja of their generation.

  Shikaku stared at his ranting kid from where he was sitting under the shade of the great oak in their backyard, ears used to relentless tirades after years of mariage to his dear banshee of a wife. He loved her, really, he did, but damn if that troublesome woman didn’t turn him half-deaf in the first two months of their marital life. It’s without shame that Shikaku would readily admit to having prayed for his kid to turn out like him - lazy and fond of long stretches of silence. The Nara genes were usually strong, to the dismal of those who married into the clan, but it looked like Yoshino’s were as stubborn as her!

Troublesome woman indeed, Shikaku thought with fondness as his daughter finished her rant about ‘not being a kid anymore’ and thus demanding to be ‘trained as a real kunoichi to kick butts’. Maybe he stayed quiet for too long because she started tapping her tiny foot on the grassy ground, arms crossed as she dished out her best glare, and all that was done in a perfect imitation of her mother - and it only made her father want to laugh and squeeze her in a hug.

Which he did.

“Daaad! I’m serious!” Shikaru wailed, tugging harshly at her father’s spiky ponytail to punctuate her words.

“Yes you are,” he cooed, rubbing his scratchy beard against her chubby cheek.

“I wanna leaaarn!” She wailed again, squirming in his grasp and trying to escape his beard, struggling not to laugh and keep up her angry pout. It tickled!

Trapping her into his arms, Shikaku let himself fall down on his back, adjusting comfortably his neck so that he could watch the fluffy clouds go by.

“Maa, why couldn’t you be a lazy one just like your dad, hm?”

The child instantly stopped her useless squirming and with fire burning fiercely in her brown eyes, she hissed like an angry cat, “Cause I’m gonna beat Inoshi! He made Chou cry!”

Aaah, right. The first time he and his teammate decided to officially introduce their kids to each other when they were four, Inoichi’s boy - who lacked a brain to mouth filter - had taken one look at Chouza’s girl and pointed at her before saying with all the innocence of the world, “Daddy, look, she’s fat.” The poor Chouko had bursted into tears and clung to her father the whole day while Shikaru, true to her name, spent a good ten minutes scolding the boy before launching herself into a philosophical pamphlet of sorts on the serious issue of body image within the shinobi world. Inoshi had gaped at her, a bit pale, before hunching his shoulders and muttering a bit too belligerently, “Well, you’re definitely not cute...”

Inoichi had confided that to this day, his son still obsessively kept his hair short, traumatised by Shikaru gripping on his tiny ponytail so hard that she tore out a big clump of fine blond hair. Another of her mother’s bad habits... It was a good thing Shikaku got so used to the rough treatment that it felt like his head was made of steel, otherwise, between his two troublesome girls, he would’ve turned bald yeard ago!

Anyway, all that had been a year ago, and Shikaku had to marvel at his daughter’s ability to hold a grudge.

He hummed under his breath at another of his daughter’s whine about ‘stupid boys’ and wanting to train.

“Then you’ll be happy to know that you start the Academy next month,” he said, nonchalant, happy to stare at the powdery blue sky with the light weight of his kid securely held against his chest. Said kid abruptly sat up, pushing a bony knee into his ribs and he ‘oofed’. Kids... so uncaring...

“Really?!” she cried out as she bounced on his stomach, her almond-shaped eyes almost glittering with stars.

“Really.”

Shikaru dropped back down against him, squeezing her skinny arms around his neck with all her strength - and Shikaku was proud to say that it was actually a lot - as she smothered her excited ‘”thank yous” into his shirt, her feet kicking out in a show of unrestraint happiness and narrowly missing his jewels.

Inoshi was going down. Ha!

  It had been a long time since a masculine presence had been felt in the Inuzuka household. From as far as she could remember, Kiku had always been surrendered solely by her mom and sister and their dogs, with the occasional clansmen dropping by to check in with their Head. And if asked, Kiku would tell you that her mom was badass.

Once, she had asked where her father was and mom bristled and waved a fist in the air. “Who needs that pussy when you got me, huh?” Hana later told her that dad had left them because mom scared him. Tch, mom was right, what a scaredy-cat! Inuzuka women were the bomb!

And Kiku wanted to be just like her mother.

It actually amused Tsume greatly to see her youngest daughter following her everywhere like a lost puppy, even when she went to work in the Jounin HQ or meeting with members of the Council for clan matters. Kiku would closely watch her every move and copy them – sitting with an arm thrown on the back of a chair, legs slightly splayed out or crossed at the ankles; fingers drumming on the table when she wanted to fuck with uptight people like Hiashi or Fugaku; lips turning into a snarl when she wasn’t happy… Yep, her daughter was cute as a button in her mom-worship antics.

Tsume actually thought it was all just a phase and that her childish wonder would soon fade out, but Kiku never stopped praising her mom with starry eyes, asking stories of her missions, and more recently, pleading to start her training in the shinobi arts like Hana. She had already given Akamaru to her a few weeks ago, wanting her to acclimate herself to her life-partner, but Tsume had wanted to leave the shinobi training for a bit later to make sure the dog would be able to follow… So what to do, what to do?

Sighing over her dilemma, Tsume entered Shikaku’s office and dropped her latest report on his desk, not feeling one bit sympathetic as he groaned while glaring at the pile of reports that would soon turn into a tower. Usually, he had to hunt down his Jounin to get their reports on time, but strangely these past few days, they’d all been quite eager – gleeful even! – to complete their administrative duties…

Tsume shot him a mean smirk. “Serves you right for ditching us last week with the new recruits,” she said snidely, still peeved that heir commanding officer had disappeared for a whole afternoon and let the more seasoned shinobi drill the baby Jounin. Shikaku was way too good at hiding from them, the sneaky bastard.

“God, I’m surrounded by nagging women,” the man groaned, signing the papers he was reading with a flourish and attacking a new batch.

“Beats being surrounded by whiny men,” was Tsume’s quick retort.

Shikaku shrugged and stretched his arms, which Tsume took as her dismissal. All too happy to leave the Jounin Commander to his own suffering, she skipped to the door with a bounce to her step, only to reluctantly stop when Shikaku called out her name.

“What.” She was a busy woman, dammit.

He smiled apologetically before asking, “I was just wondering if you were putting your daughter into the Academy this year? Mine is going, and I’d be more at ease if some of the kids she knows were to attend too… Shikaru really needs to up her social game,” he added thoughtfully.

God, that man could be such a mother-hen sometimes! Tsume wondered if he would’ve been this dotting had he had a boy as laidback as him… Probably not.

“I’ve put in Kiku’s application but didn’t tell her anything yet. You know how my clan likes to keep the kids as long as possible and teach them at home before sending the little brats to schools, what with our dogs needing proper training too…”

Shikaku nodded. Many clans were like Tsume’s, enrolling the kids only for the last two or three years of the Academy as they preferred – or simply needed in some cases – to train their kekkai genkai first and foremost before even thinking about formal schooling.

“Well, if your girl is anything like you, she’s going to take to shinobi training like a fish to water,” he said in a smile, complimenting his Jounin’s ruthless efficiency on the field, and Tsume grinned back, showing her sharp teeth.

Maybe sending Kiku earlier than expected would actually be a good thing. Her girl was driven after all!

“She’s been bugging me about training her for weeks now. I think she’s ready to commit,” she mused outloud in a prideful tone.

With a wave of the hand, she turned around and leisurely walked out Shikaku’s office while calling out, “My girl’s totally gonna make you turn prematurely grey when she’ll be under your command, Nara!”

Chuckling at the muttered “troublesome” that her enhanced hearing caught, Tsume made her way back home, the grin never leaving her face. Damn right, her Kiku was going to become a kickass kunoichi!

(Shikaru means “to scold” which I found hilarious. Inoshi comes from inoshishi which means boar, Kiku means chrysanthemum because I just wanted to have some coherency between her sister and her, and Chouko means butterfly child, which is cute af. Next one should’ve Female!Sasuke, Male!Hinata, and I’m gonna have so much fun.)

[aion-rsa]

Star Wars: The Bad Batch Ending Explained

https://ift.tt/3iHYe6c

This Star Wars: The Bad Batch article contains spoilers.

The Star Wars: Bad Batch finale brings the Bad Batch home as the Empire erases what happened in Kamino’s clone headquarters. Team villain Crosshair has been abandoned by the Empire he wanted to serve, forcing him to help his former allies while obscuring his motives and never fully turning trustworthy. Meanwhile, Omega’s love for her little family and her desire to help others gets her into trouble. Episode 16, “Kamino Lost,” is an action-heavy episode with, of course, a stringer for season two. (Disney announced that season two will start in 2022.)

Why did Crosshair save Omega?

A lot of “Kamino Lost” hinges on Crosshair’s decisions. Will the modified clone rejoin the Bad Batch? Based on episode 16, it’s hard to be sure. After all, his decision to walk away from his former team of his own volition (as opposed to following orders from the Empire) is the season’s major cliffhanger. He says he removed his inhibitor chip, which would have made him blindly loyal to the Empire. But that might be a lie. After all, the scarring from his accident with a starship engine in the junk field covers up where a scar from the surgery to remove the chip would have been. But we can understand some of his motivations based on what he says in the episode.

Crosshair berates Hunter for taking the time to save him, asking “What have you done?” Hunter fires back, “If you want to stay here and die, that’s your call.”

Stream your Star Wars favorites right here!

He seems to value the team in his own way, saying “All those missions together, and you threw it away.” He also argues that Hunter’s more ethical methods simply didn’t work: “They’re all going to die here because of your failed leadership.” His plan: “The Empire will control the entire galaxy, and I will be a part of it.”

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TV

Star Wars: The Bad Batch Episode 16 Easter Eggs Explained

By Megan Crouse

Throughout, Omega has demonstrated that she still cares about Crosshair. After all, he’s still one of her brothers, the only people she really feels close to. And she sees why he acts the way he does, asking “You never liked it on Kamino, did you?” Maybe this conversation made him warm up to her, even though he didn’t say so out loud. From the lingering loss at the Bad Batch’s old quarters and their ship, he’s having some second thoughts. Or maybe letting her drown was just a shade too far, even for a killer.

It’s also possible that Crosshair didn’t have his inhibitor chip removed and that it’s malfunctioning, fighting against his modifications. Is that what it means when he holds his head as if he’s in pain? Or is he just thinking hard about a difficult conversation? This still isn’t entirely confirmed. But it does seem like Crosshair has a shred of kindness left, expending at least a little effort to save a person he doesn’t seem to like.

Why did Hunter let Crosshair go?

Crosshair saving Omega goes a long way in Hunter’s estimation. But in the end, he lets his brother leave the team of his own volition out of a sense of fairness. “You offered us a choice,” Hunter says. “This is yours.” Hunter lets Crosshair go because he’s a decent person who believes in choice.

But the two of them still don’t see eye-to-eye. In particular, Crosshair truly believes the Empire will do good by him. “All you’ll ever be to them is a number,” Hunter says to try to fight back against this. He truly believes that the Bad Batchers are best together and under their own command.

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Hunter has never been welcome even among his own clone brothers, so he has a good reason to think the clones who do understand each others’ quirks need to stick together. He’s also essentially a kinder person; remember back in the season opener where the major difference between him and Crosshair was that Crosshair was okay with going to war against civilians.

“We want different things. That doesn’t mean that we have to be enemies,” he says to Crosshair in conclusion. In a way, they’re both arguing from a place of pragmatism, Crosshair sure he wants to be on the winning side with the Empire and Hunter willing to forgive his betrayal if his brother just comes back. Their perspectives are both not that different and worlds apart.

What is Nala Se doing?

The Chief Medical Scientist for all of Kamino, Nala Se is the closest thing the clones have to a mother. Most of them weren’t raised directly by her like Omega was, but she seems to have a soft spot for the girl and the rest of the Bad Batch. After all, she let them escape in the season premier. It was quite a surprise when, despite knowing she wasn’t fully loyal, the Empire kept her around. But it makes sense: she’s the galaxy’s foremost expert on cloning. They’ve just stolen the competition’s most valuable asset and then destroyed the evidence of her ever working anywhere else.

So, what’s next for her? The medical facility the Imperial troopers deliver her to is a brand new place. We can’t really gain any clues about it from the setting except that Imperial bases are never exactly hotspots for love and peace.

She’s joined by a new character credited as Medical Officer, who is wearing what the recent canon has identified as an Imperial scientist officer’s uniform. Several characters in Moff Gideon’s cloning project for the Imperial Remnant in The Mandalorian have worn a variant of this costume. So has Galen Erso, Jyn Erso’s father and one of the architects of the Death Star, in Rogue One.

So, Nala Se is undoubtedly involved in a cloning project. Is it connected to baby Grogu from The Mandalorian? Or to Snoke and the Emperor Palpatine clones from the Sequel Trilogy? We don’t yet know exactly how the latter two things are connected, either. One thing is for sure: Palpatine always has master plans, and as the Republic falls during the time of The Bad Batch, he’s accelerating all of them. Nala Se might not agree with all of them, depending on what her own moral compass is and how much affection she feels for the Bad Batchers, Omega included. But that’s for season two to explore.

The post Star Wars: The Bad Batch Ending Explained appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[bringitspielberg]

Knives and Kisses Series~ Chapter 4: And then I saw her face

Series Summary:  Sometimes a kiss is nothing, sometimes a kiss is something, and sometimes a kiss is everything. And Diego Hargreeves may have finally found someone who can not only keep up with him but teach him exactly that.

-

Chapter Summary:

You find yourself at the Umbrella Academy looking for someone. The truth comes out and Diego finally gets to learn something about you.

Pairing: Diego x (fem) reader

Warnings: Some cuss words? Klaus? I think that’s it.

Author’s Note: This is a chapter from the reader’s perspective instead of Diego’s like the previous ones. It was originally longer but I split it into two chapters. Yes, Klaus is in this chapter and I love him very much. He’s gonna be a big part of this, so you will be seeing him again after this chapter quite a bit. And the other siblings are coming into play real soon. Not gonna lie though, you’re about to learn some VERY important things about the reader, a few hints towards other characters I’m introducing later, and I really like how this chapter turned out. Enjoy! :)

Word Count: 3.3k +

Series Masterlist

Y/N=Your name

Y/L/N=Your last name

Reginald Hargeeves is dead. The words from the news ran through your head again and again.

You never met the man, didn’t even know that much about him. You came close to meeting him a few times, almost met him a few months ago but a woman answered the door instead. You weren’t the biggest fan from everything your dad told you, but the guy was a big part of your life in a strange way.

He created the Umbrella Academy, your childhood heroes, the kids who used their powers to help people which made you decide to help people too. The man had inadvertently shaped your life with his kids, or rather, his kids had shaped your life in a way. Hell, the only reason you were in town was The Umbrella Academy, you were looking for one of them. So, Reginald Hargreeves was vaguely important to you.

But the truth was that he WAS dead. You might not have cared about him, but his death changed everything.

Which, is how you found yourself in front of the famous Umbrella Academy carrying a homemade batch of brownies as you debated whether or not you should knock on the door. Frankly, it might not be the best time if the Umbrella Academy was grieving. From what Diego had said about his family, you honestly weren’t sure what their reactions would be.

Diego. You liked knowing his name, it was better than just thinking of him as handsome—which he was, he was an attractive man—but Diego suited him better. He was something else, that much you were sure of.

You honestly missed him, he was cute and funny and you and him had this weird kind of understanding. Ever since he was shot, he had gone quiet. Sure, it had only been two weeks, but you had kept tabs on him and given him your—well, sort of yours—number (which he had yet to use), it was strange for him to just go silent.

Physically he was fine, you had checked up on him in secret a few times to make sure of that. He had been spending a lot of time in the gym killing some punching bags with a bit more aggression than his usual fighting. You even went to his boxing match the other night, not that he knew that, of course. You had gone without the mask, no way could he pick out your face in a crowd. After the match when he was heading back to his place, his eyes had briefly met yours and you worried he would recognize you, but he kind of just angrily shook his head then walked off and kicked a chair on the way to his place.

Things like that made you worry. You respected that he needed space because he wasn’t sure about you. You respected that he needed time to figure out the truth, that was completely fine; you didn’t want to push him. But you cared about him and if something was bothering him, you wanted to help. And if something was bothering him before, you couldn’t imagine what he must be feeling now. Which is why you knew you had to go to the Umbrella Academy today because Diego might need someone to be there for him. Yes, you had something you had to do there, but first and foremost you were Diego’s friend—despite your sister’s various protests that you should focus only on what you came to town to do.

With that in mind, you fixed your button-up and skirt, took in a breath, and knocked on the front door of the mansion. You tried to prepare yourself for anything, having no idea who might answer the door; could be the woman who answered last time, could be Diego, could be one his siblings. You tried to prepare yourself for whoever answered the door, what you would say and the things you wouldn’t. You felt like you were prepared for anyone who opened it.

You were not prepared for a chimpanzee dressed like a grandpa.

“May I help you, miss?” It said.

Talking chimpanzee? That threw you off for a second. Just a second though, you had seen stranger things; heck, you knew for a fact that you had stranger friends--about 15 exactly came to mind. A talking chimpanzee wasn’t something that would phase you.

“Hi, this is the Umbrella Academy, right?” You asked.

“It is.” The chimpanzee said. “Sorry to be rude, but we have the death of one of our own on our hands, so if you could please state your business. We aren’t very open to guests today.”

“No, of course not, I know. I uh…that’s actually why I’m here. I heard what happened and I wanted to offer my condolences.” You held your brownies up a little higher like you were presenting them. “I’m…I’m a friend of Diego’s and I wanted to make sure he was alright. I also wanted to check on his siblings, this can’t be the easiest thing for any of them. And I um, I…” You trailed off, feeling awkward.

The chimpanzee hummed to himself then opened the door further, ushering you inside.

“Do come in,” The chimpanzee said, “I’ll take your…”

He pointed to the pan in your hands covered with tin foil.

“Brownies.” You said, holding them out to him as he took them. “I didn’t know how many of everyone there was, so I hoped one batch would be enough. Help yourself if you’d like, I assume this whole thing isn’t very easy on you either, Mister…?”

He raised an eyebrow at you—if chimpanzees even had eyebrows, that is, you weren’t sure—and sent you a polite nod.

“Pogo, miss.” He said. “And thank you, that’s very kind. I believe master Diego is on the second floor, third door on the left.”

“Thanks.” You answered as he left to where you assume the kitchen was.

You turned and found yourself speechless as you finally got a look at the inside of the famous Umbrella Academy, the place that you could have grown up in if things had been different. It was huge, bigger than any place you had lived your entire life. Not that you were surprised, it was a mansion afterall.

“Jeez,” You said to no one in particular, “this place is huge.”

“Yeah,” a voice said from your right. “I’m telling ya, dear old dad was compensating for something.”

A puff of amused air left your lips as you turned to the right where the voice came from.

Walking towards you—or rather, strutting towards you—was a guy in a long feathery coat, skintight leather pants, a see-through midriff shirt, and probably the best disheveled eyeliner you had ever seen. He seemed familiar, like one of the addicts you had healed in the street maybe; you met so many of those that you weren’t sure if you had met this one or not. But he radiated chaotic energy, you could feel it, which meant he would probably be right up your alley.

“But enough about my dead dad’s dick.” He said. “Do tell, who is this lovely lady I find before me? Did Pogo finally start letting strays in? I love meeting strays!”

You laughed. “Love your coat.”

“Thank you!” He gushed. “I love your skirt! Where’d you get it? I want one.”

“Oh, I’m not sure, actually. It was a gift. Maybe I’ll lend it to you sometime, it would look so amazing on you.”

He put his hands on his hips. “Darling, everything looks amazing on me.”

“Yeah, but that goes without saying.”

He held his hands to his heart and beamed at you. “Well, now that we’ve become best friends; what’s a girl like you doing in a place like this?” He winked at you, but you could tell he was just being playful, he wasn’t trying to flirt.

“I came to offer my condolences.”

“What for?”

“For your dad dying? You’re a Hargreeves, aren’t you?”

He started cracking up but tried to hide it. “Oh right, right, we’re all suuuuper sad.”

You eyed him up and down with a smile. “I was going to say I’m sorry for your loss, but I’m gonna take a wild guess that you didn’t like your dad much.”

“What on earth might have given you that idea?”

“Honestly? From what I know about the guy, that’s not at all surprising.”

“…Damn. Coming to a guy’s funeral and dragging him? I like you. I’m Klaus.”

Klaus held out his hand for you to shake and a knife suddenly grazed his knuckle and imbedded itself in the wall behind you. Klaus briefly cursed and waved his hand back and forth. You and Klaus looked from the knife to the direction of the stairs where Diego was stepping down the last few steps.

He tossed a knife up as he stepped and caught it. He raised his eyebrows at you—not in your direction, definitely at you specifically, you could tell—and kept walking towards you as he tossed up the knife. 

“Hey Baby.” Diego stated. “Didn’t think I’d find you here.”

“Diego!” Klaus chastised. “That’s no way to greet—"

“How’d you know it was me, handsome?” You cut him off and crossed your arms.

Klaus pulled up his now slightly bleeding knuckle to examine his new cut with a frown, ignoring you and Diego for the most part.

“I’d know those lips anywhere.” Diego said, stopping right in front of you and crossing his arms.

You blinked and darted your eyes to Klaus, who slowly looked up from his hand and gave Diego the most obvious ‘what the fuck’ face you have ever seen. Your eyes darted back to Diego and you couldn’t help but smirk because Diego didn’t even seem to realize what he said, he was playing the game and didn’t even know it. This would be fun.

“I didn’t realize you were that obsessed with my lips.” You flirted.

“What? What are you—” Diego paled as his words dawned on him. “Oh, oh no! I meant to say voice, I swear. I’d know your voice anywhere. I did not recognize you by just your lips, I-I swear!”

You watched him curiously; Diego wasn’t acting like his usual flirty self, he seemed almost unsure when you flirted with him. You brushed it off, blaming it on his surprise at seeing you without a mask.

Klaus, however, looked almost giddy with excitement, which you noticed. You hoped that he wouldn’t say anything like—

“Ooo, Diego’s got a girlfriend and he wants to kiss her!” Klaus said in a teasing voice.

—Like that. You were hoping he wouldn’t say anything like that. But, of course, he did. And, of course, Diego looked like he was stabbing Klaus repeatedly in his head. You knew that look, you saw it a few times when on patrol with him, it meant Diego had to punch someone and it never ended well. Which meant you had to find a way to defuse the situation since you didn’t think Diego should be pummeling his—well, you weren’t sure exactly, but you assumed brother—right now.

“Well, I’m not his girlfriend, Klaus.” You said, getting Klaus’ attention off of Diego. “But he does wanna kiss me, I mean, wouldn’t you?”

You winked at Klaus and he laughed. Diego visibly calmed down a bit, and it looked like he was trying not to smile.

“Oh, I like her.” Klaus said. “If you don’t keep this one, I will. What did you say your name was again?”

“I didn’t.” You said. Your eyes darted down to his hand and you motioned to it. “Does that sting?”

“What?” Klaus looked down at his slightly bleeding hand. “Oh, right! I’m used to it, it’s barely a scratch. I think that’s just how Diego says hello, as long as it doesn’t hurt too bad, I know it’s just like a brotherly hug.”

He clapped Diego on the back affectionately. Diego awkwardly looked at his feet like he wasn’t sure what was happening. You smiled at the interaction, your heart warming a bit at the sight.

“Brothers, huh?” You said. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, then. I’m a friend of Diego’s. May I?”

You held out your hand and nodded towards his injured hand, indicating that you wanted him to give it to you.

“Uh, okay?” Klaus said and held out his injured hand.

You took it and let your powers feel him out.

A wave of fear and pain swept over you, and not from the cut on his hand. He was on drugs, that you could feel, but you could also feel everything he was trying to bury with the drugs. There was fear, trauma, regret, pain, and a kind of screaming in his thoughts. You could tell immediately which of The Umbrella Academy you were talking to: Number 4, The Séance. And he might not have been 100% stable. 

But, you knew the feeling of insanity and pain that came with seeing the kind of things he did; you had learned to cope yourself but your sister…well, you had seen firsthand what seeing that kind of thing can do to a person.

You leaned down and pressed a kiss to his knuckles, the cut immediately closed and healed.

Klaus had his eyes on you but they looked up and he took in a deep breath. It almost looked like he had tears in his eyes, but he wasn’t sad. He smiled just a little, almost serenely, and you could tell that you had healed more than just his hand.

As you pulled back, you could feel that you had taken some of his pain and gave him some peace. It wasn’t permanent, but it was something. It was less pain that he had to deal with today. And that meant it was worth doing.

“There,” You said, releasing his hand. “All better.”

Diego was gaping at you, not that you were surprised. Klaus closed his eyes then opened them to bring himself back to reality.

“How…how did you do that?” Klaus said.

You held your hand up in front of your face and wiggled your fingers, feeling a slight tingling in them for a moment.

“Well,” You said, “All of us were all born with gifts. Mine happen to heal people.”

“What the hell is that supposed…” Diego grumbled, then trailed off. He shook his head, clearly realizing something. “Wait, 43…you’re one of the 43. How the hell did I not get that?”

“Wait,” Klaus said, suddenly excited, “You’re like us? Like a weird second cousin kind of deal?”

“I am.” You said. “Not like a cousin, though, I have no idea where that comparison came from, but sure if that’s how you wanna see it.”

“That’s so cool!” Klaus giddily said. “I’ve never met someone like us before! So, what can you do then? Can you shoot lasers out of your eyes? Or turn water into vodka? Ooo, I wish I got that one.”

Your eyes trailed to Diego, a million emotions flashed through his eyes as he watched you and waited for your answer. A part of you felt compelled to reach out, find out what he was thinking, but you knew that you shouldn’t.

“I can heal people.” You said. “At least, that’s what I use it for. I can reshape or reform cells.”

“That’s so cool!” Klaus said with a clap of his hands. “How does it work?”

“It’s pretty simple, actually.” You said, preparing yourself for where you knew this conversation was going. “It comes from my lips and can spread through my fingertips. So, if I kiss someone, I can heal their cuts, bruises, or wounds as long as my lips or fingers are near that area. It’s pretty cool, makes my reflexes faster for a bit after I do it.”

Diego frowned and turned his attention to the ground. Almost like he knew you were watching him and hoping you wouldn’t figure out what he was thinking.

��That’s awesome!” Klaus said. “You can make-out with someone to be a doctor! I’m pretty sure I saw that in a porno once.”

You blinked, unsure how to respond to that, that was definitely a new one. “No, I uh, I don’t do that. I try not to kiss anyone on the mouth.”

“Can you do anything else?” Diego asked, keeping his tone emotionless and eyes down.

And there it was, the exact thing you were dreading. You could lie, say no, but the longer you waited to tell him, the more hurt he would be. Everything always changed when you told someone what else you could do, more often than not for the worse.

“Actually,” You said, “I uh…I do have another ability.”

“Sweet! What is it?” Klaus said.

You swallowed hard, hoping that they would be willing to look past it. “I can read minds.”

Diego immediately looked up and it seemed like he was almost angry or confused, but you weren’t sure. He wasn’t wearing his domino mask, but as far as you could tell, he was definitely wearing a metaphorical mask instead.

“Wait, seriously?” Klaus said, not believing you.

You nodded. “It’s easier to do if I touch someone but if I lose control, I can hear thoughts from across the room. I can see memories or feelings or anything else swimming around someone’s head.”

“Does that mean you know what I’m thinking?” Klaus asked.

You laughed slightly, trying to keep the mood light. “At the moment? No. But I did see your thoughts briefly, that head of yours is a very strange place. You should be proud, not many people can surprise me. I love meeting someone I can’t figure out.”

Klaus beamed at you; clearly happy to be complimented—even if it sounded like it wasn’t, to him, it was.

“I like you.” Klaus said. “We’re gonna be besties. What did you say your name was again?”

“I didn’t.” You said, your eyes searching Diego’s for some kind of reaction.

You sighed and thought about it, the only reason you didn’t is because you wanted to find who you were looking for first. But, you had already found the person you were looking for…what was holding you back?

“Y/N,” You said. “I’m Y/N Y/L/N. It’s nice to meet you.”

You noticed Diego’s hands clench into fists, which didn’t surprise you, you knew he wouldn’t be too happy about this whole thing. He had fought and fought for you to tell him since you two had met, you knew it would probably turn into something when this day came. And you could see from the way he grit his teeth that if you didn’t pull him away soon, this would get explosive.

“Hey Klaus,” You said. “I made brownies for everyone. Would you like one?”

“Brownies?” Klaus said.

“Yeah, brownies.” You answered. “I think Pogo took them into the kitchen if you want one.”

Klaus narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Are you trying to bribe me so you can play doctor with Diego?”

You smirked at him. “That depends. Would it work if I was?”

You could hear Diego pop his knuckles, meaning he did not like that comment. But, you knew how to speak to chaos, you weren’t saying it for Diego.

Klaus grinned and chuckled at you. “Oh, clever one! If those brownies are any good, I’m totally keeping you!”

On that, he skipped off in the direction Pogo had as he admired your handiwork on this hand, and then it was just you and Diego.

“…I uh—” You started but were immediately cut off by Diego.

“Come with me.” He said, grabbing your arm and pulling you.

You fell silent and let him pull you. It wasn’t aggressive, and he wasn’t hurting your arm, it was more like he was directing you. You knew what it was like if a man was about to get violent and that you could handle it if they did, but that’s not what Diego was doing. You trusted him completely, if he wanted to pull you somewhere so you could talk, you were okay with that. You felt a slight urge to listen to his thoughts, but you kept your powers off on principle.

Diego pulled you into a kind of parlor and shut the door behind you. You hoped to God that the conversation you were about to have wouldn’t end with him hating you.

[cordpolo6-blog]

Self-Care Interview Series: Adriana Ayales

Adriana Ayales is a rainforest herbalist from Costa Rica and the founder of herbal apothecary Anima Mundi. We are in love with Adriana’s world and creations, and so excited to share this interview.

Routine

— Is routine important to you or do you like things to be more open and free?

Although I love the grounded power of routine, I’m living in a phase of being open and free. With kids, and a beyond full time devotion to running a business, I just ride the waves as they come. I’ve learned to surrender that not everything has to look the way it should look. Life’s situations and patterning moves around like the seasons.

— What do your mornings look like? If they differ from day to day, describe your ideal morning.

I love getting up before the kids, and sneaking into the kitchen to make myself a healing cup(s) of medicine. First thing I do is a big ole’ cup of vitamin C rich goodness, sometimes its mangosteen hibiscus with a lemon squeeze, or fresh picked turmeric from the garden grated with ginger, along with camu camu and lemon water. Then I make a seasonal fruit bowl of sorts, with oatmeal, or homemade granola loaded with mineralizing herbs (like nettle or mesquite powder). Followed by my favorite, and not so healthy friend, Coffee. Ah coffee. I can’t tell you how wonderful locally grown heirloom coffee is here, paired with deliciously fresh cacao and medicinal mushrooms and homemade almond.

— Do you have any bedtime rituals that help you sleep well?

Massaging the face, forehead and skull with warm oil at night is one of the simplest and most restorative practices we can do to induce deep sleep. I love using a mix I make at home of jojoba oil, with rosehip, infused with clary sage and a fine sandalwood. Another one of my all time favorites for evening relaxation is blue lotus.

— Do you have any kind of mindfulness practice? 

Sipping tea mindfully in nature, witnessing time in silence is one of my favorite things. I tap into my feelings, breath, mind, and begin to clear energy.

Sustenance

— Do you do caffeine and in what form? If not, what is your drink of choice in the morning?

I do love caffeine. Growing up in Costa Rica has woven me into loving a good cup of locally roasted coffee. Depending on the day, I love adding reishi, or a mix of medicinal mushrooms, raw cacao with mucuna, along with a homemade plant based milk. I also love having an aged puerh, or traditional matcha with added herbs for nourishment, like moringa.

— Do you have a sweet tooth and do you take any measures to keep it in check?

Sometimes I do, especially when I’m tired or running on low energy. When i’m over-worked, or running on stress I definitely crave more carby and sugary things, and this is usually due to skipping a meal, or needing a quick-fix. Some tips I bare in mind during stressful moments that ignite the sweet tooth (or just in general!) are: always go for fruits before you opt for a sugary dessert, always choose low glycemic sweeteners vs. sugar (some faves are coconut sugar, maple syrup, and real stevia extract — not the synthetic ones!) For carbs avoid empty carbs and refined flours, and opt for ones that are more easily absorbed, like coconut, almond and cassava flour.

— Are there any particular supplements, herbs, or tinctures/tonics that you take regularly and find to be helpful with your energy level and general wellness? 

Oh my, so many! I seasonally change my herbal intake, but certainly stick with some favorites. I love having my potent “singles” (single herb tinctures) on me at all times, like shisandra berries and blue lotus. A Brain tonic while I’m working, usually with herbs like gotu kola, ginkgo, brahmi and lion’s mane mushroom. Two that I dose with very often are the Happiness tonic (st johns wort, mucuna, ashwagandha, etc.) and euphoric/mood elevating herbs like catuaba, mucunam muira puama and damiana. I also love our Liver formula for daily cleansing and nourishment, like the moringa, burdock, nettles, chlorella. And of course beauty herbs like He Shou Wu, Mangosteen and more!

Exercise

— Do you exercise and do you have a particular exercise routine that you repeat weekly? 

Absolutely, I love doing a mix between yoga and pilates.

— Do you find exercise to be pleasurable, torturous or perhaps a little of both? How do you put yourself in the right mindset in order to keep up with it?

I love the torture! When I feel a little lazy and not like suffering in an intensive workout, I just remind myself how excellent I feel when I finish it. Not just seeing physical results, but especially the mental peace and happiness after working out.

Beauty

— What is your idea of beauty – external, internal or both?

A feeling of wholeness. When your mood is high, your gut is vibrant, and you feel confident and beautiful. When there is no sense of lack, imbalance or deficiency. When you feel aligned.

— What is your skincare approach – face and body?

I love making my own body and face oils. I usually infuse collagen boosting herbs, and skin strengthening herbs and lather up. I also like to keep things simple, like using cacao butter with coconut oil, or just a fluffy shea butter for deep moisture. 

— Are there any foods, herbs or supplements you find to be helpful to your skin/hair/general glow?

Yes! I’m a big fan of eating herbs and supplements that protect the skin, increase our own collagen receptors and help activate our natural glow. The herbs I designed for the vegan collagen formula have been my go-to’s for quite sometime. Horsetail, He Shou Wu, Calendula, Nettle seed + leaf, Comfrey, and others like Mangosteen, Camu Camu and Hibiscus are great for the skin too.

— Do you have any beauty tips/tricks you’ve found to be especially useful throughout the years?

I love making edible masks. Infusing a high potency extract into a raw clay and avocado, along with an activating source like apple cider vinegar, or more protein like flax, and making a smooth paste to lather all over the face, body and even hair is one of my all time favorites.

Stress, etc.

— Do you practice any consistent routines in order to avoid stress? 

Visualization is huge for me. Sitting in silence and tuning in is vital, along with the help of nervines and adaptogenic herbs that assist in de-compression like skullcap, blue lotus and ashwagandha.

— If stress cannot be avoided, what are your ways of dealing with it?

I like taking a walk or hike in nature, get in the ocean/lake/river or any kind of body of water. I completely unplug from work, the phone, or computer.

— What measures do you take when you sense a cold/general feeling of being under the weather coming on?

Before the cold kicks in, I take strong echinacea extracts in a soothing tea, mixing turmeric, lemon, grated ginger, apple cider vinegar, garlic and aloe in warm water. It works every time. I make a large batch and dose all day long —  even my kids love it! 

— How do you reconcile work-time with free-time? Do those things overlap for you or do you keep them distinctly separate?

This certainly overlaps for me, which can honestly be a bitter sweet reality. I love everything surrounding plants, and its medicinal uses, as well as teaching, and medicine making. I love that my business is all about honoring ancestral ways, plant medicine, the art of herbalism, righteous cultivation, and medicine making. Yet, like any business owner would understand, there are many tasks to the job that are exhausting and certainly not what made you fall in love in the first place. For me personally, I’ve learned to reconcile by doing what I love doing the most, medicine making and wildcrafting. I made a commitment to myself in making space for this no matter what, and not disregarding it by prioritizing business with the things that don’t really matter in life. It’s vital that we take moments in our free time that refine our focus and intention in life, re-align to what inspired the dream, without getting side swept with “busy-ness”.

Motivation

— Describe the actions you take or mindset you try to tap into in order to stay on track with your self-care practice and being nice to yourself?

Over the last couple years I’ve struggled with this because of having babies. Which I’m sure a lot of new moms can relate to this! Every time I get a moment between being a mother, wife and business owner, my priority to feel more self loving (and more human!) is yoga. The simple act of getting oxygen, doing conscious breathing, and distracting the monkey mind from its patterning, you become yourself again. 

— What do you consider to be the single most important change you’ve made to your routine or lifestyle in terms of wellness?

Herbs. Integrating plant medicine into everything has significantly changed my body mind and soul.

— A book/movie/class that influenced your view of self-nourishment or self-care.

Off the top of my head I love these: Healing with Whole Foods with Paul Pitchford, Gabriel Cousens’ Spiritual Nutrition, The Body Ecology Diet by Donna Gates, and of course The Medical Medium by Anthony William.

Knowledge

— What was your path to becoming an herbalist and starting Anima Mundi?

Growing up I learned closely with curanderos on plant medicine and rainforest herbalism overall. I then attended herbal schools in California where I learned a lot of native, northern and european herbalism. Life somehow took me to NYC (a place I NEVER thought I would ever go to) after living in California for quite some years, and I started practicing privately as an herbalist. I kept noticing the common trends, symptomology and imbalances folks that came in had, and started developing “mother formulas” to be able to make large batches.

— How do you approach sourcing herbs for Anima Mundi? 

First and foremost we try to create a direct relationship with the people/farmers that cultivate. Although we value certification of prime ingredients, there are many ethical wild crafters and farms that do not have special certifications, yet cultivate sustainable practices and have quality products that we also like to support. We are also adamant of supporting local economies as much as possible, particularly with rainforest herbs sourced directly from indigenous people, supporting their craft as well as ethically crafted botanicals.

— What are some of Anima Mundi’s best sellers?

Our plant-based Collagen Booster, Happiness Tonic, Adaptogenic Immortality Tonics, Curam Beauty Elixir, our 100% Coconut Cream Powder, Mushroom Mocha Milk and more…!

Fun and Inspiration

— A book/song/movie/piece of art to feed the soul:

Book – Women Who Run with Wolves Song/Album –  Cuatro Vientos / Danit Movie –  Loving the The OA lately! Piece of Art –  Ayahuasca art by Pablo Amaringo

Photos by Renee Byrd and from Anima Mundi’s IG / This post contains Amazon Affiliate links.

Source: https://golubkakitchen.com/self-care-interview-series-adriana-ayales/

[ragethewriter]

WBJ Day 6 - Gender and Sexuality

...

So anyone who’s met my characters, knows that the dystopian world of Hybrid has some interesting issues regarding this topic.  And what better opportunity to create a masterpost about what those issues are, and more importantly: how and why they developed.

This entry is going to get long, because it requires going back to the origin and genetic design of the Hominus Anima (A.K.A. the animal people).  So buckle up! ** fair warning: this post will deal with topics of mating and reproduction (nothing explicit, but I know clinical biology isn’t everyone’s cup of tea!) ** Full post is under the cut!

~~~

So for starters, the Anima have a very different understanding of what gender and sexuality are, due to influences from their animal ancestry, and the way the Alphas designed them (cough-cough, as an efficient slave race). This difference boils down to an emphasis on breeding behaviors.   Which is a direct result of two things in their world: A) the fact that, comparatively, these new humans have a stupidly low sex drive. B) for other reasons (some of them spoilers), they also have a stupidly low conception rate.

Because of this, their world faces a significant underpopulation problem, which the Alphas have had to combat over the centuries by various means.  Breeding behaviors have been designed and reinforced as a top priority (a trait shared by much of the animal kingdom) in order to keep the new human race afloat.  And yet, the fact that the average Anima spends very little time on these things has lead to quite a few interesting behaviors, ideas, and cultural trends in their world.

- - -

On gender:

In brief summary: Anima don’t consider gender a prevalent form of identity. 

Most individuals, if asked, would identify primarily as their breed, and then secondarily by traits such as age, social heirarchy/job, and any other roles they fill.  Gender roles in Anima society are therefore comparatively very rare, as they are usually only applicable to the process of conceiving and birthing a child.  This has led to a cultural phenomenon wherein the concept of “gender” is treated more often as a device of the conversational audience, rather than a facet of one’s personal identity.

As a result (and an odd social caveat): most Anima find it very odd, sometimes even socially taboo, to discuss or fixate on gender in an unrelated conversation.  This is because bringing up gender among Anima implies that the conversation should be about sexual compatibility and reproduction... which can be just as inappropriate as unwanted sexual advances are in our culture.  Furthermore, particularly among scenting breeds, it’s considered incredibly rude to correct instances of misgendering - as doing so both implies that the speaker is currently preoccupied with the concept of sex, and that the person who did the misgendering has dull senses or poor instinct (both of which are insults).  Since misgendering is especially common between breeds with unfamiliar or inverted sexual dimorphism, the socially amicable response is usually to assume the gender for the remainder of the conversion, rather than correct it.  [As can be referenced by the fact that even The War Mother, a Hyena-blood Beta, often goes by “sir” or “domine” when addressed directly!]

The fact that Anima still use male/female pronouns and titles in their language at all, is a result of the prevalence of horomones/pheromones and body language among their species.  Recognizing and assigning gender is still second nature to Anima regardless of their sexual intent, and is instinctually tied to behaviors that help them navigate their social environments, in everything from facilitating pack-bonding to avoiding incest.

THAT BEING SAID~

There is one big exception to the Anima’s social discussion of gender... and that’s on the topic of sexual dimorphism.

There are plenty of Anima breeds that exhibit sexual dimorphism, to the point that gender can permeate other, non-sexual aspects of the local culture.  In a Clan where avian males are the only ones dragging around extravagant plumage, it’s much more socially acceptable to use gender as a casual identifier, and you’d be more likely to find things like gendered speech, male-targeted hairdressers, or female-exclusive sports.  

However, these “gender roles” caused by dimorphism are usually only gendered in translation - wherein it is rare but possible to find individuals that subvert them.  Like any other breed, gender itself is still only important in the context of breeding children - and any other social identity may be considered correlated, but separate.  A male Lion-blood may go his entire life behaving like a lioness; dressing, acting, and performing feminine roles in his clan... and yet never once think to consider himself female unless he was literally birthing a cub.

Everything else aside, the good news of the Anima gender perspective is that gender dysphoria and negative body image among their species is at an all-time low!  When gendered attractiveness is compartmentalized to mating (and as the Anima would say: “mating isn’t everything”), there’s plenty of body-positive confidence on the subject of gender to go around. 

Breed dysphoria is another, far more prevalent story... but that’s a topic for different day.

- - -

On Sexuality:

Similar to gender, sexuality as a concept is also not prevalent in Anima society - as it is also exclusively related to breeding.  

The infamously low Anima sex drive is the main culprit of their culture’s lack of casual sex.  Breeding may require plenty of it; but for an Anima, if you aren’t already neck-deep in pheromones and courting instincts to get the engines running, there’s simply no reason to care.  This has led to a peculiar social perspective of the entire breeding process, in that it is both a chore, but also a kinda-sorta-fun-and-respected life experience for those who do it.  And with all the strings attached (courting compulsions, tending one’s den, caring for offspring), very little of the breeding process is actually “sexual” when it’s all said and done.

As a side-effect of this lack of sexuality, Anima also lack a concept of sexual orientation.

To clarify: when asking an Anima what their sexual orientation is, the only possible translation of the concept is “who are you sexually attracted to”, to which 90% of the time would merit an answer of “I'm not sexually attracted right now”, and the other 10% some variant of “I'm sexually attracted to [my current mate]”, both with a side of “why the hell are you asking.”  Occasionally, you might find an Anima that extrapolates the concept to “I like redheads” or “I want an older mate”, or maybe even someone who has planned the traits they want in their children.  (All of these, of course, kindof missing the point)

By our definition, Anima spend most of their time as functionally asexual - but this is not the label they would assign themselves as an orientation, as their sex drive is (usually) very much present, just dependent on other criteria.  

That being said, there are some Anima that are born (or in some cases, altered) to be truely asexual, by their terms - and cannot achieve attraction or arousal in any scenario.  This can sometimes accompany an individual’s lack of response to the horomone cycles that instigate courting behaviors... but outside of that specific social context, is nearly impossible to ever recognize (even by the person affected).

Because of their lack of orientation, Anima are more easily quantifiable on a scale of hypo- to hyper-sexuality.  Hypersexual Anima are generally those more susceptible to pheromones, courting/breeding compulsions, and even in some cases, unprompted sexual desire. what a crazy concept amirite...  And while slow-leaning trends will show that natural selection has gradually increased the prevalence of sexuality in the general Anima population, there are some breeds that have been selectively bred, or even engineered to be hypersexual: namely the Rabbit-blood cloners, and many Domestic breeds with a short generational turnover.  On the rare, high end of the hypersexual scale, it is also possible to find Anima that display bisexual behavior (though usually overshadowed by a marked preoccupation with breeding instincts). 

Libido and susceptibility aside, the main proponent of most sexual encounters among Anima is still the drive to conceive children - no matter how difficult and lengthy the preluding courtship process is.  However, there are still some instances of mating that happen without this motivation: namely when humans mate outside of their Breed, since it is universally known that such a pairing can produce no offspring.  These cases can arise due to factors such as acts of diplomacy between Clans (kindof like an arranged marraige, but temporary), securing a Beta’s patronage (kindof like a greencard marraige), cultural trends, pure curiosity, or even sometimes... romantic love (which is a foreign and unexplored concept to most Anima**).  These unique cases of “barren courtships”, while not condemned by society, are usually regarded as peculiar.

Further complicating matters is the fact that, to the Anima, the very concept of anything "sexual” is exclusively limited to the act of breeding.  This means that many breeds don’t cover the “bases” (some mates don’t even kiss), and anything physical that is done outside of an intentional copulation to pursue conception is... not actually sexual, by Anima standards.  By extention, even “barren courtships” between different breeds, or nonfertile individuals are pushing the Anima definition of “mating” - hence why they’re considered odd.

This is due to the fact that, as discussed, sexual desires among most Anima are fleeting, and can normally only surface after being triggered in courtship (and in some pairings, never at all).  In most cases where Anima have experienced unprompted sexual desire, they usually don’t recognize said feelings for what they are, and lack the motivation to pursue them.

** A note on the fact that Anima society lacks the concept of romantic relationships: Most Anima subsist on platonic love within “packs” of family or friends, and it is fairly uncommon for mates to stay together for longer than a few seasons.  Courtship itself is usually considered a social event by those partaking in it; and while the experience can sometimes facilitate friendships and platonic bonding, the intense, instinct-driven attraction and possessiveness of a chosen mate rarely develops into a lasting attachment once the horomones have faded.  Pairings that do manage produce a child sometimes subvert this, as both parents usually remain equally involved with their offspring, and are much more likely to join packs or develop a companionship due to proximity.

- - -

SO. As stated, allll of these weird ideas on gender and sexuality arose from the circumstances of the Anima’s design.  There’s a reason why these things have gotten to this point.  And that reason is 100% because of the Alphas mucking around in the human genome. those assholes.

So here’s how it all started:

- - -

- The Alphas, in designing their first generation of spliced-up humans, started tinkering with neurology, in an effort to make their eventual labor force less mentally erratic, and more obedient cooperative.

- As a result, they also inadvertently crippled their humans’ libido.

- To make matters worse, the Alphas had also redesigned their humans to function off a variant of an estrous cycle, rather than a menstrual cycle (again, to make their labor force more manageable.  Also can you imagine the chaos of a monthly blood cycle with SCENTING BREEDS?  Ugh no thanks).

- Meaning that not only was the first generation's pheromone game and sexual drive weaksauce, but they also had a drastically lowered conception rate.  Their version of induced-ovulation-esterous meant that they had to be consistently getting laid, before ovulation can even occur.  And who was doing the laying?? Not these guys.

- And in raising this first generation of Anima, the Alphas quickly realized that the new birth rate was so low that their precious slave population was nigh unsustainable.

-  So they went back to the drawing board... added a few tweaks and triggers to the courtship process... and cooked up a hormonal mechanism to kick-start the whole thing, which became known as the Full-Moon.

- - - And this is where it gets interesting.

Because the Alphas, in designing their next batch of “Hominus Anima 2.0″, had observed the key features of the few, first-gen Anima that had actually been producing kiddos.  What they found was that:

A)  humans had the propensity to adopt courting tactics to assist their sexual motivation, given that a social aspect and a healthy dose of pheromones were involved. B) those humans that went through this extensive process of social attachment (the precursor to imprinting) were more likely to get together, and stay together long enough to conceive. C)  the parenting instincts of Anima were thankfully still strong and functioning - even enough to revive their sex drive, given that the circumstances were right. ... So the Alphas arrived at the solution that, with a little tinkering in the hormone/pheromone cycle and the sway of instinct, the Anima could be coerced into a courting season that would lead to more babies.  And that’s exactly what they did.

~ CUE THE FULL-MOON ~

A Full-Moon is an occurrence in Anima society that helps begin a courting season.  It is a different experience for every breed.

The point of a full-moon (as the Alphas designed it), is to facilitate the process of matchmaking and imprinting on a potential mate.  When this event does its job right, the most compatible pairings become acquainted, and trigger each others’ courtship behaviors - eventually leading them to become mates (and hopefully parents).  It’s not a perfect system - nor a voluntary one - but it has since become a staple in their society.  And in most cases, it does work.

The full-moon itself is a hormone cycle that is synchronized among the females (sound familiar?) of a particular breed.  They produce pheromones that trigger the males to engage in a variety of behaviors over the course of a few days.  These behaviors vary greatly between Breeds - with the endgame being to help each affected male recognize the most compatible partner, appeal to her, and win her affection... or at least her attention.

Symptoms of a full-moon can therefore range anywhere from collecting shiny objects, to singing, fighting, dizziness, shedding, posturing, fever, gorging, fatigue, hyperactivity, and a whole host of other examples - each unique to their breed (and usually rooted in some instinct or another).  And the more drastic the reaction to a particular female, the higher the compatibility - like a homing device for the best potential mate.  Overdosing on said pheromones by proximity is usually the only way to quiet the symptoms to a manageable level.

In many cases, full-moons produce nothing more than uninterested bachelor/ettes that undergo the process as a social ritual, and part ways as amicable acquaintances.  But for those couples that weather more severe affects, the instinct to begin courtship is strong enough to prevail.  The courting season that follows a full-moon (featuring said couples), is treated by most clans as a cultural experience rather than an intimate one, given the performance-driven nature of the behaviors and traditions. (this is for the COURTSHIP.  Actual mating is by no means a public spectacle, dear god.)

... And bada-bing, bada-boom, the Alphas have their next generation of slave labor!  Who would have thought that breeding humans in captivity would be so much work. ~ ~ ~

That’s about it for this masterpost.  

Yes, there are many specifics I haven’t mentioned here, and yes, I can and will answer any questions about them.  (Can you tell I love biology? because I do.)  From the author’s perspective, this weirdly fucked-up world was a lot of fun to build even on this topic (and hey, it’s a dystopia, it’ll be more fun to tear down) - with plenty of details inspired by and taken from real animal behavior!

This will probably be my longest post of WBJ - since, hello, it’s a ROMANCE, these details are intrinsic to the plot, and this explanation was a long time coming.

AND CONGRATULATIONS IF YOU ACTUALLY MADE IT THROUGH THIS WHOLE POST.  HAVE A PROVERBIAL COOKIE BECAUSE WOW, WHAT A CHAMP <3