#but it makes certain things make more sense to me and that's what matters

[alexmasonistired]

Id like to start this off by saying that this is an absolutely lovely post; thank you OP for making it. Now I would like to share our own experience with the education system in general, and what our state called- “Critical minds classes”.

Now if you don’t know what that is- it’s a thing in our state where 30 kids are chosen by the state to go into these special critical minds classes. We in particular were put in critical minds math and let me tell ya- IT FUCKING SUCKED.

All the class was, was us sitting in a certain spot that we could not move from the ENTIRE OVER AN HOUR THAT WE WERE IN THERE in SILENCE while working on these list of MathXL links. And if you know how MathXL works- yeahhh it was absolutely awful. Some of the worst parts of that class though, was that we had to keep our bags up front the entire time and we wouldn’t get anything because we wasn’t allowed out of our seat, and worst of all- the teacher that lead the class, always seemed like she just didn’t wanna be there. She felt intimidating to us so we never were able to approach her with our getting insanely nervous. She reminded us of the bodies mother with the way she looked so that made it worse. (Also edit: I just remembered- I believe for a good chunk of the first half of the semester she was watching our computers??)

Btw- remeber those check lists of MathXL links that I mentioned earlier??? Yeah. There was like- 18-20 of those links on these checklists that we used to have a month to complete! But then it was shortened to only a WEEK because the semester was ending and she needed to get grades in ig.

We had a whole ass panic attack infront of our history teacher becuase we were on list SIX, and there was TEN of these things to do. And I swear it felt like each list just had more links- we fucking hated it. I believe we finally made it to list eight before we eventually gave up and let the burn out take us over and just wrote in our diary the entire period. Except for the days we had quizzes and did blookets, which was hardly ever. At that point we were just SO fucking done of just not being able to understand ANYTHING put in front of us no matter how hard we tried. We just barely passed that class with a D.

I also remeber that we went to summer school after seventh grade because our grades were so low our teachers didn’t know if they could pass us. It was the same with in fifth grade, the teachers were nervous to let us go into middle school because we were just barely passing. Our grades were that bad.

We got to this point(the whole critical minds math thing and giving up,) because ever since like- second grade, we had been having massive trouble with math and grades and over all just confidence in general. Especially in the math field.

I remember we began cheating on a lot of our assignments and tests in second grade because our confidence had been bumped down that badly, and we just couldn’t really understand it. Or at least I believe that we couldn’t understand it- I’ll get into second grade math in another post. Regardless, we ended up sizing cheating as a last ditch effort a lot in school because we got to a point where we felt like we didn’t have a choice.

We would try so hard at something in math, only for our brain not being able to remember it, how to do it, and for it to also not make sense in our brain. It absolutely crushed us one day when we ended up in an argument with the father one day over another bad math grade and we yelled: “Is my best not enough not for you!?” And he just yelled back: “NO!” That day crushed us. The father always says that we just weren’t applying ourselves enough, which hurt even MORE because we WERE applying ourselves more, we WERE trying, and as hard as we could too! But we can only do so much, but it honestly seems like the parents, especially the father, just cannot realize that. And it hurts us, so much.

We always saw our friends in school absolutely soar and it was fucking awful how they would be getting into honors classes, getting to go up a grade or even graduate early, and then we would be sitting here in what is supposed to be an “extra help” class when in reality it didn’t help us at all. Due to our mental disabilities/Illnesses, we weren’t able to learn like the other kids were able too. All we’ve ever wanted was to be smart enough to be able to fly through school like our friends, study efficiently, and get our diploma normally like any other kid, but no. We didn’t have that experience and we never will due to our life and the way that our brain works and we fucking hate it.

There was also of times where we felt stupid, useless, and pathetic for not being able to keep up with our allistic, and non-ADHD-having peers. It especially was rough considering that that was the standard our parents set us too all the time, and we just could not reach the standards that she and the father set for us.

We tried tutoring a few times, but it honestly didn’t help much either. We never ever got the help that we needed growing up and I know that we never will get the help we need. And I hate it. So many people failed us when it came to education and I look back and can’t help but feel bad for us. We were just a young, neurodivergent kid with a dissociative disorder along with many other disorders alone with it, and a complete mess too. A mess that no one really bothered to help with. It was awful.

What we needed back then was one-on-one assistance with someone who could understand us and what was going on with us, we never got that. And that was because everyone around us failed us. Either failing to recognize our needs, or just not thinking that we needed them because it wasn’t super duper obvious that we did.

Kinda fucked up that we all coo and sympathize with "former gifted kids" but never talk about the students who had to stay late after school or over the summer for remedial classes/clubs, who struggled to get above a C, who were given up on or punished. Who tried so hard to understand or just couldn't. Who were grouped with the "stupid kids" (a classmate called us that in remedial math btw)

Autistic kids and adhders who can't relate to their gifted peers and are constantly alienated by them. Kids who struggled in school due to dealing with a chronic or mental illness or physical/learning/developmental disability. Those of us who have had to drop out of highschool or college. Kids who worked so hard and wanted to be seen as smart, but never were. Who watched as their peers seem to fly by them in school, while they were left behind. Who were bullied and put down by those in the gifted and honors classes. Whose confidence was absolutely destroyed by education.

I love you all and I'm so sorry the school system failed you. I'm sorry you weren't properly accommodated and given the education you deserved. I'm sorry people put you down for something that they never had to fight for.

[notpixl]

HSR Character Drabbles (Ft. The Stellaron Hunters & The IPC)

Had to change the title since like the realizing part is kind of restricting my headcanoning ahh and I want to just-

Your honor just kill me I just wanna write 🫠

GN!Reader as per usual

And if there was a Title to describe this whole bananza then it’s: What do they do when they’re in love with You?

But it feels… you know what? Just enjoy this mess.

Also! Established Relationships for Topaz and Aventurine. I would’ve gone insane by the time I had something for them that isn’t in the relationship phase…

—————

———

—————

Kafka

She’s “somewhat” clingy

Been like this ever since she’s laid her eyes on you

You just bring a… certain charm that makes her enamored

And this feeling soon devolved into something more…

I wouldn’t say worse but…

It reaches to the point where she cherishes every moment with you

Be it longer hugs

Her hands intertwined with yours at any chance she gets

Or a few more minutes just so she can lay in bed you a little bit longer (the whole one room one bed is orchestrated by her, of course)

You’re just…

Mm…

She just wants to be with you

Every second

Smile for her, will you? Just once? It’ll get her going

Silver Wolf

Holed up in her room

Otome games stacked beside her

Reading text at near light speeds as if it isn’t even difficult

And once she meets her own reflection from the end credits…

She concludes that it isn’t enough

…she wants everything to go right

Not to make an embarrassment of herself

It has her spiraling downwards and staying up for days until you’re told by Kafka to check in on her

Her eyes flutter open

Words of concern spill out of your mouth

She’s not even listening to you

Just…

Wondering if these hands on her shoulders are real or not

Thankfully she does get ahold of her senses and willingly heads to bed

Not before having more… thoughts

Damn can she be just normal for once-

Tip for Boss: Give her a hug

Blade

Sort of good news…?

He’s in love

Bad news?

He’s in love

He goes to such lengths in distancing himself from you, often taking missions that’ll definitely take a month or two to finish…

It’s only when Elio and Kafka step in with these countless missions that he begrudgingly takes in your presence again

Though… some part of him appreciates your company

Even if one day you…

Well…

Let’s just ignore that for a second

All that matters now…

Is that you’re here

Side note: Ruffle his hair at least once or twice a week.

Pretty please.

Firefly

She’ll be fine she says!

Cues to her trying to get a grip of everything the moment you wave at her

Firefly is… a mess to put it at words

Girlfailure if you will

From spacing out just by calling her name or her brain needing a reboot when you hold her hand

Heck, even Kafka and Silverwolf are teasing her about this!

But… she isn’t afraid to improve

Because one day

She’ll have the courage to…

To ask if you’re fine with eating cake rolls with her…

…

Doesn’t that just sound like a date-

Fun fact: She will stay still as a rock if you lay your head on her shoulder. Use this for whatever you want

Aventurine

Countless paper bags scattered across thr living room

You don’t deny these gifts of course it’s just…

You know

You’re not used to this

This amount of…

Appreciation

So, who would’ve thought that one day…

He decides to visit you!

Without warning!

…How did he even know your addre-

Right, your wallet…

That aside he’s just…

Standing there

Processing what’s in front of him right now

“…do you want more?”

“Wh-what?”

“Do you want a mansion instead?”

“Navi, can you get ahold of yourself please-

Call him nicknames. Makes him a tomato.

Topaz

Lap Pillows

And also Numby laying on your tummy

This has been an occasional thing whenever the weekend comes by

There’s also a switch in roles! And it happens quite often during weekdays when she comes home from work

Which lets you pepper her with kisses, leaving her a blushing mess afterwards

She’ll also fake getting sick just so she can be enveloped by your lovey dovey hugs just a bit longer

Though that always ends in her grumpily heading back to work…

“I miss my S/O, Numby…” She says as she closes the front door

Tip: If you kiss her then keep kissing her then make out and head to fourth base did you know she’ll be really needy an

Dr Ratio

After countless research and conducting…

Does he finally come up with a solution

…

A change in attitude

His rather… harsh demeanor would only lead to distancing yourself from him

Which explains itself very well in not having a chance at expressing his feelings for you

…but he’ll do what he can

Big or small

So long as you see him…

The way he sees you

Then writing this Thesis about Love isn’t so bad after all

I.E. Dr. Ratio turns soft for your sake and everyone else’s

…

“What’s this?”

“Tea. I thought you might need it for the gargantuous amount of paperwork.”

“Thanks… are you sure you aren’t possessed?”

“Why the assumption…?”

“You’re smiling.”

…

….

…

Yell at me if I did something bad for anyone in thi sob drabble :(

And that if this gets more than eleven likes I will have to acknowledge the fact that people like this

[akookminsupporter]

Why do you think jikook chose to serve together?

Also, why not jimin and tae if they're soulmates? Why not jungkook and tae? Why do you think they did it?

I feel like I’ve answered this question more times than I can count over the past year but I post way too much, so finding my first answer feels impossible. That said, I’m happy to answer it again, haha.

Anon, the most honest responses I can give you are:

Because they wanted to. Because they didn’t want to. And because they didn’t want to either.

Let me start by saying that, as fans, anything we discuss about the members’ decisions is pure speculation. We’re piecing things together based on the limited information we have, and at the end of the day, that’s all it is—our interpretation of the choices they’ve shared with us.

That said, I believe Jimin and Jungkook made the decision to enlist together because they’re the closest members of the group. Their bond is unique, and that’s been obvious to anyone paying attention over the past 10 years. I imagine they considered the pros and cons of enlisting together and concluded that it was the best decision—not just practically, but emotionally. Most importantly, it seems like it’s what they both truly wanted.

Over the past year, I’ve seen fans speculate about their reasons, saying things like, “They did it because X needed the emotional support of Y” or “Y needed the physical support of X.” And while those are valid perspectives, I’ve always leaned towards a simpler explanation: they just needed each other.

over the past 10 years, I think we all have noticed that their bond is unique. It’s clear they provide mutual comfort and understanding in ways that don’t seem to happen with the other members. There’s a certain synchronicity between them—a level of shared traits, habits, and even ways of thinking that make them perfectly attuned to one another. They’re simply each other’s person. So, if they had the chance to face one of the most challenging periods of their lives together, why wouldn’t they take it?

We don’t know if Jimin wanted to enlist with Tae or if Jungkook wanted to enlist with Tae but Tae wasn’t on board. Based on the brief exchange they had about it on AYS, it doesn’t seem like that was ever the case. From the beginning, it always seemed like the plan was for Jimin and Jungkook to enlist together, and that decision alone says a lot about the kind of relationship they share.

Their decision to enlist together doesn’t confirm or deny anything about the romantic nature of their relationship—that’s not something we can speak to with certainty. What it does prove, however, is that Jimin is the Cristina to Jungkook’s Meredith, and vice versa. If you’ve been paying attention, that’s been obvious for a long time. They’re soulmates in every way that matters—whether that’s platonic or something more we don’t know for certain.

The fact that some people still deny the strength of their bond or downplay it is another story entirely. But for me, it's crystal clear after everything we’ve seen.

And since someone asked about this recently—yes, Tae said Jimin is his soulmate, and I absolutely believe they are. But that doesn’t mean Jungkook isn’t Jimin’s soulmate too, just in a different way. That much is obvious.

Sometimes, I get frustrated when I see debates about this, haha. It’s so clear that Jimin and Tae care about each other deeply, but their relationship is completely different from the one Jimin shares with Jungkook. And from the one Tae has with Jungkook. Each dynamic is unique, and each connection is valuable. Why is that concept so hard for some people to grasp?

Lastly, since they enlisted, we haven’t heard much about them. But in the little we have seen, read, and heard, it’s clear it was the best decision for them. Jungkook pretty much confirmed it during his last surprise Wlive.

It’s obvious they’re not just a source of calm and stability for each other but also a sense of normality amid everything. I mean, how many times did we hear one of them mention, before all this, that they’d spend hours talking about music, singing, or practising together? How many times did we hear them say that after a long day of work or commitments, they’d still end up together?

No one goes through the whole process they had to go through to apply for the buddy system just for a simple colleague or someone you don’t feel completely secure and comfortable being around.

[quitealotofsodapop]

The incident with the Samhadi Fire, as well as Wukong's distraction of Azure being the turning point that allowed the Queen Mother to escape being killed alongside her husband, Li Jing himself being spared from dying at the Rhino King's hand by Wukong deciding to take offense at him and attack during the Journey, and many other incidents where Wukong had dome soem seemingly selfish or impulsive thing that ended up inadvertently saving someone often without them even knowing are all gathered together as evidence that this is a thing that happened. Mainly because the concept itself is so unbelievable to them that they built a whole conspiracy board to try to find the link to why so many fates got averted and they all led back to a certain monkey

Prev.

The Celestials connecting their avoided deaths and times Wukong was involved like:

Though many have a newfound paranoia for the Monkey King, others find a new appreciation.

Erlang, reading his Draft Scroll: "What on earth? Why does this say I died of old age soon after the Investiture crisis?" Erlang: (*mentally computing the dates*) Erlang: "Ah. Me and the Plum Hill Lads were given Lao Tzu's pills as reward for capturing Wukong. I suppose if I hadn't pulled that off, Uncle would have been content to let me die as a half-mortal..." Erlang, putting his scroll away: "Thank you, old friend."

The Queen Mother herself both thanks and damns the monkey. For although his actions saved her and her daughters, they still caused her to be forever separated from her husband. But she admits that she would have also torn Heaven asunder to secure her mate's health, as the King had done for his Warrior.

Li Jing is shocked of course. When the Rhino King had stolen everyone's astras and weapons, the Heavenly General was left unarmed. Had the divine beast decided to attack head-on, it was likely that Li Jing's mortal origins would have betrayed his body.

And its not just Wukong who's been unknowingly saving people...

Mei, deep into her family's draft scrolls: "Hey Pigsy! You want to see what your's says?" Pigsy: "Absolutely not! Knowing that kinda stuff just spells disaster." MK, panicked holding Pigsy's scroll: "BUT THIS SAID YOU DIED TWENTY YEARS AGO!!" Pigsy: "WHAT!?"

Yup, right there on the bamboo in white and black.

Twenty years ago, January 15. Kitchen gas explosion?

Pigsy scrunches his face with confusion. When the heck was he around bad kitchen equipment? He treats his restaurant like a temple!

Well... except for when he was starting out obviously He was a younger boar then, and a lot more pig-headed. He had wanted to open up immediately, no matter if the equipment that came with the building was decades old and could probably give him tetanus.

But Pigsy had ultimately decided to take a few weeks off and renovate the restaurant. it had been a huge hit to his pockets, but luckily Tang pooled his meagre inheritance together to help out.

Pigsy is pretty sure that Monkey King wasn't involved in all of that.

MK, super worried: "Pigsy, are you 100% sure that nothing weird or Monkey King-related happened on that date twenty years ago?" Pigsy, thinking: "Weird? I mean uh..."

Pigsy, trying to play it as normal: "I mean. I did have to do some baby-proofing, but nothing out of the ordinary." Tang, half-teasing: "Liar. I caught you crying at 4am on the kitchen floor, tearing up all the electricals because you didn't want your little piglet touching anything with a sketchy wire." Pigsy, defensive: "He could climb, Tang! And he chewed anything he got his teeth on! I had to put that bad-tasting spray they make for dogs on all the extension cords!" MK, quietly: "Did... did I help Pigsy avoid that explosion? When I was a baby?" Mei, supportive: "Well... you are Monkey King's mini-me. It makes sense that you inherited some of that changing course of planets and fate power!" MK, thinks back to the Pillar: "Oh."

So yeah. Monkeys of positive chaos, saving their friends and enemies with their presence.

[absoluteocellibehavior]

*pulls up a chair*

*sits cutely*

Did you miss me?

Wow, ok. Where do I even begin?! Let's start with Kayne and The Tower itself. You may think that pulling cards like The Devil or Death are gonna be the ones that you're worried about but no. You got a Tower in your reading? Buckle up. The Tower is characterized with massive change, upheaval, and chaos. I honestly could not think of anything more fitting for our "Crawling Chaos." It is a change that affects you on all levels: physically, mentally, and spiritually. A massive, unexpected change that knocks down that stable structure built on unstable grounds. The Tower is also characterized with divine intervention that causes this massive change for your greater good. Well, the greater good is not the case with Kayne but he is certainly divinely intervening. He's got a hand in everything. Playing chess while everyone is playing checkers. He knows exactly how to get the people that he needs in the spots that he needs them without them questioning it. Look at those strings he's got on our little boys down at the bottom!

Going back to what I said about the shaky foundation. John and Arthur are the tower itself in this case. They have built this structure out of necessity. They are bonded to one another. So, their relationship has to be built up with one another. However, with the amount of lies and things kept from one another, this "stable structure" is liable to cracks. Just think about the amount of divorces we joke about. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. However, any of the massive things that have broken down their relationship back to the roots have been, for the most part, caused by Kayne. For example, Arthur's deal with Kayne causes Arthur to have to start from square one (no matter how unsuccessfully) with Yellow. John's deal with Kayne leads to John having to lie and manipulate Arthur into getting him to New York to the Grey Stone which culminates to another shattering of their relationship. However, after each of these events, Arthur and John have had to build their trust and bond with one another again. Arguably, I would say it gets stronger every time especially with how they are with one another in Season Five. Yet this cycle of destruction and renewal has Kayne looming over it and we truly can't be certain when Kayne's going to knock them down again.

OTHER CUTESY DETAILS <3 First of all, hello Chakra symbolism! We got two going here! The Crown Chakra is represent by the, well, crown lookin thing behind Kayne's head. This is actually something that shows up in the Rider-Waite tarot deck symbolizing energy coming down through the most divine part of yourself. This is just even more fun symbolism of Kayne's hand and intervention in everything. Down at the bottom between the boys, you've got the opposite: The Root Chakra. This is your grounding chakra. Your earthy chakra. A humanly connected one as opposed to the divine we previously spoke of. A major theme in Malevolent is what it means to be human. Both Arthur and John are painfully human, representing "humanity in all its forms" (borrowing a line from the most recent chapter). Over the course of the parts, you have Arthur and John changing and growing into themselves, choosing when to change or staying stubborn in certain areas. All of these choices symbolizing the essence of the human experience. They learn from one another. This leads into the next fun detail. John and Arthur are in the position of "The Creation of Adam", except your expected roles are reversed. John is Adam and Arthur is God. However, it makes sense in this case. Rather than Adam becoming close to the divine through a tainting of a relationship with God and partaking in the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, you have John becoming closer to humanity through his experiences in his bonding to Arthur (not all due to Arthur, mind you). And this little outreaching of hands is happening -- you guessed it -- in front of the Root Chakra.

Last little fun detail. If you don't know, Nyarlathotep in the OG Lovecraft lore often shown as an Egyptian pharaoh. So, we get some of that symbolism with Kayne here with little Eye of Horus designs on his clothing which was tied to the belief of the gods ruling over humankind. This is the left eye but we see Kayne looking out of his RIGHT eye leaning towards the Eye of Ra instead. The Eye of Ra is said to be able to see anything. Which is painfully ironic for Kayne because is this nearly the case except for that pesky little Black Stone, huh?! Fun details <3

XVI The Tower

Who’d want to be human anyway? Who pilots all these crude machines?

[acupofinkedblood]

Katana and owl-hybrid reader

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝

• Hybrid demons are definitely one of a kind. Whether it’s their gear’s doing or life has just granted them a so-called curse under the disguise of a blessing — or maybe it’s another way around, it’s a matter of perspective after all — no one can deny the fascination that bounds with people’s curiosity whenever they a hybrid demons with animalistic traits in the flesh. It’s not too common after all, so please excuse their inquisitive behaviors. Though most of them are different in letting people know in their own way — like how Ducky has a small little duck tail behind her or how Grav’s tail is quite noticeable — you on the other hand, your avian traits are definitely one of a kind

• Certainly the fact that only the SFOTH deities or demons related to them are the only ones with the ability to summon their wings at will and use it. But that doesn’t mean a very slight possibility of a demon who doesn’t have anything to do with the deities can harbor that gift of having wings. You are the prime example of what people thinks won’t happen anytime soon in the next few decades: A demon who bears the attributes of an owl. Don’t question how that manages to happen, just think of it as the spawn has been running on deadline so bad that it literally lets you pass with that extraordinary characteristic of yours without consideration— I jest, but hey, take it easy

• You’re still young, spawned into this world with little knowledge of what is happening at the very moment. It feels like you have just been dragged away from the warm embrace of nothingness into the world’s system without any relatable guidance to your circumstances. Sure, you still have at least someone to look out for, but it still feels weird nonetheless. Your differences compare to others don’t make it easier, now do it? It’s not everyday that people see demons like you with the promising capacity of soaring the sky once you develop enough. They look at you like an exotic specimen, not as a normal demon. Being the certain of the spotlight at such age, it’s hard to tell whether or not do you enjoy such attention

• It’s quite annoying to take care of your own need as an owl hybrid. Most people don’t get the little idea of how that dissimilarity, which is usually what they praise you about, can be such a pain in the ass. That little birdbrain of yours fails to grasp the philosophy of why are you such an outsider to your fellow kins. And don’t get me started on those idiots who picks a fight with you just because they can. Bullies are the worse kind to have a difference around. Such a hassle, no? It’s understandable to feel that way. Maybe that’s why the wilderness keeps calling out to you, so you might be given an opportunity to feel at home. And you did follow that sound, feeding your curiosity the moment you know how to spread your wings to some extent

• The unknown has been quite the surprises for you to discover new things daily. There are quite a lot of things you have on your to do list — or for the lack of better words, your to discover list — while you keep flying on track. But finding a parental figure is definitely not what you have in mind, at least for the time being. And the fact it’s Katana out of nowhere makes things even more hard to believe. Be as it may for people to find it baffling, that’s still the case in your situation

• How did this happen? There are two main scenarios that has led to this outcome: One is your stubbornness has worked its charm when pestering the man nonstop. Let me enlighten you about the possible reasons why you keep tailing Katana around even when he has warned you about the lurking danger following everywhere he goes. You might feel intimidated when sensing the older demon around your area, as owls are often stressed by stranger’s presence due to feeling threatened and out of their element. Though it can be helped - Katana does look scary in a kid’s eyes like yours. Yet it might slowly develop into curiosity. It’s only natural to feel so, and the fact that you aren’t fully aware of typical pleasantries when dealing with someone as strange as Katana. From that moment on, you keep following the man around as if you’re a lost little owlet

• Katana might be bothered by your continuously insistence on being around him. He did try to shoo you away a few times before, but it seemed to backfire his intentions as you just doing whatever you please to do. The older demon technically gave up when he realized that no matter how much he pushed you away, you will just fly back to his direction and observe every movement of his from a reasonable distance. Slowly but steadily, you start to grow onto him. It’s just the matter of time Katana finally gives in and decides that he has another responsibility to keep on his shoulders as a responsible figure

• Two is that Katana seems to see a piece of familiarity in you, probably in a sentimental manner. Maybe you reminded him of someone in the past. He has been wandering for who knows how long on this journey of cleansing the corruption after all, so it’s safe to say he might have met a few people that left an impact in his memory. Or maybe you reminded him of something good in the midst of chaos - a peculiar demon child that he suddenly felt the urge to protect out of nowhere. It didn’t feel right to leave a child like you without knowing that you would be safe the next day or not. It was odd of him to decide to take care of you like that, though comes to think of it, no one can really read what Katana has in mind anyway

• Katana isn’t that good with simple words for children like you, so he will rely on his actions to make sure that you know he cares for you. He is like those traditional father figure who looks intimidatingly quiet but loves his child deep down no matter what

• Whatever is it that has the familiar bound between the two of going on — you convinced him or he convinced you — it doesn’t matter. You’re his child now, and although Katana would say that he isn’t the best father figure to someone your age when he looks at the other family, that doesn’t mean he won’t try for you. Katana wishes for you to be comfortable with telling him what’s in your mind. You need not to worry about anything behind your father’s back, you know he will lean an ear on anything you want to say. Katana is a great listener after all. And maybe his wisdom can aid you through the hardship you are experiencing right now

• If you have a rebellious phase, this old man will definitely have a massive headache while he figuring out how to deal with that attitude of yours in a fair way. Children are already hard to understand, but you will probably make his horns grayer sooner than he’d like. How is he going to talk some senses into you when you’re puffing those feathers of yours out to appear bigger and loudly chittering or hissing at him? Not to mention if you decide to land on a high branch out of his reach. The sight is pretty funny in some way though, an old demon of a father just keeps looking up at an owlet hybrid as he doesn’t know what to do. That is a ‘what if’ only though, but just keeps in mind that he still loves you as always

• He definitely has to do his research carefully before officially takes you in under his wings. Katana does enjoy bird watching in his free time, but he can’t just compare you to those things. Questions are expected, as he wants to know all of your needs to make sure that you don’t have to put up an act to pretend that you’re fine with the new living conditions. In case even you don’t even know what to answer him because you too have no ideas, Katana doesn’t give up that easily. This man will quietly get around and ask anyone he deems that have enough experience with taking care of an avian then selectively choose what shall be the most suitable for you. He won’t tell you since that’s just how he is: Figuring things out on his own so that it won’t stress you out

• Clothings are definitely on that main list for him to think precisely given the wings and the few feathers on your body that just get in the way. Hate to break it to you, kiddo, but don’t expect this man to be able to sew a shirt without the need to intensely glare at the needle to put the thread through in the next three hours. He’s a fighter, not a professional homemaker or anything. One thing he will do, however, is to take you to a trustworthy yet inexpensive tailor in Thieves Den to design a few new outfits for you to wear comfortably. He knows he doesn’t have to do it since he can just cut the back of your shirt a little to make space for your wings, yet he just does anyway. Who is going to stop him? He knows what is the good price for something, no one needs to worry

• Some of your current behaviors are still heavily influenced by your owl’s instinct. From little things like being observant to just have an instinct to fly outside to hunt out of nowhere just because you’re bored. And those actions, which you may think are not that big of a deal, can definitely cause your father to freeze midway when he sees you

• When he first brings you back home, you almost give him a heart attack when you do that infamous yet iconic head turn that pretty sure if it’s not Katana in front of you, people might have called an exorcist to deal with you. Random knowledge, but do you know owls technically can’t turn their head a full 360 degrees motion but rather 270 degrees? Yeah, the same case applies to you. Whatever the degree, you certainly scared your guardian a lot of times before. Poor Katana literally drops his tea cup the moment you turn around looking at him directly into the eyes as you were just turning your back at him earlier when he calls your attention for something. Give him a few moments to get used to that stunt of yours, he’s old now

• One more things that Katana has to take a deep breath while mentally questioning his knowledge is when he sees you regurgitating pellets for the first time. Listen, demons don’t need to eat, remember that alright? And when the two of you want to have a treat all of a sudden, Katana will take you out to the vendors to get a snack or two. Basically most of everything he feeds you are digestive. But then that little birdbrain of yours just swallows if not anything you feel like it’ll be a good idea when it’s obvious that those things are barely edible. This man’s heart rate has done the lambada on a thread when he sees you gagging out pellets of said things out. He immediately takes you to see a doctor and then just facepalm when understand what happened. It doesn’t harm you though, but damn does it give him one hell of a shock

• You know the basics of how to fly, but it’s still clumsily done as you barely have anyone to tell you what to do properly. Flying is like second nature to you, an instinct that only you can understand. Katana doesn’t have that much of information on how should he help you in something only you have full knowing on how. Katana believes that it’s best you learn on your own, but he will also be there to encourage you. Don’t be afraid if you fall again after a short while of practice on flying around in long distance, your father will always be there to offer you a hand to get up on your feet again. Not all the times he will help you up, though he will be there no matter what to keep an eye on you carefully

• Preening is definitely the thing you have to inform him about. You can still do it on your own, but there are some places that you can’t help but groan as you struggle to reach to. You can keep your ego on top of your head if you want instead of asking Katana for help, but don’t be surprised when your wings feel so awful and heavy all of the sudden. Of course, Katana notices that clear change of demeanor in your expression. He knows that avians preen themselves as an act of taking care of themselves. This old man will lean you a hand when he knows you can’t deal with it yourself after numerous attempts. He does know a thing or two about it, but feel free to correct him on anything he does wrong, he appreciates it a lots. You’re his child after all, he doesn’t want to keep making mistakes which might accidentally hurt you

• Since you’re pretty much still an owlet in some sense and not fully developed your hybrid traits to adulthood, your napping schedule definitely amuses Katana. Owls usually get active at night, even though different owls come with different behaviors, but that’s usually the case. It’s not a surprise when you spend most of your time in the day sleeping whenever you feel like it and then proceed to cause havoc when the night falls. And since you’re technically an owlet, you have quite the obnoxious amount of nap time that just hits randomly. Katana isn’t too startled anymore when he sees you slowly drifting away to sleep for a few minutes before bounce back like nothing has ever happened. He’s used to your oddities by now

• The fact you even sleep face down on your stomach while turning your head to the side immediately when you want to sleep is something your guardian finds endearing. You look ridiculous in some ways in a lighthearted manner. Sometimes you even do it in the middle of anywhere you see fit at home but your room when you’re feeling comfortable enough. Picking you up when you’re sleeping the day away on the living room’s floor then bring you back into your bed — which funny enough, it’s literally a nest of pillows and blankets together that you make yourself — is somewhat a typical routine to Katana

• The ronin usually prefers to stay and relax at home if he has a choice. Although when you come into his life, he sometimes insists to take you out to go on a walk with him just so you two can bound together. Maybe a few idle chit chat to catch up on each other’s day or to talk about what has been troubling you. You don’t need to force yourself to have a conversation with him if you have nothing in your mind, he just wants to bring you out to have some fresh air. Walking around the forest can clear up one’s mind in peace after all. You can also fly around freely while Katana takes his time to follow you. Maybe he isn’t going to catch up given that it’s his moment of relaxation, but he still knows where are you, so don’t worry about loosing his track

• If you want to follow him around when he is going to travel, you have rely solely on your logical points to debate with him for quite a long period. In his eyes, you’re still his owlet. No matter how much you try to prove that you’re capable of fighting alongside with him, there is just no way that he will put out you in such unknown danger in which it can make him regret his decision forever. Please understand that he doesn’t baby you, Katana knows better than to spoil you too much, that’s just his way of nurturing you to be independent yet still staying right beside you whenever you need his aid. But you’re just too young. Hell, if you were older, then he might reconsider about this talk once that happened. Though for now, you’re not allowed to come with him. It’s for your own safety, and he makes sure that he explains it in details for you about the potential consequences of it

• Katana genuinely cares a lots about you and your well-being. If anything happens to you, he can’t bring himself to ever let his guilt rest. He has already lost enough, he doesn’t need to put you on that list of people who he values deeply yet has fallen down unfortunately without him able to do anything. You’re his child, his dear owlet, and it’s his responsibility as a father to protect you from the corruption itself. He can’t let his precious pride and joy be taken away by death’s hand. He knows your nature as an avian will urge you to give in to the temptation of exploring the sky. Katana supports that, he knows that soon you will mature and leave his embrace to go on your own journey. However, you are not ready for that future just yet, so it’s his duty to look out for you until you grow up

• That is to say, whenever he has one of those so-called business trip again, he makes sure to leave you with the Thieves Rest trio so that they can look after you with upmost care while he’s away. Although yes, they do bother him with useless deeds sometimes whenever they’re done with business at Crossroads and return to Thieves Den, but at least he knows they aren’t too bad. Especially Slingshot, who he tolerates the most out of the trio. Katana has to think throughly before makes that decision. As much as he’d like the idea of bringing you to Hyperlaser instead, he feels like the idea isn’t really the beat idea. At least with those three, they will know how to keep you entertained while also safe. He has to give them a throughout list of matters that concern you before leaving too, he can be strict when he needs to

• Remember Prince? Yeah, he’s your companion now. He is the first owl in this household that has been accompanied Katana for longer than you have ever been. Maybe at first you two will just stare at each other without blinking out of curiosity or something else, but then you will soon grow on Prince as he accepts you as not a threat. Owl’s minds that think alike, perhaps it’s the case for the two of you. Prince usually do Katana a favor by delivering hand-written messages back and forth to him, so there are more than just a few time when you see Prince appear absurdly without a warning to send you a letter from Katana while he is away. Or when he wants to call you back as he’s at home, Prince will just peak the heck out of your head to drag you to go home without a message

• You’re definitely mentioned in his stories to tell Hyperlaser about when the two old men go out for a drink together. If Hyperlaser can talk about his cat daughter that he loves with everything in this life, why wouldn’t Katana do the same with you, the child he holds dear in his patched cold heart? He is pretty much that type of father who will always keep the family photo with you and him — maybe Prince too — in his robe so that he can pull it out anytime to remind himself of how much he should keep going. Hyperlaser is pretty intrigued of this side of Katana. But even him is a cat dad, he has no intentions to judge the ronin for his fatherly love towards you. That’s something they both have in common unexpectedly after all

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝

Note: Sorry for delaying this request! But I’ve decided to take a break-then do these requests-then a break again so I can recharge myself properly ( ´ ▽ ` ) Thank you for all your patience !

Note 2: This is for those who have daddy issues in general (°▽°)

[vintagerobin]

It's really interesting to me how these two different comics are using the safety net allegory in very different ways. Mutual between Dick and Bruce, one-sided between Bruce and Damian. It got me thinking about a couple of different things.

Firstly... I really think one-sided caregiving is Bruce's default in his relationships with everyone, including adults. Giving and supporting isn't that hard for him, he tends to assume that he should be the one to do that - it's admitting that he also has emotional needs and asking for ANY kind of help from another person and making himself vulnerable in that way that he struggles with the most. That's where his relationships fall apart more often than not. So it's always seemed a little odd to me that he would suddenly go counter to that with the Robins and seek that support from them. Looking at these panels though... he obviously ISN'T doing that. In either case.

Bringing me to the second point - in the top panels, Dick didn't learn to take care of adults from Bruce. He had already learned it from his parents before he ever met Bruce, an issue he gained from being a child star, not from being Robin.

But Dick insists on it with Bruce. He pushes past the boundaries Bruce attempts to set and encourages Bruce to rely on him as an equal, even becomes angry with him if Bruce doesn't give in.

...all of which is leading me to think that Bruce learned this dynamic from Dick, and has slowly been unlearning it until you get to Damian where it's mostly absent again. It makes a weird sort of sense if you consider that they're really not that far apart in age, only a bit further apart than Dick and Jason are. Bruce was quite young when he took Dick in.

[shannonsketches]

He said "Fuck this shit, I'm out" I'm crying. Toriyama's Vegeta was so top shelf 🤌

(From Neko Majin Z Chapter 5!)

[ask-crow-aus]

<3 eh. Our followers are called cults because we’re not well known enough to be a real religion.. in most universes, anyways.

*Irony sits next to Celie, planning on learning from this as much as possible.*

{Soooooo.. what ya gonna teach us?}

<3 the basics. Let’s start easy. A deity’s power grows with their age. Once every ten centuries, either a new strength, power, or skill develops. Once you reach an age even remotely similar to mine or Irony’s, you kind of run out of things to develop, so the things developing start to strengthen. Hence why they can go incorporeal and are able to float, and totally manipulate the opacity, acidity, and weight of their mass. Most of mine are cosmetic or related to my.. subspecies, but they are always related to what we are in charge of. Once you reach a certain age, the power keeping you alive from your parents, or in some cases, your creation, will fade. Naga is just about at that age. When that happens, you need to form a cult, as most would call it, so you can feed off the devotion of your followers.

{Which is necessary for us to survive and maintain our power.}

<3 exactly. The bond between deity and follower is usually mostly one sided, as deities don’t tend to share the same emotion and devotion with their followers. I do. For the most part. Almost every Nirian is able to form a link with someone else. It’s something our bodies have naturally adapted to with the magic around us, a special type of communication typically reserved for mates, spouses, close friends, family, and tribe or clan members. It’s not uncommon for people to have four or more at any given time. Too many will make it harder to focus, though, since it spreads your magic so thin. I don’t think most people have that issue, but magic is required for most people of our nation to survive. Everything is rich with it, but the need to utilize it never became apparent until ancient dwellers, likely humans, elves, or a similar, precursor race, colonized Niria and were nearly driven to extinction from the monsters living there that had learned to consume the matter with as much of the magic as possible.

*he glanced around to make sure they were still paying attention.*

<3 With magic being so important in life, people learned how to cultivate it. It’s used in most things, now. From simple household chores that require more energy or to make food taste better. Some performers even use it to amplify their music, acting, or art. And while it can be weaponized, most people that use it in combat are aware that it has severe drawbacks, ranging from internal bleeding to organ damage to the breaking of bones. Death, in the worst cases. It’s not awful, if you don’t strain yourself constantly, but combative magic takes much more energy than other types. This is off topic, switching back to the bonds. There’s nothing inherently special about them, other than religion or closeness. They make communication easier and can be used to exchange magic, knowledge, and emotion. Like many powerful races, deities feed off of a very certain emotion. Devotion and belief. You’ll find similar behaviors in sentries who feed off fear, though they don’t need a bond for that, guardians who feed off the sense of security, or even more primal races that use it to locate prey or to stay connected over long distances as nomads.

<3 it’s nothing to scoff at, yes, but between deity and mortal, or even at times, deity and Demigod, deity and soul, it’s very natural and there’s really no strings attached. As for altars, they just make it easier to receive offerings and belief, acting as catalysts. They can be as small as a cleared off space with a rock on it. Didn’t that one church make one with a statue of you bigger than me in my eldritch form?

{A little smaller, and it was made with black marble. The detail was remarkable.}

<3 I prefer to not have altars, because I don’t really know what to do with the offerings. Irony made their receiving place for them a basin because people keep giving them blood.

{At least it’s something I can consume, I guess. I much prefer the Little rocks and charms that the little kids give me. They have more emotion behind them, and some of them even have little handmade drawings. The basin drains into a separate place to keep the blood moving, by the way. The dry stuff stays dry.}

[Celie wakes up in the morning, and stretches his arms. He's back to being a porcelain doll.]

*Irony is still standing over him.*

[itspileofgoodthings]

you know what I’ve realized lately? that’s really helped? the axiom: it just doesn’t really make that much of a difference. Or at least it doesn’t when you’re talking about good things and not, like, doing good vs. doing evil. Big choices, little choices, decisions, decisions —it’s not just that they don’t matter in the grand scheme of things—because they do! —but just. It won’t make that big of a difference. Life will continue to be wonderful AND difficult, fascinating AND hopelessly mundane, full of roses AND thorns and all the other cliches whether you walk down one road or another. And you’ll get used to the joys and sick of the sorrows whatever they are, and you’ll be ungrateful and bored and dissatisfied in some measure some of the time and you’ll have to work on all the things you have to work on anyways and just. Yeah! It doesn’t make that big of a difference! Even the biggest things!

[faaun]

she's so arrogant and annoying and hot it pisses me off !!!

[girl-bateman]

Feeling a debilitating sense of dread and despair 🤨 Which probably means nothing😍👍

[blackwaxidol]

I'm in that "boiler about to explode and take the house with it" prodrome.

[lord-squiggletits]

I think another thing that annoys me about how prevalent it is for people to read MTMTE/LL and nothing else, is the fact that JRO's depiction of Cybertronian-organic relationships is slanted so heavily in favor of Cybertronians portraying organic aliens as tyrannical racists killing colonies for no reason (Galactic Council, the Black Block Consortia) that love torturing Cybertronians because they hate them so much and don't see them as sentient (that dude who was selling Cybertronian torture dolls to alien races).

And like, something that happens as a result of people only reading MTMTE/LL is that they get this idea in their head that it's Cybertronians who are oppressed by the rest of the galaxy. And an unfortunate.... take that I see as a result of this ends up with stuff like Decepticon/Megatron apologists trying to frame technoist colonialism as basically Cybertronians trying to strike back against being unfairly persecuted and being seen as lesser by alien species? They don't always explicitly say it as such, but I've seen a lot of people try to downplay the whole technoism and colonialism thing by framing it in context to organic racism and how both sides are equally bad or something like that.

Which is not fucking true because if you actually were to read exRID and OP, you would know that there are multiple Cybertronian colonies throughout the galaxy that were created by razing previously occupied organics planets, that Nova Prime (one of the original 13 Primes and the first Prime to rule a united Cybertron) wanted to conquer the entire galaxy which led to the creation of cold construction in the first place, and that the reason organic species hate Cybertronians so much is because Cybertronians were the first ones to go out and start conquering other planets millions of years ago.

It's even more infuriating because you don't even need to read other comics besides JRO's to know this! Tailgate and Cyclonus were from Nova Prime's time and the whole "yeah during those times we liked going out on a fun journey to kill organics for fun hahaha" is brought up at least a couple times in the series.

[winter-spark]

I notice that even though Citron's my fave, I spend more time here talking about Orange and Navel.

I think it's fear of being wrong.

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads // twitter thread

Into The Labyrinth / Facing The Shadow

2&3 in a middle grade fantasy trilogy about a 12yo girl who discovers she has the ability to enter a magical world in her dreams, and has to save it from darkness

while also dealing with anxiety, bullying, and friendships in the real world

set in Wellington Aotearoa

dreamrealm worldbuilding reflects the MC’s Māori/Chinese/Irish/Scottish heritage

aspec questioning MC