#it makes more sense for the body to not be set by mother nature(tm) herself but to be able to adapt

[uncanny-tranny]

happy transsexual thursday! I'm very pleased that my voice is getting lower - it's one of the effects I most hoped to experience when I started T last year. I actually like the way it sounds when I hear a recording, which is a big difference from before.

Yes!! It's so amazing just how flexible and malleable the human body is

[safyresky]

CS Chapter 28: Lore Guide!

Or rather, character guide! I dropped a LOT of names and while yes it was fun and to be silly it also was. Crystal Springs FACTS lol. Anyway, I figured I'd compile them all in a list for easy reference for my me and also your yous if you all want! :)

Potential blorbos below the cut!!

The Assembly

Each province of Crystal Springs has a Governor and two Lieutenants. The Governors are up for office every fifty years; they select their Lieutenants from the leaders of the different villages/hamlets/towns etc. in their provinces every 10-50 years.

The capitol city also has a governor, and along with Mother Nature these are the people who make up the Assembly, the governing body of CS as a whole (so like, Parliament or whatever).

Here is who each governor is:

Governor Iden -> Governor of the Eastern Province (Autumn)

Governor Zeki -> Governor of the Southern Province (Summer)

Governor Arilla -> Governor of the Northern Province (Winter)

Governor Lorel -> Governor of the Western Province (Spring)

Governor Blaise -> Governor of the Capitol, Crystal Springs.

Iden

Panics very easily. Usually has to have a big old panic before getting to business, but does get down to business

His current Lieutenants, Clove and Enid, are very good at being rational while hearing him out and bringing him back down to Earth

Iden is deffs some kind of "spooky" magibean; maybe a drow?

Zeki

BIG and FRIENDLY

Sprite-esque; I think he has Earth powers? Chucks stones and such

He has charisma levels to give Blaise a run for his money

Quick to help always 24/7

ESPECIALLY when Iden is involved given his uh. Overthinking tendencies

Arilla

She is ANCIENT and ALL KNOWING and WISE

by which I mean, she has the sight tm. She can see into the future in limited ways and has a general sense of things going well or not

so when she says "they'll manage" 95% of the time she's right

I think she is some kind of celestial magibean (god or demigod or something akin to that)

Lorel

She is spacey as fuck

Nobody is sure how she got elected, least of all herself

may have been a joke?? but she somehow managed to win?? and they keep reelecting her???

She is very like. If you think of a creature that frolics in a meadow all day and gathers flowers and that sort of thing, that's her

somehow she manages an entire province but is so airy that it's hard to understand how she even manages

trusts Arilla's judgment SO much

probably a fairy, or like. a dnd druid. or maybe a faun.

They don't have last names as an oversight on my part lmao. I always have people call Blaise "Governor Frost" but the other governors go by their first name and I had so much fun finding names that surnames did not occur to me until AFTER lmao. So, to make my life easy, the governors all go by first names amongst the assembly lol. I'll give them surnames one day!

Idk who the other Lieutenants are, but I do know that:

Zeki's are just as friendly and helpful as him

Arilla's one constant is a big friendly giant who is like a bodyguard at times, and the other one is usually a very shady mother fucker, bc she picks them on PURPOSE to keep her eyes on them.

Make sure they're not doing. Shenanigans (derogatory) or tomfoolery (derogatory)

She either reforms them or takes care of them, then on comes the next set! The Winter Province is the most chill with the least political issues. This is why.

She may threaten people in line using Winter

Winter does not mind this

Lorel's lieutenants are always more on it than she is, given how scatterbrained and airy she is at times, and a bit unpredictable. They keep her on track and organized but will also hang out and gather flowers with her in a meadow~

Those Who Imprisoned The Twin Prince Pyros

Blaise

Cheri, Grand Witch of the Dark Arts

Gwen, Grand Witch of the Light Arts

Mother Nature

Godrick

Novus

Indigo

Bartholomule

Peggy

Pepper

Birch

Kharl

Right so we know lots about Blaise and Mother Nature. They didn't play any particular roles in the whole thing, they just made the final decision and organized the set-up.

Blaise was also the one who initially sealed Pyros in the stone thing with Winter! But the seasons were like "do what you need to do with this fucker, we just got back from being POW'S so we're. we're gonna go. y'know. process and such" so they didn't really play much of a role the first time around!

The second time around they did bc Winter was on the WARPATH about it and all three seasons tend to over protect her lol. Here's what everyone else did:

Godrick:

Was the typical brash soldier/fighter type. Noticed Pyros starting to crack the stone prison. Had a penchant for magical arts (may have been a warlock, may have been a sorcerer, he never clarified and tended to rely on sorcerer magic the most tho people swear they saw him wizarding about) and put down the first seal that kept Pyros in the stonework until they could get the castle grounds ready. He also lead the quelling of rebellion forces as the rest of the gang took care of Pyros Status: Deceased (in Rosehaven)

Novus

They were the brains/logistics of the operation. They essentially drafted the plans and figured out who would need to do what to get this to work in such a way that the people would be safe. Cheri was very right; Novus would know what to do and would've been quite speedy about it--they didn't leave things hanging for long. You want shit done, Novus was your magibean! Status: Deceased (in Rosehaven)

Indigo

Artificer/tinkerer. Very excited about magical tinkering; plays a huge role in magical tech advancements and melding their tech with human tech come the 21st century. Has a grinchy laugh but is generally an okay dude! They designed the chains that kept Pyros able to roam about the cabin but unable to leave the grounds, and fortified them in order for the enchantments to be placed in them! Status: Active. Caught in a tinker. May still be tinkering. Has no concept of time.

Bartholomule

Was a shapeshifter who could only shift into a mule, hence the name. He was the one who came up with how to have the chains phase through the castle grounds. This shocked everyone.

Status: Shifted into mule form permanently. Unsure if alive mule or dead mule.

Peggy

Peggy was a kindly older woman who made the enchantment to keep the kitchens well stocked and essentially have the castle be self sustaining, to keep Pyros alive while imprisoned. She was a hospitality whiz--probably a brownie or some other mythological being known for hospitality! Status: deceased (in Rosehaven)

Pepper

Worked with Novus to make the enchantments/seals that kept the chains from breaking/falling off, essentially making them invisible on top of Bartholomule's intangibility bit. Helped the Grand Witches with the force field surrounding the castle. Is a bit too much at times. Gets hexed/jinxed/cursed a lot, sometimes by her own experimenting. Is a sorcerer by trade, chaotic entity by everything else lmao. Status: cursed (stuck in the curse ward. will probably be okay)

Birch

Druid/wise woman! Very in tune with nature. Was the person who made it so that Old Frost Castle, once strengthened and prepped and officially prison'd up for Pyros, would be undiscoverable by anyone looking for it. You wouldn't see it on maps; not in aerial views. It wouldn't appear on anyone's radar. People walking through the forest would not wind up on the castle grounds accidentally. She essentially worked with nature to make this so. Status: Enlightened. Became a Birch tree just south of the Springs.

Kharl

He was the math guy. Wizard. Made sure the sorcery related stuff didn't blow up in anyone's faces (as sorcery was wont to do every so often). Also made sure the various magical bits and bops placed on Pyros and the castle grounds wouldn't decay. Expert in magical decay theory. Was also a bit of a haughty fellow. Cheri thought him a dick and Gwen was wont to agree. Status: Turned into a frog. He knows what he did.

The Grand Witches

Though both Cheri and Gwen had a hand in everything, their main contribution was the force field surrounding the castle and the magical locks on the door. This served as the test set onto them by the previous Grand Witches in order to prove themselves worthy of the titles and take on the responsibilities that came with them. Though they are witches of opposing forces, one of the big parts of their jobs is to work in tandem, so imprisoning the Twin Prince Pyros was as good a test as any to see if they really could work together!

Status: Both are alive and active

And one last lore note: CSGHA stands for "Crystal Springs General Health Association" and they are the magibean medical care guidelines for the most part!

[askkrenko]

Krenko’s Guide to Pokemon: Mr. Line

“If a tree falls in the woods, and nobody is around to hear it, and it hits a mime, does anyone care?” ~ Gary Larson

DESIGN

Mime Jr.’s actually pretty cute, looking like a tiny little silly clown. The design is a bit generic but also very effective, making it a creature with just enough clown parts so that you know it’s a clown without so many clown parts to look terrifying. It also manages to look a lot like one of those clown-faced ice creams you can get at some places, where the cone is upside down as a hat. The point is, Mime Jr. is a small, cute pokemon that works perfectly fine.

Next is “Kantonian” Mr. Mime, and I put that in quotes because this Pokemon isn’t actually Kantonian. As with Farfetch’d, Mr. Mime is called Kantonian because that’s the first region we as players could get it, but the only ones available in Kanto outside of Let’s Go are either from trades or from the game counter, plus a very tiny amount that appear in the grass patch south of Pallet Town in Gold and Silver but not Red and Blue, implying that someone in Pallet Town has been breeding and releasing Mr. Mimes, and I’m not going to say who, but we all know these Mimes are a certain protagonist’s half-siblings, don’t we?

So where is Mr. Mime from? Well, we’ve established that the first Mr. Mime we met, Marcel, didn’t come from Kanto, and there’s no Mr. Mime in Johto, Hoenn, or Unova. Alola’s a weird one, as they don’t appear in Sun and Moon but they do appear in both Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. Still, they’re only in one location and Alola is known for having many imported Pokemon.  Sinnoh’s a possibility- while the Trophy Garden is clearly cultivated, Mr. Mime and Mime Jr. both appear in the wild in Diamond (but not Pearl). Still, I think the actual natural habitat of this Mr. Mime is the Reflection Cave in Kalos. Not only would a mime Pokemon make the most sense in the Kalos region, but it’d make far more sense for it to be living in a hall of mirrors than simply wandering grasslands as it does in Diamond. Further, this is in much closer proximity to the Galar Region, where Mime Jr.s and Galarian Mr. Mimes wander freely.  Thus, for the rest of this article I’m going to refer to this creature as Kalosian Mr. Mime.

And Kalosian Mr. Mime is terrifying. This thing is so Uncanny Valley that it goes down to becoming some sort of Uncanny Trench where light vanishes and there’s no hope for escape. It has all the most terrifying aspects of a clown, with a vaguely human form that isn’t quite right, hair that resembles horns, and an uncomfortably close relationship with your mother. Its bright coloration and curly feet are just sort of haunting, giving the illusion that it’s wearing clothes while in actuality that’s all just part of it’s horrible, horrible body.

In contrast, Galarian Mr. Mime is much friendlier looking. The pants help a lot, but so do the big gloves and the nose. It looks less like a monster and more like a cartoony man, and while it’s still weird to see a Pokemon that’s so humanlike, this version doesn’t feel inherently wrong and unsettling. Much better design here, unless the goal is to freak people out. That said, I just don’t buy this as an evolved form of Mime Jr. Galar really needed a Galarian Mime Jr. to finish the set, because as is Mime Jr. turning into Galarian form in Galar and Kalosian form anywhere else just feels off.  The other weird thing is that Galarian Mr. Mime, with its new focus on tapdance, doesn’t still feel like it should be called Mr. Mime. It’s something I complain about a lot with alternate forms, but if a creature’s called Mr. Mime it should be miming, not dancing, and if a creature’s called Sandshrew it should be sand based. 

Visually, I love Mr. Rime. He’s got all the charm of Galarian Mr. Mime but now has a silly hat and an ice cane. He also gets the red bubble on his stomach back from being a Mime Jr. which makes me question why Galarian Mr. Mime doesn’t have it. Mime Jr. links fine to Mr. Rime, but through features lost along the way, like its hat and its big red poofs. Mr. Rime is also clearly Charlie Chaplin, and I love the pun of its name in that it’s both Rime and Rhyme.

EVOLUTIONS:

Oh god this line is a mess.

First we get Mime Jr, which has first form starter stats, but evolves when knowing the move Mimic. With no TM or TR, Mime Jr. learns Mimic at 32, finally evolving into a Pokemon whose stat total is still a bit small for a final form. If it’s not in Galar, it stays a Psychic/Fairy type. If it is in Galar, it becomes a Psychic/Ice type, which then evolves again at 42 into something that’s not actually that big a boost over its previous for, making Galarian Mr. Mime a good user of the Eviolite.

And then Mime Jr. is an incense baby, so if you breed two Mr. Mimes (and you can because despite the name half are female) you get a Mr. Mime if you’re not using incense. This is a stupid mechanic that they need to get rid of. 

As with Farfetch’d, the fact that the original doesn’t get a new evolution while the regional form does bothers me, because it doesn’t do anything to bring the original back into playability, it just gives us a new different Pokemon that makes the original less relevant.

I will say Mime Jr. was a good addition. While some baby Pokemon are a waste of time, Mime Jr.’s actually a really solid early-game Pokemon, and Mr. Mime’s strong enough that it shouldn’t be appearing until mid to late game anyway. Adding Mime Jr. adds a lot of playability to this line in PVE.

Art by Zerochan923600

TYPING:

Kalosian Mr. Mime spent a lot of time as a Psychic type until we actually went to Kalos and found out it was a Psychic/Fairy type this whole time. Defensively, this is decent. It only has three weaknesses, and while it only has three ‘resistances,’ one of them’s a double and one of them’s an immunity. Offensively, it’s super-effective against four types and neither type works well against Steel… but that’s Steel, and most things don’t work well against Steel.

Galarian Mr. Mime and Mr. Rime are Ice/Psychic types, with their only competition in that type combination being Jynx and the legendary Ice Rider Calyrex. Defensively, this is a really bad combination, with six weaknesses and only two resistances- Ice and Psychic themselves. Offensively, this gives super-effective options against six types with only Steel as a shared resistance. 

Art by DarkraiLady

STATS

Kalosian Mr. Mime has a whopping 120 Special Defense, but a mere 40 HP, seriously inhibiting its ability to actually tank, and only 65 physical defense. It’s 100 Special Attack is respectable, but Speed 90 isn’t really enough to make a sweeper out of it,  even with Nasty Plot.

Galarian Mr. Mime balances its stats a bit, trading Special Attack and Special Defense for a bit more HP and Speed, but the only thing here that really works out in its favor is that it can equip an Eviolite, turning it into an actual defensive Pokemon, albeit one that still has poorer HP than most. 

Mr. Rime brings up most of its stats as evolutions do, but weirdly drops its speed from 100 to 70. It manages to be more defensive than average post-evolution, but its key stat becomes its 110 Special Attack. Overall, its stats are fine, able to dish out hits and take them, and its worst stats are only a bit below average.

Singin’ in the Snow by Pizapioart

ABILITIES

Kalosian Mr. Mime and Galarian Mr. Mime have entirely different abilities, with Mr. Rime having another.

Like Electrode, Kalosian Mr. Mime can get Soundproof, and there’s plenty of Sound based attacks out there, making this a decent defensive option. This improves in 2v2 where you can pair it with Boomburst.

Filter, a near-Signature ability of Mr. Mime, is another powerful defensive option, reducing the damage of supereffective moves from 2x to 1.5x. As you can reasonably expect most opponents to have Poison, Steel, or Ghost moves somewhere in their lineup, you really can’t go wrong with this.

Technician increases the power of any of Mr. Mime’s moves of 60 power or less by 50%, and in theory this is a good ability, but Mr. Mime just learns all the good moves anyway. There’s no reason to use a Technician’d Confusion when you can learn Psychic, or a Technician’d Magical Leaf when you can learn Energy Ball. Skipping this should be easy, because it’s Mr. Mime’s Hidden Ability.

Galarian Mr. Mime (but not Mr. Rime) gets Vital Spirit, which grants immunity to sleep. This is fine and usable and plenty of enemies will try and put you to sleep, but this isn’t the reason you’d be using this Pokemon.

Mr. Rime gets Tangled Feet, which is a garbage ability for garbage Pokemon. Nobody needs raised evasion when confused, what they need is to not be confused.

Ice Body, hidden ability of Galarian Mr. Mime and Mr. Rime, causes a Pokemon to heal in Hail. Of course, every Pokemon that can get this, other than the not-fully-evolved Seel, takes no damage in Hail anyway, and it really takes a fully defensive playstyle to worry about using your ability on sometimes healing 1/16th max HP a turn. There are ways to build Mr. Rime for this, but it’ll involve other Poekmon on your team setting up the Hail and wanting it, too.

Besides, Galarian Mr. Mime and Mr. Rime have the signature ability “Screen Cleaner” which negates Reflect, Light Screen, and Aurora Veil upon switching in. This ability is honestly the best reason to use these Pokemon, more than anything they’ll actually do once on the field. Any ability that has an effect on switch in tends to be good, because as long as it’s something you wanted done, you basically just got a free action. 

Art by  PeregrineJazmin, formerly Retkikosmos

MOVES:

Psychic and Psyshock are both great options for your primary attack form. Psychic is a bit bigger, but as you’ll have a special move of your other element to fall back on, Psyshock adds a bit more versatility.

Kalosian Mr. Mime’s only Fairy attack is Dazzling Gleam so you take Dazzling Gleam. Galarian Mr. Mime/Mr. Rime gets your choice of Ice Beam, Blizzard, or Freeze-Dry. Freeze Dry has the drawback of being weaker most of the time, but extra strong against Water Types, which are rather common. Blizzard is more likely to outright end something, but without Hail its accuracy is rather poor.

Coverage options are pretty wide for the mimes. Thunderbolt, Energy Ball, Shadow Ball, and Focus Blast are available to both, with that last one being super effective against the Steel types that resist Psychic, Fairy, and Ice. 

If you think you’ll get a moment to build up, Nasty Plot is always a great move, as is the more defensive Calm Mind.

Mr. Rime gets two particularly interesting options: it can Rapid Spin, which combines well with Screen Cleaner to reset the field, and it can learn Slack Off, the normal type equivalent of Recover. 

The Mime family’s move pools are actually rather deep, and there’s plenty more options in there, like Hypnosis, Reflect and Light Screen, Baton Pass, Iron Defense, Stored Power, and, via older gens, Healing Wish.

Art by albrt-wlson, which I have to assume is short for Albert Wilson, but might actually be Alberta Walesong.

OVERALL:

I love to hate Mr. Mime, though overall the whole family winds up in the range of ‘fine.’ Mr. Rime’s speed loss is its biggest hit, but other than that there’s a lot of good stuff it can do, especially with both Screen Cleaner and Rapid Spin.  Having below average speed on a Pokemon with so many weaknesses is a problem, but with such a strong variety of moves there’s a lot that can make up for it.

Kalosian Mr. Mime, unfortunately, really needs that stat boost that Mr. Rime got or the ability to use Eviolite like Galarian Mr. Mime, and it just doesn’t have either. 

The other thing that really bugs me about Kalosian Mr. Mime is its abilities or lack thereof. In flavor, Mr. Mime is THE Barrier Pokemon. Reflect and Light Screen are supposed to be what it does better than anyone else… but it just isn’t. Sure, Soundproof, Filter, and Technician are interesting, but I’d have loved to see Mr. Mime have something like Prankster or an ability that mimicked Light Clay, anything to say ‘this is the Pokemon that is best at Reflect.’ Honestly it’s a problem I see in the game a lot, a Pokemon having a specifically mentioned ability or a clear signature move that the Pokemon just has no reason to use. At least Mr. Rime clearly wants to use Teeter Dance with Tangled Feet, even if that strategy isn’t a strong one.

It just really bugs me when a Pokemon isn’t good at what it’s supposed to do, even if it’s good in other ways.

[theartfuldodger26]

Bellamort for the ship meme

 Thank you @knightessofwalpurgis for the ask and apologies for taking me a month to answer - March has been... quite the experience.  But Bellamort exists to give us comfort, so let’s get crackin’!

who is more likely to hurt the other?

Voldemort can tear anyone apart with some well-chosen words (as we see Locket!Voldemort do to Ron), but he rarely uses those on Bella, because a. she rarely deserves to be humiliated like that, and b. he just wouldn’t do that to her. 

What’s more likely, is that he hurts her inadvertently, since he may fail to understand certain emotional needs that Bella most people have - a touch, a kind word after success, casual conversation over a cup of tea. In addition to that, Bella, who is obsessed with him and the position she holds in his eyes, tends to overreact to those “omissions”, getting convinced he ‘never truly valued her’ and he’s going to ‘kick her out any day now’. 

However, let us take a moment to note the day that Bella deeply hurt Voldemort: the night of her betrothal to Rodolphus, when Voldemort proposed marriage and Bella turned him down for reasons that, in retrospect, she finds ridiculous. 

So in a way, you could say that of the two, Voldemort is the brokenhearted one, even if it’s Bella who cries herself to sleep from time to time. 

who is emotionally stronger?

They’re both incredibly strong people. 

Voldemort pulled himself out of the gutter, basically raised himself and became one of the most powerful and learned wizards ever.

Bella survived fucking Azkaban, which is code for severe depression in HP-land, so all I can do is salute her and ask for her secrets. 

The answer is a little tricky, in the sense that Voldemort appears to be a psychopath, medically speaking, who are... resilient people emotionally, if you will. This means that an event that would have had a massive effect on a neurotypical person, say witnessing a murder or war, to him it’s very blunted or even irrelevant. This description is very vague and generalising, but it’s supported by a lot of evidence. In fact, psychopaths can’t really feel fear, because their amygdala is the size of a pea, so it’s not fair comparing his emotional strength to others. In fact, I’d add that since he’s not used to “negative emotions” like sadness and fear, if they happen, they’d be more devastating to him, because he’s never learnt to cope with them, like the rest of us do. 

Bella obviously has her own emotional/psychiatric problems, but I don’t feel comfortable making guesses, since I’m not a psychiatrist and she’s no textbook description of any personality disorder I’ve heard. However, she got an interestng upbringing, that trained her to be a person of importance. So I’d say that even after Azkaban and with whatever issues she has, she can still hold her own in a very difficult emotional situation. 

I realise I haven’t answered the question, because honestly Idk. Also, take with a grain of salt anything psychiatry-related I said, I’m no expert, merely done some research, which I’m regurgitating here. 

who is physically stronger?

Naturally, Bella. She trains a lot, does ballet (which is fucking hardcore, let me tell you), enjoys physical activities and martial arts. 

However, after Voldemort’s transformation, he’s got many of his physical attributes improved, like the cat-eyes that allow him to see in the dark and so on (been reading a lot of the Witcher series as of recent so there’s that too), so he’s deceptively strong and yes, eventually stronger than her.who is more likely to break a bone? 

Bella, 100% XD She’s in battle all the time, and when taking part in Voldemort’s magical research (which is their day-job, world domination is a weekend hobby in case you haven’t noticed) her motto is ‘safety third’. 

An interesting point tho. Psychopaths have no fear and low-impulse control if they don’t train themselves. Fear is useful, informs us of danger ahead, so I HC that young Tom/Voldemort broke almost every bone in his body at some point doing something really dangerous simply because he didnt realise it’s stupid - like, say, go down a fucking cliff with waves crushing at it. Now he’s learnt to control those impulses and polices himself when it comes to danger, so no more broken bones. who knows best what to say to upset the other? 

They’re both excellent at judging characters and have tongues that sting. Bella will rarely truly dare upset Voldemort, but she does love torturing him a little with  something silly and not-truly important, like refusing sex, or messing with his OCD by taking stuff from “their proper place”. She knows that there’s only few things that tick him off: his loss of power to an infant, death and the abandonment from his mother. And she’s not that sadistic to bring up that last one unless absolutely provoked. 

Voldemort can be a tease as well, but he’s too mature and dignified for such childish behaviour most of the time. who is most likely to apologise first after an argument?

 Bella apologises compulsively out of fear she’s lost him even for things that aren’t her fault, tho in her mind they might be. However, she’s stubborn too, so if it’s a petty argument she might not apologise at all. Shes a spoilt little rich girl after all ;)

Voldemort’s never apologised in his life and never shall say the words, but he will change his behaviour if he realises he’s been wrong, because it’s the rational thing to do- also Bella is supersexy when she’s angry, so he wants to fuck her and he needs to her to be accepting to that. who treats who’s wounds more often? 

Voldemort treats Bella’s wounds more often by default, since she’s the one out in the battlefield more often, and also can be clumsy and absentminded. And very rarely *trigger alert* she might self-harm. 

Voldemort not only gets hurt rarely, but he also views it demeaning to accept help, so he won’t even mention it if he’s hurt. Bella will find out by accident or because he’s in so much pain he can’t hide it anymore, and with scold him first, he’ll storm off, she’ll hunt him down, they’ll argue and finally she’ll heal his wounds (usually his back which hurts because he’s Tall^TM) and he’ll act like a literal cat during this, touch-starved as he is. who is in constant need of comfort? 

Right after Azkaban Bella is in need of a lot of care and comfort, understandably. Her physical and emotional problems are their reality for many months after her escape, but the physical ones mend themselves relatively quickly. She’s forever changed emotionally, again understandably, but I wouldn’t say she’s in *constant* need of comfort. In an AU where they win, she’s perfectly functional as his right hand woman and partner, with only the occasional problem. 

Voldemort needs to get through his tough, bald head that he deserves love and comfort like everyone else, but he’ll never get it, so, in the whole, it’s him I’d say. who gets more jealous? 

Interesting question, because fandom’s given so many answers relating to those characters, especially since Bella is married. Starting with this piece of solid information, I’d hazard a guess that Voldemort doesn’t care that much that Bella also sleeps with her husband from time to time - maybe it even turns him on and strokes his ego that she doesnt get all she needs from her legitimate, pureblooded husband. How he’d react if she slept with a random bloke... probably badly; tho I cant think of a situation where that’d happen. My Bella at least, doesnt sleep around. She might tease with her sex, but she’s a well-bred lady after all, who does what is expected of her. 

Voldemort, I HC, used to be a bit of a whoremonger in his youth; good looks, mummy issues and no emotional attachment are the ingredients for that particular potion. Also he might have also been overcompensating for the fact that he was unable to marry the only women he found worthy of him: his pureblooded classmates. So he’d show up with a different, gorgeous girl at parties, which drove child!Bella crazy with jealousy, since she was still out of the healthy sexual attraction part for him and never thought he’d notice her. She’d stalk him behind curtains and through keyholes, keep her ears on alert for when the adults talked about him etc. Poor thing was really tortured by it. But now that they’re adults and, well, in a relationship, she’s far too confident to think he’d seriously care for another woman; after all, half the time she’s not sure he truly cares about her, and she’s the person who’s been closest to him. 

One thing I forgot to mention about Voldemort’s jealousy, or lack thereof, is that Bella has certain emotional needs that he cannot serve, and I’m not talking about tenderness, because to some degree he can give her that, and it’s not the same with her husband anyway. No, I mean that Bella is a sexual sadist, who gets direct sexual pleasure by hurting people. Voldemort on the other hand, is not a masochist. Not that when they have rough sex/BDSM sex he’s never in a sub position, but he’d never just sit there to be whipped or something, it just doesn’t turn him on, and that’s totally fine. So they may invite a girl (and very rarely a boy) to join them, so that Bella can get it out of her system if the war is slow/over. Don’t ask where these people end up, just don’t hang your coat in the second floor closet is all I’m saying. who’s most likely to walk out on the other? 

Depends on the situation? 

Bella would NEVER abandon Voldemort in battle or for the Cause. In a Muggle setting though, if he pissed her off she’d totally walk out of the restaurant :P 

Voldemort would never walk out on Bella either, tho, would he? He’s devoted to her, plus he does feel like he owes her after Azkaban. 

The only concept I can imagine relevant to this is Voldemort saying something in his anger that he doesnt exactly mean tho it holds some truth in it, that hurts Bella so deeply, that she leaves, both out of spite but also because she thinks it’s the best for him. In fact, I have a very specific HC for this which takes place in the afterlife, after they;re both killed in the battle for Hogwarts, but there’s no time for that here. 

There’s also another thing, but it’d quite controversial. If you, like me, HC that Bella started training with Voldemort since she was a child, and entered a sexual and later romantic relationship with him while still underage, this means that she literally hasn’t been alone as an individual, ever. So there’s also the chance that she, after they’ve had a huge fight and he’s terrible with her, leaves so she can find who she is without him. *cue the tears*who will propose? 

Voldemort did propose, on the night of Bella’s formal betrothal. Very rude and uncourteous of him, yes, but it had to be the last minute for him to realise his feelings, because he only has one (1) brain cell that works part-time on the Emotions Department of his brain. She turned him down, because she was young, immature, didnt realise how deep her own feelings were (she believed what her mother told her, that ‘all girls fall for Riddle, it’s an infatuation, it will pass’), wanted the power, fame, money and public adoration that her position as the Black Heir brought, not to mention that she was loyal to her family and terrified since Andromeda had just eloped with Ted. So she broke his heart then, even if neither realised it. But they did continue with their affair, because that’s how it happened in the olden days if you had money and space. 

After the war is over, neither proposes. They talk about it as a given (Rodolphus has fucked off to study penguins in Antarctica) and only need to figure out the details: how public it will be, who’s invited, what titles the ceremony gives them and so on.  who has the most difficult parents?

Spoiler alert: Voldemort’s an orphan! 

Okay, so hypothetically speaking, had any of his parents survived and raised him one way or the other, they’d for sure be a handful. Tom Sr. is a posh bloke used to getting his own way and being considered special due to his status as a squire, so he’d be fucking pissed if he were introduced to a world where he’s not all the shit. Nonetheless, I’d hazard a guess that in the end he, Bella and her parents would get along well-enough; after all they’re the same sort of people. 

Merope, on the other hand, is a whole other story. In the most sensible AU, where she survives giving birth and raises her son but they’re still poor and she’s got trouble with magic due to the trauma of Tom Sr. leaving her, I think she wouldn’t like Bella at all actually. Because Bella is all she ever wanted to be: beautiful, wealthy, well-bred and shows it, and, most importantly, emotionally strong. So she pesters Tom all the time about how Bella is not ‘feminine enough’ in her behaviour, too outspoken, too bitchy, not for ‘her boy’. Tom/Voldemort gives exactly one shit about her opinion and moves on. 

In the canon universe, it’d be naive to say that Bella’s parents were into Tom, simply due to his blood status. In the longrun, however, I think they'd come to terms with it, and they remember how brilliant and ambitious he was in school, so when he becomes successful in life, whether in-universe as Voldemort, or Minister or whatever in an AU, they’re sort of okay with it. Idk if they hand over the Heir of Blacks title to Bella tho, their kids wouldn’t be pureblooded after all. who initiates hand-holding when they’re out in public? 

No one. Not allowed. Not happening. Ever. It’s not their thing, anyway. Voldemort will offer her his arm, like a gentleman, tho. :)

who hogs the blankets? 

Bella, especially after Azkaban. She sleeps with five blankets piled on top of her, has the fireplace going all year round and puts a warmth charm on the sheets. Voldemort doesn’t care. He experienced such cold temperatures in so little clothing as a child, that hot and cold make little impression on him; he even takes cold showers because it’s all the same to him. *sobs* who gets more sad? 

Bella. She overthinks everything. Did she disappoint him today? Yesterday? Tomorrow? Will she ever be the person she was before prison? Why does Cissy wince every time she sees her? Should she have had children after all? These and all sorts of thoughts race through her mind all the time, torturing her to no end. 

Interestingly enough, psychopaths in general dont get that sad, but Voldemort can be very... pensive. who is better at cheering the other up? 

Bella has a wicked sense of humor that only Voldemort seems to find hilarious (comments from other people include ‘disturbing’, ‘scary’ and ‘morbid’), and even though he’s rarely sad, he can be very very serious and in need to relax his body and mind. 

Still, Voldemort, the eternal student of human nature that he is, if he does notice that Bella is sad (which isn’t always because he’s... you know), knows exactly how to distract her, just like he can do with any other person. Just, in her case, it’s sincere. who’s the one that playfully slaps the other all the time after they make silly jokes?

No one ever hits anyone. Voldemort’s been beaten and whipped and flogged enough as a young boy that he wouldn’t do it to the only person he cares about in a non-sexy way, and Bella’s been raised to view such things as ‘Muggle animalistic violence’. She might bite him hard for fun, tho :Dwho is more streetwise?

This may come as a surprise to you because of my username, but Voldemort grew up on the streets in a  Dickensian world. He knows all the tricks in the book; in fact he created many of them. Bella begged him to take her along in his travels incognito, and not on these formal things she attends with her family, and he did, so she’s learnt a lot, but she’s very much a pampered princess. who is more wise?

Hmmm... Hard to say. They have their areas of wisdom and their areas of not-having-a-fucking-clue. Bella, for example, understands emotions better than Voldemort, because she actually experiences them. Jk, jk, but you get what I mean. She’s also more knowledgeable in certain magical things, that, for example, not all prophecies have to be fulfilled and that there’s so much magic that it’s pointless to wish to acquire *everything*; had Voldemort listened to her more often, the books would have been very different. 

Voldemort of course is much older and has more diverse life-experience. He’s also less impulsive in his older years than Bella; he can be the voice of rationality and reason if he’s not superobsessed with something; at which point Bella should remind him to take his meds, because they really do help with fixations. who’s the shyest? 

Neither, in the strict sense of the meaning. They both know what they want and they’re not afraid to demand it. In the end, it’s Voldemort who’ll never say what he truly needs and feels, though, speaking about their everyday life together, it’d be Bella who’d rather have more affection from him but is too shy to ask. But yeah, Voldemort, not because he’s shy per se, but rather in deep hurt and denial. who boasts about the other more? 

In the books it’s obvious that it’s Bella. However, Voldemort does this hilarious thing where he praises Bella in random conversation with other people without even noticing; like, he brings her up every ten seconds even if she’s barely relevant to the subject, so *shrugs* have your pick. who sits on who’s lap?

Nobody, because they’re both tall. Bella will straddle him even in a non sexual manner from time to time, and they often spend their evenings relaxing on the same sofa: Bella will put her legs on Voldemort’s lap and he strokes them absentmindedly (after all they’re superlong and soft and hot), and Voldemort, who refuses to nap in bed, might catch a nap with his head on her lap. The reason Bella doesn’t nap with her head on his lap is because he’s very thin and his femurs hurt her skull, when she’s got plenty of skirts and petticoats cushioning Voldemort. Finally, Bella often sleeps with her head on his chest, because his heart-beat, even tho abnormally slow, relaxes her panic attacks, after Azkaban that is. He will then stroke her hair compulsively - it’s a bit of a fixation of his.

Well,what a ride! Thanks again @knightessofwalpurgis for the ask, this was tremendous fun to write, especially after a very difficult month! And it did help put some of my thoughts on those evil babies in a row. Hope you found it entertaining! I get that those types of asks are usually made for monolectic answers, but yeah, explanations are better. If you made it to the end, dear reader, thank you very much for your time! 

[owlaholic68]

CR/TAZ crossover: Wonderland

Thinking about the M9 in Suffering Land tm:

EDIT: NOW WITH FIC! https://archiveofourown.org/works/17604710 ( @floootle tbh you gave me the drive to actually write it with your comment)

Jester is way too good at staying positive even when it gets very real, because that’s what she does 24/7 anyways. Jester spins Clock one round and gets some of her beauty taken away. She also gets Eye and loses some of her color vision, affecting her communication with the Traveler. Her last spin is Backpack, the vial of her mother’s perfume. Jester gives up 26 hit points in the healing game to heal Fjord for 13.

Beau having the opposite problem of Jester, which is that she naturally inclines towards the pessimistic side of things. Volunteers to take big sacrifices when the Wheel gets tough, and definitely takes two or three extra spins in the last round because some of the things the Elves ask of her party members are unthinkably impossible for them to give up, and Beau has stopped caring about her own weaknesses anyways. She spins: Hand (ability to catch missiles), Swords (a future battle), Skull (see Fjord, below), Clock (10 years), Brain (Jeweler’s tools proficiency), Backpack (her special initiative boots), and Brain (Elvish language). 

Poor. Caduceus. He gets the first Trust or Forsake, and of course he would pick Trust without a second thought, and of course the other team picks Forsake, and of course Caduceus ends up feeling kind of garbage about it even though he would have never picked anything different. Caduceus gives up 40 hit points in the healing game to heal Caleb for 20. Caduceus spins Body (max HP down by 10), Backpack (Periapt of Wound Closure – he refuses), and Question Mark (he gives up his tea set, keen sense of smell, and 15 years of his life).

Glass cannon Caleb suffers the most from the “No Healing” rule after getting knocked down to 1 hit point in the first Trust/Forsake battle. Besides Jester, the most stoic and after the first couple of minutes, he doesn’t hardly complain at all. Caleb spins: Skull (see Fjord, below), Hand (his writing hand becomes unpredictably shaky), Brain (ability to know the direction of North), Brain again (dyslexia, he refuses), Brain again (the memory of Trent, - he almost takes it but instead refuses), and finally Body (Edward and Lydia take pity on him and make him have an occasional stutter instead of lowering his already low Wizard Max HP).

Bad luck Fjord, who spins: Skull, Skull, Skull, and Skull again (the Elves have to check the Wheel to make sure it’s not rigged – it’s not, he’s just that unlucky). The first one hits both him and Caleb (the classic dishwasher falling from the ceiling almost killing them, ah the classic). Fjord Thundersteps them out from under it, but it gets real rough. The second is his boot coming untied at an inopportune time. The third is him and Beau both rolling Nat 1s on Dex saves and both fall and take a bunch of fall damage. The fourth is just…bad idk.

Nott who is always trying to escape the room(s) to try and find the Elves. Nott is the only reason they survive the first Trust or Forsake. She gets picked for the next round and pushes Forsake so fast it almost breaks the machine. Is the biggest producer of that black smog besides Beau. Gives 30 hit points to heal Caleb for 15, wants to give more but he won’t let her. Nott spins: Backpack (ring of Water Walking), Brain (she forgets three of her and Caleb’s plans and won’t be able to re-learn them), Backpack (her bottomless flask – she refuses because there’s no way she’s going to be able to get through this hell sober), and finally Hand (or Foot this time – she’s a little more clumsy).

The Elves do all they can to get Yasha to break, but they feel like they’re trying to counter a brick wall. She sacrifices 50 hit points to give Fjord 25. Yasha spins: Brain (ability to cast the Light cantrip), Swords (future fight), Brain (memory of the Harvest Close Festival – she narrowly agrees), Body (down 20 HP), and Hand (left pinky finger). She gets the last Trust or Forsake and decides Trust.

[ghostmartyr]

Pokémon Black 2 Randomized Nuzlocke Run [Part 1]

White was so much fun, the sequel was obviously inevitable. Only I don’t own White 2, so Black 2 shall be our contestant. All encounters and starters will be random, static pokemon are what they are originally. Any pokemon not randomized is ineligible for use.

Nuzlocke rules, again copied from Bulbapedia:

    Any Pokémon that faints is considered dead, and must be released or put in the Pokémon Storage System permanently.

   The player may only catch the first Pokémon encountered in each area, and none else.

My added rules of choice:

Each pokemon must be nicknamed.

If the first pokemon in an area is a species I’ve already caught, the first one that isn’t will become the catch option.

The catch rules start applying once I have the option of catching things.

No looking anything up on guides.

Team wipe means continuing on using whatever I have in the PC.

Let’s have some fun.

Second verse, same as the first.

I haven’t adjusted the text speed yet and it is driving me insane.

I remember having so much love for this gen, but the designs of these poor children still provoke odd looks. Not that I mind walking around with a palm tree on my head, I just question why anyone thought that I would want that.

Hugh!

Wait, do I get to pick his name?

I do!

Uhhh.

Wow, I forgot that this was the hardest part about Nuzlockes. I can’t just go with Hugh if this is a true random. Hm. Okay then, in honor of friendship, this guy’s name can be Russell.

The first thing our mom does in this game is give me cause to ship her with Professor Juniper. Our mom knows her first name. It’s Aurea. Why would she know that if they were not secretly involved in some way???

Is this the first game that has an outside character get first crack at moving the screen around after we’ve chosen our name? I kind of like it.

I like it more now that it’s ending and I can switch the text speed to Fast.

Heeeeey it’s us. Palm tree hair and all.

I never find out what the contrary answers lead to, because I can never make myself pick them. It makes my completionist nature very sad. As does the reminder that I do not have the ability to run yet. Someone please give this poor boy some shoes.

Bianca is here to meet us!

She is not our bestie in this version, but she is in our hearts.

This is our bestie this version.

He’s got a little sister.

Just so we know all that black and red in his color scheme is for show.

Look at him walking in time with us like the total bro he is.

Dude is this his room? I want one.

Bianca! Friend!

That awkward moment when you have the same name as one of her best friends who will never be seen this entire game.

Okay okay okay it’s time.

Time to receive our starter.

Our choices are:

Ah that’s rough. Hm.

My preference is always going to be to have something’s first state, that I can level up and evolve myself, but I recently finished my White run, and in it I had Larvitar’s line as well as Aggron’s, so really, there can be only one choice.

Snorlax, I choose you!

And my first act as your new friend is to give you a brand new name that I need to come up with!

Snore, sleep, yawn... sleep words... Dreamor?

Heck that’s a dorky name. He needs it.

Dreamor got, Russell steps in and asks for an in on our journey. He has his own super special mission that I’m not supposed to remember but I do, and talks Bianca into giving him a pokedex as well. Because Bianca’s a sweetheart.

But before we can go any further, it’s time to d-d-d-d-duel!

Everything about Russell’s design screams childhood-friend-gone-villain and I love how little that has anything to do with his arc.

Oshawaott vs. Dreamor! Lesgo!

Snorlax knows Tackle and Defense Curl, which is actually appropriate for a starter. I am going to be dull and Tackle spam.

...

OHKO.

Dreamor appears to be... enthusiastic. in his participation.

G-good job, boy.

Bianca even walks us to the Pokemon Center, because she’s just that wonderful. She also gives us some Poke Balls (again, see wonderful), which means that we’re officially in business to get this run on the road.

...I really hope Dreamor doesn’t faint everything in one hit. This could be a lonely start for the two of us if he’s as strong as he looks.

-gasp-

Our mother greets us outside the Center and gives us Running Shoes.

Thank you mother. I knew you loved us.

Aw, and Russell’s baby sister gives us a Town Map. Thanks, kiddo. I will deliver your brother’s copy with great haste and competence.

(They keep calling Dreamor Tepig.)

Before we go any further, let’s find out what sort of critter Dreamor is.

Rash and capable of taking hits. Well, if you’re going to be rash, you might as well be prepared to handle what it gets you into. The nature gets a sad face out of me for mechanics, but I always love having Thick Fat available, and look at that smile.

Oh my gosh the gate attendant knows our name and gave us a Potion for our journey. I feel so cared for.

Bianca teaches us how to catch stuff, and we, being an experienced trainer, completely ignore the lesson and wait for control to be returned to us.

The first tall grass awaits our first step. Dreamor! Let us go forth and meet our next friend!

!!!!!!

..Oh heck though.

She’s level 2.

I don’t know if she can eat a Tackle from Dreamor.

Also I might end up not using her because I used her line in the last run but hey I didn’t use Politoed (and I also don’t know how to get a Politoed given the settings).

I’ll throw a ball first, then see if she lives through a Tackle.

...Ah, the return of Hypnosis.

...Is all she knows Hypnosis? No, there’s also Water Sport.

Hey, she lives through a Tackle!

...Barely!

Ball thrown, Poliwhirl get!

From now on, your new name shall be... Stella. And we need to run back to a Center pronto. Your new teammate whacked you one good.

Stella is Quirky and alert to sounds. Sounds good to me, but I have zero clue how to evolve you to a Politoed. I think normally you need a King’s Rock and trading, but I selected the box that cleared up trading requirements for evolutions, giving me no clue whatsoever what to do with you, darling.

All the same, welcome. Your line is one of my favorites.

...Also you are not a Zubat.

Zubat was an option for this route.

Stella, your worth just went up.

Even if I end up not using her due to memories of Wagston overriding sense, I don’t think I can keep her at level 2, so we’re going to do some switch training for a tiny bit.

...Sir, what are you doing here I have been playing for five seconds.

He offers training, but since he gives me my controls right back after him and his neat soundtrack walk around inspecting me, I’m going to go ahead with my original plans.

Stella downed a level 2 Zubat all by herself. She’s growing up so fast.

WHY DOES HYPNOSIS HAVE 100 ACCURACY WHEN IT’S USED AGAINST ME. ;-;

Oh, wow, the next Pokemon Center is just. right there, isn’t it.

“Flocessy Town Prophecy Flocks Here”

You have never known a love as true as Pokemon translators and wordplay. Apparently this is where Alder’s house is. Apparently Champions are now allowed houses, and not only if your name is Cynthia. I call hax.

Alder wants Russell to have his Town Map before training, and Russell is on Route 20, which means....

our next friend

Are the leaves grass, or just pretty?

After tromping over them for several seconds, it looks to be that they are merely pretty. Very pretty, though.

Aha, grass located. What awaits us?

Hello there!

It’s a grand ol’ gen one time, it seems. Dreamor can’t hit you, so Stella, up you go. Please do not kill her.

Gastly get!

You shall be... Caspet.

Caspet has a Mild nature to go with her sturdy body. With her we shall find if I actually screwed up the evolution options. I’m still really new to Randomizer, and probably should have looked up what the choices did on Google before starting this run, but the rule after the run has begun is no guides, so here we are.

We enter Flocessy Ranch, which is a new location. Another friend already. Our fortune is pure.

...How do I keep finding every generation one creature that needs trading to evolve. Is this going to be this run’s theme?

Oh, it Teleported.

I forgot they liked to do that.

...Welp. There’s that route dead.

Is there anything in this route that can give me exp?

Even if there is, it’s so Kadabra heavy that I’d just as soon not bother. Having things constantly run away from you is really tiring. We’ll give Russell his map and leave.

Wait what.

We just fought five minutes ago. Russell. Russell. Just because your theme music is rad as heck and demanding action doesn’t mean you have to be running a mile a minute. That’s the scarf gen’s deal.

Dreamor eats Oshawott and all is well.

Then we get a random sidequest to locate a Herdier for the owners of the ranch. To which Russell experiences Emotions at, because Reasons.

Everyone needs a screenshot of Mareep running in a circle.

Hey, something not Kadabra. Hi Cottonee. Bye Cottonee. And that item ball in the corner is a Poke Ball. Oh, and here’s a Basculin. Look at all these things not running away from us.

...I... need an adult?

Dreamor has taken on the role of adult. I’m not sure Mienshao even knows Fighting moves at that level, but fully evolved things this early on are scary regardless.

We find the Herdier being unhappy with a Team Plasma Grunt.

He throws the Frustration TM at us. Hee.

Herdier has such a cute bwoof.

The day is saved, and now Alder’s down for palling around with us.

By palling around, I mean Alder introduces us to two small children he expects us to beat into the ground. As you do.

All passes without incident. Yay.

We walk outside and Mr. Medal gives us a Medal Box, which I don’t clearly remember, but suspect is intending to prey on me and my achievement hunting ways.

Alder is also kind enough to alert us that a Gym Leader has arrived at our home town. I wonder who it might be, but before that, Alder has a random cave place behind his home. New route?

It’s counted as part of Flocessy, it looks like. I haven’t caught anything within the town limits, but there doesn’t appear to be grass. Water, but I can’t do anything about that yet. Sigh. Oh well.

First badge is Normal, I believe.

...Let’s train Dreamor a tad more before we go after that. I believe in you, buddy, but I am also very rightfully paranoid.

Azumarill live in Caspet’s home grass.

When does Caspet learn something that isn’t Lick or a status move. My poor little ghost.

...

Yeah it’s level 3 but it’s still a scary thing to see.

Hey, first legendary of the run!

And Caspet has Mean Look... We could see if she has what it takes to Lick Kadabra down to size. Like tootsie pops. You could be an owl, Caspet.

This place was crowded with Kadabra, and now there’s Ambipom just hanging out. Okay then. Cue Geodude for some reason. Oh. And Linoone.

-tears for Bandit-

Hey wait hold up. Psychic is super effective against Ghost in this version? That’s... good to know. It also doesn’t sound right, but I don’t think the game cares about that. That’s annoying.

No Caspet, you can’t learn Curse. I’m going to come close enough to killing you as it is. Don’t enable the process.

Let’s go for it, shall we?

Cheren! Friend!

I actually really like the arrangement of his Gym. It isn’t the aesthetic wonderland that other Gyms of this gen are, but that’s kind of what makes it awesome? Cheren runs a school that doubles as a Gym. You battle in chalk-marked arenas out back.

I guess I misspoke; the aesthetic is still rich with this one. School day feels of being young are so very alive here, and I really like it.

Other things deserving of being liked are Cheren being an educator. Our buddy’s found his way, and we get to be his first challenger!

That’s another thing to love, honestly. We spent a whole game with this guy around, and now we’re his debut Gym Leader match. It’s so touching.

Cheren, stop blushing, you’ll be fine.

I mean. Dreamor’s going to mop the floor with you.

But that’s your job now. Losing to trainers of a certain level.

I believe in you, man.

I just believe in Dreamor more.

Awesomeness achieved, and that will do it for this part!

(Except for squeeing because Bianca showed up and gave us the Return TM, as well as the C-Gear I’ll never use, and Cheren and Bianca get to be in the same shot, and it’s the magic of friendship all over again. You did good for yourselves, guys. I’m sorry you don’t remember me as your bestie anymore.)

Until next time for the next badge.

[aliwept]

WARNING :     MASSIVE TOKOYAMI HC DUMP AHEAD !  part one of ..... many sldkfjds i gotta transfer a lot from old blogs

triggers:  body talk,  religions mentions,  mentions of binding, self hatred and transitioning.

BELIEFS / MOTIVATION:

tokoyami looks at becoming a hero the “wrong” way — or rather, in a way that cripples his success.he doesn’t want to become a hero in and of itself, but to help as many people as he can.

this is usually a good thing, but it is motivated by his extreme guilt and self doubt rather than pure desire, believing that that is the only way to pay for his “sins.” (i.e., the destruction or potential destruction his quirk as/could cause(d).)

he holds himself up to an extremely high standard, (it is impossible to have a totally “pure” motivation,) one of being perfect and disciplined in every way, but he consistently fails to reach that (as any human being would), making it so that he falls deeper into a circle of self-doubt and pity.

he also tends to idealize his friends for their faults, and when those difficult traits show up he gets extremely bothered, then angry at himself for his idealization, then angry for bothering them, & it escalates until he’s simply angry at himself for being what he believes to be a burden.

this is an extremely deeply rooted process, one that even daily actions contribute to, & while the source isn’t completely his parents, it is certainly reinforced by his mother’s abuse & his guilt relating to his father’s death.

PHYSICAL:

he’s not particularly muscled — well, compared to his more muscular classmates. most of his muscle is in his legs & stomach. he does not have a particular training regimen, typically unmotivated unless prompted.

unlike the majority of his classmates, because a lot of his fighting is done with dark shadow moving him (so that it’s harder to predict movements, as well as going from a large range), the majority of the time he’s not challenged physically.

against close attacks, both attacking which he uses his sword for (seen in his dorm room), when allowed. he inherited that sword from his father after his death. he also feels fatigue easily, not so much due to muscles but because of his exhaustion that is his “normal” state, given that dark shadow is nocturnal. (this & his low work ethic. he works a lot harder when training with friends.)

he doesn’t feel the need to bind more than not, given his skinny physique, with his hips being only a little bit wider than the average cis man’s.most of his scars are on his arms, self inflicted from his talons cutting into his skin. parts of his skin are covered in a gel like skin, clear to see the feathers that poke out from them, going much like arm hair down his sides. these are mostly around his shoulders.

most of the feather is underneath skin (though the skin & the feather both have no nerves), visible with the skin being mostly clear (no muscles adding color, only the natural dark pigment) with the rest of the feaher poking out at a low angle to his arm.

HABITS:

he has a diary that he writes in religiously. it’s kept in a hat box under his bed when he returns to the dorm, along with a collection he’s had since he had been able to write.

at times, in nostalgia, he’ll read through his earlier books. he also tends to doodle his classmates in them ! he’s an incredibly private person — especially because his mother ignored his privacy, refusing to let him keep secrets of any kind in ‘fear that he was hiding something’ — but also enjoys putting his thoughts into words.         

PAST:               

tokoyami was bullied due to his appearance / personality. for someone who was already uncomfortable with his body (not knowing what being trans was at that point) this became the root of deep insecurity regarding his appearance, whether it was as simple as hesitation.

he is autistic !! he stims a lot with his hands, though usually it’s in his hoodie / under his cloak, because he’s very self conscious about it.  he also has adhd: inattentive type, bpd, depression & anxiety!

fantasy verse:  he’s a witch & i will fight you on this fact. my boy loves the occult. he’s also. in generally he tends to be superstitious, & more than that enjoys different rituals! it probably won’t show up in my rp cause i honestly don’t know much about that type of thing but ! he absolutely adores things like that, not necessarily because he fully believes them but because they’re interesting & he believes that they probably stem if only in part from fact.

now im gonna add some notes here.  while he is obviously pretty strong,  he has problems with control, considering that not only does he have to react, he has to communicate those thoughts with dark shadow. speed / offense / defense obviously are enhanced w dark shadow, as well as his own abilities (he would still be able to hold his own if he couldn’t use his quirk).

as well, a lot of his stats are basically his stats + dark shadow, which obv makes them higher than they otherwise would be. he also has really high stamina and working out for a long time doesn’t really. make him tired, nor dark shadow, because dark shadow doesn’t get tired & he’s not the one doing a lot of the actual physical stuff. he’s not good w weapons tho in general. note that these are basically during the daytime w/o a huge light source so things change when it’s darker/lighter.

parents:   tokoyami’s mother had the ability to call spirits of the dead to her and talk to them, & his father’s was to house things, as in objects, so he cld like. store things inside of his body. it’s real wild.

a quirk that combined with another in tokoyami’s lineage, so one of his ancestors had the ability to shapeshift, specifically with birds & banged w someone who has a quirk similar to aizawa’s, where it basically ‘stills’ the action of .someone’s quirk, if that makes sense? so down the line people wld inherit a birds’ features, but it would switch. in his dad’s case, he got a raptors ‘arms’ & eyes.

i am here to inform you that not only is he really short, he’s also chubby! espcially as a child. while he now has muscle! :tm: ive made earlier posts about how he doesn’t have a good. regimen & shit so. yeah. just like deku, while he may be muscled, (though he’s less muscled than. most of his classmates) he still is v chubby on other parts of his body.

also ! he’s trans & he has. a large bust, which he does not bind most of the time due to fear of asphyxiation. being demiboy, he is bothered at it at times, but dislikes tight clothes as a whole (like binders). this is because he is easily overstimulated by excessive contact with his body, causing sensory overload.the exception is his neck, which his choker is a source of comfort. (though, warning, there are scars underneath that the large choker hides!)

tokoyami. will say/do something & then become embarrassed by it, after the act has already been done. he’ll fuckin melt on the spot.

tokoyami is absolutely someone to leave ppl on read. or respond w several paragraphs w ‘K.’ like. that’s just how it is. he’s lowkey an asshole in that way but he just. he has to think a lot before having a response but he gets distracted & just leaves it.

he has dark fucking brown skin !!!!! people who draw tokoyami w light skin cause he’s a ‘pale goth uwu !!!!’ are weak & will be weeded out by natural selection.

people he trains with most are ,,,  mostly kirishima, kaminari, aoyama and momo when they’re available

he’s mix of japanese, native american, and indian!

self knowledge questions:  neediness, independence, shyness.

NEEDINESS: being affirmed & nurtured by others is a central requirement for you to feel safe. this means you can be slow to warm up to other people, which is difficult because what you most need from them is their warmth. yet you know how to be vulnerable: to let down your defenses and accept that you need another person. this lack of pretense is a valuable trait, and ultimately more endearing than the macho efforts others make to deny their childlike sides.

INDEPENDENCE: you don’t set out to be different for its own sake; you are more easily guided by what interests & moves you. you are more concerned about what is right for you than about the pressure to fit in. you know the value of selective irresponsibility, of forgetting occasionally about being ‘good’.

SHYNESS: part of you is gripped by the fear that you’ll launch into something and completely mess it up. the upside of this is wise caution: people are indeed often too rash, whereas you know, by instinct, that holding back can save you. probably, you feel shame and self-disgust a bit too much. but when you do feel in your element, you act with a wisdom and sensitivity never found in people with thicker skins.

there’s an au where he’s tamaki’s half brother tamakis hmu

more ramblings cause i lov him so anw. i figure that like. if he had to have a motivator it would be an outside force but basically he’s riding on the fact that he has more physical ability because he doesn’t perform very well in studies. ( bird brain …… )

getting 14th place out of the class on midterms, he’s aware that he’s not motivated & as well as his migraines & other mental illnesses ( adhd, executive dysfunction, etc. ) this means that he doesn’t really reach his “full potential.”

he’s aware of this, though, which causes him to train physically. physically training also allows him to ( a ) feel proud of himself, something that he struggles with ( b ) help him generally, esp with dysphoria ( c ) get his mind off of other things / points of stress.

i still don’t think he’s like. as buff as shouji for example, though part of that is that he’s naturally lean ! & he has trouble motivating himself sometimes but when he stays up late ( due to dark shadow ) it basically wrecks his sleeping patterns, so this gives him something beneficial to do while also exhausting himself, which he hopes will help him fall asleep.

like i know that i said that . . he was skinny / not v muscled ( when compared to his buffer classmates, rather ) but i guess i’ve been proven wrong because it took both Buff McFuck mina and hagakure 2 push him out of the way ( not tht it took that long but that was w them straining / time skips )

so @ this point i Just Don’t Know. he got 9 in the practical which means he’s obv like ?? p good but that was the entrance exam. ( he got 10 rescue my baby !!!! im so proud of him ) & then w aizawa’s exams he started off at 5 & im tryna find the other thing what it ended up as but @ this point i’m just , pretty divided cause i’m not seeing much reason for him to learn to train w/o proper training ( & we kno that he’s not someone who was trained specially like todoroki / momo tho tht doesnt mean it’s not possible & at this point im just ) ya. he’s gotta be able but from what we know he’s not v motivated ? ausdjkfdsfjk we’ll see ig.

tokoyami is a mix of shinto (where his hero epithet comes from), taoist (due to the values), & hindu (again, values). i think for now it’s going to be some mix of that, though i’m going to do some research on shinto values since i don’t know much about it !!!!!

generally, he’s pretty superstitious, just because he knows many myths are based on facts, & the idea of ‘it doesn’t hurt to watch out for them.’ he prefers to avoid possible things that would make him have bad luck.

[septembersung]

Faith alone, faith and works, or faith with/through works?

As Catholics, we understand that there’s no such thing as a “proof text”; we cannot point to one isolated verse in Scripture and say, “Game over.” Scripture must be interpreted as a whole. Indeed, if you just cherry-pick verses and read them with the usual limited contemporary sense of what is a “work” and what “faith” means, Scripture seems to contradict itself. But as part of a big-picture answer I do want to give a selection of my favorite verses that get at the living heart of what “faith and works” really means. This is by no means exhaustive, and skips some of the more obvious ones:

“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” Philippians 2:12.

“Now i rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church.” Colossians 1:24

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God - not because of works, let any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10

“Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” Luke 11:28

“Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the marriage feast, so that they may open to him at once when he comes and knocks.” Luke 12:35

“Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my father in heaven.” Matthew 7:21

“Every one who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock…” Matthew 7:24 ff.

“And he said to them, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37-39

“‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.’ And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Matthew 25:45-46 [from the Judgment of the Nations discourse]

“And a ruler asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ And Jesus said to him […] You know know the commandments: Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not still, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’ And he said, ‘All these I have observed from my youth.’ And when Jesus heard it, he said to him, ‘One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. […] For it it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.’ Those who heard it said, ‘Then who can be saved?’ But he said, ‘What is impossible with men is possible with God.’” Luke 18:18ff. 

“By faith Abraham obeyed” Hebrews 11:8

“Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe - and shudder. Do you want to be shown, you foolish fellow, that faith apart from works is barren? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works, and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” James 18-23

What i love particularly about the rich young man in Luke 18:18ff. is that Jesus’s direct answer to “what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” is to do good works: keep the commandments and aid the poor. And the response from the rich young man and the people was, “this is too hard!” and Jesus reminds them that what is impossible for them is possible with God. He doesn’t say they don’t have to do the work! The work is necessary! Nonetheless it is by God’s power that they are saved. 

“Faith alone” is one of those heresies that makes me both sad and angry. It’s wrought so damage in the heart of Christendom. It’s a big part of the cutting down of what “faith” means and it’s introduced a false dichotomy into what was once a seamless concept. As Paul Gorman, a Protestant scholar and author of the pretty great book on St. Paul, Apostle of the Crucified Lord, puts it: faith means faithfulness.

Faith or works? In matters like these, the Catholic faith is always “both/and,” because human beings are body and soul, inseparably united.

“The Bible clearly teaches justification by faith. And we Catholics believe it. However, we do not believe in justification by faith alone because, among many other reasons, the Bible says, we are “justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24, emphasis added). Analogously, when the Bible says Scripture is inspired and profitable for “the man of God,” to be “equipped for every good work,” we Catholics believe it. However, the text of II Tim. 3:16 never says Scripture alone. There is no sola to be found here either! Even if we granted II Tm. 3:16 was talking about all of Scripture, it never claims Scripture to be the sole rule of faith. A rule of faith, to be sure! But not the sole rule of faith.“ [x]

Oftentimes the Catholic position is reduced to, “works are a sign of faith,” but that is incorrect. In this imagined dialogue between a Catholic and an Objector, which sets the issue out clearly and succinctly, we see: 

“But we Catholics insist that James 2:14–26 shows that works are more than mere evidence of faith. Works actually justify. James is speaking about works growing out of faith. If works of faith are not a part of our justification, then it is hard to understand why James would say, as he does, that “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar?” (Jas. 2:21).”

This is demonstrated in several of the scriptural passages I quoted at the beginning.

Most objectors would immediately assume that “works are part of our salvation” means Catholics believe that we can “earn” or “buy” our way into heaven, but actually all permutations of that idea have been condemned as heresies, notably Pelagianism and semi-Pelagianism. Think of Pelagianism as the “pull yourself up to heaven by your own bootstraps” philosophy: “For the Pelagian, access to the Kingdom is made possible by baptism, and since perfect sanctity is an obligation and a possibility for everyone, it rests with each individual Christian to merit eternal life by his conduct, modeled on the precepts and example of Christ.” [x]

By contrast, the Catholic understanding of faith and works holds in powerful tension two sovereign realities: the free will of God and the free will of man. From our finite and temporal point of view, these two freedoms seem to exist in tension, but in truth, the inviolateness of our will is the most awesome sign of God’s gratuitous gift of grace. 

Faith is an infused supernatural virtue. That means we cannot achieve it on our own, of our own nature; it is a gift of God. Having faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit. The gift of faith is an act of the will that directs two aspects of our selves: what is in our hearts and the work in our hands. Works are necessary because of the nature of free will, how sanctification works, and merit. Works are distinct from faith, but inseparably part of it. 

All that we have is given to us by God, including our free will. Free will means that we can choose God, or not, and God respects our decision. God wills that when we choose him, we become co-heirs with Christ; truly His children. Not in name only, but in actual fact. All that Christ has is also ours–including His merits. This is closely related to the Catholic understanding of sanctification: when God sanctifies us, we are truly made new and clean, holy in actual fact. (This hearkens back to the Protestant/Catholic debate over “justification” that became one of the theological lynchpins of the Protestant revolt in the 1500s, but we won’t go into that now.)

Think of it this way: when a parent gives a gift to their children, the children have done nothing to make the gift their own; they haven’t worked the job to make the money to pay for it, for example. The parent worked for and purchased the gift. But once the gift is given, it really belongs to the child. (I, for example, have no interest in claiming ownership of my children’s dinosaur collection.)

All merit, all holiness, all salvation, comes from Christ, from his Godhead, from his sacrifice on the Cross. Salvation is a completely gratuitous gift that we can never “earn” or “deserve.” We participate in Christ’s sacrifice and Christ’s merit, by God’s free gift, because He sees fit for it to be so. 

For more on merit, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, par. nos. 2006 - 2011. Consider also that the “righteousness” of one man has, throughout Scripture, been allowed to be “shared” with the unrighteous that they may “merit” the same consideration God gives the righteous. Look at the end of Job, and Job’s three unrighteous friends, or Abraham and Lot, or, indeed, unrighteous humanity and Jesus on the cross. We will come back to this point in detail in other posts for #500 reasons and counting. Suffice it for now to say that “merit” is a) enormously misunderstood, b) supremely Scriptural, and c) key for understanding a lot of Catholic doctrines.

Many Protestants do not believe in sanctification or free will the way Catholics do (and contemporary arguments often differ from Luther & co.’s, so their objections to the above arguments frequently hinge on those issues. if we don’t believe the same things about the nature of holiness and human nature, of course we’re going to disagree about what’s necessary for salvation!)

To address a common objection: but St. Paul condemns works of the law!

The “works of the law” St. Paul writes against that is usually brought up in this argument referred not to keeping the moral law (e.g. the ten commandments) or the commandments that Christ gives in the Gospels, but rather to the old Jewish law. This is all through Romans, most famously, but see also especially Galatians 3. There was a movement of “Judaizers” that wanted Christians, including converts, to follow the whole Jewish law - not just the moral law, not the commandments given us by Christ, but the ritual and cultural laws of Judaism, from food and clothing restrictions to the various sacrifices. But with the coming of Christ and his final propitiatory sacrifice on the cross, we have definitely moved past trying to reach God through symbolism - now God has reached out to us, with a truly effective sacrifice; because He has redeemed the world and made all things new there is no “unclean” food, etc, there is only purity of heart - living in grace, according to the moral law - and sin. If you read carefully, and in a good translation, you find different phrases used throughout the new testament that differentiate what kind of “works” are being discussed in each context: “works of the law” refers to the Mosaic law. Yet even the Mosaic law has its place and purpose: Jesus, who declares that not a jot or an iota of the law will pass away, that he has come to fulfill the law, not abolish it, and St. Paul writes - to pick just a single example - “Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law” (Romans 3:31). “Works of the law” and the works in “faith and works” are not identical, but even though the Mosaic law does not apply anymore under the new covenant, it cannot be written off.

We have to say “yes” to salvation. That yes can’t just be lip service - we must take up our cross and follow him. That’s what “faith and works” really is. To have faith is to do the work of faith; to hear the word of God, to receive it, is to do it. It was not enough for Abraham to say, “I believe.” He had to take Isaac up the mountain. It was not enough for Peter to say, “You know that I love you, Lord.” He had to feed the sheep. It was not enough for the “would-be followers of Jesus” to want him; they had to actually go.

God Himself, who could have redeemed the world with a spoken word even as he created the world and everything in it, chose to enflesh the work of salvation in material things: flesh and blood, bread and wine, cross and nails. Even Jesus, the living Word, wrought miracles through the work of his hands: mud and spit on blind eyes, five loaves and two fish multiplied to feed thousands, bread and wine becoming flesh and blood. Salvation is the work of God: if we do not work with him, we will not harvest with him; if we do not die with Him, we will not rise with him.

Further reading: 

Is St. John the Key to Settling the Justification Debate? 

The Meaning of Merit - clear and thorough explication

Reward and Merit - quotations from the Fathers of the Church

[nanniesonthegoblog]

Advice for New Moms: Find Your Bliss

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What all New Moms must know

Childbirth — a notable nexus in a woman’s life

Photo by Lars Plougmann

Where it comes to the restoration of a mother’s pre-childbirth state of physical and mental well being, there is frequently a disparity in the care  readily available to new moms during the initial 6-7 weeks of motherhood — the postpartum window. Typically, the first post delivery doctor appointment is at 6 weeks. During this period, the new mom can be quite fragile and will be facing countless unfamiliar obstacles. The “baby blues” and postpartum depression are a particular vulnerability during this time as well.

Adding a wonderful new baby to your family is a pivotal moment in life. You — the new mother — can define that moment: Will the change be in a positive direction, full of joy and new experiences or the opposite? Your focus and actions, from the start of pregnancy, will set the tone for your post partum experience.

Receiving the appropriate amount of rest, healthy food, fresh air, exercise, and caring ministration from your partner, friends and family is crucial to ensure a delightful, healthy transition into new motherhood, what should be a very euphoric and fulfilling period.

Otherwise, it’s quickly obvious that when the mom is depressed, the whole household suffers. It’s in the best interests of your family, as well as the new mom, to diligently avoid depression. You’ll find that when mom is healthy and happy, new baby and family are happy as well.

Moms are the key to Family Happiness

The reality is that by taking care of your own health and wellness, your confidence and happiness as a mom will be enhanced. By building a strong foundation of love and positive energy, you will ultimately have more to offer your family and new baby. Mothers tend to focus on others more than themselves the majority of the time, so be sure to focus some energy on yourself. It is a necessity, not a luxury, and nothing to feel guilty about since the entire family will enjoy the resultant benefits.

A unique opportunity for new mothers.

The period immediately following childbirth should be an extremely happy time. Unfortunately it also happens to be one of the most vulnerable intervals in a woman’s life, mentally. A new mom can use this time to produce an exciting new life for herself and for her family, choosing a life with deeper meaning and greater health and happiness. These guidelines were developed as a process to aid new moms in regaining energy and vitality quickly after delivery and to unify and strengthen the family’s life.

How normal is postpartum anxiety?

It has been disclosed through various studies that 80% of new mothers experience some degree of the “baby blues” after childbirth and 10-15 % suffer from more severe postpartum anxiety. The baby blues typically hit approximately 3 – 5 days after the birth. Postpartum depression begins a bit later, but continues for a longer period of time – sometimes as long as 2 years! The symptoms are mostly anxiety, depression, and unpredictable mood changes, like crying for no obvious reason. The new mom feels overwhelmed and incapable of managing the additional responsibilities of a new baby along with household chores and personal commitments, often losing interests in activities beyond those absolutely required.

It is incredibly inconvenient that during this time, which should be one of the happiest, personal chemistry can make it one of the most challenging. Taking excellent care of yourself is a powerful prevention measure that can be taken to ensure mom stays healthy, happy, and to avoid postnatal depression altogether.

What does it feel like to have postpartum anxiety?

Photo by Lars Plougmann

The popular TV personality, Marie Osmond, experienced a severe case of postpartum anxiety. She wrote a book about her experience called Behind the Smile: My Journey out of Postpartum Anxiety (Osmond, 2001) In it she states: “Postpartum depression is an uncaring invader that holds over 15 percent of new moms captive. It floods them with self-doubt, stress and anxiety, and sensations of shame that can lead to seclusion.” In her case, she was able to recognize her symptoms and had the good sense to turn her infant over to her nanny and go get help, going so far as to temporarily move to a hotel before consulting with a qualified professional to address her condition and get back on track. While not everyone has the luxury of checking out so completely, help is out there, one only need look for experts and publications that will point you in the right direction.

Today we find consideration for new mothers has decreased in some regard. Hospital stays are shorter, and less of an interval is provided for new moms to get a grip on their new lifestyle. There must be time for them to discover ways to care for their infant as well as themselves.

The suggestions that follow are culled from the many years of experience moms are willing to share as well as discoveries made that make motherhood an easier transition.

7 ancient secrets to restoring vitality and bliss after giving birth:

1. Make Sure you really rest at home after giving birth. Make your best effort to rest at home for 4-7 weeks. It may very well be the most important thing you can do for yourself. It typically will take approximately 6 weeks for your insides to heal and if you’re resting properly while this is happening, it will go much smoother and you’ll feel much better. In ancient cultures, women remained in seclusion with their families for this period, and the practice is considered one of the secrets of avoiding potential challenges, for both you and your baby.

2. If your baby is napping, you best be napping too! Don’t make the mistake of trying to catch up on chores during this break, you’ll miss out! Since you won’t be getting the sleep you need each night, it only makes sense that you nap when you can to get a bit of extra rest.

Photo by AlicePopkorn

To maximize your naps, getting a much deeper and enhanced quality of rest during the time available, consider techniques such as Transcendental Meditation (TM).  A well documented mental technique to relax and relieve stress, TM can be practiced anywhere in 20 minutes sessions that you may find more restful than an entire night’s sleep once you’re proficient in the exercise. Studies have shown that regular practice of TM can have many benefits, like better quality of sleep, reduced stress and depression, and improved mind/body coordination.

Seriously investigate this strategy and discover if the practice is a fit for you. Typically well suited for new moms as it can be done alone, practically anywhere.

3. Get plenty of sleep; go to bed at 9:30 PM or earlier. Attributable to the natural rhythms of the body, what sleep you manage to get prior to midnight is especially valuable. Retiring early bolsters your physiology and psychology and will speed up restoration of energy and vigor after giving birth.

4. Prepare for restful sleep by participating in quiet, peaceful activities you enjoy.  Don’t watch violent or exciting TV programs or do anything else that might be emotionally distressing right before bed.  Read a book quietly or listen to calming music, any kind of activities that promote a serene mental state. When the mind relaxes, so does the body.

5. Control visitor volume.  Be sure to keep the number of visitors under control during the first, critical weeks. As much as you will want to share your joy with friends and family, it is essential to control the number of visitors and how long they stay, to safeguard rest time. Just regulate the traffic, ensuring no one is overwhelmed. It’s best to have an adult side kick that can help enforce your limitations without adding additional stress to your recovery. 10 to 15 minutes per visit is a good interval to start with. Adjust as your condition improves.

6. Build a charming, comfortable“nest” in your home, convenient and cozy, where you will love to spend time recuperating, resting, and rejuvenating yourself. Prepared ahead of time, having this special “nest” waiting will encourage you to take advantage of the space. Fill it with things you love, and that you’ll want to have access to while you come back to yourself. Music, a good reading light, a nook for baby, whatever you can think of, ready at hand and there to lift your mood and spirit.

7. Develop a support system. Include your partner as part of your pre-planning. They can be very helpful in things like arranging for meals, perhaps prepared by a group of friends taking turns, or to help with the other household chores – cleaning, running to the store, watching other children in the family, etc.

It might even be a good idea to seriously consider hiring help for a few weeks if you don’t have an existing support system nearby.

Incorporating any or all of these suggestions into your lifestyle will most definitely help you avoid depression issues after giving birth. Whether this is your first child or one of many, there are plenty of programs out there that will guide you to a happy and relaxed future with your new family. If your challenges become more serious, seek professional help and guidance. Understand you’re not alone!

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