#like a lot of the issues in that book would be solved if family therapy was involved

[juicyjuicy05]

So I just finished reading the inheritance games trilogy and I am greatly disturbed that none of the characters went to therapy

[iwashieonhiatus]

˜”°•. Noel Noa as your S/O (18+).•°”˜ (gn!reader)

thinking about how he would be the perfect boyfriend.

The calm and understanding boyfriend would do anything for you.

The boyfriend who keeps the relationship private for your protection, but if you want to, he talks openly about you, eyes shining and a calm smile when telling that the relationship with you is the best he has ever had.

The boyfriend with few photos on social networks and gossip online about you two, but a lot of demonstration of his love for you.

Words of affirmation and quality of time are his love languages, but every once in a while, physical touch is appreciated.

Pet names like “sweetheart”, “honey”, “love”.

The boyfriend who isn’t clingy but is always around, subtle ways to remind you he loves you.

Boyfriend who always looks/ is tired but always has time for you.

Boyfriend who tries to do the things you like or makes you happy, because your smile is the most beautiful thing for him.

The boyfriend “daddy issues”.

The calm boyfriend x agitated partner; He prefers to listen to you talk about the most varied thing, to listen to your laughter. The black cat x golden retriever duo.

The boyfriend who is more homely and prefers dates made by you two; candlelit dinner, movie night, wine and cheese and deep conversations about whatever you want.

But he also likes to date in places that add something to the two of you; museums, theaters, book clubs. He would close the Louvre if he wanted to enjoy the arts, just the two of you, also book the whole restaurant to celebrate your birthday.

Romantic old-fashioned: various dates, expensive gifts, slow dances in the kitchen while cooking with you, introducing family and people important to him.

The boyfriend who loves you very much, but also understands that you need some alone time.

Always respect your time and your decisions!

Boyfriend who smiles when he sees you in the stands, wearing his shirt and at the end of the game, always calls you to the field, hugging you and kissing you as if you two haven’t done it in a long time.

Boyfriend who knows he can’t spend as much time with you so always sends gifts or makes up for it when he’s on vacation.

“My girlfriend this,” or “my boyfriend that,” and always “my partner.”

Boyfriend who makes a point of encouraging you to have independence. If you need him to pay for your studies,he pays, or, he would help you look for a job.

Boyfriend that “You can’t make all your life about me, love.” and “I need to be an addition and not the main part of your life.”

Boyfriend who is neither jealous nor possessive. He trusts you and has self-confidence. He is the best of the best.

Boyfriend who “wears whatever clothes you want”, “doesn’t need to change anything”.

Boyfriend who is not quarrelsome and solves things with conversation and always defends you.

“That person will answer in court, so don’t worry, dear.”

The boyfriend “Love in Portofino”.

Boyfriend who encourages your well-being and goes into couples therapy because he wants the best for both of you, always aiming to improve by your side.

Boyfriend who loves you with his whole body; tight hugs (an arm around your waist and a hand holding your head), calm and deep kisses, holding hands and head resting on top of yours.

Boyfriend who always makes calm and passionate sex. Hands entwined, sweaty bodies glued together, kisses to muffle the moans.

Boyfriend who has no favorite position, but loves you on top, prone bone and any position you two may be glued to.

Slow, seductive sex, deep thrusts, making you see stars and grab his body.

Boyfriend who is traditional, would like to have children, but respects your opinion on it.

Boyfriend who prefers cats to dogs and has adopted one with you, says that he is your son and would take care of all the animals you like with you.

Boyfriend who always looks for you in the crowd and smiles when he meets your gaze.

Boyfriend who would marry you in church, beach, notary’s office, heaven, hell, anywhere you wanted.

Boyfriend who “say yes to heaven”, “say yes to me”.

Boyfriend who would run away anywhere as long as you’re with him.

© 𝗂𝗐𝖺𝗌𝗁𝗂𝖾 𝟤𝟢𝟤𝟥, 𝗉𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗌𝖾 𝖽𝗈 𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗇𝗌𝗅𝖺𝗍𝖾, 𝗆𝗈𝖽𝗂𝖿𝗒 𝗈𝗋 𝗋𝖾𝗉𝗎𝖻𝗅𝗂𝗌𝗁 𝗆𝗒 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗄𝗌

[goodluckclove]

Is there someone willing to explain what Therapy Speak is? And maybe tell me if the people who talk about how unrealistic and impossible and stupid and manipulative it is has ever been to therapy?

This got long. I am genuinely upset over this so pardon my intensity and here's a read more. It does not feel good to have the first thing you see online be calling the way I communicate in the world as a human being "unrealistic, stupid, and poor writing". So just humor me.

Like this sounds gatekeeping. And in a way it is. I know therapy is a privilege and good therapy a luxury. As I type this I realize some people dissing Therapy Speak might actually be people who either had a bad experience with a therapist, or just don't have the resources to form a relationship with one at all. And if your way to cope with that is saying it actually would suck to have one - I kind of get that. I'm still going to share my perspective though.

So therapy, like literally everything else in the world, is a spectrum with tons of nuance. One therapist might hand out worksheets or practice CBT or DBT or EMDR or have an endless list of specialities. One therapist might encourage "I feel" statements, but that's a structure that's smart to help you develop a new skill in your own personal style. Much like how no one expects every writer to create only using prompts forever, they're not telling you to rely solely on the "when you X, I feel X" Mad Lib from now on.

When you first start actually using "I feel" statements, it might look like "When you blow me off for plans, I feel upset". It's vulnerable, but it's actually an effective thing to say in conversation.

Flash forward a while later, and you start saying things like "when I make plans with a friend I really put a lot of faith in that structure, and when it's taken away - even for a good reason - it sort of makes me feel anxious and unregulated. It takes me a while to get back on track."

If you have relationships that are platonic, romantic, sexual, familial - I promise you that is important information. You tell someone that and they might be able to recontextualize behavior from you that they perceived as an attack. Virtually every relationship can benefit from knowing the reason why people do things. Miscommunications are inevitable but often easily solved if you're willing to slow down and be vulnerable.

It is not trauma dumping if you do it without relishing in the trauma and throwing the responsibility on the other person. Saying "I get anxious at social events because I'm used to being outcast and sometimes I just assume that'll happen" is not trauma dumping. If anyone in my life said something like that to me I would be so glad to have that information. That's a way to progress in a dozen different ways.

I get there are bad therapists. There are also bad doctors, dentists, and people who work at your local deli. I had a mean barista at a coffee shop I went to. So now I go to a different coffee shop with different baristas.

But like holy shit, if you think it's not worth anyone crafting characters that actually know how to express and explore their emotions in a human way that matches their personality? If you don't think a book can have that and still be interesting? For anyone????

Skill issue. Flat out. And while there is really nothing that would make me believe someone is a bad writer - I do think an inability to explore something this basic and insist no one else explore it either is terrible work ethic.

Also like my therapist saved my fucking life. I've been in therapy for almost ten years, and if I wasn't my life would be drastically worse. I would probably still be in California, a victim of Munchausen By Proxy for the rest of my life.

So yeah, expositional dialogue is bad when handled badly. People who use therapy language as an excuse to manipulate are trash. Sometimes assholes go to therapy and the therapist sees immediately that there really isn't anything they're capable of doing to help them because they just want to be justified for their current mindset. Thats what my mom did.

But like people communicate their emotions. Everyone should be able to learn how to communicate their emotions with at least one relationship in their life. I would really love it if people stopped perpetuating the belief that that is not something that ever actually happens in life. I want to feel sympathy because I'm sure there's a reason why someone would think that, but frankly that was an existentially horrifying thing to read first thing after waking up.

Anyway if anyone has an alternate perspective I'm happy to hear it. I'm going to eat some guac and try to calm down.

[firmaverage]

Wake up. Dread getting out of bed. Scroll through Instagram for 15 minutes. Finally get up, pee, put on some pants and head to the kitchen. Make breakfast. Make lunches for the kids. Bug them about getting ready. Take them to school.

Laundry.

Clean something.

Eat something.

Oh! The plumber is coming today, that's different.

Laundry.

Rinse and Repeat. Rinse and Repeat. For the rest of your life.

Or so it seems.

Having been a stay at home mom for the past 14 years, it feels like I have everything and nothing handled at any given time. My family desperately needs me for the smallest thing, then suddenly I don't exist. We laugh and have fun, I make brownies and they say they love me. Then I'm the worst mom ever, they hate me, they say I'm dumb.

Back and forth. Back and forth. Learning to let things go and not take anything personally has been a challenge, but a skill I've developed over the years. Learning to care for myself while I also care for everyone else... and the house.... and the dog.... and the yard.... and the fish....has been harder. Maybe I'll try hot yoga. I had a friend recommend it once and I've wondered about it ever since. That was 6 years ago.

I'm never really happy, never really sad. Never content and never strung out with stress. I just AM. I'm just there. Always there. Through holidays and birthdays. Good times and bad... lots of bad... I'm the Mom. I do it. And I cry by myself a lot.

I started writing this because I've never heard of a book, or even short story about a stay at home mom. She has no grand adventures, or epic romances. She doesn't have a secret identity or mysterious case she needs to solve. Scratch that, every thing that every person is looking for becomes mom's mystery to solve. I got really good at that.

Sometimes I dream about the past. Sometimes I worry about the future. Mostly I try to enjoy the present, appreciate what I have while I have it. Time moves too fast.

The number one thing I've learned about being a mom is that it's the best. And the worst. And the mediumist. But mostly Mom is loved and put aside. She is the back ground operating system that silently organizes life, making sure it runs smoothly.

The idea of stay at home mom has changed a lot. As a child I was taught that that was the ideal. So it was my goal to be a stay at home mom as long and I can remember. But times change. I've been pressured to "find a real job", that it's fulfilling to have something of my own. As if the 24/7 position I have is not my own. I've been pressured to get up before the kids and "take care of myself", because fitness only fits when no one else is around. (It is easier to be honest, but I am NOT a morning person.)�� I've been told to clean more, eat better, meal prep, limit screens, encourage outside time, discourage swearing, keep up on homework, make sure the kids are in lots of activities but always have time for family. And be a sexy wife. When my body grew with babies, I was told to lose the weight as quickly as possible. I didn't. I was told to find my tribe, my village, and we would lighten each other's burden. I didn't. I was told to trust my gut instinct over what some "expert" says. I did.

Over and over and over I question, adjust, research, debate, and try to apply many different methods of taking care of my family. I put off my mental health issues until my husband wasn't sick anymore. I sought therapy for my son with anxiety. I walked and rocked my colic daughter from 5pm to 11pm every day for the first year of her life. I carry my families burdens and try to hide how much it is that I carry.

Being a stay at home mom is always. There is no clocking out. There are no vacation days. There is no banter around the water cooler. It's just me and my determination to do my best for my family. And it is never enough.

I don't say that in a negative, depressed way. It's just fact. I can never be all that my family needs, because I am just one person. I fill the gaps as much as possible, but things get through all the time. Like when I yelled at my 3 year old son to "Leave me the Fuck alone!" Like when my kids watched YouTube for 10 hrs one day (probably multiple days, I really haven't kept track.) Like when I had my first mental breakdown at 31 and cried all day. I highly recommend having a breakdown, it's very cathartic.

I've tried to make friends in every place I've moved to. It works for a while, but either I'm not good at making friends, or we just get really busy with our lives. Cuz I'm mostly alone. I volunteered to be PTA President. 1 month later the world shut down because of a pandemic. Being PTA President and a sudden homeschooling mom and dealing with a pandemic for 2 years broke me in new ways I still haven't recovered from.

My dog is obsessed with me. She small and fluffy so it's nice to have her on my lap sometimes.

The only time I really feel good is when I masterbate. And honestly I mostly do it so I can fall asleep faster. Does masterbation make everyone sleepy?

If you've read this far, many kudos to you. We are all so busy and have so many avenues of entertainment that an honest word vomit from me doesn't feel like the most popular thing.

I get crushes on men and imagine life with them, but I'm so ridiculously in love with my husband. The fantasies only last for a bit and then I look at his cute face during the ovulation era of my cycle and love him all over again. A week later I feel like strangling him and everyone else around me, but I've learned that's normal. And it passes.

Over the years I've had many jobs, mostly care giving. I've been deported (for not having the right visa... thanks a lot England.) I've had eating disorders. I've tried to dance again and mostly failed. Zumba was fun though. I was obsessed with ballet my entire childhood and tried to get my daughter into dance, but it wasn't for her. And that's ok. I was diagnosed with ADHD at 38 and finally put on medication that helped me focus. Is this how most people feel? You think about doing something and then just do it? Wild.

I grew up in a high demand religion, Mormon, and left that church. Left religion altogether. Became more lonely because my only social network was at church. Realized how much shame and guilt I carried. Realized that I don't know how to form healthy relationships, for the most part.

I stay up late and deprive myself of sleep just to finally have time to myself. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but I feel like I should be better. I don't know what my kids need, but I feel like I should. I don't want to get another job, but they are older and my husband works from home and we moved to a bigger house so I feel like I should. I "feel like I should" a lot.

I don't know where this is going, but maybe that's the point. Things just are, they don't have to go anywhere. Maybe I share this, maybe I don't. I know there are those who feel like me, but the internet is daunting. I don't like putting myself out there. Not anymore. I have given so much of myself over the years that I cling to whatever I can whenever I can. Cling to anything that feels like it's just mine. Like typing midnight rants on my phone. I was almost kidnapped as a kid. I was sexually and verbally abused. I was psychologically abused. I was molested. #MeToo

That is why I keep my kids close. I keep myself hidden. I plug away at daily life and don't try to expand. I can't let anyone in, it's better to be lonely. It's better to stay at home. Mom.

[femmefatalevibe]

Hello, your posts have helped me so thank you so much for writing them. But today I have a question for you as a person who was sexually and physically assaulted, has a terrible body relationship with herself and fucked up mental health. I can see how as a woman I am so distant from the concept of love, intimacy and women's pleasure. I tried seeking therapy but it didn't work. I hate touches from men. I question their touches a lot even though they are from my friends but sometimes I can't just bear that touch. I am in my early 20s and I want to explore my sexuality, I want to have intimacy, I want to fall in love with people and I want to do everything that a human does generally when it comes to pleasure. There were a lot of times that men wanted to get closer to me and love me but I don't know I haven't felt comfortable in my whole life with men. It just disrupted the idea of having any bond with men. Also, I carry the shame of having a partner and sex. Coming from a family where physical touches or any kind of love was shown as a dirty thing or something unacceptable. I tried multiple times to get closer to my body and let other men touch me but I couldn't. I am sorry but I just couldn't. I felt anxious and got anxiety attacks. So I want to ask a question How to overcome these issues and live a life of unapologetically woman?

Hi love! Thank you so much for your kind words and support. I'm sorry that you had these awful experiences. Know that none of it was your fault and any shame you carry, while a real feeling and experience for you, is in no way a reflection of anyone but your assaulter and those who support or enable them.

My advice would be to first explore and get comfortable with your own sexuality before introducing a partner into the experience. Carve out time through the week to explore your own body and self-pleasure. Reaffirm that these feelings, sensations, and enjoyment are healthy & positive experiences in the moment and afterward. It will take time to quiet your mind and for you to allow your body to genuinely relax, so give yourself all of the time you need. Think of it as a self-discovery journey rather than a problem to solve or a goal/expectation to meet. Be honest with yourself and note take of what you like, don't like, fantasize about, turn-ons, etc., and validate them to help slowly dispel the shame.

One way to help unpack sexual shame is to remind yourself that sexual desires are natural and healthy parts of life – much like your desire for food, sleep, rest and relaxation, and social connection. A regular sexual practice is a component of your physical and mental health that can give you a boost like taking a vitamin or act as a form of stress relief like meditation. Neutralize sex as an activity – consider it something you would do to enjoy and nourish yourself like offering yourself a night to watch a TV show, enjoy a few squares of chocolate, read a great book, soak up the sun on the beach, etc.

Hope this helps xx

[unravelingthepages]

Icebreaker- Why I liked it

Hi! For once, instead of a reading slump, I’ve been in a reading binge. So Icebreaker was one of the five books I finished last week and one I loved.

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace is a hockey x figure skating romance featuring Anastasia and Nate, the hockey captain. This book has semi- forced proximity, really cute found family and a lot of worked out issues through therapy and healthy communication.

The Plot

Anastasia Allen has worked her entire life for a shot at Team USA. A competitive figure skater since she was five years old, a full college scholarship thanks to her place on the Maple Hills skating team, and a schedule that would make even the most driven person weep, Stassie comes to win. No exceptions. Nathan Hawkins has never had a problem he couldn’t solve. As captain of the Maple Hills Titans, he knows the responsibility of keeping the hockey team on the ice rests on his shoulders. When a misunderstanding results in the two teams sharing a rink, and Anastasia’s partner gets hurt in the aftermath, Nate finds himself swapping his stick for tights, and one scary coach for an even scarier one. The pair find themselves stuck together in more ways than one, but it’s fine, because Anastasia doesn’t even like hockey players…right?

Why you should read it

It’s a cute, well-thought out romance. That’s it. There’s found family among some of the hockey players and I loved how Anastasia fit into that so well. There’s a good plot without any of the things that make you not like a romance (cough cough *miscommunication* cough).

The two characters are everything. I really liked reading both of their povs and I loved the sheer lack of red flags from them both. Healthy relationships for the win!

I liked how the issues or problems weren’t extreme. Don’t get me wrong. I love secrets and scandals and muggings and all those things that are sometimes found in romances. But this one had believable issues that still made me not able to put the book down and I loved that.

All-in-all, a cute romance. I would recommend it and I really liked it! Finished it completely in a day. Five stars.

Sometimes you read a line from a book and it’s like something from your own head or something from your journal. And that part of you is a bit more defined, a bit sharper, and a bit easier to understand and explain to others.

[marjaystuff]

Kallie E. Benjamin

Sniffing Out Murder

Bailey the Bloodhound Mystery Book 1

Berkley Pub

Dec 5th, 2023

Sniffing Out Murder by Kallie E. Benjamin, the pen name for Valerie Burns, is the first in a new series.  This book is a delightful read that has humor and a riveting ‘who done it.’

Readers are introduced to the main character, Priscilla Cummings, who is a teacher by day and a children’s author by night.  That is until she has found success with her first children’s book, about the adventures of her dog, Bailey the Bloodhound.  Because of her success she has decided to become a full-time author, but also continues to have Bailey assist children to read.  Bailey is a trained therapy dog and frequently goes to the local library to have children read to him and watch him demonstrate his tracking skills.

The mystery has Bailey sniffing out a murder, digging up the body of Whitney Kelly.  She is a mean girl who earlier had a confrontation with Priscilla.  But Pris is not the only enemy she has made, and the list of suspects continues to grow for Police Chief Gilbert Morgan.  He is tenacious and determined to find the killer, but readers also see his other side.  Raising his daughter Hannah as a single parent, he is very caring and gentle. Both he and Pris develop a relationship after Bailey helps Hannah with her reading skills and Pris becomes involved in solving the murder mystery.

Readers will be kept guessing until the very end about who done it.  This plot has it all: delightful characters, great banter, a mystery, and a sweet bloodhound. 

Elise Cooper:   Since it is an anonymous name how did you choose it?

Kallie E. Benjamin: Kallie was my great grandmother’s name.  I never knew my grandmother but did know my great grandmother. The “E” is from my mom whose name was Elvira but decided not to use Elvira as my author’s name. My dad’s first name was Benjamin. 

EC: How did you get the idea for the story?

KEB:  I get nervous when I start a new series, hoping readers will enjoy it. Dogs are my thing and I wanted to write a new series with a new breed of dog.  To me, a bloodhound symbolizes search and rescue.  This series has a lot of family ties for me. Also, when I write cozies what is important to me is the ‘who done it.’

EC:  How so about family?

KEB:  It is set in Indiana, which is where I am from. The town’s name, Crosbyville is based on one of my nephew’s children, Crosby.  His other child is named Cameron.  The main character, Priscilla, is an author and her agent’s name is Cameron. Her best friend, Marcella is named after my niece’s daughter. Since I write murder mysteries, I will make sure that these names will endure and continue without having to be a character that can potentially get murdered or be considered a person of interest.

EC: Why make Bailey, the Bloodhound a therapy dog?

KEB:  I used to do therapy with my poodles. We would go to nursing homes and hospitals. I wanted him to help with assisted reading. When a child had to testify it was found that they were less stressed if they spoke directly to the dog. 

EC:  You went down nostalgia lane-why?

KEB:  LOL.  I brought in Andy Griffith and Magnum PI.  I ran some things by my niece who just turned thirty.  She told me she watches the reruns of the old shows. I enjoyed throwing things in there. 

EC:  Whitney, the victim was not very nice, correct?

KEB:  I based her on Cruella de Ville to a small extent. I usually murder someone who no one likes. They usually are villainous. Both Whitney and Cruella had issues with dogs. They viewed their agenda as more important than anything else. They are single minded without any concern about what happens to others. I use real people in my life in my books when they make me mad.  It is therapeutic for me. I will use their initials but change the names to be the victim. 

EC:  How would you describe Priscilla?

KEB:  Pris and I have in common that we both have a job that provides income, but we are also authors. We have that same passion about writing mysteries that includes dogs. Pris wants to help people and can recognize people’s shortcomings. She is also a klutz and very curious.

EC:  How would you describe police chief Gilbert?

KEB:  He has dedicated his life to protecting others. He is very direct, straight-forward, responsible, and protective. He also is a single parent, raising his daughter. As the story progresses readers will find out more about his late wife and her family. His daughter and family are very important to him. His relationship with Pris will continue and grow stronger, although there will be some conflict surrounding their views.

EC:  Next book?

KEB:  The setting is a festival in Crosbyville where a murder occurred. Bailey finds clues that get Pris more involved in the mystery. The working title is Hounding a Killer, coming out in late 2024.

THANK YOU!!

[singofsolace]

Yeah I agree with this, apart from Wednesday being a minor, so issues of consent become complicated. Therapy with an adult vs. therapy with a child is governed by different rules, but ultimately, I think it comes down to the fact that whoever wrote the therapy scenes doesn't actually know how therapy works, and hasn't put in the work to know the rules of ethics that psychiatrists have to follow in order to keep their license (like doctor-patient confidentiality, and under what conditions that can and cannot be broken with a minor?!).

I find that a lot of therapy scenes in film and television make it exceedingly clear that the person writing them has never been to therapy. Or, if they have been, they have a general mistrust/distaste for it, so they present it in as unflattering (and sometimes just inaccurate) a way as possible.

It would be one thing if Dr. Kinbott turned out not to be a psychiatrist at all. I genuinely thought that all of those therapy red flags were leading us up to the reveal that she wasn't a real psychiatrist and it was Laurel Gates faking her identity. I think I actually would've liked that story line a lot more, because Laurel Gates killing the real Dr. Kinbott and assuming her identity so as to have access to Jericho's "troubled youth" and so on was actually a pretty convincing plot twist to me, and I hate that that wound up being a fake-out.

I found the "Marilyn Thornhill" reveal much less convincing, because apart from the Frankenstein book, and the fact that she was being played by Christina Ricci, Thornhill didn't have enough screen time to be a "fair" murder mystery plot twist reveal, in my opinion. It's like those mystery books where the killer winds up being a character you've never heard about, or who is only introduced in the last few chapters. The writers don't want you to solve the mystery before it's time, so they intentionally keep the killer out of most of the story, or withhold key information to ensure you can't get there before the main character does. I know that part of this was due to Christina Ricci's scenes all having to be filmed separate from the rest, due to conflicts with her filming schedule, but still. It bothers me.

In the real world, Dr. Kinbott would've lost her license for how she handled Wednesday's case. I suppose one could argue that Wednesday is portrayed to be a threat to herself and others at multiple points, and so doctor-patient confidentiality goes out the window... but still. She shouldn't be talking to the school principal about those fears, she should be talking to either the victim of those violent threats, her parents, or law enforcement. The fact that Weems is the one to suggest a family session, and not the therapist herself, is unthinkable to me. Kinbott should've been speaking directly to Wednesday and her parents, if a family therapy session was something she thought was necessary for Wednesday's mental health, and even then, the decision should've been ultimately up to Wednesday, unless she was an active threat to herself or others.

Wednesday "Therapy" seassions with Dr.Kinbott bother me really in many ways but one of the things i hate the most in the Parents weekend scene in the Headmistress office

like Weems literally admits she talks with kinbott about wednesdays seassions if it just would be that they go well or not alright but it's kind if implyed that they talk about more then just how the seassion went

and then literally forcing her into therapy family seassion? without letting the literal patien/client of them decide? like wednesday said she doesn't want to have a family therapy seassion just for Weems to bring it up even more sucessfull getting gomez to agree who then get's his wife to agree as well

like Wednesday didn't consent to that and a therapist needs first of all to talk about something like that with their client if they even have the right to bring it up in the first place

talking with them about what would happend and then would need the Consent of their client for it to happen in the first place and not to force them into it

and also the first ever Therapy seassion with kingbott is just horrible

///

this all or some of the reasons why i enjoy the Ao3 fic "Winning Therapy" by @bunnyinfoxclothing so much if you don't know the Fic i can only highly recommend it it

btw guys let me hear your input on the matter of the therapy seassions and Dr.Kinbott

[priceofblindeye]

The Riddler is an Alt Right terrorist!

POST SUMMARY AT THE VERY END for those who don't want to read all of this! Alt right terrorism is so deep rooted in white supremacy, racism, sexism, homophobia, and anything and everything that "endangers their traditional values", this entire claim is INCREDIBLY far off. Now that i've said that, I can reassure you guys that this is not going to be a post justifying Edward Nashtons behavior. This will also not be a post claiming that he is an alt right terrorist. I'm going to be discussing some information about Edward Nashton, quoting Matt Reeves, and explaining the depths of this character that must have been missed by the average viewer. Recently, on Tiktok, I've become more and more aware of judgement towards the people who claim they relate to the new Riddler. There's a lot of shame pushed onto those who could possibly empathize with this character. There are frequent comparisons to the very typical "joker guy" meme that blew up after a lot of toxic masculine batman fans had adopted the persona of the Joker and used their mental health issues as excuses for harmful behaviors. While I can already see a lot of romanticized red flags of Edward Nashton (stalking, non-con, dead dove fics, etc) this does not mean that Edward Nashton is canonically the scum of all characters and therefore means whoever likes him, is too. Maybe you guys should get some therapy though.. Let me start off by saying that Edward Nashton/The Riddler in the Batman 2022 is literally intended to be the opposite of the Batman. For those who don't know.. Edward Nashton was born into a family of lower class, this was only implied later on when he lives in an orphanage, because he was unfamiliar with the idea of having so much wealth. In the book, "Before the Batman", we learn that Edward Nashton used to look up to the Waynes, but eventually was very envious of them. He had to constantly walk by the portrait of Thomas, Martha, and Bruce. Wealthy people who'd never experienced any of the hardships he'd already faced by the age of no older than 12 years old. In the movie, we learn that the orphanage was overcrowded, thirty kids to a single room. This shouldn't be a surprise with how many men, women, and adults are likely murdered or die of poverty, illness, and neglect. When Edward mentions that in the winter it got so cold, the babies would die? How did this happen? The movie talks about how the Renewal fund was basically going to help support the city and those that need financial assistance. It could pay for Orphans schooling, the bills to maintain the orphanage, food and supplies, and even extra activities like giving those kids a genuine childhood. Yet all of the Mob, the GCPD, everyone took advantage of it. When Thomas Wayne died, the GCPD and Falcone took control and kept the money for themselves, because the money they made from illegal drug trade wasn't satisfying enough. When the Waynes had died, everyone forgot about the Renewal Funds purpose and the promise that Thomas Wayne intended to fulfill.. This made everyone blind to the reality that it was being misused. "At least the money makes it go down easy." For finances, Edward as a teenager had to bike all through Gotham City delivering food just to make money to support himself and go to college. Edward Nashton is HEAVILY autsitic/adhd implied. In "Before the Batman" it was confirmed Edward Nashton did not do well in school yet he was very smart. Most typically, people with learning disabilities like ADHD are very smart but do not do well in school because the american education system caters to neurotypical kids. This is why he turns to puzzles. Quoted by Paul Dano in one of his interviews, that the only validation and success he ever got was through solving things like riddles and puzzles. "The Riddler is a person who is fed up, he's done. He's probably blamed himself for a lot of the failings in his life. He sees that maybe it wasn't all his fault." Edward Nashton went to college, while Bruce Wayne traveled the world, going to college after college for a short amount of time

learning different things. This fueled Edwards hatred for Bruce, because he

had the wealth to just throw away to pay for full tuition, just to not stay for the entirety of them. Edward then moved on to begin working as a forensics accountant. For those who don't know, this job was taken on by Edward because he viewed it as solving a mystery. The job of a forensics accountant is to look into fraudulent charges, and other illegal acts involving money. This job was likely how he became more aware of the abuse of the Renewal Fund and followed the breadcrumb trails that unmasked what was really happening in the city. All this being said, there's no possible way you could say that you wouldn't be incredibly pissed at least, that your entire life was been screwed over because of some greedy adults who wanted the money that was meant for you and a lot of other kids. Especially not when you've witnessed this greed literally take the lives of kids who never had a chance given to them. There's a lot of trauma and mental illnesses that could be developed just looking at the surface level of the shit that Edward Nashton had to go through growing up. This in particular, fueled Edward Nashtons motives. The motives that prove he is not an alt right terrorist. Edward Nashton is the embodiment of a revenge arc similar to Cruella, Glass, or Terminal, but he goes too far and puts innocent lives in danger. The story of a person growing up in miserable conditions because of money, or lack of, because of rich mens greed, (implied) ableism, untreated mental illness, and the affects of trauma gained at a young age is absolutely a story that i'd expect people to enjoy and relate to. The line is drawn however, when Edward Nashton intends to kill Bella Real, and flood the city. This is the terrorism that is very much a toxic part of the character that is not okay to be romanticized. This is what a majority of people who call Edward Nashton an incel, or alt right terrorist seems to fear will be praised and romanticized. What he does is not racially motivated at all, nor is it ever meant to be an act on enforcing white supremacy ideology. Edward displays the ideology of a Left Extremist. This dramatically changes the character and affects what community he draws in. Edward Nashton appeals to the community most likely because majority know he's the product of a very damaging childhood. Especially in a time where money and the accumulation of wealth being hoarded by corrupt individuals has been so incredibly prominent and a leading cause of struggle in our real world. Allowing a very neurodivergent, queer implied character to be admired and embraced by a community cannot be harmful so long as there is no erasure of the wrongs he has done, just as embracing Darth Vader, Arthur Fleck, or Loki as a beloved villain. All of these villains have varying levels of realism to their methods and attacks they've done as the villains of their stories, just as Edward Nashton does. So where do these fans get the idea that Edward is an Alt right terrorist? Edward Nashton is a white, cisgender man. Because they see someone in a messy, small apartment who's mentally unwell, and using the internet to connect with other civilians to organize criminal activity, these fans might likely take those traits that we as a society see come from racist, privileged white men most often, and focus on those rather than the overall picture. However, there seem to be some misconceptions about him that should be addressed. 1. He is not from a privileged background, and he is implied to be disabled. Take with that what you will. I'll be making a MASSIVE post about my psychological analysis of Edward Nashton later. 2. I believe that because of the consistency that men are often excused after reacting or behaving violently over any small inconvenience in their life, this is what people are afraid of and therefore automatically view him the same as many of the men they've personally witnessed behave in such a way. What people are missing, is this behavior that Edward has shown is the product of enduring traumatizing hardships his entire life. The fear

that

men will completely misinterpret the character is valid. Any misinterpretation of the character at all is a valid reason of concern. 3. Edward Nashton has looked at and admired Batman, a vigilante who gets praise to some degree by brutally beating and attacking criminals. He's using fear to scare people out of the toxic, damaging, and ruthless methods they've picked up to survive living in Gotham City, a city that is not taken care of by the higher ups and political figures. The city that is run by a crime boss! Edward Nashton saw someone doing this, and was influenced by what he viewed as a hero, to go a step further and target the real problem. At the end of the day, Bruce Wayne was only hurting people who'd been given no other choice. Like Selina says, Bruce must have come from a wealthy background to believe that some people CHOSE to live a life of crime. He wasn't fixing the issue. Edward targeted the real criminals, gathered evidence, and then went a couple steps further than the Batman. That doesn't justify his actions, but it does show how much Bruce didn't know. After all, the biggest message from the movie was"don't idolize someone until you truly know and understand them." That being said, WHY DO SO MANY PEOPLE ENJOY THE VILLAINS? Usually the people who enjoy villains are labelled as Villain Apologists! What is a villain apologist? A villain apologist is someone who excuses horrible behavior that villainous characters have done. In all honesty, fans of villainous characters are commonly mistaken as villain apologists. Most cases of villain apologists i’ve witnessed revolve around the Joker of all villains. He’s done almost every possible thing a bad guy could do, and a lot of very disgusting people often time idolize him. There's a real psychological study that I'm going to copy paste, and summarize, done by Science Connected Magazine that I think should be read! People care about their self-image and tend to see themselves in a positive way. Moreover, they try to avoid any negative associations that would damage their self-image. In this case, the researchers explored whether people favored villains as a safe way to explore darker traits or actions without fear of judgment. For example, Harry Potter quickly denied any similarity in personality traits with Lord Voldemort when Voldemort said that he and Harry were very much alike. In fact, people try to avoid any information that would jeopardize their positive image of themselves. But would it feel as threatening to be compared to a villain in a different universe, such as Magneto from X-Men?

The researchers predicted that story villains would provide an outlet to explore a darker version of themselves that would be immoral to act out in real life.

Fictional stories of villains may provide a safe haven for you to explore a darker side of your personality. This sense of safety may come from the fact that there is a psychological distancing between you and the villain. While you may fantasize about killing your bullies, you know you aren’t a murderer like the Joker. To test this idea, the researchers looked at whether people were still interested in villains when their sense of safety was threatened.

In a low-threat scenario, each participant was asked to rate their interest in a movie in a hypothetical situation where they would be watching it alone. The researchers compared their responses to their answers regarding a high-threat scenario; participants rated their interest in seeing the movie on a first date rather than alone. The researchers predicted that the context of watching the movie on a date would influence their choices in the next activity.

Next, the participants received a text message from a “close friend” with a screenshot of a movie and a message comparing the person with the movie villain. Afterward, the participants rated their interest in watching the movie with someone. The study revealed that the perceived higher threat of a first date made people less likely to choose the movie if the villain reminded someone else of them. Interestingly, people were more inclined to choose a movie that had a villain with a similar personality to their own if they were going to watch the movie by themselves. This study adds to earlier findings that people feel safe exploring villains that remind them of themselves, as long as it can be done privately." In summary, The Riddler and majority of villains will be looked at and likely empathized with because of the person looking at them! If a friend was connecting with Loki because of a terrible relationship with their family, their connection doesn't mean they'd stab their brother, betray you any chance they get, or try to destroy a whole planet. Look at it from a more empathetic stand point, as cringey as it may be for someone to really dislike a character. There should be no shame put on anyone who likes Edward Nashton or finds him fascinating. If someones love for the character concerns you, all you need to do is ask them how they view the character. If they praise his terrorist motives, then clearly they're someone to worry about. It's 2022, and we're just beginning to see the end of a pandemic that has torn down our mental health with a lot of traumatizing events. Many of us no longer have the ability to mask the traits of mental health issues, disabilities, and some have even discovered personality disorders. Connecting with a fictional character shouldn't be something that's frowned upon, unless that character was a literal n*zi, r*pist, or predator. If someone does not desire to associate with you because of the characters you enjoy, they're not worth keeping around. if you truly cannot accept that someone likes a character, then there's no need to enforce others to hold the same ideals, or make humiliating, shameful posts on social media normalizing bullying behavior. I've gone on long enough about this, and realized I have many articles I'm going to have to write to ensure this one isn't too long and spirals off on a bunch of different topics. SUMMARY!: Edward Nashton is a left extremist. He's incredibly traumatized, which explains why people may relate to him. Most typically, people who relate to villains with tragic backstories will relate due to their ability to see themselves, and to blur or ignore the evil behaviors the characters exhibit from pushing them away from the character or finding that their connection is worrisome, because it should be a given that the person would not mirror the characters toxic traits. It's best to acknowledge the flaws of a character, and to not erase them. Call someone out if they are showing toxic signs of connecting with a character. (Claiming they ARE the character, using the character to excuse harmful behavior, etc.) Thanks for coming to my TED Talk!

[artbyblastweave]

Hi hello I'm on my semi-annual re-read of Worm-but-only-arc-12 through 19, and I needed to talk about my favorite moment which is during the lull in the echidna fight when Brian goes catatonic and Taylor asks Aisha to take him home but aisha wants to stay and Taylor asks if aisha wants taylor to do it instead. I don't have the quote pulled up but taylor says something to herself along the lines of 'I wouldn't want to but I would leave if I have to' and it's probably the most blatant moment of self deception in the series because Taylor would never, never never walk away she's in so fucking deep in so many ways and I always wonder how Taylor would have twisted the situation to stay if aisha had asked her to go, how she would have justified her choices. Because Taylor fundamentally is someone who acts and then rationalizes her actions and uses that to not interrogate herself and like, does she know on some level? Did she say this knowing that she was never going to have to make that choice? Is this something she thinks she believes or is this something she's saying in the moment to make herself feel good about her actions. Anyway good morning and Taylor Hebert is my favorite character in media, she needs therapy

You know, purely by coincidence I actually re-read this sequence yesterday, and I had the exact opposite takeaway; I think Taylor was being completely earnest about this and absolutely would have walked away for Grue's sake if Aisha had forced the issue.

Taylor has this throughline of, when the chips are down, behaving self-consciously selfishly to keep her loved ones alive, even if it cuts against the greater good she otherwise often pushes for. You see this in Shatterbird's initial attack; Taylor wrestles with whether to warn her Father (and the other civilians) of Shatterbird's impending attack, or whether to go all out in trying to kill Jack and maybe stop the end of the world; in the absense of surety she chooses the "selfish" option of making sure her father is okay. You see this in Gold Morning, when, during a hectic firefight, she chooses to try and save one of Rachel's dogs instead of a more morally valuable human combatant, admitting all the while that this is the selfish choice.

And Boy howdy does she exhibit this with Grue specifically. When he gets freezered, she refuses to euthanize him even though there's a strong argument to be made that this is the pragmatic and merciful choice out of all the options they have available; hell, mounting any kind of rescue mission at all is probably not the most pragmatic strategy. During Gold Morning, at the height of her rationalization and optimization, and when she believes that Grue has cut himself off from her life to the greatest extent possible, she still spares some drones to keep eyes on the cabin she thinks he's in. The idea of a relationship with Grue, having a family and raising kids, is something that gives her serious pause when it comes to her plan to surrender herself to PRT custody.

So yeah, I think this scene is one where Skitter is, rather than deluding herself, actually being honest about her priorities and what she values; and this is after a couple sequences in the aftermath of Brian's second trigger where she's kinda goal-and-problem-oriented to the detriment of their ability to get along. I do not interpret the Echidna fight as one that Taylor has a lot riding on personally, in comparison to the other do-or-die situations she's been a part of; in point of fact it comes after she's accomplished her goal of 9 arcs, it's something she throws herself into because it's there and it's a problem to solve, but this is the most rudderless in terms of a long-term plan that she's been the whole book. The heroes are present in force, and more are likely to come; no real Endbringer truce is in effect, The Undersiders are the only villains that showed up to help with this and they're half-expected to cut and run at some point anyway. Miss Militia is pretty likely to accept "Skitter had to leave to take care of Grue" when all the other Undersiders are still on the battlefield, as well; even further than that, the Cauldron reveal ultimately ends up recontextualizing Echidna as an in-house problem, a ball firmly in the Protectorate's court. if there was ever a fight I could see Skitter walking away from for her teammate's sake, it'd be this one.

(Man, it might be my shipping goggles, but I get the impression she really likes this guy or something.)

[novelbeetle]

Books I‘ve read in July 2022

Another late round up of the books i‘ve read in July 2022

A good girl‘s guide to murder: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

- THIS WAS FANTASTIC!! I had no clue what to expect from this book, also I had no clue what was going to happen.

- Pip investigates an old case from her town. She digs deep into the past and the lives of her family and her friends family.

- while reading it I really wanted to solve the mystery myself and i got the impression that i could solve it. The clues were all there.

- the end really did suprise me. I started the book and couldn‘t out it down. The plot was great.

Boyfriend Material: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

- Fake dating? Yes. Two different main characters? Yes. Third act breakup? Sadly yes.

- it was good but it did bore me from time to time.

- there is a second book Husband Material but i won‘t be reading it. It just doesn‘t intrigue me that much sadly.

Mr. Wrong Number: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

- was it enjoyable? Yes it was. But sometimes the characters annoyed me with their antics.

- i mean the fmc pretended to have kids so she could write for a magazine. And ehen she got fired for lying she was suprised? Like come on! That annoyed me so much.

- if you want a short romance book with a quite fun premis then this is a good read for you.

Love her or Lose her: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

- this is a second chance book and i fell in love with the characters right away.

- Rosie and Dominic‘s marriage is on the brink of ending. Both decide to give them one last chance by going to Therapy. Their therapist is such a fun character.

- this book did make me cry in the end because it was such a good ending.

- Tessa Bailey is one of my favourite romance author. Her characters are so well written and the stories have many layers and i love them. Also they are easy reads which i appreciate so much.

Fix her up: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

- this is one of my favourites. I can identify with Georgie.

- Travis and Georgie‘s love story is basic but i still enjoyed it so much. They have amazing banter and i laughed a lot while reading it.

- this is the first book in the Hot and Hammered series but i read it last. It doesn‘t really matter if you don‘t care for spoilers. Like in Bethanys book (number 3 in the series) Georgie and Teavis get married but it didn‘t matter to me. I still enjoyed the book cery much.

Twisted Love: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

- so… i have never read a dark romance. No clue if i would like it but suprisingly i did enjoy it.

- Alex Volkov is a morally gray character. And when I say morally gray i actually mean morally black. This dude has a lot of issues and is kind of a villian. Weirdly i did enjoy it.

- The whole twist with the kidnapping etc. did suprise me. I figured out who killed Alex family before it was revealed but what happened at that house i really did not see that coming.

- Men who grovel when they fuck up big time is something i enjoy. But him kind of stalking her for a year is still kind of weird and did put me off a bit.

- the end set up Twsited Games very nicely.

[sketch--booked]

I wanna complain about how the ninja treated Zane in the first few episodes real quick. Specifically in Home. Since I have some beef with the ninja.

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So remember that one time Zane froze the entire monastery without effort? Yeah, that was kinda cool,

Now I begin to get angry, You’ve been warned--

And the ninja, understandably, were upset and I can get that.

But then you see how they all kinda just--- treated him really badly all the time. I get it,, he’s got weird traits and does very “Zane” things (being unfazed to be in the bathroom with somebody, legitimately not understanding comedy and laughing at odd things, at least Nya and Jay weren’t watching a horror or slasher movie, and his famous sitting-in-the-fridge scene) but like--

They really gonna do this??

Laugh at the guy for what he wears and throw around the food he made for them? Even Wu, may I add.

Can I also call attention to Jay, who throws something at Zane.

AND LOOK AT HIM--

That is not a face of comfort? By any means?? Zane shows a very little range of emotion, in the early seasons especially. But when Jay throws his own food at him, he frowns. THAT’S EMOTION,, HE’S NOT HAPPY,,, THIS ISN’T A JOKE NOR IS IT FUNNY TO HIM.

And they just--Don’t even do a double-take.

I’m bewildered at just how horribly they treat him, in this scene specifically. Not one of them, NOT EVEN WU, takes a second to think about how Zane might feel in this moment??? IN FACT, If you listen carefully, you can hear Nya and Jay belittling him.

“He looks so cute in his apron!” and “Look at his face!”

THEY ACKNOWLEDGE THEY’RE BEING CRUEL LIKE WTF THIS MAKES ME SO MAD--I HOPE THEY WENT TO BED STARVING.

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So after this god awful display of friendship that makes me want to slap all the other ninja, we get the infamous Falcon scene.

Zane has his general neutral kinda-angy-lookin’ expression. So we can’t really tell what he’s feeling in this moment, but it’s his actions that follow that say everything.

He sees the falcon and is intrigued by it and actually smiles. Which is good! That’s emotion! Well done, Zane, you’re learning!

NOW IT’S THIS BIT---IS WHERE I GET REAL JUST---HHHHHMMM It’s in this moment, I wonder if Zane knows what a toxic friendship isghghgh I jest--

Zane is smiling when he sees the falcon fly off. He likes the bird but he lets it leave.

But then---

Zane takes one brief look back to the sound of his friends and without a second doubt he BOOKS IT--

So from initially seeing this, you get the instant feeling that he would prefer to follow a mysterious bird into possible danger, than go back to his friends who are still laughing in the distance. He obviously was going to return back to them, they tease his lack of returning later in the episode WHICH I HOPE TO GET TO. But that does say enough about his actual feelings towards the rest. 

Strange, possibly evil bird---or my friends who’re probably going to continue to laugh at me.

It’s a nobrainer that he’d follow the bird??

He’s not truly upset at them, I don’t even think that Zane has the capability to really be angry ngl,, but he still chose the bird over his “family” and that’s what makes me so angry at the ninja. 

And to those who say “He’s not upset at the ninja, he’s just curious and the fact that he essentially ran away from them, doesn’t mean he dislikes them” I say,,, That is fair. And I will, for the sake of not looking like a dick, argue for that.

It’s clear that Zane likes to know stuff. In the beginning, he’s been the smart one. Even in this episode Kai says “We like the guy, he’s really smart..” then complains about him being weird. And later down the line he’s shown an interest in learning, being the only one in season 11 to actually read about the desert of doom and the Mechanic himself saying he’s an inquisitive nindroid in season 12.

So it’s understandable if Zane was simply sating his curiosity. But how can you tell me that the previous event was not a deciding factor in choosing the bird instead..

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I would now like to jump forward to when the ninja are at Lloyd’s tree-house (Can I point out that the first place the falcon took zane, was a tree-house. And the last was a tree house?? Anybody? okay just me--). 

And when they ask him how he found it; he tells them it’s because it danced. Jay then jokingly asks if it was a coo-coo bird, promoting everyone to--

IF YOU GUESSED “laugh at him” YOU’D BE CORRECT, HOW DID YOU GUESS???

When he does his info dump thing they don’t even bother, they just shrug in unison--which ngl I do find funny ghghgh

.

Now that’s where you’d think the Zane bullying stops right?

NOPE,, TIME TO BURN DOWN THE MONASTERY (this is a cool shot btw)

This is a good shot too, because it sets up that Zane will be a focus, and you can already assume it’s because, in some essence, this is Zane’s fault.

But then they go all out on him. They straight up tell him this was his fault, that he shouldn’t have followed the bird, he shouldn’t have been curious or try to help, that everything they had here is gone, and yell at him to his face “A teaching moment? What’s wrong with you? Don’t you get it? Everything is gone!” and it’s because of him.

In this moment they are taking out every frustration they had with him. They’re taking out every moment he’s gone into his own world and making their lives harder and that their home is gone because of him.

This is one of the very first, and very few times all the ninja have pitted against just one of their team. And it hurts. Because Zane’s reaction to this, his response to being treated horribly, having his food thrown at him like he didn’t spend likely hours making and planing it, like he doesn’t do the chores they probably wont do (taking out the rubbish earlier in the episode), is to go back to them like he wasn’t hurt by this at all. 

And y’know what could’ve solved this entire thing? What could’ve prevented the exclusion and the explosion that is their friendship. Communication. On both sides, neither of them communicated with each other. The ninja didn’t openly express their feelings towards Zane TO Zane, only Wu and probably Nya. And Zane never expressed anything, ever, like--literally nothing. His moment of most emotion is in episode 7 dammit.

And I just--This is an issue that’s followed through even to the new seasons. Honest to god some of the only times I can recall him actually expressing how he feels about something, is with Pixal, and when Kai persuades him to break his morals and cheat in the slug race. God please help me find more examples because I cannot remember anything else (I’m ignoring Decoded for the time being since the last episode of that was almost entirely “Zane therapy time”)

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Imma end it here because my rant juices have stopped flowing and I haven’t slept in many many long hours and I really would like to collapse right about now.

So i’m not saying Zane has it worst, he probably doesn’t,, but what I’m saying is that Zane had a tough time in the beginning especially. After Kai became properly a part of the group, it was Zane that they outcasted. And because they wouldn’t actually talk to him about what they all thought. They didn’t take the time to understand him and only realized they missed him and how badly they’d been treating him when he was gone.

In the start, they were bad friends, they were horrible in fact. Zane tried, or didn’t. Where he didn’t understand people or social cues, he understood being kind and doing the right thing. 

The ninja did however work from this. As of this episode, they tone down the mistreatment and make a bigger effort to get the guy. And it’s all explained and finished in episode 7.

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Overall, I really like this episode! I think the characters were great! I think the humor was great! I think the progression was great! I dunno why some o’ yall think I don’t like something because I hate it. I can hate-love something, and you’ll find there are a lot of things I hate-love in ninjago.

[littlemountaintownrp]

Oh look, another hipster kid.

Michael has been accepted! Please submit your blog for us to follow!

out of character info

Name/Alias: Jenn

Pronouns: she/her

Age: 23

Join Our Discord: Yeehhh

Timezone: Central

Activity: 6

Triggers: N/A

Password: randy marsh is a dilf

Character that you’re applying for: Michael “Tall Goth”

Favorite ships for your character: Michael/Katie

Faceclaim: N/A

in character info

Full name: Michael Alexander Henderson

Birthday: October 31st

Orientation: Sexuality and gender are conformist ideas that society forces on everyone to put them in a box forever.

Pronouns: He/Him

Current age: 19

Appearance:

Thick curly black hair, shaven underside that fades. His bangs fall to the left side of his face, just barely covering his eyebrows, which are just as black and thick. You might catch him with stubble to match, but most of the time he is very clean shaven.

He still applies a thin layer of eyeliner, just to make his already pitch black eyes appear even darker in contrast to the whites of his eyes. His eyelashes are short, and if you look hard enough you would see they also curl upwards. His sanpaku eyes are small and sharp.

Both of his ears are pierced heavily, favoring small hoops and dangles over studs. In addition, he has a septum piercing and sternum piercings on his collarbones, two on each. He wouldn’t say no to more holes in his body if the opportunity showed.

His jawline is angled and sharp, with sunken cheeks that make his cheekbones more prominent. His face is long and diamond shaped, much suited to his large nose.

His shoulders are squared and his limbs are long, making him stand at a proud 6’3”. His body is toned without much body fat. His strict meal prepping and his two physically active jobs keep him from growing weak. A rather averagely built man.

His clothing hasn’t changed much since he was a child. His aesthetic is still casual, borderline romantic, with his monochrome palette and ankle length coats. On a regular day, he’d sport his coat, a white button up, black pressed pants and dress shoes. To spice it up, it might wear suspenders.

Personality: Michael was, is, and most likely always will be exhausted with a capital E. He’s lost his effort for living years ago, and now he just lays afloat the sea of life, going where it takes him without much of a complaint. As long as he’s surrounded by the ones he loves most, being the closest to him, he doesn’t care what happens. Going to therapy as a child for his anger issues had helped him mellow out, learning healthy coping mechanisms to control his tendency to express aggressive behavior. Thanks to his therapist, he’s now a thinker, and solves problems logically instead of emotionally. If you were to get on his nerves, he’d still insult and degrade you, but he wouldn’t resort to violence anymore unless provoked first.

Even though he acts like he hates everyone, he still has a sweet side. He is caring and considerate towards his found family, and will, without hesitation, bend over backwards to help them. Michael remembers the little things, which is saying a lot considering his memory isn’t the best. His emotional bond makes up for his lack of physical affection, which he doesn’t participate in unless provoked. There isn’t a doubt out there that he doesn’t cherish the ones closest to him.

History:

The date was October 31st, 2002. A crisp Thursday, at the early hours of 02:04 AM. A baby boy and third child was born to Connor and Naree Henderson. They had many plans for their son, and fully intended on fulfilling them to make their rainbow child a successful young man. He’ll be president one day, they could feel it.

Their beliefs in him strengthened when he had the natural fascination with reading. Even when he developed the need for glasses his eyes were still focused on a page in a book, reading at an incredible speed well above his grade level. His parents fed into this hobby as much as they could, buying him book after book of many things, fiction and non. His future was looking bright and promising until he turned eight years old.

The officials said that the car crash due to weather, but the family knew the truth. His father had crashed into someone because he and his mother were in an argument. Michael couldn’t remember why, honestly. When he thought back to that day, he just saw himself in a hospital bed, unconscious. It was an out of body experience. His mother and father are at his sides and crying, begging him to wake up. He’s too young, his father said, it should have been me. His mother agreed. A couple of months after Michael woke up, his father had moved out of the house. His mother didn't talk about why, and his two older siblings weren't much help either.

The car crash had put a damper on his hobbies, all of his time was dedicated to physical therapy. He lost his school friends, his grades went down, and the idea of him being president was nonexistent. His father and mother were a wreck, which caused their relationship with their youngest child to be one too. His siblings had moved onto college and careers while Michael, age nine, was forced to stay home.

Whenever his father was having a bad time, he would light a cigarette on the back patio of his cheap apartment that Michael visited only sometimes and smoke in silence. Michael had always wondered if it made him feel better. One day, he pocketed Connor’s cigarettes and lighter and skipped school. He instead hung out in a back alley, sat on the staircase, and lit one. 

That one day became several, then a dozen, and then before Michael knew it he had made new friends with similar habits. They talked to each other, listened, and exchanged condolences. He felt grown up now, and he liked it. And as a grown up, he realized it was the worlds fault his life was so fucked up. The nihilistic personality he adopted didn't falter when his parents announced that they would be living together again. "We're going to therapy." Conner had said with a stupid grin on his face, "Aren't you happy?"

"Whatever."

Life didn’t change much after that until he turned 14. High school was full of challenges, and the biggest one was keeping his head down. Puberty was kicking his ass, making him taller and skinnier than the rest. His parents always tried to get him to eat but he could hardly stand to look at them, much less accept anything from them. You need to fill out, they would say. Michael would always scream at them before storming out the door.

When he wasn’t getting in fights at school or smoking around back, he would walk the roads of South Park alone. He hated being in the house when he didn’t need to be. That’s where he met his first love.

Seth knew exactly what to say and when to say it. He completely swept Michael off his feet. He told Michael that he was mature, and smart, and that his parents didn’t know anything about him. He convinced Michael to participate in drinking, light drugs, meeting new people and exploring their relationship. Michael lashed out more at home, picked fights with people who just looked at him, and stopped going to school regularly. He was convinced he was going to run away with Seth, start a new life without anyone else. Seth had told him that there was no one else for him, and he believed it. So when Michael had caught the bastard on their two year anniversary sexting a fourteen year old, his world was shattered.

The fight between the now sixteen year old and his ex-boyfriend was nothing to scoff at. Michael had tried to slip into his room without being noticed, but Naree had the eyes of a hawk and shrieked when she saw him. Michael was too weak to push her off of him when she forced him to sit down on the toilet seat lid and cleaned his wounds. All he could do was blink at her, tired with red, puffy eyes, as she switched from her native language to English in a frantic state. It only got worse when Connor entered the scene. Michael couldn’t think straight with all of the yelling. He tried to get away all night, but they wouldn’t let him out of their sight. After a few days, he finally opened up about what happened, which spiraled in a heart to heart that Michael didn’t know he needed. Connor had looked into local therapists the next day for his son, while Naree held onto him tightly. Michael didn't want her to let go.

His recovery from his experiences, on top of his declining mental state and relationship with his parents, was an uphill battle. His therapist was annoying, but Michael couldn’t seem to weasel his way out of going. Connor and Naree were present through it all. Eventually, he tried to go back to school, but he couldn’t handle the stares and gossip that came with it. His parents allowed him to drop out his second semester of junior year at the young age of seventeen.

For the next two years, Michael would try his best to go back to normal. He stepped up more with his friendships, participated in chores at home, and opened up with his therapist about the things he thinks about the most. He got a job at Benny’s Diner as a waiter soon after dropping out, and when he turned eighteen he got a second job at J.K. Records.

Moving out was a big deal for him. This therapist didn’t fully support the idea, but he felt he had to still get out of the house. As much as he had appreciated his parents’ efforts the past few years, he needed to develop his independence. So, with help from Connor and tears from Naree, he moved out into a tiny, cheap apartment. Perfect for one.

His past is long from healed, and his journey is long from over. But he is willing to wake up every day and fight his battles if it means that one day, it would be.

Headcanons:

Traits and quirks: Easily flustered, competitive, prideful, can express himself better through body language than verbal speaking, hates communication, “whatever” attitude, bookworm, and is an incredibly fast learner.

Addicted to money, will work overtime and double shifts without hesitation just for the extra cash.

Isn’t the most modest person alive, but will have a hard time believing you if you compliment him. A typical response from him would be “Pssh. Yeah, okay.” with an eye roll.

Despite that, he isn’t insecure at all. Truthfully, he just doesn’t care nor think about it. He believes that when people call him ugly, they’re referring to his sense of fashion or personality more than anything else.

He has a white cat named Blair.

Goes to South Korea with his parents on yearly trips. He is a nice conversationalist when it comes to the language, and wants to be well versed in the culture.

Self-taught guitar and piano skills, thanks to his childhood band with his friends. Only sings in the shower nowadays, though.

He feels physical attraction faster than emotional attraction. You’d have to really impress him for him to consider a romantic relationship. Physical, “beneficial” relationships are more common. He’s only been in one romantic relationship before, and that was years ago.

Plays with his earrings when he’s nervous or deep in thought.

Doesn’t take photos of himself. Everyone photo that exists of him was taken by someone else, usually without his permission. If he were to post a photo of himself, his face is usually covered by something either continent or aesthetically pleasing.

In addition to Korean, he practices American sign language in his spare time. 

He was in a car accident as a child, resulting in years of physical therapy and a cane to move around when he needed it. He is much better now, but every now and then he needs to take a rest because of his knee.

If he had stayed in school, he would have loved to do something with literature.

Night Shift waiter at Benny’s Diner, daytime shift lead at J.K. Records. Weekends off unless he’s working overtime.

Blind as a bat without his glasses, but if he’s out of contacts he hardly puts in the effort to put on his frames. They’re thin, black squares.

He has two older siblings. His sister is fifteen years older than him, and his brother is ten years older than him. His parents had tried to have a third child for five years before giving up. They were surprised when they found out they were expecting Michael, but very happy. Because of the age difference and his early rebellious years, Michael does not have very many memories of his siblings, and had always thought of them more as roommates than family. They had both moved out and developed their own successful lives.

[tibby]

If you have the time can you please please please recap season 4 of riverdale. I was going to binge it on Netflix but things happen and then I saw your post about the graduation episode and HAD to watch that happen and now I’m recommitted to the cause and need to know what happened while I was gone

sure. okay so the season sadly starts with the death of fred andrews in a very sentimental and moving episode that’s kind of seperate from the rest of the show so it’s not really until episode two that things kick off. the riverteens are kind of thriving in a parentless world because milf alice was kidnapped by a cult, dilf hiram and milf hermione are in prison, milf penelope is in hiding after killing a bunch of people, milf mary is kind of just There, milf gladys went back to toledo after her drug empire failed, god knows what milf sierra and gay kevin’s straight former cop dad are off doing, and dilf fp is the sheriff but because it’s fp he’s kind of bad at it. so the riverteens are horrified when their new principal mr honey expects them to be at school on time and disapproves of them throwing school dances because students keep getting murdered at them. cheryl, who an episode prior never wanted anyone in riverdale to celebrate the 4th of july ever again because of her brother’s death, considers this an act of oppression and throws a party at her house. however, as she is keeping her brother’s mummified corpse in the basement, she gets angry when reggie tries to sneak down there. meanwhile gay kevin is trying to make amends with betty for the time he tried to have her lobotomised because of the cult led by chad michael murray. betty uses this to her advantage to find out where the cult is, teaming up with her half brother, charles (not to be confused with chic, who was only PRETENDING to be charles back in season two). archie gets munroe, his prison buddy, to attend riverdale high, and reggie is weirdly jealous about it. archie discovers that this is because reggie is being abused by his father, so they smash in his car and apparently this solves everything. jughead starts attending stonewall prep, where he meets bret weston wallis, donna sweett, joan berkeley, and jonathan. he also reunites with moose, who disappeared in mid s3 after cheryl outed him to the whole school including his homophobic dad, and then his homophobic dad dressed up as the gargoyle to try and stop moose and gay kevin hooking up in the sex bunker they stole from dilton doiley after he killed himself, but it turns out that his homophobic dad was just angry HE never got to fuck gay kevin’s straight cop dad back in the day. it was this whole thing. anyway, moose is like “i’m going by my real name, marmaduke now, so people don’t find out about my dad” but everyone does anyway and so moose mysteriously disappears again. betty finds out where the cult is (after disarming a bomb attached to her sister polly using a bobby pin) and goes to rescue her mother. milf alice reveals that chad michael murray is using the cult money to build a rocket, and his wife/fake daughter evelyn is going to drive a bus full of cultists off a cliff. the day is saved! veronica finds out that her father’s real surname is luna and decides to start going by that as an act of rebellion because he keeps leaving the prison that he owns to fuck with her after she had him arrested. archie decides to turn his gym into a community centre with munroe’s help. cheryl, who, for unknown reasons, obtained custody of polly’s twins, immediately fires the nanny that toni hired because he said there were probably rats in the walls and went into the basement. cheryl goes to make sure that the nanny didn’t interfere with her brother’s mummified corpse, and toni walks in on her stitching him up. videotapes start arriving at the homes of the riverdale residents of said homes being filmed for hours. onto halloween! toni tells cheryl they can’t have a dead body in the horse and makes her rebury jason, at which point cheryl claims she is being haunted by a doll named julian, who is supposedly possessed by the spirit of her other brother that she ate in utero, but the haunting will stop if they unbury jason. toni agrees, but the doll continues to appear in weird places, and cheryl is forced to confess that while she WAS gaslighting her before, she isn’t right now. betty bonds with charles while receiving prank phone calls from polly, who is now in a mental institution. archie and munroe try to throw a halloween party at their community centre for the troubled youths but it’s interrupted by a drug dealing gang trying to start shit in the parking lot, thus giving archie a new enemy. reggie destroys mr honey’s office for the joke but mr honey catches him and is like “you do this because your dad hits you.” jughead uncovers mysteries surrounding strange disappearances of prep students known as “the stonewall four,” and donna drugs him so she and bretjoanjonathan can lock him in a coffin overnight as a bit. meanwhile, veronica burns a man alive in her basement. archie becomes a teen vigilante for the millionth time in the series, jughead and the other stonewall stags go into the running to be the ghostwriter for the baxter brothers franchise, veronica gets her mother out of prison but then finds out that her half sister, hermosa the PI, got their father out of prison, and he is now mayor again. betty and gay kevin start an fbi training course in which betty realises the serial killer gene is a real thing and she does have it, and remembers when she killed her childhood cat. jughead finds out that his grandfather who drunk himself to death but also abandoned fp but is also just some guy ACTUALLY wrote the baxter brothers franchise and is like “i have to reveal this!” so he takes it to his english teacher mr chipping but then mr chipping jumps out of a window before anything can come of it, and jughead is horrified when the stonewall stags have no reaction. cheryl is still convinced she is being haunted by a doll and things are further complicated when her extended family shows up. her uncle discovers jason’s body in the basement, threatens to send cheryl away, and is killed by toni. speaking of death, archie is still on his vigilante shit and asks hiram for help, at which point the near dead body of the gang leader, dodger shows up wrapped in carpet outside of the community centre. betty visits chic in prison to find out more about charles, and when chic threatens to reveal where milf alice buried the man she killed back in season two, charles and fp go to dig it up again and move it somewhere else. to get her family away from her and also in the spirit of thanksgiving, cheryl makes them think that they ate her uncle. dodger’s family show up at the community centre thanksgiving for revenge and there’s almost a shoot out, but thankfully the deep fryer explodes and chaos is avoided! milf mary later suggests the deep fryer exploding was archie’s dead dad’s ghost. betty and jughead spend the weekend at stonewall prep, where they play a homoerotic game of never have i ever with bret and donna. donna says that she and mr chipping were having an affair. now it’s time for the gang to go to therapy: archie gets diagnosed with gay but is also just suffering from an insane guilt complex, betty has mommy issues, veronica has daddy issues, cheryl is being gaslit but did NOT eat her brother in utero, jughead is just some guy. jughead finds out where his abusive alcoholic grandfather has been hiding out, and meanwhile his dad gets shot. veronica decides to fight back against her father by starting a rival rum business. polly rips off a nurse’s face and betty finds out that everyone in her family has a trigger word instilled in them by the cult, so she imagines herself going back in time to STOP her child self killing her cat to learn how to control it. cheryl uncovers her gaslighter by literally gassing her house, and it’s revealed that milf penelope was living in the walls and mad that cheryl had jason’s body. cheryl reburies jason and imprisons her mother in the sex bunker. archie’s uncle shows up, just in time for football season! the riverteens are playing stonewall prep, and reggie reveals that the preppies fight dirty, just in time for them to tonya harding munroe’s knees as he is their star player. archie’s uncle gives munroe steroids so he can play anyway, and riverdale loses but munroe gets a scholarship. cheryl feuds with her new cheerleading coach and locks her in her office so she has a panic attack. hiram threatens to sue veronica for stealing his rum recipe, so she teams up with cheryl (maple syrup queen) to create a new type. jughead joins the stonewall prep secret society, the quill and skull, and reveals that he watched a homeless man die. also, the cheerleading team performs cherry bomb. betty starts feuding with bret and decides to stand off against him in a quiz show, and although she wins, she is accused of cheating and is forced to give it up. she also wanted to use this to try and get into yale because apparently “cooper” is an uncommon name and people associate it with her serial killer father. veronica and cheryl enlist milf penelope and her former brothel in a hotel to run their underground rum dealership after hiram kept fucking shit up at veronica’s speakeasy. jughead is forced to come up with new stories for his baxter brother books, and so he writes about betty’s serial killer father (uh oh!) archie tries to restart his father’s construction company but his uncle’s shenanigans make it hard and gay kevin’s straight former cop dad has HAD IT. fangs is back from cult recovery, but gay kevin has gotten into non sexual tickle porn. toni and fangs get in on this they use this to blackmail nick st clair after he returns and understandably upsets cheryl, his would be rape victim. archie is attacked in the bathrooms at school because his uncle can’t mind his own business, but this plot was fucking boring so i don’t remember most of it. jughead and bret decided to duel, because of course, and betty uses this as a chance to investigate the preppies further. she finds out that bret films sex tapes and blackmailed moose with one, and also has one of her and jughead. she also finds a video suggesting donna lied about her affair with mr chipping. veronica goes to new york to visit katy keene, played by lucy hale of fantasy island fame, who tells her that her mother is dying. veronica returns home just in time to hear that hiram has a mysterious disease and decides to make amends. jughead is accused of plagiarism, meanwhile veronica realises her father thrives off war, and continues their rum battle. archie is now drinking at school and veronica accuses mr honey of being a fascist for having a problem with it. BUT. MOST IMPORTANTLY. ALL SEASON WE HAVE BEEN TEASED WITH DEADHEAD. AND IT IS FINALLY HAPPENING. IDES OF MARCH PARTY AT STONEWALL PREP. AND BETTY BASHES JUGHEAD’S HEAD IN WITH A ROCK. betty tries to prove that the stonewall stags did it instead but donna is an insane lesbian and thrives off gaslighting and fucking with her. because jughead died, betty gets his spot at yale. the core four are accused of murder but cleared of everything. jughead has a funeral, and bret’s attempt of proving jughead isn’t in the casket are thwarted by the sweet pea, the sweetest pea in the room. hiram shows up just to fire fp as sheriff. betty kisses archie to help with her grief, and veronica ends things with them both. but donna is not convinced, and goes around stalking betty, saying she watched her sex tape and knows that betty couldn’t last so long without sex with jughead. and she is right! because lo and behold, jughead is alive and hiding in the sex bunker, despite donna’s best attempts to catch them out. donna knows they’re up to something and implies she killed jonathan when bret doubts her. betty and archie are like “yeah we only dated for the bit :/” but their texting implies it was...more. betty and jughead return to stonewall and expose the preppies, but they decide not to interview jonathan because he “has food poisoning.” or he’s dead. their other teacher kills himself, and fp reunites with his abusive father. betty discovers that donna’s grandmother was one of the people killed for the rights to the baxter brothers/tracy true franchise, and the entire scheme was a complicated revenge plot by donna to get back at their teacher for killing her grandmother. betty blackmails her with this information so donna can’t have the tracy true contract, and everything is “wrapped up” just in time for gay kevin to announce he’s doing a variety show. gay kevin’s intentions of performing hedwig are destroyed when mr honey is like “no, this is inappropriate for high schoolers,” and so the riverteens decide to band together and have everyone perform hedwig songs as an act of protest. meanwhile, betty and jughead fight because jughead didn’t do his homework because he was too busy watching the stalker vhs tapes, and veronica and archie fight because he lied about her father working out at his gym, given that hiram has tried to kill him multiple times and doesn’t really care about his health. betty and archie use this as an opportunity to kiss during origin of love. the variety show is cancelled, but the core four and gay kevin perform midnight radio on the roof, and jughead watches a stalker vhs tape of someone in a betty mask killing someone in a jughead mask. tickle porn shenanigans continue, and gay kevin is threatened over cheating his original tickle porn handler out of money. mr honey then forces them to shut the website down. cheryl leaves the rum business after her mother is threatened because of goons that were mad at hiram. hiram decides to deal with this by going after said goons. archie writes a song for betty, they explore their relationship further, but she picks jughead over him even when he says he’ll dump veronica for her. jughead discovers that ethel watched his and betty’s sex tape, and he and charles uncover blue velvet video, which houses sexy films and snuff films, and jughead is like “oh this is connected to the whole vhs stalker thing.” cheryl is sent a video of someone dressed up as her father killing someone dressed up as her brother. the riverteens turn their focus to the fact that all of them except archie and jughead have been banned from prom for various reasons, and betty suggests they kill mr honey as punishment. jughead writes an elaborate murder fantasy about them doing so, and also kills off reggie and drives cheryl insane for the bit i guess. the riverteens conclude that mr honey was behind the vhs stalker tapes and have him fired, and he tells them they’re all deranged before going to teach at stonewall prep. the school secretary tells them all the wonderful things mr honey did for the school and hands jughead a recommendation letter he wrote him for college. jughead realises they fucked up and rewrites his story so mr honey lives, but uh oh! he and betty uncover a vhs tape of their fictional murder of mr honey, much like the others.

and that’s what you missed on riverdale!

[inkweaver22-blr]

Welp. Here's the first chapter of that Tang fic I was talking about. Hopefully the characters aren't too out of character for this first chapter. They will be for sure in the future though. No content warnings yet but if that changes I'll make sure to add them. There's going to be lots of pairings in this one but I don't really know any of the ship names so if people want to call them out as they appear I'll add them to the tags.

AO3 Link

Chapter Two

Scattered Cicadas - Chapter One: The Cycle

Tang seems to be stuck in a strange cycle. Might as well make the most of it.

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Tang was certain by now that whatever was happening wasn’t a time loop. The starting points of each new cycle were too inconsistent, as were their endings. After nearly three dozen of these strange restarts and only a third of them beginning on the day MK received the Monkey King’s staff, the scholar was fairly confident in his conclusion.

“Alright, let’s see what this timeline has in store for us,” the man said as he stared at his reflection in the full-length mirror next to his dresser. He had started this little exercise around the seventeenth reset or so after noticing something else that only added more evidence against his original time loop theory.

“My name is Tang. I work at the public library.” So far nothing out of the ordinary. “I share an apartment with my good friend Pigsy.” Ah, the first and most common change he had noticed throughout this strange experience. And it was a change. He was fairly certain he had his own place originally. “While I am not in a romantic relationship with Pigsy, I harbor a small crush on him.”

Tang continued listing things about his current life as they came to him. He had discovered the various discrepancies compared to his original time fairly early on. So far the differences had been relatively minor. Demon Bull King being freed in the Winter instead of Spring. Mei’s family being descended from a blue dragon instead of green. Sandy’s ship being filled with therapy ferrets instead of cats.

The scholar was at first thrown by the changes, and had gone through some rather embarrassing freakouts the first few times. Luckily he discovered early on that while he never personally experienced the events of these worlds or timelines, if he focused enough, the memories of them would appear. Thus his new little routine he did at the beginning of a new cycle. He found looking at himself in the mirror seemed to speed up the recollection.

“It has been roughly two weeks since Demon Bull King has been freed and MK received the Monkey King’s glaive, thus becoming his successor.” Now that was interesting. This was the first time the Monkey King’s signature weapon was different.

It was all these changes to the world and the new memories that matched them that had squashed the initial time loop theory. In all his reading of both fiction and historical events, Tang had never heard of time travel that worked this way. His second theory, that he was somehow trapped in the Calabash by Jin and Yin, was also quickly discarded. He had the displeasure of experiencing its effects first hand several cycles back and it certainly did not implant new memories into his head.

Tang finished up the recap of his new memories and paused. Nope, nothing else it seemed. With a shrug he finished preparing for work. Hopefully it would be a slow day so he could get a bit more research done into what might be happening. Perhaps this was a celestial punishment as opposed to a demonic curse? He hoped that wasn’t the case but he wouldn’t be a scholar if he dismissed any avenue of investigation just because he disliked it.

Locking the apartment behind him, Tang made his way to the nearest bus stop with a spring in his step. While the situation was certainly less than ideal, the thought of some thorough research was always something he looked forward to.

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

Tang slowly stirred the noodles in his bowl, his brow furrowed in distraction. One of his favorite reference books for ancient mystical history at the library had been changed. Well, to be more accurate, it was different in this timeline. The author was the same, but the contents were certainly not.

Why had it not ever occurred to the librarian that if the current history around him could change, that ancient history could as well? If that was the case, then how could he trust whatever lead he might find to be actually helpful to his situation? What if the knowledge he needed didn’t exist in the timeline he was currently in? What if it only existed in his original timeline?

With a despondent sigh, Tang continued to swirl around his untouched noodles, his negative thoughts seeming to spiral in the same circular loop.

“Oi! Earth to Tang!”

Tang jumped, almost spilling his bowl as he jerked at Pigsy’s shout. He looked up to see the pig demon across the counter with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

“If you’re going to be a freeloader you might as well appreciate the food I worked hard on,” the chef scolded without any real heat in his tone. “Something eating you?”

“Uh, y-yes I suppose you could say that,” Tang stammered. Pigsy raised an eyebrow and Tang flushed. The lack of confidence he normally projected had certainly been noticed by Pigsy.

“Well spit it out then. Don’t have all night.” Despite the gruffness of his words, Tang could pick out the small bits of concern in the chef’s tone.

“Well, I seem to have hit a stumbling block in one of my research projects,” Tang explained as he pushed his glasses back up and began to relax. While Pigsy always acted angry at Tang for the mooching of noodles, the pig demon, across every timeline so far, never forced the scholar to pay and was always a great listener. “I’ve come across some evidence that many of the historical texts I’m looking into might be presented differently to the events that actually transpired.”

“Isn’t that how most of history is like though?” Pigsy leaned against the counter, his scowl replaced with a puzzled frown. “Didn’t you say something last month about how history books were mostly the writers' biases or something?”

Tang blinked at that. He did somewhat recall the conversation as he focused on it, but hadn’t thought Pigsy had been paying enough attention to his rant at the time.

“Yes I suppose that is true,” the scholar conceded.

“What do you normally do when you come across these changes?”

“I keep looking for a more accurate version of the text or form an educated guess based on all the evidence I gather.”

“Then what’s the problem? If you already know how to solve the issue then there’s no reason dwelling on it. Just keep going until it's fixed,” Pigsy said bluntly.

Tang just stared at the chef for a moment. Was it really just that simple? A smile slowly spread across his face as he realized that, yes, yes it could be. Even if the knowledge in this timeline was different, that didn’t make it useless. Knowledge was power, and who knew what tiny pieces he could find to fit together into a workable solution. Leave it to Pigsy’s pragmatic outlook to cut straight to the problem and efficiently solve it.

“Thanks Pigsy,” Tang said, smiling sincerely.

“Yeah, no problem.” Pigsy waved his hand in dismissal and, was that a blush Tang saw? “Now eat your noodles before they get cold.” The pig demon quickly moved off to help a new customer that had walked in, leaving Tang to his bowl.

As he ate the delicious noodles, Tang watched Pigsy as he worked.

He had always admired his friend, even in his original timeline. What he was unsure of were the romantic feelings he had for the pig. Outside of sharing an apartment together, the relationship status between the pair was the second most common change he experienced. The first time he had woken up in the same bed as Pigsy had resulted in one of his earliest embarrassing freak outs that had resulted in a few hurt feelings for a while.

While Tang could see how these feelings could have blossomed, he couldn’t quite remember if he had felt this way in his original time. He had simply gone with the flow the many times they were romantically involved and if he was honest, they had been some of the most pleasant moments he could remember since this whole timeline jumping mess had started.

He studied the chef as he gracefully moved about his kitchen, chopping vegetables and rolling dough. The pig demon had a gruff exterior, but obviously cared about those around him a lot. He was steady and sensible, always scolding someone for doing something stupid but always there with straightforward advice if asked. He made sure that no one would ever be hungry while he was around and woe be it unto any customer who insulted his family within his earshot.

Pigsy, as if sensing the eyes on him, looked up and met Tang’s gaze. He gave the scholar a brief smile before returning to the broth he had been stirring.

As a warmth filled his chest that didn't have to do with the noodles, Tang made a decision that he was sure Pigsy would have approved of. It didn’t really matter what their relationship was. Platonic or romantic, Tang loved Pigsy for being Pigsy and always would. If these alternate worlds seemed set on making them more than friends, well then who was he to complain.

Drinking the remaining broth in his bowl, Tang grinned as he decided to act on Pigsy’s advice. This version of him had a crush on the chef and he already knew the solution for fixing that.

“Hey Pigsy! You free for a date this Friday?”

His grin grew wider as Pigsy dropped his ladle into the pot of broth and whirled around and began stammering. Behind him, the scholar heard Mei crow in victory and began demanding that MK ‘pay up’.

These strange jumps in time were certainly a less than ideal situation, but Tang decided to not worry too much about them. He knew it was only a matter of time until a solution presented itself. While he waited for that to happen, who would blame him for trying to enjoy himself in the meantime?

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First chapter done wooo! Now the following chapters won't be in a strict chronological order as Tang jumps around, but some events do come before others. As for what's going on... You'll just have to wait and see~ See you in chapter two!

[aconstantstateofbladerunner]

101 Open MHA Gen Prompts

I had a very long ask game where people gave me fake titles and I came up with fic ideas to go with them.  Multiple people asked to use some of them as prompts, and some of my friends have lately maligned the lack of gen prompts out there, so I decided to compile them all into a single post.  Almost all of these are gen, aka not shipping, but you can do what you want I’m not your boss.  Everything is free and open to use WITH CREDIT, so have fun with my word vomit.

1. In Dreams I Had the Sun - Being the number one hero isn’t all it’a cracked up to be, Toshinori realizes early on

2. The Chainlink Fence that Held the Ocean - In his new book post-retirement, All Might opens up about his regrets, struggles with mental health, and his issues with the hero system as a whole.  The backlash is swift and intense.

3. Welcome to the Loud Silence - After an injury, Izuku is rendered deaf.

4. Water Since Turned Red - After a villain attack nearly kills All Might, the beach where Izuku used to go to find comfort now feels tainted.

5. all scrap left untouched is bound together - A group hero students who failed the provincial license exam for the third time, effectively ending their careers before they start, get together to take revenge on UA’s first years who beat them out.

6. You’ve saved more more times than you know - Times All Might saved people without his powers, just by being a cool, nice dude.

7. No Amount of Tragedy Can Justify Your Actions - A dying All for One tries to justify his centuries of cruelty to an uncaring Toshinori.

8. To Leave a Cage Locked - One for All is conscious and has a will of its own, one that doesn’t always line up with Izuku’s wellbeing.

9. Okay, who let in the Kraken? - Izuku is the reincarnation of an ancient eldritch horror.

10. keep us alive up above - Izuku and Shigaraki get trapped together somewhere.  Izuku knows he needs the villain’s help to survive and escape, but the other would rather they both die.

11. The world will revolve around me neither less - The ebbs and flows of AFO’s influence over the years.

12. More Roulette, Not Russian - Kids get their quirks swapped.

13. Patron Saints - Toshinori teaches a class about pre-quirk superhero comic characters and their influence.

14. Don't Come Back - Touya Todoroki’s first few weeks after a severe injury resulted in his father abandoning him.

15. The Blessed and the Fool - Toshinori meets up with a few of his ua classmates after retiring.

16. Not Your Sacrifice - Some of the other kids have started adopting some of Izuku’s self sacrificing habits and the teachers are concerned.

17. Break in the Storm - Villains use a power outage as an opening to break into ua.

18. One Day Those Consequences Will Finally Catch Up - Even though the teachers don’t take her concerns seriously, Inko saves every piece of evidence regarding people hurting her son.

19. a garden in their eyes - Izuku meets a fan who got injured after trying to step into a villain fight, just like he did, and it makes him question some things.

20. what could have been, if not for you - After Inko divorces him, Hisashi’s goes to the press to say All Might stole his wife and son.

21. Promised Misery - All Might finds out the severity of Bakugou’s bullying, and warns him he’s on thin ice with him.

22. Fly Up Higher, Blossom Brighter - Izuku has to write a paper for middle school about being positive, intercut with all the bullshit he has to deal with.

23. Libre Me from Hell - One of Izuku’s new quirks is spiral related.

24. No One to Blame but Yourself - Izuku’s kindness doesn’t extend to murderers, tragic backstory or not.

25. At Its Finest - Izuku accidentally gets involved in a hero commission coverup.

26. A Rising Issue - Izuku starts developing more severe side effects of his injuries.  He’s convinced he’s under the influence of a quirk, while the adults thing he’s finally gone too far hurting himself.

27. What you are in the Dark - Izuku usually keeps most of his anger to himself until he can’t.

28. nowhere to go - Inko moves into UA after their home was destroyed.

29. Something Without - My theory about the 2 OFA vestiges that are blurred out is they don’t approve of izuku as a successor.  Izuku tries to figure out why. 

30. Walking with a Ghost - Toshinori joins the OFA dreams while he’s in a coma.  He gets to reunite with nana, and is more open to Izuku about his past and feelings.  Part of his starts to wonder if it’s worth waking up, since he will die and join the others eventually.

31. Death By Crying - Izuku is affected by a quirk that will suffocate him if he expresses any emotion.

32. Justice is Subjective - The hero commission gets to Shigaraki before AFO does.  

33. Undo / Underdog - Death loop fic.  Izuku keeps reliving the day he met all might after being killed by the sludge villain.  he has to find a way to break the loop and survive, but he gets s little weaker every time he restarts.

34. Like Wildfire - A rumor that Izuku is All Might’s bio son picks up steam, and the characters have to decide whether to deny it but risk suspicion or play along and add a new layer to the lies protecting one for all.

35. Once Upon A December - All Might and Inko actually met in the past trope.

36. Some Legends Are Told - All Might’s first interview post-retirement.

37. Will The Real Mentor Please Stand Up - Aizawa considers himself the better teacher, but a lot of the kids seem to like All Might more.

38. I don't want the cure, I want the POISON! - Inko is killed in a hit and run, and Izuku becomes desperate to find the killer.

39. I will kill my heart before I dance on stage for these bigots - Izuku is interviewed as a rising star of UA, and the interviewer brings in some of his old bullies because they claimed to be his friends from middle school.  Izuku does not play along.

40. Split Ends - A quirk gives Izuku brief visions of what would have happened if he made different decisions.

41. Dreamless Sleep - A One for All dream leaves Izuku with a cryptic half-warning, and he desperately experiments to try and figure out how to trigger the visions to get the rest of it.

42. toxic flowers and pretty blades - Young Inko escapes the constricting life of her cruel wealthy family by becoming a vigilante.

43. The Suns we Orbit - Some of the other teachers believe Izuku is too codependent on Toshinori, and separate them for a time.

44. Submerged - Similar to those buried alive fics only someone’s in a box at the bottom of the ocean.

45. Deprive - Izuku also loses his stomach to an injury, and struggles to adjust to the necessary lifestyle changes.

46. The ashes fall like snow - Post Kamino cleanup.

47. Home will always be here - Inko cares for Izuku after he’s sent home due to “trouble at work study” but he refuses to clarify what that means.

48. Playing Favorites - A look at several times where Izuku was punished, while Bakugou got off scot free.

49. Elusive Dreams - Some kind of training or issue forces the kids to stay away for several consecutive day, and they start losing it.

50. Fracture - Izuku struggles through physical therapy after a severe injury that leaves his hero career in question.

51. Starlight, Starbright - Space cadet au

52. Someone in Your Corner - Gran Torino looking after Nana, Toshi, and finally Izuku through the years.

53. I cast magic missile into the darkness - Generic “the gang plays d&d” fic.

54. One Month At A Time - Izuku breaks a limb, and has to let in heal naturally over the course of several months.

55. Head Above Water - Izuku runs out of his pain meds and can’t get access to more doses for a while, so he has to endure not only the pain, but the withdrawal symptoms.

56. Are you going to leave a path to trace - All Might uses a new strategy to try and get Izuku to be less self sacrificial: what about all the young kids who are going to look up to him?

57. The View from Halfway Down - Izuku realizes that a risky move has just landed him with a potentially life threatening injury, but the fight it still going.

58. The Dust Bites Back - A villain All Might defeated early in his career is back and out for revenge.

59. The Absence of your Worth - Nighteye thinks he’s put together a rock solid case for why izuku isn’t worthy of One for All.  All Might’s response is to ask if he has something against quirkless people.

60. Behind the Screens Nobody is Afraid - All Might explains some of the context of his most popular hero videos to Izuku.  They are much more tragic than the media has spun them in hindsight.

61. Under the Light of the Moon - Someone gets turned into a werewolf.  And I ain’t talking the wattpad piss shit.  I’m talking full-on back-breaking monstrous transformations into a bloodthirsty abomination set to Bad Moon Rising.

62. some dreams were made to be broken - Bakugou crosses a line and finally gets expelled.

63. You Say You're Into Closure - Izuku finally beats Bakugou in a one on one fight fair and square, but Bakugou is a sore loser.

64. Something or Someone Missing - AU’s memories of Izuku get wiped, but those closest to him can’t help but feel an absence.

65. Too Little Too Late - Izuku’s father returns to find he’s been replaced.

66. Collecting Dust - Inko goes through the stuff Izuku didn’t take to the dorms.

67. Where the souls of wanderers go - Toshi meets up with a retired hero support group.

68. Fragility of Trust - Suspected traitor au

69. no one answered - Izuku is trapped in a cell in a building that’s collapsing in slow motion due to a quirk.

70. Eye of the Storm - One of the other kids has a panic attack for the first time between public appearances.  izuku has never seen from from the outside.

71. To Whom It May Concern - The kids find a mysterious collection of letters from previous students hidden in the ceiling of the classroom.  Some are ominous, some are incomprehensible.  Aizawa has no answers.  They enthusiastically go to try and solve the mystery within, but that excitement quickly diminishes the more they find out.

72. Of Popsicles and Ponytails - All Might gets in a discussion with the other teachers about whether the Clark Kent glasses thing would actually work.  All Might bets them it does, so he goes around town with no disguise other than his hair being up, and no one bats an eye.

73. All Men are Not Born Equal - Word gets out to the public that izuku used to be quirkless.  Everyone finds out just how deep anti-quirkless sentiments run when some begin to question whether a quirkless kid should be at ua, regardless of whether or not he has a quirk now.

74. Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies - Something about encountering death in person for the first time being the dividing line between child and adult.

75. Sins of the Father - All for One has had many children over the centuries, and has made numerous attempts to groom them into the ideal heir with several different methods.  None of them worked though.

76. Where The Dead Come To Rest - The kids come home after a long, grueling mission where they saw some shit, and are too tired to process what they went through.  They take off their gear for plain clothes, then sit in the common room in silence long into the night, not wanting to open themselves up but also not wanting to be alone.

77. Rivalry - Nighteye tries to pit Izuku and Mirio against one another.  It goes right over Mirio’s head, but Izuku becomes convinced the other boy is in on Nighteye’s plan to wear him down until he gives up One for All.

78. A Subtle Language - All Might and Nana never said out loud that they loved each other, but little things told them that they did.  All Might hopes to pass a similar love down to his own successor.  But Izuku is very different than himself as a kid, and he needs to learn a new subtle language of affection.

79. It’s Gone - One for All stops working one day.

80. A Sight For Sore Eyes - All Might looking after Izuku in the aftermath of the second movie.

81. Loose Lips (sink ships) - Bakugou blurts out something about One for All during a rage, so the rest of the class jump on him and Izuku for answers.

82. No Expectations - Word gets out that All Might is going to choose a successor.  None of the theories or speculation online resemble Izuku in the slightest.

83. Eden was Only a Garden - Izuku gets hit with a quirk that erases some of his most traumatic memories, but in doing so loses part of who he is.

84. Run it Down - With all Izuku’s new quirks and his incredible skill, some of the other students with similar powers (Iida, Sero, Uraraka) start to feel like izuku is upstaging them.  And it affects their friendship.

85. Fool's Gold - Bakugou grows even more jealous of Izuku having One for All, and his relationship with All Might.  He thinks that if he could just prove himself to be more worthy, All Might would change his mind and name him his successor.  But in reality, he ends up jeopardizing the relationship they already have.

86. somewhere down the road - The final deadline for Nighteye’s predictions passes, and All Might lives.  He debates telling Izuku, as even though it would be a weight off the boy’s mind, he doesn’t want to jinx it.  He will still die eventually after all.

87. Just For You - All Might has certain rules and boundaries for fan interactions that he completely ignores for Izuku.

88. if these walls could talk (their whispers would be maddening) - Montage of training accidents in a ‘cursed’ ua gym

89. If Only I Could... - Nighteye tells Mirio about One for All, including that he thinks he’s more deserving than Izuku and he plans to pressure him into giving it up.  Mirio struggles with the knowledge that his mentor, someone he respected more than anything, only saw him as a replacement for All Might, meanwhile watching Izuku strain under the pressure of that mentor’s impossible expectations.

90. This is a Test Designed to Provoke an Emotional Response - shameless Blade Runner AU

91. Once and for All - Retelling of the Superman story “What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?” with All Might.  Some new heroes use much more aggressive and violent tactics against villains while also upstaging All Might.  That, and there general approval from the public cause All Might to question his moral code.

92. Sitting In The Rain - Tsuyu likes to just sit out in the rain sometimes.  Not do anything, just sit there.  Some friends decide to join her.

93. At Sundown - Mysterious creatures start attacking ua every night.  The gang works tirelessly during the day to find the cause and a solution, while defending their school and each other at night.

94. The 1000th time's the charm - Uraraka has been practicing a new move in secret but they just can’t get it right.  She wants it to be perfect before showing it off.  But one attempt gets her seriously hurt while training alone at night in one of the gyms, and she’s too hurt to get up to the phone to call for help.

95. Sunflower Seeds - All Might attempts to start a garden as a new hobby.

96. What It Means To Be Human - Sun god Toshi starts living among people.

97. Eyes on Me - All Might teaches Izuku some unarmed fighting moves to defend himself from bullies.

98. one remains - Izuku has developed all but one of the quirks he’s slated to, and he has no idea what it will be.  Anxiety ensues.

99. Come Back Home - Izuku vanishes from campus and everyone assumes he was kidnapped, but in reality he ran away to try and clear his head after a depressive spiral.  He goes by train as far away as he can until he comes to his senses and calls the others.

100. I Won - Izuku accidentally managed to kill Shigaraki during a skirmish, and while everyone around him praises his heroics, he struggles to deal with the fact that he killed someone.

101. Ivory Tower - All Might grapples with how much izuku suffered as a quirkless person, how he could have done more for quirkless rights in his time as a hero, and how now people may not care as much because he’s retired.

Reminder to credit me if you use any of these prompts, and a special thanks to everyone who submitted titles!