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jedi-hawkins · 6 months ago

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Flowers for the Doctor

The Clones all deserve flowers! Or maybe they think you deserve flowers 😉 Either way, love is in bloom this week for the Clone Flowers Fic Event!

Throughout this week, May 20th-25th, certain participants will be posting their own fics of Clones and different flower themes that were selected! The participants as well as the Clones and flowers they will be writing for are listed below and links to each fic will be added as they are posted! 💐 Follow the tag #cloneflowerficevent to see them all as they come!!

Event Masterlist

@arctrooper69 - Tup, Rex, Gregor

@photogirl894 - Hunter, Wrecker, Fives

@nahoney22 - Fox, Tech

@totallyunidentified - 99, Cody

@dragonrider9905 - Hardcase

@l-lend - Wolffe

@moonstrider9904 - Howzer

@eyecandyeoz - Waxer

Make sure to go check out their entries too, we'll be posting throughout the week!

Pairing: Kix x f!reader

Chosen Flower: St. John's Wort

Word count: 3.8k

Rating: PG-13

Warnings/Notes: Medical terminology, pandemic, sickness and death, brief suggestive content, friends to lovers

Beta-read by @anxiouspineapple99

The helmet of your hazmat suit hisses as you release the seal. A deep sigh passes your lips as you step out of your suit and hang it on the rack for decontamination. When you open the door to the decontam stalls, the creak echoes around the tiled room.

'Damn. All this and we can’t even get some WD-40 on the hinges?' You think to yourself before stripping down to your skivvies and stepping under one of the spouts. The doors from the infectious disease ward open again and a friendly face steps in.

“Kix.”

He smiles at you as he strips down to his briefs and steps under a spout. “Long day, Doc?”

You can’t even muster a reply as you close your eyes and hit the red button in front of you. For just a single moment, the rest of the hospital fades away with the roar of the sonic waves washing over you, and then it’s over.

“That good, huh?” Kix notes your response, or lack thereof.

You shake your head, trying to keep it together. “I’ve had better.”

Kix holds the door to the locker room open for you as you step through. “At least you don’t have to wear the clone kit all day.” He says, tossing you a pair of clean blacks from the cabinet. “On the battlefield it’s great, but here I bump around like a pinball. I’m lucky if I can make it through the day without breaking anything.” He jokes, trying to lighten the mood.

The corner of your mouth does twitch a little. “I don’t know.” You respond, “I’ve always thought I looked like a hutt in those hazmat suits, and the gloves are so annoying.”

“Dinner?” Kix simply asks.

“Please.”

He leads the way to the hospital cantina. You met Kix just a couple weeks ago, but the two of you had become fast friends. He was a clone medic, sent to your planet to help in one of the hundreds of makeshift ‘hospitals’ that had popped up in the wake of a pandemic. This particular hospital was housed in an academic campus, shut down because of the spreading illness.

Normally, you were the second in command in the biggest hospital in the planet’s capital, but for the past month your days consisted of random converted buildings, biohazard suits, and patients you felt like you couldn’t do anything for. At the end of the day, you were thankful Kix had been stationed at your hospital.

Though you two were usually preoccupied with your own patients throughout the day, the pair of you could usually be found together on your breaks. It felt like Kix truly saw you and your struggle. Sure, the hospital Medical Director was the top dog, calling the shots, but you were the one in the trenches of the Infectious Disease Ward every day.

This pandemic was an enigma that you just couldn’t figure out. It should have just been the normal yearly wave of Wet Lung, easily managed by some general antibios, but those didn’t work. Then your Medical Director ordered you to move up to more aggressive drugs, so you did. Before you knew it, your patients were on IV drips of the most aggressive antibio cocktail you could think of.

And they still weren’t getting better, in fact, they were getting worse. You’d already lost a number of patients to sepsis, blood poisoning, and the other hospitals across the planet were facing the same issues. As far as you knew, any person that had caught this mysterious strain of Wet Lung were either dead or dying and there was nothing you could do about it.

You nearly bump into Kix when he stops to open the cantina door.

“Coruscant to Doc, are you okay?” He asks, guiding you through the door with a hand on your lower back.

You shake your head, trying to clear it. “Yeah, Kix. Just a long shift, you know?”

He squeezes your shoulder before grabbing a tray and heading to the serving line. Even though the Republic had brought the war to your Planet a few months ago, you had to admit their support was needed for this pandemic. And nobody knows how to feed the masses quite like the GAR.

Kix immediately starts eating when you two sit down, he told you about one of his brothers, Fives: 'If you didn’t eat quickly around him, he’d swipe the rest of your rations.'

You just can’t bring yourself to eat, instead you just chase a few peas around your tray. Of course, Kix notices.

“Jahaal'got.” He says, using your nickname to grab your attention. “Come on. Talk. It wasn’t just a long day.”

You avoid his eyes, the words getting stuck in your throat. You’ve lost patients before, multiple in one day even, so why was today crushing you so badly?

Kix sets down his fork and reaches across the table to gently grasp your chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing you to look at him. “How many did you lose today?”

You take a deep breath, “Twelve, eight more deteriorating. I just… I don’t get it, Kix. What are we missing? The drugs aren’t working, they keep going septic before we can catch it, and those that haven’t progressed to sepsis are dying to the Wet Lung.”

Kix stops your rambling by taking both your hands in his. “You remember what your nickname means, right?”

You should be able to remember, but your mind has been so overworked, it doesn’t come to you. “I, uh… something about medicine?”

“Jahaal’got.” Kix repeats it. “It’s the mando term meaning 'good for health', because that’s what you are. You’re doing everything you can, and that’s all you can do.”

You nod, closing your eyes and rolling your head to try to release the tension in your shoulders.

“You’re off tonight, right?” Kix asks.

“No,” you shake your head. “I picked up the night shift, I have to be here.”

Kix scoffs at you. “Are you serious? What, you’re just going to sleep on the hospital floor forever?”

“Not forever.” You protest. “Just until this blows over.”

“This pandemic or the war?”

You meet his eyes, and a knowing look passes between you. After meeting him, you had discussed sending in an application to become a civilian medic for the GAR.

“Well, we have an hour before the night shift starts.” Kix says, standing up and taking your tray. “Why don’t we go for a walk and then try again at this ‘food’ thing before going back to work?”

Your brow furrows at his remark, “But you-”

“Will also be working the night shift, so it seems.” He cuts you off. He shifts both trays into one hand and holds his other out to help you out of your seat.

Kix leads the way, dropping the trays in the wash basin on the way out of the cantina. Outside, the sun is beginning to set, painting the sky with shades of orange, pinks and purples.

The two of you walk through the academic campus, chatting about nothing in particular. Kix asks you a few questions here and there about the buildings you all pass. Though it’s been a few years, you tell him what you remember about studying here.

“It’s a shame all the students had to be sent home.” You remark as you step into the university greenhouses.

Kix nods his agreement. “What is this place?” He asks, looking around.

“The campus greenhouses, they're shared by a few departments.” You explain. “Biology, horticulture, environmental studies, and engineering to name a few.”

“I’m surprised everything is still alive, don’t plants take some maintenance?”

“Well, the greenhouse forms a pretty self-sustaining environment. I remember the medical students coming in here a couple times.”

Kix tilts his head at you. “What would medical students study in here?”

“Well,” you shrug, “There are quite a few medicinal plants native to this planet. Though they aren’t quite as effective as modern medicine, they can still be used for daily management or as an additional treatment.”

The two of you weave through the greenhouse aisles for a few more minutes before you notice Kix has lagged behind. When you turn around to find him, you notice he’s hiding something behind his back.

Your eyes narrow. “What do you have there, Kix? It’s not a bug, is it? That was only funny the first time.”

He chuckles, “Haha, no. I promise it’s not. Here, one last thing to brighten your day.”

You freeze when you notice what he has in his hand.

Kix notices your expression at the small yellow flowers he’s holding out to you. “What, are they poisonous or something?” He asks hesitantly.

“No,” you shake your head smiling as you take them from him. “It’s just funny, those are St. John’s Worts.”

“Weird name.”

“It’s from local mythology.” You explain. “The flowers tend to bloom on the summer solstice, which is dedicated to their namesake.”

Kix looks from you to the flowers and gently picks a few more sprigs from the nearby planter, tucking them behind your ear. “They’re pretty, like something else I’m looking at.”

His words make you smile, but you playfully swat at his arm. “Oh stop it. I know I look like hell.”

“You look better than anyone else would after nearly a month of non-stop work in an infectious disease ward.” He responds.

“Thanks Kix.” You say, hoping that your sincerity projects. Before you know it, you’re throwing your arms around his neck.

Kix falters, but only for a second. You feel his arms wrap around you, strong and steady, just like him. Just like he has been for you the past few weeks. Maybe it was his clone conditioning, or maybe it was just him, but he seemed so unshakeable and he always knew what to say.

He doesn’t relax until you do, but his hands remain on your hips, his eyes darting across your face, trying to read your thoughts. One of your hands rests on his chest, the other still on his shoulder. You won’t deny how drawn you are to him. Though you hoped for the end of this mystery illness plaguing your planet, it stung that it’s end meant saying goodbye to Kix.

Kix is shifting. ‘He’s leaning in, why is he leaning in?’

You move as well, but the moment is shattered when your foreheads bump into each other.

Kix lets go of you completely and takes a step back, color spreading across his cheeks.

“I uhhh…” He tries to find the words, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Uh, it’s fine.” You stammer. “You’re fi- we’re fine.” A giggle slips past your lips at the awkwardness.

Kix breaks into some nervous laughter as well before readjusting some of the yellow flowers in your hair. “Tell me about them.”

You smile at him. “Well, they’re perennials, meaning they come back every year, they don’t need to be replanted. Although the flowers are yellow, they’ll stain your fingers red when you crush them. They’ve been shown to have some antidepressant properties as well as anti-inflammatory benefits, but you need to be careful when combining them with modern drugs.”

You notice Kix’s soft expression as he listens to you.

“It’s been shown that St. John’s Wort has antibio and antiviral properties as we-'' Your heart stops. “Kix.”

“What?”

“Kix, that’s it,” you repeat. “That’s why we keep losing them. We’ve been treating this Wet Lung with antibios, but those aren’t working because it’s not bacterial.”

Kix’s mouth drops open and he says the words at the same time as you. “It’s viral.”

You can see the thoughts tumbling in his head. “And because we advanced to use the system-wide drugs, the patient’s are too weak to fight the virus, triggering the sepsis.” He stammers out. “But, wait, that can’t be right. How can it be viral? There’s never been a case of viral Wet lung reported on this planet.”

Your feet move automatically as you start pacing. “‘There’s always a patient zero. Normal trade is scanned and sanitized.” You stop. “The troopers.”

Kix’s brow furrows. “No, we're vaccinated.”

“Yes, but vaccines aren’t a foolproof plan, with a mutated strain it might present as a mild cold, or not even show symptoms, especially since you all are engineered to have a more robust immune system.” You say, your brain moving a klick a minute. “Where were you all stationed before being deployed here?”

“Most of the 501st was on shore leave on Coruscant.” Kix replies, shaking his head. “The Carnivore and Execute Battalions… They were on Rhodia and transferred directly here for the occupation.”

His eyes widen and he grabs your wrist without another word.

“Kix? Kix!” You shout as he drags you through the campus back towards the hospital. “Why is it so important that you were on Rhodia?”

“Rhodia is one of the native planets for viral strains of Wet Lung.” He pants. “The Rhodians are largely immune, but some mutated strains survive. You were right, we had a couple troopers reporting colds when they transferred.”

The doors to the Infectious Disease Ward bang open and Kix finally lets go of your wrist, giving you a moment to breathe.

“Like you said, the troopers, we’re engineered to have stronger immune systems and we’re vaccinated.” He continues. “The population here…”

“We never have.” You finish his sentence. “We don’t have any kind of immunity. Combined with your theory that it’s a mutated strain and the antibios we’ve given them, it’s no wonder-”

“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?”

The two of you turn and see the Medical Director storming down the nearby hallway.

Kix steps partially in front of you and stands at attention. “I’m sorry sir, but we-”

“I don’t care what you two were doing!” The Director booms. “You bursting in here is no excuse.”

You slowly step out from behind Kix. “Please, sir. We think we’ve figured out this pandemic.”

“I don’t know who you think you are, but I’m in charge here.” The Director says, his eyes narrowing.

Instead of bowing away as usual, you stand your ground. “I am just as qualified as you, if not more. I'm the one that's been running this ward while you sit in your office. I graduated from this very campus, top of my class and I’m the second in command at the Capital Hospital. This disease we’re dealing with, it has to be viral.”

Your Medical Director looks you up and down, pausing at the yellow flowers in your hair. “There has never been a case of viral Wet Lung reported on this planet. The antibios always work. We just need to find the right combination of meds.”

“Sir, you need to listen.” You insist. “I know we’ve always treated Wet Lung with antibios, but look,” You wave your arm at the ward behind him. “Every single patient that’s come in is either still sick or has progressed to sepsis. The other hospitals are reporting the same.”

Kix puts a comforting hand on your shoulder. “She’s right, sir. Strains of viral Wet Lung are common in other systems. We had a couple battalions transfer here from one of those systems, Rhodia. It’s likely some of our troopers were carriers for a mutated variant and brought it here.”

You pick up where Kix left off. “Even though our population doesn’t have any innate immunity, a fair amount of people probably could have ridden out the virus if we hadn’t given them those antibios.” You bite your lip before continuing. “Those drugs are effective, but in a patient with no bacterial infection, all it would do is compromise their system. They can’t fight the virus, and they progress to sepsis. Only we’re not catching it before it kills them because the Wet Lung is masking the sepsis symptoms.”

You try to stop the words from spilling over your lips but in a last desperate plea for your officer to understand, it slips out.

"We’re killing them."

Kix’s hand squeezes firmly on your shoulder as you let out a choked sob. Your medical officer looks at you curiously, you’ve always been so level headed and sure footed.

The Director crosses his arms. "So you’re telling me to take them off the drugs and do nothing. You do know that’s how we treat viruses, right?"

You lock eyes with him. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. We need to give them supportive treatment; fluids, steroids, pain medication. We can try some antivirals to weaken the Wet Lung strain, but the patients will have to fight it off on their own. All we can do is give them the best chance possible.”

Your director looks you up and down before letting out a little ‘hm.’ He glances behind him to the infectious disease ward and back to you. “I will not take responsibility when this goes wrong. Looks like we’re taking your direction now, Doctor.”

Under your instruction, all of the patients in the ward are removed off the antibio cocktail. Much to your Medical Director's annoyance, the death rate begins to improve. You sent word to the other hospitals caring for pandemic patients and they saw similar results. It’s a slow process, and Kix stays by your side every step of the way. The day you discharged your first survivor, you cried. You both did, actually.

It takes a few more weeks, some patients are touch and go. There were still a few deaths, and Kix held you as you cried for them. Then came the day that you got the news. Your patient numbers had reduced so much your little makeshift hospital was going to be closed, and you were being sent back to the Capital Hospital with a new position, no less. Your remaining patients would be transferred along with you and the University was going to be reopened.

And yet, you weren’t quite happy. Sure you’d basically saved your planet’s population from facing extinction, but you couldn’t revel in it knowing that a certain someone was going to be shipped out.

“The campaign here is over.” Kix had explained. “And with the pandemic contained, there’s no reason for the medics to stay behind.”

The 501st was being sent to Ryloth. You knew there was a crisis brewing there, and you were proud that you knew some of the brave men going to help there, but it still stung. It stung the same as your eyes did as you stand on the landing platform, waiting for someone to come say goodbye.

“There you are.” He says, walking up behind you.

You sniff slightly, trying to keep tears from pricking at your eyes. “Here I am.”

You hear a bit of laughter and you notice a group of clone troopers in blue armor across the landing platform that seem very interested in the two of you.

“Don’t pay attention to them.” Kix says, moving in front of you to block them from view. “Brothers…” He mumbles.

“I get it.” You say, searching his face, what for you’re not quite sure.

Kix reaches for a pouch on his belt. “I- I have something for you.” He says, sheepishly pressing a box into your hands.

Looking down you realize it’s a jewelry box. Gently you open the lid and gasp at the sight of what lays inside. Strung on a delicate chain is a single golden pendant of a flower. The same flower that Kix had tucked into your hair all those weeks ago. The same flower that led to the salvation of your planet.

“Kix… I don’t know what to say.” You stammer.

“Don’t say anything,” he says sweetly. “Just turn around for me.”

He takes the necklace from the box and gently brushes your hair out of the way before clasping the chain around your neck. Turning back around you can only shake your head and smile at him.

“I have something for you too.” You say.

Kix looks at you a little puzzled, he hadn’t seen you holding anything.

“They’re naming the new wing of the hospital after you.” You explain. “It’ll be like you’re always here. No one will forget what you did for us, for me.”

Kix gingerly cups your cheek with one hand. “It was an honor and a privilege.”

He’s leaning in again.

This time your lips connect and the landing platform melts away. There’s nothing but him. Him and you.

Of course your heart has to ruin it as it sinks with the returning thought that he’s literally about to leave and never come back. You break the kiss, but he keeps your foreheads pressed together.

“What is it?” He breathes.

You can’t help but scoff. “You’re leaving and we’re kissing. I doubt the GAR will give you much time for visits.”

“Hey,” Kix says gently holding your chin between his thumb and forefinger. “It’s like you said, I’ll always be here, jahaal'got. I will admit I should’ve kissed you sooner.”

“Hey lovebird! It’s time to go!” One of his brothers shouts.

That manages to get a laugh out of the two of you.

“I think you have to go.” You mutter.

Kix lets you go and takes a step back. “There’s one more thing, but it’s waiting in your office.”

He turns to leave, but you reach out and grab his bracer. “Kix. Thank you. For everything.”

With a smile, he leans in to peck you on the cheek before turning and jogging over to the shuttle where his brothers are waiting.

A grin spreads across your face when you see one with shoulder pauldrons wrap his arm around Kix’s neck to give him a noogie, while another with a top knot of hair claps him on the back.

The sun is setting by the time you get back to your office. The door slides open with a gentle woosh. It’s a nice space, though somewhat empty as you have yet to move most of your stuff over from your old office. On your desk is a vase of small yellow flowers. You find yourself shaking your head again as you walk closer.

Kix… when will he stop absolutely melting your heart?

When you didn't think he could surprise you any more, you realize the flowers in the vase are ceramic. Tucked in between some of the delicate blooms is a notecard. You instantly recognize Kix’s swooping handwriting.

‘I think I need to make an appointment with the Doc, I seem to have been bitten by the love bug. (augh, that was awful, Jesse told me it would be good) I hope you like these, you deserve real ones, but had a local artist make them for you since I won’t be around to make sure real ones never wilt. I’ll see you soon, jahaal'got, on my next shore leave.’

Also Happy Birthday @arctrooper69! (today, May 20th)

#cloneflowerficevent #clone trooper kix #clone medic kix #star wars tcw #tcw #the clone wars #star wars the clone wars #clone wars #sw tcw #tcw kix #kix #501st #501st legion #kix x reader #st. john's wort

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grison-in-space · 5 months ago

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It's never too late. We are beginning to think about how and why we exploit animals, and how it is not morally consistent with our values; several prominent anarchists and communist bloggers on Tumblr have admitted that veganism is ethically and financially superior on every level, though they don't participate in it, which is sad. All it takes is a little extra work. The collapse of capitalism will also bring the collapse of the animal industry, or vice versa. The meat plants subjugate both humans and animals, causing persistent trauma- in fact, it has the highest rate of trauma among every category of labor. If you support abolition, you should support all abolition: children, psych people, and animals. On a site like Tumblr, we have an opportunity to promote the breakdown of all positions of power. We are all equal.

Honey, you have the wrong fucking blog to the extent that I can only assume you are spamming this message to everyone you think might listen. I have gone on the record several times to say:

I am a pragmatic empiricist. I care much less about ideological consistency than I do about observed outcomes. There are traps there, too—sometimes people get too much into the weeds about observing proxies for desired goals—but essentially I do think that careful observation of the world around me is much more valuable than starting with a consistent ideology and assuming that good intentions will yield good outcomes.

I am motivated by animal welfare. For me, part of that involves meeting animals on their own level, using their own species-specific signals to assess stress and comfort, and understanding animals within their own social context. Therefore,

I am opposed to animal rights narratives that encourage people to project their own imagined emotional responses onto animals without assessing the animals' actual signals in context. Additionally,

I believe as a behavioral ecologist that, for good and for ill, humans are essentially animals participating in a broader ecosystem that includes us. I do not think humans are special or exist outside that broader web, and I think that ecological intervention works most effectively when we see ourselves as part of nature rather than as some kind of twisted unnatural personification of original sin. Conflict and death are part of life. You won't make a better world by pretending otherwise.

I am a disabled person ("psych people?!"), and more specifically an autistic and neurodivergent person. I literally spelled out for you last night that I have difficulties eating and that imposing more barriers to that ("a little extra work") is a significant burden for me. Your easy dismissal of this point is, in context, amazingly and blithely ableist. Wow.

"psych people?!" I am happy to critique coercive psychiatry and medicine more generally, but that one's new on me. If you're not brave enough to use the language of mad/crip pride, are you entirely sure you understand the points of the dialogue? Your demonstrated grasp of disability justice is already extremely poor; this ain't helping.

I am not anti-state (i.e. I am not an anarchist; I am a democratic socialist) and I routinely criticize daydreams about burning entire systems to the ground and replacing them with a vague new system. Those criticisms are usually based in historical analysis of attempts to do exactly that, which have typically resulted in a lot of bloodshed, generally from the most vulnerable people in society. They also often yield a new and not necessarily more egalitarian power structure that continues to oppress people, sometimes more aggressively than the institution preceding it.

For the same reason, I am not a communist. I think communism offers too many opportunities for unscrupulous people to seize power, creating more inequality under the banner of equality itself. Again, this position comes from reading the history of communist states from as many perspectives as I can get my mitts on.

I frequently critique assumptions that capitalism is the only root of social problems. This does not mean that I am pro-capitalism. It means that I think you have to think deeply about problems, especially when it makes you uncomfortable, to understand how to solve them. Many problems that capitalism exacerbates are actually rooted in problems about impulse control (as with Ideas Jerry the other day), basic human social dynamics, emotional regulation, complex traumas, and many other things. You must understand how these problems arise before you can construct a structure that guards against them effectively.

Fundamentally, I think you are probably optimistically spamming this message to anyone that you think will listen. I invite you to consider how effective that is as a tactic to advance your politics: when you pick the wrong person, at best you leave the impression that people serving your ideology are essentially self centered and bad at listening. At worst, you wind up pissing people off enough to sit down and lay out exactly how many points they disagree with you on. Coalitions of solidarity are based on listening carefully to one another and finding the places we agree on; shit like that is antithetical to building them because it sends a very effective signal that you are either very, very bad at listening or uninterested in doing so.

Either way, get out of my house.

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washedoutwings · 5 months ago

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welcome

// pt: welcome //

time zone: eastern standard time/eastern daylight time

requests/offerings: closed

hyperfixations (in no particular order): cccc

special interests (in no order): etymology, entomology, ornithology, fall out boy (band), history, ceramics, painting, theater, fashion history, sewing, fiber arts, will wood

askbox: open

dms: open

venting dms: open

ask game(s): 1, 2, 3, 4

active poll(s):

hey there!! please call me rook :) i use all pronouns (including neos), especially they/them and it/its. i am the host of our plural collective/system, and am normally at the front.

queer identity:

// pt: queer identity: //

im genderqueer and genderfluid! im also greyromantic, finromantic, asexual, and omniromantic

everyone in our collective is queer!! feel free to ask for specifics if you’d like

mental illnesses/disorders:

// pt: mental illnesses/disorders: //

we have autism, adhd, severe generalized anxiety disorder, moderate to severe depression, mild arfid, moderate chronic pain (unknown origin), insomnia, and some other weird brain stuff.

we are plural!! here are our headmate introductions

current headmate sideblogs:

@flesh-of-the-prophet

we also age regress and pet regress

religion/practice:

// religion/practice: //

i am a pagan witch. i work very closely with Loki. this will infrequently be brought up on this blog

alterhumanity:

// pt: alterhumanity: //

i am a therian, otherkin, and otherhearted. this is the main purpose of this blog, and will be discussed very frequently. check out my theriotypes and kintypes here! i do not currently participate in quads, or use gear. i do plan on making some of my own gear, but this may or may not happen.

we use the alterhuman terms to describe the experience of having animal/creature headmates

hobbies:

// pt: hobbies: //

i write a lot. this includes poetry, creative writing, and some nonfiction. i am an artist, and work in mediums including but not limited to digital art, watercolor, acrylic, ink, and ceramics. i also embroider and crochet. these hobbies will sometimes be discussed on this blog

byi:

// pt: byi: //

please be sure to read the previous mental illnesses/disorders section. be respectful of those :) tone tags are not required, but appreciated. we may have problems conveying tone, but we do not always use tone tags. if you’d like clarification, please let us know. we do not want to be involved in queer, alterhuman, or system/plural discourse. no dni, but we will block liberally and without explanation. we are very forgetful

trigger tagging:

// pt: trigger tagging: //

i have no triggers that i need tagged. this may change.

we will tag most common triggers

mutuals, please let me know if there are any other triggers that you would like tagged

tagging system:

// pt: tagging system: //

i will try to stay as consistent with this tagging system as possible, but there’s no guarantee

#offerings from rook = offerings from my divinekin offering requests

#@— offerings = offerings for a specific user. hyphens are replaced with username

#anon offerings = offerings for anonymous asks

#rook’s ramblings = my general thoughts. me talking

#who got washed out = who i am. my identity. personal development

#rerook = things i’ve reblogged

credits:

// pt: credits: //

dividers: @saradika-graphics, @enchanthings

userboxes: @boxes-for-systems, others are included in the userboxes :) THERES MORE BUT I CANT FIND THEM RN GIMME A MINUTE <33

#therianthropy #otherkin #therian #intro post #introduction #pinned intro #pinned post

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am-i-the-asshole-official · 1 year ago

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aita for telling someone they're a horrible person and making them relapse?

trigger warning: self-harm, suicide(?)

so im, like many teenagers online, an avid participant of fandom spaces and my current favorite is genshin impact. if you've ever interacted with the genshin fandom you may guess where this is going but i happened to find myself liking a ship that is the big nono ship in this fandom (aka the incest ship, kaeluc) but since i mostly stick to my space and don't really interact with anyone that doesn't already have content of this ship on their account id never gotten into any hot water over it.. until recently.

this person, ill call them rick, suddenly liked a bunch of my (non-ship related) posts. normal interaction, i didn't think anything of if and moved on. (i didn't even notice at the time, but they unliked all of the posts before what happened next, i assume as they realized i was a proshipper and didn't want to associate with me.) next thing i know, the same user is in my askbox, sending me the most vile, hate filled messages i have ever seen.

ok... no biggie. i delete the asks, block them and move on with my life. but it doesn't stop. i had never in my whole life received hate online, but now for the first time ever, i had a dedicated hater, sending me anonymous asks at all times of the day. death threats, dox threats, telling me to kill myself, calling me a degenerate and all that, all with the same consistent writing style. now, one could say that maybe this wasn't rick, and maybe not even all the same person but i really feel like this is the only reasonable explanation considering i have like 6 followers and my most famous post has 3 notes. i don't think im important enough to have that many haters.

so, i did the only thing i could think to do: turned off anon asks. then the asks started coming from random throwaway accounts. ok...turned off asks. then it was dms. turned those off too. THE FUCKING COMMENT SECTIONS OF MY POSTS.

dedication isn't enough to describe this. at this point it's actually becoming distressing to me and im considering closing my whole account cause i just wanna get away from all this. im 16, i don't have the mental capacity to spend all day policing my social media because someone wants me to die for liking fictional incest.

so i very reluctantly unblock rick and send them a dm. i very gently ask if they are the person who has been sending me asks/dms/etc and if they are, if they could please stop because it's become genuinely distressing to me and i just want to be silly on a website. they block me.

alright, im now out of options. everything on my profile is blocked at this point and i don't even want to post anything else so i just kind of leave the account behind for a while. when i come back, i discover that someone HACKED into the account and defaced the whole thing (changed pfp, deleted posts etc etc) so now im genuinely bummed. i go to rick's profile and guess who has been unblocked? i ask them if they can please answer my question. they don't answer but instead tell me i deserve everything ive gotten and i should choke for all they care.

i tell them they're a terrible person and go absolutely off the rails like the dumb, upset teenager i am. i didn't say anything particularly horrible (mostly i just tell them about how awful they've made me feel over fictional shit that really doesn't matter and how i just wanted peace) but i definetely wouldn't like to receive a message like that. and rick didn't either, because they blocked me.

well, since im sure you're wondering where this comes in, here's where i kind of feel like an asshole:

i continued to stalk rick's account on a different blog (because i was bitter. ok?) and they've been posting about how they relapsed into self harm because of a message they received from a stranger and how they've been crying non-stop and this is the worst relapse they've had in years and etc etc and i just got this pit in my stomach. this person's bio says they're 15! i don't want to ever be the reason a fifteen year old is hurting themselves! i've been feeling like a piece of shit ever since (esp since i also deal with sh) and i just feel like the worse person ever. i honestly don't know if i was just acting like anyone else and this was an unfortunate consequence or if i need to go pray for god to forgive my sins or something.

aita?

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole #suicide cw #self harm cw #ship discourse

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lurkingshan · 5 days ago

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Love in the Big City Drama: Episodes 5-6 Book Club Discussion

How we feeling, book clubbers? Devastated? Frustrated? Depressed? Managing warring urges to shake and hug Yeong with all your might? Yeah, me too. On to this week's discussion of PAIN.

As a reminder, these are the questions we originally discussed for Part 3 of the novel, and this is the meta round up, where you can see all the brilliant things you initially wrote about it. Here are your official discussion questions for episodes 5 and 6 of Love in the Big City, courtesy of @bengiyo:

The consistent presence of the T-aras has reshaped their entire role in this story. How does their ongoing relationship with Yeong change their role in this section?

In Part 3, Young reveals that he's been carrying his illness since he was discharged from the military. How does that information impact your understanding of prior events?

His relationship with Gyu-ho is the most successful we've seen Yeong have thus far—before he ended it. What does Yeong's "dull" relationship with Gyu-ho reveal about him?

How do you feel about the way Yeong’s illness presents a genuine stigma and barrier in his personal and professional life?

As always, you are welcome to use any or all of these as a jumping off point for your own posts, ignore them and post your own thing, or just participate by sharing and commenting on other people's posts. Please create new posts with the questions if you want to use them rather than adding on responses to this post--it will be easier to capture everyone's content if it's all in separate posts in the tag. I will be tracking everything posted in the [#litbc book club] tag and posting the weekly round up--look for that to go up next Monday ahead of the next set of discussion questions. Feel free to also directly tag me to make sure I don't miss your posts!

@becomingabeing @belladonna-and-the-sweetpeas @blalltheway @elimstillnotgarak

@colourme-feral @doyou000me @dramacraycray @fiction-is-queer @avorbl

@hyeoni-comb @littleragondin @literally-a-five-headed-dragon @loveable-sea-lemon @my-rose-tinted-glasses

@neuroticbookworm @poetry-protest-pornography @profiterole-reads @serfergs @starryalpacasstuff

@stuffnonsenseandotherthings @thewayofsubtext @troubled-mind @twig-tea @wen-kexing-apologist

@impala124 @shinjiikar1 @h4ppyfr066y @moutheyes @waitmyturtles

#love in the big city #litbc book club #korean bl #kdrama

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electricdissonance · 2 months ago

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50 Follower Electric Dissonance Q&A!

thanks to all who sent in asks!! grab some popcorn and i hope you enjoy!! :]

I'm not sure! There are definitely a handful of major plot points I have planned for you all to work through that will take many months to get through (especially given my work schedule oof). After which, I'd consider the AU technically concluded. I'd love to go beyond just the main stuff, but I don't really have plans for something like an after story yet ^^;

I think the existence of after story fully depends on the kind of relationships with characters and new plot/conflict potential YOU all build using your characters!

idk im a huge fucking furry LMAO

really though, in the earliest Sonny concepts I visualized him in the digital world as this horrifying mess of vengeful teeth and claws. It was the most appealing way to manifest the monstrosity of his character, and at first I tried to create some vague beast-shaped creature and when it ended up looking like a bear, I just rolled with it!!

(he's also a big hairy dudeso like there's that too HAHSDJ)

As for your second question.........

The year is 1997, a year derived from the game's lore which states that Sonny passes away months prior to KinitoPET's scheduled release by the end of 1999. I just subtracted two years since this is an AU that takes place early in KinitoPET's development :>

I'm glad you've been enjoying it!!! <3

IT'S VERY FUN!!! Growing up I loved reading and participating in ask blogs; I never thought in a million years I'd be behind one :) one of the most rewarding aspects has got to be watching you all interact and play with the story and characters <3

I do wish I could move this chunk of my life to an earlier time though because having next to 0 time or energy to consistently update sux :')

Certainly! :3

Kinito - He's still pretty hurt by what Firecracker had said... He's too nice/timid to treat them harshly or anything like that, but he's certainly going to be fairly guarded unless they come forward and apologize.

Sam - It's pretty hard to get under his skin; he's a pretty empathetic guy, so he understands why Firecracker is the way they are (the whole situation sounds insane). So, he has no particular favor or ill will towards them.

Sonny -

im a huge fucking furry

#voyager.moderator

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wesleysniperking · 6 months ago

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Water 7 Thoughts

I truly think that Zoro's words wouldn't have kept up as much morale as they did if Usopp hadn't apologized and come back. If all, Usopp's apology validated Zoro's words, given I'm not sure what it would've looked like (how valid his words would have been) if Usopp hadn't come back.

The problem with the crew seemingly willing to leave Usopp looks wrong on so many levels that it bothers me. But thinking of the potential fallout afterward (if Usopp were left behind), in that regard, clears up some things for me. I wholeheartedly believe that Luffy was willing to compromise with the team on that level simply because he truly believed that Usopp was going to apologize one way or another. After all, there was a reason why Luffy chose Usopp. Without Usopp returning, I'm not sure if the team would've been strong enough to continue onward.

I can get past Zoro's need for that apology when I look at it from a couple different perspectives. But sometimes I feel as though the fandom tends to warp some of Zoro's ideals because it gives others (admittedly myself) leeway to antagonize him to a certain level. People always praise him for his loyalty to Luffy, yet, if he's commonly considered a first mate or vice-captain (which IS disputable), that doesn't necessarily (to me) bring morale to the overall collective of the Straw Hats either, if Zoro does everything in Luffy's best interest, with the false pretense of wanting to keep the crew together…how can a group stay together if Leader 1 trusts the crew/group but Leader 2 doesn't? It leads to a bit of resentment on the rest of the crew members' end. Sure this ideology barely works in the armed forces (I need to gain some insight from my army veteran mother to see if this better checks. Edit: she said that knowing how to find a balance is what works. But overall, you have to look at the collective. There are bad leaders in the army because of what I mentioned), but the Straw Hats aren't a typical pirate crew and are Nakama. So...that's why I'm not so up on the take of agreeing with Zoro's words when it doesn't look like power dynamics on the crew are acknowledged as drastically as they are in the Water 7 arc; which leaves inconsistencies with the overall narrative. Also, one must consider the age of the crew members.

My feelings toward the end of the post-Enies Lobby arc consist of disappointment, frustration, and being ill of ease. I would have accepted Zoro's decree if it hadn't meant leaving Usopp behind. Sure, it would take a while for the crew to trust Usopp again, but he did participate in the rescue mission and despite what Sanji heard, Usopp would have eventually let his own guilt eat at him and he would've inevitably apologized, especially if he were to have gotten on the Thousand Sunny without the apology, he would've eventually given them one. Usopp should've been given that benefit of the doubt since Luffy had already forgiven him.

Usopp was a friend too, who had his flaws. Why forget that? Yes, maybe the situations are slightly different, but to see how happy the crew were to get Robin back, and just let Franky on board because of his showcase at Enies Lobby and his engineering prowess, why wasn't Usopp given that grace? We can only go on theory, and come up with this hypothetical convo that happened after the whole saga, but all of it just looked wrong.

Usopp deserved a second chance, regardless.

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scorchieart · 2 years ago

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Happy, Wholesome Yves Headcanons

Because my week was full of baking sweets and pretty pink flowers, you all deserve some wholesome Evie vibes as well 🌸🌸🌸

Ask any prince to rank his favorite brothers and Yves will consistently appear in the top 3.

Tell Yves this and he’ll turn pinker than his freshly-baked peach berry pie.

Yves started a personal vegetable garden in the palace when he was first learning to cook so that he could have extra ingredients in case his recipes flop. They rarely flop. So he distributes most of his crop among families in his territory.

The palace cats patrol the garden and scare off thieving vermin.

Once, Licht couldn’t attend Yves’s tea party because of a conflict with his training schedule, so Nokto stepped in pretending to be him. Yves immediately figured out the switch, but didn’t mention anything.

Whenever any of the princes falls ill, Yves makes his specialty chicken soup and personally delivers it. His faction members have his nagging “I’m not leaving until you finish the entire bowl!” speech memorized, but Yves typically leaves the tray with a get-well letter and a knock at Chevalier and Clavis’s doors.

Whenever Yves falls ill, Sariel and Licht take turns standing guard at his door to make sure no undesirable pranksters decide to strike.

There are never any incidents. But the others pitch in to make or purchase Yves’s favorite sweets and stop by to check on him.

When Luke first arrived at the palace, Yves hoped to impress him with homemade honey treats. It only took two days to win him over completely. Two more days and the town was entirely out of honey.

Even though he isn’t a fan of the cold, Yves never misses the first snowfall of the season. He curls up by the window with a thick blanket, a large pot of tea, and a warm crumble cake and watches children pulling their parents into the streets to play in the fresh snow.

Growing up, Yves used to give apprentice and trainee cooks and tailors advice discretely from behind curtains and columns. Nowadays, artists and specialists travel from across the continent to seek guidance and approval at the hand of the fifth prince.

Requests from these visitors became so numerous that Yves fell behind on his official duties. To control demand, the first of May was designated a national festival for anyone to display their talents, from cooking and fashion to art and music, and Yves would spend the day meeting with each participant and giving reviews and feedback.

Tagging:@atelieredux @queengiuliettafirstlady @violettduchess @venulus @thewitchofbooks @leonscape @rhodolitesrose @venti-tangents @dear-sciaphilia @ikesenwritings @myonlyjknight @ladyofcrowsx @otomefoxystar

If you would like to be added or removed from my tag list, please send me an ask or a message.

#ikemen series #ikemen prince #ikepri #yves kloss #ikepri yves #ikemen headcanons #ikepri headcanons #scorchie writes

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beardedmrbean · 2 years ago

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The stance by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on face masks has taken many twists and turns throughout the COVID pandemic.

After initially claiming face coverings weren’t necessary, the CDC changed course in April 2020, calling on all Americans — even children as young as 2 years old — to mask up.

That September, then-CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said during a Senate hearing that “face masks are the most important powerful health tool we have,” even suggesting that they might offer more protection than vaccines.

Those recommendations likely played a large part in 39 U.S. states eventually enacting mask mandates.

Now, a new scientific review — led by 12 researchers from esteemed universities around the world — suggests that widespread masking may have done little to nothing to curb the transmission of COVID-19.

Published by Cochrane Library, the review dug into the findings of 78 randomized controlled trials to determine whether “physical interventions” — including face masks and hand-washing — lessened the spread of respiratory viruses.

When comparing the use of medical/surgical masks to wearing no masks, the review found that “wearing a mask may make little to no difference in how many people caught a flu-like illness/COVID-like illness (nine studies; 276,917 people); and probably makes little or no difference in how many people have flu/COVID confirmed by a laboratory test (six studies; 13,919 people).”

Next, the review compared medical/surgical masks to N95 respirators (or P2 respirators, which are used in Europe).

It found that “wearing N95/P2 respirators probably makes little to no difference in how many people have confirmed flu (five studies; 8407 people); and may make little to no difference in how many people catch a flu-like illness (five studies; 8407 people), or respiratory illness (three studies; 7799 people).”

The 78 studies looked at participants from countries of all income levels.

Data was gathered during the H1N1 flu pandemic in 2009, non-epidemic flu seasons, epidemic flu seasons up to 2016 and the COVID-19 pandemic, the study authors wrote.

Doctor says review had some key limitations

The new findings seem to call into question the CDC’s enthusiastic embrace of widespread masking.

However, Dr. Marc Siegel, professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, pointed out a key limitation: “The researchers focus primarily on randomized trials, but most of the studies that have been done on masks are population studies,” he said.

“There are very few randomized trials on masks.”

In a randomized trial, researchers place participants in different groups and observe the results in a controlled environment.

By contrast, population-based studies measure outcomes in a “real-world” setting.

The study authors did admit to some limitations and a risk of bias, including the low number of people who followed mask guidance and the wide variation of outcomes.

“The results might change when further evidence becomes available,” they wrote.

‘Be sure of consistency’

Dr. Siegel said he has never supported mask mandates.

He believes that while masks might be effective on an individual level, they don’t work as well on a population level.

“If you’re going to mandate something, you’d have to be sure of consistency across the population, and that’s never happened,” he said.

However, the physician pointed out that the CDC never actually mandated masks — with the exception of a public transportation mandate in January 2021.

“It was the state and local authorities that took the CDC’s recommendations and implemented the mandates,” Dr. Siegel said.

“The recommendations may have been wrong, but the CDC doesn’t deserve the blame for everything. I think they were aware that masks may have value on a personal basis, but they got carried away with the politics.”

What do you think? Post a comment.

As of right now, no U.S. states have mask mandates in place.

On Sunday, New York dropped its state-wide mask requirement in hospitals — leaving the decision up to individual facilities. Many healthcare facilities are currently still requiring them.

#nunyas news #angry reeeeee time

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risetherivermoon · 8 months ago

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“A baby is a lot of responsibility,” Grant says, looking from his book and adjusting his glasses. “I just…want to be sure it's something you can handle.” He gives Linc a half smile. Lincoln doesn't return it, frowning.

“Dad. I’m 28 next month, though I guess technically like 160- but that's beside the point, we can handle this. I don't need you projecting your own anxieties onto me. We’ve thought about this for two years, really thought about it.” Lincoln expresses. “I want to have a family.” He looks over to Taylor who’s smiling at him. Linc grabs his hand, giving it a squeeze, mostly for his own comfort than Taylor’s.

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woo! heres the first chapter of a small fic for the final and 7th day of swiftli week 2024: Out of Time / Dancing / Future AU

when id intially decided to write for this event i saw that the last day had future au on it so i was like!! omg!! and decided to start smth about swiftli adopting a kid together when they're adults, and what started as a oneshot became a full length fic idea soooo ill be updating this as consistently as i can!

i just love found family type stuff as well as foster parent type aus, so i decided to add it all into the mix! wee!

i loved swiftli week and making all these diff projects for it! i love swiftli so im glad i was able to make a bunch of stuff for this ship, and i definitely think i want to participate in more fandom events because i loved writing and drawing for it as well as reading and seeing other people's interpretations of these prompts, so thank u to the creators for making smth so fun as well as all the other ppl in this fandom who decided to participate! loved this sm!!!

#dont mean to get all sappy at the end there i just like to be sweet occasionally #still i loved everything about this event especially the ship so yay!!#dndads #dndads s2 #dndads swiftli week 2024 #dndaddies #dungeons and daddies #dungeons & daddies #my writing #swiftli #lincoln li wilson #linc li wilson #link li wilson #taylor swift dndads #dndads taylor swift #dndads fanfic #dndads fanfiction #dndads fic #🍁

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eraserisms · 2 months ago

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Shota + Harmful Coping Mechanisms

While Shota does have a lot of coping strategies that are considered to be seen as normal and healthy, there is always the other side of the coin. He has a lot of bad ones as well. Shota doesn't depend on all of these strategies into his late twenties and into his thirties, but a reoccurring theme that you will find on this blog is that progress isn't always linear. Just because people occasionally slip back into bad habits, doesn't mean that they aren't getting better or not learning from their experiences. In fact, I believe that stumbling is a big part of making any sort of progress. Having the ability to shake it off and get back on the horse is crucial to self growth and it's best to learn how to do it early. In some cases, I find that those who don't make mistakes along the way tend to fall and they fall hard when they do have some sort of relapse. A majority of Shota's negative coping strategies were born out of Shota's survivor's guilt surrounding Shirakumo's death & other mental illnesses. His strategies are primarily of a self-destructive nature & primarily consist of avoidance techniques.

Over-exercising:

We see in Vigilantes that after Oboro's death that Shota throws himself into training and focusing on improving his skills & technique. While exercise can be something healthy and a good way to spend pent up energy, that isn't how Shota utilizes it. While in school, more often than not Shota would train until he dropped or even push himself to the point of throwing up. This was done for two reasons; he wanted to make sure he didn't suffer the same fate as Oboro & If Shota was too fatigued, he couldn't spend his time ruminating about what he went through. This also falls under the category of risky behaviors. There has been more than one occasion that Shota has injured himself by overdoing it. Shota will do this on occasion as a means to try to improve or become stronger, but he has a much healthier mentality around it as he gets older. I also wanted to mention that exercise is a double-edged sword for Shota as I wrote here [1].

Over-working:

This is a strategy that Shota still uses to current day. It is something that goes hand-in-hand with the over exercising. Shota might not have as many jobs as Hizashi but Shota works as a hero and as a teacher. I also have mentioned that Shota does spend a lot of his time helping people around his neighborhood as well [2]. If Shota has worked himself to exhaustion, he is unable to think about things that are bothering him.

Promiscuity

The reason why I added sex to one of his negative strategies is partially due to Shota being demisexual and having a strong preference for men. This is where the self-destruction comes into play again. Although Shota doesn't know what demisexuality is [3], at the very least Aizawa knows he rather sleep with someone while being in a meaningful relationship vs. having a one night stand. Does Shota feel good in the moment? Sure. Does he feel like shit immediately after? Nearly every time. He knows that it won't make him feel better, but it serves as a great distraction. It is important to know that his promiscuity falls not only the umbrella of avoidance strategies, but also falls under the category of risky behaviors. Not all of his interactions could have been considered exactly safe or sane, and sometimes Shota could find himself in the beds of some seedy individuals. A lot of encounters he had were unprotected. If his partner was okay with forgoing a condom, Shota was too. There also was a reason why I mentioned Shota's preference for men. He did have a lot of one night stands during during this period of his life and at the time, Shota didn't care what the gender/sex of his one night stand was. In general, it was easier for Shota to find a female participant over a man and Shota was willing to sleep with whoever was willing. This is also why I am open to roleplaying with people who have OCs that are supposed to be a child that Shota doesn't know about[4]. It is very possible that Shota does have a child that he is unaware of. This isn't something that he really does much at all as an older adult. He may have a one night stand when he has an itch to scratch, but it isn't something that he abuses. He is a lot more selective about who he does hook up with and with his hero career and being a teacher, it's difficult to find the time even if he wanted to.

Substance Abuse

Alcohol is something that Shota depended on regularly as an older teenager and into his early twenties. If Shota didn't have any obligations the next day, he would spend his nights drinking. Sometimes, heavy drinking is how how Shota found his way into a stranger's bed. He was rather dependent on it for a while but eventually decided to get sober. Alcohol is something that he sometimes uses as a crutch when he is having a really bad time, but he doesn't get black out drunk like he has in the past. He can imbibe in moderation and is content with drinking socially. Marijuana is rather difficult to find in Japan due to the country's strict drug polices. But that doesn't mean that it's impossible to find either. With Shota being an underground hero, it was something that was easy for him to obtain. Shota has dealt with a lot of illegal drug trafficking with his undercover work. From time to time Shota would have to partake as a means to keep himself safe and undercover. Whenever Shota could avoid using drugs with criminals, he would. But being off the clock was a different story. If Shota was alone and holed up in his apartment, he would smoke here and there to help ease his mind. Shota snuffed out this habit completely before he decided to take his position at UA and this isn't something he does present day. Cigarettes are bad, everyone knows that. As a pre-teen, Shota was against smoking and that had partly to do with his father's own addiction. Shota could never understand why Aizawa Sr. was a smoker in light of the fact that he was a nurse [5]. After Oboro's death, Shota ended up picking up the habit and finally had come to an understanding as to why his father is a smoker. It has been something that Shota has been unable to put down and has become something that they bond over now. If Shota is at home and his dad is on the porch smoking, Shota usually follows after.

Positive Coping Strategies:

Part I Part II

#headcanons: unfold your own myth #tw drugs #tw alcohol #cw alcohol #there are some low key dad jokes in here/plays on words and im not sorry for it #long post #this is a long post to say that Shota is a sad bitch

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grison-in-space · 5 months ago

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Hey! Not trying to keep an annoying conversation going but I wanted to say I super appreciate your rebuttal on the ARA stuff, it was a really good clear summary. Particularly glad you brought up the "nothing with us without us" thing because that tendency in ARA circles to treat animal liberation as the Same Thing as liberating marginalised humans, who can speak for them-fucking-selves, is so upsetting and overtly dehumanising and it's really valuable to see that pointed out. It's also so connected to the move towards tankie or fascist rhetoric, because it so strongly relies on a paternalistic view of exploited people as passive recievers of harm and charity. Anyway sorry I'm a bit ill and rambly but I really appreciated the clarity of your takes is what I wanted to say.

No worries, the boundary I wanted to set was more "I'm not interested in repeating that I know full well what ARA ideology is and how that hooks into veganism, and I'm not a captive audience." I'm happy to have conversations, including with people I disagree with; I am not happy to have to repeatedly explain the same thing that has, again, been my consistent experience for nigh on twenty years of interacting with the community. This is not that, so. Thank you for the compliment.

The paternalism is such a huge factor. It reminds me very much of benevolent sexism (as opposed to hostile sexism), and rings all the same alarm bells. It really, really, really reminds me of the way Autism Speaks talks about autistic children and always has.

If animals don't have language (and they largely don't) and if they communicate in ways that might be non-intuituve to a human (and they often do), surely it's incumbent on us as humans to decode the meaning of the signals they are sending in order to understand how to ethically interact with one another. Communication, after all, can happen perfectly well in the absence of language. And yet.

There's also just so little understanding and interest in the reality of what the consequences of "freedom" for animals living in captivity actually are and can be; consider for example Flaco the eagle owl who escaped into NYC, as @why-animals-do-the-thing covered last year. For a species that is notoriously reliant on our social structures and learned skill sets to survive, you'd think we could handle this better. But I see an awful lot of animal rights activists who seem to think that successfully releasing animals into the wild—freeing them from human control—is just a matter of one heartwarming video where the animal steps out of the cage and immediately locks its new job as an independent forager into place. It isn't.

I am also just straight up not convinced that freedom in the sense of being on your own and able to do whatever you want is all that great. I have spent my entire life boldly going where no one has gone before. It kind of sucks, actually. On the other hand, as a neurodivergent person personally I do a lot of structuring my choices with an eye to Past Me pissing off Current Me because I know Future Me will appreciate it. I can devise my own structures to let me successfully do that ... or I can just outsource the enforcing to a third party with opinions, which is something I sometimes need to do badly enough to purchase and train an entire stupid dog about it, because asking other humans to do it is relationally expensive. Sometimes having external structures that keep me from doing dumb things when the impulses get me is good actually.

And I mean, I'm a biologist. I went a little viral here a few years ago for being silly and describing what acacia trees do to try to fight off their greatest enemy: the mighty but terrifying giraffe. I know how plants engage their agency as dramatically and persistently as any animal; they're just sessile, so they do everything without the ability to get up and go. They are, however, no less active or opinionated a participant in the ecological chaos of the world than any other kingdom. To say nothing of fungi! To live is, unless you have chloroplasts, to consume. And even an awful lot of chloroplast-bearing species engage in a little heterotrophy now and again.

So like. Why should I think that eating plants is necessarily any more ethical than eating animals? Why does ARA-driven veganism think that increasingly processed and modified diets that camouflage and hide our connection to our food as part of the natural world that, yes, we also live in? Why do we hide from the complexity and the small grief of life, the shadow of death that has to come for there to be any room to change? One day, I too will die, and something will consume me unless I choose instead to be consumed by fire itself. That's carbon, baby!

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