#she’s just there because I’m trying to get her animal specific item

[wallflowerglitter]

This skating rink takes up so much space but I can’t bring myself to put it away because it’s so much more fun than the other ones.

[eirzera-blog]

Mk the Chaos King (AU/Theory)

To start this off, I need to give some context. Season four spoilers are advised. 

First off the Scrolls. The Scrolls also known as the book of death, are items used to punish criminals and well sinners. It’s a device that meant to make people reflect on their past mistakes. The ones who protect and use these scrolls are the Ten Kings. 

Each King has a different role to play. The theory is that Mk was one of them. Specifically the fifth. The fifth King is known as the son of heaven, and is the most powerful of all of the kings (from what I researched) his rank is so high is basically that next to an emperor. And I know that seems a bit extreme considering it’s Mk we are talking about. But after season four you can’t tell me this boy isn’t that powerful! 

Especially when Mk legitimately slapped Azure with is tail and caused Azure Lion (This guy who is the size and the power of the jade emperor himself) to go flying. 

(Not to mention Mk’s Chinese name Qi Xiaotain means little heaven.) 

So it’s safe to assume there is something more to Mk then just Monkey Kings Successor. 

Furthermore Mk’s flash back. I’m his flashback of very short cut memories. You can see a goddess who I am guess is the creator goddess Nuwa because she creates beings out of clay and she is holding a clay statue of Monkey Mk. 

Mk isn’t the only statue we see. There are nine others. Each a different animal: Bear, Bird, Mouse or Rat, Rabbit, Ox/Bull, Horse, Pig, Turtle, and Goat. As well as another monkey statue (but I will get into that later) 

Each that can represent a different king. Especially the Bull/Ox and Horse considering in Chinese mythology there are two underworlders who are call Oxhead and horseface.  

Now the interesting part. Mk’s title Harbinger of Chaos. This fits with him being one of the ten kings. First it’s the scroll itself. Due to Mk having no memories or no name of who he once was the only thing the scroll has anything to go off of is what he was entirely, a being of chaos. Which is exactly what the kings are. The kings are designed one person, cause chaos. They were meant to torture and plunder criminals. That’s their job, as they are originally titled the ten kings of hell. 

And Mk fits the Fifth Kings role perfectly. The fifth kings duty is to past judgement. The king gives the criminals to reflect on what they have done and then proceeds to give them karma. 

Mk has technically already done this. First the Demon Bull king. DBK was originally put under the mountain as punishment for basically becoming a tyrant ruler. When he is freed he tries to go right back to that, not learning his lesson. Mk gives him karma by remaking the exact same punishment as before as a way to basically make DBK reflect and realize that nothing has changed. Which takes two seasons for him to figure out but it still works. 

Second Spider Queen. Mk doesn’t really say anything to her speech like. However his entire presence seemed to make her reflect on her actions. And then theres the dialogue he had for Macaque. 

“I was meant to rule. I was, I would've been a good queen.”

“Well, I mean, that's definitely not true. You were in charge for like, a day, and it was, ah, it was so bad.” 

Season 2, 72 Transformations 

“Then be a warrior.” 

Season 3, Destiny Fulfilled 

Then there’s the Lady Bone Demon. Obviously there’s the magic of friendship speech he gives while also destroying her with his giant staff. But I more want to focus on their last conversation. Because I believe this wasn’t her trying to mess with him. It’s her confessing on what she did wrong. 

“So it would seem. Know this monkey, you and I are not so different. We both fight for what we think is right, that pursuit only leads to one thing.”

“, to destiny right?”

“No. To pain.” 

Season 3, Destiny Fulfilled 

This is LBD’s reflecting and confessing her sins. She believed just like Azure that she was doing the right thing. But she was blinded by the negativity and her desire for Destiny that she didn’t realize that she was causing more pain. It’s almost as if she knew who Mk really was (this a speculation in all honesty I’m not sure) and that if she didn’t confess now before she died completely she would have been thrown into one of the scrolls. 

Lastly is Azure. This doesn’t need much explanation. Most of the dialogue MK says during his fight with Azure says it all. 

“That's who you were pretending to be right? To be my friend? To care about me? When really, you were just USING me to get what YOU wanted! To turn me against my own mentor.” 

“Put your hands in the monkey cage, expect to get bit son!”

Season 4, Emperors Wrath? 

This whole fight was Mk’s role shedding light. Making AL reflect on his actions while also giving him a karma beat down. And at the end with Mk present, he confesses before fixing his wrongdoings and dying. Sad. 

Since I don’t have a lot towards my theory. Trust me this was very little info on the ten kings. I can’t seem to find proper names for any of them. I have decided to make it an AU. Because In all honest I like this too much to not make it an AU. 

The AU is basically this. After season 4 Mk has been out of it. Guilt for Azure and scared of himself after seeing how powerful his monkey self was. But it’s not enough to take away his curiosity. Ever since his time in the scroll he has been confused on who he is. What he is. Until he comes across a women who seems familiar. Too familiar….

Remember the other monkey statue. Well it’s said that the fifth king has a twin sister. 

[clunelover]

Watching The Americans, one thing I keep thinking about - I really relate to this feeling of "omg I’m raising my kids in such luxury compared to how I grew up, and they have no idea how spoiled they are."

And this is with us trying consciously to not spoil them! But just…idk it seems like kids have so much more stuff now. My kids have SO many stuffed animals and toys, and while I definitely remember my mom being annoyed specifically at my large stuffed animal collection, there’s no way I had this much stuff! But we only really get them stuff for their birthdays and Christmas, we’re not out here like buying random toys just because! And we stick pretty closely to the "four Christmas presents from mom and dad to each kid - something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read." Although we’ve slipped a little, like getting more than one something to wear or read because like, shouldn’t we be able to get them LOTS of books? But this year we’re going back to full on, just four items for each of them - but I’m saying, even when we’ve fudged it a bit, we didn’t get them more than one TOY or "want" item…so where does it all come from?

Idk maybe I’m misremembering how much stuff I really had…also my kids are closer in age than I was with my sisters, so we had relatively little overlap of time when we both wanted stuffed animals or whatever. And they have more aunts/uncle/grandparents in their lives consistently getting them gifts. When I was growing up, my mom was mostly estranged from her family and they didn’t send us stuff, and then on my dad’s side there were so many damn grandkids you could count on one SMALL present from grandma and grandpa (is that right? That still would have been quite a lot of presents even if they were small…but in any case I remember that being pretty strictly regulated lol).

It’s just weird…when I was little, my mom was on welfare, and I definitely remember knowing we didn’t have much compared to other people. But then she married my stepdad and became a realtor, and between both their jobs we had a solidly middle class lifestyle for a while…but then it moved on to real boom and bust when they split up, like she at one point had a big house in the nicest neighborhood in town, plus a little cottage up north, but then they both got foreclosed on. She declared bankruptcy twice, once when I was in 5th grade and once when I was early 20s. That level of up and down. And I always knew WAY too much about her financial situation as a kid, and a lot of her out-loud fantasizing included "when we’re rich"…so there was just an icky level of focus on money (but I’m saying this as someone who is now upper middle class and always has enough money, so it’s comparably easy for me to NOT focus on it).

And then my dad and stepmom also had an unusual setup, where my dad did work until I was in maybe middle school, but then he became too disabled, and they lived on his disability plus whatever money from my wealthy step-grandparents (although my stepmom claims that while they did give generous gifts, like if it was time to get a new car her parents would just buy it for them as a gift, they didn’t give any regular $ to cover day to day expenses…who knows whether that’s really true). In any case, my stepmom almost never had a job, since my sister was born when I was 11 - she was a stay at home mom to my sister, and then she didn’t get a job when my dad stopped working, because my sister was still little, and then even as sister got older my dad needed a lot of care (…but if she didn’t have the safety net of her parents, she would have had to get a job, and they all would have survived!) The point is, from the time I was in like…7th grade? Neither of them had a job at all!

So it’s like I don’t quite have a model for "living modestly and teaching one’s children the ‘value of a dollar’ without getting them all freaked out or overly focused on money."

One thing I intend to get into once my foot is healed and I can move about, is volunteering as a family. We have some friends who do that every week and I think it’s a great idea to try to have the kids focused a little on things other than what they want to acquire.

[kaycode1999]

-From Anonymous

Hello! Could I request a JJK matchup, if they're still open? Thank you!

I’m 19, bisexual

she/her pronouns

Aesthetic: My aesthetic is cottagecore! I have brown hair I usually wear up, light blue eyes, and fair skin!

Other: INTJ, Taurus

Preference: no gender preference!

Personality: I like to be alone, but I’m pretty good at talking to people, sometimes I’m blunt. Outwardly, I’m reliable and loyal! I’m kind, happy, and outgoing to most people. Inside, I’m pretty stressed, tired, and stubborn. I’m very overworked oldest sibling-core. I’m also creative and artistic. I’m more of a realist, but try to be optimistic around others. I’m responsible when I need to be, but I like to goof off when I can! I’m also a wee bit of a hopeless romantic. I don’t know how much it helps, but I’m also an aspiring tattoo artist!

Hobbies: I like painting/drawing, writing, singing, listening to music, collect/read manga, video games, and playing D&D.

Likes: Greek mythology, flowers (specifically lily of the valley), sweet tea, snacks, rock music, reading, rain, tattoo art, and anime.

Dislikes: Super loud people, and lack of communication or common sense.

*apologies but when it came through it wouldn’t let me do anything so I had to do it this way*

I match you with

*I’m not gonna lie JJK is hard because there’s not that many adult men that aren’t evil*

Takuma Ino

First and foremost he just seems to be a kind and caring person

He is understanding if you need some space

It is good that you are good at socializing because he can be social too, but he can also be introverted. He can be both

He’s also understanding about you being blunt. He doesn’t really see it as blunt so much as straightforward and honest

Your personalities mesh well because you’re both reliable, loyal, kind, happy, and outgoing for the most part

He’s doting, so if you’re tired and/or stressed be prepared to pampered and he will help in any way he can/that you are ok with

I think everyone can be at least a little bit stubborn so that’s honestly understandable

He loves your artistic and creative nature

I think he is somewhere in between realist and optimist, and he truly wants to be a safe person for you. He wants you to be able to be your true authentic self with him, so if you’re less optimistic and more realist you don’t have to force anything

He is also responsible when the situation calls, but he really loves goofing around with you

I am not sure if he wants or has tattoos but he thinks it’s really cool you want to be a tattoo artist and he is very supportive

He loves just hanging out and listening to music with you

He will definitely pick up any manga he knows you are interested in

Video games and D&D he enjoys playing/doing both with you

Greek mythology is just generally interesting so he likes engaging with that with you

He will get you your favorite flowers as well as get items with them on it

He is definitely not overly loud, lack of communication, or lack common sense

[interstellarstorms]

4, 8 And 14 for the ask game?

Answering as Asher because Olive isn’t out anymore ✌️

Thanks for asking questions!!

4. What sort of aesthetics do you draw to?

I like punk, sort of edgy aesthetics but I don’t really know the names of particular aesthetics well. MCR has like, dream aesthetics tbh. Also some grunge. I’d like to get more into different sub genres of disabled-punk, specifically neuropunk or mad punk, since I’m not sure if my physical disabilities are that which allow me to fall under c-punk. I also like an assortment of other aesthetics and don’t try to force myself too much into any one category.

8. Are there other parts like you in the same system?

I’ve wondered this. I’m brain-made (not an introject) but I wondered if there were younger versions of me in the system. However, I’ve concluded instead that it’s just me, but I’m an age slider and can get as young as 14, although now that I’m a host I tend to stay closer to 25. Role-wise, I’m the main host right now but we tend to switch hosts periodically so who knows how long that will last? Not me.

14. Do you have a favorite item in the present world?

As a system, we are very attached to our stuffed animal puppy Goldie, as well as our phone. Me specifically, I don’t have a specific item that I’m quite as glued to as say Olive (she has her ballet shoes) but like, I have my guitars and stuff (also my violins, which I share with some of the others like Aria). I love them a lot but they’re not like, my very soul since I’m more of a vocalist anyway. I do really feel attached to my room as a space though with my stuff as a whole because that is my curated safe place.

[wearykatie]

Journey Into the Wild Beyond - Chapter 3: Thither (Part 1)

Just as a side note before I get into it - I really love the names of the different areas being Hither, Thither, and Yon. Really creative. I’m not at all bothered that a stroke I had over a decade ago gave me a very slight speech impediment that becomes worse when I’m tired and hits really hard on “th” sounds. 

Thittthtththhhter

Before they went to Thither, the party wanted to stop in on a few friends and let them know the big bad hag was dead. They needed transportation though, and luckily, Downfall had a spare swamp gas balloon. Also a very lucky coincidence: Alice decided to show up again and she knew how to pilot one plus how to get past the fog barrier separating Hither and Thither. 

…can I just call it Twitter or something? I don’t think anyone is using that. 

Trapped in a balloon with the party, Alice couldn’t escape the questions. Who was she? Can’t say. Why is she helping? Can’t say. Why did she tell the party she couldn’t enter Downfall but did so just fine once they defeated the hag? Can’t say. 

Good talk, Alice. 

But really, they did get a lot out of the conversation. She wanted to help the party, she was sorry that they had to do this alone, and her inability to elaborate on things clued them in that she might be under the same magical compulsion as Diana from Chapter 1. She also seemed to have a particular bond with Elora. 

Now, Elora had found out that her missing item was a stuffed animal and further that it was a rabbit. This is around the point that K asked me out of game what shade of blue Alice’s fur was. Oh, you know…

About that shade. 

So that cat (or bunny) was out of the bag, since I decided that within reason, things the players can deduce out of character can be deduced in character if they’re working off the same information and not using meta knowledge.

During an overnight stay at the walking inn (the Inn at the End of the Road), Artie had a chat with Alice and during that, he noticed something. He wasn’t able to look Alice in the eyes. He knew she had a face, knew it was vaguely humanoid, but couldn’t look directly at it or recall exactly what he saw. It’s like something was charming anyone who looked at her to not want to look at her. Artie attempted to see past this, and since elves have advantage on charm effects, he managed to roll pretty high. Alice looked like Elora to him.

The party stopped by Telemy Hill to give Jingle Jangle the bag of truffles they recovered from Bavlorna’s cottage. Yet more acts of kindness that the DM and Prismeer would remember… 

Imaginary Dragons

The book has the players cross over the fog barrier with help from a scarecrow friend and then they get dropped off, I guess, because the balloon isn’t mentioned again. The party seemed to like Alice, so I didn’t want her to ditch them again just yet. Hmm…oh hey, Prismeer has a dragon. Well, dragonkin. A Jabberwock to be specific, and its hunting ground is Thither. 

Time for a balloon crash.

A mid-air battle happened with Alice shooting at the Jabberwock with a bow while trying to land the balloon as quickly as possible. This resulted in a crash, but Hakewood was able to cast Feather Fall on himself and the rest of the party, though Alice fell out of the balloon and got separated from the group. This was only long enough for the party to have a nice little encounter with a friendly NPC in a cave who spun gold into magic items.

The Wild Beyond the Witchlight really goes hard on the literary references.

Hakewood and Artie both sensed their items were to the north. They were safe from the Jabberwock for now, they had new items, and they found some ground transportation in the form of a chariot pulled by an owlbear. If you’re not familiar with those…I mean it’s in the name. They’re heckin’ cute too, and I didn’t have to be convinced to include one in my campaign. 

I’d threaded the story of Zybilna through the last chapter and expanded on it more in this chapter, so let me talk about that for a sec. 

The Wickedly Benevolent Queen

The party had read about someone named Natasha, they had heard about Zybilna, and through portraits in Bavlorna’s cottage, discovered that the hags were the daughters of Baba Yaga, but also there was a fourth daughter who seemed to be on the outs with the Hourglass Coven. There had also been mention of Iggwilv, the Witch Queen. 

Before leaving Hither, the innkeeper Tsu was able to provide them with more information via an old children’s story about how Prismeer came to be. It was a domain of delight, carved out of the untempered raw chaotic magic of the Feywild called the Wild Beyond (my little addition to give the campaign title a double meaning) by the Witch Queen, Iggwilv. Iggwilv was a cruel tyrant looking to subject the new land and its people to her rule, but she felt discontent. She was too powerful. None could oppose her. She needed a challenge. 

Enter Zybilna, an archfey (basically a fey demigod) who came to Prismeer to challenge the Witch Queen and take over the domain to rule benevolently.

Being magic students, the party didn’t know about Iggwilv or Zybilna prior to the story, but the name they discovered in the cottage - Natasha - was familiar to them. She was a powerful mage, and she had a few spells named after her. Including ones some members of the party used. But as far as any of them knew, Natasha, or Tasha as she was better known, had disappeared years ago. Could Iggwilv be Tasha? Or Zybilna? This is what the party had to stew over.

But for now, more dreams. 

Where Were They Going Without Ever Knowing Their Name?

Full elves don’t sleep. Well, they can sleep, but they don’t need to. They do meditate though, and during meditation one night in Thither, Artie experienced a vision. In it, he was running through the Feywild being pursued by something. 

Slowly, two things became clear: he was in the form of a wolf, and the things pursuing him were also wolves, but they were running with him. He trips, goes tumbling, and reverts to elven form. The other wolves stop and also become pallid elves. They tell him it’s okay, he’ll get the hang of it, and then say they will meet him back home. As the other elves vanish, Artie realizes he doesn’t know what way they went, where he is, or how to get home. 

Hakewood has a dream from shortly before he left for Magewood Academy. He’s helping out in his parents’ store, but every time they say his name it’s garbled noise. He wants to go to the academy to learn and make them proud, but his mother seems a little distant and asks why she can’t remember his name. 

I had to play on certain themes for each missing item, and for Hakewood and Artie, a sort of family theme started. Artie was getting hints of a place and family he’d forgotten because he didn’t have the means to get there anymore. Hakewood wanted to one day own his own shop like his parents but had no name of his own to differentiate between him and the other Hakewood’s store.

The missing items took so much from the player characters, and exploring that helped to make the story more personal to them. Otherwise, they’re just a bunch of random people saving a far off land in the Feywild because that’s where the plot is.

I Said “Loomchurch” So Many Times and I Don't Know Why

In their travels throughout Thither, the party met a unicorn named Lamorna who was looking for her lost mate, Elidon. She offered her help if they were going to take down Skabatha and also provided additional context for how the Hourglass Coven trapped Zybilna. They had used Elidon’s magic in conjunction with a magical cauldron to freeze time within Zybilna’s palace. Elidon himself might be the key to ending the spell.

The party also met Will of the Feywild, a Peter Pan-like kid who led a group of lost children. 

Okay. So. Will of the Feywild. My players learned this in our post-game “fireside chat”, but The Wild Beyond the Witchlight makes a choice about Will of the Feywild that I didn’t allude to and as far as I’m concerned isn’t canon to my campaign. See, Will isn’t a child. Will is actually an oni who used to kidnap kids for Skabatha until one of the other hags changed his alignment, and he took on the Will persona.

I didn’t use this for a number of reasons, but there were two big ones. The first was I was going with the idea that killing the hags would undo some of their curses. The book even states that if Will’s curse is ended, he becomes evil again and attacks the player characters. The second major reason is oni are known in D&D for being magical shape shifting ogrekin who kidnap and eat people. It was difficult for me to go that route and portray Will as a child knowing he was actually an adult monster who used to kidnap and eat kids.

Will told the party that Skabatha or “Granny Nightshade” had several kids locked away in her workshop making toys. This workshop is housed in a fallen tree to the northwest in Thither called Loomlurch. Will also gave them an item he’d stolen from Loomlurch the last time he was there liberating some of Granny’s workers - a unicorn horn.

Well, that bodes poorly for Elidon.

Nevertheless, the party set out to free the remaining children, save Elidon, and defeat Skabatha. Since this was an involved dungeon with complications both in-game and out, I’m going to save that for the next part.

[john-marshall]

i think i come across as very laid back and easygoing

but truly i overthink everything. and i feel completely justified in doing so

i’m sitting here playing one of the Six merge games i play on a regular basis.

side note: remember i’m basically a shitty stay at home dad. a stay at home dad. i take care of my 7 children. 3 of them are cats, 2 of them are rats, and 2 of them are ferrets. i zip around and make sure we’ve got groceries, i make sure the kids are fed and they go to their appointments and they take their medicine. however i have adhd! and i definitely don’t give my adhd supplement to my roommate and will for probably the next two or three weeks (one of her supplement providers was dropped from her network. the next was HORRIBLE. i talked to her myself. she’s in with a new one who’s getting her medical records bc she is medically complex and has seizures. so she wants her doctors to clear her. and then she’ll have her own) so i dont remember things well. so she reminds me. we go over things for the next week on sundays. recently gotten better at using my calendar. i used to just run on vibes. if it mattered i’d remember. all throughout school i never like, used an agenda. if there were specific problems to do or pages to read i’d just jot down “#2, 3, 6, 9,” “p. 24-46; 52-58,” no context. for medical appointments, if they didn’t send me an appointment reminder, i didn’t go. so she reminds me. and then we do cleaning together. and i cook. she doesn’t feel confident in the kitchen so i’ve been planning out sort of a Course designed to build her confidence. having her cook meals that spotlight what she feels nervous about so that we can work through it. she goes to work a few days per week, and i don’t! for now. i need to i’m broke as shit. it’s just hard being disabled and on disability because i can’t work, and needing to get a job. and SO. I’m home most of the time. I have a lot of medical appointments! I take care of my kids and I drive my roommate places. pick her up from work when she doesn’t want to wait for the ADA bus. I’m passionate about groceries. I don’t have a lot going on

so I’m very invested in phone games. i love merge games because they don’t stress me out.

but I end up sitting there like. trying to optimize my performance. i dont want energy to go to waste. I have to store full energy blocks because if it’s over 100 energy it doesn’t regenerate in its own. So you’re missing out on the regenerated energy that you’d get for FREE if you just wait. it’s like a 2% return.

so i’m playing one of my favorites, travel town. and i’m trying to get cat tree parts from the animal shelter generator. but dog agility course parts are harder to get! so while i’m working on cat tree parts, i’m getting dog agility course parts as a bonus!!! so don’t FUCKING delete them those are not allowed to be deleted you will struggle to generate and merge other items from other generators because those have to stay to make life EASIER EVENTUALLY

and it’s a merge game. so with time, everything refreshes and regenerates. there’s no real skill here. yes, you can do it faster. but. you can’t do it wrong

so if you’ve been following me a while and you’ve thought of as being really relaxed, “what happens happens” type of person. because i know that’s how i come off. you might want to reconsider. two words that could describe me are neurotic and…….determined

[chasing-rabbits]

Whilst I appreciate there are some vegans who are 100% ableist and shitty human beings because in every group ever you will have extremists and shitty people because shitty people exist all around us regardless of beliefs race religion etc etc I have encountered such ableist vegans but one thing to note the plastic straw ban as far as I know wasn’t propagated largely by vegans and if anything I saw a LOT of vegans complaining about it because all it served to do was look like activism and patting people on the back making them feel good about themselves for accomplishing a ‘win’ against climate change when they did basically fuck all because it makes up like 0.01% of all plastic in the oceans. I don’t doubt there were vegans promoting it too but all I’m saying is I don’t ever remember it being an entire movement caused by vegans. Personally I think it’s fucking stupid that we get served our iced coffees in plastic cups whilst being forced to use paper straws it’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve seen. And you’re right absolutely ignores people with disabilities including those on the spectrum - my partner hates these new straws and it seems to be a similar issue amongst many on the spectrum. As someone whose disabled and been vegan for 9 years this year actually I’ve had to go from cooking completely from scratch to relying on ready meals almost entirely well that and quick stuff I can shove in the oven. I also have a host of dietary needs including Gluten intolerance which has made it very expensive to do so because gluten free foods are super over priced. I’ve actually been eating fish since the pandemic but I’m still vegan and I’m still accepted by the vegan community or at least those in my circle at present incl a local vegan FB group I’m in. The fact that I’ve currently had to include fish in my diet makes me no less vegan because unlike popular belief veganism isn’t a diet and a plant based diet is separate from veganism. I don’t buy leather or wool. I don’t consume other animal products. I don’t buy makeup but in regards to other items I always look for the cruelty free sign and vegan if applicable. I am living proof of a disabled vegan on low income ( I’m on benefits including disability benefits/PIP I live in the UK) who’s not currently following a completely plant based diet. You could eat an entirely non plant based diet so change none of your eating habits right now and technically still be vegan if you were contributing in other ways i.e not buying leather etc etc. Also many people can do meatless Mondays or reduce their meat intake to some degree and those who genuinely cannot are not the majority. My grandma had issues with Iron as well and not out of any love for animals (although she loved cats) ate a mostly vegetarian diet because it’s honestly just what she preferred but she did eat meat specifically i forget whatever organ it is that’s high in iron uh liver I wanna say it was. She’d every month have that and she did eat meat don’t get me wrong she just preferred other foods. And that’s not me suggesting you could do what she did not at all. This is just me saying that I understand people who cannot eat a vegan diet hell not even a vegetarian diet because of issues such as iron intake because my Grandma had the same and actually they first went veggie because my Granddad had heart issues and she got a bit of a scare as it runs in his side of the family so she was feeding him pulses and all the healthy stuff to try and improve his health but her iron levels got affected because of it plus veggie food in the 60s-80s was not nice apparently according to my mum. Plus my dad used to sneak him a burger every now and again on a Friday as a treat. Anyways now I am rambling but they make a good point above and

Okay listen I’m all for people doing their part to be more environmentally conscious but one thing I really wish was talked about more is how ableist vegan and zero waste communities can be.

A lot of disabled people NEED single use plastic straws. A lot of disabled people NEED precut, packaged vegetables. Same with veganism. I have severe anemia to the point where I have to get iron infusions because my body doesn’t absorb it properly. I tried being vegan but it was not sustainable for me because it made my health issues a lot worse. Veganism is not possible for a lot of people.

And it’s not just physical disabilities either. If your depression prevents you from cooking your own food, go ahead and get the pre made meals. Doing what you can to make things more accessible to you does not make you a bad person. This is not even getting into the financial privileges needed to have an “eco friendly” lifestyle.

If you’re zero waste or vegan that’s great, I’m happy for you but please do not try and push other people to do the same. No one owes you an explanation on why that lifestyle isn’t for them, and no one is a bad person for having a different lifestyle than you.

[empty-movement]

We sure as hell wouldn’t have the kind of shows we do now if Revolutionary Girl Utena didn’t exist. Even back in the 90’s, it was revolutionizing the face of animation-- and now it’s come around in a ton of influential western animation that references it. My Little Pony did it, Steven Universe drew heavily from its themes, She-Ra pulled on the queer and relationship elements, Owl House referenced it, there are others I don’t even know about, and what about that highly suspicious hands scene DuckTales did in “Nightmare on Killmotor Hill?” At this point, it’s basically the hidden Godmother of modern western animation. And every time something new gives it a shoutout, a ton of people ask, “Should I watch Utena?”

Now, that’s a pretty fraught question, because when I said Utena was the Godmother of these shows, I didn’t mean the fairy type with the dreams being fulfilled and all-- I meant the “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse” type with a gun in hand and a lot of pain to inflict. It’s hard enough to boil Utena down to the basics as it is, let alone avoiding spoilers and trying to make sure triggers are respected. It takes forever, it’s hard to do, it’s really easy to miss things, and it ends up confusing people more often than not. So, here’s my shot at an answer-- it is not a list of triggers, there are a couple purposely vague spoilers, but nothing that you won’t figure out from watching the first episode. I’m not going to concern myself about specific plot points or items. Instead, I’m gonna explain just enough for people to get the idea and judge for themselves.

Utena starts as your typical school drama/enemy of the week series, plunges into a navel-gazing deconstruction of its own pieces, then further beckons you on to deconstruct your pieces. The core of it is about gender roles, abuse, and the harm the systems around us inflict on us. The first scene starts out with a fairytale-- once upon a time, a girl was sad and a Prince gave her a ring and told her someday the ring would lead her to him. Then she decided SHE would become a Prince. But, the show literally asks the viewer, was that really such a good idea?

Then it illustrates and tears that fairytale apart. Our main character, Utena, sees a girl named Anthy being abused and traded around by sword duels, and attempts to win the duels to protect Anthy; she loses Anthy at some point, then regains her, as you would expect. You would think the story ends there and she would be rewarded for that-- buuuuuuut you’re nowhere near the end of the series yet. And that's where I have to stop summarizing, because the longer it goes on the stranger and darker it gets.

Utena is weird, guys. It’s a classic, and for some really fucking good reasons, but there are a lot of psychedelic visuals, references to literature, psychological breakdowns, references to its own damn self, and just… it’s just so much. I’m not gonna lie, it can be offputting, because you never get what you expect. It’s shoujo as hell, but backwards and run through a shredder. It’s magical girl anime, but only if by “magical” you mean “traumatized.” It’s yuri-- yes there are queer relationships-- but it's actually a story about abuse and how hard it is to build an honest relationship in the midst of abuse. I’m not saying it’s not yuri, but I am saying that holy shit it’s NOT the soft, fluffy, lesbian love you imagine when you think of the yuri genre. Anyone who just says “It’s yuri, watch it!” and won’t explain anything else is, like, probably out to get you or something-- especially if they mean the other kind of yuri. It is, absolutely, not porn.

On top of all that, it's longer than modern anime (39 whole episodes!), it seems at first to be just a “rah-rah girls can be awesome too” kinda show, and then later on it depicts trauma in ways that can be very hard to watch and that you might not expect. Are you up for extremely relatable or totally unflinching or uniquely painful scenes of abusive interactions, both sexual and nonsexual? Are you okay with explicitly depicted abuse, are you able to take care of yourself if you get triggered, and are you still gonna want to watch after seeing something that really hurts? If you are, Utena might be for you. Are you okay with surreal bullshitting and trippy imagery? Do you like that feeling of your brain melting because you’re not sure what’s real? If you do, you’re gonna like Utena.

And how about the core themes? Do you care about abuse and systemic harm, are you interested in gender at all? You don’t have to be, but if those things don’t bore you or actively put you off, you’ll get some good brain food out of Utena.

And if you aren’t up for any of that-- no worries, okay? You take care of yourself, watch the things you enjoy, tackle the ideas you’re interested in. It’s not a judgment; this is not a good show for everyone to watch. I see it all the time, where people don’t enjoy the show and get nothing out of it, and that’s why I’m writing this. For the wrong person, this show is just boring surreal bullshit with bad things happening to people for no reason, and I want to prevent that.

But for the right person, this show can be life-changing-- more than half of the people I speak to about Utena say “my life is so different because I watched it” and they really mean it. Hell, I left an abusive relationship and married my wife because of this show-- we run Empty Movement, the biggest and oldest Utena site there is, and our community is full of amazing people with equally amazing stories.

So, should you watch Utena? I mean, yeah, I’d love it if you did, but I’m mega biased cause I wanna talk about it! Utena seems to attract that type-- once we sink our proverbial teeth in, we just keep chewing on those ideas until they revolutionize our lives. Or until we have to start shitposting in self-defense. Maybe that’s why we’ve lasted so long as a community. Maybe Utena would make you think about the things it said, maybe you would enjoy it, maybe you’d like the characters and wanna mercilessly drag on them. That’s all there in the community, and I’m so glad it is. 

Let me lay it on the line for you: if you think you can handle the abusive scenes, if you’re interested in the themes, if you like Dali and Frida Kahlo and think symbolism is cool, this might just be your jam. If you’re queer, questioning, or on a gender/sexuality journey, this has a lot of food for you. Same if you’re a feminist, or if you’re looking at the structures of power in the world and wondering how they work-- Utena’s got your back on that. And if you’re dealing with some shit-- and feel up to exploring it, painfully, I cannot stress that enough-- or you’re just interested in how people work, you might wanna take a look at this. Over the last couple decades in this fandom, I’ve noticed that the three biggest indicators of whether someone will enjoy Utena are whether you’re curious about how people work, whether you like metaphorical and symbolic art, and whether you can empathize with trauma without being too overloaded by it. You don’t need all three, but you need at least one to have a chance at a good time.

You have to decide, though, because only you know if this is your kind of deal.

If you can’t refuse the offer this Godmother has for you, come and join the Revolutionary Girl Utena mafia family. Nozomi has been generous enough to put it all up on Youtube, so if you’re American, you can give it a shot right now– and if you have Crunchyroll, you’re in luck, because it’s there as well! For the rest of you, I trust you’ll go through the appropriate channels to support the work :)

~Yasha<3

[cloveroctobers]

DECEMBER DRABBLES — 4. Richie Jerimovich 🌨️

A/N; why do I like writing for shit-talking assholes? 🤭 just expect this to be a little chaotic and I apologize in advance but it’s richie we’re talking about here! + it’s snowing up north here officially so that put me in the mood to write this little thing.

WARNINGS: mentions of mental health issues, drugs, + grief and emotional stuff, usage of firearms, cruelty to animals? & Language. + OC/reader has a name in this.

PROMPT: #13. “How’d you get a reindeer in the apartment?” + #10. “Who decorated your tree? A toddler?”

.•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•.•❅─

With your name flashing across Richie’s screen, he almost hesitated. However he didn’t feel as if it was the wrong choice, not after he just got into a screaming match with a new customer that wanted to argue over prices. As if Richie could ever over-charge someone for a product when that item’s been the same price since forever. Richie didn’t particularly care for the new found rush The Original Beef or “The Bear”—whatever the fuck you chose to call this place, received but he enjoyed the outcome of counting the registers at the end of the day.

He was up front at the register, his usual spot when he received your call. Fortunately for him, he was dealing with a customer who was holding up the line a bit trying to decide between two sandwiches, asking thousands of questions that Richie didn’t have the patience for. So he held up his finger at the woman before she could propose her eighth question and pressed his phone to his ear.

“Yeah?!” He shouted into the phone.

It was quiet on your end and Richie almost questioned if you meant to call him. Things between you two were…heated or simmering down? To say the least.

When he didn’t receive a response right away, Richie tried to get your attention another way by raising his voice more, “HELLO?! Dayana start speaking before I hang up and spam you with calls myself!”

“Richard,” Dayana’s tone was hushed, “stop yelling in my ear and listen very carefully.”

Dayana always had a soft yet raspy voice but he didn’t like how she sounded right now.

“Are you completely losing your voice or something?! ‘Cause I don’t understand why you’re talking so low?” Richie felt his eyes forming into slits.

There was shuffling on the other line but besides that it was eerily quiet wherever Dayana was, “Quick question for you: how’d you get a reindeer into the apartment?”

Richie didn’t know what the hell she was talking about. He hadn’t been to Dayana’s apartment since their last disagreement which was…he didn’t know…maybe two weeks ago?

“I hope you’re talkin’ about a ornament ‘cause if you’re not…then you need to lay off the gas unless you got into my pills?” Richie mouthed off to Dayana, assuming that she had to be high if she wasn’t talking about some ornament.

Huffing Dayana replied, “I’m not high but I know you’re an asshole who probably set me up so that I’d call you and we’d be on speaking terms again. You’re gonna get this damn reindeer out of my house or I’m gonna haunt the shit outta you when i meet my maker soon.”

“What the fuck are even talking about, D?!” Richie exasperated, plugging his ear with his raised finger to hear the woman better.

Dayana huffed, tired of these games, “You put this shit here on purpose, I know you. So you better get it out.”

“You mean to tell me you got a actual reindeer in your apartment?” Richie was in disbelief, “I dunno if you know this sweetheart but we live in Chicago, not the north fucking pole.”

Dayana didn’t have time to argue the specifics especially when she could feel her blood pressure increasing. She was so sure that Richie was pulling a prank on her simply because she pissed him off two weeks ago. They weren’t exclusive so she didn’t need Richie’s jealousy when she slept around with anybody else; it didn’t bother her (much) that he tried to go on dates with other women that weren’t her.

They were both messed up individuals mentally who tried to find comfort in each other. It wasn’t healthy how they went about their relationship, platonically and romantically but they were trying to do what their old friend Michael Berzatto struggled to do, survive. Life was anything but easy yet freedom had to be out there somewhere on this earth and maybe the pair wanted that from each other.

Was it acceptable to find that freedom in someone else? Or did that start to become a heavy chore from the person that you sought that freedom from?

Richie was met with a dial tone shortly after, which didn’t sit right with him. This woman didn’t get to just hang up in his face like that! Normally Dayana could take him running his mouth no problem although she sounded calm on the phone, he knew Dayana was just as tired as everybody else.

He also didn’t like the fact that Dayana thought he did this and what she would do if it all became more than what she could handle.

Then his mind got to racing with what could go wrong. He wished he could have been there with Mikey up on that bridge and wished he could have done something. Anything.

Wished he would have known.

Now with Dayana…he still wasn’t sure if she was just pulling his leg. There was no way a possible reindeer could be in her house with her being so blunt about it right? Unless she was in hiding…of course she had to be! It’s not like Richie ever thought she was hopeless but she didn’t have much to defend herself with…besides a mean right hook.

With the way everyone was feeling according to the top three: physically, emotionally, and the most important of all—mentally he began thinking the worst. So he began pacing the front behind the registers calling Dayana constantly, despite the line slowly building up again and leaving the new teenage hire to deal with this on his own.

“Richie, what the hell are you doing back here?” Carmy glanced over at the taller man but continued chopping up some parsley, “the orders aren’t gonna place themselves.”

“Someone’s gotta take over for me. I gotta go, something’s up with Dayana.” Richie muttered as he hung up and kept trying to call.

Carmy turned to Richie, placing a hand on the table and leaning into it with a sharp inhale, “Okay cousin. Just…don’t go doin’ anything stupid.” He warned.

Richie patted his pockets just as Carmy said this. He appreciated that the kid wasn’t grilling him with questions in that moment although he knew bits and pieces of Richie’s history with the said woman.

It was almost as if Richie didn’t hear Carmy as he went through the kitchen to the staff room. Yanking off his apron, shoving on his puffer, and rubbing his hands along the locker for his piece. Autopilot was on as he shoved weapon into his pocket, keeping a hand inside of it to make sure it didn’t slide out on his way out. The man chose to exit from the back of the restaurant, not wanting Carmy to switch up and check on his well-being right now.

If anything happened to anyone else he cared about…Richie was positive he would raise hell. His couldn’t tell you approximately how long it took him to get to Dayana’s or how many lights he ran to get to her. His anxiety was beginning to get the best of him now and only amplified as his tires squealed right behind Dayana’s parked car.

Throwing the door open, he hopped up the curb and jumped the black fence to get to Dayana’s building. Up the path he went, to the left he raced up and around the steps, meeting the walkway that held the multiple apartments. His breathing was ragged as he sped-walked down the wooden walkway, his bright blues scanning the numbers until he got to apartment 11.

Richie wasted no time racking his knuckles against the apartment door, listening to any sound of disaster. When he didn’t receive a response, he began pounding on the door next, his forehead resting against the door as he waited.

“Day—

He started calling her name until he heard it.

A grunting noise followed by a snort that didn’t exactly sound human to Richie. He tried for the knob, which was locked and stepped back to pull his Glock from his pocket. Taking the safety off, he aimed the gun before he went to work, kicking that knob in as much as he could. Then he had to use a bullet to get it completely off.

Squatting down he managed to get some fingers in, the material of the door scrapping his skin, making him suck air between his teeth, as he did so reaching for the top lock from the inside. Due to his long arms he was able to feel around for the latch, to flick it over to get the door fully open. Yanking his arm out, he got into a ready position again before he kicked the door back.

Stepping into the living room of Dayana’s 475 sqft apartment, Richie saw that her furniture in the living room still appeared to be in tact. Although the single bedroom and bathroom were to the left of the living room, Richie crept to the kitchen to see the dining table on its side.

That’s when he aimed his gun quickly to the left, firing off at you guessed it—a reindeer which charged at him at the same exact time. Richie’s stumbled back at the impact, hoping it’s antlers didn’t pierce any part of his body as his head slammed back against the white wall, leaving the reindeer to run by him and out of the apartment.

The man laid there disconcerted than in disbelief as this point. His head shifted to the left to make sure that the reindeer was in fact out of the apartment, hearing the foul-language of other tenants and more shots fired outside to confirm his worries.

“Dayana!” Richie groaned, as he slowly pushed himself off the floor.

Shortly after, the woman peeked around her corner, noticing the front door was completely damaged before she settled on the 6’1 man that was now on his knees in her kitchen entry way.

Her feet quickly padded against the Mahogany wooden floors, tossing her Dyson vacuum to the side? as she stood in front of Richie who was now glaring at the red stain on her wall.

Dayana barely acknowledged the new mark before peering down at Richie who looked up at her, “…Told you i wasnt fucking around.”

“What?” Richie seethed, “and I told you I didn’t put Blitzen in your damn apartment for fun either!”

Sighing, Dayana relaxed her shoulders, finally looking at the blood on the wall and also the blood that was oozing from Richie’s bottom lip, along with the bruise that was beginning to form on his chin.

“Well…thanks for taking a beating for me.”

Richie scowled as he got to his feet, standing beside her as he exhaled, “yeah, don’t mention it sweetheart, but man, that bitch got me good right in the kisser!”

“I see that.” Dayana gripped Richie’s forearms, peering at the injury and then added, “and I’m sure that new lump on the back of your dome gave your lopsided head some more definition.”

“Ah, fuck you.” Richie lightly pushed her off, while she laughed to herself a bit.

He noticed the unease from her as he did this, his eyes immediately going to his Glock to put the safety back on. He then moved to tuck it into the back of his waistband so that it was out of sight and out of mind.

When he raised his hands to show that all was clear, Dayana then nodded her head back to the living room. Richie followed the woman out, taking a seat on her olive green couch after she motioned for him to sit.

“Want to run down what exactly happened?”

“I can’t really tell you much,” Dayana admitted, “all I remember was coming home, rushing to the bathroom, and came back out to get something to eat. I didn’t realize the damn reindeer just chilling in the living room like he owned the place. I tried to give it some carrots from my platter but he was clearly looking for something else on the menu.”

Richie quirked up a brow, a smirk forming on his lips but Dayana immediately shushed him from making a sexual joke. He raised a single hand that rested on the edge of the bubble sectional in mock surrender, “speaking of carrots, I think I actually snatched some of Marcus’ new cornbread carrot cake on my way out. It should be in the car if you want it.”

Scoffing out a laugh Dayana ran a hand over her hair. “Maybe later, Richie. Let me clean you up first.”

Richie wouldn’t argue with that as Dayana gave his knee a squeeze, getting up from the coffee table as she disappeared to the back of the apartment. The man got himself comfortable, snatching the remote from the coffee table to turn the flat screen on, before he spotted a neighbor eyeing what happened to the door and carrying on.

The man laughed at the typical mannerisms before he focused in on the tree that sat in the corner of the room. His face twisted in disapproval before Dayana came back into the room with a first aid kit.

“Who decorated your tree? A toddler?” Richie impugned, figuring it was Dayana’s latest hookup that she was involved with before, that he last spotted on her Instagram that sparked their argument, a Hispanic man that was Carmy’s height—a toddler’s height, age, and a firefighter.

Careful Richie your insecurities are showing.

Dayana let that roll off her shoulders knowing what Richie was hinting at and that it was clear that he still felt some type of way about Dayana’s encounter with another man. Perhaps it had something to do with Mateo being in her age group—younger than Richie and that they possibly had more in common…but mainly he was keeping her warm when that was his job.

Viewing the bow-covered tree for a bit, the woman smiled as she stood up on her couch and sat behind Richie on the top of the sectional. Richie settled his shoulders against the back of Dayana’s lower legs as she opened the kit to place right into Richie’s lap to assist her.

“Actually, Sylvia did.” She mentioned as her hands gently combed her fingertips through Richie’s hair to locate the injury.

Richie turned his head to her then, trying to catch her eye and to see if she was serious or not. Since when was his nine year old daughter spending time alone with the woman he was slowly developing feelings for?

“Uh wow…” Richie said after some time when Dayana held his stare, no sign of lies written in her eyes.

Dayana hummed, turning him back around so she could work, “Mhm. She’s driven just like her dad. Came by a week ago to help me out…I’m not sure how she found my address. I asked if her mom knew if she was here but she was adamant about getting my tree up with some bows she made me. We had a good time, and I called her mom right after just in time when she got off work.”

Richie knew that could have went one of two ways since Dayana and his ex-wife, Tiffany weren’t on the best terms once a upon of time. They grew to be cordial it seemed long before this event occurred. Tiffany appreciated Dayana calling her about the whereabouts about her shared daughter with Richie. Tiffany had full-custody of their daughter Sylvia since she felt like Richie wasn’t a competent father/role model in their child’s life.

Dayana was vocal on Tiffany’s decision for her fight for full custody simply because she didn’t believe he was a bad father. And she wasn’t fully bias on that opinion either, she knew how much Richie wanted to be part of Sylvia’s life when he didn’t have a father in his own! She also didn’t like how Tiffany tried to use his anxiety and depression against him in court and of course that got back to the Honduran woman.

“What did you two talk about?”

Peering into his head, Dayana found the access to the bleed on his scalp and applied pressure with a white cloth, knowing that this wound wouldn’t require stitches.

“Oh you know just girl talk,” Dayana trailed off, “and how she listens to your favorite song when she has a bad day at school.”

Richie wished he had a cigarette on him hearing that. He hated hearing that his kid was still having issues at school and why Tiffany wasn’t taking any action. If it was up to him and if he knew names, he would be the first one pulling up to kick the shit out of a kid in a heartbeat.

Nobody fucked with his number one girl.

Taking deep breaths, he closed his eyes shut taking multiple inhales as he tried to focus on the fact that he daughter knew his favorite song.

“What did she say it was?”

“‘That old song by Usher and the rapper who was on ‘Justin Bieber’s best song’.” Dayana informed Richie who puffed out a laugh, using the back of his hand to wipe at his nose.

That was right.

If they weren’t playing that in the club then Richie considered the place whack. That man still had a soundtrack from the early 2000’s don’t mind him.

“God, I love her.”

“And she loves you too, no matter what.” Dayana told Richie, resting her free hand against his chest in understanding.

Richie placed his hand right on top of Dayana’s, squeezing it against his chest, feeling himself getting emotional as he stared out at the tree and shuddered against Dayana’s touch, finding comfort in her again, even with her now broken ajar door.

.•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•.•❅─

Continue along with my December anthology prompts here.

[mysteriousdoll]

Ishimaru Sibling Headcanons

Inspired by @incoherentramblings posts, I’ve decided to finally sort of properly post about my own Ishimaru family headcanons. I’m of the small majority of the fandom who headcanons Taka, Celeste, and Gundham to all be siblings.

Taka and Celeste are both trans! They quite literally just swapped uniforms (until Taka had to swap schools… twice…)

While Celeste was often out further engaging in her talent (and somehow always at someone’s get together), and Gundham was… somewhere, usually a shelter program with his grandmother or the local pet store, Taka was often with his grandfather being sculpted into a fit replacement. Nobody really knows what took place during that time, but it wasn’t until Taka was 11 that, after an incident, his family cut ties with his grandfather

Celeste hand makes all her clothes, as well as quite a few outfits for her siblings, and often patches her father’s trench coat.

Gundham is EXTREMELY protective of his little siblings. After word got out of them being siblings between their classes at Hopes Peak, he was much more vocal in his distaste towards Mondo, and only bites his tongue regarding Celeste’s admirers because she knows how to blackmail him.

Unlike the game Hifumi has good writing here because I liked his character up till the creepy Alter Ego thing… anywho, him and Celeste are genuinely friends! They bond a lot regarding specific manga and Lolita fashion! Celeste likes being a model for him for his art… plus it means she gets to play dress up no matter how extravagant the outfit.

While both twins have their own self destructive habits, Celeste having a tendency to bite her finger that the claw is on as well as straws and even some plastic items, Taka has more. He tugs on his hair, scratches his hands, and bites his lip.

Gundham notices this and tries to help as best he can. He’s gotten multiple stim jewelry for Celeste, and will try and occupy Taka’s hands when he gets distressed. Either with his own hands or his scarf.

Gundham was closest with their mother, and upon her passing, made a promise to her to keep the twins safe. He’s been caught a few times scolding Celeste for something mischievous or Taka for not taking care of himself

Taka is the best cook out of them all! He originally didn’t know many recipes but asked Teruteru to each him more about cooking… and while he doesn’t understand why Teruteru seems sort of frightened, he’s enjoyed the lessons he’s had.

Gundham is strong willed but the moment the twins tear up they give in. No hesitation.

Taka is a system! Ishida is part of that system, as well as a child alter known as Kiyo, and one other known one who Ishida is cautious of, only ever referred to as “Ishiru”.

While the siblings don’t associate much with one another before Hopes Peak, once there and the secret gets out, they’re much more open about it all… which secretly makes Taka happy as can be. Even if he knew that his siblings only used other names to avoid connections to the family, part of him always wondered if it was him.

Ishida doesn’t really get along with anyone in the family but Takaaki, as shown by him allowing him to call him Kiyondo (the only others allowed to do this being Taka, Kiyo, Sakura, Hina, Kaede, and Makoto.)

Celeste constantly pokes fun at Taka and Mondo’s relationship (calling Mondo whipped on a regular basis, Taka never quite understanding why), but Gundham can’t stand the two being together only due to seeing delinquents previously hurt Taka.

The kids are all very close with their father… but no one understands how such animated kids came from a man who has little to no emotion ever.

Celeste is trying to learn more and more about her father’s teenage years, as according to Hiroko and Jin, he was extremely rebellious.

Realistically, nobody in the family can resist Taka’s tears… and while it’s very rare… he will take it to his advantage when he really wants something. (Ex; hanging out with mondo late at night, having Chihiro over so she can help him with ‘computer studies’)

Taka was introduced to ARGs, unfiction, and Wham City Comedy by Chihiro. She suggested it to him when he made a passing comment that the series his friends showed him were nice but didn’t feel like they called for much beyond enjoyment… so she showed him This House and the two spent the entire weekend trying to break it down. Now he’s trying to get his siblings into some of them… they don’t seem too interested until he makes a small note about the Wyoming Incident which causes Celeste to question it, and finding herself just as invested as him.

[hero-nerd]

Hello! I am an psych major, OCD haver, and Batman the Audio Adventures enjoyer who is currently doing a case study on Harvey Dent from Batman the Audio Adventures!

I would like to start this off by saying I am in no way a professional, I am in my freshman year of college getting my associates degree in psych, and my project isn’t even for my class it’s an independent project I am doing because my school library gives me access to a DSM-5 and I am way too interested in Batman.

First I would like to talk about the DID diagnosis. Now I do not have DID and have only had one unit on it in my classes, but I did use the DSM-5 to help me with this project, and while I haven’t had a psych teacher look it over yet (I’m trying but they’re either not interested or too busy lol) I have had several librarians look it over, and I can not confidently say that this version of Harvey Dent has DID. However I can not confidently say that he doesn’t, either. There is not enough information. There are five criteria in the DSM-5 for someone to have DID, and Harvey meets four of these without a shadow of a doubt. However, there is one that I just could not find the information to confirm or deny, this criterion being recurrent gaps in memory / amnesia. At no point in the podcast do we really see this with Harvey, but it is also impossible for us to prove otherwise with the information given to us. And other versions of Harvey do meet that criterion, such as Batman The Animated Series Harvey Dent.

Anyway that is a tangent, time to talk about OCD!

As someone with OCD, I just love this portrayal of it. I haven’t been able to finish analyzing it using the DSM-5, life got in the way of me continuing that project but I hope to get back to it soon, but it is really so interesting how it portrays it.

It’s late and I am blanking on specifics, but please do ask me any questions you have and I’d be so happy to answer /gen. For now I’ll just say what I can remember.

One thing I love about this portrayal is how clearly we can see that 1. Harvey knows that his obsessions compulsions are not logical and 2. His life is still very impacted by them.

For a lot of us with OCD we know there isn’t necessarily logic to our obsessions and compulsions. I would rather not talk openly about my own compulsions as they are something I am still working through, but an example could be needing to lock your front door three times before you leave to prevent your house from being broken into. Lots of people in this situation will logically understand that locking it once is perfectly effective, but only locking it three times can they calm their anxiety, and if they don’t go through this ritual in the morning, the anxiety it causes as they obsess over the state of their home can be debilitating. And we see this with two face.

I’d like to take the example of the dinner scene in episode seven where Catwoman talks Harvey into a deal. Harvey offers to pay her $20,000 to do the job, and she wants a larger amount. To provoke Harvey, as they order their dinner she orders lots of foods with different numbers in the name, any number other than two. Harvey becomes increasingly upset, and he says that he is not going to pay her more to make her change her dinner order. However, the obsession wears him down. He mentions even feeling physically sick at the idea of things not being lined up with the number two. The only way to calm himself down is to do his compulsion, which in this case is paying more to make her change her dinner order to take out the “ugly numbers” as he calls it.

You could also look at Harvey’s own order in this scene as a sign of his obsessions. He lists of his order to the waiter in a very practiced way, every item in it involving the number two somehow. When the waiter tells him that he could just say he wants the usual, Harvey says that he can’t and then says “that’s the whole problem”.

As for what you say about representation not in terms of the OCD itself but when it is combined with his villainy, especially because they are so inherently linked, that is another very interesting subject: mental health in Gotham.

Think about some of the of the major villains within Batman. Harvey with DID and OCD, Riddler is often portrayed with narcissistic personality disorder but his history with OCD and being portrayed with it goes back as far as the 1960’s I believe (don’t quote me on that but I will be searching for the source I learned it from and will reblog with it when I have a chance), and also how the main jail in Gotham is an asylum. Mental health care isn’t big in Gotham, real mental health care at least. So a lot of people get stuck in loops with no treatment, which isn’t going to lead anywhere good.

Now I know that the intent from a lot of writers is probably using these traits as just a way to villainize the characters more, but if you look into it, it really is such an interesting look at how lack of support leads to a cycle of crime.

There are many other things I could talk about when it comes to this but I have class in the morning and if I do not cut myself off now I will talk about this forever 😂. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like me to elaborate on anything, and thank you for giving me the chance to talk about my favorite topic!

I would actually REALLY like to hear from someone with OCD what they think of the Batman audio adventures version of Two-Face. I don't know much about OCD, but that's what Two-Face has (you know. In addition to the DID), right...?

I've been having thoughts about Two-Face, what makes him a character that I like, and how his DID and OCD play into his role as a villain and what it says in terms of representation. But given that I don't even know anyone with OCD, it makes my perspective very limited when I really do want to know more... >.<

[nobodyfamousposts]

What would your ideal tikki be?

I'm of the opinion that the best kwami/human duo setup would be one where they work off each other and both can benefit and grow from their time together. Not just "the kwami is always right" (Tikki) while never actually doing anything helpful or supportive for their chosen/mentee/an actual teenager.

I'd say that it'd work better for the kwamis to have different mindsets and morals that fit different periods of time. After all, aside from possibly Wayzz, they've all been in the Miracle Box for years if not decades if not CENTURIES. There would be bound to be a disconnect from that alone. And add on top of that, these kwamis are beings older than the universe whom are all either based on or the basis FOR certain animals, so that needs to matter for more than just their appearance.

For Tikki in particular, this would mean that she is a being of WAR.

She is a Ladybug, which are natural predators, particularly known for eliminating and devouring garden-destroying pests. It's part of the reason they're well regarded and even considered lucky. While not poisonous to humans, they are red for a reason, and can be toxic to smaller animals. They also show some intelligence and ability for tactics, such as playing dead to deter predators.

On top of this, let's bear in mind that Tikki has been noted to have past users of importance who were involved in some pretty major conflicts and war, like Jeanne D'arc and Hippolyta, both of whom were noted as warriors or involved in war.

Given all this, I'd imagine Tikki would best work more similar to the Evil Tikki concept. Not where she's "evil", per say, but where she's definitely more pragmatic and used to war and fighting as an acceptable answer to resolving conflicts. A Tikki who accepts lethal means as necessary at points and shows a tactical mind that is both equal to and opposite of Marinette's own. She can be mature, calm, and reasonable while still horribly out of touch. And she can give advice and support while having that advice be unhelpful not because of her own refusal TO help, but simply due to nature of the advice she knows how to give vs the current situation and what Marinette actually needs to do. That way, we could have Marinette still needing to figure out how to resolve problems on her own without Tikki directly telling her the answer, but also avoid Tikki being self-righteous over it despite essentially abandoning Marinette to potentially make the wrong decision without telling her what the "right" decision is supposed to be (looking at you, Reflekta).

This would be a Tikki who doesn't get emotional-based decision-making. Do what works, not what "feels good", because it's all about survival and competition. How different would the lesson in Gamer have come across regarding considering other's feelings if Tikki's stance/advice was to support Marinette that she didn't do anything wrong by competing and winning because that's what competitions are for? Winners win and survive while losers lose and get eaten. That might have done more to add to Marinette's guilt over hurting Max's feelings because hearing such blatant and dare I say heartless statements from Tikki would make her question herself more. Ultimately, she would need to be her own self control when it comes to trying for what she wants.

This would go a long way to display the disconnect between kwamis and humans. They don't GET humans. They aren't around them often and when they are, they're only really bonding with their specific chosen. Their ideas of morals or "right and wrong" would be vastly different from what people nowadays would consider. This would open up Tikki and potentially other kwamis to lessons and growth, allowing them to change from their time with their users just as much as the users would change from their time with the kwamis.

This effect can and probably should be achieved without making the kwamis have the personalities and mentalities of children. Because the way canon does it, the kwamis come off as horribly naive and irresponsible for beings who are supposed to older than the universe and major players in bringing about the world as we now know it. Especially as beings that the characters and even we as the audience are supposed to respect, listen to, consider to be the moral authority of any situation, and just in general take seriously. If the kwamis don't feel or understand love (as Tikki takes FOUR SEASONS to reveal), then WHY are we supposed to take their input regarding the love square as valid?

My take on Tikki would be as a warrior. Someone who THINKS she knows best but isn't always right. Someone who does understand and is able to give decent advice on love more on the basis of love being an emotional war of attrition of the heart. Someone who learns that sometimes new, different or at least more subtle tactics are needed to deal with problems. Someone who supports Marinette even if she doesn't necessarily know how. Someone who admits to the influence of the Lucky Charms and gives Marinette items that aren't completely random or silly, but have clear and more dangerous purposes that Marinette by her own personality and beliefs refuses to use them for and instead uses her own cleverness to find alternatives to—something that Tikki could both be put out over but also impressed by. This would also allow for a subtle indicator of their growing bond when Tikki's influence eventually makes Lucky Charms that fit Marinette's specific needs in a non-lethal way instead of her usual method.

This would allow for a greater dynamic between Marinette and Tikki, and one that would change over time. Instead of Tikki just lecturing without offering anything useful other than what NOT to do or why Marinette should feel bad. Or Tikki just serving as a prop for Marinette to talk to about her problems or feelings instead of any of the multitude of people she already has to talk to—or better yet, SHOWING rather than TELLING.

All in all, I'd go for a Tikki who is flawed. One who would over time learn and grow from her time with Marinette just as Marinette would from her.

[the-bau-quinjet]

Nervous

Hello! This is honestly just a bunch of fluff (a tiny bit of angst bc Spencer worries about everything) and the reader being very nervous! I am currently writing a sequel to take place directly after this one! Read part two here!

Summary: Reader is arrested by the BAU! Little do they know, she is dating the one agent who is currently on medical leave...

warnings: none!

Word Count: 4954

“Are you sure you can pick her up today?” You are currently running around your apartment, phone held to your ear with your shoulder. You have to be at work in fifteen minutes, but first you have to drop your daughter off at school, and you’re running very late.

 “Babe, yes. I’m almost completely healed and I don’t go back to work until tomorrow. I’ll pick her up after school and then meet you at your apartment when you’re done working. Okay?” Thank God for Spencer Reid. He has been on medical leave for 5 days, slowly going insane. But, it meant more time for you and Lily to spend with him, so you’re not complaining.

“That’s perfect, thank you so much! I gotta go, I love you!” You are in such a daze, you don’t stop to think about the three words that just came out of your mouth. You hang up before Spencer can respond as you wrestle with your six year old to put shoes on. Grabbing both of your coats, you run out the door.

 You met Spencer Reid 9 months ago when he came into the hospital you work in with a concussion and some pretty bad bruises. It was really a chance meeting. Normally, you don’t even deal with patients because you work in research. But, your best friend asked you to run some lab results to a patient’s room and you couldn’t say no. Dr. Spencer Reid happened to be that patient.

 He wasn’t supposed to be in the room, but apparently something happened with the CT schedule, and he was done earlier than expected. So, instead of simply dropping off forms in an empty room, you hit a man with a door. Why he was standing behind the door is still a mystery to you, but you felt awful. This man is in the hospital and to make matters worse, you come along and hit him! With a door! You offered to get him some coffee as an apology, and in his concussed state he said “Only if we can go together.” You’ve since realized that was smoother than he normally acts, but you don’t care. He is the most lovable man you’ve ever met. 

 You met up for coffee three days later, and have been dating ever since. He met your daughter, Lily, on the second date. They clicked instantly. You knew then and there that you would love this man forever. You have not, however, actually said I love you before this morning. But, you’re still in too much of a rush to stop and think about it… or even realize it happened.  

 You pull into the parking garage at the hospital 7 minutes late. Honestly, better than you expected. The morning flies by as you work on research grants and hospital studies. All in all, a pretty average day. That is, until you walk back into the building from your lunch break.

 You don’t get a lot of visitors in the research wing, so it’s strange to see two pretty official looking individuals at the front desk. It’s even stranger to hear your name come out of one of their mouths.

 “Hi there. We are Agents Morgan and Rossi from the FBI. We’re looking Ms. Y/N L/N. Is she here?” That must have been Morgan talking.

 Spencer has told you a lot about his team. You feel like you know them all already with how many stories he’s told you. You’ve been hesitant to meet them though because of Lily. You don’t want her to get too attached to him and his friends if things were to go sideways. You haven’t really dated anyone since her father, so you’re a bit nervous. Spencer, of course, completely understands. He just wants you to be happy. It’s hard not to love him even more at the thought.

 You are immediately thrown into a panic at the sight of the two agents. Your thoughts are running wild with possibilities. They must be here because something happened to Spencer. Wait. That doesn’t make sense. He’s not even working today.

 Your panicked train of thought pulls to a stop when the two agents walk up to you. “Ms. L/N? Can we speak with you for a moment?” You nod, leading them toward your office.

 “Of course. My office is just down the hall.” You can’t help but feel nervous at the prospect of meeting Spencer’s coworkers without him. Especially if it has to do with a case they’re working. These are the people he loves most in the world. They are his family. What if they don’t like you? What if they think you’re an idiot? What if they think Spencer can do better? It also doesn’t help that you know they can tell you’re nervous because you know they are profilers. You sit down behind your desk, offering them the seats on the opposite side.

 “Ms. L/N, you’re in charge of the research department, correct?” Rossi says it like a question, but he clearly knows the answer.

 “That’s right.” You are trying everything you can to get your nerves to settle, but it just isn’t working. You’re basically lying to two human lie detectors, even if it is just by omission.

 “So if items were to go missing from this laboratory, you would be responsible for reporting it.” It was Morgan who spoke this time. It’s hard for you to follow their line of questioning. What would go missing? It’s not like you wouldn’t notice if a fume hood suddenly disappeared.

 “I suppose so, although it depends on what items. We don’t have a specific inventory of commonly used products like syringes and gauze, we just order more when we get low.” You can’t decide which agent to focus on. Your eyes are flicking nervously between both of them.

 “What about human tissue?” When the words come out of Morgan’s mouth, you freeze for just a second. You don’t have any human tissue in the lab, so how would it go missing? Of course, the profilers take the delay in your response to mean something other than confusion.

 “We- we don’t use human tissue in this specific laboratory. We focus on small animal models. The other research lab is responsible for human tissue protocols.” You stutter through your words under the harsh glares of the two agents. It is really not helping your nerves.

 “Then how do you explain this?” Rossi slides a paper across your desk. It’s housed in a large plastic bag with “EVIDENCE” across the top in big, block letters. It’s a form you have never seen before. The kind someone would fill out to transfer human tissue between labs. Your hands shake as you hold the paper, slowly trying to figure out what it is. You almost puke when you reach the bottom. It has your signature as an approval of the request. You drop the paper as if it has burned you.

 “I’ve never- I didn’t- how did-” You’re cut off before you can try to finish your sentence, but you don’t hear what they are saying. You feel the cold click of metal around your wrists, tight enough to just pinch your skin. They lead you back out of the building, to a waiting SUV. You can’t help but be grateful that nobody was there to witness your arrest.

 The ride to Quantico is silent. You keep trying to figure out how someone could have signed your name on that form, but you can’t focus. Your mind keeps drifting to memories with Spencer.

 You remember your first date in the coffee shop a block away from the hospital. He ordered a black coffee only to pour in an exorbitant amount of sugar. He blushed slightly, as if he was embarrassed by his drink preferences, only for his features to transform into a soft smile as you did exactly the same thing. The two of you talked for hours, only ending the date when you had to go pick up Lily.

 You remember running into him in the park with Lily, what you would come to refer to as your second date. He looked ethereal sitting at a table playing chess. Lily ran up to him, or rather the chess board he was sitting in front of, before you could stop her. She wanted to know what the horsey was for. You watched as he patiently explained to the five year old that it was a knight responsible for defending the king. 

He told her how it moves on the board. He told her how it was special because it is the only piece that can jump over other pieces. He must have spent 15 minutes talking to her about this one piece. And she was enthralled. When he was done, he looked around to find the child’s parents only to meet your eye. You’ll never forget the way his smile grew when he realized Lily was yours. The three of you spent the rest of the day in the park, playing chess, walking around the pond, and getting to know each other.

 You remember the look in his eyes right after he kissed you the first time. You remember how worried you were the first time he was injured on a case. You remember Lily asking you if he could be her daddy, and crying yourself to sleep that night because you wanted that too, more than anything, and you were so scared it wasn’t going to happen.

 Then you finally remember he’s picking Lily up from school today. Suddenly, the car ride isn’t so quiet anymore.

 “I need to call someone.” The words come out frantic and rushed. You are absolutely sure the expression on your face screams crazy, but this is about your kid, so you really don’t care. You need to call Spencer. Then he’ll come fix this. Explain how you couldn’t possibly be involved. The agent’s response is shorter than you expected.

 “Why?” Rossi sounds skeptical when he asks it. You would later suppose that he had a reason to be skeptical of you. Right now though? You didn’t do anything wrong so the whole innocent until proven guilty thing feels a little fake to you at the moment.

 “My boyfriend is picking up my daughter from school. I need to call him.” You don’t really know how to tell them said boyfriend is one Dr. Spencer Reid. You weren’t supposed to meet his friends yet and definitely not without him. You aren’t really in the right headspace to be deciding if right now is the best moment to out your relationship.

 “If he’s already planning on picking her up, you shouldn’t need to call him.” It feels to you at this moment that they don’t even believe you have a child. Of course, they must know because they have the one and only Penelope Garcia to find out every little thing about you. Before you can say anything else, they are dragging you out of the SUV and into the building. You are pushed through security into an elevator that takes you to the fifth floor. The BAU. You thought the first time you visited Spencer’s work would be a happier occasion. And that he would be here. The whole situation would actually be kind of funny if you weren’t so worried and nervous.

 The first thing you say when you are lead through the very intimidating glass doors is “JJ.” You would come to understand why that might earns some stares. The whole room is looking at you as if you have grown another head.

 “How do you know my name?” That’s a loaded question. Spencer has showed you pictures of his godson, Henry. JJ happened to be in some of those pictures as he is in fact, her son. Of course, you can’t really articulate that because you are too stressed and nervous to form full sentences. It takes a lot out of a person to be arrested, dragged from their place of work, shoved in a car, driven two hours through DC traffic, and then pulled into the FBI building as a suspect.

 Instead of properly calming yourself down until you can form a complete sentence, your eyes go wide and you say “Henry” as if that is enough of an explanation. If looks could kill, you would be dead.

 “How do you know my son’s name?” JJ’s words are so harsh, you physically flinch.

 “I.. it’s just that… You… Well… I-” You are a loss for words, yet again. You didn’t expect for Spencer’s best friend to ever look at you with such disgust. It’s honestly a little overwhelming to think the people he calls family all currently hate you. Even if they don’t really know who you are.

 “Maybe a few hours in here will jog your memory.” And with that you’re left alone to sit in a cold metal chair and stare at your reflection.

 --

 Throughout your relationship, Spencer has tried not to worry. You frequently come home from work a bit later than you originally planned, especially if you feel like you got a late start. So, when you don’t enter your apartment right at 5:30, he doesn’t think anything of it. When 6:00 rolls around, he texts you. At 6:30 he calls. By the time it reaches 7:00 and he still hasn’t heard from you, he’s actively pacing your small living room. When his most recent call goes to voicemail, he breaks. He packs up Lily’s stuff and the two of them are on the way to Quantico, finding you being the only thing on his mind.

 He replays his favorite moments with you in his mind as he drives from your DC apartment to Quantico. Normally, he’d take the metro, but if you really are missing it’s safer for Lily in the car.

He remembers the look on your face when you realized you hit him with a door. He couldn’t imagine a more beautiful person. You looked so guilty, he felt the need to hug you to tell you it was okay. It was a foreign feeling for him. He’s never been one to physically comfort people. Maybe it was the concussion. It was definitely the concussion that gave him the courage to ask you to coffee.

 He remembers the fluttering of butterflies in his stomach when he watched you pour almost as much sugar as him into your coffee. The soft smile on your face as the two of you spent hours talking about anything he could think of to keep the conversation from ending.

 He remembers the utter joy he felt upon realizing the five year old who inquired about the horsey on the chess board is your daughter. He remembers how he felt when he looked up, expecting to find an annoyed parent given that he just lectured a five year old on one chess piece for 15 minutes, but was instead met with your kind smile and loving eyes. He loves Lily just as much, if not more than he loves you.

 He remembers how you hung up the phone this morning before he could say “I love you too.” And now the thoughts he’s tried so hard to block out are circling in his mind. The words repeating in his head, over and over. What if I never see her again? What if I can’t tell her I love her?

 He pulls into the garage, carrying Lily so he can run faster into the building. He puts her down when they finally reach the elevator. She’s been surprisingly calm despite Spencer’s nervous attitude.

 “Spencie, where is Momma?” Spencer’s heart constricts at the sound of her sweet voice. He doesn’t know where you are, and it terrifies him.

 “We are going to find out! How would you like to see my desk? You can play with the cube I showed you at home!” He pulls a Rubik’s cube out of his satchel, placing it in Lily’s small hands. He guides Lily to his desk, telling her to stay there while he looks for his friends. She looks so tiny in his desk chair, he would stop to take a picture if his phone had that feature.

 He finds the team in the round table room. His eyes scan the room, landing on JJ’s concerned expression last. He’s surprised to find Will in the room as well. JJ notices him before anyone else.

 “Spence, thank God you’re here. We need fresh eyes.” Before he can protest, Morgan is filling him in on the events that have unfolded.

 “We brought a suspect in from DC, and she knew JJ.” Spencer’s eyes go wide. If the team is in trouble, that could be why Y/N was taken.

 “When I asked her how she knew me, her only response was ‘Henry.’ Something doesn’t add up.” Movement in the doorway catches everyone’s eye.

 “Spencie, did you find Momma yet?” Lily stands in the doorway, looking straight at Spencer.

 “Not yet sweetheart. I have some cookies in my bag, why don’t you go back to my desk and eat them, okay?” 

“Can I have two?” The little girl holds up two of her tiny fingers, unaware of the confused glances from every adult in the room that isn’t Spencer. 

“Of course, sweet pea. Whatever you want. You can even spin around in my chair!” The child nods before running back to Spencer’s desk. Spencer turns around to find all eyes on him. The entire team wears similar expressions of shock and awe.

 “Spencie?” Derek questions the nickname.

 “Sweetheart?” JJ’s more focused on how Spencer responded.

 “Who the heck was that 'sweet pea’ and why have you kept her from me?” Garcia is glaring at Spencer for hiding such a cutie pie from her for however long.

 “She’s why I’m here. Well not her, her mother. We’ve been dating for the last 9 months. I picked up Lily from school today. We were supposed to meet back at her apartment, but she never came home. She’s not answering my calls and I don’t know where she could be.” Spencer breaks down as he tries to explain what’s going on. He can’t imagine a world without you in it.

 “Reid, give Garcia her phone number to track her location. This could all be related to our case. If someone is targeting the BAU, we will find them.” Hotch’s no nonsense tone calms everyone in the room. Again, movement in the doorway catches everyone’s attention.

 “Sir, she keeps saying she can explain everything. I know you said 3 hours, but I think she’s ready now.”

 “Thank you, Anderson. We’ll be right there.” The agent leaves without another word. Hotch turns back to continue filling Spencer in on the case. “Reid, we’ve got a suspect in custody. She doesn’t match the profile, but we think she knows something.”

 “She mentioned a boyfriend in the car. He might know something too.” Morgan pipes in as well.

 “I want to talk to her. If she knows where Y/N is, I have to talk to her.” Spencer is out of the room before anyone can stop him. He’s practically running across the bullpen to get to the interrogation room.

 “Y/N?” Morgan questions to the agents left in the round table room.

 --

 You are so cold. They must have the air turned down to put you on edge. You have finally calmed yourself down enough to form actual sentences instead of useless mumbling.

 “Please. Let me explain! I can tell you everything. Well, not everything, because I don’t know how my signature ended up on that paper, but I can tell you about JJ! And Henry! Let me explain!” You never thought about how weird it would be to know someone could be watching your every move. You feel like you’re talking to nobody as you beg for them to let you explain.

 The door flies open with so much force, you fall out of your chair in shock. There are hands on you, pulling you to your feet before you’ve even registered hitting the ground.

 “Where is sh- Y/N?” Spencer’s tone of voice changes so quickly your brain can’t follow. You just look into his before you burst into tears.

 “Oh thank God. Spencer, I was so scared. I was so nervous when Derek and Rossi came to interview me. I didn’t want them to hate me, you know? Even though they didn’t know who I was. And then I saw JJ, and I got even worse. I mean, she’s your best friend! And she sounded so angry, which was my fault, but I couldn’t even form words to explain myself because I was so sure these people- the people you consider family- were going to hate me and I made everything so much worse. But I-” Spencer knows if he doesn’t cut you off, you’ll ramble endlessly. It’s always like that when you spend too much time alone. As if all the energy you could’ve spent talking to someone pours out of you all at once.

 “Shh, baby, it’s okay. We can explain everything. I’m so happy to see you. To know you’re okay. God, I love you too.” You turn your tear stained face to look up at him.

 “Wha- oh my God. I said that. I didn’t even realize I said it. But it’s true. I love you so much. I can’t imagine a world without you. That’s why I was so nervous about meeting the team. And they wouldn’t let me call you, so I couldn’t ask you what to do.” The two of you continue trying to fill each other in on what has lead you to this moment.

 Hotch and JJ make their way into the room without either of you noticing. They both sit down before either speaks. “Reid, I’m going to need you to leave the room.” Spencer turned around with you still in his arms, your head pulled tight to his chest. He glares at his boss before responding. “No. She didn’t do this. The dates from the case file you gave me, they don’t line up. April 17th, we watched the new episode of Doctor Who and spent the rest of the night discussing theories. April 20th, we went to dinner to celebrate Lily’s sixth birthday. April 22nd we watched Tangled with Lily until she fell asleep and then we…” He trailed off, turning a bright shade of pink. You wiggled in his arms, trying to hide the blush on your face as well.

 “Spence, where’s Lily?” You know he needs to leave if you are ever actually going to get out of this room.

 “She’s at my desk. She looked so tiny in my chair.” He practically has heart eyes as he thinks back to where he left your little girl.

 “Why don’t you go tell her you found me? I’ll be okay.” You wipe the remaining tears from your eyes as you sit back down in the cold metal chair. Spencer looks as though he would rather read Twilight again than leave you, but he reluctantly walks out of the room.

 You start rambling before the agents get a chance to ask you a question.

 “I’m so sorry. I’ve probably wasted so much of your time. I just freaked out when I realized I was meeting Spence’s family. That’s why I know your son’s name.” You turn slightly to look at JJ. “He talks about him all the time, and he’s shown me pictures. I’m so so sorry that you had to worry about your child’s safety because of me. I was just nervous to meet you. That’s why I haven’t met you yet actually. Because I didn’t want Lily to get too attached if something happened and we broke up. Not that I can imagine breaking up with Spencer. I would spend the rest of my life with him if he gave me the chance.” You can feel the tears brimming again. “I really don’t know why my name is on that paper. I never would have signed it! My lab doesn’t use human tissues.” You try to stress that point.

 “Ms. L/N, we believe you. We never thought you were responsible, but it was a suspicious situation. You can never be too careful in our line of work.” Hotch still looks extremely serious, but his tone is slightly more relaxed than when he threw you into this room.

 “Of course. I would’ve thought I was guilty if I didn’t know the truth. Is there anything I can do to help?” You are so relieved to know they don’t think you’re a crazy murderer.

 “We need to ask you a few questions about the people who work in your lab.”

 “Oh. Okay.” You have to actively force yourself not to start rambling again.

 “Do you know any of these people?” The agent shows you three pictures of young women. They couldn’t be more than 25.

 “No…” You can’t put your finger on it, but they look familiar.

 “But?” JJ encourages you to continue.

 “I’m not sure. They look familiar for some reason.” All three women have brunette hair and green eyes. Their face shapes are even shockingly similar.

 “Do you know anyone who looks like these women?” You don’t know how they know that, but you do. They’ve planted the seed, and it instantly grew into a massive oak.

 “I do! Her name is Renee. Um... Renee Watkins. She works in the hospital, in the lab where they run blood tests.” You look at the agents with hope in your eyes. Maybe now they’ll let you leave. They both stand up without saying anything else. Hotch leaves first. JJ stares at you for a minute.

 “I really am sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. It’s just, you’re his best friend. If you hate me, we won’t work. He cares about all of you way too much for me to get in the way of that.” You honestly still feel awful about the unnecessary fear you’ve caused her and her family.

 “He cares about you too. He’s been happier than I’ve seen him in years. I knew something was up, but I didn’t want to push him.” You can’t keep your smile off your face at her words. “Let’s forget about all of it. I’m just going to focus on the relief of knowing nobody is after my son.”

 “Thank you. I really am so sorry though.” You feel the need to keep apologizing.

 “Really, it’s fine. Come with me, there’s someone I want you to meet.”

 JJ leads you back to the bullpen. Right as you turn the corner, you can spot Spence playing with Lily and Henry. He’s captivated their attention with a magic trick.

 “He’s so good with them.” Almost involuntarily, your hand brushes over your stomach.

 “He’s always wanted to be a father.” JJ eyes your hand before giving you a rather pointed look.

 “Oh! No, I’m not pregnant.” You let your arm fall back to your side. “He’s just so good with Lily; she asked me if he could be her dad.” You can feel the tears coming again. “I just know that one day I will have that man’s babies.” JJ snorts and suddenly the two of you break out laughing. Your laughter makes enough noise to capture Spencer’s attention, two little pairs of eyes following his lead. All three of them are suddenly running across the room to you and JJ.

 Lily jumps into your arms, much as Henry does to JJ. You pull her close, leaning into Spencer as his arms circle around you both. The moment is interrupted when Penelope Garcia comes running into the room.

 “I’ve got him. Shane Harrison, 28. He dated Renee Watkins in high school. He was recently fired from his position in the human tissues lab at Children’s National Hospital. There are reports of him breaking in, although nothing was reported stolen due to falsified transfer documents.”

 “What made him start killing?” Morgan asks while you and JJ desperately cover the children’s ears.

 “Renee recently got engaged. She posted all about her new fiancée on social media. I already texted you the address.” JJ says a rushed goodbye to Will and the team is out the door. Lily runs back over Spencer’s desk with Henry so she can show him the Rubik’s cube.

 “Aren’t you going to help them?” You turn to Spencer who hasn’t left your side.

 “I think they can manage this one without me. I’m needed somewhere else at the moment.” As if to prove his point, he leans in to kiss you. It’s short and sweet and everything you needed at the moment.

 The sound of someone clearing their throat pulls the two of you out of your bubble.

 “Hi, I’m Penelope Garcia. I’m sure the Genius Doctor has told you all about me.”

 “He has indeed. You’re even lovelier in person.” Garcia is just as bright and bubbly as Spencer described her. It makes you smile to think that the team has her never ending positivity while they are surrounded by so much darkness.

 “We are having a team gathering at Rossi’s tomorrow night. You should both come. And Lily!” Garcia smiles again before walking away.

 “You know that means we have to go, right?” Spencer asks you the obvious question.

 “I know honey. You’re afraid of what Garcia could do to you if you get on her bad side.” You laugh at his pout, pulling him down the stairs and over to Lily. It’s about time you all head home.

[sxlver-sweet]

Please i'm begging youu i want to see more fantasy au for tokrev and that pirate would be so good i even have some idess on me already 😩

–🎴

I HAD A FUCKING FIELD DAY WITH THIS I WANNA HEAR YOUR IDEAS PLS SHARE

i’m currently sleep-deprived, so some of these are probably really basic and there’s most likely errors somewhere in here skdkcmdksk

also, requests may be closed, but discussions and more ideas are absolutely welcome.

faerie!kokonoi, who preys on the heartbroken drunkards at upscale bars, listening with a secretive smile as they spill their life stories to the bartender. silver-tongued and clever, kokonoi purrs his condolences, slipping their name into the conversation with ease and feigning oblivion when they, cloudy-eyed and ignorant, hand over their precious bank information and the locations of their valuables.

tailor!mitsuya unable to concentrate on stitching up a torn dress with the incessant clanging in the background and snapping at blacksmith!pah-chin, who’s busy forging knight!baji a new sword. mitsuya chastises baji for being so careless, but all baji does is grumble and turn away, black oil and dirt smeared on his flushed cheeks and long hair clinging to his sweat-stained forehead from his previous sparring session.

wizard!mitsuya spinning golems out of clay and shooing them away with an order to find him more materials to craft matching cloaks for his newest apprentices, luna and mana.

leprechaun!nahoya luring unsuspecting villagers into the forest with the promise of gold coins, only to send branches crashing down onto their heads when they venture far enough. they shout irately and scramble after him as he tumbles, laughing, into the shadows… but it’s no use. he’s too fast.

mermaid!yuzuha punching the shit out of pirates and dragging them down from their ships when they disturb and/or hunt the peaceful merfolk

knight!draken pledging his life to princess!emma

werewolf!baji, who appears to casually laugh off questions about his sharp, prominent canines; when in reality, when he’s secretly sweating bullets. werewolf!baji, whom the others wrinkle their noses at and tease when he orders his steak rare. werewolf!baji, who can’t hide the particularly ferocious, almost predatory glint in his eye that only appears during brawls after the sun has fallen. everyone laughs it off, mistaking his bloodlust for adrenaline. it’s only baji, he’s just intense, they reason.

half-blood!takemichi, who leaps through time with the protective blood of a phoenix coursing through his veins. half-blood!takemichi, whose blood aids him in resisting the beckon of death that pries at the empty body he habitually leaves behind and enables him to keep rising back to his feet no matter who knocks him down.

dybbuk!shinichiro, whose rage inhabits mikey’s body, only flaring to aid in crushing kazutora beneath his little brother’s fist. dybbuk!shinichiro, who plucks away at mikey’s sanity day in and day out, demanding for his death to be avenged. dybbuk!shinichiro, who is the reason that mikey can no longer set foot in his bike shop, because no matter how hard he tries, mikey can’t seem to shut out the eerie groaning of forgotten bikes as they rust away or the crackling squelch of metal colliding with bone that he’s positive he’s never heard before—so why is he hearing it now?

executioner!kazutora, who has no problem with the unjust slaughters that tyrant!kisaki approves, because his unchecked guilt can only be satiated by “cleansing the kingdom of immoral souls.” executioner!kazutora, who hums a crude tavern song as he takes his sweet time lining up his blade with the neck of the shivering woman hunched before him—the shivering woman whose only crime is swiping some bread to feed her starving family. executioner!kazutora, who only finds retribution in the twisted cycle of playing the role of god’s “divine” axe.

knight!toman forming a wall in front of their king to square off against an approaching army, a measly one hundred men with fire in their eyes and swords dripping with blood—a measly one hundred men fully prepared to offer up their lives to protect king!mikey.

jester!hanma, who flirts with the women of the court and openly takes cheap shots at tyrant!kisaki, regardless of whether or not he’s in the vicinity. still, it doesn’t matter how humorous the joke is. no one dares to allow even a twitch of their lips. how hanma hasn’t been executed yet, they don’t know.

pirate!nahoya, who cackles like a madman and jeers at an opposing ship from his place perched atop the crow’s nest

apothecary!souya meeting his future s/o in a field of lavender while he’s searching for fresh herbs. apothecary!souya, who’s mortified by the chalky powder spattered on his overalls and runs a hand through his hair, accidentally smearing a yellow dust through his blue curls. apothecary!souya, who blushes when you kindly offer to brush the powder from his hair. apothecary!souya, who offers you one of the dandelions peeking from his pocket as a gesture of gratitude.

ladies-in-waiting!emma and hina scurrying off to deliver empty dishes to cook!mitsuya, who leans forward expectantly to hear the latest gossip when they approach him with sparkling eyes and poorly concealed smiles.

adviser!draken storming into king!mikey’s private chambers without an invitation to shout at him for neglecting his duties and drag him by the ankle out of bed

sorceress!hina enchanting a four-leaf clover necklace with a spell to keep knight!takemichi safe in battle

spymaster!sanzu scaring the shit out of his scribe!s/o whenever he pops up in the windows of the library in all black with no prior warning

doll-maker!izana, who lives in a secluded area of the woods with his apprentice kakucho and obsessively lines his shelves with replicas of the older brother he wishes he had

knight-in-training!chifuyu working extra hard to impress knight!baji, who had recruited him and taken him under his wing

steampunk inventor!chifuyu, who’s never seen without his trademark goggles that kazutora always pokes fun at and threadbare overalls splattered with oil stains. inventor!chifuyu, who nearly has a heart attack when baji hobbles in on one leg, grinning at him with a face swollen with bruises while waving his detached prosthetic leg in greeting. inventor!chifuyu, who keeps wrenches on his belt specifically to hurl at his idiot friends whenever they come into his shop all beat-up with their bronze prosthetics severely damaged

steampunk!hanma, who has a glass eye with the word “pain” engraved on the iris. steampunk!hanma, who asks kisaki to hold something for him. when the latter holds his hand out with an exasperated sigh, hanma sets his replacement eye in his palm and cackles hysterically when kisaki promptly jolts with disgust and chucks it across the room

cyberpunk!sanzu, who’s already inebriated but continues to drown deeper in the neon lights of the club as he pops an array of glowing pills into his mouth, body numb to the robotic assistants that hum around him and intermingle with the equally delirious crowd in case someone were to collapse from overdosing

masquerade!mitsuya, who smiles at you with such kindness and respect as he guides you onto the marble floor that you immediately resolve to discover his identity at a later date

masquerade!kakucho, who does everything in his power to prevent you from uncovering his identity. masquerade!kakucho, who fears that you’ll be disgusted with his deformed appearance once you see his scar.

samurai!yuzuha, who rescues you from a band of thieves but is perplexed when you insist on repaying her goodwill. samurai!yuzuha, who eventually starts coming to you whenever she needs her wounds bandaged or a home-cooked meal. samurai!yuzuha, who refuses to let you touch her sword with your pure, unsullied hands.

potion-maker!ran, who always despises when rindou barges into his workspace for nothing else than to tip over a couple jars and poke fun at his craft. potion-maker!ran, whose skin and hair have been permanently imprinted with the scent of clove and allspice berries. potion-maker!ran, who concocts love spells and perfumes that grant increased intimacy for the lovesick women who visit him when their own assets aren’t working. potion-maker!ran, who smiles charmingly and calls his female customers “darling.” potion-maker!ran, who has no problem with allowing them to test his products on him in order to guarantee their potency—but only if they’re attractive and have a pretty penny to spare :)

gunslinger!mikey, who almost shoots his big toe off trying to impress the beautiful barmaid across the room

servant!baji, who isn’t the slyest but always makes sure he leaves out a saucer of cream for the stray cats that wander through the town during the night, regardless of how much trouble he gets in. servant!baji, who develops a forbidden bond with his royal!s/o due to their shared love of animals. servant!baji, who is ignorant of the ways of courtship but does his best to flirt with you, however flustered and awkward he may be. servant!baji, who sheepishly seeks advice from his mother about how to impress royalty despite him being unable to offer you any material items.

necromancer!takemichi who doesn’t know wtf is going on and is literally only a necromancer because he fucked up reading a recipe for garlic bread that was written in cursive

vampire!kokonoi, who looks wistfully upon his collection of dusty, old perfume bottles as he recalls how they’d been the most expensive items on the market centuries ago. vampire!kokonoi, who possesses splintered, wooden chests overflowing with outdated currency that will never again be utilized. vampire!kokonoi, who sits for hours and stares at the photo of the young woman that he’s preserved in mint condition for countless years, wondering why he can’t remember who she is

half-blood!mikey, who wonders why his legs are so much stronger than the rest of his body, why he’s always been so much faster than his peers, and why they’re always chock-full of energy. half-blood!mikey, who’s blissfully unaware that the blood of his ancestors is not as it seems. half-blood!mikey, who has zero clue that his lineage marks him a descendant of the minotaur.

farmer!chifuyu, who’s too shy to approach the seamstress’s daughter, so he resigns himself to only admiring her from afar until she makes a move herself. farmer!chifuyu, who’s beyond embarrassed when he accidentally bumps into her, the dirt and grime on his clothing soiling her pristine outfit. farmer!chifuyu, who tries to brush it off, only to panic when the dust on his hands stains the fabric. farmer!chifuyu, who shows up at your mother’s shop the next day to apologize and is nearly chased out due to his kind “not belonging there,” only for you to object and invite him in, claiming that he’s your friend.

jack the ripper!sanzu, who leans up against a dirty brick building with his head low, tongue clicking in rhythm with the slim hands on his golden pocket watch as he decides on his next victim. jack the ripper!sanzu, who dons a simple, shapeless white mask that contrasts sharply with the elaborate feather woven into his top hat. jack the ripper!sanzu, whom others eye skeptically when he skillfully, easily slices his steak into cross-sections with nothing more than a butter knife. jack the ripper!sanzu, who smiles so charmingly at women, basking in their ignorance as he lures them into a sense of false security with a few sweet words. jack the ripper!sanzu, who seals all of his letters documenting his crimes with a lipstick-stained kiss and giggles manically when it smears onto his cheek. jack the ripper!sanzu, who is taken aback when one of his targets whirls on him with anger in their eyes and a knife gripped in their hands, fully prepared to give him a dose of his own medicine.

achilles!izana and patroclus!kakucho. that’s all i have to say. y’all know what’s up👀

soothsayer!takemichi, who’s looked down upon by his fellow prophets because of his frenetic efforts to change the future. while the rest lounge beneath the shade of trees, sweet-smelling smoke curling from their ornate pipes and hazy eyes trailing after people who they know are supposed to die tomorrow, takemichi is doing his best to track them down to warn them of their fate. “he’s just a boy,” the others chuckle, “he won’t make a difference.”

victorian era painter!s/o, who finds seishu inui snoozing beneath a tree and resolves to capture his beauty on a canvas. seishu, who’s well-aware of what you’re doing but decides to let you have your fun. painter s/o, who’s mortified when seishu happens to “wake up” as soon as they sigh with satisfaction and requests to see the picture.

barista!izana, who mixes drugs into his drinks for certain customers while they discreetly slide a handsome wad of cash across the counter

archer!chifuyu, who accidentally spears his superior through the leg while struggling with his bow. archer!chifuyu, who meets kazutora in the dungeons and befriends him during the one night he spends there. archer!chifuyu, who is confused and hesitant when he is abruptly assigned to join the ranks of the prince’s bodyguards. archer!chifuyu, who is white with shock when he sees kazutora stroll into the room, a golden crown balanced atop his head and a wide smile blooming upon his lips when he spots his new friend.

ROBIN HOOD!CHIFUYU

potion-maker!souya, whose face always softens whenever you stop by his shop during your daily mail delivery route. potion-maker!souya, who’s ashamed of himself for having considered exploiting your trust in him and slipping a love potion into your drink. potion-maker!souya, who always offers to make you something befitting the occasion whenever you’re running low on energy, not feeling well, or are nervous about something. potion-maker!souya, who’s too shy to confess his feelings for you.

town crier!nahoya, who sometimes slips a swear word or two into his announcements and prefers to storm the town on horseback, disregarding his elaborate attire. town crier!nahoya, who has definitely snatched you off the street during his routes, leaving you to cling to his sweat-dampened clothes and shout at him for being such an imbecile.

shapeshifter!nahoya, who diligently keeps his eyes closed because he can change everything about his appearance, except for his distinctive eye color.

[artfulbok]

#so me #bg3 hyperfixtation is so strong #i’m in love with ur little guy i wanna know all her lore!!!

very well! I am now an unskippable cutscene. unless you scroll past it ig but. you asked

Tbh i don't have heaps of lore for yer yet, except that she's still pretty young (probably late teens ish) and far too trusting of whatever people say. She would absolutely have taken both Ethel's and Raphael's offers if I didn't know better and try to find a way that she wouldn't. She doesn't fight unprovoked, and when forced into a fight against civilians she will use nonlethal force wherever possible.

She's aroace (like me) and found the tiefling party very awkward because she got flirted at by every single companion and had to turn them all down and there wasn't any ways to do this nicely without them getting disappointed and larien needs to fix this please i don't want to see them sad i just don't want to date them.

The encounter with Vlakith was really hard for her because either she would have to go against Lae'zel's queen, and prove to Lae'zel that her whole life was a lie basically, or believe that the Dream Visitor, who had said that she was protecting her, was lying this whole time (which would mean that maybe the six tadpoles in her brain weren't as safe as she had been told, oops).

She's not averse to stealing stuff from those who won't miss it, especially those who have betrayed her far-too-easily-given trust.

She plays the flute. Her favorite spells are Cloud of Daggers and Glyph of Warding. She politely requested gale to leave the party five minutes before i was told that he only eats three things ever. She doesn't like being intimidating or requesting payment for rescuing people, although she will take it if offered. She hoards magic items like a magpie. She buys stuffed animals just to give to Karlach, and lets Astarion drink from her every second night.

Overall a cinnamon roll who should not have been subjected to the horrors that is the plot. I will absolutely come up with lore on the spot for her if you ask more specific questions, please do, I only have two people i know outside my immediate family who know this game and I need people to talk to about her

oh also she's friends with a very sassy, rude, headstrong older druid called Enna (my sister's Tav) who is very bad a directions and constantly getting lost. Her favorite spell is wildshape (Owlbear, specifically). Picture Kagha but with a slightly different hairstyle and slightly nicer, and you've got Enna.

I drew my Tav, Elane. She's a tiefling bard, as you can probably tell, and she's a bit too nice and naive for her own good.

I'm near the end of act 1 so far after nearly 50 hours of playtime and I MAY be a LITTLE bit obsessed (read: this game is my new hyperfixation).