#so they don't just remove all my additions. that would suck

[theofficialpeanutgallery]

Anybody know how to request updates on wikipedia pages? Like, the real-life pages, not the fandom ones.

[covenofagatha]

Psychology Prof!Agatha

I literally can't get this out of my head so wanted to share some thoughts with you all (this also might be super nerdy but I'm obsessed)

Every time you call her mommy and spend hours sucking at her nipples and eating her out (she IS your oral fixation), she tells you that Freud would be rolling in his grave (except it turns her on just as much, if not even more, so what would he say about that?)

When you go for help during office hours for some clarification on projection tests, she shows you cards from the Rorschach Inkblot Test and asks what you see. All you see are vaginas and she proclaims that you must be horny, leading her to fuck you on her desk and then makes you try again. Little do you know, those are her own custom cards that she purposefully made look like that just so she'd have an excuse to fuck you.

When you get to the Behaviorism unit, you're struggling with the types of conditioning.

To demonstrate classical conditioning, she first rubs your clit (unconditioned stimulus) until you get wet (unconditioned response). She then sprays a new perfume (neutral stimulus) over herself and then does the same thing, teasing you until you get wet before fucking you. She repeats it a few times over the next few days, using the same perfume each time. It isn't until a week later in class, when you have a question about the worksheet that you're doing and she bends down over you to look at the paper over her shoulder, that you catch a whiff of her perfume (now the conditioned stimulus). The same perfume she wore before she fucked you each time this past week. Before you even realize it, you're wet and aching and practically dripping onto the seat, suddenly feeling so empty (conditioned response). She chuckles in your ear and you spend the rest of class absolutely dying.

For operant conditioning, you're confused with positive and negative reinforcement, and positive and negative punishment, so she decides to give you another hands-on lesson.

For positive reinforcement, the addition of a positive stimulus to reinforce a behavior, she gives you one orgasm for each hour of studying you do for her test. It's no time at all before you're spending practically the entire day with your nose in the textbook, just so she'll touch you. When you get a one-hundred on her next test, she lets you choose one thing to do with her as a reward, which only makes you want to get more perfect scores on her test (you choose to fuck her with a strap and she now also wants you to keep getting perfect scores)

For negative reinforcement, the removal of a negative stimulus to reinforce a behavior, you've been procrastinating on the research project she gave the class and whining about how much work it is. Agatha is completely fed up with the way you've been acting and is annoyed that you won't just do the work, so she tells you that she won't let you cum until you finish it, but she's going to tease you endlessly. The edging is torture so you quickly get it all done before she finally lets you orgasm.

For positive punishment, the addition of an undesired stimulus to curb a behavior, she bends you over mommy's knee and spanks you hard for skipping out on studying to go a party with your friends. Safe to say when you try to sit down the next day and end up almost crying out, you learn your lesson

For negative punishment, the removal of a positive stimulus to curb a behavior, she waits until you've been bratty, after you've been teasing her in class the whole time, giving her fuck-me eyes and crossing and uncrossing your legs to give her a sneak peek of your naked cunt under your skirt. When she's finally able to get her hands on you, she bends you over her desk and fucks you hard and rough and right as you're about to cum, right as you're begging please mommy, she stops and doesn't let you. Your least favorite style of operant conditioning quickly becomes negative punishment but you don't try to tease her in class again.

You understand Behaviorism a lot better now.

[fortheb0ys]

I LOVE OLD MEN IN BRACES🙏 JEFF WOULD LOOK SO PRETTY IN THEM! Not my best work but I'll fix it later:)

FEM ALIGNED + MINORS DNI

Jeff sat on his knees, a pout on his face and an avoidance of eye contact. He mindlessly played with his fingers. Even though he looking everywhere but you, he could feel your heavy gaze weigh on him.

You stood tall and dominant over him. He felt small compared to you. Maybe that's what turned Jeff on so much. Just sitting there under your lustful eyes, his dick painfully hard in the confines of his jeans. The toes of your shoes pressing slightly down on his bulge. Jeff felt like he could cum at any second.

"Aw bady, don't be so shy. Give me a smile. Let's see how pretty you are with your new addition." You press down harder on his cock. Jeff chokes out a small moan, holding with every ounce of will power not in cum in his jeans. He was feeling all new sorts of things that he definitely didn't never felt before.

Jeff looked up, tears welling up in his eyes and gave you the best toothy grin he could muster. His shiny new braces on display. He looked absolutely adorable.

"Please."

He was imaging what he look like in the state he was in. A pitiful man sitting kneeling at the feet of another, begging for any touch. If it was anyone but you, he would have ran and hide in the farthest corner of the earth.

"Please what, doll?" You give Jeff a smile matching his own. A slight mocking in your tone.

Jeff snaps his eyes shut, feeling your eyes burn deep at him. He's trying with every fiber of his being to not moan out his pleas.

"I-I want you in my mouth...please." Jeff moaned out his final word.

"There ya go, good boy."

Jeff felt his mouth water as you undo your pants. You weren't going to tease farther, he asked politely.

A sign leaves your mouth as relief washes over as you pull out your cock. By the looks of it, you were enjoying Jeff's pitiful sight. This wasn't a new thing for the two of you. Jeff's favorite thing was to be knelt in front of you, taking completely your cock. It's heavy weight on your tongue. His mouth watering at the thought of having that happen so soon.

Now adding to the thrill was Jeff's new braces. My smile slightly innocent.

You guide your cock to his closed lips, giving them a couple taps before lifting his top lip slightly. He looked like a growling dog as someone withheld a treat.

"Open up, doll."

Jeff hesitates no farther, mouth open before you could finish your request. You follow just as quickly to guide your swollen member into his mouth. He leaves a few licks against the tip before taking you as much as him could.

A muffled moan leaves Jeff's mouth. The vibrations send shivers down your spine. Jeff suddenly jumps as your foot begins to rub against the tent in his pants.

Jeff hallows out his cheeks and being sucking more frantically. Licking long strips on the underside of your cock. The veins tracing on his tongue.

Grunts slip your mouth. Your toes dig deeper into his pants. Jeff pushes forward to the grinding pleasure. A wet spot begins to soak through the front of his pants.

Jeff tugs at your pants to get your attention. You lock eyes and understand the plea behind. He wants you to go faster. To go harder. You know he can take everything like a champ.

You begin to thrust into his mouth at a bruising pace. Jeff chokes on the intrusion, spit begins to slip past the corner of his lips. Jeff enhales a deep breath through his nose and relaxes his throat to take you farther.

"Doing so good, doll. I don't think I can last much longer." Jeff can taste your precum as you give him the warning.

Your hand finds it's way to his top lip, lifting it up to run your fingers against his braces. It'd be such a shame for the removal. You'd have to take a picture as material for masturbating. It was the perfect sight.

Jeff is determined to stay focused at the task at hand, brow frowned. His knees started to ache and will definitely continue to the following day. His voice will surely be hoarse, He'd have to get someone else on sales duty. Or maybe he'd just call in and have you fuck him till the early hours of the morning.

Jeff seemed drift farther into his daze, mindlessly taking everything you gave him. Sex always made him feel fuzzy. The aches were worth it.

A gentle slap on his cheek brought him back to reality.

"Wanna cum with me, Angel?"

Jeff gave the best nod he could with your cock still down his throat. You thrust hard and fast, not letting up to let him breathe properly. Jeff groaned, lungs crying for air. His eyes rolling to the back of his head. You give a few more hard grinds against his cock and cums, his pants now completely dirty.

You'll pull out just enough till so just the tip rests at the front of his teeth. A few more tags, you cum. White painting his teeth but most of had fallen down his chin to drip down the neck of his collar.

Loud panting filled the silence space. Jeff looks like he's about to pass out.

"Such a good boy." You praise him once you've caught your breath.

With the last bit of his energy he could muster, Jeff gives you another smile. His shiny braces now covered in a sticky white. He'd have to get used to washing your seed out of his braces cause he knew this wasn't going to be the last time that he'd find them dirty in the same manner.

[portraitofalinkonfyre]

Emergency request? I’m not sure if this will count as an emergency request but I’ll let you decide if it does. Anyway, this year has been hectic so far. I started a new job at the beginning of the year and now I’m needing to find a place to move. While I did find a place, I’ve severely underestimated everything that went into buying/ moving. There’s SO much paperwork, and it’s LONG paperwork too, so many additional costs and expenses being thrown at you left and right on top of the down payment and closing costs, not to mention that I’ll still need to get utensils and furniture while still having enough for bills and mortgage. The whole process can take months to go through, too. Thankfully, I’m blessed that I’m not doing it alone, but it’s still been greatly scary and stressful and sad and exhausting and exciting at times. It’s a whole roller coaster of emotions honestly. And I think I’ll have to leave my childhood cat with my parents, too.

Anyway, sorry for the long yap. I know many people experience this, but if this counts as an emergency then I’d like to request a little moving out/ in fic. I’ve been overwhelmed lately and I haven’t really even thought about who I wanted it to be with even while writing this. Honestly, I’ve been kinda a Dark simp, way before linked universe, but I’m not sure if he’ll make a good fit for this (though I think he would make a good house husband, having someone love him for once would change him and I will forever die on that hill.) I’m kinda thinking about something sweet and cute about the reader and them buying a place and moving in together, whether it’s just slice of life stuff, cooking together, decorating together, etc. If Dark doesn’t work for you, then I’d be happy with Wild or Twilight as well. I just know they’d make good house husbands! Thank you so much, though! If everything goes well with the current repairs and paperwork and finances, I’ll get to start moving out in March!

Omg no this totally counts!! I'm not at the moving stage yet because I'm still in college, but I totally understand the stress that comes with transitioning to a new place. Don't ever apologize for sharing your feelings, and I truly hope that everything works out for you in the end. You've got this!!

(Also it's no problem to write for Dark. I haven't done him before, but I did a fair bit of character study for this request, so thank you so much for giving me an opportunity to practice my skills <33)

Our Way Out

Pairing: Dark Link x Reader

Warning(s):

Notes: Honestly I had tears in my eyes when this was done. Partly inspired by THIS lovely work <33

Masterlist

You weren't sure what exactly had drawn you to the house on the hill. It was small, pale in color, and the floorboards had definitely seen better days, but it was home, and that was all that mattered.

The deck creaked under your boots as you stepped to the front door, fumbling around the interior of your satchel for the key, which was a bit hard when it was absolutely stuffed with various vegetables, but you prevailed, raising the small item to the light before using it to open the door. Ever since moving in two weeks ago, your boyfriend had always teased you for letting it loose in your clothes and other belongings, but he could go suck an egg because you were an adult, damnit!

"I'm home!" you called, stepping over the foyer and into the home. Shutting the door with a thud, you bent to place the satchel down and begin the arduous process of removing your boots–

–until a pair of arms curled around your waist and a heavy weight settled on your back. Your stomach flipped when something nuzzled the shell of your ear, and a rumbling baritone filled the small space.

"Did you get the carrots?"

"Big and thick," you flashed Dark a sly grin over your shoulder, resisting the urge to grab a gentle handful of stark white hair and pull him in for a kiss. Fortunately, the allure of a good joke was too much, and you giggled cheekily: "Just how you like it, right?"

There was a huff of breath, accompanied by a nip to your ear, but not even an act of Hylia could keep the amusement from his tone. "Actually, I believe that's–"

"Shut your mouth," you interrupted with a guffaw. "Admit it: you fell right into that!"

Silence.

Boots half-on, you turned in his grasp, allowing your back to be pressed to the thick oak of the door. Dark skin, pale hair, eyes that glowed with the ferocity of a thousand bloody moons, and the first thought in your mind when you looked at him was nothing short of beautiful. Dark's ears perked when you cupped his cheeks, thumbs stroking over smooth flesh. Unlike so many others, he wore his scars on the inside, bared secrets shining in blood-bright irises.

For a beat, nothing was said.

Dark's lips ticked up. "I think I'd prefer a different kind of falling."

You couldn't help the laughter than bubbled from your throat. "Pfft– shall I get the bandages?"

"You wound me," he said, pointing in that faux way you loved so dearly. His arms loosened, hands coming down to rest on your hips. He didn't squeeze or pinch or try to entice you into some other salacious activity, but you knew he was feeling you all the same. That was fine; his hips were better anyways.

Still, you grinned, never one to resist the allure of a terrible joke.

"Want me to kiss it better?"

His smile was diamond-sharp and twice as pretty.

"I'd love nothing more."

"No."

"But–" you hefted the portrait–an heirloom that had watched over your family for the past few centuries–into your arms in an attempt to make him waver. It did not. "–it's an heirloom! It's too pretty to go into storage!"

"Absolutely not," your boyfriend's glare narrowed until his eyes were mere crimson slits as he viewed the item with what you could only describe as unadulterated hatred. Gods, he could be so dramatic sometimes. Who gave a fuck if the Hero of Time was depicted in one of the corners?!

You set the portrait back on the ground before Dark got the brilliant idea of punching the offending depiction into the stratosphere, cleverly maneuvering it behind you before turning to face him once more, arms folded across your chest. "How about this: we cover him. I've got rags. And tree sap."

"You truly believe tree sap will fix this?" he all but hissed, leaning ever-so-slightly to the left to shoot metaphorical daggers at the portrait

"That's rich

"It's him," oh dear, you knew that voice, the one he used when he was about to go full demon.

"It's a tree!"

"You're a tree!"

You pinched your temples. What in Hyrule was he trying to do, intimidate you?? After literal years of knowing each other, it would take more than his 'scary' voice to faze you. A lot more. "Then why are you the one always getting wood in the morning?"

Full stop.

Dark blinked, the frustration bleeding from his expression faster than sand in a hourglass. His mouth opened, then closed, and you felt an unexpected flash of pleasure when he seemed completely and totally without a rebuttal for that one. It wasn't like you were making things up, either, considering he was the one who woke you up with all the subconscious humping. Who knew the evil (you begged to differ) reflection of the famed Hero of Time could be such a... well, you couldn't quite conjure a term to describe his lust, but it was great. And addicting.

Cheeks darker than his name, Dark's brow furrowed as he fought to regain control of himself and, by definition, the situation. "You... I... we are not keeping that."

You raised a brow. You didn't budge. "You wanna bet?"

His eye twitched.

"I don't like this," Dark hissed, fingers intertwined tightly with yours as he tugged the hood of his navy cloak even further down his face. Being the 'scourge of Hyrule' wasn't necessarily a well-respected title in Hyrule, so you had to take extra precautions when going out to make sure he didn't get challenged to a duel in the middle of the street or, worse, denied premium discounts on account of the whole 'being evil' debacle, though it was a bit of a shock seeing your boyfriend snap his fingers and instantly become a mediocre white man so you two could traipse through Castle Town like the troublemakers you were.

"Link, I'm sorry, but you don't like anything," you whispered back without any heat.

"I like you," he said without missing a beat.

"Aww!" you exclaimed, clapping a hand over your heart, startling several passersby in your excitement. "Oh my Goddesses, honey, I–"

"Don't mention it."

"–was going to ask for the rupee pouch so we could get candles, but I like you too."

He looked ready to rebuff your statement, until the works sunk in a bit and he raised a hilariously black eyebrow, brown-black eyes narrow in confusion. "Candles? Why?"

"It's so we don't stumble around at night if one of us needs to pee," you explained, feeling quite proud of yourself for thinking ahead. That, and how pissed he had gotten two nights ago when he awoke hours before the sun and discovered you had 'vanished without a trace', though watching him skid through the front door, sword in hand, on your way back from the outhouse was unfairly hilarious once you realized some eldritch horror had indeed not taken refuge in your home.

Dark's pale nose wrinkled. It looked strange when his skin was so... pasty, but you loved him nonetheless. "You forget that I don't need to perform your Hylian..." he grimaced but not at you. "bodily functions."

"But I do, so we're getting candles," you said, gently pulling him in the direction of the Bazaar, which you hoped to whatever deity was out there actually was in stock because, hands-off as he may appear, Dark had the terrifyingly-sweet tendency to stop at nothing to get something when he truly thought you wanted it, and you really didn't feel like watching him vault over the counter to threaten the clerk. Again.

"Then let us buy these accursed candles," he said in a tone that sounded more griping than anything, but the way he was holding hands with you told a very different story.

You grinned, laughing softly when he leaned in to press the softest peck to the apple of your cheek. "Don't worry, we'll be in and out of there before you know it."

Three hours later, you were beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. What had originally been a quick run to the Bazaar had devolved into a full-blown shopping spree involving nearly half the shops of Castle Town. Dark, despite his whining, was a surprisingly good sport when you strong-armed him into picking between two multicolored futons, convinced him to rent a horse and cart to carry home the spoils, and most importantly, offered a full sentence of advice on what rug would fit your newly-acquired home.

By the time the sun began to dip into the orange horizon, the cart was nearly sky-high, piled with all sorts of furniture and knickknacks. Grunting, you hefted the last of the shield mounts up and over the edge, clapping your hands together in satisfaction. Your boyfriend, who had been amusing himself with hitching the poor horse to the cart, turned to survey the damage. His gaze slowly traveled up the frankly impressive mountain of items, then dropped to you.

"Happy?" he asked, though there was no judgement behind his eyes. he genuinely wanted to know if you were satisfied, and it made your heart stutter in your chest, though you masked it with a big grin.

"Very!" you exclaimed, walking over to wrap him in a tight hug, uncaring of the fact that you were quite literally in the middle of the street. Granted, it was a lot less crowded than before, but that didn't mean there weren't children around to regard your purchases with wide, sparkling eyes, or adults to do the same, but instead for the respected purpose of gossip. As you pressed close, cheek practically molded to his chest, Dark's hand came up to pet your head, smoothing your hair down in a way that had you practically melting in his arms. His eyes were uncharacteristically soft as he gazed down at you.

"Good."

Without warning, he scooped you into his arms, hopping onto the driver's ledge of the cart and taking the reins--ignoring your yelp of surprise–gently snapping them to get things moving. "Ah, ah, don't move," he chided when you attempted un-wrap your legs from his waist, wrapping an arm over the tops of your hips to keep you pressed firmly against his front like a errant animal. "You're perfect where you are."

Dear Hylia, you were pretty sure the entirety of Castle Town was watching you ride, butt first, through the streets, which was definitely not how you wanted to be remembered should you return-- ah, and now his forearm was dropping perilously low on your backside. "Link."

"Yes?"

You buried your face in his shoulder because, Goddesses, the bastard knew what he was doing. "I'd really appreciate if you didn't feel my ass up for all of Hyrule to see."

A haughty sniff was his answer. "I have no idea what you mean, beloved."

You pinched his thigh. "Eyes on the road, hun."

"My eyes have not strayed."

Yeah, sure.

You huffed and, a second later, the arm returned to its previous place over the tops of your hips. "Better?" Dark asked softly, and you could have sworn he sounded vaguely apologetic. The town was beginning to fade into the road, giving way to familiar forest, and a sense of comfort washed over you.

"Much."

It wasn't that you didn't like being touched by him, but the position was already enough and, honestly, you really didn't want to draw attention to either one of you, lest someone realize that, beneath the black hair and even blacker eyes, he looked eerily similar to the Hero of Time.

"I love you," you murmured, turning your head so your lips brushed the skin of his neck. A soft shiver wracked through him when you pressed a soft kiss to the pale flesh.

"And I you," he responded without missing a damn beat, sneaking a tender peck to the top of your head. "To the end of time, and beyond."

"Charmer," you teased, cheeks pinking; he had this way of surprising you at the most random moments, and it was one of the things you loved about him.

"You bring it out in me," said Dark Link, scourge of Hyrule and your terrible, wonderful lover. His body was warm against the buffering chill of the approaching dusk, and you found yourself snuggling closer to escape the wind, mind straying what you had planned for later.

"I was thinking tea, for when we're home, and you can help me get all the stuff inside. We've got enough ingredients for soup, too. How does that sound?"

"I'd love nothing more," he responded, skillfully guiding the horse down the narrow path to your home, which you had chosen specifically for it's closeness to civilization, yet significant distance from the main road, which maintained the illusion of solitude. "And after?"

Dear gods. He was insatiable. You bit your lip to keep the laughter at bay. "We could... christen the futon?"

"And the dresser, I'd expect."

"Naturally," you shrugged. "But if I get butt-splinters, you're dealing with them."

At the mention the words 'I' and 'butt-splinters', Dark paused. "...Perhaps we shall have to return for a mat–"

You cut him off with a laugh.

"Hey."

It was dark out. A beam of silvery moonlight streamed in through the window, casting an almost ethereal glow over your boyfriend's face. He had shifted to his regular form as soon as your feet touched solid ground, and you couldn't have been happier when it only took two short hours to drag everything inside, though the approaching night had forced you to be lazy and retire early to recuperate–christening the futon would have wait, likely when it wasn't in the middle of the dining room with a thousand other things stacked atop it–but when you cracked your eyes open to find him very obviously watching you sleep, you couldn't help the concern that befell your expression.

"You're awake," he rumbled, voice heavier from disuse. It was a well-known secret that he didn't need to rest like you did, but he was usually more... discreet when it came right down to it.

"So are you," you reached up to rub your bleary eyes as they adjusted to the lighting. Dark shifted so he was on his side, fully facing you with a fist propped beneath his cheek, sheet pulled down just enough to reveal a very generous peek of his chest and stomach. You could have sworn the red in his eyes was pulsing. "You didn't have another dream, did you?"

It was yet another well-known secret that, when he did find it in him to 'rest', it was often plagued with things terrible enough to have him shooting up with a breathless gasp, then jumping from bed to stalk the home for enemies. Most times, you could get away with wrapping him in a tight hug, but there was never complete certainty, so you had begun asking.

But Dark merely shook his head, watching you with a neutral expression. "No," his voice, still rough from 'slumber', rasped. "Thinking."

"Of?"

"You."

Aw, really? How sweet! You found it in yourself to smile, scooting up the pillow to copy his pose, the last traces of exhaustion still clinging to the back of your mind. "Me too," you admitted softly, keeping your voice low so as to not disrupt the fragile air between you. 

Dark blinked. He hadn't been expecting that answer. "Truly?"

"Have I ever lied to you?" You asked. It was a joke, because, really, you hadn't, and he knew it too. You let your hand drop from beneath your cheek, scooting forward until you were a hairs-breath from each other; eyes searching, hearts yearning.

Inky arms wrapped around you: one slid to cradle your head while the other traced the divots of your spine through your tunic. Soft breath fanned over your skin, and it was with no shred of hesitation that your leg slung across the curve of his hip over the thin sheet. I would die for you, whispered his eyes, because he would always be a man of action than words.

Me too, you hoped the kiss you planted on his nose conveyed.

His grip tightened. You allowed a laugh to bubble from your throat. "We're not sleeping tonight, are we?"

"Not unless you want to," Dark said smoothly. He didn't sleep, but he understood that you had to. Usually. The way he stroked your back was giving you ideas that dared not be ignored. 'For you, I'll wait an eternity' went unsaid.

And, when he kissed you–like a lover, like the only person in the world–you believed it.

Y'all have no idea how close I was to writing smut 😭

[room-surprise]

Dungeon Meshi Anime Review, Season 2, Episode 19 review

Izutsumi arrives! And Marcille has a nightmare.

This is an interesting episode but I know my spouse and I had desperately hoped that they would re-organize things somehow. Marcille's plot in this feels painfully tacked on and unrelated to Izutsumi's introduction, and the concept of the nightmare is so good, it could have easily been expanded to be an entire episode on its own. I wish they'd done that. They could have paired Izu's intro with the ice golem story to have one all-Izutsumi episode and then one all-Marcille episode... alas.

Those are changes I would have LIKED to see, but here's some changes I didn't like:

(MAJOR MANGA AND ANIME SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT!!!)

Trigger removed Laios' mother's only speaking line in the manga. It would have taken SO LITTLE to have someone read this single sentence, and removing it, in my opinion, has a negative impact on the story as a whole.

It SOUNDS like a generic thing when she asks Laios "When will you give us grandchildren?" But this is actually really important. Laios is afraid of being forced to make a family and participate in society. This is unusual because he's a man, most men in a historic time period of this don't really care about such things, but Laios is so afraid of it, it's a recurring nightmare!

This is also why he acted so weird seeing a loving father/baby scene in the magic paintings chapter. He hated seeing a father talk about how much they love their baby.

Laios is named after a story about murdering your children before they can hurt you. Like an Oedipus Complex supposedly means that a son wants to have sex with his mother, a Laios Complex means a man wants to kill his sons. Kui did not pick this name and then have Laios repeatedly be uncomfortable with children, marriage and fatherhood for no reason.

Obviously Trigger didn't make any of these connections and so they didn't think it was necessary for Laios' mom to speak this line out loud, but I vehemently disagree.

This is similar to my beef with them removing Yarn Floke's only dialog in the story and removing her from the scene with the Island Governor. That moment told us that Mr. and Mrs. Floke were equal partners, and now anime watchers assume she's just his wife who doesn't do anything. That sucks.

The addition of paintings of Marcille's father in the nightmare. Woof. I really don't care for this, if they wanted to do it i would have preferred it if they'd obscured the paintings somehow so it wasn't obvious that Marcille's father wasn't an elf.

I think this makes the later reveal of her half-elf status WAY less surprising.

Also, in the manga, the complete silence around her father created a strong subtext that Marcille's mother was her only parent that mattered. They could still accomplish this but I think it won't be as shocking.

People reading the manga probably thought "her dad was an elf and he died young and that traumatized her" (this is what Laios assumes I'm sure)

People watching the anime will think "her dad was a tall-man and his natural death of old age is what traumatized her" which is true, but they aren't supposed to actually know that yet...

Overall the episode was good aside from these issues. I liked that the nightmare sequence was in black and white, and the transition to color at the end was spectacular and very impactful... But part of me wishes they had done something else to differentiate the nightmare state from the normal animation. The black and white was good, but almost too subtle because the DM palette is already so desaturated.

[storiesofsvu]

Solace in Solitude Ch 2

Emily Prentiss x reader warnings: language, medical/injuries talked about (i googled, don't come for me if they're not 100% right), hurt, minor anxiety, two buttheads not getting along.

You were right, Emily was exhausted. And she was annoyed. Both that she was so tired and that you had been right about it. Not that she expected to be full of energy bounding around the room, she’d just wanted to pull one up on you, prove that you were wrong, that she could and would do better. Instead she’d ended up sleeping most of the rest of the day, her brain still foggy, not fully able to pick up whatever French programs were playing on the television. With her attention lacking, she drifted off more than once, only waking up when a nurse was back in the room prodding at her body again. Her body ached, even just getting out of the bed and making it the eight steps to the bathroom winded her, which of course just made her more tired and even more annoyed.

This whole recovery thing sucked.

At least you weren’t so early on your rounds when you checked in on her today, she was awake, half paying attention to the television, a breakfast tray on the small table at the bedside.

“Morning Valerie.” You greeted with a smile, “how’re you feeling today?”

“Bout the same.” She grumbled.

“Have you managed to get up at all? Even within the room?”

“A couple of times.”

“Good.” You flipped open her chart, checking any additions since you’d left the night prior, “let’s keep that up for a few days and then we can start with trips down the hall, make sure your body’s up to it.”

“I didn’t think you meant it when you said I’d be this tired.”

“Yeah, anaesthesia can be a bitch like that.” You commented, checking a few of her vitals before you eyed the still full tray of breakfast, “not to mention your body needs fuel if it’s going to heal.” You moved back to the foot of the bed, scribbling into her chart, “you need to eat.”

“They’re withholding coffee.” She grumbled, sinking back into the bed.

“And you thought that warranted a hunger strike?” You huffed a laugh, “without a spleen you’re going to need to limit your intake of coffee, among other things. Didn’t a nurse drop off those pamphlets?”

“Yeah.” Her gaze drifted over to the bedside table where they sat untouched, she figured her life was already altered enough she could go another day without knowing every other change she would have to accommodate just to survive.

“Then eat.”

“Would you touch that?” She gestured toward the tray, wincing at the pain in her side as she did and you let out a soft sigh. The tray had a container of applesauce, a banana, a couple pieces of bread, “who eats jello for breakfast?”

“I would if I had just had my spleen and part of my stomach removed and it was advised and instructed by my doctor.” You cocked a brow in her direction as you continued to update her chart, she simply scoffed at you.

A nurse wandered in to check on a couple of things and make sure there was a large fresh bottle of water left on the table. You seamlessly swapped over to French while they were in the room, continuing to check in with Emily about how she was feeling, getting more specific on details and you checked over the stitches on her incision before the nurse finally left.

“Your French is really good.” You commented, readjusting her gown back down and loosely tucking the bedding in before peeling off your gloves, “you speak anything else?”

“I dunno.” She grumbled, rolling to face the window, “am I allowed to talk about that?”

“Ah.” Your lips pursed, holding back a sigh, “well, I’ve got some other patients to see. They can page me if you need anything and I’ll check on you before I leave. And you better have eaten something by then.”

Emily didn’t dare move; she didn’t dare breathe until she was certain the door was shut behind you before she suddenly let out the choke of a breath. Tears welled in her eyes and she couldn’t help as they rolled down her cheeks, not bothering to wipe them away, this didn’t just suck, this was absolutely horrible.

*

She’d barely managed to calm herself down by the next time a nurse came into the room, this time they seemed to be focussed on her breathing and heart rate. Whatever panic soaring through her was being reflected by the machines she’d forgotten she was hooked up to. The nurse talked her down until she felt like she could breathe again and Emily curled up on her side with her back to the door when it was suggested she try to eat something. There was a pit in the deep of her stomach, heavy and lingering, almost creeping through her body with waves of nausea and she was certain that food wouldn’t help with that, no matter what medical professionals said. Reaching out she hit the button to send more pain meds into her IV, the stifled cries and deep breaths sending shooting pains through her side, her hand gingerly clutching where the stitches were, moving to rub softly at the ache in her ribs. She didn’t want to be doing this, didn’t want to be here especially not like this, without someone by her side. The longer she was conscious the more memories she found were coming back to her, she could see the haze of Derek hovering over her as he pleaded for her to hang on. Penelope’s voice strangled with sorrow on the voicemail she’d left. If it hadn’t been for you mentioning a blonde she would’ve thought she was going crazy, that her mind was sending her some kind of guardian angel in the form of JJ while the ambulance sired blared, she could almost feel her hand in hers.

It had already been over three weeks and she couldn’t help but wonder if her team was already beginning to forget her. If she would be nothing but a long lost memory to them by the time she was finally able to get out of here. She caught herself spiraling, wondering if she ever actually would be allowed out of here, if she’d ever get the chance to go home, maybe this was supposed to be home permanently now.

*

You spent the majority of your day switching between the ER and the OR, there had been a couple of call ins of other doctors so you were actually kept relatively busy. A handful of smaller injuries, stitches to be done, tests to run to rule out worse conditions before sending them back home or off to a different specialty, an easy appendectomy to spice up your day with a little bit of surgery. You got outside for your lunch break, thankful to breathe the fresh air without the smell of hospital for an hour, it always helped you relax a little bit more. You’d been thumbing your way through a novel with the intention of getting a chapter or two in over the break but the words were all starting to blend together. After countless amounts of paperwork in French your brain was starting to not want to comprehend it anymore, practically begging to revert back to English. So you let out a soft sigh and closed the book, hopefully your afternoon would involve more cutting than paperwork.

Reluctantly, you returned back inside the hospital, checking through a few charts before you got called off to another surgery, thankful that you could immerse yourself into that and not have to worry about anything else for the next few hours. There were no issues, the patient pulling through perfectly before being sent off to recovery and you headed back to the nurses station to finish up on a few things. You made sure the chart was updated with details from the last surgery and assigned a nurse to keep watch on them overnight in case anything popped up.

The day was winding down and everyone could feel it, the extra excitement buzzing through the air thanks to it being Friday, chatter of weekend plans, date nights, family outings all around you. You were going through your patients charts to see how everyone had faired through the day and if there was anything you’d need to check up on before taking off, adding in notes here and there, signing off that you’d seen them. Across from you a few of the other doctors were wrapping up their own things, asking if the others were doing something that evening. When the resounding answer was no there was an invite for drinks, one that extended to another nurse as they walked up to the desk. Your eyes flitted up briefly but the group was so wound up in each other they barely even glanced your way and you huffed quietly. While everyone here was professional and approachable enough, they’d help out if you had questions or needed something but there was absolutely no interest when it didn’t happen within the four walls of the hospital. You’d been rather friendless for the past three weeks and you highly doubted that was going to change anytime soon.

Emily’s chart was the last one in your pile, the last thing you had to go through before you achieved freedom. Naturally, that became a bigger obstacle than you’d been hoping for. As you read through the updates from her day and checked through things you let out a frustrated groan, letting the chart fall shut before you tossed it back into the rack. Just as you pocketed your phone you heard someone speaking French but this time, actually directed to you.

“Your VIP girl?”

“Yeah.” You grumbled back in the same language, “turns out the ‘p’ is for pain in my ass.” They chuckled,

“Sucks. Goodnight.”

“Night.”

Gracing them with a friendly smile and a small wave you turned from the counter, wandering down to Emily’s room. As per usual, the door was shut, thinking maybe killing with kindness would help you gently knocked, waiting a moment before slipping into the space. Emily’s eyes flicked up from the book in her lap, practically glaring you down as the door swung shut behind you.

“Great. What’d you want?” She grumbled, looking back down to the book.

“You to realize that dumping your uneaten breakfast in the bathroom garbage doesn’t go unnoticed by the nurses.”

“Maybe if they weren’t so nosy.”

“Valerie you need to eat.” You let out a quiet sigh, folding your arms onto the table at the foot of her bed, “I know you might not be hungry yet but your body needs nutrients to heal properly, even if it’s just a couple of bites at a time.”

“Whatever.”

“You know, we see this a lot in people who have gone through traumas, that’s part of the reason I pushed for someone to come down from psych today.”

“That was you!?” Her gaze shot up to you, cutting you off instantly as she glared you down, her voice hardening as she spoke, “you sent in the shrink? Why would I need a shrink?! You’re being ridiculous.”

“I get that you’re upset, but you really don’t need to be mad at me about following hospital policy. It’s standard procedure for patients like yourself. At the very least, just let me make sure the paperwork reflects that we’re doing the right thing?”

“Paperwork said he was here, he was here. Believe me.”

“Okay.” You held up your hands in submission, “normally we do wait a week or so depending on everything else but considering the whole food thing I thought it might be worthwhile. Clearly I pushed too soon.”

“Yeah. You did.” She glared, “I’m fine.”

“Well… for what it’s worth I do think it’s a pretty good idea for you to talk to someone.” You stated, readjusting your stance against the table.

“Oh? So what, now you’re gonna shrink me?”

“Not my specialty.” You shrugged, “but if you decide to open up to me then so be it. Otherwise I can put the call in to psych and have someone come down again when you’re ready.”

“You want me to open up? Really?”

“That’s the general idea of talking to a shrink, yeah.” You nodded and her eyes narrowed in your direction, you could see the tension building in her body as she spoke.

“And how exactly am I supposed to do that when I’m supposed to pretend that I died a month ago? You want me to talk to someone about what happened that night but half my medical records are redacted, destroyed or simply don’t exist. When I woke up this morning? I couldn’t even remember the name that was on my hospital band, and you want me to be able to twist up some weird fake stories to help my mental state?!” Her voice shook, the raw emotion starting to break her cool façade, and she took a heavy breath, dropping back into the bed, “you say it was a car accident, it was a car accident.” She held up her hands to signal that that was it, “I clearly had a head injury, I don’t remember the details and I’m not about to do a cognitive interview on myself, okay?”

She picked up the book again but you could tell her eyes weren’t focussing on the words and you could see the shimmering of tears in them, knowing just how frustrated she felt. Emily truly didn’t understand how this was supposed to be helping, she just had to keep shoving everything down until this was all over, she was good at that, she could do that, but not if you kept prying into her life and shattering the illusion that it was going to be okay.

“Well,” you let out a sigh, “then I guess if you’re ever ready to talk, you really are stuck talking to me.” She didn’t reply, keeping her gaze on the book as she did her best to ignore you so you pushed off the table, “if you’re not gonna talk at least do me a favour and eat something. If you haven’t by the next time I see you I’m putting in a feeding tube, understood?”

“Sac a merde.” She muttered and you let out a small laugh.

“I’m fluent, remember?”

“Vai a fotterti.”

“Ah, Italian, now we’re getting creative.” This time she did look up, a glare still on her face as you pulled the door open, “eat your dinner.”

With that last warning you were gone from the room and Emily was left to let out an angry growl, tossing the book onto the bedside table. There was still a pit in her stomach but this one was beginning to gnaw away at her and she was starting to think maybe it was hunger related. She picked up the bottle of water to take a couple of sips, her eyes landing on the brochures one of the nurses had brought by earlier. Maybe if she read through them she’d understand what was going on with her body a little better, maybe it would make this easier.

*

Unlocking the door to your apartment you let out a sigh of relief, kicking off your shoes as you entered the code for the security system. You’d picked up dinner on the way home, you couldn’t be bothered to cook, not now, not with the limited amount of mental energy you had left. You needed a drink. A stiff one.

Keys were dropped on the counter along with your bag and dinner before you disappeared into your bedroom to change out of work clothes. Once you were cozy in a pair of shorts and a tank you padded through the apartment, tidying up a couple of things you’d left out during the busy work mornings. You pulled down a wine glass, filling it higher than usual with merlot, scooping up your phone and food to take out onto the balcony. This was one of your saving graces, the nightly ritual that had been to unwind out in the cooling air, taking in the views of the city as the sun sunk in the sky. It calmed you down after long days at the hospital and you certainly needed it tonight. This entire project had been one you’d been apprehensive of from the start but you’d at least had time to let things sink in, to get used to the new routine in a new place. It had been considerably easier when Emily was still unconscious and you let out a groan at the thought of having to deal with her again in the morning.

A chorus of laughter burst from down in the street below and you felt a wave of melancholy shoot through you, thinking about the others from work out on the town tonight. You understood being on the outside and you understood why you were, but it would be a lie to say that some nights it didn’t get a little lonely. You’d thought that maybe you and Emily would’ve bonded over that, being trapped in a life that you didn’t necessarily want. That you’d be friends, have each other’s backs until this whole thing was over. You took a hefty swig of wine, shaking your head at yourself, at how naïve and ridiculous you’d been. She wasn’t going to be your friend, that was for sure, it was almost like she blamed you for waking up in Paris, like you had personally made the call and lugged her halfway around the world yourself. Your gaze drifted out onto the horizon, watching the last few rays of sunlight dancing through the sky as you let out a small sigh. You’d let her keep playing the victim card a little longer, after all, she did have the reason to be miserable. You knew she’d tire out of it eventually and come around, it would just be a test of willpower to see how long it would take her to cave.

At least you weren’t trapped in a hospital bed. You had some sense of freedom around the city, a freedom she was likely jealous of and that certainly wasn’t helping things. Hopefully things would change once she was discharged.

________________

@mickey-gomez @momlifebehard @daddy-heather-dunbar @maybe-a-humanbean @rustyzebra @ilovemycrayons @mandy-asimp @leftoverenvy @kades95 @dextur @supercriminalbean @daffodil-heart @its-soph-xx @just-a-torn-up-masterpiece @hopelesslyfallenninlove @peanutbutterprincess @emilyprentisssluvr @lex13cm @zizzlekwum @emobabeyy @riveramorylunar @s1ut4nat @scorpsik @prentiss-theorem @strongsassysexysloane @happenstnces @sapphicprentiss @geekyandgay98 @pagetboobstarcomments @onmykneesformarvel @inlovewithemilyprentiss @desperate-gay @amypoehlfey @overtrred28 @theclassicgaycousin @regalmilfs4me @kalixxh @ara-a-bird @five-bi-five-mind @niyizh @inlovewithmiddleagewomen @tommyriddleobsessed @hotchs-bitch @ollysmulti @iluvsreid @kmc1989

[t1red-gastr0p0d]

Girl help, all my Interloper AU ideas come in the form of shower thoughts:

---

Canned food! Int has a lot of canned goods. They keep really well!

What's condensed soup? It's soup that has the majority of its liquids removed for shelf life. (Paraphrasing, I don't actually know the science behind it)

How do you eat it then? Glad you asked, you add the liquids back in. Preferably hot.

You can just kinda suck on cold thick tomato jelly if you're in a pinch like Interloper has been.

What are the cans with dog's paw on it? Dog food.

Int had a dog? No, they're for them.

The party is incredibly concerned that Int feels they have to eat dog food.

The party is even more concerned that Int has tactically starved themselves on occasions to make food supplies last longer.

Bonnie promises a feast so Int never has to eat dog food again.

---

On the topic if eating. Interloper's iron stomach. (Cooking level five in The Long Dark means you can't get food poisoning, you can just eat gone off, definitely not edible anymore, food)

The concerns rise even more.

---

Int flabbergasted at how TALL Euphraise is. She TALL.

---

Interloper's hides kinda smell like animal. Which is great in a survival situation for spooking off predators. Not so much for going into towns to get travel supplies and such.

Int doesn't notice. They're nose blind.

---

Socially awkward Interloper? I mean, isolation could've done a number on their social skills. It's a good thing Vaugardians are so nice...

---

Maybe they get a new hatchet and bow. Something more put together than the basic survival bow and a crude chunk of scrap metal smashed into the basic shape of an axe...

---

The mirror picture room! Forgot about that one.

Uh.

I mean.

Int has a camera. You can get a camera in TLD.

The color film actually prints out color pictures despite the monochrome wish affecting everything.

---

Phrases that would fit back in TLD world but wouldn't make sense in ISAT's world.

Only idea I can think of is the "clearly you don't own an air fryer" but idk if air fryers were a thing back in the 90s/80s/2000s/whatever that TLD is set in...

But Int finds the phrases funny, despite the confusion...

---

Teas to be used in addition to the multitude of potions and tonics.

Rose hip, birch bark, reishi and others.

Super Potion 2, Electric Boogaloo.

Siffrin is still not allowed to manage items anymore.

---

Reason for looping with Sif. Like, maybe they copied Sif's way of wishing to The Favor Tree. Did all the steps right and everything. Folded their wish into the leaf.

Maybe they wished, wished, wished that everything would be OK.

And it will be.

But first you gotta get through this and make everything is OK for Siffrin...

---

Slight alteration to the scene in act...5 was it? The one where a certain party member gets used as a stress ball by The King. (Avoiding a specific name and such just in case for spoilers I guess???)

Everything's frozen and Sif is desperately, desperately, desperately trying to prevent "The Thing" from happening. The King is monologuing about punishment.

...and then a feral scream tears through the stifling atmosphere.

The Interloper used an emergency stim, now spent and discarded, and rushes The King like a wild beast. Getting the person in The King's grip away.

He goes to say something but is cut off by the *BANG* of the revolver. A thin rivulet of dark blood patters down.

Then comes frantic and frenetic slashing from their knife and hatchet.

Before the party can monopolize on this moment, The King grasps The Interloper.

And then

Once

Twice

Thrice

Slams them into the ground.

They don't move after that.

And Siffrin feels the all too familiar t u g on their stomach.

[novankenn]

My Wife is Dwarven Ghost! (Ep3)

Original Idea by @weatherman667 Additional Inspiration by @noneatnonedotcom

Kelric was at his wits end. His wife, the recently deceased Queen of the Red Mountain Dwarves, as a ghost had learned a new trick. It had apparently happened while he was praying to Kali... and being blown off by the patron deity of his family.

Thoria had gone to check on her cousin Mary. One of the almost endless list of dwarven women Thoria was trying to convince Kelric to bed. Despite his hesitancy and resistance to the idea. It had come as a shock after Thoria's first appearance as a ghost, that Kelric suddenly realized that "marrying into the family" really meant something different to dwarves.

Anyway Kelric was currently sitting in his and Thoria's private chambers, listening to her give a complete and DETAILED recounting of all of Mary's fetishes and fantasies... many which apparently involved him and a leather strap.

"It was so strange, but awesome at then same time!" Thoria shouted in a voice only Kelric could hear. "I mean I forgot I was you know..."

"You forgot you were dead?" Kelric deadpanned

"Don't say it like that... but yeah. I did."

"How?" Kelric felt like his mind was being sucked out by a Mind-flayer, "How could you possibly do that?"

"I just did, okay?" Thoria replied. "Anyway that's not important, because when I went to hug her, because you know she missed the wedding I went inside her!"

"Okay. And?"

"And I saw all the kinky stuff she's into and dreams about you!" Thoria exclaimed excitedly. "This is great!"

"It's great that your cousin, is having fantasies about your husband?"

"Yes!" Thoria clapped her translucent hands together. "Yes, it is!"

"Why?"

"Because I thought she'd be the hardest one for you to seduce! Which is totally not going to be the case!"

"I don't want to seduce any of your family!"

"Like seriously, she'd jump into bed if you look at her with a disapproving look... yeah just like that one!" Thoria beamed a wide smile at her husband "Add in a little swat to her plump behind and she'll be popping out babies before you can blink!"

"Thoria!"

"What?"

"Babies?"

"Well, yeah."

"Seriously?"

"Well, yeah."

"Seriously!?"

"Wait, are you not interested in seeding fertile fields? Like I know sexy-times are fun, but there has to be an end game."

"AHHHHH!!!!!" Kelric screamed in frustration as he fell back on to the massive double dwarven sized bed of their room. As he lay there his hands pressed against his face trying to suppress the urge to sob, his mind drifted and thought about how exceedingly large the bed was.

It was easily able to hold multiple people, at least half a dozen. Probably more.

"Honey, I don't understand? Seriously, I don't." Thoria commented, "I thought every man would love to have their wife's express permission to bed hotties?"

"Not every man." Kelric muttered from behind his hands. "And not me."

"My lord?" came a stern and concerned voice, from the direction of the entrance of the room. "Is everything okay?"

Kelric removed his hands and sat up, shooting the heavily armored and armored dwarven Shield Maiden a gentle smile, as she stood in the open doorway shield at the ready and hand on the hilt of her heavy-mace.

"Sorry. Everything is fine."

"But you screamed, my lord?"

"It was nothing. Just some frustration I had to let out."

"Very well my..." The Shield Maiden stopped, frozen in mid motion. Kelric was about to speak up when he saw an ethereal hare sitting upon the young woman's head. It titled it's head towards him, flicked it's ears, and then thumped the young woman on the head with it's hind foot before jumping off and vanishing into the shadows of the room.

"What the... Thoria did you..."

"My lord?" the clatter of metal against the smooth carved stone of the floor drew Kelric's attention back to the entrance of his private bedchambers.

"Wait? What?" Kel;ric stammered as he back pedaled over the massive mattress as the young woman assigned as his protective detail sauntered forward, stripping out of her armor and clothes.

"Let, me assuage your frustrations, my Lord."

"Oh good choice!" Thoria cheered, as the increasingly growing nude dwarven lass continued to close upon Thoria's shocked husband. "That's Patty, well Patricia, but she prefers Patty."

"How are you okay with this?" Kelric shouted at his ghostly wife as he desperately tried to mot look upon the nude figure now crawling across his bed towards him. "I thought the contract was for only your family?"

"She's my thirty-seventh cousin, on my father's side." Thoria informed her now panicking husband. "Do you want me to check her out before you?"

Kelric didn't reply, and did the manliest thing he could think of, in a situation such as this. He threw a sheet over Patty, and bolted for the door, slamming it shut behind him.

As Thoria floated off to locate her fleeing husband, and Patty extracted herself from the tangle of sheets, with a sullen look upon her face, the ethereal hare sat upon it's hind legs shaking it's head in disappointment.

"He's going to be harder to crack than I thought." Frejya commented to herself.

/==/Other Episodes /==/

[silkieluv]

Uhh fanfic change ig?? Why do you even need a title

Okay. I've got it.

I realize that I've been trying to change the plot a little too much, and that I need to dial it back a LOT.

'Cause wdym I wanted the 'wishing it all away' stuff to not happen?? That's a very BIG part of the plot!

And I kept changing and changing that by this point, it's not even a rewrite, but an additional season with Skybound's characters.

So yes, while I will change some stuff, I don't think it would be anything like removing the fact that wishing it away doesn't mean you get sucked into the sword (UGHHH THAT'S SO STUPID WHY DID I EVER WANT TO REMOVE THAT???)

In conclusion:

I found my answer

Just updating

Merry Christmas (I want drugs)

[cringecatgirl]

10+ Year Transition Timeline

Posting the thing that cracked my egg for my 10 year tranniversary

5th Jan passed by about a month ago, but better late than never. This is a very long post, with 30+ photos over about 14 years

Pre-transition 2011-2014 The question of how I knew I was trans? I had The Feeling from about age 11 (2008), reading a gender-bender manwa called PhD: Phantasy Degree in the school library. Wherein the Protag, Lady Sang, has a ring that swaps her gender once removed. Childhood was a difficult time, and I often would go to bed dreaming of comforting scenarios where I would be able to use this kind of power on myself (yes i like forcefem, how could you tell?)

The biggest barrier for my transition for the next 6 years was simply that I wasnt aware that transitioning was a possibility, or more accurately, viable. As a kid, I was aware of The Transexuals that appeared as a butt of a joke on TV, but it felt like an impossibility if you weren't rich and had connections, requiring many surgeries and god knows what else; how they were also depicted as unattractive, undesireable and fetishistic.

2015 The first year In early January, I came across a trans timeline post on imgur.com by sheer luck. What really struck out to me is how happy, and how beautiful everyone seemed post-transition. I'll never forget the feeling of discovering that those funny little dreams I have might not be just me who does. I looked into the comments and discovered what transitioning meant, as well as that most of the people only used HRT, which was relatively inexpensive compared to what I had been expecting. The next day I awoke after having a dream wherein I was looking into a mirror atop a hill, and seeing a girl looking back. Once I awoke, I decided then to transition; simply based of the massive euphoric feeling of seeing myself as a woman.

Sadly however, I didn't really have a clue what I was doing, or what I wanted. I was terrible at asking for help or researching. I was pretty broke too, so experimenting was quite difficult. My sister moved to London and my city didnt really have a great LGBTQ scene (still doesnt 10 yrs later), so I was basically by myself. In these photos above, I think I started telling my close friends and family but I really struggled to make any meanful change to my appearance. My one goal was to start the NHS HRT track, which was supposed to be a 18 month wait list. Due to my inexperience (and being a bit socially inept) with navigating the NHS and my GP, I wouldnt start HRT until 2019, almost 4 years later. If theres one thing I could go back in time to change, it would be to DIY HRT.

2016-2018 I'd left college and begun work. I didn't feel like I passed at all, and absolutely hated voice training. I don't really remember much about this time of my life, it felt like waiting for HRT so I could start living. In hindsight, I was very depressed. I ghosted a lot of my IRL friends and working in fast food was sucking the life out me. I was very unhappy with how I looked, and didn't know how to fix it. My wardrobe consisted of pretty basic & safe outfits, like jeans & hoodies; I didn't have an experimental phase like so many other trans women did. I was decent at makeup but made so many mistakes that people often laughed at me for. I spent most of my time in this period escaping into MMO's with my discord friends and working ~50 hours a week. Sadly, I think I lost a significant amount of hair due to stress during this period of my life. Some has since grown back, but not all.

2019 (CW: SA) This is the only year I don't have any photos of, which is somewhat odd since I started HRT in May. But it was also one of my lowest points. I was at the breaking point with stress from work and didn't have many IRL friendships, in addition to working with my Dad to sell his house.

This was also the year when I was sexually assaulted on the way home from work. I would then repress this for over 5 years, as of writing, I have my first appointment in 6 days.

By the end of 2019, I had left my crappy fast food job and was living in a house share, unbeknownst that the world was about to drastically change. My mental health was starting to improve with starting HRT, I'd also learned that I had a natural testosterone defeciency, which explained why I had almost no body hair and little facial hair growth (though i still needed to epilate). However, the NHS used this to determine that I didn't require anti-androgens, and I deeply regret not challenging them on this, as I learned it was a huge mistake on their part.

2020-2022 Immediately you can tell how much HRT affected my face and body in just a year. I'd also put on a decent amount of weight as a result of a fast food addiciton. I'd begun to feel better in myself, but still didnt like my appearance. 2020 felt like a turning point in my mental health, I started a cross-Atlantic long distance relationship with another trans woman that lasted about 3.5 years. Though this gave me emotional fufillment, I craved physical affection and initmacy. During this period, it felt like something between coasting and stagnation. I wasn't satisfied with how my life was but didn't have the drive to change things. I thought I was less depressed here but I think just barely.

In late 2023, I entered the lowest part of my life. I was unhappy with the state of my living conditions, my relationship, my appearance, and so many other small things. I was working a 9-5 whilst trying to maintain a relationship where my girlfriend would get off work at 10pm. Sleeping after work was impossible whilst living at my Mothers, and moving wasn't an option due to noise complaints. I wanted to loose weight, start prog, change my wardrobe, start wearing makeup again, start voice training, dye my hair, and start taking care of myself. I was so tired of feeling like a genderless blob. And I hit my breaking point. I quit my quite-decent-paying-but-otherwise-insufferable call center job and went back into fast food, simply so I could be with girlfriend more often. I hit the gym, started prog and all the other small things. I attempted voice training again, but this time decided not to listen to my own voice. I would judge how good my voice was based on how people responded. I found they would small talk and be way more chatty to me than before, in addition to less misgendering even after 2 weeks of training.

2024 was one of the best years I've ever had. But it started with a breakup. I was distraught at the time, but in hindsight I truly think it was for the best. The first month was incredibly difficult, but I kept up my routines of self improvement. I lost about 8kg (starting from 98kg) and finally found the style I like, goth. But it still felt like something was missing Soon after the breakup, I lost my job, but this was a blessing in disguise. I got referred in to where my Mother works, and soon found this missing piece that I needed.

Holy shit does a hair cut make a difference I felt like a completely new person, and people treated me so so so much better. I'd get compliments almost every day. I actually loved my appearance, and taking photos. I reconnected with my school friends I'd alienated. I felt confident about dating. I hit my weight goal of 85kg, and starting taking prog the right way. My mental health had never been better. By the end of the year, I'd moved out of my Mother's house, who had been manipulative and abusive up until this point.

2025

So here I am, 10 years later. I've still got things to finish off, mainly fixing my testosterone levels. But it truly feels like the end of the road.

Don't ever give up, no matter how far in you are. Happiness will often not find you, you have to pry it from the Earth yourself.

[naanima]

PEOPLE, I'm deep diving into the pits of Reddit reading about the Jake trade. Lololols. I'm just fascinated. Also, I'm gonna talk about what I THINK about the Pens etc, just my own personal take. IGNORE at will. But also realise I DON'T have that much of an emotional attachment to Jake as a lot of fans do, I love him but he isn't one of my guys.

I like the Jake trade, and I think a lot of the anger from fans is that they think trading Jake is admitting that the Pens aren't making it into the playoffs. And I'm just like, um yeah. It is pretty obvious we aren't, or the likelihood of us making it in is fucking low with the season we have had. Jake is NOT going to make a difference in whether we make it to the playoffs or not.

Jake is an UFA in 3 months time. We DIDN'T have a contract with him, of course we are gonna trade him for futures. It is the SMART trade decision. The return we got for him is OBJECTIVE high. He is a 3 months long RENTAL, NO team in their right mind would willingly offer up their first round pick WITHOUT conditions. Unless all we are getting in return is a first round pick and a player. THAT'S a shit deal.

First round picks are worthless UNLESS they are a guaranteed success - generational talents, someone that's practically a guaranteed hit. The NUMBER of first round picks that never make it is HIGH! In addition, I'd like to remind everyone that Jake was picked up in the fucking THIRD ROUND of the draft.

Kyle gave the Pens the WHOLE season to get better, and don't give me the bullshit about how he got us shitty pieces, ALL his trade on paper was excellent (barring Jarry and Graves). We are INDIVIDUALLY better, but as a team we just fucking suck.

I know Sid is pissed, and that's good, it would be fucking off if Sid ISN'T pissed about losing, and having his eldest daughter being traded away. He is a player that's what he should be focused on. But guess what? Kyle's job is about providing the best chance for the team to win (he did with all the summer trades etc, the team just somehow fucking sucks), and to build a future for the Pens (which he is doing by SECURING us prospects and future picks, bcos we HAD BASICALLY NOTHING). For whatever reason we fucking suck.

Actually, I 80% believe the reason we suck is bcos of our coaching staff. I LOVE Sully, I think he has TRIED everything this season to make us win, but the FACT NOTHING worked says a LOT about his position with this team presently. Sometimes people can get TOO comfortable in an org/place etc. or sometimes a person is just NO longer what an org/team needs. And I truly believe it is time for Pens and Sully to part ways. The truth is Sully is gonna get snapped up straight away and most likely win another Cup, just NOT with the current Pens. And I 100% believe Sully wasn't fired this season so far bcos FSG likes him and gave him a FUCKING EXTENSION. No way was Kyle gonna be able to remove him. But hey, there's enough evidence to show that we REALLY NEED A FUCKING COACHING CHANGE.

Also, our PP sucked so bad this year that truly fucked us over completely. It was MENTALLY impacting our players, our commentators and the fans. It is a fucking problem. Fire REIRDEN for fucks sake.

Oh! And 20% maybe we suck is because we had so MANY changes in the roster meant it was gonna take us a whole-ass season to figure shit out.

I'm just really fascinated by the Pens future.

[zooophagous]

Hi! I'm here from a popular post of yours about humanity's love for sheep and saw you were a sheep caretaker. This is a job i really want to do. That said i am extremely frail (i have no disability that i know of, but it still sucks) and fear that the job might be too physical for me. I cant find any resource detailing the average day of a sheep caretaker in my native language except for websites trying to hire. So i guess my question is... what does your day look like (or can you get accomodations of sorts, like focusing on milking the sheep idk)! I am really motivated and ready to accept a part time job but if i knew i could manage with a full time contract i would love to get that extra money lmfao

Hi friend. I'm glad the post inspired you to love sheep as much as I do.

I will preface this with a very important distinction: my sheep were petting zoo sheep. It was a very small managed herd in a relatively small area that was kept immaculately clean.

These sheep had lots of 1 on 1 time with humans and saw caretakers as a source of food and safety. A commercial sheep operation has the potential to be VERY different.

Range sheep are often barely handled except to be given vetting on a tight schedule, and otherwise live in large flocks outside where they don't directly interact with people on a daily basis. These range sheep can be semi feral and not at ALL cooperative like a small herd of sheep managed by a hands on shepherd like what you might see on, say, a smaller farm or just for fun operation.

So suffice to say, if you're working with a very large herd of range sheep, your experience will differ from my experience with my Jacob's sheep pals who saw me every day and got hands on messing with several times a day.

I know exactly how you feel with being frail. I've never been a strong person and I have a low heat tolerance. Farm work, even on a petting zoo setting, is always going to be very hard work.

My day consisted of raking out the sheep pens daily, including sweeping out any old hay or straw and replacing as needed. The entire pen, even the outdoor areas, was cleaned. I would then feed the sheep (a hay bag with approximately 5 pounds of hay per sheep) and water the sheep (five gallon bucket which had to be dumped and refilled and carried back to the pen by hand)

I also gave the sheep enrichment items such as branches or small pieces of fruit. Old enrichment items had to be removed and reusable items like balls or toys had to be cleaned. Reusable items would be taken back to the dish station far away from the pens, scrubbed, and returned.

In addition, I would also take the sheep waste in a large trash bin to the compost heap with the help of a small tractor. The waste bin containing the droppings and old hay could weigh anywhere between 15 to 40 pounds depending on how much water waste got into the hay that day. This bucket had to be loaded by hand into the back of the compost tractor.

These tasks would continue every day no matter what weather. Our weather here is highly variable and can range from 100F in summer to -50F in winter.

It is a very physically demanding job to care for a petting zoo, and while I was often physically exhausted, I did also gain quite a bit of muscle from the experience and by the end of my time there I had more strength and endurance than when I had started.

Keep in mind, if you were to get a position similar to mine, you would be dealing with more than just sheep. I was also personally responsible for horses, cattle, goats, chickens, rabbits, alpacas and a giant sulcata tortoise. So you will be doing all of the same stuff you did for those sheep for the other animals in your care, and if you get big ones like cows, the weight limit goes up. I often had fifty pounds or more of cow waste alone. And that too was loaded by hand.

My animals were friendly and a joy to take care of, but the level of cleanliness demanded by the facility meant that the work done was very messy and had lots of lifting.

If you work with range sheep, you probably won't be scooping poop with a rake while a friendly lamb bothers you for attention. You may be physically pinning an angry ewe nearly as big as you are in a pen to force feed her an antibiotic while she tries to smash you. You may be herding sheep on a four wheeler. You may be assisting with births and expected to perform procedures such as banding, docking or mulesing.

If that level of activity is off putting, you may be able to find some fulfillment in volunteering for a livestock rescue or even working part time at a livestock auction house. If you're strong enough to manhandle a sheep you could even learn to shear. But regrettably there isn't any physically easy way to care for sheep that I am aware of.

I hope this helps you get a feel for the level of activity you'd expect in a similar role. Livestock animals are very fun and rewarding despite the effort they take. I hope to own my own small herd of Jacob's sheep as pets and pasture ornaments some day.

[crystalelemental]

When I was a child, there was something that really bugged me in Pokemon games. Why was it that some Pokemon showed up so late? I really like Misdreavus, but it's all the way in Mt Silver! Even smaller issues like Seel in FRLG felt annoying. I have to beat five whole gyms without this thing? Why even pick it up? This led, inevitably, to my first hacking device: a GameShark for Gen 3. I have a vivid memory of replaying FRLG, excited to hack in my own personalized and very normal starter, Articuno. Articuno was so great when you caught it! Surely it would be even better if I could use it all game!

Now...I did not have the internet at the time. And by Gen 3, I was perhaps overconfident about not needing a strategy guide. So while you may know what happened already, I did not know what was coming. Articuno sucked. Like, really bad. If you look at it, it turns out the answer is obvious: it only knows Gust and Powder Snow as attacks until Ice Beam at level 49. Which...hey, wait a second. That's only one level below what you catch it at to begin with! And it turns out, this was similar all over. Seel didn't learn anything but Headbutt until level 17, it was useless against Brock despite its typing. What is going on? Why do all these Pokemon I like when I catch them at the intended time suck so badly when I get them early?

At the time, I blamed it on the Pokemon being bad and just hacked rare candies. But over time, you begin to suspect that maybe, just maybe, the game was designed on purpose? That maybe there was a structure to the game at large that kept things in balance. With age, it stops being "this was badly designed because I didn't get what I wanted out of it," and starts to become its own thing. To quote a famous Nuzleaf, I believe all of this is happening for a reason.

Friends...let's talk Sword and Shield.

My team was Rillaboom, Thievul, Butterfree, Mr. Rime, Alcremie, and Dragapult kinda sorta, with additional showcasings for Carkoal and Perrserker. I say sorta kinda on Dragapult because I intended to use it, but it didn't fully evolve until after I beat Leon. Oops!

If the intro wasn't a giveaway, I want to talk gameplay first. While we'll get to the story issues, I think gameplay matters more to Pokemon, and is the bigger problem that keeps Galar low on my list. To get some small housekeeping out of the way first:

I will not be harping on graphics, I don't care. Yes I know performance isn't good, but it's mildly annoying at worst.

I will not be harping on designs, they're largely fine. The starters are one of the weakest sets, and the box legends might be my least favorite, but there are plenty of good ones to the region as well.

I will not say "game too easy," but I will be discussing factors that led people to that assertion.

I will not be talking about Dexit. While I hated it at first, having calmed from it, I think it's for the best. I liked when Gen 5 forced you to use the new stuff to generate new favorites, and if anything Dexit should go harder by removing Home so they can more severely tweak stats and movesets between generations.

My problem with Gen 8 gameplay my very well be my own preferred means of playing, but I'm going to attempt making my case with three examples.

First: Growth via TM progression. In my Crystal run, I ran a Togetic, and have a pretty rough time of it. Togetic was never particularly strong, but it had an arc, picking up Mud Slap for Morty, Sunny Day/Solarbeam/Flamethrower for several Kanto gyms, and then falling back on Psychic/Zap Cannon when the earlier set wasn't working out. Togetic had an arc of struggle, in which it had to find tools that made it work for each phase of the game, that came down to recently acquired TMs the game provided naturally. Barring Flamethrower, all of these were free acquisitions.

Compare this to Thievul is Galar. It also is pretty bad, despite access to Nasty Plot, because its best attacking move is Snarl. It needs TMs to learn anything else. But in Galar, TMs are no longer infinite, as TRs now cover the really good moves. And the only way to get them is random den drops, and random shop items around the Wild Area for thousands of Watts, when a full den gives only 300. Acquiring the specific TM it wants is next to impossible. Dens aren't guaranteed to be Dark type, and even if they are, you could get other dark moves like Crunch. The shops aren't guaranteed to sell Dark Pulse, and even if they are, how long will it take to farm 5000 Watts? There is no control over what the Wild Area produces, and thus no arc to be had for anything specific.

Second: growth via learnset progression. In Emerald, I ran a Mawile. Caught at level 37 in Victory Road, we needed several levels before it could learn the move that would give it relevance, and the EXP options were scarce. I had to use an EXP All, cutting the entire team's EXP gains just for Mawile to catch up, while trying to find optional areas with trainers left, and at times trying to keep Mawile in to win the fight herself. There's a struggle and a cost to the growth unit perspective.

Compare that to my Butterfree. Until it gained Quiver Dance, Butterfree contributed little beyond the occasional Sleep Powder lockdown. It took off once it learned Quiver Dance, but the means of getting there was just...have it in the team. Even on the back row, it'll be fine and catch up with no real issue. There's not much of a struggle to overcome, or a sense that you're building things. It just kinda happens to you.

Third: Galar's Intent. I do not have a comparison point for this, but Mr. Rime. Probably my MVP! Once it hits Mr. Mime, it has Icy Wind, Psybeam, and Dazzling Gleam. With a Thunderbolt TM I had randomly picked up from an early den, it had excellent coverage that took down a majority of the region past its evolution. This was a fairly fun find.

I think that's the intent of Galar's structure: accidents. Surprises. The Wild Area lacks any sense of control, holding events locked to the day and forcing save commitments that refuse to allow soft resets for different outcomes. If you can roll with the punches, and accept whatever comes at you, this game probably is a lot of fun. That's probably why my wife likes it so much. But if you can't...well, you're like me, and this game is really difficult to appreciate.

I will, however, argue that it's not just me. The Wild Area's structure is awkward, being the sole home of a lot of different Pokemon, who will only show up under specific weather conditions and at very low rates. Look up how to find Dreepy some time. But the dens lack control as well, unless you manipulate the system's clock in the right way. Then, even if you find something you want, you have to hope for the random TM to drop too. I decided to use Rillaboom because I never once ran a starter, and part of Rillaboom was wanting TMs that required time manipulation to find in stock. If you come in wanting literally anything, the Wild Area is very likely to deny you. You have to come in wanting for nothing at all, working only with what's handed to you, to have a good time.

Which feels crazy disingenuous to me? Pokemon is all about the little critters you can find, and growing an attachment to things you want to catch. Not everything even comes from what's randomly found, sometimes you see something in an enemy team and get really excited for that thing. Like, imagine seeing something like Cursola in Allister's team, and going man, that looks cool! Regional Corsola and it gets an evolution, sign me up! So you go out into the world hoping to get it, only to find that it shows up exactly 5% of the time under one (1) specific weather condition in one (1) region of the Wild Area. Better hope that one area has the right weather condition or there is no way in hell you're getting that Corsola!

I just...I get that replaying Pokemon games is a thing, and that each experience can be different, and that having some random outcomes is beneficial. But Galar takes it way too far. I think their intent was to give players technical access to what they want right away, without making it actually available. See, this is something I heard and agree with: Pokemon is most engaging while you're building the team. Postgames have felt difficult for me to appreciate because my team is done, my moveset is done, I don't want to do the volcano in Platinum I just want to finish. You need to have a ladder to climb and a goal to reach for the game to remain engaging. But players are also impatient, and have gotten worse with this series over time. Learned movesets went from situations where Gyarados learns very little of value naturally, to learning its best Water move at like level 21. Players will tell you they want the feeling of being done early, but that provably kills the experience.

Another thing I'd do with hacking as a kid was bring in all TMs. Yeah, let's start HGSS with a Swinub that has Ice Beam, Rock Slide, and Earthquake, what could go wrong? It turns out everything at once, as you just clobber the entire early game with no resistance. There was no real challenge to approaching the game in this way, and the run turns stale fast because oops, Swinub had its best moveset right out the gate. I started a lot of runs in those days but rarely finished, and it's why nowadays I do have some compulsion about the purity of a run. It can actually take away part of the joy. And more than likely, the devs know this too. So if players demand the ability to kill that joy, but you want to sustain it, what's the compromise?

Make it all so random that it's borderline impossible to account for anything. Yeah dude, you can get everything right away! But you can't get anything specific at all. Which solves nothing and creates new problems. Because now there's no progression toward the endgame outside of learnset, and some learnsets in Galar are hilariously bad. You ever looked at Coalossal's moveset? Its best Rock move is Rock Blast at 54. Good luck not using TMs and making that thing work to any enjoyment. It feels like they overshot the mark, and for anyone who plays like I do, thinking about what Pokemon you want to run or trying to chart a course for the game, it's naturally going to be miserable. Galar still ranks really low for me, but I at least feel like I understand what Galar may have wanted to do.

Gameplay aside...it's time to talk about the aspect that got my wife laughing at me, and will probably have @alphakuriboh saying some things too. Story.

Much like XY, Galar is generally considered a low point for story. Doesn't make sense, antagonist is stupid, etc, you know the drill. However, I do think they Galar was cooking to some degree.

Rose is the main sticking point regarding story, because...again, the antagonist's actions are the only story we get in Pokemon. And he kinda pingpongs. Worried about a millenium from now, he refuses to wait 24 of god's own hours for Leon to finish his sports tournament, and unleashes hell. He acts sad about the state of affairs but resolved that he must do it, then after you beat him is back to borderline cheerful about how fun battles could be. You solve the problem, and Rose turns himself in, never to be heard from again. That is. An event, my dude.

Thing is, I think his actions make more sense given his character, and the theme of Galar. Galar's big theme is a sort of "passing the torch," best summarized by Opal. The old need to know when to step out of the way, but we're not done yet. Opal's stance and her actions tell the full picture. It's not that the old blood needs to disappear, but rather that at some point, the young need to take ownership of their future. They're the ones most impacted by the conditions going forward, after all, and it's important they be granted the ability to decide for themselves what they want.

Rose, as a character, denies that entirely. He manipulates the younger generations for his own ends, and his motivation is about maintaining his own view of things and his legacy 1000 years in the future. Yes, it's a far off problem that can be solved a bit later, but that's not the point. This is his problem, and it has to be solved his way. And most importantly, solved how he commands it. His lack of patience isn't about truly being so hasty. It's about forcing Leon back into compliance. Even if Leon didn't strictly say no, it wasn't a yes, and that's not how this goes.

Rose acts kind, propping up Leon as the unbeatable champion and giving Bede his position and mission. But his actions aren't altruistic. Leon now holds the same neuroses as Rose, taking everything on as his own responsibility. Accidents at the power plant? He'll talk to Rose, you all go on. Dynamax Pokemon going out of control? He'll take care of it, don't worry. Eternatus is unleashed? He'll catch it and take care of it. That last one is even what Rose wants! Leon falls completely into his expected role that Rose shaped for him. Bede also falls exactly into the role he expects, even if it results in discarding him and banning him from the competition as a result. Rose controls the youth in order to shape his vision of the future.

While I didn't play it, I imagine this is the intent with Shieldbert and Sordward, too. Control over the truth of the past alters what you think to do in the future, and so they are just another iteration on this idea, albeit less fleshed out.

Rose's future also lacks accounting for everyone's future. Spikemuth is in horrible poverty because they lack a power spot to draw energy from, or to Dynamax for spectacle from. Any future Rose builds will continue this inequality. His vision of preserving the future isn't a net positive for others, but that's not important. What's important is that it's his future. Which is why he lets himself be locked up. If the energy crisis was really the main concern, then your character catching Eternatus and beating Leon should result in another attempt. It never comes because at this point, whatever happens next is no longer his future. He can't care if it's not what he wanted.

The flip flop on his general mood state is a little harder to read with certainty, but I imagine the intent is one of cycles. I doubt he crafted this company from nothing, and his family likely had their own expectations of him that led to him perceiving every little thing as his concern and losing connection with the fun of things. It's a bit messy, but I'd be lying if I said the start of his fight with him gripping the Pokemon wasn't a cool individual scene.

Now before I get too positive, I do think Galar's story is also rife with problems. Primarily, its refusal to engage the player in anything. We feel utterly disconnected from anything going on with Rose or the region, because Leon's taking care of it instead of us. It does hinder the feeling that we're doing anything particularly important or special.

I also feel like some of their decisions were rather...poor, regarding passing the torch. Mostly Magnolia, if I'm honest. I think the decision to not even use your first old female professor to play up her 20-something granddaughter is...telling. God forbid female professors be old, they have to be super young and pretty. I just think it would've been more interesting to have Sonia acting as assistant to Magnolia and piecing together what your player character does instead. It gives Magnolia more spotlight, and gives Sonia like...an actual function beyond turning to you all the time to ask what you think, rather than posit ideas of her own.

Lastly and most vitriolically...what is the point of Marnie? No really, why is she here? Spikemuth's situation is understood, but Piers carries all the interesting stuff. Refusing to Dynamax as a statement about the inequality and the value of its residents is fantastic, and Marnie just throws it out the window. She holds no convictions, and at no point in the story does she really do anything. She's around for the ride until Piers shows up and has an actual emotional stake in things. His own passing the gym leader torch to her doesn't even feel valuable because she's so disconnected from his philosophical stance. I think Marnie should've been the one out here making that statement by refusing Dynamaxing while climbing the League's ladder, and Team Yell benefits from this as their interference can be interpreted as concern that their one chance for a Champion is playing risky by not using Dynamax for some political point. She just feels pointless.

The less said about postgame the better. That entire sequence is just tedious and annoying and completely missed its mark dramatically.

Unlike Kalos, Galar remains low on the list. I'll admit, I have been harsher on the game than was strictly called for, but I maintain it's one of my least favorites. Its entire design is just so functional antithetical to what I like in these games.

Next...I'm gonna be real, I have no idea. I'm kind of in stasis right now. I don't feel like replaying Gen 9, that's too fresh. I considered White 2 but didn't love White 1, so I'm hesitant. I considered ORAS, which...might be next. And for my own console time...it's either BDSP or I pick up one of the games in my backlog. We'll see what I feel like doing tomorrow.

[dankillstheworld]

Castaway Cay

Actual Christmas day was the day we went to Disney's private island.

Gotta say, I loved this place.

We had a really decent view from the cabin window!

Started off the day with the famous churo Mickey waffles. Yes, they DO live up to the hype. I could eat them forever. Forget cotton stuffing, fill me up with these Mickey Waffles!

Had to meet Goofy again on the island. Like how can you see Goofy and not go "I wanna meet Goofy?" You can't. Guy's just so awesome and down to earth.

Donald showed up right after Goofy left, which was pretty chill.

Mom thought she was twinning with Captain Minnie since they were both wearing blue swim dresses, but those are obviously two different designs and shades of blue.

The lighting kinda sucked for meeting Mickey on Castaway. Mom gave him a hi five, but the shadows totally swallowed everyone's faces in nearly every picture.

Grandmama said Mom can remove the shadows with photoshop, but changing the lighting on my fur sounds like a nightmare. Real big talk for someone who accidentally made their phone think it was May!

We "ran" the 5k in order to get some medals. And by "ran" I mean we walked and took a bunch of pictures. They don't time you.

Not sure if you can see it, but Mom went nuts about spotting a lizard during the 5k. He's by the tree. You'd think she'd never seen a lizard before.

After the 5k, we went down to the beach for snorkeling.

I don't have a mouth, so snorkeling sounded hard...I volunteered to watch our stuff instead.

Hung out with my floatie. They're on the prohibited list, but the Disney provided floats were too big for me, which is why I got to keep my lapras.

After snorkeling, we went to the adult's only beach. I'm too young, but again, no one tells a bear where they can or can't go.

Mom got this bag in her fish extender from the facebook admin for our cruise. We used it as a shopping bag on the island so Mom could get a spirit jersey for her best friend. No idea why those are so popular...they don't even come in my size.

As we were leaving, made sure to grab a picture with the back of the ship.

It was a fun trip. Mom and her family had fun, my aunt bought me one of the paint brush knives from the Animator's Pallet. But after we made it back to the boat, we had to start packing in earnest.

With all the gifts Mom got for herself and for the people back home in addition to everything we brought, our suitcase was packed so tight. It was insane.

Mom's lucky I'm a bear in arms and not something that goes in the bags...because I absolutely would not have fit.

Also shoving me in the suitcase is bear abuse and would have been a crime.

[pinkpinkmermayyy]

Nah but it's the way every time a story features or is about women or a woman's story, people always want to try to make it about men or say "what if there were men instead?"

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and Six: the Musical both have parts of their fanbase(although thankfully in Six it's not the majority) saying that there should be a version with all men or going "what if this female main cast had a male main cast instead"? Even though the point of both is to provide representation for women, MLP is about how there's no wrong way to be a girl and changing the way girls'/girly shows are seen as shallow and less good, and giving girls multiple strong female characters to see themselves in instead of just one token/cookie cutter archetype, while Six is all about REAL-LIFE women whose lives were destroyed because of misogyny, it is all about girl power(same as mlp) and women getting to reclaim their stories from a patriarchal society that shortchanged and silenced their voices throughout history, but no let's make it about men lol.

The same is true for Sailor Moon, I have seen some people say that it's sexist or "misandrist"(as if that's even a thing lol) because it's all about women and the women are more powerful and how Tuxedo Mask "always needs to be saved" like goddamn let the girls be the heroes who save the world for once.

And for that matter PRECURE. Unpopular opinion that will surely get my head bitten off by fans but I don't think Precure NEEDS male Cures and it's not "erasing" feminine boys or saying boys can't be feminine or "reinforcing gender roles" to point that out. Precure is a franchise about female characters being the heroes and main characters who are powerful while also being feminine, it's supposed to place the women center stage and give them the spotlight when most media doesn't do that, trying to fit boys in it is just ruining that message imo. Tbh I would be happy if there were no male Cures at all, idgaf about your "but let boys be feminine" shit cuz I mean yeah but like go watch Cute High Earth Defense Club Love or something, that show seems more your speed(@ sexist Precure fans who say this, not you). I once got my comments removed TWICE for trying to point this out to someone, to the point where I just blocked them lol. One person even went so far as to make a petition for Toei Animation to make an all-male Precure season, again, just go watch Cute High, bc clearly that's what you're looking for.

I also saw some people complaining about Project MC^2 being "sexist" against boys and making them out to be stupid just because it's about girls being smart spies and good at math/art/science, one review even said "teach girls that boys matter too!" oh rly like they don't know already??? Like the world doesn't already tell them that each and every single day??????? The second girls get the spotlight everybody acts like boys are being attacked, but when boys get the spotlight it's all crickets and shit bc boys are supposed to take center stage like no one cares about girls getting attention. Your seven-year-old son isn't going to enter a self-hating misandrist crisis because one wee show said "women do run the world!" we still live in a patriarchy ffs.

Also in Cardcaptor Sakura the main character is a girl and the story has many female characters and is very empowering to women in general(while also having a great deal of powerful men and even a canon m/m couple), and yet I still saw this one annoying guy write an entire screed about how Sakura sucks as a character and should never have been Cardcaptor, the cherry on top was them saying that Syaoran should be the Master of the Clow Cards instead...because it's not enough that this show has multiple representations of positive men/masculinity in addition to women/femininity, it's still not good enough if it's a girl power fantasy, it MUST make a boy the hero!

I also saw someone say that Touhou, which has an all-female cast, needs more men. Wonder if they'd say the reverse if it had an all-male cast(correct answer: they wouldn't).

And then there's the Encanto fandom's entire can of worms where they went through that phase of wanting the female-dominated cast to be all about Camilo and Bruno, sidelining the women in the process. Like bruh. 😕

I really do wish that people would stop this shit, female-centric media is really never allowed to exist without people wanting men to be prioritized in it and take away from the female representation even though men have enough representation already lol, people can't handle when not everything is about men. It's why I will never listen to or take anyone seriously when they complain about shows like these being "sexist against men" and say that anything I write is too female-centric. Like. GOOD. The world needs more female-centric casts to shake up the status quo! You guys love complaining about shows being gendered and wanting gender equality in fiction only towards female-centric works, because you don't want to see women playing central roles without men also being there. Sucks to be on the other side of the playing field now, huh?

Anyway, I was inspired to write this to you rather than make it an original post because of your comment about people wanting Jennifer's Body to be about men(with Miguel as Jennifer) and yeah that is so disgusting and irritating. 🤢 I didn't even know that was happening but I'm not surprised because nobody ever lets shows about girls just center girls first and foremost. It truly is everywhere and I'm sick of it. Not everything needs to be about men, just let the women have something. Please.

Sorry this was long lol. 😅 Thanks for reading this far lol. You're a trooper! Have a nice day!

THIS ASK IS SO REAL ON SO MANY LEVELS!!

this also extremely effects lesbians and trans women because with lesbian women you’ll have people being like “do they really have to be gay? Why can’t they just be normal?” And with trans women it’ll be like “why can’t we just have normal nonqueer characters” or even “why can’t men just be men anymore” it’s like they hate any and all women and girls no matter what we do and it’s so insane to me

also I talked a little about this same phenomenon happening with Jennifer’s Body (2009), where there were people making aus of that movie with mainly MALE characters which downplays the whole message and plot of the god damn movie and it’s so ughhh

anyways sorry I took so long to get to this ask but everything you said is extremely true and I’m glad you brought attention to it!

also btw RADFEMS AND TERFS FUCK OFF THIS POST IS NOT FOR YOU

[blackbird-brewster]

You Give Me Fever

Tara/Emily || Rated: E || WC: 1960 Fills: Sensation Play (for @cmkinkbingo2024), Heatwave (for @storiesofsvu bday bingo) Additional Tags: Fluff and Smut, Married Sex, Established Relationship, Ice Play, Oral Sex, Fingering

A heatwave pushes Tara's menopausal hot flashes into overdrive. Luckily for her, her wife knows just how to cool her down.

[Read on AO3] || [Kink Bingo Masterlist]

Tara growled in discomfort as she stuck her head in the kitchen freezer. DC was in the middle of a heatwave and the soaring temperatures, plus the recent onset of menopause had her feeling like she was going to combust from her hot flashes. There was just a constant fever under her skin, boiling her alive from the inside out. She was absolutely miserable.

Emily chuckled, taking in the sight of her wife in nothing but a pair of shorts, head completely hidden behind the open freezer door. "Guess I don't have to ask how you're doing today."

"This fucking sucks."

Emily grabbed a clean kitchen towel and wet it with cool water. She draped it over Tara's neck, then wrapped her arms around her waist. "Yeah, I hated this part."

Tara pushed her wife's arms off. "Too hot for cuddling, Em."

"Well, will you at least come out of the freezer for a second so you can kiss me good morning?"

"Shit. Sorry," Tara replied. She did as requested, abandoning her cold sanctuary so she could kiss her partner. Emily's hands naturally moved back to Tara's hips and she was fairly certain they were going to leave handprints branded into her flesh, like a searing hot iron. "Em, hands!"

Emily removed them, holding them up in the air quickly. "Wow. That bad, huh?"

"I feel like every part of my body is made of lava. Who the fuck invented menopause? This shit is torture!"

Emily bit her tongue to keep from laughing at her wife's misfortune. She was only a handful of years older than Tara, but she was already on the tail end of menopause herself. For the most part, Emily skated through the process without suffering through the worst symptoms. She'd only experienced hot flashes for the first couple of months, but they were mild compared to the emotional instability that followed. Mood swings, outbursts, crying at every SPCA commercial, Emily spent nearly two years at the mercy of her hormones. Tara lovingly laughed at her at the time, but now that the tables had turned, Emily thought better of returning the teasing. Not when her wife looked like a polar bear trying to stay afloat on the last piece of ice in the whole Arctic Sea.

"What can I do?" Emily asked.

Tara groaned, her shoulders slumping in helplessness. "Go buy fifty bags of ice and pack me in the tub with it until this stupid heatwave passes?"

Emily tapped her finger on her chin as if to ponder this request. "Well, the ice is going to melt by the time I get it home. You might have to strip down and hop directly into the freezer section at Giant."

Tara's sour expression softened. "Tempting, but I think that'd cause quite a scene."

"True," Emily replied thoughtfully. "The headlines would read 'Deranged FBI Agent Caught Naked Amidst Frozen Vegetables'. I'm sure the bureau would love that."

"Nah, I'd definitely be in the ice cream aisle. At least I could eat my feelings while staying cool."

"Hm, ice cream and you naked," Emily grinned. "All we'd be missing was whipped cream."

Tara laughed and offered her hand, instantly pulling Emily into a hug as soon as she'd accepted the gesture. "I love you."

Emily kissed her softly, while mindfully leaving a couple of inches between their bodies. "I love you too. Now, what do you want for breakfast?"

Tara decided the momentary torture of having her wife pressed against her was worth it as she pulled her into a deeper kiss. A pulse of heat moved through her body, settling between her legs, and sending her into a fever. She kept kissing Emily while backing her into the counter, clawing at her shirt to pull it up and over her head.

This was, admittedly, the most surprising menopausal symptom to-date. While a large portion of people experienced lowered libido during menopause, Tara was on the opposite end of the spectrum. She'd become absolutely insatiable lately. She felt like a teenager again, one kiss or intimate touch from Emily would send Tara into a horny frenzy. The pair had been together for going on eight years, but their sex life had always been excellent. They'd actually become more sexual the longer they'd been together and yet, none of that compared to how much sex they were having ever since Tara hit menopause.

At least once a week, she'd come marching into Emily's office, locking the door and closing the blinds behind her. Emily was more than happy to help her wife get off, but after a stint of extremely close calls the fear of getting caught was too much to handle. They'd agreed to stop hooking up at work from now on, which only meant Tara was on her wife non-stop at home.

It was a Saturday morning, no case, no other engagements, all the time in the world.

Tara ravished Emily with kisses starting at her neck, moving down to her clavicles, then very inch of her bare chest. The need to fuck her far superseding the hot flash still flushing her skin. From the day they met in a New York police station, to their wedding a few years ago, to this moment, Tara had never been able to resit Emily Prentiss.

"Bed," she muttered into hurried kisses. She pulled Emily off the counter, their lips never parting as she started leading her back to the bedroom.

By the time she was pushing Emily onto the mattress, they were both naked. Tara nudged a knee between Emily's thighs, grinding against her clit while they made out. She wasn't surprised for it to be met with slick arousal. She grabbed Emily's waist and guided her hips up and down her thigh, "You like that, baby?"

It was rhetorical, but Emily nodded all the same. "Fuck, you know I do."

They'd barely started, yet sweat was already beaded at Tara's brow. She quickly used the back of her hand to wipe her forehead, trying not to let her dysfunctional temperature regulation ruin the moment. As Emily continued riding her thigh, Tara slipped a hand between her own legs, running her fingertips through her wetness. Ever spot her fingers touched came alight with fire, her cunt felt like it was going to ignite if she kept touching herself. The sensation was so jarring, she jerked her hand away as if she'd physically touched a hot stove.

Emily looked at her wife with pity. "Oh god, is this awful for you?"

"No, no," Tara replied. "It's great..."

"Tara, you're already sweating on me," Emily laughed, as she pushed her wife off of her.

Tara burst into laughter too, plopping onto her back on the mattress next to Emily. They caught their breaths while staring up at the ceiling fan as it gently wobbled with each rotation.

Emily finally rolled onto her side, propping her head up on one hand while they other ghosted up Tara's stomach without actually touching her. "You know, we may not have enough ice to pack the tub....but, we definitely have enough to play with."

Tara grinned and tipped her head in agreement. "Now that could be fun."

Without another word, Emily pressed a kiss to her lips and got up to run back to the kitchen. Barely a minute later, she returned with a cup in hand, ice cubes softly clinking and sliding against the glass. Another cube was already pressed between Emily's lips, she dipped down and traced it over the shape of Tara's mouth, before kissing her deeply to pass the ice off to her.

Tara eagerly sucked on it, enjoying the cool liquid as it slid down her throat. Even just the little bit of water gave some relief to her current discomfort. She moaned in satisfaction and looked to Emily expectantly. "Go ahead, love. Cool me down."

Emily kissed her way down the length of Tara's chest. She took another ice cube in her teeth and teased circles around her nipples until they grew taut. The ice melted down, leaving trickles of liquid rolling down Tara's breasts, until it began to pool in the valley between them. Emily trailed the tip of her tongue through the water, before leaning back up to share it with her wife in a passionate kiss.

Tara tangled both hands in Emily's grey hair, pulling her closer into a fierce kiss. Just like that, the fiery mixture of arousal and heat simmered under her skin again. "Fuck me, Em."

Emily placed sloppy kisses down her torso, flicking an eager tongue here and there as she went. She got comfortable between Tara's thighs and fished another cube from the glass. It was already half-melted, so she wasted no more time, quickly sucking it into her lips she glided it over Tara's clit.

Her hips jerked from the stark contrast of freezing cold and molten heat. It felt absolutely incredible. She spurred Emily on by stroking her fingers through her hair while she lazily traced the ice through Tara's folds. She moaned, already lost in the experience. "That's so fucking good, baby."

The last of the ice turned to water, mixing with Tara's increasing wetness. Emily curled her tongue into her cunt, taking with it the cold sensation. Tara's hand tightened in her wife's hair as she blew gently against her cunt, only elevating the cool feeling.

Emily repeated the cycle with another cube, gently fucking Tara with it until it melted completely against her skin. She'd always been good with her tongue, she could have Tara coming over and over with little else, but the added sensation of the ice truly brought a whole new level to Emily's oral prowess.

Tara writhed underneath her, gasping, moaning, her fingertips digging into any part of Emily she could get a hold on. Within minutes, her hot flash was long forgotten as her cunt ached and throbbed from the cold touch of ice and Emily's skilled mouth.

Emily fucked her tongue deep into her wife, the tip of her nose brushing against Tara's clit with each motion. When Emily ran out of ice, she tipped the remaining water in the glass into her mouth, then sucked on two fingers to cool them before she slipped them into Tara.

"Ohhh, fucccck, right there, yes, yes, yes!" Tara's hips rocked in time with each motion Emily made, until she was gasping through sharp breaths, panting and pleading as Emily finally pushed her over the edge.

Emily fucked her through the orgasm while still using her tongue to lap up the mixture of cum and water soaking her wife's cunt. She replaced her fingers with her tongue, happily humming in delight at the taste, trying to lick up every drop. When she was satisfied with her work, she crawled up the bed on all fours, lowering herself on top of Tara once more to kiss her so she could enjoy the very last bit of cold before it warmed in her mouth.

Tara pulled away with a dazed grin, her freckled nose scrunching up in sheer bliss. "Holy shit, babe."

Emily folded her arms to rest her chin on them while she watched her wife recover underneath her. "How's your hot flash?"

Tara pretended to think for a moment, then in the flash of an eye she'd flipped their positions to pin Emily underneath her. "Ohhhh, I'm sure it'll subside," she rolled off the bed with a twinkle in her eye, "Especially after I refill the glass and return the favour."