#sometimes to the point where i avoid teachers who i need to talk to because i am sure that everything i say will be wrong

[em0-opossum]

sick of people acting like being alone/lonely = being single. ofc you're allowed to feel like that, I'm aro and could not care less that I don't have a partner so I have no idea what it feels like to have that experience, but god just once I'd like to find poetry and art made by people who know how it feels to have no friends and feel lonely no matter how many people are around you and know that you don't belong no matter where you are

[dontbooatme]

I really love the idea of throwing Danny and Aizawa into the same ball pit (metaphorically) cause think of that kind of dichotomy.

Aizawa, who is a kind of hail mary when it comes to quirks. But doesn't have a real offensive power like the Todoroki's or Present Mic, etc. And he works with and around that in the most terrifyingly effective way. Not to mention he grew up in and lives in a world where having powers is normal. Where he got a teacher growing up and where he became a teacher to other students.

Danny Phantom who is powerhouse, but has a lot of the same powerset as his enemies do. And he didn't get his more unique abilities right out the gate. He got powers much later than most kids in bnha get theirs and he learned how to use them mostly in action. And maybe he even tried his best learning how to use each power from his villains. He'd see them do something new and untested, or use something familiar in a new and creative way, and he'd mimic them. And sure, sometimes they just had abilities he didn't have. But the point stands, many of his worst enemies have been his best teachers

Danny Phantom might as well be a walking talking Example for everything Aizawa and other pros in the bnha world work to avoid with their students. Aizawa takes one look at him and just sees Oboro. Dead Oboro. The reason he takes such a hard stance with his students in the first place. To teach them not to be reckless. Not to get themselves killed

Take Danny who's thrown into a world with all the support systems he needed when he was first starting out...

And then make him try his damned hardest to hit undo and go home.

Because this world is exactly what Danny Phantom needed, but everything Danny Fenton needs is left behind in Amity Park. His friends. His sister. The life he built despite the odds.

Give him everything he didn't know he needed and put him in a position to reject it

And then show me the bnha pros watching the same thing happening to their students, starting with the attack at the USJ

[swanimagines]

X-Men: Imagine being a "created" mutant and Jean Grey reassuring you it’s okay and that you are welcome at the school even though you aren’t technically born a mutant.

requested by anon

Note: nowadays all requests are done straight to asks, this is my old template of posting and I no longer have their asks!

Ever since you were freed from captivity, you knew you weren’t among either world, not fully. You weren’t a human, but you also felt like you weren’t a mutant. You felt like you were something unnatural, in between the two worlds.

Charles Xavier had come to meet you when he heard of another mutant roaming the streets, causing chaos because you couldn’t control your powers. Whenever you got scared, your powers flared up, and sometimes people got hurt. And soon, you found yourself in a car, on your way to his school he told you about. 

The hallways of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters were much quieter than you expected when you first stepped in. But still, you couldn’t help but feel judged as you walked through the hallways, clutching the stack of books in your arms. The voices in your head kept whispering, kept telling you how you would fail, how everyone would shun you here too. You don’t belong here. You aren’t welcome.

So, you mainly kept your head down, avoiding eye contact, hoping you wouldn’t bother anyone. You were sure that if you even tried to make contact with anyone, get to know anyone, they would shun you, tell you you don’t belong here. You found a refuge from the library, from the far corner of the couch where you could also see the garden. You studied by yourself a lot, reading book after book, learning about the history of the mutants, trying to find a point that could be used to pressure yourself that you belonged here.

One day, as you were at that corner again, you saw a figure walk into the library and stop by you. You waited for a moment, but then looked up to see Jean. She smiled. “How are you settling in?”

You frowned, but then shrugged. “I guess well enough.”

She took a step closer. “I haven’t seen you at our after school activities. You could get friends if you came along.”

You stared at her for a moment. Sure, Jean was one of the nicest teachers since you moved in, always looking out for you, but you know that she didn’t know what it was like to be the outsider either. Or not like that. You knew she was the most powerful of you all, but at least… she was an actual mutant and not a freak like you.

“I… I don’t know,” you murmured, averting your eyes from hers. “I don’t think I’d fit in.”

You narrowed her eyes, clearly confused. “Why do you think that?”

You shook your head, closing the book and placing it aside. “I’m like the only one around who’s not born a mutant. I was kidnapped as a child and tested on, injected with fluids, forcing my body to become something it wasn’t and… I don’t think I can ever fit in either world anymore. Even I don't know who or what I am either, how can I ever belong?”

Jean was quiet for a moment, before she took another step forward and slowly sat down beside you. “If Professor Xavier would think you don’t belong here, he wouldn’t have come to meet you and invite you to come here. He saw into your mind, and concluded that it’s best to bring you here, to learn to control your abilities, and find a community. He knows the best. And everyone can see you belong here, even if you don’t.”

You crossed your arms, glancing at the window where you saw some of the children playing, kicking the ball around. “But what if they will never accept me?”

“They will,” Jean said quietly. “We’ve all been through our own struggles, and we’ve all had to find our place here. It might take some time, but you’ll find people who understand you, who care about you. And if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here. You’re not alone.”

You thought for a moment, before you looked at her again. “What happens if I lose control again and hurt someone? Will I get kicked out?”

She shook her head. “Professor Xavier isn’t kicking you out for something you aren’t able to control. He only punishes you if you do something like that on purpose.”

You swallowed, remembering how the last time went. Your powers had flared, you had overturned a tram, trapping and injuring multiple people. The police had tried to shoot you for that, everyone blamed you, thought you wanted to do that. “What if he thinks I did it on purpose? Last time I—”

She interrupted you, putting her hand on yours. “Non-mutants only see us causing chaos and may think we’re in full control. And it may seem like it in their eyes, as some go into a trance as their powers cause chaos.”

You nodded slowly, dropping your gaze onto your lap. “It just feels like a curse most of the time.”

She was quiet again for a moment. “Some who are born mutants may also feel like that when their powers first emerge, if they weren’t there from birth. Or they may be dissatisfied with their powers because they’re harder to control than what their family has. I remember how one of our students was a boy whose family could spit fire, teleport, fly and grow into a giant on will, and his powers were plant-based. When he came here, he could only make some flowers grow slightly faster, and he thought he’d end up as a professional super gardener while his family is out there saving the world. He also felt like he didn’t belong among ‘real’ mutants. But now he’s able to make trees move, and have plants trap people.”

You thought about her words for a second, staring at your feet. Then a bell rang, interrupting your thoughts. Jean nodded towards the hallway. “Would you like to come eat lunch with me?”

You paused for a second or two, but then nodded and smiled slightly, following Jean out of the library. 

Maybe things will get better from now, you found yourself thinking. Your little talk with Jean did make you feel better, even when it felt useless at first. Maybe you’d feel like you belong here soon after all.

Requests are open! FANDOM LIST | PROMPT LIST(S) | RULES (READ!!!)

[translatemunson]

these days I'm restless, work days are endless • ttfd

chapter three of the tortured firefighters department

previous chapter | masterlist | next chapter

cw: fem!reader, afab!reader, no descriptions of reader, banter (because i love it), reader is a math and science nerd, chris and eddie are here, mentions of food, hints of mental issues, proofread by my bye-lingual ass (let me know if i forgot anything)

LA was less of a stranger now. Who knew going to that dinner at Maddie’s would slowly bring you closer to the 118 family.

Late night texts with Maddie to make her company while Chimney worked and Jee was nowhere close to sleep were standard. Night shifts were smooth as butter if compared to day shifts in any state, you found out. LA of course had more hits and runs, overdose emergencies, abuse situations, but you could type their info while waiting for your personal laptop to run the latest dynamical system you were analyzing. 

And now your agenda also included occasional brownie deliveries to the 118 and leftover food pickup you were sure Bobby wasn’t cooking as an accident; a few talks with Athena, Bobby’s wife, about how they could improve response time inside the LAPD with a small system you developed for your old local police; helping Chris over Facetime with his math homework — because Eddie called you one day looking like he just had the worst day of his life, but he couldn’t just understand the process to the results of a simple equation.

It was nice to finally have a life besides PhD and work routine. But that would always be brought up or come in handy for helping.

That’s how you ended up at Eddie’s place on a saturday morning. When he texted you that Chris needed extra help with a math syllabus — that could bring him some extra points that semester —, you jumped on your car and said would gladly help.

“How is it going, kiddo?” Eddie entered the dining room and checked Chris' progress.

“She’s really a genius!”

“And you are the most dedicated student I had.” And you weren’t saying that just to make him feel special. Chris was one of those kids that really put in the effort and dedication to understand things — when they wanted to, of course —, it wasn’t his fault the math problems were too complex for his age. Maybe you could talk to Eddie about it, so he could let the teachers know that maybe taking it easy with the kids was a good idea. They didn’t need to also be traumatized by mathematics. “C’mon, you’re crushing those equations, Chris!”

“Do you need a refill?” Eddie pointed to your empty lemonade cup.

“Yes, please.”

“Can you help me with science?” Chris asked, now that he was almost done with his math exercises.

“Not my forte, but I’ll try.”

In another universe, you would’ve stopped your studies once you had the basic requirements for being a teacher — maybe middle or secondary school. You’d always loved classrooms, and it was the safest option if your Masters ended up on a dead end. You were glad to be where you were, but your mind sometimes wondered the ‘what if’s of being a school teacher.

Chris brought his science homework, luckily just some questions about animals that, because of all of your free hours in museums and science classes you took for extra credits during college, were easy to deal with. Once you talked about seeing the dinosaur bones in real life, he was mesmerized, avoiding blinking at all costs just so he couldn’t miss a single detail.

“Dad! She saw the dinosaur!” He almost screamed when you pulled out your phone to show him some pictures.

The doorbell hung as soon as Eddie entered the dining room. “Be right back, buddy! Don’t give him any more ideas, Brains!”

“Won’t promise anything.” I took you one heartbeat to cover your mouth and whisper, “I will check if there is any dinosaur in town and take you there for a visit. What do you think?”

“That’s awesome,” he whispered back.

“But for now this is a secret, ok?”

“Ok. Pinky swear?”

“Of course, kiddo.” 

Chris got up to pick his books about dinosaurs. Your mind started to list all the museums in LA and how many of them had really good replicas of them — or the real ones, if possible. Maybe you could get the tickets for Chris and Eddie and tag along as their tour guide. Or maybe you could check with Eddie if he needed a babysitter someday in the following weeks, so you could help and also fulfill your promise at the same time.

“Buck!” Chris screamed.

You turned around just in time to see Buck taking him off the floor with a bear type huge and messing with his hair. “My guy! What are you up to today?”

“I’m studying dinosaurs.” He showed the books in his hands.

“On a Saturday morning? Where’s the fun? How about video games?”

“Are you done with your science homework?” Eddie asked, closing the door.

“Yes! Brains helped me!”

As your nickname has been brought up to the conversation, Buck finally noticed you. You heard Maddie saying, countless times, that Buck had a soft spot for kids. But had a huge spot for Chris, with all his heart. After the tsunami — you’ve only heard about it, still not in California to experience the disaster first hand —, their bond only grew even stronger.

“Oh did she?” He smirked.

“Yes. She even promised me she will take me to see the dinosaurs.”

“Chris! I thought you would honor our pinky swear!” you shouted playfully.

“Ouch! Someone call 9-1-1, I’ve been betrayed.” Buck faked having a knife to his chest, and pulling it out.

You pretended to have your earpiece on and changed your voice until it sounded like you were in your job, saying “Sir, calling 9-1-1 without being in real danger is considered a felony, and the authorities will investigate you. Hope you look good in orange pajamas.”

Eddie rolled his eyes and Chris laughed. Buck was definitely not impressed, and he took Chris with him to play some video games. You busied yourself with organizing Chris’ books over the table and checking his equations one last time. You took your lemonade glass to the kitchen, intending to wash it before going home for some deep cleaning.

“Just leave it there, I’ll take care of it,” Eddie entered the room and opened the cookie jar. “Are you serious about taking him to the museum?”

“I was gonna talk to you about it later. Maybe? Only if you’re ok with it, of course. I can take him on my day off, get him some pancakes from my favorite restaurant, bring him back by the end of the day, safe and sound. Or you could tag along, I can pretend I’m a VIP tour guide, I might be able to pull some strings at the Caltech museum, they don’t have real dinosaurs, but their exhibition on life on Earth is really good. It’s not much, but they have a few things about dinosaurs.”

“Does next Saturday work for you? I might need to take an extra 12-hour shift.”

“Sure! The Natural History Museum will do the job just fine. I’ll pick him up and don’t worry, we can stay at mine until your shift ends. Anything works for me, really.”

“Great.” He noticed how you held your bag and checked the door from time to time. “In a hurry?”

“I think my job here is done,” you pointed to the two kids playing and screaming over some stupid video game. 

Lately, you’ve been avoiding Buck like the plague. He was just so annoying towards you every time you met and it was getting on your nerves. Your small encounters when you were at the firestation to drop off some baked goods, or when you went to visit Maddie and he was just leaving the place, were messing with your thoughts. 

It was easier to give him the cold shoulder and keep your distance than sitting in a quiet room with your mixed feelings about the younger Buckley.

“Thank you again, Brains.”

“No worries, happy I could help.”

“You sure I can’t convince you to stay a little more and grab some lunch with us?”

“I really don’t wanna disturb the vibes, you know.”

“You know you are practically family, right? Catching lunch with us on slow days, having some beers, teaching math to the kids.”

“Yeah, but I just… Maybe another time, ok? I promise.”

“You have to stop acting like you’re always on the run, Brains. Someday you’re gonna run out of breath.”

“I appreciate the advice, Eddie. Text you soon?”

“He’s gonna freak out when I tell him about your plans.”

You left the house unnoticed. Before hopping on your car and driving to your favorite grocery store, you checked your messages, hoping to clear your agenda for next saturday — pretty sure you had a night shift on friday, but with enough caffeine, you could pull an all-nighter. Not ideal, but it was your plan B.

“Hey! Brains!”

“Tired of getting your ass kicked by a younger boy?” You were still too busy with your phone to raise your eyes to Buck.

“Why are you almost running to get out of here? Schedule’s too packed?”

“None of your business.” You opened the door of your car and threw your bag inside.

“Oh so you are still mad at me for eating the cupcakes!” Oh yeah, the cupcake incident. That was one of the reasons why you weren’t staying more than one minute alone with Evan Buckley.

“What did you expect me to do? I bought them for me and Maddie, and you thought it was ok to eat them all. Alone!” You faced him, your chin up high. “You have no fucking clue how long I waited in line before the store opened that day, I had a really messed up shift and I needed those!”

“I told you I’d get more cupcakes!”

“No! I wanted my favorites! Your sister wanted those specific ones, she kept mentioning them for days! And you ruined it!” You held the door open, hoping you could leave the place quickly.

“I’ve told you I’m sorry, ok? What else do you want me to do, hm?”

“How about getting out of my hair? Leave me alone, Buckley. I mean it. I was starting to grow fond of the 118, but you are making it impossible to enjoy some time with any of them!”

“I was there first!” Buck was much stronger than you, and he successfully closed the door. He wanted another fight.

“Great. Text me your schedule so I can avoid being in the same room with you.” You tried to push his arm out of the door.

“Now you’re just being dramatic! C’mon, Brains, it was just some stupid cupcakes, I got Maddie some of her favorite cake after you stormed out of the apartment. I texted you I was sorry a dozen times.”

“Maybe you should start asking before eating something that isn’t yours.”

“I don’t know what happened to you lately, but it’s unbelievable you’re holding the grudge for so long. Brains, really, I’m sorry I ruined your plans with my sister. Can we act as adults now?”

“Who are you to tell me ‘Let’s be adults’ now? You ruined the only free time I had with Maddie that week. And you know what? I had a shitty shift with some really bad calls that day, but, unlike you, I don’t go on messing with things that don’t belong to me.”

Your real name slipped from his lips and you knew it was time to leave. You took the chance to open the door and throw yourself into the seat.

“I’m tired, Evan. I really am. Give me some space, I’m still recovering from that shift. You could’ve bought us all the cupcakes in the world that day, and I’d still be mad at you.” You started the car. “I need to go home.”

“I’m gonna find out why you’re still mad at me after one million sorry’s!”

“I wouldn’t waste any more breath. But you know what, good luck.”

As much as you hated it, Eddie was right. You were running away. And you just didn’t want to admit who was from.

author's note: and she’s back for chapter three!!!! you all were a little shy on chapter 2, but ok, i’ll forgive you. there is a small blurb coming up this weekend, so stay tuned. also, you can request blurbs from the tortured firefighters department or just talk about it via my asks!!! also i’m almost done with 9-1-1 lone star and i may or may not be working on a crossover in the near future hihihi kay love you see y’all next week byeeeeeee (actually this sunday ok byeeeee)

[rachetmath]

Ruby: Hey Jaune where are you going?

Jaune: Well Ruby I was asking around town to see if I could find a teacher.

Ruby: A teacher? Why were you looking for a teacher?

Jaune: To train with.

Ruby: Jaune come on. You're fine. You don't need a teacher.

Jaune: Okay but I need a break.

Ruby: From what?

Jaune: Woman after the emotional rollercoaster we had. I need to figure some stuff out.

Ruby: You can figure it out with us.

Jaune: No.

Ruby: Why not?!

Jaune: This is something I need to do alone. I can't be worrying about you and have you cuddling me all the time.

Ruby: We need you though.

Jaune: You have your team and my team. Which I’m not apart of no more. What do you need me for?

Ruby: Healing.

Jaune: Ruby, for how long we've spent together, no one has gotten injured that badly.

Ruby: Nora-

Jaune: She did that to herself. Plus I am now the odd man out. What need is there for me other than being in danger?

Ruby: You can be with Qrow.

Jaune: No. He has Robyn and Harriet.

Ruby: Come on.

Jaune: Ruby I need this. I need a training arc to get back on my feet. I need to figure out what I'm going after all this. Especially, after Alyx despite everything gave a second chance. I’m not wasting this.

Ruby: What are you talking about?

Jaune: Ruby, I couldn't save Pyrrha. I couldn't save Penny. Oscar. Alyx.

Ruby: Wait, you did save Oscar.

Jaune: Not before Emerald.

Ruby: oh.

Jaune: I’m just saying, I want to live to see my family again. So I need to get more experience and training to become stronger because obviously the roles I have are not a good fit for me.

Ruby; Hm. Good point. Good point.

Afterwards

Weiss: You let him go!!?

Ruby: Absolutely.

Yang: Why?

Ruby: I mean I understand. I thought I took L’s but him, nope.

Blake: But Ruby-

Ruby; Blake. He cheated Beacon. He almost dies multiple times. Every girl he meets either dies or hoes him in some way. And he was trapped on an island for years. Okay? He’s an uncle to a lesbian couple's son. He has a family who he may not be on good terms with. Also, in theory, didn’t Raven burn down the village him and his family used to go to? Probably the last good memory he had of his family.

Qrow: Oh shit she did.

Ruby: Oh my god. How was Raven not on his kill list along with Cinder?

Qrow: Yeah, we might not need to avoid telling him.

Ruby: All I’m saying is the guy has been through hell by himself. I say let him breathe.

Weiss: Are you serious?!

Ruby: Bitch don’t be mad at me! You only started liking him cause you were simp for the Rusted Knight. Hell, didn’t he save you like three times either from embarrassment or death? And didn’t you start off as immature as you thought he was?

Weiss:: Um.

Ruby: Exactly.

Nora: Ruby, that’s not fair. He’s our teammate. And our leader.

Ruby: Oh, so now you care?

Nora: What did you say?

Ruby: I mean Sakura-

Nora: Nora.

Ruby: No, Sakura, you can’t keep choosing when you want to start being a good teammate.

Nora: Excuse me. I’ll have you know-

Ruby: Don’t you be rude to him sometimes.

Nora: Um.

Ruby: You're also never there. In fact, you and Ren majority of the time are useless.

Ren: What?!

Ruby: Like you're never around when he needs you. And no, that portal thing doesn’t count. That was our fault. However, you two always prioritize each other but never Jaune. In fact, you two halfway almost left us to fight a giant grimm. Let Jaune face a maiden by himself, knowing his skill level is average.

Nora: Ruby that was months ago. Get over it.

Ruby: Alright, so where were you in the Cardin situation? Where were you during the Pyrrha situation? In fact how come you two were the first out when Neo showed up.?

Nora: Um.

Yang: In fact, isn’t Jaune kind of the one who saved your relationship by talking with Ren?

Ren: Um.

Ruby: Exactly. Like I said Sakura, you can’t choose to be a good team member when you want to be. So be a good girl and stay with your Sasuke.

Nora: Little bi- *tries to strike Ruby*

Ren: *hold Nora back* No Nora, calm down!

Nora: No way I’m taking that disrespect!

Ruby: Plus, he had a point. We barely get hurt. We rarely do defense. And the majority of our battles rarely require strategy. I hate to say it but strength is everything. And Jaune has the potential to outweigh us in every category.

Ren: Ruby, he is a healer.

Ruby: And you’re supposed to be a ninja and a skilled fighter but you're just as useless as your girlfriend.

Ren: … …

Oscar: Well Aura Amplification is more than just healing it increases other people's abilities.

Ruby: Oh really. Okay, Oscar, I have one question. Who here now needs Jaune to help amplify their abilities?

Oscar: Um.

Ruby: Mind you Ren is able to cover multiple people without Jaune’s help now. And Weiss barely needs healing either. So who?

Oscar: … Nobody.

Ruby: NOBODY. So let Jaune use his semblance for him. He needs it more than us. Maybe it has multiple purposes that we don’t know about.

Yang: But Ruby he’s not built like us.

Ruby: *stares at Yang*

Yang: What?

Ruby: I-I should- You are- Oo I… Keep it together Ruby. No need to bury this bitch along with your mom. She still raised you.

Yang: What? What did I say wrong?

Ruby: Yang, if Jaune stopped giving Fs about everything, he basically be a monster.

Yang: Wait rea-Really?

Ruby: Yes he goes there sometimes. He did it Heaven not giving a f about the situation and went for Cinder. In Argus, he didn’t think twice about stealing an airship and was ready to put his hands on Oscar.

Yang: Until you stopped him.

Ruby: You must not have seen his eyes he was ready to fight me too.

Yang: Oh.

Ren: And in Atlas he was ready to risk our lives to save Oscar.

Yang: True.

Blake: And again he look me in the eyes after we tried to stop him from killing the Curious Cat. Honey, he is close to being up there.

Yang: He’s got that Beowolf in him.

Ruby: Damn straight. Look. Let’s just give Jaune some space. Let him readjust back to Remnant. And let him find his strength. Alright? Now if you excuse me I need to find someone.

Yang: Who?

Ruby: Raven. She was the last one to see my mom so I need to hear her side of the story of what happened. It may end this stupid family feud we got. Later.*leaves*

Oscar: Hey where’s Emerald?

Somewhere

Jaune: I recall wanting to be alone. Why are you here?

Emerald: Emotional Support.

Jaune: I don’t need emotional support.

Emerald: Not you. Me.

Jaune: And what makes you think I am available, capable or interested in helping you?

Emerald: First, you have zero reasons to trust me. Two, I need screen time now because I’m a major player. So being a side character in your story can work. Three, I’m not like Pyrrha or Weiss, I can like you for my own reasons other than you being the “Rusted Knight” or your potential. And I might not be as linit with you as the others. I can show you, tough love.

Jaune: And what do I gain from this?

Emerald: My actual loyalty.

[ectobabble]

In defense of Sunshine:

General notes about these two's rocky past and why Sunshine needs more love - and why she's perfect for Sunny.

Was rereading old comments a while back and I wanna come to this baby's defense. Don't view Imp/Shiny as a 'which team are you on?' thing - they need to be on the same team! That's the point! lol

---Imp remarks that they were more 'friends' in childhood, helping each other through [inciting incident] and grew apart because of different experiences. Eventually it lead to them ignoring each other and believing they had a weird imaginary friend when they were younger.

---Upon diagnosis, it dug up the past and Imposter couldn't handle treatment, learning different ways to keep Shiny inside via bad coping mechanisms. It wasn't just because Imp hated them. Shiny had to be kind to their abusers, that Shiny genuinely believed their abusers growing up, and that Shiny seemingly was everything Imp wasn't and it pissed them off.

---When Imposter talks about how the 'daycare is the worst place', it's because it is a combination of everything that went wrong wrapped up in one location. It's public, overwhelming, and it is easy for things to happen and no one notice. Their homelife taught them that isolation is best due to [inciting incident] and the adult's reaction to it. At school, they couldn't be alone. Recess is where teachers and parents should be watching and protecting the kids, but Imposter was failed by the school and their parents. The gaslighting of their experiences is what caused the rift between Imp and Shiny. It's not just a reminder of a childhood they never had, it's a reminder of who and where they lost their childhood.

Shiny doesn't remember the events but will agree with the adults since the 'adults were supposed to know best'. Imposter remembers but is now alone in their experiences, even their 'imaginary friend' who 'takes over sometimes' doesn't even believe them.

Shiny remembered feeling the other person was upset with them - how can they fix that?

Imposter remembered how they were hurt - how can they avoid that?

---So while Imposter went through a lot of trauma that breaks a person down, Shiny was the alter that had to be the therapist for their parents, the performer, the jokester, the one who agreed with the people who hurt them.

They constantly had to be on, and when the abusers were gone, they didn't know who they were anymore and had to realize they lived their entire life molded around someone else's desires and emotions. That emotionally stunted them in the past and another reason why Imp sees them as childish and 'stupid'.

---When Imposter says "I'm the garbage can," they kinda meant it. They house the emotions that would have gotten them into even bigger trouble as a child - anger, spite, fear, etc. Shiny needed to be the peacekeeper and caretaker to the people Imposter hated because there was no other choice.

But that's why Sun LOVES Sunshine. Everything Shiny learned to be for their abusers is now given to someone who genuinely needs those skills - and this time they are rewarded and loved for it.

The only thing Shiny doesn't have, that Sun and Moon are learning Imp has, is the cptsd and ability to talk with someone who genuinely can understand that point of view.

---They have a more important reason to be at the plex. It's obvious that Shiny is more capable than Imposter realizes and definitely not as innocent. Their love square is not going to be messy either.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WIBTA if I stopped going to Family Suppers every weekend?

So in my family it's just four: My Father (76M) and Aunt (72F) live together in the same house, divided in two. My Brother (38M) and me (34F) live on our own in separate houses. We are expected to go have supper with FA(FatherAunt Combo) every weekend and holidays.

This is basically a four hour event every S and S which occupies half the day and my Brother and I both work all week long and have only weekends to rest. My B is a teacher (in school and afterclasses) and I am a Customer Care Specialist, which means we both have to constantly deal with people and we are wrung out one by rambunctious children and unhappy costumers that behave like them respectively.

FA are very needy, wanting constant validation, and are the sort that complain if, for example, I do not call them everyday to check on them, expressing how "callous" and "ungrateful" I am for not "getting interested in them". But I honestly deal with clients all week and I'm all talked out, so to say. Sometimes when I finish I just want to not talk again in the whole day and lie down and not feel like another cog in the machine. I am still expected to fix everything wrong with them or their houses when I finish though, which is what exhausts me.

It might seem easy to say don't give in, but thing is, they have done so much for me and my B. My A helped me rebuild my house and F helped my brother fix his: they're always there when we need them and I love them to bits. They worry and love us and if we're in trouble they're the first to be there. My father helped me with my tumors and the expenses and my Aunt helped me get out of awful situations.

Thing is, this is reciprocal as much as it can be: B and I have always been ready to help where we can, but we don't have the same resources they do (both boomers who basically were hired before they even finished university whilst B and I had to fight years of unemployment and minimum wage and their relentless mockery of it) so what we can do is limited. We still do our best. To an almost unhealthy point. When things break, I fix them - even if I have an art degree and what broke is the washing machine or my fathers boat (my father has a sailing boat and I can barely reach the end of the month with 50uds in my bank account jfc). I cannot buy them a house, but I do my best to repay them for everything as I am.

But this expecting me to come every weekend and be in my Best Mood, never complain or rant and basically entertain them, prepare the table and food and clean the dishes and fix the Tv that broke and the phone that is not working is sucking me dry. My B stopped going at some point, because he finishes work at 21:30 and weekends are his only days off and he said he's exhausted and cannot deal with these expectations, but now I take the brunt of the FA complaining on how awful he is, the asshole he has become, how ungrateful, for not being constantly at their whim and call. And a part of me knows they are toxic, but this is also the people who brought me up, helped me at my worst and the only people who really stood by my side when I needed someone, so maybe it really is asshole behavior to not repay them in some way.

I have tried talking to them about it, explaining that sometimes my body will not work right and my brain shuts down and I need to unplug, but they do not understand and get offended at the simple notion that being with them to us is not as simple as just enjoying their company. Because truth is, to me it is almost an extension of my job: It is CC voice and face and mood, always jovial because I get shit or "have you tried not being sad/tired/angry" and fixing the toilet flush. Do not raise your voice, clean their house (return to clean yours) and maybe get back home at 4 to rest a bit. This every weekend. And I owe it to them for having taking care of me for years when I was at my worst. I already managed to avoid going to make their grocery shopping too, but they're also a certain age and they need the help. Jesus why is this so hard, they're not even my kids and they should be able to take care of themselves and I feel like a mother but they do need the help.

So the question is, WIBTA if I just... did not go? Follow my brother's example, even if I know how they will take it, and just reduce the number of times I go to them? Or would I actually prove myself to be the asshole they consider him to be?

Ah also I am expected to go visit my F after work too, or call him or else I am the unfilial daughter who does not remember she has a father, haha. Man, just writing this makes me exhausted and feeling like a dick because they're old and need the help.

What are these acronyms?

[dandelion-wings]

PLEASE share those extraneous details you cut from the Lisa whump we need the lore/headcanons

I liked a lot of them, so, sure? XD A lot were embedded in other parts, so I'll post those parts in full with the extra/parentheticals highlighted.

First, not parentheticals, just the easiest things to chop out of a section that was already prose-heavy when I was trying to also convey urgency. Also a potential theme (learning vs. teaching) that I found interesting enough to chuck wholesale into my fic ideas document for later exploration:

"So when Alice designed her Theater, there was enough resin in it for this to revitalize? Like a tree in a Domain?" Jean asks. Even in the midst of the calm that she refuses to let become terror, Lisa feels a spark of pride. She may not be Jean's teacher in the way she is for Razor and Klee, but seeing someone untutored make connections between the information they're given and what they already know will always give her the same joy. "Yes," she says, in the same tone she would to one of those students, "very good.

and

Two years of helping seal Hermanubis, over and over, until it stopped breaking through to overwhelm Cyno and he could develop his own control. She'd done a great deal of research in those two years. Along with all the other learning she'd been doing at the Akademiya, of course. Sleeping two hours a night, working through every meal, walking about with a book in hand so as not to lose a single second in which she might be able to absorb more knowledge.... An unsustainable pace, but one she had sustained for longer than might seem humanly possible. Even then she had eventually burned out. (She sees herself in Jean, sometimes, young and determined and convinced that if she just keeps going, eventually she'll reach the breakthrough point where all the hard work at last becomes *easy*, and all that sacrifice is redeemed by what she gains.) Only after that catastrophic emotional crash had she learned the joys of relaxing, the delights of taking it slow. And the satisfaction of teaching, so much more rewarding than all that learning had ever been. The pursuit of knowledge requires constant sacrifice; *sharing* knowledge demands nothing, only doubles what is given. She had left her notes for Cyrus when she left the Akademiya, and he and Cyno far surpass her now in their expertise on this subject.

I had a whole thing going about "Vision users die young," based in part on a lore theory that I think I picked up from @chrysoula about Vision-users being (ultimately expendable) ways for Celestia to control/process elemental power, but also 50% a dig at the Genshin devs for refusing to give me any playable Beefy Grandpas or Tough Old Women. I pulled it out because all the references for it were an easy thing to rip for pacing:

Very little magic in the modern era doesn't rely on the elements. Even when scholars speak of "old techniques," they're talking about herbalism, which still involves the elemental affinities of certain plants, or tapping the leylines, which remains an occasional if dangerous recourse for those without Visions but had been much more common when Visions were much more rare. They were, before the Cataclysm. (The Akademiya quietly suppresses discussion of *why*.) But there are even older techniques from before the establishment of the Thrones, some still practiced in Liyue and Inazuma under the guise of traditional healing and martial arts, that draw on another source entirely. Her own lifeforce isn't a price Lisa *wishes* to pay. But it is one she knows how to. And it's one Celestia would always have demanded from her, anyway, for that Vision she's so ambivalent about. (People never seem to notice that they've never met a Vision-bearer who isn't *young*. Lisa has done her best to avoid exerting her power, to avoid paying that price into Celestia's coffers. She doesn't miss the irony now.)

(Jean was predestined to die young the moment her Vision appeared, but she'd been taught long before that to accept it as an honor, if in Mondstadt's defense. She would begrudge Lisa the chance to serve more than she would the risk.) (Lisa was predestined to die young the moment her Vision appeared, and she had recoiled from her fate as soon as she realized that truth. She has no desire to rush towards annihilation, even on Mondstadt's behalf.) (Practically, rationally: if they share the work,  *both* of them have a better chance.)

(I do headcanon Lisa as the oldest Mondstadt character by at least 10 years, but mid-to-late-30s is far from old, just puts her that much closer to this theoretical fate.)

and (from Lisa accepting Jean's aid, which happened after the paragraph above in 1.0--moving that to earlier in the ficlet was the other major revision between it and 1.5, and was the reason I wrote that post about twisting Lisa's arm yesterday. I couldn't make her first thought believably be "fine, I'll do this solo" without upping the stakes with something like "Klee's stuck in that," which is a method I already used in the last promptfic, and Jean volunteering way earlier was IC for Jean and fixed that neatly). This whole bit's cut material so I won't color-code here:

Finally, just a bit of speculative magical (and "we don't talk about this in front of Celestia"-themed) worldbuilding that made this paragraph way too chunky:

Sumeran seals tend to use threes (for Dendro, Electro, and Pyro, they say; not for certain trio in their past), Liyue prefers sevens (all seven elements at once grant stability; certainly, with all the adepti also in that court, it has nothing to do with two ruling gods and five generals), and Inazuma likes fives (they're far too secretive to even give their justifications, let alone the historical context behind). Khaenri'ah was emphatically locked into pairs (too gnostic to admit the world has three parts), and Fontaine has a terrible, unstable tendency to use just one anchor-point (that Lisa hopes will change now that it's nearly wiped them out). Mondstadt doesn't have a sealing tradition in the first place as far as the Akademiya is concerned, but Lisa knows better. What else are the Four Winds?

[lej222]

hiii i'm a new fan of aslfua and also recently discovered ur tumblr! i appreciate ur analysis and insight so much because it's made me enjoy alsfua so much more and ur brain is so smart to connect all these references 😭😭 i'm curious, what is the ending that u hope for aslfua/mi-ae? :)

Hi!🙂 I'm trying my best thank you so much for the kind words❤️❤️❤️ Even though I might be totally wrong, it's fun to find those little clues😁

This is such a good question, and I will include spoilers from the latest Episode on Naver (155) to tell my opinion.🙂

So I've said this before, but I mainly started reading this series for nostalgia and because I used to work in education. For these reasons, I always viewed it as a growth story about kids whose biggest narrative role is to mature and learn throughout the story. I think so far some characters have had great character arcs that showcase this, like Cheol, Johan, or even Honggyu. In my head, their narratives are almost completed because they have changed a lot and matured - you can clearly see they were very different at the start of the story.

For Miae, I want to see a similar journey. Miae is still pretty much immature and she keeps running away from/ignoring problems that would destroy her "dream" world that she lives in. She has unrealistic expectations about life and doesn't grasp the seriousness of certain situations, or why she has to be responsible for her own actions. I think I've also mentioned this before, but Miae's biggest "teacher" seems to be Jisu just like how Miae was Cheol's. By hanging around with Jisu, Miae needs to be reliable, patient and understanding, but most importantly- Miae cannot run away from her problems because Jisu calls her out for it. Every time Miae tries to act like a kid, Jisu, who is a naturally blunt person points out her behaviour and becomes her voice of reason. Like when she tried to interrupt the confession or how she wants to keep secrets from everyone as to keep peace with her friends, basically she's avoiding conflicts. Miae reflects on Jisu's words because he treats her as someone of the same age, while others just accept her sometimes irrational behaviour which doesn't help her to change. Miae has to be super honest about her feelings and intentions when she's with Jisu because that's the only way he understands her intentions. Just like she has to be honest about his behaviour so Jisu can see when he's being too much/oversteps boundaries. So in the upcoming episodes I really want Miae to realize that Jisu is also a human being with emotions and she's actually hurting his feelings by not telling anyone they're friends and she enjoys his company. Or that she should stop hitting him/ruining his clothes and listen to what he says about himself.

Speaking of this, I hope that Miae and Cheol's relationship becomes healthier regardless of the outcome. It's sad to see that Miae has to keep being Jisu's friend a secret because Cheol is annoyed with him. In a relationship, communication is the key and Cheol and Miae struggle with it. When one of them is closed off, they keep following and cornering each other instead of giving time, and it only leads to misunderstandings. They keep avoiding talking about the status of their relationship because of their pride and Miae's expectations about dating are so naive I just cannot imagine them dating in the close future. Plus I also think Miae relies on Cheol to take responsibility for her and solve her problems, like when she wanted to call him to make peace between her friends. And not surprisingly, it was Jisu who showed up and called out her behaviour, which makes me think Miae will have to solve her own problems. So I hope all of these things will be resolved without other characters getting hurt, like Jisu.

And lastly, I really want Miae to realize her mother is coming from a good place. Because even though she's strict, she only wants the best for her daughter. I want to have one scene where Miae has a serious conversation with her and they both open up to each other. It's been theorized that Jisu doesn't have a good relationship with his father, so it might be the push for Miae's realization because both her and Cheol come from loving families. And Miae takes a lot of things for granted, that's why she keeps dodging responsibility. And she's a kid, so it's understandable, but if other characters have matured significantly, Miae should also be more mature by the end. She will go to high school and most likely very few of her friends will attend the same school, so she has to learn to let things go and accept negative experiences. Like the narrator pointed out, there are certain circumstances one cannot get over with sheer willpower because they happen anyway. So my final thoughts are that I want to have a closure that doesn't leave these kids with regrets, but rather when they look back on these years, they will think of them as fond memories.🙂

[lonely-eli]

Trippin' On Hallucinogenics - Chapter 4

Barty and Pandora walked into Potions class and sat down in the front of the classroom, something Barty was looking to avoid. A scrawnier girl with curly blonde hair that she pulled back into a ponytail, sat behind them. She was wearing a bandana over her hair that was covered with small rainbows. She stared at Barty with misty eyes, he stared right back at her, though he had to twist uncomfortably in his chair which didn’t give it the full effect he had wanted.

Slughorn the teacher introduced himself as, was a plump man who had thinning hair. He basically had a comb over, Barty cringed at it, “I am the head of Slytherin, and will be your teacher for your first to fifth year, at which point you can decide to take N.E.W.T. classes for potions. Though that’s a while in the future.

“Today we will be starting with learning some herbology, specifically the different types of mushrooms and their uses in potions. Are there any questions?”

The class was silent. Slughorn nodded, “Good. Now what is a mushroom?”

No one raised their hands, they all looked at one another nervously. Finally, Pandora sighed and raised her hand, Slughorn called on her, “Ms…”

“Rosier. Pandora Rosier, sir. It’s a fungus.”

“Ten points to Ravenclaw,” Slughorn responded. As it was explained, teachers and other leading figures in the school could give and take away points from each house and the house that had the most points at the end of the school year won. Hufflepuff had won last year because they were apparently the most behaved house.

Slughorn asked his next question and a Hufflepuff raised their hand, surprising the class, Slughorn called on the Hufflepuff who answered correctly and got their house ten points.

It went on like this for the entire double period, they didn’t even touch the cauldrons that they had brought. Barty ran his finger around the rim of his while zoning out, he had already read the book about mushrooms and their uses. Finally class was over, and they could all breathe a sigh of relief as they left the classroom.

“What’s your name?” Pandora asked the girl behind them as they were packing up. Barty looked down at his notes only to find he had written “BEAT ROSIER AND BLACK” in big bold letters. He closed the notebook and put it in his bag.

“Sybil Trelawney,” the girl said, “We’re roommates I think.”

“I didn’t see you there this morning,” Pandora said.

Sybil nervously fidgeted with her fingers, “Well I went to the quidditch pitch early—”

“Oh! That’s so much fun!” Pandora said with a clap of her hands, “You know, I really want to go, it seems like such a good place to get my reading in!”

“It is!” Sybil said with a burst of passion then she quietly said, “I mean… yeah, it really is.”

“Maybe we can hang out together sometime,” Pandora replied. Sybil turned a bright red.

“Yeah, that sounds cool.”

“Do you want to eat lunch with us?” Pandora asked. Sybil just nodded, so Pandora threaded their arms together, like she had with Barty earlier, “This is Barty Crouch by the way.”

“Don’t forget it,” Barty said with a wink, then he cringed at himself, why did he just do that? He felt like a house elf who should punish itself.

They walked into the Great Hall where students were already sitting down and eating. Barty tapped Panda on the shoulder, “I’m going to talk to the boys.”

Panda nodded, “Tell Evan that we need to meet up later in the library.”

Barty snuck over to the Slytherin table, he wrapped his arms around Evan and Regulus’s shoulders, “Wassup, boys?”

“Crouch, get your hands off me,” snapped Regulus. Barty sighed and took his hands off Regulus, choosing to wrap them around Evan instead. Evan just completely ignored him.

“I’m offended, Regulus, I thought that we were friends,” Barty said.

“Just—” Regulus sighed, “Just leave me alone right now, okay?”

“Fine,” Barty said, he poked Evan in the cheek, Evan smacked his hands away, “Your sister wants to hang out.”

“Where?” Evan asked, “Is she okay? Did you do something to her?”

“She’s fine,” Barty said, rolling his eyes, “She just wants to hang in the library. I’m going to the bathroom, you two are boring.”

“Okay,” Evan said, looking at his sister.

“Now if you don’t mind, Black—” Snape started. Barty quickly retreated before he heard the garbage that left the kids mouth. 

***

By the time that Friday rolled around, Barty had gotten twenty points for Ravenclaw by asking questions in class, successfully high fived Evan, and memorized every section of the library.

“Look at this,” Pandora giggled, she turned the book towards him, he stared at it then grinned. It was a detailed picture of a unicorn being eaten by a— well he wasn’t sure what it was being eaten by.

“You are a mystery, Pandora Rosier,” he said. She giggled harder, then turned the book back.

They were sitting in the reading nook in the library on opposite ends of the couch with their legs tangled. Barty was reading a book for class. Emmeline was laying on the ground in front of the couch, doodling something in her notebook.

“What are we going to do this weekend?” Pandora groaned, “I mean we won’t have a schedule or anything.”

“Finish homework, hang out with the other houses—” Pandora, and Barty by association, had become friends with some of the other Ravenclaw girls due to shared classes. They had studied with them and Evan in the library, which turned into more of a gossip session.

“Paxton Green totally likes you,” Hestia Jones said, addressing Pandora, who turned a bit red. Aurora reached out and grabbed Pandora’s hands.

“We could ask if you’d like.”

“Yeah, Panda,” Barty said, snickering behind his book, “Paxton Green.”

Paxton was a confident boy whose hair fell in his eyes and he was constantly pushing it back, and he was Barty’s roommate. The second out of four of them that Barty had actually met, the first of which was currently standing on his head while singing a song backwards. Not even a specific song, Lovegood was just mixing lyrics.

Pandora scrunched up her face, “No…”

“Well if you don’t want him,” Hestia said, sitting back in her seat, “I’ll take him.”

Aurora raised an imaginary glass, “Here here, sister.”

The two laughed and collapsed into each other. Barty tapped his book, “I think I’ve noticed you getting looks from 

“What did you think of Regulus Black getting Slytherin?” Inaya, the quieter of the three girls, asked.

“I heard Sirius was disappointed.”

“Who cares?” Barty asked, “that boy is a traitor.”

Barty used air quotes on the word, the girls all sighed, “Maybe, but he’s hot too.”

“Panda!” Barty said, looking at his friend, who stopped and smiled, “What would Reggie say?”

“With his family’s track record he’d probably agree,” Evan said, Barty jumped, completely forgetting that Evan was at his side.

“That’s not nice,” Pandora told her brother.

“So, Evan,” Hestia said, running her finger up and down the spine of a book, “who do you like?”

“No one, it’s been a week of school.”

Barty gasped, “Not even me?” “I hate you,” Evan replied easily. 

“My life is over,” Barty mourned. The Ravenclaw girls patted him on the back sympathetically.

In the present, Barty laughed to himself. He actually liked it at school, it was nice to be able to sleep without waking up to a house elf in your face, nervously hovering over you. It was also nice to not have to worry about your father coming home and discovering what a mess you’ve made of your room.

Pandora tapped Barty’s leg, “Move.”

She hopped up and walked over to the bookshelf to get something new. Barty leaned across the arm of the couch giving her an upside down smile. She noticed him staring and turned around.

“What is it?”

“Nothing, I’m just happy,” Barty said, putting it into words for the first time. He sighed.

Pandora smiled, “That’s good.”

Barty had already gotten a letter from his mother, it was telling him that she and his father said hello, and that she expects him to write to her weekly. Then the letter went on a long rant about how her friends had accidently spilled tea on her white dress.

Pandora sat back down and laid her head on the back of the couch, smiling at Barty.

“Let’s hang out with the others this weekend.”

***

“You better shut up, Snivellus,” Barty heard a voice saying on his walk to the library. He ducked behind the corner before peeking out.

Sirius and Remus were standing with their wands ready, pointing it at the greasy Snape guy from earlier. They both looked blood lusty. Snape reached into his pocket, when Slughorn suddenly appeared and broke up the fight.

“Mr. Snape, Mr. Black, and Mr. Lupin, this is shameful behavior in the hallways!” Slughorn shouted, “10 points from Gryffindor and Slytherin.”

Barty chose this moment to walk out and try to get past them, but he was stopped by Slughorn, who massaged his temples, “Mr. Crouch please say you had nothing to do with it.”

“I had nothing to do with it, sir, I was just trying to get to the library,” Barty responded. Slughorn nodded.

“Then get on your way,” Slughorn said. Barty nodded. He started to walk away just as Slughorn started berating the three second years again. 

The library was quiet, and he spotted the twins and Regulus already sat down at their usual table in the corner. All of them seemed to be silently reading, or Pandora and Regulus seemed to be reading, Evan was simply staring at the book boredly.

“I ran into your brother in the hallway,” Barty said as he sat down, Regulus stiffened, “He was fighting with Snape with that Remus kid. The one with the scars.”

“I know who you’re talking about,” snapped Regulus. Barty held up his hands in an innocent gesture.

“Calm down, I just thought you should know.”

“Did you do anything?” Regulus demanded.

“Well I was going to wink at him, but then realized that no one was around to get the joke, so no. They did get points taken away from Slytherin though which means that RAVENCLAW IS IN THE LEAD.”

“Let’s go!” Pandora reached out to high five Barty. Regulus squinted his eyes.

“If you think I care about something so—”

“Oh lighten up, Black,” Evan said. Barty smiled at Evan, who also needed to lighten up.

Regulus glared at the two of them before going back to his book, ‘Just stay away from my brother, okay?”

“Fine by me, he’s annoying as hell,” Evan said. Barty nodded.

“I think they’re delightful,” Pandora interjected.

“You would.”

“What’s that supposed to mean, Evan?” Pandora was glaring at her brother, her hand slipping into her pocket.

“Nothing, Panda,” Evan said quickly.

“Good,” Pandora grinned, then pulled a piece of candy from her pocket and popped it into her mouth.

“Classes this week have been horrible,” Evan groaned, “There’s too much homework.”

“It’s not that bad,” Regulus said.

“Are you sure you’re not a Ravenclaw?”

“Yes,” Regulus said with a dark look in his eyes. Then he grabbed the newspaper and threw it onto the table between them. Barty eyed it curiously, “Me being Slytherin was in the news, apparently I’m not going down the same path as my brother.”

Barty flipped through the pages and found that it said that Regulus sat down at the Slytherin table crying when he had shown so little emotion it was scary. It also said that the Rosier twins had a heartfelt goodbye after being broken up in different houses. But then again, it never really showed what happened.

Barty put the newspaper down and they didn’t talk about it again. Instead moving onto topics of Quidditch which Barty found extremely boring, his favorite part of Quidditch afterall was when the players got knocked off their brooms.

Instead, Barty found his mind wandering to the points system and how he had done nothing but do good this week. Just like his father would have done.

  When everyone started to go, Barty got Pandora to hang back.

“What is it, Barty?” Panda asked.

Barty paused with an open mouth then decided against it and shook his head, “Nothing. Nevermind.”

“Okay,” Pandora said, she looked confused and kind of nervous.

“Why don’t you go ahead, I’ll catch up,” Barty said, “I still need to look for a book.”

Pandora shrugged and headed on her way while Barty started looking through the books for a Disillusionment charm.

[acti-veg]

Every time I see nonvegans calling us racist and saying we value non human animals over humans and talking about how indigenous people are often in situations where they need to hunt to survive (despite most of the people making this argument not being indigenous themselves), I think about this video we watched in my freshwater ecology class in uni that talked about the impacts of animal agriculture on freshwater systems and the disproportionate impacts it has on indigenous communities. This video had real indigenous people talking about the real life impacts nearby animal farms have on them and their community. In it they talked about how they feared for their health, how they were seeing how the pollution animal ag. caused deteriorated their quality of life, how they would beg the farmers to not spread their animals waste on certain days and how they would catch the farmers doing so purposefully on those days.

It just makes me feel so sick seeing this primarily nonindigenous audience so self assuredly talk over indigenous voices about their own issues and pat themselves on the backs while doing things that actively support and contribute to the issue. I'm white and I would never dream of trying to have a voice in the vegan debate in indigenous spaces because it's just not my place, and yet nonvegans feel so entitled to do so and think they are fighting against racism in bulldozing over actual indigenous people.

So many of these people talk about indigenous culture and lives in such an abstract way too. It reminds me of how health teachers in schools talk about LGBT+ people. Talking about them like their existence is theoretical and purely for the sake of discussion rather than a group of real living people. It's just so dehumanizing. And yet we are the ones who don't care. Literally all I want in life is for people to care about one another and for everyone do try and do their best to live in a way that is kind to others and minimalizes harm to all living things. But the people calling that wish racist won't do the bare minimum and listen to the people saying that this industry is actively hurting them.

The really important thing to avoid getting really angry over stuff like this is to remember that it's actually just an elaborate show for them. Nobody who has done even a cursory amount of research into the biggest threats to indigenous communities would be defending animal agriculture and blaming it on vegans; its all just a performative sham.

What it comes down to is the fact that they can't deal with our argument so they try to make us somehow Problematic so that they can cloak their discomfort in the language of social justice. It's the most banal and predictable response that it's not even worth getting annoyed over. They don't actually care about indigenous people, or quinoa farmers, or whatever else is their talking point of the week; they're just playing dress-up.

The indigenous people, the farmers, the 'children picking our crops' are not real people to them, they're just pawns. Sometimes they are literally made up, as happened with the quinoa argument, which somehow evolved from a clickbait article about Peruvian farmers being priced out due to western demand, to quinoa being picked by child slaves - which was never even the claim of the original (now widely debunked) article. They actually, frequently make up slaves to get mad over rather than discussing recognising any of the real victims of animal agriculture. That is the level of cognitive disonance that we are dealing with.

This performance is mostly directed at themselves and each other, rather than us, because what we advocate for presents a challenge to their identity as good people, as social justice advocates, as leftists, as animal lovers. It's why we see so much applause for bizarre and blatantly untrue claims circulated here every week, and so much aggression over seemingly obvious, basic facts when presented by vegans. If you can understand that it is just for show then you can put it in the proper context and find it pitiable rather than infuriating.

[aihaitahm]

mysteries of tatarasuna

enemies to lovers? not really kinda? idk more like frenemies. cw suggestive (if u squint)

ill probably make a part 2 mwehehehehhe idk depends on how this one does :3 hopefully you guys like it :((

when you first interacted with alhaitham, he was still a haravatat scholar and you were a vahumana scholar. you both were incredible and outstanding students in your own fields though there was always tension between you both. you would see him late at night while cramming your own researches while he would secretly stare, busy “reading” his book. sometimes he would walk by you and would point out your mistakes. afterall, you sat by the book section where ancient inazuma linguistics were. he would pretend to grab a book from there but in reality, he was intrigued by you yet denies he feels attraction towards you.

“you know cramming is a terrible habit especially for a vahumana student like you.”

“also this word should be ‘their’ instead of ‘there’ how are you the top student of the vahumana darshan? how did you even pass the entrance exam?”

“excuse me?!” you hissed from the rudeness.

“also this sentence does not make sense. you should make it concise for the teacher to read.”

you stare at him deadpanned but inside you couldnt help but think he was handsome and smart. you’ve heard of a lot about alhaitham. the top student of haravatat, azar’s top choice for a scribe, everything.

you deeply sighed and made corrections, ignoring the butterflies in your stomach. you could feel your face go a bit pink when you noticed he was a little too near you. oh god.

“who.”

“what?”

“ASKED. respectfully i did not ask for your opinion thank you very much.”

you slammed the encyclopedia closed as you finished your last piece of your project about the mysteries of Tatarasuna and how it came to be. though other students have their own projects about it, the professors liked yours the most because of how updated and unique it is.

“tsk and you knew i was right, you even did what i said. you did in fact needed that. hm was i wrong?”

oh boy and thats how the friendly-not friendly banters and arguements started. it got even worst as you both graduated. when he became scribe while you became a sage. soon enough, you realized how much you enjoy interacting with him. not like you both would admit it but there was definitely sexual tension sometimes or even… all the time. everybody noticed it, even the fungus did.

alhaitham would talk about you a lot whenever he got invited to play tcg or dinner with cyno, tighnari and kaveh.

“do you like (name)?” tighnari asked.

“no. how did you come up with that?”

“are you that much of a dumbass? how are you so smart yet you cant even tell if you like (name). you complain or talk about them everyday.” kaveh laughs as cyno lightly chuckles. tighnari sighs as he asks for the bill.

“maybe i should just kick you out my house, what do you think about that kaveh?” alhaitham says irritatedly. but secretly, his heart is pumping so much he might go crazy.

though one day, you sadly had to go to inazuma for your final research/book about tatarasuna island. professors greatly praised it and younger students use your material for reference. you told that to alhaitham and you could see the sadness in his eyes, though he brush it off as he didnt care and he was awfully too silent when you told him the news.

“i heard the electro archon can be quite the character. take care.”

you both said your goodbyes and you were about to walk away until he grabbed your arm.

“…show me your research when you come back.”

you nodded shyly, as you avoided his gaze. you are so glad you said your goodbyes at night or else, he would’ve seen your flustered state.

during your stay at inazuma, the vision hunt decree was reinforced. you were forced to stay longer than needed. you hate to admit it but you missed alhaitham. you wished you could tell your adventures to him. you could write to him but it was awkward. you didnt know if he was your friend or not. although you both opened up about random stuff but still. he acts kind off differently with you.

alhaitham misses your voice and your sassiness. he scolded himself because he was supposed to confess however he got too scared. he deeply sighed. throughout your stay at inazuma, he was worried whether you were alive or not. kaveh noticed this and alhaitham finally admits he really likes you but he failed to confess. kaveh was shocked at the sight of softness he observed when he mentioned how much he admires you. as much as he wanted to tease him, he knew better and just gave him advice. alhaitham sent out letters however you never received it though he probably thought you ignored him. you lived in his heart and mind rent free.

time passed and sumeru political problems rose. alhaitham was busy with azar’s stupid shenanigans while you were still busy at tatarasuna island. you made a lot of discoveries, observations and, you even earned an electro vision. you became stronger and you’ve changed over the course of time. though would he still like you even if you’ve changed? does he even remember you?

you are scheduled to go back to sumeru soon since its been forever. a lot of people have been wanting to get out of inazuma. people from fontaine, mondstandt even natlan.

you did have responsibilities to uphold as you were a vahumana sage, though its been so long, they probably removed you. azar didnt particularly like you since you are so open about your opinions and you critique him (respectfully but you hated him). alhaitham quickly noticed how they exclude you in some meetings which was suspicious.

slowly sumeru’s political turmoil has gone to an end because of the people of sumeru and lesser lord kusanali.

the day arrived and you were on your way to sumeru. you were excited and you were ready to present your final research of mysteries if tatarasuna. or at least, for now. you wondered how alhaitham was. how your friends were doing. do they think you’re dead?

“we are about to arrive to port ormos, please make sure to have your belongings ready.” the sailor shouted.

you’ve arrived in sumeru. you are close to sumeru city but not quite there yet. as you stepped out of the boat, you noticed some young scholars who may immediately recognized you. you smiled and waved while you continued to mind your business and stay in the inn at port ormos.

cyno was curious at the inazuman boat that arrived at port ormos. this is one of the first boats that arrived since the vision hunt decree was already gone. he was not expecting to see you.

‘hm maybe alhaitham should just be surprised.’ he thought.

as the days quickly end, you find yourself in front of the entrance sumeru city. you put your hood down to remove suspiciousness from one of the strict matras that were roaming around.

“who are you and what are you doing in this city? we want to avoid visitors at this time due to the fact we are still recovering from the recent turmoil.”

“im (name) and i am the or i guess, the former vahumana sage. due the vision hunt decree, i was unable to go home please let me in.” you stated.

“are you lying?“ blah balha blah this stupid matra would not stop asking questions it irritated you. this earned some attention to the locals and luckily, cyno stepped in.

“she is telling the truth. she is known for her research for tatarasuna and just arrived here the other day at port ormos.“ cyno deeply sighs.

“o-oh! my apologies.” the matra was at disbelief and embarrassed.

you thanked cyno privately and he nodded. he guided you to alhaitham since you asked him where alhaitham was.

on the way you saw familiar faces. dehya and dunyarzard hugged you. you then promised to catch up with them after you see alhaitham in which dehya teases you, then she lets you go.

hands sweating, and heart pumping. you were nervous. cyno could read you in a heartbeat since it was very much obvious.

“does he know im here?” you asked quietly taking the long ass stairs. a long pause occured before he answered.

“no he does not. he was recently chosen to be the acting grand sage therefore that makes him extremely busy. he can explain you the details to what happen to sumeru because he would want to see you.” cyno said.

you turned red/pink but you just chuckled at the fact he is the grand sage. you wonder if his appearance changed since the last time you saw him. is he still roommates with kaveh? you spiral into a bunch of questions. soon, you both arrived at his office and you saw his silver ashen hair drowning in piles of paperwork. before you could turn to cyno, he disappeared. this made you even extremely nervous.

“the grand sage is not available. office hours are closed. it is past 5pm. if you need me come visit tomorrow.” he sighed exasperatingly. not even giving a glance since he was extremely busy with his duties as the acting grand sage.

“okay mr. grand sage azar 2.0!!!! though i thought you wanted to see my final piece for mysteries of tatarasuna, i guess not.” you sarcastically said but deep down your heart could jump out your throat. you couldnt believe who you were seeing.

he knows that voice. the voice that he frequently heard. his favorite voice. he quickly looked up and took in the image that was standing before him.

[transgenderteensurvivalguide]

Pls help this is very urgent, I don't feel comfortable nor feel safe going to either women or men's lockeroom can I like find some way around that like use the nurses bathroom or aomwthing??

Lee says:

When I was in high school, I brought my clothes with me and changed in the regular bathrooms instead of the open changing area in the gym locker room.

You may have to keep your PE clothing and sneakers in your locker room locker if you don’t have room for them in your normal hallway locker or backpack, which would mean you’d have to enter the locker room, get your items, and then leave.

So if you don’t think it’ll get you in trouble, just get your clothes from wherever they’re stored and then change in the nearest bathroom without even asking the teacher.

If your school has a gender neutral bathroom, you might have better luck changing in there, even if it’s a bit further away than the nearest gendered bathroom is.

But if you’re out as trans, you could explain that you’ll need privacy to your gym teacher, and ask them to be allowed to change elsewhere, like in the nurse’s office bathroom, and that way you can get informal permission to not change in the locker room and won’t be marked as late.

If you don’t want to out yourself, you can tell your teacher that you have anxiety about changing in the gendered locker rooms and not mention the trans thing at all.

If you don’t think your teacher would be open to making informal accommodations for you, or you asked your teacher and they said no, speak to the guidance councilor or whatever school official is in charge of creating formal accommodation plans and see if you’re able to persuade them.

Whether you reach out to a trusted teacher, school counselor, or administrator, explain your concerns about using the gender-specific locker rooms and express your need for a safe alternative. Make sure you explain why you feel unsafe in detail and provide any examples of incidents that would support your concerns. They're more likely to respond if it's presented as a safety issue (and you said it was!) instead of just a personal preference.

If you do go to the top and ask a school official, you an also ask if there are any single-occupancy staff restrooms that you could use. That isn't ideal for you or the school but you can always ask!

Sometimes, having a written request can make the process more formal and may be taken more seriously. It also provides a record of your request, so if you are talking to school officials get everything on paper or in email.

If your parents are supportive, they can back you up and write a note to help excuse you. When you speak with them about this issue, be clear about why the current situation is not working for you and what would make you feel safer because they might not realize how important it is to you.

If even a parent's note doesn't help, familiarize yourself with any non-discrimination policies your school or workplace may have. Many institutions in liberal-leaning have policies in place to accommodate individuals who do not feel comfortable in gender-specific spaces, so you may be able to point at a policy and get backup that way.

And depending on your location, there may be laws that protect your right to safe and comfortable accommodations. Knowing these can help when discussing your needs with officials.

It's also important to know if a law isn't in your favor because then you will have more success just doing it instead of asking because if the school gives you permission they may get in trouble so they might be trying to avoid that. Organizations like the ACLU or local LGBTQ+ advocacy groups can sometimes provide guidance or intervene in situations where individuals are being denied reasonable accommodations, but that can be hard to do if you have unsupportive parents.

Remember, your comfort and safety are paramount, and you have the right to access facilities where you feel secure. Don't hesitate to advocate for yourself, and seek out allies like other trans people at your school or members of the GSA club who can support you through this process. They may have experience with similar situations and can offer advice or advocate on your behalf.

If you have a supportive friend who will stand up for you and come to the bathroom with you or change together with you in the locker room, that can be a great way to plan for your safety until you're able to access alternative facilities. I would honestly consider that to be your first step to help you stay safe while you work everything out.

Finally, it's clear that situations like these can be stressful! Consider speaking with a school counselor (keeping in mind the requirements of mandated reporting) or a therapist for support.

Followers, any tips for anon?

[the-lincyclopedia]

One of my primary beliefs is that anyone who wants to solve or mitigate a problem should care about correctly understanding the causes of that problem. And I find that often, people prefer to make assumptions about what causes the problem and then get upset when you challenge their assumptions, even when you're right.

I think those of us who are activists have a tendency to notice when people with power and authority make incorrect assumptions about us or about other people they have authority over. We help each other learn to notice this.

We know it happens in health care: We know that doctors often assume that a patient's symptoms are a result of the patient being fat, and that the patient "just needs to lose weight" in order to feel better, even when something entirely different is causing the symptoms. We know that psychiatrists sometimes assume that a woman having interpersonal issues must have borderline personality disorder or bipolar disorder, because obviously those are the right labels for difficult women, when actually she's autistic and the psychiatrist didn't bother to check.

We know it happens with how children are treated: Whether we're activists or not, many of us remember times when our parents or teachers acted like we were breaking rules or causing a scene for no good reason, when actually something was wrong and we were trying to solve the problem/get help/generally cope as best we could, and we just weren't asked why we were acting that way.

But the reason I'm making this post is because we, as activists, are not immune from making bad assumptions either.

So many people on this site, and in many activist spaces I'm in, talk as if every incident of harm (at least, every incident where "the other side" causes harm) involves deliberate malice--often nothing but deliberate malice. There's rarely any public consideration of other potential causes, such as genuine ignorance, competing priorities, differing but legitimate values, being stretched too thin, etc. Even greed sometimes gets left out of the conversation, despite the fact that I'm quite certain that greed is a more common motivator than sadism.

I want to be clear that I'm not making this point to cast the powerful as victims, to argue that they're misunderstood, or to scold you about being nicer to your oppressors. That is not my motivation.

I am making this point because when we assume that someone is motivated by malice and sadism when they're really acting from ignorance, greed, a different set of values, or a lack of time/resources to do things in the way they should be done, we are going to propose the wrong solutions.

A teacher who's not using universal design because they hate disabled kids and want neurodivergent students to suffer needs to be removed from the classroom. A teacher who's not using universal design because they don't know enough about it needs additional training. A teacher who's not using universal design because they're totally overwhelmed by having 35 middle school students in each of six periods throughout the day needs more resources and support. The problems look similar, or even the same, at first, but when you look closer, you see that different causes require different solutions.

Obviously, there are groups whose motivations are a lot less sympathetic than those of an overworked teacher. But even when it comes to, like, execs at health insurance companies, I'm guessing they're more likely to care about making money and be pretty apathetic about the details, rather than cackling gleefully at the thought of driving people to bankruptcy or causing them to suffer and even die for lack of care.

And if we want a more equitable world, I think it's logical and even vital that we know what causes the problems we want to solve, because that affects what the correct solutions are and can guide us in avoiding unintended consequences.

[ellipse-society]

whats ur job like? is it tough/hard (especially as someone who also has mental health issues, but like.... who doesnt XD)? what drew u to psychology/working in a clinic? is a psych bachelers worth it in ur opinion? (or at least worth witnessing the annoying ppl u might meet in college...) what did u do for ur bachelers degree? :-D

(my eyesight is kinda blurry rn sorry if any of these r wrong/feel free to skip or avoid any of these at all :'D i hope u have a good day!!!)

Well our job is client centered so each day can vary drastically as far as how hard it is. Some days five clients are in crisis simultaneously and others we only have maybe one or two of our easiest clients scheduled. Though the work schedule is also flexible which is a perk. They basically do not care when you are there as long as you have 40 hours by the end of the week. When talking to clients we(as in everyone at the company) basically just refers to ourselves as caseworkers(we have a fancier title but it seems to only be used by our company so we would prefer not to share it publicly) even though most at the company don't see that as 100% accurate it's just the easiest way to describe it. It isn't the perfect job but we get to work in a field we enjoy and get to make a difference in people's lives so it is fulfilling for us. Basically the job is working with lower income people with mental disabilities(almost always SUD but commonly also GAD, MDD, PTSD, and Schizophrenia/schizoeffective with a few other disorders here and there on a less frequent basis) and providing them with coping skills and access to resources in the community for basic needs like food, housing, work, access to medication, ect. Our goal is to help the client improve enough that they can be independent and graduate from services. We also regularly meet clients out in the community instead of at the clinic so a lot of driving is also involved which is sometimes good sometimes annoying depending on the area of town.

I don't think our mental health has really negatively effected us at our job. It has been a jumping off point for building rapport more than once though so it may be more of a positive. We have had more than one client relieved that we are autistic because either they have the disorder or know someone with the disorder and like that there is a level of understanding there.

I mean we were drawn to psychology due to our own mental health struggles and those of our family(also maybe a bit of autistic special interest lol). We have always wanted a job where we can help others and we were basically unprofessional councilors for our family and friends long before we had our psychology degree. It is just something we naturally do. We also switched majors in college(from secondary education theater and speech) and our general psychology teacher was one of our favorites. She made the topic interesting. When we were switching majors we took a bunch of classes in different fields we were interested in for a semester and psychology was the one that stood out again. We did a project on parenting styles in that class that made us realize a lot about our childhood and better come to terms with it.

I mean whether or not a psych bachelor's is worth it is based on what you want to do. There are many psychology jobs that are gatekept behind graduate school so you may not be able to get the perfect job with just a bachelor's. That being said most fields are looking for someone educated in psychology. It can definitely look better on an application than some other degrees as far as applying for jobs not directly related to the field. We had to go to one of our schools job fairs once(in a gym so sensory overload to the max) and almost every table called us over due to us majoring in psychology while we were avoiding as many people as possible while they were not doing that for people from some other majors that were more active about looking. It is basically a desirable major for many employers but getting an actual psychology focused job that accepts just a bachelor's may be hard to find.

We aren't sure what you mean by what we did for our bachelor's degree so if you want to send in another ask about that if we answer it in a way you didn't intend it to be answered feel free. Our school was very research based as far as how it taught psychology. Basically junior and senior year every student was required to run one study(junior year as a group and senior year solo) and a lot of general psych classes required study participation and other classes often provided extra credit so that people could get their participants. The solo one we did senior year was full of technical difficulties and the results would never be applied anywhere by any logical person so we don't tend to talk about that one but the one we did junior year we loved and it got us second place in our category when we presented it at our schools recheach symposium(and we were in the same category as the person who won best overall). Basically we were looking at how word bolding and amount of time with a piece of text affected memory. We found that(obviously) the more time someone had with the text the better it was remembered but the cool thing we found was that while if a word relevant to the memory quiz was bolded it improved performance there was no significant difference between the control and those that had irrelevant/distractor words bolded. Basically even if you were to bold the wrong words you aren't hindering ones retention so bolding words could only have a positive not a negative effect per our results. A lot of teachers were really interested in our results on that one and we are proud of it. Though not the most proud of our research paper on it because English has always been where we struggle most lol.

Oh and thank you for the questions. Hope you have a good day too.

[fzzr]

Interviews with Monster Girls and Approaching Disability

Content Advisory: I don't know what I'm doing here when it comes to talking about disability, so I'll probably say something stupid. Sorry in advance, all I can promise to do is my best. Likewise as a straight cis man I can't talk about the Gender Stuff from lived experience, so my views will necessarily be from outside. Be aware that there's gender stuff with an eye to how women are treated in general.

Demi-chan wa Kataritai (Interviews with Monster Girls, henceforth "Demi-chan") is a 2017 anime about a high school biology teacher teaching and learning from his half-human half-monster "ajin" or "demi" students about facing social and practical difficulties in life due to the realities of one's body. Or to put it more simply, it's about disability, through the lens of monster girls.

The Vampire - Medical Disability

Vampires need no introduction. Creature of the night, lives on blood, arguably the most iconic horror monster. In Demi-chan, vampirism is basically diabetes, anemia, albinism, and a collection of other quirks all rolled into one. Hikari Takanashi keeps her government-issued blood in a personal refrigerator. She needs to take extra precautions to protect her skin and eyes from the sun and is sensitive to hot weather.

Hikari is supported without question or resentment by her family. When the urge to bite people comes up, her sister allows Hikari to gnaw on her arm a bit. Hikari is brilliantly blonde, so her father bleaches his hair a bit to make her stand out less. Her mother supports the family, and the extra expense involved in raising a half-vampire isn't even a topic of discussion.

In another time Hikari would have been treated like, well... a vampire. Thanks to a more understanding public and advances in technology, she's just like any other girl.

The Dullahan - Physical Disability

A dullahan is a person with a detached but otherwise perfectly functional head (think "Headless Horseman"). In Demi-chan, they represent physical disability. Kyouko Machi's moment to moment life is defined by having to carry her head with her everywhere. She's essentially missing an arm any time she's walking around. It takes Hikari pointing it out for anyone else to realize making her carry the school-standard bag is dangerous, prompting the school to give her special permission to use a backpack. She has a custom harness to hold her head at chest level so she can use both hands while eating. She typically rests her head on a pillow when seated, and has to use her arms to physically point her head at people when listening or speaking.

Among the three demi students, Kyouko gets the most attention as more of a specimen than a person. Whether it's wanting to touch the flame where her neck would be or just asking sometimes intrusive questions, it's clear that people, even the most well-intentioned, are less respectful of her bodily autonomy than they could or should be. Other times people will deliberately avoid topics that would require them to acknowledge her physical limitations as though they don't exist.

Dullahans may be more accommodated than they were in the past, but the world is still structured on the assumption that they don't exist. Despite being an afterthought to the built environment, Kyouko is just like any other girl.

The Yuki-onna - Psychological Disability

A yuki-onna, or snow woman, is a person who emits physical cold when under emotional strain. Yuki Kusakabe is at a new school in a new town and her powers are doing new things. Her anxiety and fear of becoming too close to others leaves her socially isolated. Her resulting non-participation shows some of the complexity of psychological disability - it doesn't mean you physically can't do things, but the collective actions of those around you means you are excluded nonetheless.

Yuki is seemingly shy not because she doesn't like other people, but because she is afraid that if she gets upset around someone the cold she emanates will physically harm them. It's not a stretch to understand that as representing the fear one may have that opening up about your problems burdens others, so isolation is preferable. A bit of practical examination eventually shows that her cold doesn't hurt anyone - herself or others. This doesn't suddenly cure her anxiety, of course. She just becomes more willing to open up and hang out with people.

This one doesn't land as well as the others, because it seems to imply that you just need a good few friends to eventually have people get you and then you will be fine. Additionally, her nature as a yuki-onna means she is also easily overheated in hot weather, which is one thing that brings her together with the other demis. I don't think that necessarily is part of the allegory, but if it is it's saying it's not healthy for her to avoid uncomfortable feelings (cold) altogether.

Society expects us to keep unsightly emotions out of the view of the public. Yuki can't hide hers, but her peers come to realize that under the anxiety she's just like any other girl.

The Succubus - Being a Woman

Ok, this is the spicy one. The fourth demi in the show is teacher Sakie Satou, a succubus. In Demi-chan a succubus is a woman who has a supernaturally compelling erotic effect on anyone who could be attracted to her. (They give gay men as an explicit example of people immune to succubus charm.) In parallel with the three students, we have to look at her demi nature as a form of disability as well. The show is very clear that the only functional difference between Sakie and any other woman is the magnitude and range of her attractiveness.

Just as much as the other demis, her life is shaped by this fact about how she was born. She wears loose clothes that cover her whole body beyond hands and head at all times in public. She is hyperaware of her surroundings at school so that she doesn't bump into a male student and need to deal with the results. She takes the first train in the morning and last train in the evening for the same reason. She even has to live in a detached home (not an apartment) because when she's asleep she leaks erotic dreams. Her yearning for romance is stifled by the worry that she will never be able to tell if someone really likes her or just her succubus charm.

Society has not moved very far to make room for Sakie. The flashback scene from her school days where she makes use of martial arts and social intimidation to reverse a dangerous situation is played for comedy, but left implied is how differently it could have gone. Succubi are considered the most dangerous ajin by the government. Cops regularly check on them to make sure they're not deliberately causing issues by using their charm to provoke an assault. There is zero consideration that using your charm is not a crime, committing assault is. The agent in charge of Sakie treats her almost like a daughter. One imagines that if she wasn't one of the "well-behaved" ones, that parental relationship would be far more punitive.

Maybe someday the world will advance and Sakie won't have to tiptoe through each day for fear of one misstep ruining her life. For now, she's just like any other woman.

The Outsider

Tetsuo Takahashi is none of the things the various demis are. Indeed, at first he sees them primarily as a subject of biological and anthropological curiosity. Sometimes he's making genuine discoveries, but other times he's learning things about the demis that they have always known. In one telling moment, Tetsuo gives Hikari a long speech about the things he's "figured out" about what a vampire needs to do to protect themselves when outside during the summer. Hikari responds by asking him how many years he thinks she's been a vampire.

It's Tetsuo's relationship with Sakie that makes him stand out. Multiple times during the show he is exposed to her succubus charm, either due to physical contact or her dropping her overly modest style around him. The society around them would seem to accept that if that happens a man is allowed to turn into a lust goblin and it's not his fault if he does. Tetsuo does so such thing. This isn't because he's not effected by the charm, but because that's not how you act with other people, no matter how erotic you find them.

Conclusion

Interviews with Monster Girls says that disability isn't a trait of a person or a group of people. Disability is people - individually and collectively - choosing to act in a way that means some people are less worthy of participation in society than others because including them would be inconvenient. It also doesn't settle for "well I'm not getting in their way" as an excuse. Inclusion isn't just removing barriers, it's also reaching out and actively bringing everyone along, together.

Final Words

This one isn't really a review, so I'll skip the usual scores and comparisons. However, I do want to note that the show itself has some problems I didn't get in to, like how a significant portion of it is a grown man (a teacher, not a doctor) having teenage girls in his closed office doing sometimes physical examinations of them. Don't go in expecting something uncomplicatedly enlightened, there's still some Anime Bullshit to be found.