#spacial practices

[hoperays-song]

A Summary Of Johnny Learning To Drive

Johnny, parking in the garage: See? I told you I'm a confident driver!

Marcus, tightly holding onto the door handle: YOU ALMOST RAN SOMEONE OVER! 

Johnny: Confidently though dad, confidently.

Marcus, regretting every life decision in his life that lead him to this point:

[meetthesoldier]

shoutout everyone who makes the conscious decision to try out new hunters on main you have sufferred more than jesus

[tjerra14]

Today's crisis is brought to you by I own so much stuff where did this all come from

[zwei-rhunen]

found my new favorite practice dungeon for healer/anything in general lol

wanted to start leveling WHM, wasn't sure about doing a roulette with a pug group. well, i usually get lower level dungeons on it so maybe it wont be that bad.

i queue and have the idea to go to azys lla to go find something to beat up real quick as a warm up

beat up one thing before queue pops

it's sohm al

me like: i know there's a dragon dungeon that's annoying or smth like that. i hope its not this one.

say hello, tell everyone i'm rusty, orz in advance

its slow. its forced single pulls half the time b/c of barriers.

and i loved it. it was great lol

the party was chill so i had nothing to worry about on that end, but like. it was a huge relief that even if i did get a group that wanted to go nyoom, it wouldnt matter anyway, b/c the dungeon was setting the pace! i enjoyed it a lot more because of this.

also it's a level 53 dungeon so i ALSO got to practice with most of the kit!

[ghcstao3]

deer hybrid soap, and ghost who uses soap’s antlers as a method of redirecting the sergeant.

if soap needs to be paying attention to something? ghost will grab the antlers and gently tug soap’s head in the right direction.

soap losing spacial awareness in the heat of the moment? ghost will press his palm against whatever part of the antlers are within reach and urge soap to create some distance so ghost doesn’t end up getting his eye poked out.

or even soap using his antlers to his advantage in a spar? ghost can easily get him turned around, with the right grip on the base of his antlers when soap is being overly cautious as to not impale ghost in their practice.

in all these building of habits, ghost definitely doesn’t also build any sort of obsession with the appendages. not at all.

totally doesn’t come up with excuses to playfully tug on the antlers in teasing. definitely doesn’t think anything of the times soap’s asked him to help with sheds. and he certainly doesn’t find himself mindlessly massaging the base of soap’s antlers whenever he needs something to occupy his thoughts.

the antlers are just a tool, nothing more. and maybe ghost can admire the skill with which soap uses them in the field, sure—but they’re just for practical use. ghost surely couldn’t be obsessed with something like that.

[on-the-clear-blue]

Not DDD but some tooth rotting fluff with Dadwing that I had written a while ago.

Dick had always had a kinda 6th sense when it came to Damian, they had been Batman and Robin together, *the* dynamic duo! So he knew when his little brother was upset, more so than usual.

It started after a failed capture, the Riddler had been out of Arkham for over 3 weeks, the longest that he had been out for quite some time.

Bruce had finally found Eddie's hiding spot and was staking him out for some time, trying to determine whether the Riddler was truly there or this was once again a decoy safe house.

Bruce regretfully has the communication skills of a particularly grumpy slug and failed to properly give Damian the brief on what he was doing after joining his father from a round of patrols with Dick.

It really truly wasn't Damian's fault that he rushed in and only really succeeded in flushing out the Riddler and driving him to ground once more.

And once again, Bruce the grumpy slug scowled, let out a grunt and demanded Damian back to the cave, further not explaining why Bruce tried to stop him from taking down the Riddler and why he didn't pursue.

---

Dick was surprised to come out of the locker rooms of the cave to his youngest brother, practically shaking with rage as he not so carefully pulled off his suit, and what was the most concerning to Dick was the quiet, but still angry mutterings coming from the boy.

Dick felt a pang in his chest at the words, his Arabic was not the best but he could tell more than a few foul words slipping from Damians lips, taking a small breath to prepare, Dick slowly approached his little brother, holding his hands up in surrender even before speaking.

"Hey Babybat? Dami? You okay kiddo? What are you-" Dick stopped mid sentence at the scathing glare that was leveled at him, blinking a few times as his brother collected himself enough to speak clearly, but his voice was rough with emotion, and his accent that was usually hidden away came back harder. (Something that Dick realized that Jason and Damian shared, the angrier they are the more they go back to their roots.)

"Do not attempt to placate me Richard, I am not playing your foolish games nor am I wanting to speak of my feelings, so I simply ask you to leave. Me. The. Fuck. Alone." At the end the boys words were ground out as he threw down the Robin chest plate and stromed past Dick, heading to the showers.

---

Dick knew it was a little bit risky, but something was clearly upsetting his little brother greatly, so here he was, standing outside of Damians room, letting out a small sigh, Dick softly knocked on the door.

Two short, one long: U

Three long: O

One long, one short, one long: K

Morse code, one of the first no vocal languages that all the birds and the Bats knew, Dick and Damian had used it more than a few times on the field.

The only thing that Dick received from that was a dull thud of something being thrown at the door and the much softer sound of it falling to the floor, but the rest of the room was an inky black.

Letting out a sigh, the oldest of the Wayne children grabbed onto the doorhandle and slowly turning it, pushing the door in as he popped his head in, seeing the sacrificed plush animal laying on the ground where it was thrown

Dick felt guilty being glad it wasn't a knife.

"Dami? Little D? Kiddo I am going to come in..."

Opening the door more, Dick slipped into the dark room, spacial awareness helped Dick circumvent the few basic traps laid around his little brothers room, and made his way over to the boy's bed.

Eyes adjusting to the dark quickly, Dick could see the small outline of his brother shaking under the covers, looking so small in the king-sized bed, sitting on the edge, Dick laid a hand on where he thinks Damians hip is, feeling his heart break a little at the small jump he felt as he did.

"Can you talk to me? Please? I want to help kiddo." The only response he got was a shaky drawn in breath and the form under the blankets shifting, sitting up and revealing his younger brother.

His jade green eyes practically glowed in the dark of the room, Damians glare more tired than angry.

(It was times like these that Dick had to force himself to believe that Damian was just his brother, that the boy was not his son, wasn't the boy he raised for a year and a half as his own)

Shuffling closer to the center of the bed, Dick softly placed his forehead on the boy's own before pulling back after a second, he had learnt that little touches of affection got him a lot farther (and a lot less stabbed) with Damian.

Sitting back Dick watched as Damian crawled over, closing the distance between them and leaned his head onto Dicks shoulder, his eyes fluttering closed as he took in several deep breaths, calming himself even further.

Dick didn't dare move while Damian re-centered only snaking his arms around the smaller boy once he felt Damian go slack against him, softly cradling Damian in his arms as he pressed a soft kiss to the boy's spiky locks.

They stayed that way for a while, Dick gently rocking them both as he held his younger brother, silently waiting for Damian to speak first.

"...Father is an idiot..."

Blinking at the words that finally came out, Dick took it in stride, "For a man that is called the worlds greatest detective he can't see two feet in front of him when his loved ones are involved."

Silence lapsed after a little while, only breaking again as Damian pulled back from the hug, staring into Dicks powder blue eyes,

"...is it bad that some days I hate him Baba?" The words crush him, hitting at Dicks heart far worse than anything he had felt before, throat raw and itchy suddenly, Dick tried to not let Damians choice of words affect him.

(Dick has never heard Dami call Bruce Baba, only a ever respectful Father.)

"I-I, Um...I have felt way about B more than a few times Dames...He tries his best but sometimes...some times I do" There was a shine to Damians eyes as he looked into Dicks as the man continued softly "But I don't think it's bad...no I think you are just growing up...It...it's the beginning to when your seeing B how he can truly be like." (A scornful son of a bitch, only that Martha was a wonderful woman...)

Damians face grew distraught, and the shine pooled until soft tears ran down the boys face, "I do not wish to hate Father, but why can he simply not...speak to me? He has not spoke to me outside of case work for over three days and even during that no more than a few words..." leaning his head against Dicks shoulder, the boy's words were muffled slightly as he continued

"Is...is it wrong to expect more from him Baba?"

Dick didn't have any words for his Damian, because he sure as shit isn't Bruce's at the moment, sweeping the boy up into his arms, Dick hled him close while laying the two of them down, Dick on his back and his boy on his chest.

Running a hand through Damians soft hair, Dick thought hard of what to say, "I will speak to him...and maybe Tim...I know you two still have disagreements but honestly for some reason he listens to Tim more than even Alfred...you deserve so much more than that kiddo..."

Dick felt the soft shakes as Damian cried ontop of him, it broke the man's heart to smithereens that even while overwhelmed by emotions his boy still felt the need to try and be as quiet as possible.

Once he felt Damians shudders slow, an the boys breathing came back to a normal rate, Dick reached into his pants and pulled out his phone, "I think we both gotta unwind a little bud...have I ever shown you Bob Ross?"

---

(They watch till the sun peaks through the black out curtains, well, it plays that long, but the two where asleep for a lot longer than that.)

(Bruce gets a very long talking too by his kids, and gets the cowl taken away from him until he gets therapy)

(It only works a little.)

(He made a new one)

[akutasoda]

hotdog 🤯

Imagine Dazai with a reader who was once his friend before he became an executive, and left once he met chuuya. Only leaving a note claiming they had better things to do. Then when Dazai is in the ADA he sees them again and readers changed a lot and refused to speak to him. The only reason he gets is the past is in the past so stay there.

-🫛Anon!

better off in the past

synopsis - you decide a childhood friend should remain in your childhood

includes - dazai

warnings - gn!reader, angst no comfort, dazai's kinda scummy, wc - 2.6k

a/n: 🤯 - this is the new rewritten version as of 20/03!

taglist - @vi-chan07

you had met dazai when he was a scrawny boy that was around your age. you had caught a glimpse of him from the corner of your eye while you were out and the sight of him practically hunched over in an alley made you pity him. to you, he simply seemed like a child who had no friends and you were determined to change that.

sure his appearance was a little bit worse than it seemed from a distance - unkempt brown hair, bandages galore, and not to be rude but a rather weird taste in clothes, i mean what sort of child wore a full on suit - but you weren't to be deterred. you managed to slip away from any company you had and made your way over to the sketchy boy. some people may say you had absolutely zero spacial awareness but you had a feeling. he was a lonely child and you could sense no form of danger.

your cheery voice called out to him and he spun heel. it was a voice that really contrasted the cold, mocking words he'd hear on the day and so to say he was shocked would be accurate. he merely wished for a little while to himself. some time away from the horrors that awaited him back in the dreaded, looming building that was the port mafia base. sure an alleyway wasn't exactly a contrast but it was better than any stuffy room with the same brick. he didn't really expect anyone to notice him, or if they did they'd have more public awareness and choose not to disturb him. so seeing someone that willingly actually came and over to talk to him, left him surprised - he could've guessed if anyone did it would be a child that seemed to be his age maybe younger.

you would come to learn his off-putting appearance really wasn't a problem it was his off-putting attitude. when you first tried to introduce yourself or even get some kind of conversation out of the boy, you were just met with a cold hard silence as he stared you down. his gaze sort of made you feel small despite him seemingly being around the same age as you, maybe attempting to talk to him was a mistake. however if chhildren were known for one thing it would be a rather oblivious and joyfull nature which paired with you're unrelenting attitude would mean you eventually would earn a disinterested sigh and for the boy to finally stop glaring at you and ask you in a flat tone what you wanted.

you didn't really want to come off as rude, so in the nicest way possible you told him how you thought he looked so lonely and you wanted to change that.

dazai didn't take it as a nice senitiment. he instead took it as pity and he didn't want pity from someone like you. why you were so insistent on talking with him? it was now clear as day to him that you clearly had no sense of danger if you were talking to someone like him in an alley. he wanted to walk away anf leave, he truly had no business being with you but for some reason his body was betraying him. his legs stayed firmly rooted to the spot as you continued to try and strike conversation with him - to which he would eventually cave to. it wasn't much but to you it was an absolute triumph.

he would answer you witha few huffs or sighs and the most that you got out of him verbally was a command to leave him alone and after he spat those words out he finally got himself to turn and leave. you were slightly offended by his attitude but decided to not let it get the best of you, afterall he was a very weird boy in an alleyway - maybe it would've been weirder if he was nice. you decided then and there that if you ever saw him again you'd give him a piece of your mind. and you kept that promise. as not even a week later you found the strange boy and did exactly that. dazai still couldn't understand why he didn't just leave and instead still let you complain at him.

your second encounter with him wasn't much different from it's predecessor. you carried out a very one sided conversation with him - after you complained at him. and eventually he turned cold again, as if he was finally registering that he couldn't indulge in such encounters, before leaving. by the time you saw him a third time, it no longer seemed like a coincidental meeting as each time he was rooted to the exact same spot always looking like he was expecting you - if you ever brought any of that up he'd leave immediately but still show up again another time.

he reminded you of a stubborn cat, perhaps it would be too cruel to refer to the boy as a scrawy stray cat that took the affection he could tolerate before leaving again - now that you thought about you still didn't know his name. you had met him each week in the exact same spot about four times now and you still didn't know his name. it would be the fifth time, after you realised, where you finally pressed him for his name. he seemed hesitant to tell you at first but he very quickly said his name a bit quieter than you would've liked but you still caught it.

it was around the seventh meeting where you started designating him nicknames. you felt weirdly close to dazai after seven weeks of talking to him. sure if you told anyone else they probably would think he was some sort of imaginaring friend or be concerned that you were going insane and judge you but you could feel something between you and him. you knew very well it was one sided but you had hopes he too would eventually see you as a friend and make it less awkward for you - the same way all your conversations were practically one sided.

whenever you met with dazai, you'd tell him all about your day and any new ideas or thoughts you had/created. it may seem weird or a little bit crrepy that he liked listening to you but it made him feel normal. despite being roughly the same age you were so different to him. you lived a life of an actual child and you had a more nurturing upbringing than he had. so him hearing about your life made him imagine himself alongside it, he could imagine having the life you had and that made him feel happy.

he would listen diligently to your stories and day to day happenings and even made mental notes of anything that interested him so he could have a follow up next week. gradually, week by week he became less standoffish and eventually wouldn't always leave with a harsh tone. instead he started visibly lighting up if you called him your friend - much like a curious cat in your opinion.

and after experiencing almost all his harsh words and nature you still couldn't believe how he cut you off. dazai never told you about his life and you never really minded but you guess you probably should of taken that as a warning. you had no clue what kind of life he had and if anything by the fact you met him in an alley, it probably wasn't good. he didn't tell you he became a mafia executive and he had no plans on doing so, instead he planned to cut you off.

originally he just planned to disappear and so he started skipping weeks of seeing you but he really should've just stopped showing up. each and every time you saw him after a longer time of not seeing him, he would see the way your eyes visibly lit up and you always managed to coax him to stay and talk. but then he really started disappearing and became colder again, you hated it as he always dismissed any questions and it made you rather annoyed. you thought he'd atleast give you a reason but no, maybe that was too kind of an assumption. you felt bad about no longer being excited to see him but you always dismissed those feelings when you were reminded of how he now treated you.

so it didn't exactly surprise you when he stopped showing up. it had been atleast a month and you finally accepted you wouldn't see him again. it saddened you but you tried to not let it get to you especially after finding the note. you originally glossed over the scrumpled ball of paper on the floor where he normally stood, mere trash was all you thought it was but when you accidentally kicked it you saw splotches of ink and felt compelled to open it up.

you weren't surprised by it's contents in any way shape or form, if anything it stung slightly and made a bitter anger bubble inside of you. he clearly hadn't put a single thought into it and probably only did it as some sort of final show of how little the time he spent with you ment to him. the scrumpled piece of papersome tears in some places and had lazy, half finsihed strokes of ink on it that barely made out the message -

'don't look for me, my time is precious and needed somewhere more important and necessary'

and at the bottom was a scribble with a million lines through it. the name clearly crossed out but you knew. you thought you atleast deserved the decency of a signed note. sure it hurt you but if you were being honest you tried preparing yourself for this ever since he started not showing up.

dazai had always been half torn between writing you that note or actually having the confidence to face you in person and tell you. unfortunately, his deciding factor was chuuya. to him chuuya was much more useful to him, someone he saw himself actually getting along with instead of you - the lowly civillian that somehow managed to keep him meeting up with you. and so eventually he felt barely any remorse for not saying goodbye properly and he even considered scrapping the note but he thought you deserved some kind of finalality - he reckoned you'd still wait for him otherwise. and while he spent a lot of his time on missions with chuuya, his mind would still sometimes drift to you but never for too long. he didn't care that much. right?

you hadn't seen dazai for the rest of your childhood. you eventually came to not care in the slightest, some childhood friends leave along the way and that was inevitable and so you didn't think about what you could've done for him to change on you so suddenly. instead you focused on everyone and everything else in your life that actually made you feel happy. however your word's would contradict yourself when you still held onto the note. you didn't know why and you never thought about it too much.

however what you hadn't known was that dazai had come a long way and actually grew as a person. he would openly admit to himself that he wasn't exactly a welcoming or polite child, he was a menace who hurt those around him - fitting for the 'demon prodigy'. he could blame the mafia all he wabted but he knew it all come down to him at the end of the day.

his time in hiding after leaving the mafia did give him time to reflect on the people he hurt as a child. from those he didn't even know the names of, to those that he was actually close to. he was fully aware of his actions and it pained him knowing it toom the death of a very, very dear friend for him to realise this. how many people would he have to lose to become a better person? he still held very brief memories of you but only negative ones. he could remember how harsh he was, how dismissive he was of you, all because he didn't want to admit he enjoyed your presence.

somewhere along the line he would start to wonder if you'd ever get the chance to meet him now. working at the agency had made him realise many things and he was confident he was only going to keep growing as a better person. sure he was still far from perfect but atleast the him now wouldn't be as scummy and cowardly to leave a rather harsh note to stop you talking to him because he found someone else - he realises now you weren't some means of disposable company. if you had seen how much he had grown would you wantbto talk to him again? was it too out there for him to wish that he could make it right, to apologise properly? and the answer would be yes.

you still lived in yokohama and part of you used to worry about meeting dazai randomly in the streets but now you realise how silly that was. you never actually ever saw him after you found that letter, it was really like he vanished into thin air. he thought it was the luckiest day of his life when he spotted you in the distance. you obviously had grown older and looked slightly different but he could tell it was you and he wasn't going to let this chance go.

you felt the opposite. you thought it was the worst day when you heard someone call out to you just to turn around and see it was dazai. rather ironic in your eyes. again, obviously older but how could you really forget those brown locks and he still adorned bandages - less but still. after all these years you finally came face to face with the man who, as a child, was rather ruthless in cutting you off. not having the deceny to make it a smooth let down and you really couldn't imagine that kind of denial from someone that young.

you could tell he had a lot to say and based on his opening sentence you knew it would be an apology. unfortunately for him you didn't want an apology. you were over him as a friend and you didn't want to go back to being friends after all these years. some may call you petty but you thought it was justified. but he couldn't tell and all he could think about was finally telling you how much he thought about you lately, how much he felt he wronged you and if you would ever consider befriending him- your voice broke his thoughts and words. you told him point blank you didn't care anymore and he shouldn't either. it was time for him to let go aswell and realise you should stay in his murky past.

you wouldn't let the dejected look ln his face trick you as you simply told him that the past was the past and that was where he would stay. you advised him to do the same. it would be rather unhealthy for the both of you to continue a friendship from all those years ago that went so wrong. it didn't matter to you how much he changed and now you just wanted to get along with your life.

for the first time in ages, dazai really couldn't understand. after all these years he finally had the chance to set things right but he now knew that was too much to ask for. now he had to watch you walk away from him like he did to you all those years ago. except you had the decency to actually tell him in person.

[nmakii]

omg bachira, isagi, tetchou and dazai with an autistic s/o PLEASE

if you will , make them headcanons ^^ hope you have a wonderhoy day !!

hello, my alien. we’re each other’s mystery

— bachira + isagi + tetchou + dazai x autistic!s/o

so basically all of them x me i see.. i feel like i fucked up on isagi i cant pinpoint his personality ugh. debut into bllk omg im shy hi reentry into bsd too haha if u guys were active in 2022 i think i am familiar. WAIT NOTE AB THE TITLE… LISTEN TO FRIENDS BY BTS IM NOT ABLEIST ITS SUPPOSED TO BE CUTE :(

— bachira meguru

lets be honest he is also a bit autistic…

very hard to be around when you’re overstimmed ngl… he tries to tone it down when he knows you cant handle too much at the moment. but it’s hard for him to just dial the craziness to 50 😞

oh, very good though at getting you out of social situations. he can slip the two of you out of a party like it’s nobody’s business, cause it is nobody’s business :x

hes also a bit of a wild card too if you’re obsessive about having a routine. he’s a free spirit, so having to do things the same way is a bit of a chore.

when you go non-verbal, he brings out a notebook that you two write your conversations on. he doesn’t actually have to write it down. he can communicate just fine, but he likes to write them down as a memento of your relationship.

he alsoooo likes listening to you yap about your special interest! very attentive, you’d think that you’re a professor and he’s your student at how the flow of your conversation is going

“huh— where did bachira and s/o go..?” isagi asked. he turned around, looking for the two of you after the sudden realization that he was abandoned in the middle of the buffet line…

bachira pulled you out, and in an abandoned hall. he noticed you suddenly started plugging your ears.

‘you ok sunshine? :( is the music too loud?’

‘a little bit… i just wanna get away for like 5 min..’

‘hehe, dont worry. ill stay with you （╹◡╹） <3’

‘ty meg :) <3’

bachira smiled as he saw your hand-drawn emoticon. the two of you doodled all over the notebook while he hummed until you were ready to return.

isagi groaned as he saw the two of you reenter. “you guys..! you should’ve told me if you were gonna sneak away!” bachira stuck out his tongue, making a silly expression. “oops! it just slipped my mind!” he snickered.

— isagi yoichi

with the geniuses he has to keep up with, you’re a total walk in the park for him ;p

mega caretaker, he’s super good at protecting you in uncomfortable environments. i feel like he has a weighted blanket somewhere in his room to cover you with, cause he knows it makes you feel safe.

he lowk overprotective sometimes though. he knows his friends like bachira and raichi are a bit more on the raucous side, so he doesn’t hang out with them when he’s with you until like… 2 years into your relationship (they lowk didnt even know he had a partner). in those two years, he only introduced you to his peaceful friends like nagi, hiori, iemon, and kuon

he doesn’t fight you too much about if you have a routine. he has a luck routine and his spacial awareness makes him really meticulous about how things happen, so he’s gets your struggle :x

he tried learning sign language. he really tried… but there was so much signs; for an entire month, his search history was ‘how do i say [thing] in sign language’

he ended up only learning the alphabet, numbers, and basic words like please and hungry. now when you go non-verbal, he simply just opens his notes app for you to type ;p

he, like bachira, loves your yap. its like his personal podcast fr. he likes to let you sit on the kitchen counter and yap, while he washes dishes. he also likes putting on wireless headsets and listen to your voice messages while he practices, or works out at the gym.

“are you absolutely sure you wanna meet them?” isagi asks. “babe, theyre my friends, but theyre also kind of annoying.” he warns you. of course he meant it lovingly… you nod. “yup! they’re your friends, yoi. i wanna meet them..!”

he sighs and nods. “fine… don’t say i didn’t warn you…” he opens the door. you recognize kunigami, he’s talking with chigiri. “isagi! there you areee~!” a boy with a bob-cut hums. “ah, bachira… this is s/o.” isagi points to you. “ooh~! nice to meet you! im bachira meguru. so you’re the one isagi’s been hiding?”

“don’t overwhelm them too much…” isagi sighs, he pulls you away carefully, bringing you in kunigami’s direction. if you settled in with people you were already acquainted with, then you should probably adjust better. that was isagi’s conclusion. “if any of them pester you, just tell me, okay?”

you nod, a bit saddened at your’s and bachira’s conversation’s sudden end. “im not a kid, yoi. you don’t have to worry over me or anything.” isagi frowns. “hnn… i just don’t want my friends overstimulating you. they might be too much for you, babe.” he explains. at that moment, igaguri suddenly yelled out at gagamaru for taking one of his gyozas, making you instinctively cover your ears.

“seeee?” he points out. “okay… point taken… but, i can still deal with it. if im uncomfortable, ill just tell you, okay?” you offer, trying to compromise. isagi looks around, weighing the possibilities before nodding. “finee…”

that day actually went quite well, you were able to keep up with all of them without getting overstimulated. that night, isagi had his face in his pillow, his face being that of death and grief. ‘they dont need me anymore… theyre gonna end up hanging out with my friends more than me…’ he mumbles.

— tetchou suehiro

another lowk might be autistic (but in a diff way)

he isnt too sure about what to do when you’re overstimmed. so, he usually just takes you to a quiet place and sits down with you until you’re calmer.

hes hella conflicted on whether or not he should introduce you to the hunting dogs. his line of work is pretty dangerous after all, and his co-workers aren’t exactly… pacifists 💀

he ends up deciding not to though. worst comes to worst, he just introduces you 5 years in to your relationship— thats what he thinks.

he doesnt mind your routine. he, himself, is pretty eccentric, so you two are just okay with each other’s quirks :x

tetchou doesnt care when you go non-verbal. lol. okay joke, its more like, he’s also very quiet, he doesn’t even actually notice that you two havent talked to each other for 14 hours.

but when the two of you are talking, he is still as quiet as ever. it’s usually you yapping and tetchou asking questions once in a while. never though, does he ever interrupt you when you talk; always waits for you to finish what you’re saying so you dont lose your train of thought 🫡

tetchou spreads some spicy ranch on his pancakes. it was a pretty good combo. he sat at the dining table, as he heard your alarm clock ring.

first thing you do when you wake up, stretch then use the bathroom. tetchou has your routine memorized by now. second, have cereal for breakfast. third, get dressed. fourth, check if your bag has everything you need. he continues his own routine, and you complete yours, until it’s time to head to work.

you’re double, triple, quadruple checking your bag, making sure you didn’t leave anything. tetchou finished lacing up the strings of his boots before he rises back. “ready for work?” he asks, taking his own little peek into your bag.

“uhuh” you nod. tetchou hums, noticing the charger you left on the counter, and slipping it into your bag. “now you are…”. you gasp, “so that’s what i forgot… thank you, chou..” you say. his deep voice vibrates in his throat as he leans in and kisses you, “stay safe. call me if you need anything.” you wrap your arms around his neck.

last part of your routine, hug and kiss tetchou before leaving for work.

— osamu dazai

he lowk adhd u feel?

when youre overstimmed, he lets you lay on his shoulder while he pats your back and brushes your hair. times like this are his personal favorites, it’s when the world is quiet and no one but you and him exists.

defdefdef introduces you to the ADA members. he finds you similar to kyoka, and always encourages you to hang out with her.

adding on that, he sort of sees akutagawa in you… is akutagawa also autistic? hmm… either way, hes a criminal! he cant let his partner interact with a criminal! — the criminal says after diner dashing again.

the routine thing doesnt really work for dazai either… it’s either you break up with him or let him wake up at 4:00 to eat noodles and rearrange the layout of his dorm, bestie… (just leaves his pot in the sink btw, he a bum like that)

actually knows sign language! dont ask me why he knows, bc i dunno either. he just does :x

he also loves to listen to your yap. actual yapper x yapper. you two’s conversations are lowk exhausting though. you both interrupt each other and talk until you’re both breathless. HAHAHAAH

sluuuuuuurp!

you’re waken up by the loud, really gross, squelching sounds of dazai’s saucy noodles as he slurps them up. the sound is uncomfortable— really uncomfortable.

“s—samu… dont… too loud…” you groan, trying to cover your ears. dazai perks up, “ah, did i wake you..? awh, im sorry, dear..!” he apologizes. even though dazai truly meant it, for some reason it just sounded like sarcasm. “uhuh… j…just dont do it again… trying to sleep…” you hum. “got it… go back to sleep, sweets”

for the rest of the night, you sleep well. dazai makes sure to remain veeeery quiet, taking bites of his noodles rather than slurping, carrying his feet, and using all of his hidden muscles to carry his bookshelf. maybe if he keeps doing this, he wont look so lanky anymore.

at around 6:30, you finally wake up again, your surroundings completely different, and you start to panic. “wh—h..huh..?” you look around. dazai’s in the closet, rolling all of his empty beer bottles into it. “hi, baby! just decided to tidy up a bit. you like?” he asks

tidy up? “tidy up, my ass..! all of your stuff is in different places..! i have to relearn my way around your dorm all over again..!” you complain. “hehe… it was for a good cause! you have your own space now in here!” he grins, opening the second to the bottom drawer in his dresser. it was tidied up, and empty.

“for me?” you ask. “mmhm.” he confirms with a hum. even though dazai was quite lazy, stubborn, and annoying, he really put effort into making you happy. just you.

[wolfram-but-art]

tutorial on how to draw spys stupid slicked hair im struggling

his hair IS fucking stupid, so here's how i usually do it

base

start off by drawing a baldass spy, this could be on any step of your drawing from your sketch to your lineart or even colouring like i'm doing here.

you don't. actually have to draw him bald but i just think he just looks funny like that okay

scetch your hairline

i presonally dont do this all the time, sometimes i'm able to just freehand it, but it's helpful because without it your hairline might come out too low/high/wonky

i mostly see spy drawn with a mild widow's peak, but you can give him any hairline you want ofc

sculpt the shape

this step can also be skipped one you practice enough, and because spacial awareness an be hard to get, but i learned that this helps me with proportions and with figuring out what shape i want to achieve

this comes in especially handy because you can quickly change the shape, and you don't risk destroying any lineart n stuff

think of it as sculpting or chiseling (depending on if youre adding to the shape or taking away from it, wither way is fine)

you could also make this more detailed, starting by going strand by strand until you have a full head of hair. which helps out a lot during lineart since you dont have to think as much

do your lineart

this part can be tricky, because you actually have to think of the direstion of where the hair is going

remember that hair is organic. strands overlap, and fall in front of eachother the hair doesn't go in one single direction, but in many. sometimes it goes straight up and back like on the top and sometimes it goes to the down and to the side like on his temples

change the hair shape and length as you go along, else you'd end up with a bowl cut the hair will rarely stick out at the front or middle, and will spike up at the end of the strand

if you have trouble visualising i suggest working off a picture or your own hair, or ones you can easily find online. i'd suggest tracing just to get an idea of how hair functions

the last step is coloring

eveyrone's style's are different, but i'd suggest putting in colour with the direction the hair it's going, it's gonna look more natural and. well... like hair

and that's it!!

though remember not to worry when it doesnt work on your first try, most art goes this way just draw it again, practice, and eventually you'll get good at it try thinking about different angles, poses, try blowing his hair out or making it wet! do all sorts of stuff to really get a feel for it

if you're struggling with the method, or think that it's stupid that a step is/isn't here just add/take it away

your art is yours, and ultimately you should use the method that's most comfortable and effective for you

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s4 episode 2 thoughts

ah, this episode! i have heard it is very scary. so i’m curious to see how creepy it can be. usually what gets me the most is body horror, at least so far. 

i’m really not a horror fan so i’m interested to see if this will push my limits or just be kinda silly. remember that evil AI in like s1 episode 8? and when it was unplugged it said “noooo, brad :(“ or something like that? yeah that one just made me giggle lol

(author's note after seeing the episode: what...)

(additional author's note: read to the end to see why i think this episode might be actually about the civil war's long-term consequences)

how far we have progressed since then! 

let us begin!!!

we open with a storm and some scary music. pretty intense for the first few seconds. oh, now someone is giving birth. it is very dark and hard to see but it appears these individuals do not look like your average fellow off the street.

GAG! slurping noises are produced as the baby emerges. birth counts as body horror btw i do NOT make the rules. EUGH the umbilical cord…

(sorry y’all pls take no offense to those who have or desire children someday... it’s just something that makes me feel dizzy to watch but i support your dreams and choices i promise 🙏)

okay, but the baby is crying so that’s usually a good sign right? like better than a quiet baby, i think.

but a bunch of people are leaving after the delivery and i thought they would stick around to do things like look at the baby and see if it is healthy and stuff. but no. they’re leaving. where are they going...

they’re digging a hole?????? WHAT DA HELL. BABY IN THE HOLE??!!!!!! while someone cries terribly. OMG the grief…

WHAT THE HELL???

what have i gotten myself into……

intro time. always gonna think about that tweet regarding scully’s glamour shot on her ID. anyway just in case you forgot the truth IS out there.

so we see some kids in a place called home, pennsylvania, and they’re playing baseball. you know how children are, with their baseball. it’s as serious to them as a senator running a reelection campaign. 

kid knocks the ball over the fence, and onto the property of “the peacocks”. the kids will NOT go get the ball, and instead find a spare. seems they prepared for this, or could maybe find a place that isn’t next to a very scary house to play ball, but i understand spacial constraints.

OH???? the kid is digging his foot in to go swing and…. BLOODY PUDDLE???? THIS MUST BE THE BABY FROM BEFORE????

he backs away as we see a tiny hand in the dirt. that poor kid omfg he must have been traumatized… and his sneakers were so bright and white…..

cutscene to mulder in the field after all the kids have fled! ah, mulder loves his baseball. in fact, he even sniffs it. he’s practicing his pitching LMAOOOO please be serious for FIVE minutes. 

scully is measuring the hole while he does all this. in fact, he is not stopping. it just keeps going while she talks about the angle of the shovel.

she makes some quip about quitting the FBI and becoming a spokesperson for the ab roller, when he SHOVES THE BALL UNDER HER NOSE and says “smell that” THIS MAN IS SUUUUUCH A WEIRDO I LOVE HIM

“it’s perfume. eau de ball” (stupid little mulder smile)

very strong juxtaposition between baby death and a daydreaming mulder, but that is the sort of thing we have come to expect from this show. he seems enchanted.

WAIT! he’s talking about his sister… “all-day pickup games out on the Vineyard” and going down to the beach… no cell phones or faxes… oh man, this baseball has him talking about his family :(

“mulder, if you had to do without a cell phone for two minutes, you’d lapse into catatonic schizophrenia” <- WELL GET HIM! it is true. he is always making calls and then abruptly hanging up.

feels weird to be smiling like a fool at my screen as these two talk about their lives after seeing the opening scene... but here we are!

“scully, you don’t know me as well as you think you do. you know my work demands that i live in a big city, but if i had to settle down, build a home, it’d be a place like this” 

OHHHHH MY GOSH

1. he has though about settling down and having a life outside of his work, and this is such a character reveal, and i know he wants like a small army of children, and

2. i just KNOW those words are gonna come back and bite him when this place is revealed to be some sort of cult

she says it would be like living in mayberry which i had to google BUT: it is the town from the andy griffith show. ah, i see. so very quaint.

someone pulls up to see them and i paused at just the right time to see that mulder’s shirt is very baggy and living up to my URL, which is good because sometimes i worry it’s a bit TOO niche, but i made it after watching 4 episodes so i’m too attached to change it now. meanwhile, scully’s coat is wonderfully sleek and it’s a fun little contrast.

this is sheriff taylor, who says this is a very small town, and there are no real suspects. mulder asks about the peacocks next door, and the sheriff goes… quiet. apparently three boys lived there, and their parents were hurt in an accident. the sheriff and his team tried to administer care to the parents, but the boys took the bodies home??? that’s. odd.

so these peacocks have no electricity, grow their own food, and… are inbred. the sheriff says they are feeble and sad, and wouldn’t have any idea what they are talking about. which just makes me think they are the prime suspects.

the sheriff is saying that he loves his town, it is quiet and peaceful, and he knew someday it would change when something terrible happened. when he saw “it” in the ground, he knew that day had come. he seems convinced it’s an outsider but also he is purposefully ignoring all the evidence in the other direction. and he wants their help, but he doesn’t want anything to change. 

(i see... this is about the terrible secrets of small towns and the wish to keep everything quiet and preserve an idyllic image rather than make meaningful change)

apparently they were recommended to help out when “the victim” was described, so mulder says that maybe they should go take a look.

and whew, when they cut to a bundle of blankets next to some cans of spam (that look like they’re partially covered to hide the branding?) it’s a lot. it's a lot to handle, for me, emotionally, but i guess that's a fairly normal reaction. the sheriff just pulled the baby right out of the fridge. we also meet a deputy named barney.

they shove poor scully in a tiny bathroom with just a sink in it to do her work, because they don’t want anyone else seeing the autopsy go down. the sheriff says they can’t do it in his office, because everyone knows he never locks his office door, and they’d start rumors. this whole small town thing is starting to seem quite oppressive.

mulder is also here in this tiny closet-like bathroom, and i can feel the claustrophobia from here. despite the lack of space, scully begins.

and she is taken aback, but not as much by the fact that it is a child but that said child “has been afflicted by every rare birth defect known to science”. mulder has his arm on the wall leaning in and watching in a way that is weird for the space.

we only see a few shots of the baby- thankfully, because i don't think i could handle seeing any more of it than we do- but it’s enough to make me go whew, shout-out to the props department for making something that looks like that, because that is how i cope with seeing things on this show that make me nearly faint

she is reciting the various things that this child has been born with, and mulder says that they can probably rule out murder, right? but scully says idk… it looks like it WAS murder, actually. dirt in the nose.

lord, they walk out after doing that and somehow don’t need to like, down some vodka or something to cope. 

“imagine all a woman’s hopes and dreams for her child, and then nature turns so cruel. what must a mother go through?” oh my gosh is scully gonna make me cry…

“apparent not much in this case, if she just threw it out in the trash”, says mulder, while they sit on a bench on he is manspreading like you would not believe. but i assume they are in a tough spot mentally so manspreading is permitted in this situation.

“i guess i was just projecting on myself”, she says, and oh my gosh does scully want kids someday…. stop i’ll cry!! i’ll cry. 

“well, just find yourself a man with a spotless genetic makeup and a really high tolerance for being second-guessed and start pumping out the little uber-Scullys” he says, rubbing her back.

and i can’t decide if this is funnier if he’s truly and deeply down terrible for her and suggesting subtly that HE could be that man, or if he’s just being a really good pal. so i’m gonna turn around both options in my head for a while and see which sticks.

“what about your family?” “hm? aside from the need for corrective lenses and a tendency to be abducted by extraterrestrials involved in an international governmental conspiracy, the mulder family passes genetic muster” (said with a celebratory flourish of his hands)

oh my gooooooosh i love them both so bad. he is SUCH a nerd. and his constant need to joke about the horrible things… even when they are approaching a serious topic, life ambitions and the desire to start a family, he has to go in there with some sarcasm to avoid getting Too Serious...

see? he has good genes. allegedly. go forth.

but he sobers up, points out that the child they had to just examine is a serious tragedy, and some likely very young parents are probably incredibly scared. but this isn’t really an FBI matter. 10 points to him for being serious for once.

she is brainstorming how such a thing could happen- “now, we all have a natural instinct to propagate” “do we?” <- ace mulder subtext i see you…

scully is convinced that the woman who gave birth to that child did it against her will, and mulder points out that kidnapping is a bureau matter… she seems determined to save someone caught in a horrible circumstance here, and i admire that about her, the sense of justice she has. she gets up to go investigate.

but he calls out: “hey scully- i never saw you as a mother before” <- OH MY GOD??? OH MY GOD. i can’t even begin to process that right now. oh my gosh it seems like he has wanted kids SO terribly… but scully never really brought the subject up, which is fine because not everyone wants kids!! but what does it say about her character if she DOES…? i am analyzing.

i hope she is happy someday with whatever she chooses. music is playing as he looks after her. do not for a second think i missed that little musical flourish and gaze combo.

so, they go to the peacock's farm. where they find a chopped off pig’s head on the steps. it doesn’t seem to bother them at all, which must be a testament to the strength of bureau training.

mulder tries to do his usual “enter first and ask questions later” thing, but scully STOPS HIM, saying there is no probable cause.

WHAT!!! for once they did NOT JUST BURST IN!!??? their random entering of places is one of my favorite running gags and for once they didn’t. oh she is serious about this one…

so they just peek inside instead…. and then they get their guns and go inside after seeing a table covered in blood. oh…. the scissors from before…. yes, bloody table = probable cause

there is blood everywhere, and the footprint from the crime scene matches the footprint in blood on the floor. AND they find a bloody shovel. well!!! we know who did it now!!! but… where are they??

it is soooo dark and creepy as they make their way through the house. and someone is WATCHING THEM THE DARK as they investigate. BLEUGH we get an extreme closeup on their eyes…….

i am spooked.

now scully is on the phone with sheriff taylor, who is describing the warrants for the arrest of the peacocks he put out, while mulder slams a TV in their hotel room, trying to get it to work. typical mulder behavior

(i bet they felt a need to incorporate some silly moments to lighten out the heavy heavy heavy content, and honestly i didn't think it would work, but for me it kinda is. don't get me wrong, it's still VERY heavy, but it's not start to finish just trauma like we got in calusari, which stands out to me as being the darkest and least fun episode in the series so far. but let mulder sniff a baseball a little and smack a TV and our agents talk about having a family and it is slightly less overwhelming in terms of tone)

and she brings up the white cadillac they found there but he says get a lot of abandoned cars. damn, who is abandoning a cadillac...

what is this sheriff hiding…?

he pulls out his gun from a locked box, and seems deeply regretful. before he puts it back in the box… hmm…

back at the peacock farm. the brothers are packing what looks like clubs into the cadillac. and i notice how silent and scary the whole thing is… no music whatsoever.

meanwhile, mulder is doing a little dance to try and get the TV working, which scully is smiling at him in a way that implies long term affection and exhaustion. i want to get those gifs and save them upon my blog forever and ever.

he’s trying to watch the knicks game, but as she heads out, he says “goodnight mom”, and she looks… uncomfortable. i mean, it’s a weird thing to say, but still. he says a lot of weird things and she doesn’t always look sort of… hmm. idk, the only phrase that comes to mind is “cut to the quick”. i WILL be analyzing that.

she tries to leave and the lock is broken, so he places a chair underneath, which might do something but like… probably not a ton.

anyway, back to the cadillac, where the brothers are pulling out while listening to music. where are they going….

sheriff taylor is up late at night, “taking one last look around before it all changes”. oh, he loves his town… but it is rotten, like mulder says. AND HIS WIFE DOESN’T LOCK THE DOOR AS THEY COME IN!!! NOOOO!

the brothers are on the move, while scully sleeps and mulder watches a fuzzy documentary on hyenas?? okay. king behavior.

but back at the sheriff’s house, he can hear the brothers approaching, and pulling into his yard. oh no…. he looks out the window and the brothers aren’t there. so did they already get in…?

he’s going for the gun, he says, and they enter his house. and he’s got a baseball bat, but where is the gun! they have clubs! like the kind the bad guys in zelda use!!! they look very very dangerous!

he hears them approach as his wife is under the bed……… and he swings his bat at the intruder, but he is barreled right over, it’s three on one, and they beat him RIGHT AS HIS WIFE SEES THE WHOLE THING FROM UNDER THE BED. and they sniff and sniff and FIND HER UNDER THERE????????

what the fuck. who came up with this…….. that song is still playing as they get in their car and leave. i'm sure the song also has some significance to the meaning of what these guys are doing but tbh i have never heard it before so it's hard to unpack.

the deputy is at the scene of the crime the next day, smoking a cigarette, hands shaking in terror. he had come over to give the sheriff a report… and found them that way.

so the owner of the cadillac was found in baltimore, she had left it behind after running out of gas. this is not a lead in the slightest.

mulder is investigating the scene while scully pulls out files from the crime lab, and it is. well, it is very bad, to put it bluntly. the crime scene is horrific. 

she says that the crime scene messed up the tests on the infant… but mulder proposes that… perhaps each of the brothers were the father? she talks about how babies are made and how that makes no sense, but he proposes that generations of inbreeding could maybe make such a mutation. but she says that isn’t possible, they’d need a female family member and there aren’t any left. hmm...

scully wants to try and trail them right now and go save whoever it was that was forced to give birth, but mulder points out that they are outnumbered and could further endanger the victim. what to do…? i don’t know the answer. 

oh! the deputy barges in and says he’ll take them up there so it’s three against three. and they have guns, which should give them the advantage. okay. shoutout to the deputy.

mulder seems suspicious however, and says his suddenly entry was a bit “too chuck bronson for me”. so yeah, i had to google that too. this chuck fellow is the guy from machine gun-kelly. and NOT that sleazy rapper one. the more you know.

scully is confused, though, because why would they kill the sheriff? he didn’t even investigate them. unless they somehow overheard them talking about issuing the arrest warrants while in their house… and they are operating under the assumption that the brothers were not in the house when they were…. but we know that someone was in hiding!!!

OH! back to the house. one of the brothers declares he is hungry. we finally get a semi-decent look at them, and they are incredibly gruesome. someone is under the bed still…. 

and when they declare that they are “ready”, they strip down. they knew this day- and change- was coming, and all they can do is be ready for it. this is our home. and this is the way it’s gonna stay. 

again, i ask, who came up with this……

the deputy and our agents are on the property, now. deputy wants to come in from the front and let them take the back. a brave thing to offer, but i am slightly suspicious of him. they have wired headsets on and bullet proof vests on, and he is going in.

so they’re approaching- scully and mulder in the field, the deputy out in front. scully is peeking through binoculars but she doesn’t see anyone inside!!! it has to be a trap!!!!

OH MY GOSH!!! just as scully tells the deputy to not go in, he opens the door and an AXE SWINGS DOWN AND CHOPS HIS HEAD OFF!!!!!

i am sorry for being suspicious of you, deputy. may you rest in peace.

mulder’s reciting his facts from the hyena documentary. they are witnessing something akin to prehistoric humanity. but he has an idea: divert them out of the house, so they don't have to deal with their traps. it is a good idea.

so they are sneaking into the pig pen, which had to be a pain to shoot. “scully, would you think less of me as a man if i told you i was kind of excited right now?” he asks as they try to get the pigs in a line to topple like dominoes or something???

“is there some secret farmer trick to getting these things moving?” “i don’t know!” lmaooo these city slickers...

they’re shoving pigs straight out the gate, and she’s trying to say some magic pig words from babe, which her nephew apparently watches all day. you know what that means...

! SCULLY LORE REVEAL ! she has a nephew!

but there are more pressing matters at hand than a lore reveal as one of the brothers emerges, falling for their piggy trap. we see them in daylight now, and it is an unsettling sight. 

as the brothers try to herd the pigs back in, the agents sneak in, with mulder picking up a giant log to poke open the door. and it is a good thing he did that, because a trap descends right on the log that surely would have beheaded him as it did the deputy if not for the log taking the axe/weapon thingy for him. thank you for your service, giant log.

they sneak in beneath the log and close the door as if nothing went down. scully is yelling to see if anyone is in the house. they’re doing a sweep in excellent coordination. mulder mumbles “oh no” and i’m scared but he just picks up a newspaper that says elvis is dead and frowns 😭 his ass cannot be serious for more than five minutes 

but something approaches!!!! they enter the bedroom and see photos of generations and generations of this family, with varying conditions. and at this moment mulder notices that someone is under the bed!!

he’s trying to say that they’re here to help, but whoever is down there is screaming, screaming at them to go away. so scully tries to move the bed, but she’s strapped to a board underneath the bed, and they pull her out and…. oh my gosh, she has no limbs, i think? it’s dark and hard to tell. they keep her under the bed..........

mulder says they’re going to get her home, but after a glance at the pictures on the wall, scully says that she already IS home. it’s mrs. peacock. the mother of the family that they thought died in the car accident!!!!!!

she is sobbing and they roll her back under the bed, with mulder having a horrific look on his face, unable to process what he just saw. 

mulder is back on the prowl to find the other brothers. and he tasks scully with trying to convince mrs. peacock that she is the only one who can get “her boys” out of here without them being hurt. a mighty task, indeed.

she walks away, and he says “scully, w-watch your step” and he’s worried about her and i want to cry. oh!! we see a trip wire……….

so scully goes back to mrs. peacock, explaining that she needs medical attention, and the agents are here to help. she says that this is their home- why leave it? she has to see if the boys are okay. 

and she lost her limbs in the accident that killed her husband. “sewed me up just like the family learned in the war of northern aggression” OH! so that is an WILD thing to say in pennsylvania. but it was at this point i thought i was putting the pieces together for an extended metaphor...

but she insists she felt no pain, and that no one in the family does. and they’re such good boys. scully points out they murdered three people, and mrs. peacock says she can tell scully has no children, but maybe someday she’ll learn the pride and the love “when you know your boy will do anything for his mother”

well i think you probably just made her swear that off forever!!! so!!!!!

the brothers see mulder in the window, and they start to run in. and as he holds one at gun point, another tries to bash in his head, so scully shoots him. but this isn’t enough to take him down! and the other one joins in on their attack, so it’s two against one tag teaming mulder!!! oh my gosh scully can you use your perfect aim???

yes, she can, but despite emptying the whole clip, they aren’t hurt!!! 

they’re running and running and dodging a whole lot of terrible blows, and scully yells out that she has the mother! she trips over the wire and one of the traps falls RIGHT into one of the brothers, seemingly finally taking him out.

she notices marks on the floor, and when they go back for mrs. peacock, they can’t find the other brother or the mother.

so they put out an APB for them, saying that in time, they’ll catch them. but he counters with “i think time already caught them, scully”

cutscene to the cadillac- where mrs. peacock says that “sherman and george were good boys”- SHERMAN? a union name? edmund, sherman, and george… 

it ends with mrs. peacock saying that there will be more peacocks, and they have to find a new home, make a new family to be proud of. she is in the trunk of the car while she says this.

okay so first thoughts: WHAT THE FUCK.

this episode definitely lived up to its horrific reputation. but i can’t figure out exactly what it is it MEANS!

beyond exploring the horrific topics of generational abuse, i feel that there is something a bit deeper going on here. i actually felt so compelled to see if i was imagining things that i went on the wikipedia page for the episode, which spoke of its themes on the american dream and the nuclear family. those themes i see for sure- how mulder was talking about settling down in a place like this, so quaint and quiet, how they started discussing their own desire for a family, and how every idyllic thought about what a family could be was upended on its head with the peacocks. that made sense to me. but...

that line- “the war of northern aggression”- was what the confederates called the american civil war to justify their rebellion. this is notable for the fact that this whole episode took place in pennsylvania, which was a union state- but somehow, they got so twisted up in their own hatred that they’re parroting the lost cause ideology over a century after the war.

the repeated motifs of “things being the way they are in a small town, in our town, in our home”- is that a symbol for the festering of post-civil war wounds? the inability for the war to make meaningful change when it came to the attitudes of the people on the losing side, who continue- even to this day- to spew their hateful ideology? the inbreeding metaphor- is that a representation of how hate begets hate begets hate, generation after generation, compounding and corrupting by the lack of intervention from outsiders who are too afraid to change “the way things are” and call out harmful behavior? and the newspaper from elvis’s death… is that another allusion to the family (or perhaps certain parts of the country) living entirely in the past, in addition to their lack of electricity and water, just stewing in their own hatred? even the name- home- reminds me of the “house divided cannot stand” rhetoric. is this talking about the rot of "back in the good ol' days" thinking?

or if not a metaphor for the country, and instead just the horror of abuse? of how people can feel that things are the way that they are, and so that makes it correct, no matter what the cost? about how warped perceptions of family can be made and shaped? and the fact that mrs. peacock went along with all of this, despite being the biggest victim of the family... is that to speak on the twisted nature of gender roles and how they are weaponized in familial abuse?

i have to clarify that i am not an expert on abuse in the slightest; i am just trying to work through the themes of what i just saw. you know how it is on this blog; i do my best to interpret the big issues, but also recognize that i can only see and comment upon so much.

i'm really, really curious to hear how you interpreted the episode, though. or how audiences have understood it in the past, or if it has ever been re-evaluated. what did the cast and crew have to say on it? i want to know.

man. this is gonna really make me ponder. i want to know. it was too purposeful to just be a “wouldn’t it be fucked up if…” sort of situation.

regardless of the terror, i actually thought this episode was pretty good. it felt cohesive, not just a sideshow of horrible things to make you feel shocked. and we learned more about our characters- their ambitions in life, the possibility of a family someday dangling over their heads, and the terror associated with everything that could go wrong. i think there is always some fear about starting a family (i wouldn't know, but i do read books and stuff), and for scully to just now vocalize her thoughts on the subject and to immediately see this case- i can only imagine what it did to her thought process.

i thought the more light-hearted elements were working at the beginning- mulder's TV dance, baseball time, the merits of their genetics, family talk- worked well at first. but by the end it was just... damn. that was a lot. maybe that is the indication of a successful episode, that it can take you along heavy subject matter with a sense of character analysis and horror, but end with just terror.

i'm not a horror fan outside of this show, so the balancing of the heavy and the humor always baffles me a little bit. i don't know how other materials do it, so i can't really say if it could have been done better or worse. i think the important part though is that they don't turn the tragedy itself into the joke. it wasn't giving "point and laugh at the horrible peacock family!" it was finding humor in other situations, that ultimately still surrendered to the sober feeling of what humanity can do.

whew. this one is definitely gonna stick with me for a while, and i’ll need like 12 hours to formulate my thoughts into something comprehensible. but, you ask, did you like the episode?

yes! while i'm not sure i'd watch it again for funsies, i thought our agents had to confront some inner demons while also learning a lot about them together and individually, which is exactly the thing i want in an episode. i think it brought them closer and they understand each other better, and i think we're getting into some real juicy parts of their relationship. i can't stop thinking about him rubbing her back- how terribly devoted they are to each other, regardless of if either of them can put that into words. those dynamics of devotion that go beyond words- it's so special to me.

and sure, i'll take the bait, and daydream about them living together... i am not above fan service in the slightest. it is me, the fan, who loves to be serviced.

but again. i'm spooked.

[verdemoth]

Maven! Small guy KEENLY aware of the crushing weight of responsibility. Director of Mission Control after Odyssey’s ‘retirement’. Doing their best.

-> Following after their mentor, Maven is the current head of Mission Control, a small team tasked with monitoring the status of expeditions, keeping the portal stable, and maintaining the technological systems that assist in these efforts. Maven’s the one calling the shots. In the case of a hazardous situation, Maven has to make an assessment with what information they have access to and decide what to prioritize. They’re inclined to recall the field team when faced with any untested issue, but the current owners/investors of the whole project aren’t too happy when supplies get wasted ‘for nothing’.

-> In practice they usually just go along with whatever Odyssey advises to the absolute best of their ability. And they Will Not complain.

-> They’re kind of usually too worried about have a personality for the entire duration of a mission. They fixate on the job and fret over it 24/7 until everyone makes it back in one piece.

-> When they can relax, Maven’s got some hobbies. They’re into embroidery, playing niche card and board games, and enjoys science fiction and mystery stories.

-> Their cousin, Perseverance, bullies them relentlessly for being a nerd </3. Even though Perse is the one who writes essays on oscillating genes, or the influences that parasites exert throughout an ecosystem, just for fun, so. >:(

-> Maven and Perse didn’t grow up very close in both a physical, spacial sense as well as an emotional one. Their teens is when they started to connect, when their families moved closer again. Maven babysat fairly often and helped her out with schoolwork, leading to Perse taking an interest in Maven’s aspirations and making them her own.

-> She’s a grown woman now and can look after herself, but Maven’s still worried for her now that she’s joined the team officially. They don’t want to get her killed. But then she goes and pulls some shit to make them reconsider all the effort they’re putting into worrying. Like showing Maven a big fuckoff moth she found by releasing it into their room. Again. (..it was a cool moth though)

-> Maven has to babysit Perse’s terrariums once she starts joining expeditions. Maven does not like crawlies.. but they are committed to upholding the highest standard of care for these creatures. They were reaaaaaally anxious about it the first time, but Perse said they did a great job, and they kind of grew to enjoy it? The feeling of being able to do right by these little animals and keep them safe. They don’t mind it, actually.

-> Maven was just stepping into the leadership role on that fateful day they lost contact with the field team. It was supposed to be straightforward, one of the first missions they’d be commanding with little input from Odyssey, up until it all went very wrong. When the storm hit, they scrambled to manage the crisis. In the time it took to restore communication, Maven was certain they’d gotten three people killed. Instead, they just got one person killed. Like it really makes a difference. They are quite certain that Opportunity’s disappearance and presumed death are their fault and they’re not dealing with it very well.

-> They look up to and respect their mentor a lot and honestly it’s just.. easier to let em overstep and take some responsibility away from them. Maven feels Complicated about it. Relieved, sure. Patronized too. They feel crushed that Odyssey doesn’t seem to trust their ability.. but is e really wrong? They’ve already proven to be inadequate. They’re not sure they’ll ever move past this.

[creaturefeaster]

Wire, could you possibly tell us more about the fish people race like kviikii (not sure if that was spelled right!!)

Smell yeah

Colloquially on land called fish people, but otherwise known by themselves as Tishvuqik. There are several sub-races of fish people, almost all of them stay underwater and amongst themselves. They are more rudimentary than land dwelling races, in recent history only just crossing the bridge into their own stone shell age.

Over a few recent hundred years, fish people had been emerging from the waters at increasing rates, however the very first recorded fish person found (alive) on the surface dates back to over a couple thousand years prior to modern times.

For the most part, it is only two races amongst their many that tend to wander onto land: the kind that Kviiki is, which is a shark-like race that resides within the waters along the hellbelt, and a more mudskipper-esque race which lives along the swampy east coast of Stolla. The latter are more commonly seen on land, and Kviiki was uncommon as she was near land when she died, and washed up on shore.

Most fish people are capable of being on land for several hours as long as the environment is humid, but they're very susceptible to the sun and dry out easily. They surface most often due to environmental changes in their homeland, and second most often out of curiosity. They aren't as familiar with land and it's races culture and technology, and so are often thought to be less intelligent.

They are misunderstood by the people of the land because, historically, they are not well documented and are misunderstood. They have their own social customs depending on their location, and are known to make land races uncomfortable.

They're very tactile (and very wet/tacky.....) and lack spacial boundaries, have been known to grab anything that they are interested in, including people's personal belongings, their facial emotions do not read the same as land races, leading to misinterpretation and conflict. There is friction brewing between the fish people and the land people in modern times due to customary disrespect, so most recent random encounters lean aggressive.

Fish people are not necessarily any more aggressive than any other race under normal circumstances however, and are simply a few steps behind in the technological timeline. In some small/isolated locations, fish people and land races coexist and have established positive contact, which is why you can find some fish people like Kviiki wearing more modern and land-oriented clothing. Trade is not uncommon.

They're usually very flexible and hunch over with exaggerated curves. They have a wide range of tones and patterns, often spotted or striped, and dual-toned. Almost all have two facial frills, ranging in size and location along the head/neck/collar, which help aid in hearing their semi-echolocative languages. Kviiki's frills are especially prominent and nearly connect as one under the chin, which is not as common. Many but not all also have retracting, fanged teeth like her too!

Their way of communicating is similar to how dolphins sound in real life, but with vocal practice they can learn to sound out more land-based alphabets. Their most acknowledged & shared language, when translated phonetically, really uses a lot "i"/"ee" sounds, which is why Kviiki's name is like that. The Kv in her name would be pronounced by fish people as a particular click, but the languages of the land would have to settle for a soft B/V-like sound instead.

They're somewhat short compared to the average bluple/human, averaging at around 4'6 in adulthood. They navigate their underwater world with both hands and feet, but on flat land both underwater and on the surface they typically stand vertically and bipedal. They can climb surprisingly well on land. Sometimes they are found chilling in trees.

Their lifespan is a little shorter on average too, their eldest typically not surpassing 65-- though conditions for them are unstable across the waters and their actual expectancy is ~35.

Oh, and many fish people are born with several other siblings at the same time! So Kviiki probably has like dozens of twin siblings out there.

☼

Hope there was something interesting for you in that wall of text teeheehee

[identifying-cars-in-posts]

Oh my god a full fledged thriving car Autistic. Fuck youre so cool. Hi.

Im a baby car autistic who just started learning how to drive and ive been looking forward to it because ive been obsessed with cars for years and years and years, absolutely in love with pony cars, my one true love is a solid mustang. Close second is a bronco because they’re awful looking. Horse theme is unintentional.

ANYWAYS I find that my autism gives me anxiety as im learning to drive because aa what the fuck is coordination? Ive got the rules down, just, struggling with physically maneuvering vehicle. Currently have a pretty 2020 Civic and I love her but whyyy is it so hard for me to get the hang of it???

Sorry for the long ask TLDR HELP I CANT DRIVE IM TOO UNCOORDINATED???

thanks omg, and i’m a big fan of both old mustangs and broncos too!

outside of just practice i really don’t know how else to help with coordination on the road. it really kinda just came naturally to me (which is weird, i’m the weird one for that) so i don’t really have a lot to offer, you really just have to drive around a lot and just kinda get used to the difference in spacial awareness, especially since you’re not in the very center of the car, you’re offset, so straight ahead from your perspective is more of the left or right edge depending on if your car is left or right hand drive. i would say try to forgive yourself as much as possible, know that it’s not the end of the world if you have to brake kinda hard or take a turn a little too sharp or wide, and take it reasonably slow. i also think that, weirdly enough, playing a lot of racing games before i got behind the wheel may have helped a bit, so if you can maybe try that? most newer racing games have a cockpit view so you could maybe give that a shot?

[izzyspussy]

practical magic au where in the process of running away from ed, izzy accidentally kills him and then calls up anne for help burying the body on the expansive and poorly tended property surrounding her aunts' weird northern mansion like they did with jack a few years ago. but now anne has just inherited the place so there's no one else there and they have to go searching around for shovels, and when they're looking in the majestic spacial horror greenhouse they find this huge book of spells that flips itself to the chapter on resurrection as soon as izzy touches it. so they pick a spell that looks simple enough and they successfully bring ed back from the dead, except then they don't kill him the second time because really murdering and reanimating each other is just the next logical progression in the edizzy relationship anyway. like this is literally just another break up and make up for them. ed even promises that if he's a zombie or a vampire now he will practice monogamous cannibalism and feast on izzy's human flesh exclusively. it's very romantic.

anyway so then stede, the off-puttingly cheerful occultist crime expert (serial killer groupie) who hires himself (shows up uninvited) to consult (obstruct the police investigation) on cases he deems within his wheelhouse (there was a spray painted pentagram somewhere within a fifty foot radius of the crime scene) arrives, hot (four months later) on the infamous blackbeard's trail with his loyal assistant and friend (well paid muscle that barely tolerates him) mary read in tow.

[galaxygirl8880]

Cale gets into embroidery

After doing the Arm logo on the fake uniforms, he's intrigued.

That was his first time, hence why it looked so bad, but he surprisingly enjoyed doing it-

So, using the same supplies from last time, he decides to practice.

---

He's in his room in the middle of the night, working on a piece but very distracted-

Just looking back on the past two years of his life and when he met Choi han and is like "when did this happen??"

When he finally looks down, he realizes that in his dissociated state he, in addition to the flowers he was working on, made Choi han.

After taking a few moments to process what he just did, his face turns bright red.

Cale stands up from his rocking chair and immediately pulls out an empty box from under his bed and places the art inside.

He puts it back under the bed and stands.

"that was embarrassing..."

---

Right so the box he has now dubbed "the ones that will never see the light of day " has been steadily growing more full.

It's not that he thinks they look bad, it's just that he feels embarrassed whenever he thinks of the box-

Some were made unintentionally, and some he actually put a lot of effort in.

Most people know about his hobby but he doesn't really talk about it much-

So one day in his villa, he realizes that the one he did of Raon with dandelions is still in the Henituse territory.

Although he has others of Raon and the kids, that one is one of his favorites, inspired by a record of them finding a dandelion field and having a picnic there.

He asks Eruhaben to take him to the Henituse territory because Raon is with his mother (and it would be mortifying if Raon saw that canvas) so after apologizing for coming without notice he heads into his room with Eruhaben trailing behind.

Cale readies the spacial bag he had prepared beforehand and pulls out a smaller box from under his bed.

Forgetting Eruhaben was also in the room, he opens the box.

"Huh. You made me as an embroidery piece?"

..Fuck

---

I like this idea a lot but was unsure how to execute it so I tried my best lmao

[cecelianonymous22]

I redesigned Koda from MHA because he's my favorite and everyone is so mean to him about his dogshit costume :(((

More specifically, his pro hero design! Since the top of his head is supposed to be a horn that's growing out, I made it a bit taller, since this is supposed to be a post-UA design, aka him as an adult

This may or may not be my design for him in a rarepair fic I may or may not be posting soon

I tried to go for a hunter theme, with nearly everything except the mask and the falconry gloves

Also because he's a nature hero, my man needs some fucking camo!!! That seems tremendously more on brand and useful than yellow shorts but idk maybe thats just me

The mask, like the one he has in the anime, is rigged with a microphone to make himself more heard. However, to stick with an animal theme, i made the holes look more like bird or lizard nostrils

What I forgot to draw was some sort of utility belt for him, since I feel like he would have various support items due to not having an offensive Quirk

However, speaking of support items, his glasses aren't just for show. They're equipped with various technologies to allow for zoom and targeting, but also spacial tech like sensors and an ability to pull up a HUD of the area he's in. The functions are controlled by the panels built into his gloves

And i tried coming up with a new insignia, but I honestly don't mind the teeth if they're not front and center

While black would be the primary color, i still think it would be cool to add red and yellow accents as a nod to his original design

But for practicality, these colors would probably just be greys and greens

I might digitize if this fixation doesn't go away

Reference images under the cut!

(also just used general searches for the pants, jacket, boots, and gloves)