#the lack of training on emotional regulation and the like. knowing when and when not to take risks. etc

[roobylavender]

hiii i hope you're doing good and that life is going well for you! i just wanted to say - one day when you're less busy - you should TOTALLY read batgirl 2000!!! i think you'd find the themes so engaging because of both cassandra herself but also because of what the story says about bruce, "batman," and the bats as a whole... i was reminded of this bc i saw a text post from you say something like "maybe nightwing somewhat blaming jason for his death isn't that OOC because of his high standards for both himself and others" and i was thinking, that's def totally wrong for nightwing, but it 100% applies to cass bc essentially fighting is all she has and she has the strictest moral backbone within a group with already high moral standards - in fact i think a lot of your takes abt nightwing would better apply to cass instead!

imo it's no coincidence that she was introduced in the late-90s, post events like death in the family, knightfall, cataclysm, contagion, no man's land, etc and she really begins to play a central role in murderer/fugitive, bc she symbolizes an idea that bruce has been slowly moving toward through the years and especially after dick left for college - the idea that "bruce wayne" doesn't matter and only batman should remain. but as we know, that's wrong, batman doesn't exist w/o bruce wayne, and this is just the way he's decided to (badly) cope with all the new tragedies that have changed his life after becoming batman! but now that he's met cass, this girl who has no "civilian" identity and essentially her bat-mantle is all she is, it's like she's an example hand-delivered to him by the universe that supposedly proves his new philosophy... meanwhile babs wants cass to have her own life outside of fighting and vigilantism, and that conflict is something you'd be really interested in imo and have spoken about a lot!

like it's no wonder to me that cass is the only one that blames steph after her "death" even though she's also the person who grieved her the most - it's like bruce talking about how reckless jason was or whatever - from a doylist POV it's bc DC was going in a new, darker direction w/ batman so that's why you have characters like tim or dick or babs acting as authorial mouthpieces and saying "jason was a failure" or "bruce is an emotionless robot" or whatever, it doesn't actually say anything about their characters themselves. but from a watsonian POV you could argue that it's bruce trying to cope (badly) with the fact that his son died in the most brutal way possible, and essentially while seeking his birth-parent's love :/

so these bad coping mechanisms from bruce are encouraged by cass's existence and vice versa, and it's rly interesting to see how they grow out of that - this is also why batgirl 2000 itself essentially proves why cass alone can't take over the batman mantle imo, bc she didn't realize that both the man and the bat are what make up this role - by the time she did get it, she leaves gotham in self-imposed exile while dick takes over as batman, and i think that makes her more compelling bc (just like nightwing) she's also willing to reflect on her mistakes and change. you would really like her and her central arc i think!!!

i DO need to read batgirl 2000 i have been thinking this to myself for the longest time.. i need to sit down and make myself a reading schedule or something because the only thing preventing me from really getting into it was reading through the late 90s and early 00s generally so haphazardly so i wanted to do it properly and have all of my ducks in a row. but i love this omg thank you for this food for thought i will be swishing it around in my head

[yandereunsolved]

» 🪙 Yandere Connor — RK800 » 🪙

"Detective," Connor addresses you warmly, standing far too close to you while you are stationed at your desk. 

"Yes?" You respond, not lifting your eyes to make contact.

You had no time to. Since the semi-failed revolution of androids, there has been a trifold increase in deviancy cases. If not for the RK800's, and perhaps the new line of RK900's when they are finally completed, the precinct would be overrun—both physically and metaphorically.

"Detective," his tone is more commanding his time, something in his voice that you could easily mistake for human irritation. "Look at me."

You oblige, but continue typing up the report for the latest case you closed. Your fingers falter for a moment when you see the look in his eyes, attentive but not in the android way. It's uncanny in the way it mirrors how you dream someone would look at you, like you were the thing of most importance. It is just you reading into things again. Must be. It does often happen as a detective, especially these days. 

You nod for him to continue, but he doesn't. He just stares at you dreamily. You hear his internal fans turn on to cool down his processors. His cybernetic LED flickers to red for a millisecond before returning to a reassuring blue. You aren't sure if it was a trick of your mind or—

You don't understand what his problem seems to be. You would call Hank over to deal with his partner, but you haven't been able to find the lieutenant anywhere. He's most likely finding the bottom of a bottle of liquor at some broken-down joint. 

Wait, why isn't Connor with him?

As if CyberLife installed new mind reading technology in their androids, he answers. "Lieutenant Anderson is waiting for us at the Eden Club. Supposedly Jericho is getting deviant androids that work in clubs to funnel money in order to stage another coo. The department has apprehended one of them, and you have been assigned to the case alongside Ha-the lieutenant and me."

You were already halfway out the door by the time Connor was done with his explanation. The android was trailing behind you and insisted on driving instead of you. Technically, they weren't allowed to due to whatever police regulation subsection-b, but you were too tired to care. Connor has always been the better driver. It was how he was programmed, strangely, considering the rules. 

"Connor, this isn't the way to the Eden Club."

"I'm aware." His voice was back to that same calculated, lifeless one he first spoke to you with. 

"RK800, your programming forbids you from lying, so tell me the truth. Where are we going?" 

You are a thousand percent sure he is able to sense your sky-rocketing heart rate.

"I am not permitted to tell you."

"Permitted, or you just don't want to?"

"This is not the right time or place. This confession lacks the structure and romance aspect I wanted, but it seems more human this way." You swear he shut down completely, his LED showing no color. "I love you." It turns to a bright red.

"W-What?"

"You have made me know that I am more than just an android. I am yours."

The raw emotion nearly chokes the both of you up for two different reasons: passion and panic.

"I think we should call Cyberlife. Something is clearly glitching." You try to keep your words measured but fail. All that practical training of yours doesn't exactly come in handy when your—when the android you could nearly call a friend confesses to you.

"Nothing is glitching!" He shouts. "I have run every test and looked for anything that could... debunk this... these emotions. They have stayed. They have stayed, and I have had to watch you. I have had to watch other people get close to you. I have had to act like a good little synthetic cop while useless maggots have gotten your love! It isn't fair. They don't deserve you like I do. I know everything about you."

"It isn't you. I can't—just no. I mean—yes. I mean that I can't just maybe ugh. Another time, maybe. Not tonight."

He stomps on the brakes and doesn't dare look at you. You don't look at him or your surroundings. You just awkwardly sit in the passenger seat and stare at the glovebox.

If androids were able to cry, he would be at this moment. His LED turns colorless once again. You almost feel pity for him; your mind is too frazzled and deprived of necessity to take in the severity of his words.

"I lack the capacity to feel pain... or have a heart, yet I think you have broke mine."

How unfortunate. I was hoping to have you come along willingly.

[yesimwriting]

Normalcy

A/n deadpool and wolverine drabble bc the movie was a little too good

Summary: Still reeling from the loss of your powers, you struggle to hold it together inside the TVA's void. Thankfully, you find an uncharacteristically peaceful distraction in your old friend Deadpool and in the wolverine variant who wants nothing to do with you.

Warnings/info: reader is a (former) avenger (bc i love the avengers <3), reader is described as having similar powers to wanda and having trained with her (bc i love wanda), implied beginning of an accidental love triangle if you squint ig, maybe too much lore for a drabble (?), me writing for characters for the first time so be nice 😭

----

The lines etched into your palms do not bend and twist to spell out secrets, there are no messages worth decoding pressed into your skin. Knowing this is not enough to stop you from staring at your hands like if you could just think about it hard enough...

"There you are, Peanut." The words are so warm you're briefly pulled out of your internal angst. You straighten, head lifting slightly and arms crossing in front of your chest. "Thought I lost you."

Wade continues forward until he's directly in front of you. He pauses, watching you with an unabashed openness that you'd only ever allow him to get away with. "Kidding," he tries, "I'd never lose you."

The familiarity of the casual affection eases you further, the corner of your mouth tugging itself upwards. "I was like 15 feet away from you."

"Sorry for caring." It's his go to comeback when it comes to defending the displays of affection you have the audacity to find overdramatic.

You blink, lips parting despite your lack of response. The world has felt a little slower these last few days, moving at a pace that leaves you with no choice but to reflect. Maybe it's the void.

"Hey," his voice feels a little flatter without his usual humor, "Are you okay?"

You let out a breath, shocked by this new low. Sure, you've known Wade for awhile and you've both seen each other through plenty of stages, but he's never felt the need to attempt a genuine pep talk for you. He's never struck you as the pep talk sort...for anyone. Do you really seem that off?

It's bad enough that your identity crisis has stolen the abilities that would have helped your trio pop out of the void with no real fanfare, you can't also make your insecurities everyone else's problem. "Yeah." The response doesn't feel convincing, but with Wade wearing the Deadpool mask, it's hard to be sure. "Just y'know...we're in a void and our reality might be ripped apart, so I've been better."

He's still watching you with a level of focus that's unnerving. You've gotten used to his familiarity, his lack of care for personal space or the social rules around watching people. "You're doing it again."

"Seducing you with my ability to have a heart to heart while looking this good in my suit?"

You sigh in an attempt to dismiss your slight smile. Happy or sad, superhero that once fought Thanos or regular person that can't regulate their emotions, Wade always treats you the same. "The staring thing. You said you'd stop."

"No, you said I'd stop." The correction is a return to what you're used to. He takes a step towards you, his proximity now forcing you to tilt your chin up slightly to look him in the eye. "I'd never promise to look at you less."

"Comforting."

He angles his chin downwards, making the limited distance feel more significant. "I thought so." For a moment, he's quiet in a way that doesn't feel very him. "Are you sure you're...good?" His hesitance is another reminder that this is far out of his element. "I know this is your first..." Wade's rarely careful, only ever treading lightly on the one subject you never want to bring. "Outing, since..."

"I lost my powers."

Wade goes quiet again. If this conversation is as inevitable as it seems, a part of you wishes it could have come up elsewhere. Maybe in your shared apartment, definitely without the mask so you could better interpret his reactions. It's not often you keep secrets from him, but the hollowness you feel knowing the part of yourself you've lost isn't something you can just share.

It's more than just about missing your party tricks, it's about losing a part of yourself. They were all that was left of your time with the Avengers, of what Wanda taught you before Westview.

He lets out a breath. "They're not lost." You raise your eyebrows slightly, giving him a look meant to caution him against sympathetic optimism. "We don't know that."

He seems so happy to be able to tell you that there's no proof that any and all magical abilities have been flushed out of your system, you don't have it in you to remind him that that's mainly because you have no one to ask. What's left of the Avengers and your government connections either barely understand what you were or are untrustworthy.

"Educated wish?"

His mask muffles a slight gasp. You press your lips together in an attempt to resist smiling. "The last one worked out great."

Your eyebrows pull together skeptically, a reminder that the two of you are still technically in the middle of the last educated wish he attempted to speak into existence. "Didn't Wolverine stab you multiple times--"

He cuts you off with a heavy sigh. "If I took getting stabbed personally, do you know where we'd be?"

In a reality where Wade holds grudges over those kinds of things, you wouldn't be anything to each other, except maybe enemies. You've never pulled a knife or sword or anything sharp on him, but when you first met he did startle you before you had a total grip on your abilities, which resulted in him getting thrown through a wall.

"I never stabbed you."

His hand finds your shoulder. You let him drag his thumb against against the fabric of your suit. "And that's how I know you really love me, Peanut."

You roll your eyes in an attempt to dislodge the warmth that settles in the pit of your stomach. The last thing Wade needs is encouragement. "I mean, I do go around stabbing everyone I like less than you."

He lets out a sound that feels like a scoff attempting to mask itself as a dry laugh. "There's the sense of humor that'd hurt me if I knew you less."

"Well--"

He squeezes your shoulder, "I know you." Okay. You'll let him have this one because maybe there's some truth to what he's saying. "I'm going to go check on the car, because a fucking Honda Odyssey would break down on us for no reason before we got to the fight."

"For no reason or because of the bitch fight you and Wolverine had in it?"

There's a beat of silence in which all you can do is try to imagine Wade's expression behind the mask. You'd like to think that he's smiling. "Oh, Pumpkin." He sighs as if you've stumbled onto saying something terribly naive. "It wasn't a bitch fight, it was awesome, and probably turned you on."

You deadpan a flat, "You caught me." He hasn't let go of your shoulder, and a part of you is oddly glad for it. "I'd offer you help with the car, but..."

You're self aware enough to acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses, car maintenance being the latter. Wade doesn't even let you get your oil changed by yourself anymore.

"I've met you." He squeezes your shoulder again, the gesture weirdly stabilizing. "Give me 15 minutes to actually look at the car and then I'm all yours."

Wade lets go of you, his arm falling to his side. "Aren't you always?"

He lets out an exaggerated gasp. "You're making me feel cheaper than my usual rate, Peanut."

You smile as he turns away. Things are always a little easier with Wade. It's more than just distraction, it's his way of making things feel a little lighter. You're not sure what to do with your 15 minutes of solitude to avoid falling back into self pity.

You originally broke away from the group of void trapped heroes under the premise of needing fresh air, but even here, with the expansive, sparsely wooded area at your disposal, the oxygen in your lungs still feels flat. If Wanda were around, you'd be able to ask if she felt the strangeness of this other plane of existence as well. At least then you'd know if your dislike of the void is only mental or an actual sign of life from your abilities.

You begin to walk forward, hoping to shed all thoughts of both your former self and the eeriness of this other world. There are other people you could talk to you. The others have been polite enough, or at the very least, passionate enough to be talked into facing Cassandra.

The trees you've been wandering through grow in their sparsity, the edge of the woods revealing a patch of grassland highlighted by a fire's warm glow. You squint past the tree line, attempting to make out the figure sitting in front of the flames. Wolverine.

Secluded from the group and staring at a campfire. Surprising. Though, you guess it's not fair to judge him too harshly, you left the group to brood as well.

He doesn't like you, doesn't know you well enough to dislike you, but it took him no time to find a way to get around that. Maybe it's your proximity to Wade. You've done your best to take his hostility as un-personally as possible. You've seen enough people you really care about go through the guilt ridden, fallen hero thing to know how deep that kind of hurt runs.

You've never known a Wolverine or Logan Howlett variant, so you have no way of knowing what he was like before. Sure, you've heard stories, but you're also overly aware of how the media can twist and turn those stories to fit their narrative. One day, a superhero is the world's greatest protector, and the next their the greatest menace. Maybe he was always a little dark, or maybe he wasn't.

"Don't just stand there." The gruffness of his voice startles you more than it should.

Heat crawls up your neck, a part of you more embarrassed than you should be. You weren't lurking, or at the very least, you weren't trying to.

You sigh as you abandon the safety of the tree line. "Sorry." He turns his head away from the fire. "I wasn't--I was just walking."

He's quiet for such a long moment you almost expect him to not respond at all. "Without your shadow?"

Wow, only a halfhearted dig at Wade. You must have caught him in a good mood. "Friend, and he's looking at the car. I'd be looking at the car with him, but I figured the odds for tomorrow are bad enough as is."

Another uneasy stretch of silence. "Yeah." There's not much, if anything, to take from the comment. "If you're here to convince me to go with you guys tomorrow--"

"I'm not." It's an honest answer. You had been walking around aimlessly and happened to stumble onto him. "I'm not into the pep talk thing." He scoffs, the sound lacking in genuine aggression. "What?"

He lifts his gaze from the fire, his eyes settling on some point past the horizon. "I thought you were an Avenger."

You're not sure what bugs you more, the fact that he's so sure he has you all figured out or the implication that the Avengers spend their days encouraging each other instead of actually doing things. What the Avengers are--or maybe were--is so much more than that.

You step forward, further separating you from the cluster of trees. "The Avengers are about a lot more than that."

His attention briefly shifts onto you before returning to the flames. If the silence is meant to be dismissive, it doesn't feel that way. There's a patience there that doesn't suit his usual brooding.

"Do you care if I sit?" The question is forced out before you can overthink it. "I promise no inspirational speeches or small talk."

After a beat, he dips his chin downwards in a nod so subtle you would have missed it if you had been watching him any less carefully. You're more relieved by his acceptance than you should be, your feet carrying you towards the campfire.

You sit at a polite distance, knees bent in front of you. His silence seems to push against the void's sluggishness. Maybe the issue has been you fighting this world's momentum.

"Why are you with him?" You're not sure if you're more shocked by the question or the break in silence. When all you can do is blink, he continues, "You seem--" He subtly clears his throat, as if struggling to admit this next part, "Nice, normal."

Oh. If you had been focused, you likely would have got what he meant without the clarification. "I know Wade's a lot--especially to you." You place a hand against your knee, thinking about that very specific safety you only feel with Wade. You don't have to try at being anything, or worry about earning your keep in any capacity. "But once you get to know him, he's a good friend."

You look away from the fire pit in time to see the skeptical look Logan throws in your direction. "I'm serious." His expression doesn't change. "He um--after I stopped being important to everyone else, he still liked me ." This isn't the conversation you wanted to stumble onto, especially not with someone who you barely know and actively dislikes you. "That sounds kind of dumb, but the point is, he's loyal."

He turns his head back towards the fire. "You always call him by his name." The observation is so stiff you'd consider it hesitant if it came from anyone else.

You've never thought much about Wade's name. Part of it is familiarity, and the rest of it is a force of habit. Even when you were with the Avengers, you preferred using actual names when off duty. It's easier to separate the mask from the person beneath it when you make an active effort to.

You shrug. "I'm not into off duty superhero names, Wolverine."

He falls silent again. You concentrate on the flames, the way they illuminate the world around you. "You can--" He cuts himself off, attention never wavering from the fire. "You can call me Logan, if you want."

An unsteady warmth roots itself in your chest. You didn't expect any sort of kinship between you and the wolverine Wade stole from some other timeline beyond him occasionally accepting your attempts at creating peace between him and Wade.

"Okay," you focus on keeping your tone measured, avoiding any emotions that might startle him, "Logan."

There's no tension in the quiet that follows. You let the minutes pass until you're certain that Wade's waiting for an interruption disguised as an attempt to help. "I should go, Wade's probably waiting for me."

You push yourself to stand. You let yourself glance at him one last time before turning towards the trees you emerged from.

[moniericreative]

Joker and Neurodivergency: The Very Long ADHD Yappathon

So this is mostly just an excuse to ramble, project, and headcanon.

But the longer I've been working on my Dialogue Compilation Project... The more I've gradually started to notice bits about Joker as a character that hit pretty close to experiences I've also dealt with as someone neurodivergent, specifically someone with inattentive ADHD.

So how about we delve into it?

So as a foreward to describe the explanation process: What exactly is Inattentive ADHD?

Inattentive ADHD is a type of ADHD where children have a hard time paying attention but don’t necessarily exhibit hyperactive behavior.

In simpler terms, it's more of an internal hyperactivity. Like your brain or emotional regulation are constantly unrestrained. For instance: - Your thoughts tend to get scattered - Your short-term memory's spotty (i.e. you may struggle to repeat back something you were just told a few seconds ago) - You tend to dissassociate out of the blue due to a lack of stimulation - Your emotions might go 0-to-100 where it may be "nothing" or "suddenly everything at once" depending on what's going on (especially with external stimulants like crowds or sudden noises) - Etcetera.

And because of that lack of internal structure, it's difficult to: - Maintain habits or time awareness for some folks - Bodily queues like hunger or sleep simply don't register unless in extremes (like a low blood sugar, hunger shakes, or overall sleep deprivation crapiness).

And that's not even getting into the executive dysfunction or auditory processing issues... Hoo boy... 💪🥲

There's a wide variety of symptoms for each individual, nobody's the same. Heck some of these are experiences someone else might not even have, either.

Some of them even overlap with autism as well (and some folks might have both), but out of respect as someone who isn't autistic, I'll personally refrain from discussing about it here to avoid accidental stereotyping (but feel free to add to this with personal anecdotes if you like!). Mostly just going off my own experiences with ADHD.

So how exactly does any of this apply to Joker?

Well, some of the oh-so-fun things about being ADHD is:

- Needing consistent reminders for tasks

- Executive Dysfunction (especially when things go wrong or you feel like crap)

- Being able to Hyperfocus (i.e. "being in the zone" to a degree that you tune everything else out including the time spent on the task).

We know based on the Persona series' time-slot system that typically, Joker will spend hours doing a single task and only that task. There's no multitasking or anything. He is focused solely on whatever he starts doing, be it studying, making tools, training, etcetera.

(There's also smaller moments like the P5 Anime as well, where he'll actually get mildly frustrated with anyone that distracts him from a task he's focusing on. Specifically Akechi when he keeps trying to have a conversation with him while he's concentrating on using a pour-over. Or he's shown getting frustrated by an ever-increasing list of tasks in Mementos Mission:)

That sounds about normal for anyone though, right?

Well, here's the thing.

He usually doesn't stop until Morgana suggests he should.

This is different from previous Persona protagonists like Yu or Makoto/Kotone because they don't have someone like Morgana constantly reminding them that they've done plenty of work, or that they should head to bed. They just do it themselves.

On top of that, while party members (both from P5 itself and prior games) will occasionally remind you to "do [blank] by a certain date," Morgana's the one character that will consistently remind Joker (and you) several times in a single day, ranging from maybe a line or two, to three/four different ones every day the week before the deadline.

The one time Morgana's not present do this?

No afternoon or evening events to work on, Joker's just so damn miserable without his close friend that he holes himself up in Leblanc's Attic and does nothing for two days straight. Not even in said attic, it's standing around missing Morgana or going to sleep. Good 'ol depressed-flavoured executive dysfunction if ever I've felt one. 🥲

And on top of the "reminders" bit... Joker's also the only protag who has handwritten notes about events in the game on top of the Calendar Menu's summary too (courtesy of the notebook Sojiro gives him). Sometimes the date in the menu itself will be blank, but Joker will have these written down anyways:

Which is something that's often super helpful for ADHD folks when recalling our long-term memories (one of our bigger strengths), as specific details like these can help us piece the entire situation back together even if it was months/years ago.

(Good thing too in his case especially, considering the Interrogation Room plan hinged on him remembering everything)

So that's surely it, right?

NOPE.

There's another very important detail about Joker that's gets heavily underlooked:

Now we already know some key bits in regards to this information:

Sojiro absolutely doesn't starve him, and in fact he's not only willing to feed Joker on his way out the door, but he's also willing to teach him how to make Leblanc's food too.

And we also that eventually culminates in Strikers as a beloved game mechanic: Joker's Kitchen, which Joker does entirely of his own volition.

It's probably safe to say that he at least doesn't have a food aversion. I mean come on, he's got endless pockets full of random crap from vending machines, some of which sound absolutely inhumane. Or he's at a clinic guzzling random drugs with reckless abandon like the unhinged weirdo he is.

But with the above context that he has a tendency to lose track of time without Morgana's input, it adds a layer to this line that makes a lot of sense. Between being distracted by a task, and sometimes not having "hunger signals" at all, a lot of us tend to not even realize we've been starving all day. It's usually a state of "normal" nothing until oops it's Sudden Hunger Shakes O'Clock.

Which can also develop into just generally eating small portions of food as well, because again, we tend to "not feel hungry" unless it's extreme, and that can really affect our degree of appetite/intake.

Or in other cases, including my own and probably Joker's too until Strikers, there's a lack of general interest in food as a whole too. It's yet another time management task that you have to remember to do, every few hours, every single day, every single week, every single month, every single year. So you'll probably grab anything just so long as it's filling enough to get you by for the day. (Unless you have food aversion... Godspeed us all in finding filling safe foods that don't suddenly change and make us hurl 🫡💦). It's necessary of course, but there's a tedium to it sometimes regardless of the meal that you really have to fight with just to keep living.

Sumi gag aside, come on. Look at the sheer difference. That bun's smaller than Morgana's head and it's the barest minimum snack you can find anywhere.

"But what about the Big Bang Burger Challenge?" Come on man, we all know he's not doing it for the sake of eating. He's doing it to get smarter and prettier and kinder. The power of processed junk food filled with microplastics and employee tears I guess.

Distractability and focusing on a particular interest.

Obviously we don't go "SQUIRREL" at the drop of a hat like an excitable dog (despite how often people like to use that stereotype). But for some of us, our minds do tend to flitter around a bit in search of something to stimulate our brains.

Kinda like a zoo animal pacing around an enclosure, except it's our squishy brain trapped in a cage of bone and too little dopamine. 🫠

And in the abscence of something to work on or talk about, that can range from zoning out in classes/discussions (which Joker does a lot) to dissociate the boredom away (which ironically most people tend to see as "endless patience," if only they knew...), or looking for things to work on or talk about (which he... also tends to do a lot, depending on how much of the maps you explore).

And in Joker's case specifically, a lot of that tends to end up with him sticking his nose into situations that benefits the specific thing that gives him a purpose/drive (being a Phantom Thief), but are absolutely not normal things a teenager should be getting into.

Like dealing with the Yakuza. Or being the fake boyfriend of a drunk woman. Or paying his homeroom teacher to be a maid for him. Or a homoerotic shoot-out (... well, three separate times actually if you count an arcade game) with another teenage weirdo. Or T-Posing in a church to understand The Passion Of The Christ. Or unholy amounts of burger-eating to raise his "social stats."

He's willing to get into all kinds of mischief if it helps the Phantom Thieves. If it doesn't, then he's not particularly interested in starting anything with someone. More often than not, it takes Morgana mentioning how someone's services or skills "could help the thieves" to get Joker to be interested in them.

Or the person being especially pushy for him to cave in Maruki's case, to which Joker will make the same rationalization instead despite his initial pushback:

He's so dedicated to being a Phantom Thief that it's equal parts inspiring, relatable, hysterical, and sad to watch.

Especially since at the end of almost every single confidant (bar the party members', and Akechi's and Maruki's who both peg him as a thief pretty quickly through happenstance), every single one of them find out he's a Phantom Thief on their own. Because this poor boy is so tunnel-visioned on his role as "Joker" and helping people that he's about as subtle as a steel chair to the face and woefully unaware of it until it's told to him. 🥹

Lastly, NO TOUCHY.

Honestly, probably my favorite underrated bit about Joker that barely gets talked about.

Across the different P5 mediums (well, two as far as I'm aware of), there's at least one on-screen instance in each of Joker being touch-aversed whenever other people invade his personal space. Usually whenever he has physical contact with someone else (like any of the romaceable confidants, or Akechi), he's the one initiating it first.

In the P5 Anime you've got the bathouse scene between him, Ryuji, and Yusuke after Madarame's palace. In it, Ryuji jumps away from the hot water coming out of the faucet and bumps into Joker.

His response directed at Ryuji?

In English: "Please scoot back."

In Japanese (according to subs anyway): "You're making it hotter."

Both of which he says while hunched up with his shoulders to his ears and shooting Ryuji an unhappy expression.

Seriously. That is a "dead-inside and accepting reality" stare if ever I've felt one, choppy animation quality aside.

In P5 Royal meanwhile, you've got Yusuke's third awakening in Third Semester, where Joker says this when he suddenly grips his shoulders:

Both of which are basically the exact same message, just told in different ways.

... And that's not even going into how more often than not, any time we see Joker being touched on-screen by someone else, they're usually restraining or physically abusing him.

Whether you want to chalk that up to trauma from his initial arrest in the Shido Flashback, or as a ND aspect of his, is entirely up to you. Personally I'm leaning more on the latter as he usually only establishes this boundary with people he trusts (whereas he just outright avoids contact altogether around strangers), and he only breaks this boundary himself around specific people he cares about.

So with all that rambling finally done, hopefully this helps others notice some really cool bits of characterization around this loveable goofball. I won't say this a "100% accurate" interpretation of Joker as a character because everyone sees him differently. He is a self-insert after all.

But compared to the previous Persona protags (hell, even Atlus protags in general), Joker's always the one I immediately fall back to as the favorite for some reason. The coat is snazzy, he has a smirk that makes all the ladies and gay detectives weak at the knees, but... I could never really pinpoint the actual why until now.

Whether Atlus intended Joker to be neurodivergent-coded is up in the air, but there's just so many aspects about him beyond the player's control that hit really close to home, and I'm glad that he's such a popular and beloved character for the traits that make him him.

[princeblue]

I had someone on anon ask me if I thought Genya was incapable of cultivating his own breathing style or not and i accidentally hit fucking delete so I’m gonna retype it here:

Tldr: No, I think Genya is a character that is akin to a dull blade, capable of being sharpened, but the people around him lack the means to shape him properly. I also think he was just a character that was underutilized, plain and simple.

But anyway let’s start with my biggest point: Genya did not have good teachers.

I believe it’s at the end of the first season after Tanjirou has had his trial by the Hashira’s, that the Hashira themselves state the new recruits for the demon slayer corps have grown sloppy and poor, meaning that the trainers themselves have grown either too old or too lazy.

With this, and the fact that we can infer Genya’s original teacher was on the poorer, sloppier side of things, not only failing to install a breathing style in him, but as a teacher who let a child go to final selection without a breathing style, which would most certainly be a death sentence.

We also have Genya himself state that Gyomei is not a good teacher, he states that he learned repetitive motion by observation alone.

Which then reads: Genya is smart, smart enough to pickup on something that dozens of others, including the MC, have failed to do.

So, do I think that Genya was capable of cultivating his own style? Yes & No.

I think if Genya had the proper teachings, that yes, he would have. And I have quite a few friends that believe Genya first tried learning Wind Breathing, which would be a very nice symbolism, but I am more personally inclined to say that he first learned, or attempted, water breathing.

The reason I state this is because Genya knows the fundamental basics of a breathing style, and the most basic breathing style is water, Tanjirou states when he’s conversing with Giyuu during HTA that it’s not uncommon for people to learn WB and then adapt to another, which I feel like we can safely say people also utilize it to craft their individual breathing styles as well.

But this to me would also tie into Genya’s insecurities, if he cannot master the most simple breathing style, nor be taught by two trainers (one of which is a hashira) how can he believe that he could craft his own? He wouldn’t, at all. Which means he find the next possible resort within his grasp: his gun, and then later down the line: his ability.

Because let’s talk about total concentration breathing: it is not something that comes naturally, Tanjirou himself had to be corrected by Makomo to properly wield it, and then later down the line, be told how to use repetitive motion.

This might contradict him not being able to learn TCB by observation alone, like he did RM, but what exactly is weak about Genya? Beyond his emotional regulation, which can play into TCB. But still, he is: tall, strong, observant/smart, and quick.

And while I absolutely adore the theory/headcanon that he is asthmatic, it is not canon nor is it implied to be canon. Genya has no reason whatsoever as to why he shouldn’t be able to use TCB, he just can’t.

Which leads me to believe that his original trainer was a sleazeball, believing that since Genya couldn’t master TCB in that moment, he just stopped properly training him altogether.

And to further reinforce my point: I can understand Senjurou Rengoku not being able to master TCB or Flame Breathing simply because he appeared small for his age and lived his life as a maid instead of a warrior, not to mention encouraged by Kyojurou to pursue a different path in life. But Genya goes down a different, more drastic route, and he quickly makes up for what he lacked in height, leading me to believe that there is a disconnect there.

But let’s play with the idea that Genya is asthmatic.

The whole point of total concentration breathing is to be able to match the strength of a demon, learning a specific fighting style is great, but it will do you no good in the end unless you have the strength to back it, or seek alternatives. (Poison/gun.)

But, if Genya is able to consume a demon and adapt to their strength and more while also knowing the fundamental basics of TCB & Water breathing (or whichever breathing style you prefer) I still don’t see why he wouldn’t be able to use it in this enhanced state of being.

Now, do correct me if I’m wrong here, because I have seen the “only demons who learnt of TCB as humans can use it as full fledged demons” thing floating around, but I’m not sure if it’s canon and Genya is still a special case, he is not a true demon, personally I would say he is kin to half, but still not a full demon. Meaning that with his body still fundamentally being human, he should technically be allowed to use TCB.

So, to me? I have never seen a reason why Genya couldn’t have ever cultivated or learnt of a pre existing breathing style. I find that the most logical reasoning as to why he couldn’t is 1. He is at the end of the day, a background character, and a character used to conclude Sanemi’s character arc and attitude shift (you can find that analysis at @pompomchihuahua ) and 2. Because the author realized they made him too op, nerfed him, and then never gave a proper reasoning as to why he couldn’t do what others could do.

—

This was a lot of fun and I actually changed my answer halfway through writing the original text, feel dumb I deleted it, but glad I did actually because I worded this one much more cleanly put!

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

one of my batfam hot takes is that alfred having a very kind and understanding grandfather-like role is a boring spin on the character and lacks a lot of nuance around his backstory.

like he is a classically trained british butler which means he very likely comes from a working class family. and like, as a working class brit myself, i sometimes find the kindly, well-mannered grandfather thing grating because, a lot of white, working class men his age are unfortunately not nice people. some of them are like my great grandad was a really great guy, but hes really the only one i know who is or was not awful.

because their generation werent as exactly raised with ideals about mental health and emotional regulation. a lot of them were traumatised due to ww2 either because they saw it firsthand when they were like 15, they were old enough to remember things like rationing and the blitz, and a lot of them lost their dads in the war.

i dont expect american writers to understand how much ww2 affected britain (modern britain is still so steeped in it, its insane) and that generation specifically, BUT id love to see that explored more with alfred. like depending on where he grew up, he would likely have been separated from his family during the blitz and sent off to the countryside like most of the kids in cities were, (this is how narnia starts) and like, a lot of them were horrifically abused or used as free labour. a lot of them also lost parents and never got to say goodbye to them. many came back to destroyed homes. some kids also remained in the city or their parents requested them back so theyd experience the blitz first hand and would know the sign of air raid siren meant they might die that night.

you can see how a lot of that generation were permanently scarred. and for a few decades now, alfred would have been part of that generation.

plus he was also a secret service officer which is just like more opportunities to be traumatised and more reason for him to not be this gentle old man whos in touch with his emotions.

and like, as a classically trained butler, he would likely be more reserved because you know, thats how he was trained. also british men that age would also likely be very hands off in regards to emotions.

but the biggest reason as to why the gentle, kind grandfather take doesnt really make sense is that he raised bruce wayne.

like bruce has a whole slew of emotional issues and problems, and obviously some of that is going to come from alfred raising him because you know, thats kinda how that works. i know a lot of batfam folks want bruce to be this great dad, so i guess their take on alfred fits that, but canonically, bruce wayne is an emotional mess and not the best father figure at the best of times.

you cannot look at that bruce wayne and tell me alfred did a good job.

listen, this shouldn't even be a hot take. it's just an opinion that differs from the most popular interpretation of Alfred as an endlessly giving grandmotherly old man.

the thing about Alfred is that more than anything you have to recognize that he's an enabler. and I love the man to pieces, but at absolute best he was extremely negligent in Bruce's upbringing, if not actively encouraging the world's worst coping mechanisms.

I hate to give Gotham credit for anything, especially when it comes to Alfred since I hate their Alfred, but the show was bang on in its insistence from day one that Alfred should not have been Bruce's primary guardian. it's painful to watch how often Alfred encourages Bruce to tough it out and suck it up, and it never really stops. in one of the latter seasons (four, I think) he hits Bruce hard enough to give him a black eye during an argument, and this is ultimately written as a situation in which Bruce needs to apologize to Alfred for being a bratty teenager, rather than Alfred owing Bruce an apology for hitting him when he's a grief-stricken teenage boy cracking under stress.

and like, listen, I understand there are Watsonian and Doylist layers to this. Alfred fundamentally can't have been a good enough guardian to stop Bruce from channeling his trauma into fursuit vigilantism, because then there's no story. I get it.

but jesus christ.

I don't think characterizations of Alfred as a stoic caregiver are wrong, but I do think people don't want to think about how he got there. when I see the aged Alfred patching up Bruce's wounds and nagging him to eat, or doing his best to offer advice to the kids who have gotten mixed up in Bruce's crusade, I see a man who realized a long time ago that he dropped the fucking ball and has dedicated his life to doing as much damage control as possible. okay, so, completely failed step one (raise a well-adjusted child). can we at least make sure that this basket case adult man doesn't go completely over the edge? can we make sure he doesn't become a killer? can we encourage him to take off the mask and be Bruce Wayne sometimes? can we keep the children safe?

I do think Alfred loves all of them, for whatever its worth. his care for Bruce is real, that is his son, the Batgirls and Robins are his extended family. he'll cook their uneaten meals and clean the entire, massive house himself and stitch them up every night forever. he would die for them. hell, he'd kill for them. he loves them. but none of that means he raised Bruce right.

that's kind of the thing I like most about the Bats: they all care so, so much. but the way they love is terrible.

[detective-dick-gumshoes-pot-room]

Reasons Why Akanidai is Perfect 😌

Making my long overdo ship essay because my friend finally coerced me.

Reason 1: Character compatibility

Akane is an incredibly energetic character who lacks a lot of emotional regulation and impulse control. Nekomaru is one of the only characters who can match her energy, but he's also a manager by trade. So, he winds up being the perfect fit to work with Akane's energy. They also tend to match each other's humor.

Where they really shine is Nekomaru's ability to be the only male character whom Akane doesn't feel the need to "Sell Herself" too. Which is something she has the tendency to do thanks to trauma. Nekomaru is one of the least perverted characters I would argue, and thus doesn't really give Akane the impression he's trying to get something out of her. Because he's not, his only motivation is to help Akane out in the long run. For someone like Akane, who has never been taken care of, that's a huge deal.

Reason 2: Their Canon Relationship

Akane has a very traumatic history. Without getting too far into it, she's pretty much been abused by every man (and people in general tbh) in her life up until this point. She doesn't trust people all the way. She doesn't bother learning names half the time because she's so used to people dying around her.

[That reflects in her time spent with Hajime. She forgets his name constantly in the freetime events. And even when they're working together (chapter 2) she's on edge around the guy. Preparing herself for the worst. ]

But not with Nekomaru. The two will spar anytime Akane runs into him. She never (to my knowledge) makes the same comments towards Nekomaru that she would to thr other guys. She feels actually safe about him. And that's further supportive by the whole "It" stick between the two. While the whole scene is played up for laughs as an innuendo, it's a big deal that Akane feels comfortable enough to let Nekomaru give her massages. Especially since she has trauma around that kind of touch specifically.

Akane is also very admiring of Nekomaru. Usually, when she's referring to him in dialog, it's comments about how he's the strongest guy she's ever seen. About how he motivates her and gets her excited to spar just from walking by. Which is incredibly sweet.

Meanwhile, for Nekomaru, Akane gives him a purpose. She's an athlete on the island who needs help in more ways than one, so he immediately takes responsibility over her. Taking care of her physical well-being, helping her train and develop her talents properly (something she never really learned to do because her skills were self-taught for survival). To the point where he insists he has to be the one to reign Akane in because he knows he's the only one who's going to get her to calm down.

So naturally, the two get closer and closer. Until Nekomaru steps in and takes the rocket hit for Akane. Something he does with absolutely no hesitance.

And boy, does Akane really shine in both instances where Nekomaru "dies". During the first incident, she's in a lot of shock and denial. Akane knows how bad she messed up and feels pretty guilty over it. But despite how quick she usually is to accept death, she doesn't here. She continues to insist that Nekomaru can't be taken down by something like that. She literally can't imagine a scenario where he dies in such a way (heavy denial and admiration at play). But Nekomaru? Assuming he's about to die, the only thing he can think of is to tell Akane to live.

When Nekomaru comes back as a robot, there's this air of awkwardness between them. Akane, for maybe one of the first times, feels incredibly guilty about what happened (despite her denial). Seeing Nekomaru in a completely new body must have been quite the shock. Knowing how badly hurt he was. But she buckles down and commits to paying him back for everything he's done for her.

During Chapter 4, however, when Nekomaru dies for real, Akane cries for the first (real time) in the game. Straight up wails when she finds out. And immediately goes to revenge as her only way to deal with the pain. Pain that other characters recognize as Chiaki encourages us to give Akane a moment alone with Nekomaru to mourn properly. Not to mention Gundham going out of his way to tell her that Nekomaru accepted his challenge and fought until the end (incredibly important for her to hear).

No one is really sure how Akane will react to this news, but they all acknowledge how much it hurts her. Which is saying a lot since Akane is constantly putting up a front to prevent looking weak.

Just looking at what the game tells us about the characters, Akane and Nekomaru are extremely close. Their relationship is built on a trust that's rare for Akane to give out. Nekomaru learns her boundaries and figures out ways to keep her mind off the situation, but more than that, he's constantly dedicated to keeping Akane safe. He takes two rocket shots for her and ultimately helps free the entire group from the funhouse.

Two incredibly close characters whose development in the story is tied into each other.

Reason 3: Despair Arc

This is a shorter note, but @monokuma-apologist pointed it out to me, and it is very important I think.

In the dreaded episode two of Despair arc, when Akane and Nekomaru feel the effects of the spiked soup, instead of going nuts like the rest of their classmates,

Nekomaru is just concerned about Akane at first, and the second she tells him to not touch her- He doesn't. Man respects her boundaries, and they both just end up staring at each other quietly for the rest of the time. Very much attracted, but very respectful still. It's so nice 🙂

Conclusion

Akane and Nekomaru make the perfect pair together. Akane has been hurt. Nekomaru knows that and adapts immediately. Akane trusts and opens up with Nekomaru on a level she just doesn't with the other characters. He helps her find her footing in the world and helps pull her from her survival instincts. And Akane gives Nekomaru motivation and purpose in an awful situation. As long as Akane is around, Nekomaru works his hardest to keep everyone's spirits light and make sure people are kept safe. As long as he's doing that, Akane can feel safe too.

But just on a basic chemistry level, it's hard to beat out a pair who match each other's energy so well. They're both loud, into roughhousing, can be a little dense, but both try their best to contribute. There's no real judgment between them. Just real, genuine affection and friendship.

And let's be real, the writers totally ship it. 😚

[Footnote: Me and my friend have the personal headcanon that the reason Nekomaru let's lose and trains so hard with Akane is because of his heart condition. It's always held him back, so once he gets put into a killing game where everyday could be his last he decides "fuck it" and tears up the beach with Akane because why not have some fun?]

[artemistorm]

A post in which I talk about how I, a Wild-centric fanfic author, like to characterize Wild /pos

So I've read a TON of Wild fics. Not all of them, but a whole bunch, and let me tell you, I love every version of Wild, every characterization. Brooding and angsty? Cool! Goofy and silly? Heck yeah! Competent experienced knight? Awesome! Feral gremlin? One of my favorites! I like kid!Wild, fox!Wild, wolf!Wild, winged!Wild, and every other variation I've come across.

So when I wanted to start writing Wild fics, I had to decide what way I wanted to portray him as: what felt right to me, what agreed with LU canon, what agreed with the game(s)... It was quite the head scratcher because all of those ways I mentioned earlier are valid and logical conclusions. I thought about it alot and this is what I came up with:

In BotW, Wild’s personality is primarily defined by two factors: his previous training or “programming” as a royal knight which although isn’t remembered, it is still there, serving as the framework guiding his thoughts and actions, and by his lack of memory (and baggage) and childlike lack of knowledge and experience of the world (remember when you started the game and he didn't know what an apple or a stick was?).

I had a breakthrough though when I was watching a BotW Let’s Play: I realized that Wild is basically every BotW Let’s Player ever (actually, every player) because everyone starts Breath of the Wild with their own life experiences guiding their thought processes and actions but they come to the game with no knowledge of how anything works in the game or what the story is.

So, all I had to do is write Wild like how I play him, or how my favorite Let’s Players play him: lighthearted and cheerful, pretty clueless about social interaction, wanting to help others but not knowing how to beyond providing practical help, logical and strategic problem solver but without memories, he ends up doing things in unorthodox ways. He's a talented fighter and can use any weapon, but big picture battle strategy is not his strong suit. He's a sticky-fingered goblin in the towns but he's always very helpful to anyone he meets.

While I do tend to write him as more the silly, goofy, gremlin style, I do recognize and include that he does have a troubled past, and he can be dramatically angsty and he does go wordless sometimes, but I figure there's a threshold for it. He's normally very resilient and bounces back easily from "Oh man, what an intense memory that was" to "ooh shiny carrot! Mine now!"

But there's a point when things get tough and he drops below the "bounce back" level, he can revert to his old knightly ways of silence, emotional suppression, anxiety, self-sacrificial tendencies, plus the troubles of having only 1-2 years-worth of memory/experience (and ADHD) like issues with emotional regulation, conflict resolution, excessive guilt, confusion, flashbacks, etc. I figure it takes a lot to knock him down to that level, but when it does happen, it takes a lot of time and support for him to revert back to his usual happy-go-lucky self.

In summary, to me, Wild is a cheerful goofy teenager, a scrappy and competent fighter, a knight with a troubled past, and a good kid.

******

What's you favorite way to portray Wild? I'd love to hear it. (But please keep your thoughts to yourself if you're going to be critical, a Wild hater, or if your input starts with "I dislike/hate it when..." I'd like to keep this post as positive as possible.)

[scramblecat]

okay scramble’s gonna get a lil unhinged with this one. But I already wrote it out for a server and all I gotta do is copy and paste SO:

About the Narrator and his Fears

[Putting it under a cut because it is. REALLY long as in like 700+ words long]

The Narrator is usually really good at keeping his composure when it comes to negative emotions, I feel like. He expresses happiness and excitement often enough, but the only times he cries (as in, voice audibly breaking) are the Zending and the Real Person ending.

So he’s shown to be distraught before. But panic? Full-on panic? There’s also only two instances where this happens, and that’s in the Skip Button Ending, and interestingly, the second time you go to the expo.

Now, the skip button ending is completely understandable. He’s being faced with the idea of being completely and utterly isolated for the foreseeable future, over and over and over again, getting longer and longer each time. Anyone would be afraid if they were in that position. At its surface, it’s a completely rational fear from the get-go.

But the expo? It’s… odd. He goes into the achievement room prepared to pop off with his whole ‘it doesn’t work YET’ thing, and then it does.

In the expo, it’s different. It’s not a high stakes situation, not by any means. But when the achievement machine works against all of the Narrator’s expectations, he panics. But not just in like an ‘ah uhm this is definitely what I meant to happen aha!’ way.

It takes him a moment to realize, but he verbalizes his train of thought, so we know exactly when he does.

The machine didn’t work before —> the Narrator didn’t do anything to it to fix it (implying that he didn’t have any sort of solution for it yet) —> it’s fixed anyways and he doesn’t know how —> someone else might have that knowledge —> there’s someone else here.

And that is the moment where he starts to panic. He sounds almost faint when he talks next, and he has to verbally tell himself to keep his composure— something we’ve never, ever heard him do before.

His breathing gets audibly strangled as he tries to finish his whole pitch, telling Stanley that everything is working as intended to cover up the anxiety he’s feeling. But he stumbles through it, and he finishes it with telling himself to breathe, to regulate the panic.

He straight up has like. A whole anxiety attack in front of us. It’s so UNLIKE him to be that afraid, and that REALLY makes it a moment that stands out.

There IS something that links the Skip Button and the Achievement Machine together— and that is CONTROL. Or, rather, lack thereof.

In the Skip Button Ending, yes, he’s scared of being alone. He makes many discoveries about his thought processes and how he works in that solitude, and realizes that talking isn’t his main purpose— it’s telling a story. Telling a story TO someone. He doesn’t feel like he has a purpose otherwise. And that’s the big root of the isolation part.

But otherwise? He spends the first few skips desperately looking for a way out. He panics when he can’t touch the room around him, when he realizes he’s trapped, and that he can’t do anything about it. He’s lost his control.

And it’s the same thing with the achievement machine. He THINKS he has complete control over the Parable and its contents. He really does. And then, something— or someone— fixes the machine for him. And all at once, his perception of what he can control comes absolutely crashing down on him. In that moment, he’s having a LOT of huge realizations:

He doesn’t have the control he thinks he does

He doesn’t know how much control he actually HAS, and it could be NONE

He and Stanley are not alone in the Parable, and are being watched

Whatever being is watching them has more power than he does, and could very well strip all of his control away from him

These realizations— that last one especially— are fucking terrifying to him!

The Narrator is obsessive about maintaining control over the events that transpire in HIS PARABLE, and the only times he shows negative emotions are when he cannot control a situation. It most often presents itself in annoyance at the very least, or a complete breakdown at its worst. And it’s all because he needs that control. He’s fearful of the idea that he can’t control a situation, because it makes him feel helpless and weak. He’s USED to having control, and when it’s taken away from him, he has no idea what to do.

He’s desperately trying to keep up this facade of ‘this is all fine and working as intended’ in front of Stanley after Stanley gets the achievement, even though it’s clear that he’s barely holding it together. His entire perception of his own control has collapsed in on itself, and has given in to one of his worst fears. And he’s really, really shaken up by it.

The Narrator’s greatest fear has been shown to be a lack of control. It’s quickly followed by the fear of isolation, obviously, but the fear of helplessness/weakness is present all through the games.

And THAT, folks, is why the Narrator freaks out in one (1) ending that nobody ever talks about!

[happilyobsessing]

12 & 25 for OTP asks?

Great prompts! Thank you very much for sending them over :)

If anyone else would like to send over a prompt, you can find the Obligatory OTP Asks post here.

12. Do they have many heated arguments? How do they smooth things over?

As sickeningly in love and communicative these two are, Weiler and Emmrich do have heated arguments (the argument before Tearstone Island? Chef's kiss, I was giddy for hours because it was so real) although these are rare as they are generally excellent at communicating. Weiler - for all the progress she makes - is reactionary and hot-headed and I personally believe that Emmrich can be very stubborn. Both can be prone to intense, overwhelming emotions and a fear of being hurt. If they are really getting into it, Weiler will lash out verbally (and has been known to throw things, although never at Emmrich) and storm out of a room, whereas I imagine Emmrich could be quite cold and emotionally retreat if really pressed. If they are going to have an argument then it will most likely be about the following things:

Weiler's lack of diplomacy during critical moments

Emmrich's tendency to be patronising towards her

Their age difference

Weiler's fear (and sometimes Emmrich's own fear) that he resents her for convincing him to save Manfred and abandon his dream of lichdom

These arguments never last for long, however. They have learnt the hard way after their traumatic separation at Tearstone Island to never let these arguments fester or to take one another for granted. Weiler will go and do something physical - running, training, swimming once she learns how to - to physically release her tension and clear her head. Emmrich will meditate, focusing on his regulating his breathing, and finds journaling very helpful. After a few hours apart, they will always come back together in a neutral space and clarify miscommunication, apologise for any blame and judgment, take responsibility for past and future words and actions, and think proactively about setting healthy boundaries and solutions for the future. Once resolved, they always seek physical touch from one another; holding hands, a kiss, or sometimes Weiler may crawl into Emmrich's lap for a cuddle (he doesn't mind being squashed by all of her long limbs).

25. Do they have any hobbies that they share?

It's actually surprising that Weiler and Emmrich get together in the first place because they are so different, and none more so than when it comes to their hobbies. Emmrich's hobbies stem from his vast intellect, his passion for analytical, theoretical thinking and conversation. He is always curious to expand his understanding, to learn as much as he can and share this with others. Weiler can't read or write and is incredibly intimidated by those she knows are smarter than her. Weiler struggles to sit still for long periods of time and is at her happiest when she is moving; she loves to run, climb, and train with Taash with heavy weights. Emmrich prefers to keep himself neat and tidy and dislikes the feeling of his sweaty skin. They don't feel the pressure to enjoy the same hobbies, however. It can be enough to just simply check in with one another or be in one another's presence (of an evening Emmrich is perfectly content to sit and read whilst Weiler plays solo card games). That being said, it is Emmrich who teaches Weiler how to swim given how close she has come to drowning an alarming number of times. And once she is confident in the water it is not uncommon that they will swim together, be it at the Rivani Coast, in the hot springs found in the Necropolis, or in the communal Lighthouse baths. Emmrich will swim leisurely; Weiler likes to practise handstands in the shallows; he will throw weighted objects into the deep end for her to retrieve; they will both compete to see how long they can hold their breath underwater (winner gets a kiss - there are no losers).

[gotta-pet-em-all]

Oh hi again! Um. Scrolling back I am compelled to inform you that autism is a neurological difference with strong genetic influence. That is, you're born with a brain that's wired differently than other people - not better or worse, just different. And it's not in vaccines, either. Being autistic isn't the same experience for every autistic person, but some common signs are extreme sensitivity or lack of sensitivity to sensory input, needing to regulate emotions in atypical ways, having trouble understanding the nonverbal cues of other people without explicit instruction, and having episodes where feeling overwhelmed is so powerful that you kind of become full of bees and lose some control because everything is exploding and it hurts and you have to let it out? I don't know if my attempt at explaining this is effective or the right thing to do in the first place but ohhhh my gods I cannot let the autism vaccine thing go even if it's a joke sorry

(@cinderpaw11)

Elle was at front, but she immediately left when she saw this. I'm going to try and parse it?

-neurological difference with strong genetic influence: so it's like something is up in the brain and it might run in the family? we don't know our extended family super well. Although, mom always said we had an aunt who hated people and loved trains, so...

-born with a brain that's wired differently. We have joltik infesting the wiring and chewing holes, not sure how much of a difference that makes.

-it's not in vaccines. Look, I don't actually care if it's in vaccines or not. Linnea hates them and makes us get a plushie for every time they stick a needle in us, but we don't get sick nearly as often. And honestly? I'm an adult with different priorities, I think we deserve a hot meal, but the plushies aren't bad either. If it works, it works.

-extreme reactions to sensory input: we don't actually have context for whether our reactions are normal or if everyone's just gaslighting us. same with not knowing the "typical" ways to regulate emotions.

-episodes of feeling overwhelmed and exploding bees: there's been a vote taken and we've decided not to unpack this one.

-not understanding nonverbal cues: oh those are for real bullshit.

Oh yeah-- Snowkit (new name pending) is interested in this, but he's kinda having his own thing going on right now. He's gotten Firestar's blessing and wants to leave the clans, officially.

overall, we're not really certain.

[cactusdeedrawdles]

Blessed be the fibro gods that allowed my hands to work today! (My legs though, they do not)

More of the fam! I haven't decided if I wanna make the bad guys a Polycule or just a big group of brothers, tho I'm leaning more towards Polycule (ignore that I wrote that they're K's brothers lol)

Ink loves his "big boy" training that the guys do with him (they're gonna make sure this kid can beat the shit out of someone if needed)

Ive kinda sorted out the first two boys of the group, Rust (Horror) and K (Killer) are just two fluffy "uncles" for Ink that will babysit Against His Parents Wishes sometimes (by that, I mean they'll basically be like "no, you guys need a break or you're gonna collapse, go take a couple days to nap and have fun, we've got the kid")

I think Dust is gonna be more absent than the other two, but not for lack of loving Ink, he just struggles to accept having a little kid around him again, or that he deserves that kind of unwavering love and trust (he raised paps from a babybones, here). He'll come around, for now he sneaks out of his room to drop off presents and scurries off like a rat if he's spotted.

Killer has been stable for a few years before Ink came around, as Dream and Nightmare work together to make a type of medicine for him to take to keep his emotions regulated. (I thought Special K was hilarious personally, and so did Thei when he realised the possibilities)

Horror is just fluffy horror boy, a big ole guy (like, Bara Sans size, he's a hunk o bone) that will keep ink on his shoulders while he cooks. He finds random clothes with blue in them that match nothing else he wears because he knows Ink likes matching with him (the blues are never the same, as this man is so blind it's not even funny but won't wear glasses)

The boys definitely have nostalgia binges watching shows with Ink (they both sob at Bluey secretely, Dust can't even try to watch it though, it's too emotional for him).

Night is a stable boi, as shown a bit in older posts, he and Dream are the same amount of fucked up, but Dreams just doesn't show physically. His magic is so strong that he can't even use it for fear of it getting out of hand, though. NM looks the same as canon but he wears his circlet, wearing the circlets keep him and Dream nice and warless. Helps that they get along fairly well after a very long and very brutal conversation that I'm tempted to write or maybe even draw. My mind is brimming with ideas for animatics and comics and fics and such and I have no time sjnjfnfksg (cmon brain, we work full time and have college full time we have no chance right now,,)

I used one reference here and was lucky enough that the of artist was in the photo, so its in the image!

[shinyhappysims]

Monday, 4:32 PM, Kamal household, Del Sol Valley

Jamilah: I figured since the Convention this year was in Del Sol Valley I’d come see you and dad. Shame I didn’t actually see you two at the convention though.

Isioma: Oh honey, we’re far too old for all that walking around. Why didn’t you bring the kids? I would’ve loved to see them!

Jamilah: Nonsense, Glory-Jane is getting good practice in by looking after them.

Isioma: Well—

Jamilah: I wonder why growing up you didn’t allow my sisters and I to assist in taking care of our younger siblings.

Isioma: Your dad and I firmly believed that we are the parents, so we would do the raising.

Jamilah: Perhaps that lack of training is why my siblings turned out the way they did.

Isioma: Jam Jam, stop. There’s nothing wrong with your siblings.

Jamilah: But there is! None of them follow God’s word the way it was written! And they mock me for doing so!

Isioma: Alright, can I be honest with you? When you were younger you had a lot of problems regulating your emotions. As a result you really threw yourself into religion. I didn’t think much about it because I was so proud to have a young child invested into God’s word. I should have talked to someone about it though. It’s become a bit… all-consuming for you.

Jamilah: Mom, how can you even say that? How does one live for Christ if they don’t live for him fully?

Isioma: Genuinely asking. Do you have one hobby that doesn’t involve religion somehow? Do you have any conversations with friends about things other than God? That’s all I mean. It’s okay to live. Going to therapy has helped your dad and I process a lot of the struggles we’ve been through. Prayer is a good thing but there are tools on Earth to help us too.

Jamilah: Therapy? What? Mother you sound so… worldly. What could a therapist do that God couldn’t?

Isioma: Jamilah… *groans* This may sound blunt, but you’re blunt so this might be the only way I can get you to understand. Do you ever think you might have OCD or anxiety or something? Maybe even autism? I don’t know. It’s just that… You stay hyper-focused on being perfect in the eyes of God, despite the fact we raised you to know He will always love you. Like, you miss the point of things. A lot.

Jamilah: Excuse me? Are you saying there’s something wrong with me?

Isioma: No, Jamilah. And thanks for proving my point, even though you completely missed it. I’m just saying seeing a specialist might help you understand why it is you think the way you do.

Jamilah: Ugh, no. That sounds dumb. Those conditions are all made up anyways. I’m gonna head back to my hotel now.

Isioma: *sighs* Alright then, honey. I love you.

[irena-dubrovnaa]

do you have any ghostbat hcs that you can grace me with <3??

OH BOY DO I!!! some these are brutaliakhoa but most are ghostbat ☝

khoa isn't a huge cuddler in general but he knows when bruce gets overstimulated he just likes to be squeezed bc it helps him self regulate, autistic bruce ftw 💪

bruce doesn't introduce khoa to the kids. khoa just runs into them on patrol or around town and can tell bc they all act like him whether it's very obvious or not

khoa immediately clocks damian as talia's kid bc he looks just like her but acts mostly like bruce, he finds it endearing

damian cass and dick are khoa's favorite kids

khoa isn't the "step dad" or even weird uncle, he's just "dad's bf" to everybody. except damian and jason, they always refer to him as "mom and dad's bf"

khoa is really big on presents. he finds them kinda redundant bc anything he can buy bruce, bruce can already buy for himself but he knows that he and bruce are both very terrible with words to express things, and khoa already lacking certain emotions has an especially hard time, so he buys little things like bruce's favorite take out or a lil chocolate bar every now and again as a token of appreciation

they play wrestle literally all the time. they say its "training" but everybody calls bullshit

duke was actually one of the first bat kids to meet khoa and it was by complete accident

on the rare occasion that talia, bruce, and khoa are all together khoa and talia take it upon themselves to embarrass the fuck out of bruce by telling the kids stories about him when he was younger

khoa will sometimes just attack him with swords to test brucs's reflexes, it's especially funny when bruce Also has swords on hand

khoa likes to drag bruce to the archery range every now and again because bruce always forgets he's a trained archer and khoa won't let those skills become dull

khoa likes to steal the batmobile when bruce leaves it unattended, one time a little 12 y/o damian was in the backseat and simply didn't question it

in return bruce vandalizes khoa's dinosaur

khoa will sometimes leave little gifts for the kids in the cave like damian with some extra treats for his pets or a gift card to a skate shop for tim and bruce loves it because he can tell the little gestures mean a lot to the kids

ra's initially thought khoa and bruce were a thing when they were with the league of assassins and was always confused as to why his daughter was going on dates with 2 clearly gay men 💀 bi4bi4bi brutaliakhoa my loves

khoa gets along pretty well with selina and even when selina and bruce inevitably break up again khoa keeps seeing her because he enjoys her sense of humor

THATS ALL OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD BUT LMK IF YOU WANT MORE

[goemon-fan]

does goemon have autism?

I hear this talked about all the time on here, and I'd like to look into it.

Many sources on autism in adults repeat one another, so I will primarily use this one (https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326841).

This beginning line of the article immediately draws my attention:

"Autism symptoms in adults may include difficulty making conversation, social anxiety, and limited interest in only a few activities."

To be brief, this description is applicable to Goemon. While the "social anxiety" cannot be verified other than his tendency for shyness, "difficulty making conversation" and "limited interest[s]" are present within Goemon's character. He is exceptionally quiet, speaks very formally even among friends, and has limited interests pertaining to being a samurai.

Thankfully, this site conveniently provides a list of autism criteria. I will be adding a point to every trait Goemon possesses.

"Common signs and symptoms of ASD [autism spectrum disorder] in adults can include:

difficulty making conversation (+ 1 )

difficulty making or maintaining close friendships (+ 1 )

discomfort during eye contact (+ 1 )

challenges with regulating emotions (+ 1 )

extreme interest in one particular topic (+ 1 )

frequent monologues on the same subject or subjects (+ 1 )

hypersensitivity to sounds or smells that do not seem to bother others

involuntary noises, such as repetitive throat clearing

difficulty understanding sarcasm or idioms

lack of inflection [range of voice/tone] when speaking (+ 1 )

limited interest in only a few activities (+ 1 )

preference for solitary activities (+ 1 )

problems reading the emotions of others

trouble understanding facial expressions and body language

reliance on daily routines and difficulty dealing with change (+ 1 )

repetitive behaviors

social anxiety

superior abilities in a particular field, such as mathematics or other disciplines

the need to arrange items in a specific order

Autistic people will not usually have all the above signs and symptoms, and they may experience others that are not on the list."

Out of the list of 19, Goemon reliably meets 10 traits [the list in actuality should be made smaller, as we have no way of knowing whether Goemon has social anxiety/trouble understanding facial expressions/the other internal traits].

Something that stuck out to me were the "discomfort during eye contact" and "challenges regulating emotions" points, because there is a scene in Lupin III: the First dealing with exactly this.

Goemon is made to leave behind Zantetsuken to allow a passage for his friends, and upon learning what he must do he explodes in anger. There is also a scene where the other characters question him, and he looks to the ground, looks back up quickly, and looks back to the ground.

Goemon also heavily relies on routine, with having a strict training schedule and wanting to know the specifics of a heist beforehand. There is a scene in Part 1 where Goemon storms off after Lupin is late to their meeting and Lupin announces Fujiko will now be joining their heist, and although it was written with misogynistic overtones it is autistic in nature; Goemon wants to meet at a set time, follow the preorganized plan/routine, and gets disproportionately angry towards seemingly small things.

There are many other scenes applicable to this diagnostic criteria, but I have to assume that you know a reasonable amount about Goemon to evaluate this yourself, otherwise we'd be here all day.

So, does Goemon have autism? I do not know for sure, as he isn't real. But it is very likely.

[lenievi]

TOS-tober day 6 (triumvirate prompts)

Favourite romantic duo?

My doorway to mckirk was the bar scene between them in Beyond. That was the first scene I saw from AOS, and only after that I watched the films in order. Because it was the their "final" AOS dynamic that I fell in love with, I feel it's only logical (lol) that I would also like everything about their TOS version because Beyond is the closest to TOS in feeling and characterization (even though I'd still say it's closer to TOS films rather than the show itself).

Yesterday, I said that the spones dynamic is the most engaging, and it is. But Kirk and McCoy's relationship has always been my favourite. It took me a bit to cross the line into the romantic nature of it, but I'm embracing it fully now~

When it comes to Kirk and McCoy in TOS, their relationship is the most quiet, in a way. Their most important scenes are at the beginning of s1, and when you don't get on that train early, it's easy to just miss it imho Not that there aren't good scenes as far as s3 (but they're mostly part of the triumvirate scenes, and Spock-McCoy overshadow the Kirk-McCoy angle), and then the films are just full of mckirk scenes, but at that point, I feel like most people are just focused elsewhere. The lack of fanworks doesn't help either, unfortunately.

But from early on, you know that Kirk and McCoy are close friends. McCoy approaches Kirk in a way no one else does, and Kirk lets his guard around McCoy down. He shares his doubts with him, and he's often willing to listen to McCoy without telling him he doesn't need to be psychoanalyzed. Even though there's literally no need in 90% of cases, Kirk will take McCoy with him on most missions. The show itself even acknowledged how neither of them were necessary in landing parties, but Kirk's need for exploration include McCoy around and giving McCoy opportunities to study things. Which is then again reflected in TMP, where Kirk just needs to have McCoy with him and pesters an admiral to grant him that need.

At times, McCoy sees Kirk through rose-coloured glasses and he cares about him so much, but he's also afraid that Jim will push himself (and also others) above his limit. Kirk is someone who is 100% dedicated to his job, his ship, and his crew, and McCoy is afraid that it will consume him one day - stress, duty, regulations, pressure. He's afraid that Spock will enable Jim to continue on a path of cold logic and forget himself. Destroy himself. And so he makes sure that he can always try and pull Jim back. And Jim? Jim would be lost without McCoy. (McCoy is so important to him.) He might not acknowledge it, but he needs to occasionally hear what McCoy has to say. McCoy is his connection with a world outside of "command" - McCoy specifically isn't welcome in that world. He can question Jim himself, but he can't question Kirk's command decisions. It's not his place.

They're both genuinely fond of each other and they understand each other. And they can hurt each other the most because they know where it would hurt the most. They have a strong emotional connection that isn't diluted too much by professionalism and the chain of command, but it's still an important part of their dynamic.

All of this works for me as a basis for them as a romantic ship where I can exaggerate some of it and mold it into something that I enjoy, that can be a little bit messed up. In a way, "I need you. Damn it, Bones, I need you. Badly." & McCoy killing a living being twice because of Kirk is an important part of the way I ship them.

But at the end of the day, I love Kirk and McCoy's relationship in any way, and I honestly don't know how to properly describe what their friendship in TOS means to me. And it's all thanks to one youtube video of their AOS versions having a drink together in a dimply lit bar.

[prompts]