#which is that people can be wished BACK into existence

[vee-the-ghostie]

I don't necessarily enjoy posting this stuff on my blog, but I'm hoping it will have a lighter tone than it initially seems.

So I saw a Facebook friend of mine share a post saying that Texas is introducing a bill that criminalizes all gender affirming care, including for adults. Now this is bad and we can all agree this is bad, for reasons both directly and indirectly related to this prohibition.

However, I propose that this present and amazing opportunity for us in The Trans Community as a whole.

See my mind can't help but wander back to my school days and learning US History. The Prohibition of the 1920s specifically comes to mind. Now this may be a false equivalency, but there are some similarities in these two situations: it's a pointless law that targets a significant number of American people. (There's probably more similarities but my brain doesn't want to function fully right now.)

Now when you think Prohibition your first thought might be bootlegs or bootleggers. This could be a problem in the face of what we're dealing with today considering this is a prohibition of medical treatment instead of drinks for recreational use. For instance, the easiest option for those who want to continue their medical transition would be to order their medications online, which is an option that can and will be taken advantage of by people who wish to harm the trans community in any way they can.

But there's another key word that comes to mind when thinking of the Prohibition of the 1920s:

Speakeasy.

That's right. I think this is an opportunity for the trans community to band together and form "speakeasy"-esque gender care clinics. These will be trustworthy businesses who can reliably source quality HRT medications for people in states with gender care prohibitions. Ideally, they will be run by trans people who practice medicine, but failing that we can bring in allied doctors and/or nurses who can prescribe medications for their trans patients. Failing that, we can have them run by trans people who have been on these prescriptions and know a lot about them.

Now there is a chance that if news gets out about these, there will be new laws put in place to crack down on such practices. But perhaps we could use this to our advantage. If there are clinics that give out unreliable and dangerous prescriptions and generally not taking care of their patients, they can be ratted out and shut down.

Is this a ridiculous and stupid idea? Perhaps. Am I the first person who's thought of this? Probably not. Are there numerous issues that I've glossed over that will complicate the implementation of such a stupid idea? Most definitely. But if our country is being led by stupid people who put stupid laws in place to fight our beautiful existence, then why can't we use stupid ideas to fight back. Besides, if we can get the right people involved, then those numerous issues may become much less numerous.

-V

Tagging people I think could blow this up

@catboybiologist @sharkgirldick @i-am-a-fish @punkitt-is-here @nyancrimew @bisexual-engineer-guy

[shimmershifts]

admission... i don't believe we shift every second.

i know, i know! this may be controversial, it seems almost everybody else in the shifting community does believe that. my goal with this post is not to change peoples minds, so if you do believe that and you don't want to hear any other theory, no need to read further. but if you're interested in a different perspective, you can find one below!

to be clear, i will not be directly arguing against the idea that we shift every second (meaning, i won't be listing out other peoples beliefs and then explaining why i think they're wrong, because that's just rude and unnecessary, i respect anyone who believes differently than me.) i'll just be explaining what i do believe. without further ado:

Dimension Theory

(aka, just more of shimmer's thoughts and ideas)

what is the dimension theory?

i've already made a post with more details about the dimensions themselves, so i won't repeat too much. the basic idea is that all of 3D (space,) 4D (time,) and 5D (reality) exist simultaneously, and our limited ability to perceive them from the bodies we inhabit is what limits our understanding and ability to traverse them. reality shifting, then, is the method by which we "move" in a fifth dimensional direction (although "movement" is more of a 3D thing, the word works for this abstract understanding. just saying to be clear, you're not actually moving in the 3D sense when you shift.)

so do we shift every second? are we traveling to a different 5D reality with every choice we make? personally, i don't think so, and the following is what i do think!

we perceive one reality at a time

due to the limitations of the 3D bodies we inhabit, we are only aware of perceiving one point of the 5D at a time, meaning, one "reality" at a time. you're currently perceiving "this reality" which is a concept i'll shorten to "CR" sometimes just for ease of writing this. while our limited perception of 4D (time) means we perceive time passing by in this reality linearly... it actually doesn't. all of this reality, and all of time, already exists. every decision and every action has already happened. the breakfast you (CR self) are going to eat 3 weeks from now? it's already happened, because all of time and reality already exists, and if you (awareness) don't happen to shift to a different reality "between now and then" (in the linear sense of time,) that's what you (awareness) be having. if you (awareness) do shift away, you (CR self) will still have that breakfast.

we can shift between realities

we shifters believe it is possible to shift from one point of the 5D (reality) to another. for example, i can shift from this reality (CR) to a hogwarts reality (DR). a key note here, is that it is only your awareness (perception, point of view, or integrated linear experience) that shifts across realities. your CR self stays here, and continues to live and experience this reality, because it's already happened, all of this "timeline" already exists.

now, there is a separation between your awareness, and all your selves. you (awareness) and you (CR self) and you (DR self) are different. intertwined, of course, but not the same.

so what if you (CR self) make a choice? does that mean you (awareness) shifted to a new reality where you (DR self) made that choice, or were you simply already aware of the reality where you (CR self) make that choice?

for example, what if i (CR self) decide to buy a littlest pet shop, and then i do. did i shift to an alt CR where i do that, or was i simply already in the reality where i (CR self) buy a littlest pet shop? personally, i think its more often the latter, in most cases.

but what if i (CR self) saw something i wanted at the store, went home, and then wished id bought it. well, i could stay within this reality (CR), go back tomorrow and buy it. OR i could shift realities, to a different reality (DR) where i already did buy it. and what about "future" things? if everything has already happened because all of 4D exists at once, can we shift to a reality where our future is different than the one here? sure! in this reality, it's impossible for me to get a letter to hogwarts and hop the train and head to school at the start of term. for one, i'm not 11, i'm not british, it's not september, and unfortunately hogwarts doesn't exist here. but i could hypothetically decide to shift realities right to one where none of those things are problems. i could shift to a reality where any age can go to hogwarts, there's a hogwarts in every country, school terms start in march, and also hogwarts is real. or i could shift to a reality where a secret agent will come to my house tomorrow and deliver a free lamborghini and my winnings for the lottery tickets i didn't buy in this reality. obviously, those things wouldn't be in this reality (CR) but a different one.

but shimmer! does that mean some people never shift?

maybe! i doubt it, though. i suppose there is a chance there's someone out there who was born into their CR and literally never shifted. but i think occasionally, people accidentally shift to an alt CR, and maybe never notice it, and some do notice! i doubt it's happening all that frequently, but i do think that people who are intentionally trying to shift might accidentally do this more frequently. if we're focusing on shifting, i definitely can see how that would increase the chances of shifting away from your CR, even if it's to an alt CR and not the DR you were trying for.

have you ever tried to shift to your DR, and afterwords something seemingly random was just off about your CR? like your walls are a different color (and everyone else says it's always been that shade,) furniture is missing (and everyone else says you never had it,) your appearance changed (and everyone else says it's always been that way?) my theory is that you successfully "loosened" your awareness from your old CR, but simply failed to direct it to the DR you wanted, effectively shifting to a slightly different reality, or for shorthand, an alt CR. but it may also happen when we're not trying. during a big life moment, or even a little tiny one, have you ever felt the course of "fate" changed? something just felt different, and nothing was the same as it would've been? it's interesting to think about things like déjà vu, jamais vu, psuedomemories, or similar experiences and wonder if these could be signs someone accidentally shifted. (but these things can also be explained by other phenomena, so it's likely not always the case.)

but shimmer! are you saying i can't shift at any second?

nope! just because i think we're usually living through time linearly in a single point of reality doesn't mean we don't have the capacity to shift to a different one at any time. you could shift to a different reality at any time, because time isn't actually linear or preventing you from shifting in any way. every time exists all at once, so "any time" is kind of an odd concept resulting from our linear perception of it anyways. it's every time, always.

i just think that because we (3D bodies) are not actually moving linearly through time or space.... and yet our awarenesses perception and understanding of reality and time is that of a linear experience, it makes sense to suggest that we (awarenesses) are integrating the experience of one reality in a linear fashion. for whatever reason, that's how our awareness understands, perceives, and integrates experiences of realities, likely due to the limitations of the 3D bodies it "views" reality through. the actions or movements of our 3D bodies don't make us shift, not our CR or any DR selves. we (CR selves) are already in this reality (CR), all of time and space here already exists. and we (awarenesses) shift by integrating the linear experience of another reality with the one we have of this own. i hope that makes any sense, but i'll also be making another post soon(ish) about "what awareness is, anyways." (i'll try to link it here when it's up.)

[magix-winx-club]

My biggest issue with the Walking Dead (please do not take the way I wrote it down too seriously! And if you do not agree, that is totally fine). I love twd, and overall, I don't mind many of the storylines I wrote down. I mostly observed that female narratives are not prominent on their own, and female characters often "lack" something. This is not meant to critique twd. Specifically, it is more meant as an observation

Female storylines are always tied to men or motherhood. And why Beth's Grady storyline was so important and her death disrespectful to female narratives

(Yes, the always is a bit hyperbole, but hear me out)

1. Lori and the Shane/Rick issue leading to her death. Basically, a woman is moving on "too soon" or "cheating" on her husband, specifically with his best friend. Leading to conflict between the men and results in pregnancy. Therefore, she is punished by the narrative, which is why she dies violently in childbirth. (This is often seen in American literature/TV bc of puritanical values still existing in the underlying foundation of American media. Source: Trust me bro been studying this kinda literature for years now)

2. Carol and the children she loses (seasons 2, 4, and 9) do you guys (twd writers) not have any other use for Carol then "oh look at this poor mother" not a her own person but specifically a mother especially the stupid Henry dies storyline. Carol can be angry and have rage and pain outside of motherhood. I would not be so hard on this storyline if we would have given any talks people (specifically daryl) have with Alpha to Carol. Really draw on the one thing these two have in common -motherhood. I mean, if you make it about motherhood with Alpha and Lydia and Carol and Henry's death, then commit. damn it!

3. Maggie and Glenn. Right from the beginning, the storyline of maggie was just Glenn (yes, she lost her family and the struggle of Beth's suicidal ideation), yet we still get more screen time with just Glenn. I wish we would see her bond with the group because of her own character. For example, Lori and Maggie talk about Glenn in season 2, the constant back and forth in season 2 between her and Glenn, (aren't there more problems rn?), the SA from the governer is still tied to Glenn (yes the show called it out but it was still about Glenn and then once the conflict between them was resolved it never came up again), Glenn gets sick, Glenn and her are separated, Glenn has to help her get over Beth's death, Maggie is pregnant, Glenn is killed. Yes, she has some other storylines, but the most prominent ones are always with Glenn or because of what happened to Glenn.

4. Andrea's grief and struggle with suicide made about Dale, her relations in the group is primarily male (Dale and Shane), her storyline with the governor. She trusted an evil man and wasn't "loyal" to our prison family, so she ended up dying.

5. Beth's death to save Noah. Noah, having to go back to Grady, triggers the event that leads to Beth's death (I am NOT saying noah is the reason for Beth's death because he isn't). Then, her death is used for male pain, specifically Daryls.

6. Michonne, her boyfriend, male friend, and child. Her arc begins with the death of her child and boyfriend and the male friend. She has the two walkers who were once her boyfriend and male friend. She sees them as responsible for her sons death. After she shuts down and only starts to open up once she is with Andrea, which I think would have been a great storyline to show female friendship and help, it can provide with grieving. But then we have her antagonist be a man, and her anger against the governor takes vocal point to her original storyline with Andrea. Then, she connects mostly to male characters such as Carl, Rick, and Daryl.

7. Karen's kid died in the governers war (I think it was the one Carl shot), but we only see her in relation to Tyreese, and then she dies)

Yes there are definitely exceptions and I do not remember much past season 5 since personally once Beth died I got uninterested since female characters and their narratives where too male centric and their death only done for the Male Pain.

HOWEVER, I do think it is important to show storylines like Michonnes, which I thought was so well done. And the start of Carol's arc in the first 2 seasons (I wish we actually got to see the change in her progress I found the contrast from season 2 to season 3 and especially killing Karen and David to stark and abruptly but that is my opinion. If you think it was well done and you liked it, then that is totally fine! My opinion does not take away from yours they can co-exist).

Beth's arc was so important and interesting since she was completely cut off from her family, so there no ties to any male characters from our family. (That said, I LOVED her and Daryls storyline) Anyway, she is experiencing female specific violence (yes, men can experience it too, but it is predominantly female) such as silencing, kidnapping, forced labor, manipulation/gaslighting and sexual threat/violence. She is fueled by her own desire to escape, not for example because Noah inspires her to which would make her narrative male centric again. She is her own narrative who happens to have a male friend.

I could write a whole essay on this, and maybe I will, but I just wanted to get my thoughts out there.

[jackkal]

im thinking abt making a tiktok explaining why the lich's wish altered reality existing in adventure time makes sense, because ppl don't seem to get it and i understand that because it is soo confusing but i've thought about it a lot and i'm confident i FINALLY figured it out

[lucabyte]

On autonomy, and what it means to be Obliged to Help.

Bonus:

[parchmentknight]

forgot about cole cassidy guys.... he was so Eye-Catching to young me (2016)..... he is literally Cowboy..... i wish i was him so bad

[kindafooey]

two wolves type situation. one is telling me to not go overboard with the historical research because it can and will come off as annoyingly pedantic and a bit of a weird flex that might potentially estrange a part of the audience. the other is making me look up maps showing the specific dates on which railways in the invaded areas were fixed and reutilized for military use

[blueish-bird]

sorry if I don’t remember your name or conversations/experiences or basic things about myself, every few weeks my brain gets factory reset and I have to relearn how to be alive

[em-dashes]

now that suddence is out to betas i'm oscillating between getting more and more self conscious and overthinking about everything that might be wrong with the story vs. knowing that is literally THE POINT of betas and i can't in good conscience let my story slide out into the world with a bunch of faults i didn't catch simply because i was too close to it

[running-in-the-dark]

I'm so desperately bored rn. can't do anything. because all I want to do is think about Dan or Jenkins. but I don't want to let myself do that because then I'll lie down and fall asleep and the day will be over and it'll feel like I didn't do anything.

can't even watch anything. nothing feels right. I'm. so bored. I tried drawing but. nope. head empty.

[sketchtastrophee]

old art again!! this time a rough animation of sawyer and yarnaby 😎 (looks better if u click to view 😭)

im working on a short ppt animation rn. im thinking i should post it to my youtube channel, though im not sure if people here would see it. i think i can link videos on here?? idk

okay I'm gonna talk abt more chapter 4 stuff.. this time about prototype's previous identity.. ch4 spoilers and also a theory below..

hiding the solo yarnaby under here LOL

people theorized 1006 was elliot, which was recently disproven in the chapter 4 tape where poppy refers to elliot as her dad and wishes he were there. in the same tape she addresses prototype as a completely different person. also recall that elliot died in the 90s, meanwhile prototype met theo in 1989. so yeah, they aren't the same person

I've also seen people say rich is prototype, which cannot be true either. in a ch4 tape he speaks to one of the employees under his supervision. the kid mentions his coworkers joking about him going missing. before the bbi, it would not make sense for this to be a common rumor at the company, which means this tape had to happen after harley was hired in 1990; at a time when the company would have a reason to silence people

prototype existed in 1989 at the minimum, but considering he says "it's always been about you and me" to poppy, he's likely the prototype of HER. she's elliots daughter, she died in the 60s, meaning prototype was probably created around that time as well.

this means that rich can't be the prototype because he was human long after prototype was made

if you want my take on who prototype truly is, i'd say his identity doesn't necessarily matter. i don't mean to say his origins aren't important, just that his name and specific role in the past probably doesn't mean anything in the long run. i've never believed he was elliot or rich, and maybe in the future i'll be proven wrong but for now i'll tell you the theory i've had since june of last year

elliot's daughter dies in the 60s. he divorced his wife in 1930, so his daughter is probably in her 30s when she dies. she gets sick or injured, maybe she's actively dying or already dead by the time elliot begins his research. he looks for ways to bring her back, but it doesn't work on the rats (as he mentioned a note in the 2nd chapter)

so what does he do? he tries it on something bigger as he said he would: a human. of course he's not going to try this experimental method on his own daughter, even if she's already dead, so he finds someone else to use it on. we know that elliot wasn't evil or anything, so it's unlikely he killed anybody to use for the experiment. considering the orphanage isn't open yet (it opened in the 70s, not the 60s), prototype probably wasn't an orphan child either. if i run with my simple version of the theory, elliot may have dug up a body in a graveyard and used that. maybe a fresh one, who knows. he tried it, it worked, then he revived his daughter with the same method.

this is likely what harley wanted to know about in the chapter 3 tape (the "i learn something new about you every day" one), and also what prototype is asking harley to figure out in the ch4 tape they're both in. in that case, sawyer never actually figured out how to revive people with the poppy substance. sure, he can transfer people into the toys, but he can't bring anybody back to life

more reason to believe prototype and poppy are of the same "batch" is because it seems they are the only two who don't need food. it's outright stated about him in the ch1 trailer, and insinuated with her saying the "toys will starve otherwise" when she's talking about how nasty them eating humans is. she refers to them, not herself. her and prototype are probably the only 2 who were ever brought back from the dead, which circles back around to his monologue and gives meaning to the "it's always been about you and me, poppy. what we are". when i heard him say that i felt like my theory was lowk confirmed 😭😭

no guarantee this is right, but it's been my guess for a long time

[indefiniteavatar]

So basically, in a case about him shoving money at someone so they shut up about him. . .he can’t shut the fuck up himself. I would say something clever and funny here, except the sad part is that this is just so normal in current politics that it’s just. . .not hilariously absurd behavior anymore? Not to say that it’s not absurd - it is beyond such, but it is just. . . predictable, I suppose.

I guess this is how I feel about politics lately? Either I get mad at everything or I try to laugh at everything and normally that works because politicians usually aren’t so tragically stupid so very often, but now I just kinda have to chuckle at the particularly eyeroll worthy things like this, and try to ignore everything else or my brain will explode.

[pukicho]

Puki I wanna know how you feel about Christianity

Gee, u really wanna know? Should I get deep?? Mind u I'm not a theologist or philosopher, so if I sound stupid to those more versed in this shit, feel free to tell me WHY. Anyway here's my view:

I've been a self-proclaimed atheist since my early teens. Of course, as a 13 year old, I held too much confidence in my beliefs; it's likely any learned theist at the time would've absolutely obliterated my arguments on the subject. I felt an underserved sense of intellectual superiority for quite some time, reinforced by the thought that belief only worked given proof, which ignored the inherently nebulous nature of such a thing. So, that was me back then! Now, I believe things a bit differently: in an argument derived from logic, I haven't been convinced ... and tbh, spiritualism is simply not useful to me - but philosophy is!

Not to play too heavily into Christian apologetics, but since a lot of philosophy IS the interplay between science and theology, Christianity has a big influence in the field. In searching through this nebulous field, we can help define the structure for our beliefs - religious or otherwise. It's the grounding-element for all human belief, which is pretty important. Even if it's not empirical, it's a lot more functional than theology all on its own - and that's something that someone who wants tangible arguments for God can get behind! There exists God in this field, whether science wishes for it to or not, and vice versa. So, though I don't believe outright in a God, I am not ignorant to the forces it holds in this field, and am flexible in its terms for the sake of exploration in this field.

I have respect for clever Christians. Emphasis on clever. The problem I have with theism is its self-assuredness: it CAN be one of the strongest reinforcements for one's belief, but it can also be used as a crutch, justifying a lazily-thought-out version of that same belief; or occasionally, a more dangerous variant. In Christian Nationalism, there lacks a healthy consideration as to 'why' someone believes what they believe. Scarier still, certain people conflate 'why' to sacrilege - instead of simply seeing it as a means to empower their faith through healthy scrutiny. God never granted us free will to flee from such questions. Clearly, these people are not self-assured in the proper-sense, instead choosing to live in willful-ignorance, fighting in crazed-belligerence towards those who disagree.

A learned Christian can comfortably ask themselves 'why' and end the exercise feeling more confident in their beliefs, whilst applying it compatibly to our modern society. I never have issues with these Christians and even think they're pretty awesome!

So that's the issue, a good Christian can mean two things: someone who's well-versed and educated in their beliefs - and someone who blindly obeys the words of a commercialized megachurch pastor, ad-libbing the Bible to fit their skewed agenda - the latter is DANGEROUS.

END

[enderlovez]

A Little Timid

Spencer Reid x Shy Female Reader WORD COUNT: 1100+

Summary: You bring Spencer something for dinner during a particularly stressful case. One thing, though—nobody else knows you exist.

Content Warning: Spencer is overworking himself and forgetting to eat, reader has a sister and a niece/nephew (not specified), pet names

────── ꒰ঌ·✦·໒꒱ ──────

You and Spencer have been dating for nearly three years, and throughout that time he's visited your workplace more times than you can count. Usually to spend your lunch breaks with you, sometimes just so he can sit and be in your company as you work.

Which your boss is completely fine with, for some reason unknown to you.

Oftentimes you find yourself wishing you could do the same for him, on the nights where he doesn't come home until stupidly late, but every time you bring up maybe bringing him lunch on your days off, he shoots you down entirely. Like a bird out of the sky, or some other stupid simile you can't be bothered trying to come up with.

It's quite different for him, being a federal agent and such, working with sensitive subjects and often in harsh environments, so you suppose it does make sense that he would want to keep you away from all that. Still, you can't help but feel a little hurt and slightly embarrassed every time he denies your requests.

And yet...

"You sound tired," you comment softly, stirring the pot of chicken soup in front of you.

"Mhm."

"Have you eaten anything yet?"

There's no response, which is answer enough for you.

"Lovey, you need to eat," you say with a sigh, putting down the spoon you were stirring with and lean back against the counter beside the stove.

"I know," he mumbles quietly.

You pull your bottom lip between your teeth, eyes turned down to the ground. "I'm making chicken soup, I could bring you some for dinner, if you'd like?" you suggest weakly. "And some of the bread I finished making earlier. You know, I could sit with you for a while."

Before he's even responded, you're bracing yourself for rejection.

"That would be nice," he sighs.

Immediately, the tension in your body melts away, a tiny smile making its way onto your face.

"You want me to bring one of those cinnamon rolls you like, too?"

"Yes please..." His voice is so quiet, you're sure he's practically falling asleep at his desk.

"Okay, I'll be there in ten minutes."

────── ꒰ঌ·✦·໒꒱ ──────

Spencer doesn't really think about much when he hangs up the phone. Only that he's really hungry right now, and that he really likes your chicken soup.

The fact that his coworkers don't even know you exist doesn't cross his mind once. Only when you're actually walking into the bullpen, does he realize he should've given them a bit of a heads up, because everyone is looking at you now.

No horrible looks, of course, they're only curious of who you are and why you're here, but you've never particularly liked people looking at you. It makes you feel all anxious and jittery.

Your eyes quickly scan the room (definitely taking note of all the people watching you) and when you finally find your target, a small smile makes it onto your face, despite the discomfort.

He pulls another chair over to his desk as you make your way over, walking just a little faster usual, and place one of those reusable supermarket bags in front of him.

"Hey there," you murmur, bringing his hand to your face so you can press a soft kiss to the back of it. This time, he doesn't even mention how many stupid pathogens can be passed through your hands.

"Beautiful girl," is all he says, quiet and uncharacteristically drowsy, as he reaches into the bag and pulls everything out. Two perfectly warm thermoses, a brown paper bag with some of your fresh bread inside, and two saran-wrapped cinnamon rolls that you've already heated.

You chuckle softly, taking your share of the food and offering him a hunk of warm bread.

Spencer bites off a chunk of the bread and really takes a look at you, now that you're distracted with your own soup. You're wearing a baby pink milkmaid dress, the same one you wore to your sisters baby shower last year, and a white cardigan with little flowers embroidered all over it.

He gifted you the plain cardigan, you were the one who added all the flowers and personal touches.

"I really appreciate this," he hums, finally opening the thermos of soup and spooning some of it into his mouth with one of the metal utensils you brought with you.

"I'm always happy to bring you food when you need it, lovey. Even when you don't necessarily need it, I'll come running," you say in a low voice, sipping your own soup straight from the thermos. "I wish you'd let me do it more. Even when you're not starving and sleep deprived."

He chuckles at the playful lilt in your voice, but knows you're actually being completely serious. "Maybe we can make this a more regular. On the nights I can't be at home—"

"And who might this be?" someone asks, appearing suddenly enough for you to jump a little.

You turn your head the smallest fraction to find another man leaning against Spencer's desk, a (seemingly permanent) smirk breaking through the tired, clouded expression everyone here is sporting.

"Uhm—hi—erm..."

You glance over at Spencer, who is, for the most part, paying no attention to the encounter, simply sipping on his soup and gnawing on his bread like he hasn't eaten in weeks.

"I'm Y/N," you manage, in a voice soft enough to bring serial killers to their knees (now there's an idea), wiping your hands on the fabric covering your thighs and sticking one of them out.

The man hums, eyes flicking between yourself and the man seated beside you. "I don't think Spencer's ever mentioned you before."

Your smile falters slightly, but doesn't disappear completely. "I'm his girlfriend," you say, "and I never really expected him to talk about me here. He said he wouldn't, anyway."

"Girlfriend?" he asks, as if it's the craziest thing he's ever heard. "You. Are Spencer's girlfriend? Spencer has a girlfriend?"

That seems to grab the aforementioned mans attention.

"Morgan. Is it really so hard to comprehend," he asks, wrapping an arm around you and pulling you close—as close as he can, with the chairs in the way, "that I could find a beautiful woman to love me?"

Ah. Derek Morgan, that explains it.

"You know that's not what I mean," Morgan argues, the smile not leaving his face. "And now, if you don't mind, I'll be around. Telling everyone. That you've got a gorgeous girlfriend, and kept it from us."

Neither of you have a chance to argue before he's gone. You're honestly surprised he didn't ask exactly how long it's been, but you're sure he wouldn't have liked the answer, so you don't push it.

"...this is great soup, by the way. I love you."

You chuckle, red coloring your face. "Thanks. I love you, too, baby."

[hacked-wtsdz]

Every time I read or watch Lord of the Rings I can’t help but think about how Tolkien had survived one of the bloodiest, most cruel, most dirtiest and darkest wars in human history, came back and wrote this:

“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.”

And this:

"'I wish it need not have happened in my time,' said Frodo.

'So do I,' said Gandalf, 'and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.'"

And this:

"I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend."

And this:

“Many that live deserve death and some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be so eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the wise cannot see all ends."

And this:

“True courage is about knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one.”

And clearly they were all written partly because he survived the war, because of what he’d seen and done and learned. But at the same time the unwillingness to lose faith, the courage and strength that this man had to believe in these things after going through hell! It makes the nihilists look so cheap, so uninteresting! People who’ve went through concentration camps and wars believe in humanity anyway, isn’t that proof that hope and love exist? And many, many, many of them did not return or returned broken and cruel and traumatised to the point when no faith in others was possible for them, and nobody can blame them. But there were many who refused to lose faith and hope. They have seen some of the worst that life has to offer and came back believing that we shouldn’t be eager to deal out death in judgement and should love only that which the sword defends.

No matter how many people say that humanity is horrible and undeserving of love, and life is dark and worthless, and love doesn’t exist I remember this and have hope anyway. Because there were people who have actually had all reason to believe in the worst and still believed in the good, so the good must be real. The good is real, even despite the evil, and we must trust in it.

[sakuravalelp]

A dream land - DP X DC Prompt

Okay, so I was thinking about that episode "Perchance to dream" where Bruce is trapped in a dream world and this, even thought really different, came to my mind.

Danny is king or prince of the infinite realms. He's been working on personalizing/decorating his castle in the infinite realms. When he feels someone walking just outside the castles walls. The thing is, that someone isn't a denizen, they aren't in a corporeal body, but he can feel that they are very much alive and feel distinctly human. He approaches the person to ask why and how they are in the infinite realms, but they fade away before he gets the opportunity.

Clockwork, who was with him at the moment, tells him that the visitor from the living, was just the soul projection of someone that was sleeping, and then refuses to elaborate further. Since it's something that was to do with sleeping, Danny decides to go and ask Nocturn, it seemed like a reasonable assumption that he was the one at fault for the soul projection.

Contrary to what he thought, Nocturn informed Danny that Sleeping soul projection was a natural phenomenon that he didn't control. The land of dreams, ("My domain" - Nocturn reminds him), was in the infinite realm after all, and those who have been close to death sometimes slipped they're whole soul instead of just their mind, and ended up all over the infinite realms.

It isn't too different from a lucid dream for them, the body gets all the benefit of the sleep, the mind feels rested if they had a good time in the realms. Except, if they hurt their soul too bad during their little trip, it would have real consequences. Loosing memories, abilities regression, migraine, pain that reflects the soul damage, all either temporary until the soul healed, or permanent and deteriorating, and in some occasions finishing in the persons death. In the latter, the soul is usually too damaged and cease it's existence, or have enough ectoplasm and emotion to form into ghosts with crack cores whose existence is instantly in danger.

Danny clearly didn't like the image that was painted to him, so he asked Nocturn if there was really nothing that he could do. It took a lot of talking and convincing, but eventually Nocturn admitted he could be able to direct the soul projecting to appear on a certain place, but he refused to babysit anyone. Which was enough for Danny, all he needed to do was make another expansion in his castle.

He decided to make a garden to receive their soul projecting guests. The garden was enormous, with all kinds of spaced within it. Playgrounds, picnic spaces, soft benches, tables with ghost and space teamed board games, fountains, and of course, the beautiful flowers that surrounded and decorated the place. Once he got ghosts with gardening, protection and caring obsessions on the place to look out for the souls, he was ready to receive them. It took him by surprise the amount of people that came, the garden was never crowded, but was never empty either, and souls of all ages and places were visiting at all times.

He kept expanding the garden as he heard of new things their guests wished for. He enjoyed spending time in the middle of the garden where souls passed by but rarely appeared, it was calm, but not completly quite with the background noice of the soul enjoying their dreams, and he could do the more mundane king/prince work. Until, he starts getting a regular visitor on his little space of the garden.

Choose the DC character you prefer, my idea is for people who hasn't died in the past but has been in the doors of death (so died and came back would be disqualified but you do as you prefer), but I'm going with Tim.

The soul of a boy around his age appears just in front of him, as usual when he greets new arriving soul, he welcomes him with a gentle smile and tells him he is free to explore the garden. A ghost taker is assign to him. The soul, as usual, seems confused and like he wished to asks questions, but seems content to ask them to his tour guide, and Danny continues with his own duties.

But then, the same soul continues to appear in the same place every two or three days, they exchange greetings and every time talk for a bit longer before the boy leaves to explore once more. It's rear to have multiple visits from one soul, even more so for said soul to appear in the same place every time. By the four time, Danny decides to take a break on his royal duties and accompany his new friend.

~ They get close, and have cute scenes, Tim asks a lot of questions and Danny answers and not-answers a lot of questions ~

One day, Tim shows up as usual, but he is in full Red Robin costume, and well, Danny wasn't expecting an identity reveal.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

On the Bats side:

There's an attack of some villain that's able to put Red Robin (or character of your choice) on a sleeping beauty type of sleep while carrying a serious injury, were he stays sleep until teammates or backup gets him out of it. The event affects his soul, making him disconnect partially from the land of dreams and making his soul sleep project almost every time he sleeps.

Tim starts sleeping more often. It's worrying at first, Bruce being paranoid does every test in the book, despite Tim saying he's just finding sleep easier now. But, he was just affected by sleeping magic and suddenly his sleeping easier? Seems like a side effect, and that makes it worrying.

Tim's health in general improve, just like he's concentration and productivity. Who would have thought that working rested actually was more productive than working on less than three hours of sleep and missing obvious details and clues due to how tired you are.

With everything not only being okay, but better than before, paranoia about Tim's new sleeping schedule soon dies, and instead is replaced with teasing about how he used to refuse to rest kicking and screaming, and now he may sleep more than any of them.

On Tim's side, he's loving being able to soul project so often. He knew from the start he was in a different dimension, and he just wanted to know the hows, whys, and everything else. So far, he seems to do it at least once every three days, and he's even gone two times in a row a couple of times.

The garden had a lot of things to do, but Tim doesn't care about that, he's more interested in all the information he's getting. The first 3 times he was given different ghost nanny's, who were more focus on entertaining him and didn't really answer direct question. But then king/prince Phantom decided to accompany him personally, and everything went smoother. He was going back to get to know more about this new world, and maybe to know more about the cute prince/king too. He might also have gotten some better looking pajamas.

Now, he has a mission that takes more than a couple days with some people in his team that hasn't yet sen his face. He didn't realize how difficult it would be to do all nighters after getting used to a sleep schedule. He would usually try to go as long as possible without sleeping, but he decides that he should take advantage of the safety of where they're staying and sleep a bit too. He ended up soul projecting in full Red Robin costume. He tried to play it cool, maybe Phantom wouldn't know it was him.

"Red Robin, even if you didn't appear on the same spot as always, I can feel your soul. I know who you are."