angrywerewolfvoid

[nathanprscott]

deciding who to date has never been harder than in baldur's gate..

[voraxiia]

tbh a good amount of inspiration for my crime-based lore / character study are actually gang members around my own neighbourhood ( whisper )

[gatitties]

So how about this.... some king, saitama, genos and tatsumaki (Separate) headcanons with a reader who's an A class hero and their power involves video games physics. An example of that would be where reader had the power to interact with the world as if it is in a video game which as you may know has these:

The System

Video Game/Game Mimicry

Video Game Imitation/Mechanics

Virtual Reality Mimicry

The user can alter the laws of physics to mimic any and all video games. This power can give the user a wide variety of abilities like he can use a cheat code from a real game to trick his foes and avatar manipulation that creates modulate personality character identities (Think of it as a character customization except irl). Reader also has an instant learning ability so anything reader sees or wants new information they acquire, they can immediately learn and master any form of knowledge that can comprehend with ease. There's also a dimensional storage ability that reader can store anything inside their item box and can summon them back with relative ease. Actually just to make this quick I'm just gonna have to send this link so it would better explain everything: https://powerlisting.fandom.com/wiki/Video_Game_Physics anyways for personality I imagined reader to have a more laid-back attitude and relatively has a lot of patience when it comes to dealing people that can anger others quickly yet he's also confident and outgoing that likes to hang out with people no matter what you are as long as you don't try to harm him. Reader works a bartender and tends to meet other heroes (or villains who happens to visit that place) they always put on a polite behavior despite the mistreatment they'd often receive from other customers. also they never lose to a single game match like ever! No matter how professional you are at a video game or how much you do speedruns. reader is always one step ahead of you and even if you cheat they would immediately spot it. and speaking of speedruns, they also have a streaming channel on youtube in which they do all sorts of challenges. Other than that reader is pretty much the person you'll love to hangout with.

─King, Saitama, Genos & Tatsumaki x hero!reader

─Summary: just a few headcannons of your relationship with these heroes

─Warnings: none

King

─ He probably met you from one of your streams early on, then you saved him from a monster he was completely terrified of, only taking a quick look at his 'character' stats to detect the terror behind that straight face.

─ You found it so amusing that you indirectly encouraged him with a drink at the bar where you worked, after which he became a regular customer.

─ Although you had to change the meeting place because there were many King fans who came to ask for autographs, there were only a couple of people who wanted your autograph, and it was not even because you were a hero, but because of your streams.

─ Anyway, you found yourself at his house every time you had free time, when you found out that he played video games and watched your streams he desperately tried to deny it, you didn't give it any importance and now he's one of your most competitive rivals.

─ Luckily you can give more life to the games you play, King is used to playing against npc or Saitama and it's always very easy to win, so his mission right now is to beat you.

─ He will definitely run towards you if there are monsters nearby, you have incredible power and despite being A-class, he thinks you can eradicate any kind of threat or at least aspire to more than A-class.

─ Your relationship is based on a constant fight to break records in any game, whether it is the best streak in Valorant, speedruns in Mario 64 or winning in Mortal Kombat, although the rivalry increases much more in Mario Kart, peace was never an option.

Saitama

─ He met you in the middle of a battle, completely fascinated by being able to change your 'character' and appearance, he asked you if you could change his appearance too, although you could 'program' reality in a certain way, his change would not last forever.

─ After that silly situation, he found you at work and stayed for a while chatting, which made him visit the bar more when he needed to get away from Genos for a bit.

─ He takes care of all the people who have a bad treatment towards you when you work, although you simply don't care, he insists that you should not let disrespect pass.

─ He encourages you to change some parameters of reality to play some jokes on bad customers, you only get carried away sometimes changing the appearance of those people to something ugly.

─ Smoke comes out of his head whenever you play games because you are unbeatable, more than once you let him win to see his happy face, although if he rubs it too much in your face you will not let him win again.

─ You feel a little envious of his great power, it's not that you complain about yours, but sometimes it's tedious to have to think of a video game mechanic to transfer it to reality and fight, it's not so easy to change weapons from a shooter to sorcery from a fantasy rpg and he just has to throw a punch.

─ You are somewhat similar so when you both need calm or are saturated you get together to have a tea or coffee without the need to start a conversation, you just enjoy the program that is on television.

Genos

─ You became a Saitama 2.0 for this boy when he saw you fight, you will have him as a puppy in your work until you agree to train him once and for all.

─ However, no matter how much you explained to him that you only had powers by copie stats from video game characters to use them to your advantage, you couldn't help him much for that, so you simply supported him in the silly ideas that Saitama invented.

─ He didn't care that you were a class lower than his, after all Saitama was C-class and was his trainer, he thought that having two would only make him stronger.

─ He's not that big a fan of videogames, so unfortunately you spend more time having small battles against him in your free time, you weren't as good in combat as you were in videogames but luckily Genos was easy to read and distract with reality bending.

─ He won't tolerate a single disrespect towards you when you work, even though you don't care about the bad comments, you don't even have time to blink and those people are kicked out.

─ He'll put on your streams in the background while he cleans house, he's probably subscribed and donates from time to time to ask when you're free for a rematch.

─ Probably you will lend him some robotic parts or weapons from some games like Metroid, Megaman, Metal Gear Solid or Call of Duty, although they will not last infinitely in the real world.

Tatsumaki

─ She started a rivalry with you because you started to get the attention of some of the administrators of the hero association, you were just an A-class, you weren't that great.

─ You decided to ignore her silent threats during meetings, although when it was your turn to battle together she always did something to stand out from you, you really didn't care, it's not like you put in that much effort in battle.

─ After a while she left the childish attitude and found herself frequenting your bar, at first it was to follow you closely, then for chat with you.

─ She will begin to admire your fighting method because it's never the same and you learn quickly about your opponents, coming to imitate their attacks, you always change the game mechanics to your liking, although she will not admit it out loud.

─ At a certain point she offered you a class upgrade because you really were much better than a simple A-class, but you turned it down, you had enough work already and being a hero was only an occasional thing, she got mad at you for saying no.

─ She doesn't like to lose so she won't waste her time playing games with you, nor will she admit that she watches your streams and that's why she knows that she won't be able to beat you in any video game.

─ She makes a competition for everything she can think of in what she can beat you, you don't give a shit about her tsundere attitude and you just flow with it, if she wants to compete, it's never a bad thing to have a healthy rivalry with someone.

[idv-sunsxin3]

Horropedia // Car Rides

Note// Technically different scenarios of him either being a driver/passenger (with S/O)---

____

(When he's driving)

Certainly that in reality, if he ever has a car, he would be a decent driver who is less likely to get stopped by a speeding ticket. Just because he watches a ton of unhinged, tragic content, doesn’t mean it won't make him less than a decent citizen.

He had learned to keep his horror fan nature hidden away during his student life, so it would make it any less of a difference when it comes to not violating traffic laws.

Of course, he still probably talks too much for your comfort before he starts driving---

After years of being with him, you started to get used to whatever he said as his statements usually meant good. Doesn't make him less annoying at times, though./affectionate

He likes playing music in the car at a decent volume so he can hear what's outside the road, being a cautious careful driver when he has you as his passenger.

At the same time, he plays horror music in the car;;;

some are good, some are Eh... some make you wanna laugh by how nostalgically cringe it sounds, yet you tend to cover your giggles before he looks at you with weird look NDNDNDN-

The time where Michael Myers theme was played nearly killed you;;;-- Is this even a car ride???? I don't know anymore... /j

"Stop laughing- do you have any other music options?" He says with a playful frown as he keeps his eyes on the road, shaking his head when he heard your muffled giggles.

At least he lends you some freedom to take over the music radio- is not much of a big deal anyway if he's the one who should focus on the road.

It's either he would shake his head once in a while by the beat of the music you switched to, or he actually feels so done to listen to it that he wonders when it will end. He doesn't say anything about it, knowing himself./ih

There are times you would tag along with him to go to movie theaters - or sometimes to go and order any food takeout while on your way for outdoor dates.

He doesn't often use cars since he seems more like a bicycle type. Both types of transportation with him are fun when you're in the passenger seat, same for him as well. Bicycle so you can get to hold him as tight as possible from behind. Car so you would sit beside him and hand feed him pieces of the takeout as he drives whenever you go on longer trips.

I feel like if is a very careful driver, holding hands while he is driving will be a big no in his book- he'll rather do that if there's this long traffic that takes many hours to move..--- 😭😔

I mean, at least he would be very responsible when it comes to your safety in a car ride. So it's overall nice.

_

Today seems to be a movie date case.

Recently, a new movie just got released on theater. It's like 20 minutes away by car, so you both decide to use his car.

Seeing that your boyfriend finishes moving the car from the parking spot, it was your cue to enter at the passenger seat, so you open the door before closing it back.

"You're safe with me, babe! But of course, buckle up your seatbelt... Who knows, a car crash might happen by some drunk driver -"

He advices you, probably recalling the many movies he watched which displayed car accidents, even in irl TV news.

"Yes, yes..." You sigh. But before you can even buckle them yourself, you notice Horropedia leaning in as his  hands reach out to help you instead.  Adjusting the firmness of the lace. After doing that, his hands linger on your shoulders as his eyes linger on yours. Staring deep into each other as the sounds of rain tapping on glass can be heard.

He then hums, breaking his focused look into a grin before planting a shortly pressing his lips on yours before pulling away to slide back.

"Ready to go now?" He asks with a smile as he buckles his belt now. It took a moment for you to stare off at him before getting back to your senses to say yes.

_

(When he's a passenger)

You guys have seen him in the game when everyone who was in the Green Lake event was in Tooth Fairy's vehicle.

He be freaking napping by himself by the window;;;

Hey, now that he has you. He doesn't have to do that anymore. 😉/lh

He would be a very talkative passenger when he's awake, a popular opinion really--

If tablets existed, he probably wouldn't still shut up as he binge watches horror movies during the ride or horror hameplays on youtube during the ride- he'll be "Mr. commentary box" by them;;😭

Scratch that- There are portable DVD players in the 90s. Man, he watches movies using this tiny screen pad with control remote;;;

Hey, he's sweet enough to actually share the movie experience with you during the ride. He likes that he gets to sit closer to you to the point that your legs are touching. It feels awkward at first, but he seems to warm up to it later on.

He also tries to get himself busy with other ways, such as if he has horror novels to finish. Or even hold hands with you and rubbing small circles on your waist secretly when no one is watching...

but everyone finds it obvious by how loving he is to you during the ride, especially when you both unconsciously snuggle on each other in your sleep---

Can't help but imagine that when there's not enough space in the car, Horropedia tries to pretend that Blonney's suggestion of you sitting on his lap instead wasn't a big deal.

Spoilers: he is failing.. he thinks it's a big deal-

"W-What? Is that okay??.." You ask before turning to your boyfriend, looking if he has discomfort by the idea.

"I mean... I don't really mind if it's you. We have to get to the movies somehow anyway!"

He assures you while rubbing the back of his neck. Small blush appearing from his cheeks, but you couldn't see them as his face turns around before quitting going for the window seat first.

"...L-Let's embark now!"

And yes, he's completely trying not to turn red by how intimate it was for you two during the ride-

He had to hold you firmly with his arms around your torso since you're technically the one with no seatbelt. He would still be a caring boyfriend. He would once in awhile ask you if you're feeling okay when the position seems a bit uncomfortable, but he also asks so he can get distracted from this embarrassing sotuation- the girls are literally watching you both, it's unbearable;;;/lh

In the end, he would began to become more comfortable when you sit on his lap. It's so comfy when he gets to hold you by the soft fabric of your indoor clothes -  well, only when no one is watching you two more than necessary -

.

.

I'm not done here-

___

//Horropedia ordering at a drive thru with s/o.

If you don't eat any of these, just imagine it/ih

Horropedia, but with that "Burger King with my burger queen" vine whenever the Burger King scenario happens - someone plz save me. How did I even know this/ih

McDonald's drive thru would be silly - would buy you a happy meal (if you ask), hamburgers, lots of french fries, one soda cup as he orders the McCafe/lh

Doesn't usually order a lot unless he decides to spend a vacation binge watching in his room---;;;

I feel like he is more like the coffee shop customer type - probably a Starbucks fan, even since he is such a coffee lover according to his voiceline/ih. Except he doesn't drink it with ice(what a smart chad.)

If he wasn't sitting, you could tell how his nonexistent tail wags whenever you hand feed him as he drives back home.

[lemonhemlock]

Hi! First, let me say that I have greatly enjoyed reading your posts in the divisions of houses during the dance tag. I actually had a question for you regarding Jeyne Arryn. I came to the conclusion that the main reason she decided to support Rhaenyra was because of she wanted to name a distant cousin her heir over her cousin Arnold and his line. However, considering that Arnold has attempted three coups against her, couldn't Jeyne ask the iron throne to attaint him for breaking the king's peace, stripping him and his descendants of any claims to the Vale? Historically, irl coups have never been bloodless so I would think Arnold broke the King's peace. I realize that could mean Arnold might have to be executed or join the Night's Watch. I know he goes insane at some point so I would ask if it would be possible that his life could be spared, even if he couldn't take the black. Irrc, irl medieval society insane people weren't executed (Henry VIII actually had to change the law so he could execute Jane Rochford after she had a mental break) but I don't know if that applies in ASOIAF or not. If you're not the right person to ask this question, I apologize but you seem very knowledgeable.

Hello there! Thank you for dropping by, yes, indeed, that would have made sense for Lady Jeyne's character, to side with the faction who would offer her security in regards to her position as Lady of the Vale.

But I don't think either the greens or the blacks would have had any issue with this: Lady Jeyne is the rightful ruler of the Vale by Andal Law. She is her father's only living child. And her cousin's attempted coups disqualified him from inheriting her seat.

So, it follows that Jeyne should have factored in other reasons when it comes to her alliances. Daemon Targaryen, the man who, at worst, killed Rhea Royce, and, at the very least, tried to poach away the inheritance of House Royce, is going to be the king consort if Rhaenyra wins. Rhea's relative, Lord Yorbert Royce, was Lord Protector of the Vale and regent while Lady Jeyne was a minor, somehow ensuring she would inherit her rightful seat. This is how Lady Jeyne repays her close allies? By siding with Daemon?

I'm not saying there is not a way to believably explain why Lady Jeyne would still side with Rhaenyra/Daemon. We know Arnold Arryn squired at Runestone and that House Royce supported his claim against Joffrey Arryn's, despite Lady Jeyne's will. So, perhaps everything was not daises and roses between Lady Jeyne and House Royce and she could have organically reached a point where she no longer saw the Royces as her true allies, despite her having previously banished Daemon from the Vale when he showed up to claim Runestone.

But Fire & Blood leaves out those details and HotD does absolutely nothing to build on Vale politics beyond showing Lady Jeyne being irritated with Rhaenyra (but not irritated enough to refuse her alliance, of course). Why? Because the writers cannot write political intrigue to save their lives. How could they have possibly come up with original machinations? They'd need to understand the politics of the universe they inhabit first and that has proven to be woefully out of their scope.

[sl33py-g4m3r]

Back with an update after a long break~~ (thanks anxiety (sarcasm))

Hopefully I've kicked anxiety's ass for the time being and am now in the swing of things~~

I still hate the map tho a little bit. Didn't realize you could press B to center the map, thank you for the tip~~!! idk why or how I didn't find that out myself.

Woman's Ring quest complete~~!! as well as the gryphon talons because I was grinding a good deal of them before. I missed one moss somewhere and need to go find it, annoyingly enough. and slay ortherus.

You can complete some quests multiple times? Is it worth it tho? Gryphon talons are just "get the talons, go to K's tavern to deliver, get 30 macca (?) each time" might be worth if you're grinding at the entrance for whatever reason... idk. what do you do with gryphon talons or fu xi feathers anyway? tried to sell them at B's i think and they didn't appear there.

I wonder if I'm overleveled a little bit? The disaster horde or whatever I fought for the ring chest went down with a zan from flynn, a bufu from centaur, bouncing claw from gryphon, and a grahm slice from lahm derg... it hit me once...

I can fuse now and it's probably a good idea; but I've kind of grown attatched a bit to the demons I have... but they also have all of the skills they'll ever know now anyway I think.... could be wrong. but I think you get the "demon whisper" when they've learned all possible skills? so despite growing attatched to them, time to fuse them into other demons?

Update on skills and roster:

Flynn - lvl 7 - still upping primarily magic, luck, agility - still bufu, zan, critical wave

Centaur - lvl 6 - bufu, needle shot

Gryphon (new!) - lvl 5 - bouncing claw, lunge

Lham Dearg (?) - lvl 5 - grahm slice, critical wave

Fu Xi - lvl 5 - zan, patra

Napaea - lvl 4 - dia, dream needle

Myrmecolion (? new!) - lvl 3 - patra

Mokoi (new!) - lvl 2 - zio

tried to use mokoi's zio on a chagrin, immediate death for mokoi. also tried to recruit a chagrin many times..... nope. it's mokoi all over again~~

hooray~~!!

Progress~~!!

Now what? fuse to see what that's all about, hunt for moss, defeat ortherus and continue on?

I hope that if I take a break from this game for a little bit, that break isn't another entire month. getting in the swing of things and hadn't seen Charon this entire time. Almost died but then thanks to napaea's dia, survived.

(gets comfortable, has an SMT moment)

I put gryphon in front instead of Fu Xi because gryphon nulls zan and is weak to the same thing as Fu Xi anyway... also more HP. so only had flynn be zan during that fight.... Still won but makes me worried I spent too much time being afraid because (idk how to read the map (keyboard smash and yelling for help) and stayed by the door grinding for a good bit. as per my last update on how the play through was going.

Is still fun and the music slaps~~!! glad I got into SMT through the music.

I've done some stuff~~ Break time to decide whether I want to fuse demons, and how. just yolo and see what happens? or have certain ones in mind with certain skills?

Then I'd have to recruit everyone again T_T;;

It's not pokemon, don't get attached to your demons, they're nothing but fusion fodder for stronger demons...

I'm attached anyway.

there begs the question~~! trying a challenge run so to speak? where I only use demons of a certain alignment? might be law cause I'm probably going to the law path anyway if I'm being honest with myself....

finally getting somewhere~~! Finally getting comfortable with navigation~~!! Finally get demon fusion app~~!!

break time~~! hopefully for a lot less long than before~~!!

I wanna punch navarre~~~ casting false aspersions of the poor~~~ feel like he's making fun of myself irl cause I am actually poor irl, lol.

proud of myself for this too~~!! get zan anxiety~~!! let fun things be fun~~!!

(new!) demons are new ones that I've acuired through fusion or negotiation; negotiations at this point because I didn't have access to fusion when I got them.

It baffles me how demon negotiations go sometimes. give stuff, say a thing that makes them not attack you, or try again later, give them stuff, don't like giving macca, and I usually refuse after 2 things. sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

like was it gryphon? idk.. someone told me to dig with 3 dig options, i chcose the middle one, got a life stone, then promptly gave it back, and they became my ally? what?

same thing sort of with mokoi with the (I'm waiting for someone) and they're like "I'm the person you were waiting for" becomes ally. ?????

???????????

you bet your sweet macca that I saved after those, baby~~!!

good things can happen in this game???

update cause I dug through my posts and the last update was June 18th. the break wasn't a month long. I thought it was, lol.

[obsidianstrawberrymilk]

omg I never see anyone talking about fukuzawa and kunikidas background but I agree with you so much I think he met him as a teenager if not younger. I've always liked to think that kunikidas parents know fukuzawa somehow and he kinda grew up knowing him. kunikidas whole background and family is such a mystery it drives me crazy

DUDE SAME HOLY SHIT I'm so curious about Kunikida's background because!! We know!! So little!! Like the only reason we know he used to be a math teacher is because he was literally working as one when Dazai's entrance exam happened - what was he doing before?? How did he discover he has an Ability?? Considering it's basically canon Abilities come from trauma, what even happened to him so his own manifested?

People talk about how Dazai is so careful on what he tells the agency but ngl, the agency know jack fucking shit about each other lmao. It's not just Dazai - we still have no clue what the fuck is up with the Tanizaki siblings or how Kunikida joined the agency. No one knew about Yosano's backstory before she shared it with Tanizaki and Kenji sans Ranpo and Fukuzawa because they RESCUED HER. Its confirmed no one sans Ranpo and Fukuzawa (possibly Yosano) know how the agency was founded in Untold Origins; and so much around Kenji is a mystery as well. We know about Atsushi because of his trauma dumping (as he deserves) and Kyouka because her joining the agency was so dramatic - everyone else though is far from an open book. Especially Kunikida.

Also - Kunikida's so fucking WEIRD, right?? Like people talk about him like he's the 'sane' one of the agency, but that's just because he's next to Dazai fucking Osamu, who makes anyone look normal. Kunikida is way too down with violence - hell, the first appearance we get of him he pins a starving orphan to the floor, it's noted he's not allowed to ask questions to clients because he gets violent, and he's told to cool it by Dazai of all people. Like?? He's passively suicidal with a HUGE guilt complex, and like, that obsession with his ideals can't come from nowhere. Like Kunikida's commitment to his ideals to the point of self destruction is shown to be bad for him, the center of his character and his flaws, so where does something like that come from? People also skip over the specifics of his moral code - because that's not clear cut either lmao. He breaks into weather stations because they reported wrong, steals cars when people have insurance, is just kinda like -_- when Atsushi and Kyouka are in danger in the start of the manga, and really, he's just... his morals don't align with the law. Period. Nor do they seem simple, despite how people want to read him.

So how the FUCK did that happen?

Because like I said, we know so little about Kunikida!

I really like the idea you said, about Kunikida having grown up knowing Fukuzawa! That's definitely interesting, I don't think I've heard that. It would make sense if Fukuzawa started training Kunikida early - because he's way too good for someone who started training at say, 18. In Dazai's Entrance Exam he wipes the floor with an opponent who has a significant weight and size advantage over him, and I actually think he could match Chuuya in terms of pure martial arts (maybe not beat, but it would definitely be a close fight without Abilities). That's too good for someone who only started training hardcore when he hit adulthood.

Also - I think Fukuzawa was the one who gave Kunikida his Ideals notebook. I don't think he was there when his Ability manifested or anything, but I do think he was the one who gave Kunikida that direction, that sense of purpose. It makes sense to me - Kunikida's dislikes have authority listed (considering the author irl, that makes sense), and he's got one of the most vulgar speech patterns in the series and comparatively rarely uses honorifics... yet he respects Fukuzawa so much?? He defers to him so much?? He's his successor, outright stated? What caused that type of loyalty, that type of deference?

Was Kunikida the first person to take an entrance exam, considering the agency was started for Ranpo and Yosano definitely didn't? What was his even like?? WHY did they make him the first one to take it, if he did?

Idk, I REALLY hope we get more on Kunikida's backstory soon. There's so much that's implied, and at the least I hope we get more on his relationship with Fukuzawa.

[izloveshorses]

Also, I just want to say about your post regarding Gleb, I really hope that when (not if) there's a revival of Anastasia, they cut the part about Gleb being in love with Anya. To me, the musical is about how reality is complicated, not simple. Like, irl the first round of guards at Ipatiev actually started to feel bad for the royal family once they saw that they were, indeed, human beings. I really like that through Gleb you see the harm that the Romanovs did to Russia, instead of glorifying them like the animated movie did, but through Anya you see the harm the Bolsheviks did and they don't cancel each other out. To Gleb, Nicholas II was bloodthirsty and evil, but to Anya, he's just her father who loves her.

And ultimately Anya ends up shattering Gleb's the entire world is 'good vs bad, oppressor vs oppressed' illusion. But I don't think he needs to fall in love with her to do that? I mean, he first meets her when she's having a PTSD episode, and he sees her as vulnerable and weak and in need of protection. So she fits into the 'good' category. And then it turns out she's impersonating a princess so she can flee the country, and he's like 'what? You? The scared little thing? But you were good! You can't do something bad!' and then turns out she's actually the princess and the royal family is like, on the very top of the 'bad' list, and he has a whole crisis about his world view and whatnot.

mmm yeah i agree. the thing about gleb is i think he's meant to be like. russian javert lol. a slave to the law and cannot wrap his little head around someone not being who they were ten years ago.

and this is why i love actors like constantine and brandon-- they thought a little deeper about this aspect of his character and decided to play him more as a conflicted man than someone with an unrequited crush. it's also just. so much more interesting to me? 'i couldn't pull the trigger... ~for love 💔~' is so boring compared to 'i couldn't pull the trigger bc i finally decided to break the cycle of violence and my orders aren't worth killing an innocent person for'

(this post would've gotten me burned at the stake like five years ago ashlkdjf so thank u for being brave)

[edenfenixblogs]

Love you all (personal)

Leaving my phone in another room for awhile. I'm not ignoring any of you, and I have seen and will respond to all your EXTREMELY KIND messages, even if it takes awhile.

I was attempting to take a break from all this over the course of the week, because I felt myself growing weary and needed a recharge. Then my ceiling collapsed in heavy rain and I had to turn off my "Work Hours Focus" setting on my phone. It was supposed to silence all notifications and alerts from non-work and non-family phone numbers and block all non-work apps.

LOL...not really possible to have that setting on when coordinating with a bunch HVAC/Roofer dudes I've never met before.

But still. Jewish law commands us to find joy somewhere even when we're miserable. And while I know that is a sentiment that does not work for a lot of people, it has always been helpful to me.

So, despite all this, I am grateful for the shift in my plans this week for several reasons.

I'm grateful we were able to band together to help @rabid-catboy with an actual urgent issue. It feels very good to do something that you know helps someone. If my phone was in work mode I never would have seen this message in time to do anything about it. I had a similar experience in high school and I still think about it often. I get upset at how much was being asked of me and how much I was expected to know so that I could educate my peers and educators to do better. I didn't have the words to describe why something was so upsetting to me and why I know that it was wrong. Years later, I found the words and was so angry that I was expected to have them even when I was a child. It's an unfair burden, and I'll always be grateful that, even though I didn't find the words in time, I could help someone else find their words.

I am glad to have seen how active allies have been over the past week. I'm pretty emotionally drained by this all the time, so I may not say it as clearly or as often as I should, butt you give me hope. I am not used to relying on other or sharing my grief. It's actually a big problem. I don't tell people when I'm upset, because I'm afraid to inconvenience people or seem dramatic. that's part of the reason I struggled through undiagnosed PTSD for 13 years before reaching out for help. With the help of my BFF and my therapist, I chose to start being more open about my emotions with people. It's been a mixed bag. The people I knew would be here for me have continued to be here for me, thank goodness! But all (except 1) of the people I THOUGHT I could trust have simply stopped interacting with me at all. And I'm a lot less pushy/aggressive/vocal about all his suff IRL than I am when I have time to compose my thoughts and answer questions on here. It's been cataclysmic and devastating. To see so many people I've never met IRL not only lend emotional support to me personally but also provide emotional and temporal labor into fighting antisemitism and supporting Jews more broadly has gone a long way to restoring the faith in humanity that this conflict is trying to erode within me. I know I'm not he only Jew who feels this way right now. Please never underestimate the impact you have just by visibly existing in this space with us.

It's been nice being able to channel my anxiety about my ceiling into something productive.

Reminder: I love you all. Sorry for delayed replies. I'll be back. <3

[amitieos]

toa anniversary munday!

Celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is.

Repost, don't reblog. Only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing!

Happy anniversary, TOA! Here's to many more years spent together.

Name: Nic

Pronouns: they/them

Birthday (no year): 14th July

Where are you from? What is your time zone? UK, GMT (or BST but don't get me started on daylight savings I'll explode)

How long is your roleplay experience? Does playing A Bug's Life on the playground when I was 5 count? If not, I started with rping HP characters with my friends when I was like 11-12 over MSN after school and whilst there have been breaks it's something I've always found myself coming back to.

How were you introduced to roleplaying as a whole? As above, I made a couple of friends on (unrelated) forums and we all just thought it'd be fun.

How were you introduced to TOA? I thought I missed rp and looked for an FE based rp.

Do you have any pets? Yes, all hail Catcat the Great.

What is your favorite time of year and why? (Season, holiday, general period) Summer. I hate the heat and humiditiy but once there's no daylight the seasonal affective disorder bass boosts my chronic mental health issues and it's just a bad time really.

What is your IRL occupation? I've gone back to uni to study Law :)

Some interests and things you like/enjoy? I love reading, I'm fascinated by linguistics and astrophysics, enjoy DnD and playing video games in my spare time. I'm a particular sucker for the Sims franchise.

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play? Recently I've been playing BG3, Stardew Valley, The Sims & Fields of Mistria but I'm a big fan of the Persona series and really, really excited about Dragon Age The Veilguard

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: I don't really play Pokemon much anymore but I'll just say Sylveon I guess

Tell us some funfacts and trivia about yourself! I met the fourth Doctor when I was 11 and he complemented my vocabulary lmao. I once got published in a poetry anthology with a poem about Shadow the Hedgehog and my parents we so proud of me.

How did you get into Fire Emblem? I think I saw a review on TV

What Fire Emblem games have you played? I've attempted to play every game except 1/2/3/5/11, although I've really wanted to play Thracia I just *need* some QoL updates and controls. I haven't finished every single one because of lost/deleted saves and stuff but I've watched playthroughs and read up on scripts on everything I haven't actually played myself.

First & Favorite Fire Emblem games: My first was Fates but Jugdral, Magvel and 3 Houses are my favourite

List your 5 favorite Fire Emblem characters across the series! Elincia, Mercedes, Franz, Myrrh and ughhhh I can't choose between Chole/Yunaka/Sylvain so I'm cheating

Who was the first character ever to make you go “ooh I like this one in particular” and why? Can be any context and reason! I saw Ryoma in all that red armour and it grabbed my attention.

Any Fire Emblem crushes? 😳 Miss Mercedes if you're free Thursday night

If you’ve played (or are familiar with) the following games, who was your first S support? Who would you S support nowadays? - Awakening: Chrom, originally be accident but now on purpose :D - Fates: My first was Takumi and I didn't know what an S support was and was very confused. Nowadays usually Kaze or Laslow if playing F!Corrin and Orochi, Nyx or Charlotte if playing M!Corrin. Niles for either. - Three Houses: Mercedes. She's still my go to ofc but I'm also fond of Dorothea, Dimitri and Sylvain. If I'm playing M!Byleth Yuri or Ingrid - Engage: Yunaka was my first and now it's either Yunaka, Diamant or Chloe. Or Mauvier maybe hahfsdgfsd

Favorite Fire Emblem class? I love Pegasus Knights!!!!!!!

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class and stats? Would you be playable? Probably a reluctant recruit who accidentally gets involved. Weirdly magic based armoured character.

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation? (Black Eagles, Blue Lions, Golden Deer, Church of Seiros, Those Who Slither in the Dark, unaffiliated civilian, other - for example Almyran) Either unaffiliated civilian or Blue Lions probably

If you were an Officers Academy student, what would be your boons, banes and potential budding talent? Boons: Lance, Reason, Heavy Armour Banes: Bow, Faith Budding Talent: idk Axes or Flying?

If you were an Engage character, which nation would you originate from? (Firene, the Kingdom of Abundance; Brodia, the Kingdom of Might; Elusia, the Kingdom of Knowledge; Solm, the Queendom of Freedom; Lythos, the holy land of the Divine Dragon; Gradlon, the desolate land of the Fell Dragon) No idea! Probably Elusia or Firene. The Solm heat would literally kill me.

How do you pronounce TOA? 🤔(separate letters, to-ah, other?) TOA ;) (like Noah)

Current TOA muses: Elincia & Mercedes

Past TOA muses? A lot but most memorable to me are Sylvain and Julia, though I'm so excited to see Sylvain in good hands <3

Who was your first TOA muse? If you no longer have them, can you see yourself picking them up again? Elincia and I still have her.

Do you believe you have a type of character you gravitate towards writing? White magic girlies though I'm trying to change things up.

Do you have characters or types of characters you don’t think you can handle writing, but wish you could? Hm, I wish I felt I could write more of the male characters I enjoy effectively. In most other fandoms I've written in most of my muses have been men but it's just not so in FE. I'd also love to write a villain okay I once genuinely considered Hilda FE4 lmao

What kind of scenes, situations etc do you believe you enjoy writing the most? (If you filled this out last year, has this changed in any way?) I like writing dialogue and characters bonding but I'm starting to like more action oriented scenes too.

Do you have any scenario in mind for your muse(s) that gets you thinking “man I hope I get to write this one day”? For Mercedes in particular I get excited to write her steel and strength, especially when it's combined with her gentleness rather than opposed to it.

Favorite TOA-related memories? Every thread I've writen with Elincia and Rua's Byleth <3

Present or past tense? I tend to default to present in TOA but usually past tense. I'm flexible though and will try and match my partner.

Normal size text, small text, no preference? I actually find small text easier to focus in on and read (I can find normal a bit too cluttered and it can send my eyes wandering lmao) but I'm perfectly happy to use normal text, it just takes me a bit longer to comb through.

Got any potential muse delusions to share? 😉 I can't see a shake up happening soon but... Zephia or Chloe are probably forerunners. I've thought about Palla and Astrid too but I'm not sure if I can see the longevity. Also Neimi, Myrrh and Rodrigue have sparked.... ideas. For muses I've written before, Julia is the most likely but I think she's having a nice break right now :)

[thesupernaturalhouse]

Hmmm, I'm thinking about the pack dynamics in pdh. Cause either wanna know how this started, why school started ding this, cause irl, there no such thing as an omega or alpha, the 'alpha' is just the oldest wolf of the pack because their the parents

So, here's what I think the 'hsitory' of schools packs came to be. So, hybrids have more animalistic instincts than humans, especially before their brain fully developes

So, I think that there would be a lot of school fights about 'territory' like, really stupid stuff to things like whose seat it is in the class, why their sitting in the spot you eat at lunch

Stuff like that, and the school say this and probably looked at irl packs and decided mimicking that would be a good idea

So they held a contest, whoever are the 2 winners are the leaders, they figured they needed one if both genders to soooo yeah. And they figured they'd make it the 'alphas' job to break up the fights and keep their pack in check

It'd also make the pack mates have to listen to the leader because it's proven that the leaders is stronger than them

I also think the 'omega' status was probably originally also a leader if the pack, alphas kept everyone in line while the omega made negotiations to make everyone happy. Eventually, due to the omegas being more peacekeeper like, they started to get bullied, which devolved into straight-up abuse and got normalized over time as they started to be viewed as the 'weaker' part of the pack

And due to being in school, they gotta follow the rules/pack law it has. And they don't really follow their true pack instincts until their an adult, and even then some keep the high school pack mentality

This is why irl packs and school packs are different in mystreet because an out of school pack is really just a group of friends with a strong connection, maybe a faund family one, there's no 'alpha' or 'omega' because that's not how packs are supposed to work

If there IS an 'alpha' in the pack, that 'alpha' is in actuality, most likely the voice of reason among the pack/group

[sabo-has-my-heart]

hello hello :3 ive been LOVINF ur scenarios soo much lately!! do u think u could write some for zoro/sanji/ace/law dating gn!reader who is aromantic but enjoys dating and doing romantic things (ie. going on dates, kissing, cuddling)? they could either be in a queerplatonic relationship and also aromantic, or in a traditionally romantic relationship but reader doesn't *always* feel romantically towards them/attraction fluctuates? maybe u could include crewmates being a little confused by the nature of their relationship, or navigating the boundaries of a non-traditional relationship? if not thats okay! ik aro relationships can b hard 2 understand for some ^^

Aw, thank you, I'm so glad you like them. I actually finished this a lot faster than I thought. So I don't know much about being aromantic, asexual, demi, pan, whatever sex-romantical (IRL, I'm actually the opposite, I want a romantic relationship but am not particularly touchy). That being said, I did look it up. There's still a lot I don't understand but I tried my best. That being said, please, please, please, please, please! Tell me what you think and give me feeback. I can't learn if you don't help me.

Warnings: GN!Reader, Aromantic!Reader, queer!Platonic relationships

Word Count: 1200

     He’d been your best friend for years, or well, maybe friends wasn’t quite the right term. You weren’t just friends but you weren’t dating either. You enjoyed the comfort of romantic things, enjoyed the warmth of cuddling, enjoyed the fun of dates, but you didn’t have ‘those feelings’ for him, or anyone really. That being said, just because you didn’t feel like that towards him, didn’t mean you didn’t sometimes enjoy the activities included in such a relationship. Was he in the same boat as you as an aromantic? No. But he understood your desire for it and was close enough to provide you with the peace and serenity of such things. Sometimes, sometimes, you wished you could feel that way towards others. It would make everything so much easier if you did. You’d be able to actually date, to tell him you loved him in that way, people wouldn’t be confused by your relationship. They understood when you said aromantic, what they didn’t quite understand was being aromantic while enjoying romantic things. Even still, they did their best to understand, or at least not give you hell for it, you were you, you liked what you liked, that was what mattered. So they let you do what made you comfortable. 

Zoro

     He liked sleeping with you, sprawled out in the warm sun on the grass, one arm around you, one behind his head as you snuggled up to him and dozed off in his arms. Honestly, your relationship worked quite well with him. He hadn’t found anyone he felt that way for and honestly didn’t care enough to look. It wasn’t that he wasn’t interested in finding someone, just that he was focused on other things at the moment. That being said, he still enjoyed the comfort of having a warm body next to his, it brought a sort of… peace and contentment that he didn’t otherwise get. A relationship with a crew member was always a bad idea in his mind, nor was he interested in them; he doubted any of them were particularly interested in him or simply want to cuddle with him for the sake of physical contact. Well, Luffy might, but Luffy was… interesting. You were different though, the two of you were close enough to share a bottle of sake on a moonlit night and enjoy the romantic things but without needing to be romantic. You did have an understanding that in the chance that he found someone he felt that way for, he could break it off if necessary, but until it was necessary, he was more than happy to fulfill your need for romantic actions without the romance.

Sanji

     At first, he’d been a little hesitant. A relationship that wasn’t romantic? He’d understood that you were aromantic, but he didn’t quite understand your desire for romantic touches without the actual romance. Didn’t understand wanting to cuddle or kiss or hug but not be together together. That being said, as your closest friend, he’d listened to you and was at least open to attempt it on the condition that if he was uncomfortable, you end things amicably. You’d agreed, he was your friend, you understood that he might not be comfortable with such things just as you weren’t comfortable with actual romance. Surprisingly, he found your agreement to be more comforting than previously thought. There was a warmth and tenderness in holding each other, a sort of softness and care in the kisses he placed on the top of your head. The two of you even enjoyed cooking together, just without all the lovey-dovey romance that came with a romantic relationship. Moreover, you seemed to curb some of his womanizing habits. He still fawned over women left and right, but not quite as much. While he might want a romantic relationship at some point, at the same time, he really enjoyed what he had with you.

Ace

     Ace was all over the romantic-sexual spectrum. Some days he was more interested in men than women or vice versa, some days he didn’t want a relationship with anybody, other days all he wanted was sex. The boy’s romantic and sexual preference was so all over the charts it was hard to keep up. But there was one constant. His desire for human affection, his desire to be held. He was touch starved and wanted somebody to love him, romantically or platonically, he just wanted to be held or to hold someone. Meaning that a queerplatonic relationship worked perfectly fine with him. He got to hold you, got to be held, but he didn’t have to worry about stumbling around and being romantic. He could go on a date with you, but have it be comfortable, not stumbling over his words as he tried not to mess things up. The two of you were still friends, maybe slightly more than friends, but first and foremost, friends. This also meant that he had somebody looking out for him. Somebody who would keep him from falling face first into his food, but he wouldn’t have to be embarrassed because ‘oh what will they think of me’. Someone who didn’t mind his dumbass shenanigans and not fret over him getting hurt. Hell, you joined in! And with his whole son of Roger thing, he wasn’t entirely certain he wanted a romantic relationship, a romantic relationship, whether or not he had those feelings, would just complicate things, just make things harder. No, he really liked what you two had.

Law

     The doctor had never been particularly affectionate, meaning that when you came to him with this, he was confused as hell. Why him? He wasn’t cuddly, he wasn’t loving or doting, so why him? That being said, after your first time holding him, cuddling up to him, nuzzling against his chest, he found himself desiring more. He didn’t care much for romance, he wasn’t interested in it, he didn’t have a need for it, and he didn’t have a place for it in his life. He was a pirate and a surgeon, he was fairly cold to a lot of people, he’d done things that some people might call horrible, and he had other things he wanted to accomplish. Romance with anyone outside his crew was a no go and dating among crew members in such a small crew was inadvisable. As a doctor, he also understood the need for physical human affection and interaction, understood the brain’s need to be loved, even if you weren’t romantically interested. This fulfilled both of your needs. He still wasn’t very affectionate outside of his room or office. He didn’t go around holding you or kissing you, wasn’t particularly close to you, but when it was just the two of you, he enjoyed the feelings of keeping you close, of resting his head on your chest. Being the doctor that he was, he’d listened to plenty of heartbeats, but there was something soothing about the drumming in his ear. The crew knew that the two of you had taken to sharing a bed, they didn’t quite understand, but you and Law were happy in your strange non-romantic relationship, so they didn’t question it. 

[anyoldfandom]

Why are you anti-Israel as a Jew? genuine question, I'm just curious as a non-Jewish person bc all my irl Jewish friends are pro-Israel

Okay so normally I don't really,,check my inbox so sorry for the late response anon, but thank you for the genuine curiosity! I'm glad you're coming to the table with an open mind.

I am going to put a disclaimer here, however: Jewish people are not the only people impacted by Israel's actions. We're not even the most impacted. I am going to give my perspective because it was asked for, but my biggest suggestion is to listen to Palestinian voices the most before you draw any conclusions, as they are the real victims in the center of Israel's actions.

As for my opinion, however - quite frankly, my dislike of the Israeli state comes from a few places. Yes, it is true that Jewish people lived in Israel in the past, and yes, it is a holy land - but I genuinely do not believe that the Israeli government has Jewish interests in heart. The common narrative that I've heard in a lot of spaces is that Israel is a safe place should the world turn against us again, but quite frankly...it's unrealistic. Not every Jew in the world can move to Israel. Only the wealthy Jews (and I can tell you, many Jews are not wealthy at all) would be able to flee, and the rest of us would be stuck where we are.

And that would be if Israel was not already filled with Palestinians. A phrase I and other Jews have used is "Not in our name".

The Israeli state is breaking international laws - yes, Hamas has also been condemned for breaking international laws, but the Israeli government is also a state. It is a government. A government that has a history of committing genocide - so much that South Africa is trying to sue them for war crimes.

And, to be frank, and I will admit my language is about to be very harsh - please know my anger is directed at the Israeli government, anon, and not you - but I do not want a fucking genocide in my name. I do not want other peoples to suffer because my people have in the past - Israel is not the answer, fighting real, actual antisemitism is. Making the entire world safe is the answer. I also hate that the government is claiming any criticism of Israel is antisemitic - I've spoken out against antisemitism in the past, consistently. I've written in concerns that people will use criticism of Israel in a way where they simply attack Jewish people, which is absolutely antisemitism, but holding a state responsible for their actions is not bigotry.

And, one more point - I do not think the allies of Israel are the allies of Jews. I can only speak as a US citizen, and not for any other country - but I do not, and have never, believed that my country is an ally of the Jewish people. I am constantly hearing antisemitic conspiracy theories being spread by politicians, and I heard the president claim that Israel would be the only safe place for Jews - supporting another genocidal country over the citizens he's supposed to be protecting, by suggesting the only place we will be safe is far away from America.

So, I don't support Israel. I don't support the murder of innocent Palestinians, the killing of journalists and children. I don't support the removal of people from their homes - and I'm frankly disgusted at those who would imply that I must run from my own home to be safe, because they refuse to be the change to keep my people safe.

I hope I explained my position well, anon. I really appreciate it when people, especially people not in the groups centered in a conversation, try to speak to both sides to at least understand all of the issue - though, don't just listen to me. As I said at the beginning, listen to Palestinian voices, as well - listen to the people living through these horrors. While Jews are centered in the conversation, it's important to remember that there are other victims here, who deserve to be listened to a whole hell of a lot more than me.

[generouskittentidalwave]

Society needs to stop projecting onto optimistic characters

"HOW MANY TIMES DO WE HAVE TO TEACH YOU THIS LESSON OLD MAN!?"

Each one of you COME HERE

I can't BELIEVE I even have to SIT HERE, AT THIS TABLE CUTTING INTO MY VERY GOOD ICE CREAM HOURS, JUST TO TALK SOME SENSE INTO ALL OF YOU GUYS

Because I SWEAR TO GOD you all should KNOW BETTER by NOW, but apparently you don't so now here we are

@mysteriesofmilo made a good response to my earlier post about Milo Murphy's law and how much of the criticism towards the show, the little circle that does exist, are people complaining about Milo, THE LITERAL *CHILD*, not having constant anxiety and mental breakdowns about the massive wave of destruction that is out of his control that follows him around. Because according to YOU GUYS god forbid the 13 year old child be calm and collected in a horrible situation and actually tries to see the good in this shitty situation he has been dealing with since birth. God forbid the 13 year old child sees the fun adventure of it all instead of going MENTAL according to ALL OF YOU.

And this is a HUGE problem not just with how some people view this show but with how all optimistic and calm characters are viewed as nowadays by people. The fact that seeing a child who, despite having his moments at times, being a reasonably optimistic and calm person in a horrible situation out of their control is viewed as an "unsympathetic" "selfish" "and borderline sociopathic and psychopathic" person is a very VERY HORRIBLE thing and I SHAME people for that. Because that is not valid criticism, that is projecting your feelings onto it and hating it because of that.

And don't think I'm just the cheeto covered ipad kid typing away here, I'm a psych student, I know some things about this and now I'm here to tell you, yeah YOU right there reading this through the screen, yeah you need to revaluate your life choices if you are projecting your problems onto a cartoon CHILD of all things, or any optimistic character for that matter, you have some personal things you gotta work out. Just because they are in a shitty situation doesn't mean they have to be anxiety ridden and miserable, just because situations are happening that are out of their control doesn't mean they need to have constant mental breakdowns, and just because they aren't anxiety ridden or breaking bit by bit doesn't mean they don't deserve to be upset when they do finally get upset about it. Don't we always tell people to not blame themselves for situations out of their control? And yet when a character displays that in a very healthy way we get upset. Why is that? It's horrible, no one wants to address it either which makes it worse.

It GRINDS MY INNER GEARS that as a society we have devolved so much that when we see a child in a horrible situation actually trying to be calm and optimistic we view that AS A BAD THING. Do you realize- come here do you REALIZE how HORRIBLE that sounds?? And we are doing it constantly. Calling them selfish? Unsympathetic? And everything else under the sun just because they are happy when you can't be? Oh give me break, that's not valid criticism in this kind of situation, that's projection. Because the only selfish, unsympathetic people I see are you all that do this and it needs to genuinely stop. Because if that's how you view realistically optimistic and calm children in a TV show where it's incredibly well done and treated, then god forbid how you react to children IN REAL LIFE that act THE SAME EXACT WAY in these situations.

And no, it's not me being upset about a cartoon character's treatment, I'm UPSET because it shows how much we need to do BETTER and be better as people as this problem has been going on for years and honestly, people need to find a way to step back and revaluate themselves before the character projection becomes irl projection later on.

[yellowhollyhock]

Please tell us more about Donny and Angel I love these two as a couple they so cute! She’s so perfect for him and vise versa. I like to pretend when the series ended they became official they got married. Mikey is the flower girl because that’s hilarious to me and he’s genderqueer so he’s like yes I get to wear a dress. LH is best man because he’s Donny’s best friend. I am not sure what Raph and Leo are lol. I know there’s brides maid but not sure what you call the version for the groom so Raph and Leo are up there with LH.

Aaahdhhs thank you!! 💜💜🥹 I am always at any time so ready to talk about Donny and Angel.

I love your ideas about their wedding! I think since Splinter would be officiating, Raph can give Donny away (is giving grooms away a thing? if it isn't then, oh well it is now), and Leo can be the ring-bearer. Angel's friends Ashley and Jessica who I made up for the Meeting Gramma fic (it's in pinned post) are bridesmaids.

Okay so below the cut, here's some things I've been thinking about, and how I imagine his proposal!

I don't imagine them fighting often, but one thing that would definitely cause friction is his driving. In the show his bros always let him drive, but have you ever noticed how he's crazy? Usually I think it ends up that way because there's a big chase or it's just comedic, but I like the idea that he's actually quite reckless. Tbh, a lot of people I know irl who are really good at working on cars are really bad at driving safely. They know exactly how far they can push that machine and they like showing it, sometimes forgetting to factor in that there are other people on the road and such things as safety laws.

Anyway Angel lost her mom in a car crash where the other driver was at fault. She was six. Neither her nor Ryan have licenses, partially because driving is scary to them but also because they live in New York City.

I don't think Donny would take it well when Angel calls him out about his driving. This is something he taught himself how to do in order to take better care of his family. He didn't have access to the resources she did to learn (experienced drivers, opportunity to legally obtain a license), and she hasn't shown any interest in using them (he doesn't know about how her mom died at the time), so why should he take criticism from her? He gets defensive when she makes a comment, something she is not used to from him, and they both end up pushing and holding onto little things. Angel says she'd just rather not get in the car with him and if he wants to go places with her they can walk. This seems pretty inconsiderate to Don who cannot simply walk through the city, and he doubts she wants to learn how to slink around and jump across rooftops since she doesn't even want to learn to drive.

Once they've both had time to cool down, he apologizes--he hates that he made her feel unsafe, he'd be happy to walk places with her if that's more comfortable, and he'd like her to know he has asked Raph to backseat for him for a while (call him out if he takes corners too fast, breaks laws etc). With him being vulnerable and apologizing, it's much easier for her to realize and admit why it actually scared her so much, that it wasn't all to do with him, in fact she never feels safe in cars. As they've been getting closer she's been worrying a lot that she would lose him somehow. She apologizes for losing her temper and calling him out in front of everyone (everyone probably consists of April, Casey, and his bros). She tells him how much she appreciates that he's trying to do better and that of course she doesn't mind driving places with him, in fact she feels better knowing that if something does happen, she'd know about it right away.

Also kinda thinking maybe Donny teaches her how to drive, later when she asks. I think she'd still feel safer with him at the wheel, especially once he starts being more careful, but it could still be empowering for her to know.

Their proposal~~

He takes her to Central Park--they wouldn't go somewhere like that very often, but they risk it early one November morning for what he will only vaguely call a 'special occasion.'

Anyway it's not hard to stay disguised because he's freezing and wearing so many layers you can't even tell he's round. (We don't really see the turtles in winter clothes much in the show, but after all the chaos had stopped I think they'd be more comfortable doing little things for themselves such as keeping warm). They buy hot chocolates. She makes a snow angel, which he cannot stop laughing about. She keeps close by to keep him warm, which makes him nervous because the ring is in his pocket and she's going to find it before he's ready--he panics and starts a snowball fight. She's in her element. He's getting more flustered by the minute. He's still a ninja though, and holding his own--until in a moment of distraction she nails him right in the face. She's wheezing, crying, cackling and fussing all at once--and when she comes over to help him up he panics again and takes the opportunity to pull out the ring.

It's a puzzle ring. They've talked about it before, and she's never liked the idea of a fancy gem. She wears lots of jewelry, and an engagement ring of all things should be practical to wear daily, not like her studded nose rings or chain necklaces with all kids of loud charms.

He pulls it out and lets them dangle from each other; four rings, all attached to each other. "It takes some work to fit them together," he explains as he assembles it for her, "But it's impossible to take them apart." Allowing herself to get close to people has been a big deal for her since her dad left. He's still haunted by the possibility of just disappearing one day, apparently without a trace.

He's getting teary and having a hard time getting through the speech he planned so carefully. "I want that for us."

She slips the ring on and pulls him into a hug. "I want that, too." Then, as if she's only just thought of it, "Let's get married." Because she's always loved making him laugh 💜

[onewomancitadel]

I haven't seen this thesis advanced anywhere yet and it's only mildly related to my blog of complaining about shit I don't like, but let's go ahead anyway: though I agree a very salient and motivating factor for strange types of censored speech online is in part because of the restrictions based on "acceptable" speech (I put airquotes around it because advertiser-motivated decisions don't necessarily reflect social taboos, but may create them), I also suspect that this is replicating outside of those platforms and even to IRL speech to some capacity because of the shifting boundaries of taboo.

I don't think it's an accident that to some capacity swear words have become more naturalised and politeness conventions have begun to break down as other taboo tensions have begun to arise to replace them. Taboo doesn't exist just to oppress; unacceptable speech or behaviour that isn't actually meaningfully dangerous can be exciting, serve for emphatic purpose, the point of the transgression itself is one that marks subculture and "coolness" in respect to generally condoned behaviours. Politeness marks how you behave around people you don't know very well most generally; taboo marks how you shouldn't behave around them; taboo, then, can mark intimacy.

This encompasses social conventions I am sure a sociologist could do a better job explaining, but I am mostly trying to summarise here for the sake of the fact that the general belief online is that politeness marks falsehood, taboo marks honesty, and there should be no taboo placed on that which is marked as taboo. Tumblr just had a muck-up about whether sexual behaviour is appropriate in public or not and that it is oppressive and wrong to believe that it is inappropriate, despite the fact that the pleasure of public sex (in a car, or ostensibly pseudoprivate place where you may or will be caught) is largely derived from the fact it is a taboo behaviour (and excepting the ignorance of the fact that what homeless people struggle with the most living on the street is sexual abuse, and trivialising such an issue for a made-up Internet zero sum game is actually insane and the reason I hate everyone).

My thesis really is that taboo is necessary - it is a motivating subconconscious and conscious process, culturally, socially, interpersonally - and when taboo is removed over here, it re-emerges over there. In some cases I think it can be problematic (e.g. taboo around body health and functions leads to avoidance of medical care) but it is not the shame or mark of taboo in and of itself that is socially bad. By the same stroke the mark of politeness is not falsehood (very weird conception of falsehood on here); you need some sort of framework for navigating people you don't know, or situations you're not familiar with, and showing respect and care for another individual in a mutually-agreed upon way - think of it like a mutually intelligible language. It's a little weird to see many people so emphatically against the concept of social shaming and taboo get up in arms about people playing music in public on public transport.

So what this means is that when you have these collapsing boundaries, something rushes in to fill it. I suspect that the taboo on advertiser-unfriendly and platform-unfriendly words - rape, death, kill, breasts, boobs, drugs, self-harm, anorexic, suicide, murder, paedophile, kidnap, to name a few - is probably also related to an invocation taboo, that is, if you name something, you mark or summon its presence, or make a bad or transgressive thing happen. This is literal in the sense that to name it will get you "banned" and thus effectively silenced by this speech act - in whatever form that takes, including "shadowbans", so potentially unreal, or magically warded, ways of being supressed - but it is also conceptual in the sense that to name something (rape, murder, kidnapping) is to make it real, a thing that happens in society, that it might even be a law of attraction. If political anxiety animates the online culture, I don't think that politically charged and serious words naming sexual violence, mental illness, and even murder, becoming censored is an accident.

It's acceptable to refer to breasts as "milkers", as "big naturals". If you object to this language, you are trying to oppress somebody for their natural speech. By the same stroke, neutral words which describe marked events in society are slowly becoming taboo: k*ll, m*rder, r*pe, p*rn, or sometimes supplanted with rhymes (grape, PDF file, corn - that is, rape, paedophile, porn). I think they're connected. So why is essentialising and objectifying speech not taboo, but words necessary to describe very particular social phenomenon - or indeed neutral body parts - taboo? The vulgar is the unmarked, the neuter is the marked.

I do really think this is the perfect storm and opportunity to demonstrate that when your issue is the nature of taboo at all - that everything should be free, that there should be no social shame, and there should be no conception of transgression - then you don't understand human behaviour or what the value of taboo actually is, or how inevitable it is. Something else finds its way in; it just so happens that what you might have marked as neutral is now taboo. You can really see the beginning of this phenomenon with the advent of converts to Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity in the wake of trendy atheism, or even, to some capacity, "trad" revisionist antifeminism. It's in a large part motivated by counterculturalism, that separately, I suspect is evolving at an accelerated place between the division of the offline/online worlds.

My real quibble, the bit that annoys me, is that taboo can also be sexy. To revisit the public sex part, yes, it's not right to expose others to your sex acts; I think that is fairly agreeable. But it's not the end of the world either, and probably not demonstrably traumatising - you'd have a disgust reaction, but not necessarily want to punch them, say, if you came across them in a carpark - in the sense that it would be a really strictly morally transgressive act (Tumblr seems to have no room for this complexity). If you did it in the bush, you might be dismissed as a pair of randy strangers; if you did it on a bus, people would be quite upset and probably assume you're on meth (sorry to drug users, I guess, but such extreme behaviour would and has been reasoned this way - the most reasonable explanation is not that they're inherently antisocial but in an altered state as to lose reason, which is actually quite generous). But really, the whole point that it would be exciting or even preferable to do it outside in a likely uncomfortable spot is in part because of all these socially transgressive reasons it would be unacceptable, and anybody arguing otherwise is laughably ignorant as to speak authoritatively or actively disingenuous at best, and at worst actually wants to open up opportunities for forcible exposure, in which case they're dangerous and can't be reasoned with.

Of course, the thing is, if it became normal to have public sex, if it were completely naturalised - weirdos who want to have private sex would be all the countercultural rage. Thinkpieces would be written on the silence and the eyecontact of a private bedroom, without audience. It's pretty foolish to ignore the inevitable fact that counterculture is necessary for culture to evolve and survive and iterate.

Where I think it is necessary to challenge taboo is when it is not actually positively helpful. But it's also a socially regulating force - which in itself is viewed as bad, for pseudopunkish and hypocritical reasons - and the reason I want to push back on the increasing taboo of natural, necessary language is because it actually leaves you ill-equipped to discuss topics of social and political and lived importance, and because what I think is very dangerous is this invocation of an idea - to name rape is to invite it, to name rape is to place it in a real context, to name a violent reality is to create a violent reality. Bad. Very bad. But clearly related to political anxieties - extreme concern over speech, speech acts as powerful naming acts (which they can be, and is slightly beyond the purview of this post, but does relate).

It's only the beginning of a thesis but I really don't think the relation is accidental. I could see this affecting the offline world more in the next few years, at most five to ten years, but I've been long wondering, with the ease of current politeness rituals and polite speech, what would replace it. I seem to have found my answer.